Sky Italia, Asian Broadcasters Deploy Vinten Radamec Fusion Robotic Camera Heads

Vinten Radamec, a Vitec Group brand, has sold over 500 of its Fusion robotic camera heads. The 500 FH-100 and FHR-120 manual and robotic pan and tilt heads have been sold to broadcasters globally to fully automate their studios for everything from news broadcasts to live sports action.

Recent orders include Sky Italia’s 24-hour rolling news channel, which has equipped four of its studios with Vinten Radamec robotic camera supports, including three of the FH-100 heads which are being used with Vinten Radamec Fusion FP-188 robotic camera pedestals, together with a control system. The new studios in Rome are located in a building away from the main news production center but at times of major news events, such as national elections, they can be linked to the robotic camera system of the main newsroom, allowing the two to work as a single virtual studio by one operator.

Paul Vickerage, head of studios for Sky Italia, says: “We have two robotic studios for Sky Sports 24 and two for TG-24. These systems give us the ability to provide seamless interworking not just with newsroom systems but with other studios which is very important to us. Our sports team controls a studio in Rome from its main production base in Milan, and the news team has the use of two separate studios but everything is under a single point of control.”

Other recent customers include Hong Kong based broadcaster, Phoenix TV, who bought six robotic pan and tilt heads as part of a Vinten Radamec camera robotics system. It will work in conjunction with its Orad Proset virtual studio software to provide fully automated control of pan, tilt and elevation, as well as high precision positioning around the studio floor.  Another Asian broadcaster, now TV, has also equipped its sports studio with broadcast robotic systems from the Vinten Radamec Fusion range, including the FH-100 robotic and manual head.

In the US, major broadcasters and cable newtworks have also installed Fusion heads as part of their robotic systems.

Karen Walker, Vinten Radamec commercial manager, says: “To achieve this level of sales in today’s market place demonstrates clearly that the Fusion heads provide the exact performance users require.  The heads are helping broadcasters to deliver consistently high-production values, enabling them to establish a firm visual identity, and it is this, as much as the reductions in operational cost, that is driving the increase in implementations.”

Vinten Radamec’s robotic camera systems enable production studios to move to a fully automated studio configuration. According to Vinten Radamec, benefits of the systems includ overhead reduction of 50 per cent and a ROI period of approximately two to three years.