QVC Launches Japanese Operation From Facility Designed And Built By A. F. Associates

QVC, the largest shopping network in the world, has launched its Japanese operation near Tokyo on April 1. A. F. Associates, Inc. (AFA), provided systems integration and engineering services for the entire QVC state-of-the-art, server-based installation. AFA, a leading systems integrator, serves domestic and international customers from headquarters in Northvale, NJ.

AFA was awarded the contract from QVC Japan in December 2000. "We were excited to play such a crucial role in successfully getting QVC Japan to air in such a tight time frame," said Marc Bressack, vice president of sales for AFA.

"The planning stage was critical," added Steven Sabin, senior project manager for AFA. "Coordination had to be flawless with precise execution, and one of the most satisfying aspects was how successfully all the vendors interfaced."

QVC's new facility, based upon CCIR 601 digital component video with unbalanced AES/EBU digital audio, utilizes the most advanced technology to address the unusual requirements of a televised shopping operation, including a comprehensive automation system, a near-line robotic archive system, robotic controlled cameras, virtual set technology and a powerful post-production solution. AFA also designed the infrastructure to facilitate an easy upgrade path to High-definition Television (HDTV).

Two live production control rooms were built to accommodate live programming, facilitate recording of show segments for future use, and for redundancy. The facility is comprised of 2 studios, an audio control room, a central equipment room, multi-format ingest and dub area, a master control room with a media manager's area that serves as the control point for asset management, 4 edit rooms, a graphics room, a three walled cyclorama for the virtual studio, and a voice over booth.

QVC Japan's technical facilities are based around a Quantel Clipbox server with a Quantel Cachebox acting as on-air playout backup. A Nippon Systems Development (NSD) automation system controls all operational elements from ingest through archiving/asset management. Live feeds are archived to an ADIC near-line robotic tape storage system that utilizes 6 DVCPRO 50 tape machines. The archive can hold approximately 7000 hours of storage capacity.

To facilitate signal distribution, AFA installed a Grass Valley wide-band switching matrix, an Nvision AES router and an Nvision data router. The two control rooms are configured identically with Grass Valley GVEous DVEs, Grass Valley Kalypso Production switchers, Image Video under-monitor display tally systems and Vi[z]RT character generators. Audio is mixed on a 24-input digital audio mixing board.

To accommodate the limited amount of physical space available for numerous sets, QVC Japan is using a Vi[z]RT virtual reality studio system to create synthetic backgrounds.

Robotic controlled camera systems are utilized in both studios. The virtual studio is furnished with Radamec 435VR pan/tilt heads developed specifically for virtual studio environments mounted on Radamec's free-roaming RP2VR virtual reality pedestals. The other studio is furnished with a five camera robotic control system. The camera complement consists of Ikegami HDK-790 and HDK-79s high-definition cameras with Fujinon lenses. Cameras in both studios are operated from Radamec Touch Screen Panels located in multiple control points.

A powerful post-production solution was designed to accommodate QVC Japan's combination of live and pre-recorded programming. QVC's 15 hours of daily live programming are stored in the Quantel Clipbox and/or archived to the ADIC system. Four Quantel edit seats, using Vi[z]RT graphics and an Alias Maya graphics software package, are used to edit the pre-recorded material down to a 9 hour segment to complete daily transmission.

AF Associates, Inc., 100 Stonehurst Court, Northvale, NJ 07647. Tel: 201-767-1200; Fax: 201-784-8637.