VTV8 Expands its HD Capabilities

‘Relentless’ is perhaps the one word that best sums up VTV8 in the last five years. Established in 2016, VTV8 is the result of a merger of three provincial stations: VTV Hue, VTV Da Nang, and VTV Phu Yen.

One of VTV8’s first challenges was to integrate the various broadcast equipment it had inherited. The other was to accelerate its migration to digital and introduce High Definition content.

Part of Vietnam Television’s (VTV) network, VTV8 is dedicated to serving its viewers’ needs in the Central-Highlands region. Most of its viewers live in rural areas and appreciate locally-produced content that resonates with their way of life.

Said Nguyen Lam Thanh Director of VTV8: “Upgrading our broadcast equipment was essential to get VTV8 ready for the exciting world of HD.”

To increase VTV8’s local production of news programmes, talk shows and cultural shows, the station in 2020 invested in a new range of HD cameras and switchers for its three studios – Studio 1, Studio 2, and Studio 3.

The acquisition drive included seven units of Sony HDC-3100 system camera, and one unit of MVS-3000A switcher.

Studio 1, the largest of the three studios, was equipped with four HDC-3100 cameras as it was ideal for live events with a big audience.

Shared Nguyen Rang Dong, Head of Filming Department: “The HDC-3100 is a proven system camera built for live production environments. It ticked all the right boxes – excellent HD images, fibre operation, and it can output 3G-SDI signals in a range of formats right up to 1080/50p and with 4K available through the CCU’s 12G-SDI and Quad 3G-SDI interfaces.”

Rounding up VTV8’s purchases is the MVS-3000A SD/HD Switcher. Hugely popular since its introduction, the MVS-3000A offers the same intuitive operation and menu structure as the larger MVS-7000X and MVS-8000X, but in a compact and affordable 2M/E package.

Vo Dinh An, Deputy Head of Technical Department said: “The MVS-3000A switcher is ideal for our studio size and even for our outdoor operations. Its simple interface is a joy to use for both new and experienced operators. The fact that many large broadcasters use this model says a lot.”

Concluded Nguyen Lam Thanh: “We inherited a mixed bag of broadcast equipment when we merged. Thankfully, most were Sony products. We discovered that with Sony, we had seamless compatibility with our older models as well as new products including 3rd party equipment. VTV8 is now able to deliver HD quality and ready for our next challenge: 4K.”