HARMAN’s Studer Vista 8 Digital Console is a Winner by a Length with TVG

LOS ANGELES, California — Illustrating how HARMAN’s acclaimed Studer Vista 8 digital

console can raise the bar for audio in any broadcast application, TVG, the official

television and Interactive Wagering partner of the National Thoroughbred Racing

Association (NTRA), has installed a new Vista 8 at its broadcast production and post

production facilities in Los Angeles.

TVG provides live feeds, via cable and satellite distribution including the DISH

Network and DirecTV, of all major thoroughbred races from all the leading race track

venues in the U.S., as part of the online wagering activities of its parent company,

the Betfair Group, the largest online betting organization in the world. The Studer

Vista 8 console is the centerpiece of TVG’s strategy to move horseracing

broadcasting into the high-definition era, bringing with it high-quality 5.1

surround audio, for programming such as “Trackside Live,” TVG’s flagship show.

“The Vista 8 will be our main console for all of our production and

post-production,” states Frank Walters, TVG’s Manager of Engineering, who adds that

the console will be fully commissioned in its facility this summer.

Walters, who says the network’s transition to HD should be complete by next year,

was a champion of the Vista 8 from the moment he first sat down behind one. “In the

end, all of the digital consoles out there can do many of the same tasks, but the

difference with the Vista 8 is the sheer user-friendliness of the console,” he said.

“I sat down with a console from one of the other leading broadcast manufacturers and

I was lost for the first 20 minutes. I sat down at a Vista 8 and felt like an expert

in five minutes, it’s just that simple to use.”

To Walters, that simply underscores what he and his mixers can accomplish with the

Vista 8’s sophisticated capabilities. “We have as many as 10 live horse track feeds

per hour and we’ll show one right after the other, with commentary from the track

and our studios, as well as the ambient sound from the tracks,” he explains. “It’s a

lot to manage, but the Vista 8 will make that job much easier.”

Walters cited features such as Studer’s patented Vistonics™ user interface, which

provides unmatched analog console-like control and a clear, easily understandable

display of all operating parameters along with fast, easy operation, and the

surround sound management and mixdown facilities. “Features like that won over my

senior audio mixer,” says Walters. “The Vista 8 is going to be a game-changer when

it comes to horseracing on television. I’d say we made a very good bet.”