TV Travelshop

The TV Travel Shop Germany was founded as a joint subsidiary of the successful English speciality broadcaster and TUI, with the aim of setting up a travel program with which to sell holidays.

TV Travel Shop went on air as planned on 01.06.2001 via Astra. In order to make this start date, MCI set up a TV broadcasting centre in the ex administration quarters of the World Exhibition EXPO 2000 in the record time of only 2 months. To keep the operating costs as low as possible, highly ambitious technology was used for the equipment. No cameramen are necessary in the studio, as 2 of the 3 cameras are remotely controlled. For lighting, pre-sets are selected via a simple touch-screen surface, so that no lighting technician is necessary either.

For material transfer and input, TVTS uses user-friendly Profile video servers that are remotely controlled via a Harris automation including matrix switches. Through the automation, browsing material is also produced in the background which can be viewed with time-code precision at the editing workplaces. Additionally, it is also possible to produce raw-cut lists with the servers, which saves a lot of time at the editing stations. One very important design element of the station is the various supers that explain holiday offers. Several special developments and intelligent configurations were implemented here to ensure a quick and accurate operation: all text generators (SGs) and graphics systems are linked up, and the editing department can generate supers itself via a TG emulator.

Via a special software the correct supers are produced automatically for respective holiday offers. The completed articles are transmitted to the external playout centre as a file via a WAN connection, from where the uplink to the Astra satellites occurs. In a further extension phase an archiving system with a conveyor robot will be installed, which will also be available at all technical and editing workstations via the network. An integration and automation will be in use here that, in this far-reaching implementation, is without precedence in Europe.