YTV upgrades infrastructure with Lawo

Based in Osaka, the Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation (YTV) serves the Kansai region of Japan with news, sports and drama programming, as well as producing its own television programmes and movies – presently translated into over 20 languages for distribution outside of Japan. YTV is also recognised for its animation productions, which are among the highest-rated, both domestically and internationally. The technical infrastructure supporting all of its broadcast production work is constantly being updated – with Lawo technology playing a major role.

YTV has a close relationship directly with Lawo in Germany as well as with its local partner OTARITEC, built on the performance and reliability of Lawo’s equipment and the long-standing service records of both companies. Recently, the ongoing development of YTV’s facilities have included a studio renewal and the commissioning of a new OB unit, which will be based around the first Lawo mc²36 mixing console to be sold in Japan.

The mc²36 is the result of Lawo’s development of an ‘all-in-one’ mixing console, designed for flexibility, ease-of-use and value-for-money. Its compact size, in-built DSP and I/O make the console equally suited to OB and permanent installations with limited space, and rental companies’ transportation considerations.

The new 16-fader mc²36 installed for mobile use reflects Lawo’s reputation for reliability and its forward-focused design philosophy. “We like its stability, operability and its sound quality,” confirms a representative from YTV. Now completed and being used for sports and events coverage, the project got underway in autumn 2014.

The renewal of a Studio Sub Room at YTV’s Osaka headquarters began further back, in February 2014 under the guidance of main contractor, Crescent Co. Central to the upgrade are a pair of 16-fader mc²56 MkII and 48-fader mc²66 MkII consoles. Each console is fitted with four DSP processors, and uses Netlink integration with a new Lawo Nova-73 Compact router to manage I/O and assignments.

The studio is used for television program production, and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days year, making reliability and Lawo’s design policy critical considerations. “We like its stability, operability and its sound quality,” the YTV representative explains.