NDR Deploys Avid Studio Suite to Revamp Popular Magazine Show

Avid^® (Nasdaq: AVID) today announced that German public radio and television broadcaster, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), a regional member of national broadcaster ARD, has implemented a next-generation virtual studio system with multiple solutions from the Avid Studio Suite. Powered by the Avid MediaCentral^® Platform, the new system is helping NDR to maintain its competitive edge and revitalize one of the region’s most popular magazine programs.

NDR operates local broadcast studios throughout Northern provinces of Germany, covering Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Hamburg, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The NDR studio in Kiel decided to invest in new tools to help refresh a popular magazine program, Schleswig-Holstein Magazin, which has aired daily across Northern Germany for more than 30 years. Throughout its history, the show has retained a traditional delivery style and a classic studio layout, but its producers decided it was time to embrace new technological advances to appeal also to a younger audience. “At least, we wanted to give our show a more emotional message. That´s the reason why we decided to work with impressive pictures on the screen in the background,” said Norbert Lorentzen, chief editor of NDR Television in Kiel.

To engage viewers with a more modern look and impressive delivery style, NDR implemented a virtual studio solution at its studios in Kiel, the state capital of Schleswig-Holstein, based on Avid Studio Suite solutions. The system comprises a revolutionary Avid ProSet core system with on-air graphics solutions.

“We’ve always had a great in-house experience with Avid solutions at some of our other studio locations, which made this whole exercise very easy,” said Matthias Rach, head of Production, Radio, TV and System Services at NDR. “The design process was an evolution between Avid and NDR, and has resulted in a revolutionary system that allows us to create eye-catching graphics and generate engaging content for several hundred-thousands of Schleswig-holstein magazine viewers.”

Avid Maestro helps seamlessly generate the broadcast graphics that NDR uses across its productions. Within the powerful ProSet workflow, a four-camera virtual studio system uses four HDVG+ servers for real-time 3D graphics rendering. In addition, two HDVG2 dual-channel systems allow for seamless on-air graphics, such as lower thirds, logos and full screen images.

NDR uses Avid 3Designer (the predecessor to Avid 4Designer) for authoring design, and an Avid News Producer MOS plugin for its OpenMedia newsroom system for all editorial newsroom workflows. The MOS protocol seamlessly connects the entire newsroom system to other production environments, with the Avid plugin acting as the bridge between these advanced newsroom systems.

“With Avid’s state-of-the-art Studio Suite solutions for virtual studios and real-time graphics, NDR now has a powerful, highly efficient workflow to meet complex graphical challenges,” said Tom Cordiner, vice president of International Sales at Avid. “Powered by the MediaCentral Platform, the new workflow enables NDR to deliver exciting, high-quality content that will appeal to new audiences.”