R&D (South Lab) Progress
Post categories: Roundup,Ìýfacilities
| 09:30 UK time, Friday, 8 January 2010
Happy new year to everyone out there, and straight off, let's look at the imminent relocation of the R&D (South Lab) from Kingswood Warren to Centre House.Ìý As you might imagine, such a massive programme of work is having a huge impact on the department right now, so we thought it was worth giving you a quick update on progress over the Christmas and New Year break.
Site Preparation
No one would expect a standard 1980's office block, and one that's been out of use for two and a half years at that, to be immediately ready to accommodate a world-class broadcast engineering research laboratory, but what may surprise is the speed with which the site has been converted for our needs.Ìý It was only in July of 2009 that the final greenlight for this work was given, and since then what was the home of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Drama has been radically overhauled.
Huge amounts of air conditioning have been added to the building to accomodate the extensive computing facilities that will occupy one whole floor of the reconditioned facility.Ìý We've also had power supplies upgraded- the digging up of the site to add new cabling uncovered one of the this part of town has to offer!
Phase 1
So right now we have Phase 1 completed, which thanks to the sterling efforts of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Workplace and the main contractor, was achieved a day ahead of schedule and to an impeccable quality standard.Ìý Now the very first sections of the building are in our own IT specialists' hands being rapidly configured to support the first research teams who will move on site on the 12th of February.Ìý This work will include turning what was a very run-of-the-mill building into one of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s most connected facilities ever- with more data connectivity per square metre than any other building.Ìý Of course, if we're going to be developing the media technologies of the next decade and beyond, we need to be ahead of the curve in terms of the infrastructure we use. Also going ahead in the period from now until the 12th February is the installation of new digital TV test-chain facilities (aka the "Transmission Suite").
Still to come is the addition of the satellite farm on the roof to give us the facilities to continue to contribute to the development of that method of distribution.Ìý
TC 0
In addition to the laboratories and offices being built out in Centre House, we've also been given the go-ahead to set up TC 0 as a research space.Ìý TC 0 (pronounced tea-sea zero) is a smallish television and radio studio in Television Centre, just across Wood Lane from Centre House, that we'll be using for our continuing work on advances in production technology.Ìý Even with the best efforts of the architects and designers from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Workplace, there were some facilities we were never going to shoehorn into Centre House, so taking on this space at Television Centre allows us to continue to provide cutting edge research and development in the studio environment.Ìý It may also be a great space to demonstrate projects to colleagues at TVC!
TC 0 will be ready for occupancy at some point around the end of February this year, but Centre House occupancy is just five weeks away!Ìý And within two weeks of that, we'll all be there!
Ìý
Ìý Exciting times indeed!
Site Preparation
No one would expect a standard 1980's office block, and one that's been out of use for two and a half years at that, to be immediately ready to accommodate a world-class broadcast engineering research laboratory, but what may surprise is the speed with which the site has been converted for our needs.Ìý It was only in July of 2009 that the final greenlight for this work was given, and since then what was the home of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Drama has been radically overhauled.
Huge amounts of air conditioning have been added to the building to accomodate the extensive computing facilities that will occupy one whole floor of the reconditioned facility.Ìý We've also had power supplies upgraded- the digging up of the site to add new cabling uncovered one of the this part of town has to offer!
Phase 1
So right now we have Phase 1 completed, which thanks to the sterling efforts of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Workplace and the main contractor, was achieved a day ahead of schedule and to an impeccable quality standard.Ìý Now the very first sections of the building are in our own IT specialists' hands being rapidly configured to support the first research teams who will move on site on the 12th of February.Ìý This work will include turning what was a very run-of-the-mill building into one of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s most connected facilities ever- with more data connectivity per square metre than any other building.Ìý Of course, if we're going to be developing the media technologies of the next decade and beyond, we need to be ahead of the curve in terms of the infrastructure we use. Also going ahead in the period from now until the 12th February is the installation of new digital TV test-chain facilities (aka the "Transmission Suite").
Still to come is the addition of the satellite farm on the roof to give us the facilities to continue to contribute to the development of that method of distribution.Ìý
TC 0
In addition to the laboratories and offices being built out in Centre House, we've also been given the go-ahead to set up TC 0 as a research space.Ìý TC 0 (pronounced tea-sea zero) is a smallish television and radio studio in Television Centre, just across Wood Lane from Centre House, that we'll be using for our continuing work on advances in production technology.Ìý Even with the best efforts of the architects and designers from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Workplace, there were some facilities we were never going to shoehorn into Centre House, so taking on this space at Television Centre allows us to continue to provide cutting edge research and development in the studio environment.Ìý It may also be a great space to demonstrate projects to colleagues at TVC!
TC 0 will be ready for occupancy at some point around the end of February this year, but Centre House occupancy is just five weeks away!Ìý And within two weeks of that, we'll all be there!
Ìý
Ìý Exciting times indeed!
Comment number 1.
At 9th Jan 2010, Bev MARKS wrote:Interesting article - I worked in Centre House for TV projects in 1987/8-ish - did not know how close to an explosive device!
But more to the current point, so you talk about R&D (South Lab); I can guess that "North Lab" is to be at Salford. Would be ineteresting to know the briefs for the two labs and how KW work is to be split between them?
Already note the TC0 (nice name) is to be a test bed site for both radio and TV.. how do you get the acoustics OK for both - seems to me not an easy call.
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Comment number 2.
At 10th Jan 2010, Trev wrote:I have always had respect for the R & D department and read many of its publications. I am not so sure that moving to 1980s office block will increase the quality of the work. I have always found that working in old building with a bit of character inspiring not to mention the walks around the grounds.
As for research there are 2 issues which I think R & D should be sorting out.
The first is the picture quality on ´óÏó´«Ã½ HD. For 5 months now thousands of complaints have been received by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ about this but the "executives" that deal with this have chosen to bury thier head in the sand and even deny there is a problem. I have seen the tests carried out by Andy Quested but they were very poorly concieved. In particular the viewing distance used for the subjective tests were not those recommended for HD picture quality evaluation. I would like the R & D department to do some real research into this issue. It seems to me the main issue here is what is an acceptable picture quality for HD. In my view the EBU standards are far too low and they do recognise that to some extent by calling it a "mainstream quality".
The second concern is DAB radio which now has been virtually abandoned across Europe mainly because it is uneconomic. I would like the ´óÏó´«Ã½ increase its research into alternatives which would provide surround sound at a HiFi standard with much better error correction.
I would like to see the ´óÏó´«Ã½ spend more money on R & D and return the ´óÏó´«Ã½ to the high technical standards it use to aspire to.
Regards Trevor Harris
Oh just one after thought. Many of the publicions and presentations made by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ for the EBU are not available to the public. I would be very grateful if the ´óÏó´«Ã½ could make these available to us.
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Comment number 3.
At 11th Jan 2010, Ant Miller wrote:Hi Bev, Trevor,
Apparently it was just a little incendiary, but all building work in this area carries a risk of uncovering these types of items.
North and South Labs will both cover pretty much the full spectrum of work for R&D, though each will develop specialist expertise over time according to the local needs and personnel. Some facilities will be localised as well, but we're not being prescriptive over how the two laboratories pick up the workload.
The old building certainly did have a great deal of charm, but in recent years the balance of benefit versus cost of being so isolated from the rest of the corporation has significantly altered. With the clock now ticking onthe handover of the site we're very much focussed on the move, and making the best of our new home.
I'm just checking with a few colleagues regarding your latter points, but hope to respond with a little bit of detail in the next day or two.
Many thanks
Ant
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Comment number 4.
At 13th Jan 2010, Ant Miller wrote:I've had a check with colleagues regarding your specific research queries Trevor, and I hope I can reassure you on both points.
Firstly regarding the ´óÏó´«Ã½ HD quality issue, ´óÏó´«Ã½ R&D is heavily engaged in the development of this service, and in it's specification and roll out. However, the public spokes-people for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ on ´óÏó´«Ã½ HD are Danielle Nagler and Andy Quested, who have blogged extensively about it on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Internet Blog. So please leave comments on ´óÏó´«Ã½ HD on these posts on the Internet blog.
Secondly, regarding DAB and the future of digital radio, DAB remains the strategic platform by which the ´óÏó´«Ã½ delivers digital radio over the air. R&D was instrumental in the specification and roll out of DAB, and has gone on to contribute to the development of DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale). Today we continue to engage with the world wide technical community around radio broadcasting, and we are developing a 'Future of Radio' project at the moment. More details about that effort will appear on our refreshed website within a few weeks.
Finally, it's fair to say that the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s commitment to R&D is unflinching, even in these times of reduced budgets. Our staff numbers are solid, our technology base is being vigourously refreshed, and our connections into the wider ´óÏó´«Ã½ and industry in general are as strong as ever. Our aim is to remain a world class research function, and we're confident that we shall.
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Comment number 5.
At 14th Jan 2010, Matt Goodman wrote:I coined the name TC0 because I was building the Virtual Studio there -I got the notices put up in the end. It was a substantial conversion from the wonderful The Music Studio which I had helped to build many years before. I have pictures somewhere in my archive. Those were halcyon days when we produced many Tomorrows Worlds, Children features and one off specials. Greg Dyke was a fan. Matt Goodman.
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Comment number 6.
At 14th Jan 2010, Matt Goodman wrote:The Virtual Studio project was the brain child of R&Ds Graham Thomas and Richard Russell and a few other backroom workers. Many of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Resources' studios still contain related facilities and the characteristic Free-D ceiling mounted circular barcodes. I worked with Reflec and Danny Popkin to optimise the performance of the retroreflective Truematte cloth. The UK agent of Ultimatte was very helpful. Harry Potter 1 was the biggest project at Leavesden. Matt
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Comment number 7.
At 15th Jan 2010, Ant Miller wrote:Hi Matt,
Thanks very much for your comments. We'd be delighted if you would be able to pop by as we redevelop the space- having some insight to its evolution over the years could be very helpful as we repurpose it once again. You can drop an email to me- ant dot miller at the usual bbc address.
Ant
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Comment number 8.
At 20th Jan 2010, Sue_Aitch wrote:I am interested to see a move to Centre House now - does this mean there will be a further move to Portland Place in 2012?
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Comment number 9.
At 28th Jan 2010, Ant Miller wrote:Hi Sue,
The plans for R&D's location in the south have been based around a five year financial case, so it looks like we will be in Centre House until at least 2015. We're actually fitting it out with a view to a rather longer occupation, and there's certainly no plan to shift us into the centre of London when the W12 facility is completed. That's not to say that we might not try and get a small outpost set up in the middle of town- right now the Prototyping team are based in Henry Wood House, just next door to Broadcasting House, and having a research group tucked in right next to the Audio & Music centre of gravity has proved useful over the last few years.
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Comment number 10.
At 1st Feb 2010, Sue_Aitch wrote:Thank you for thet, Ant.
Are you going to be included on the TVC Tour /tours/televisioncentre.shtml
or is Centre House out of bounds for the public?
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