Thai PBS, a public broadcasting service in Thailand established in 2008, has announced upgrades to its two main studios, including the ability to create content in 4K and major improvements to its existing HD studio. To meet these needs, Thai PBS commissioned a tender to search for two new production switchers, and the successful winner of the tender was Ross Video.
The new Ross Video switchers are used for the primary production of Thai PBS’ live content at their broadcast facility headquarters in central Bangkok. The main objective of these upgrades was to enable Thai PBS’ studios to create better quality content and ensure that they would be able to increase capacity in the future.
As part of the tender, Thai PBS engineers also specified a requirement for production workflow flexibility that would allow for different types of technology such as SDI or IP. They also wanted a well-known and trusted switcher brand that provides high-quality manufacturing and design and is backed by solid service and support.
The production team at Thai PBS had used the Ross Carbonite switcher in the past and were familiar with and impressed by its quality and functionality. After a full evaluation and assessment of all available options on the market, they decided to choose Ross as the production switcher vendor for the studio upgrade project.
For their main studio upgrade, Thai PBS chose the flagship Acuity production switcher with a 4 M/E row and the Acuity control surface. They also selected Ross’ Hyperconverged Production Platform, the 4ME Ultrix Acuity 4K / UHD Switcher, with a 4ME row Acuity panel configuration.
Acuity represents a breakthrough in modern production switcher technology, combining significant production power with a very attractive aesthetic and excellent connectivity. The Ultrix Acuity, on the other hand, combines the power of the Acuity with the game-changing feature set of the Ultrix flexible hybrid routing platform in a single package. The Ultrix Acuity provides Thai PBS with very powerful functionality, including built-in routing, control, multiviewing and signal processing capabilities.
The Acuity switcher offers 4 Mix and Effect buses, together with visually stunning 2D and 3D effects. This combination of switchers has allowed Thai PBS to build its live production backbone around the Ross ecosystem of live production solutions, providing significant value and future potential upgrades such as moving to IP and beyond.
For the installation process, Ross delivered the switchers to Thai PBS in March and the installation process was completed in April. Commissioning and training were done shortly after installation, with the switchers going live on the air in May, in time for the 2023 Thailand General Election.
The Acuity and Ultrix Acuity production switchers have provided Thai PBS with a reliable, future-proof solution for news content creation that adds a massive amount of value and confidence to its creative staff. The switchers have already allowed the Thai PBS production team to greatly improve their creativity and storytelling capabilities. The team was already familiar with Ross Production Switchers and control surfaces thanks to a recent installation for its World News brand and this made it easier for them to install and adapt to the larger, more powerful Acuity series.
The new Ross Video Hyperconverged switchers have also enabled seamless integration with Thai PBS’ existing automation system for a smoother and more efficient workflow.