Custom Consoles announces a new addition to its range of technical control furniture. Developed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Operator Safety Screen reduces the risk of airborne infection or direct physical contact between control room personnel without restricting their forward or side view of video monitor displays.

Custom Consoles announces the completion of control room desks and multiscreen monitor display mounts for the London studios of one of the world's largest news agencies. The desks were provided in partnership with broadcast system integrator ATG Danmon.

"Control room furniture is an important part of every major contract," comments ATG Danmon Managing Director Russell Peirson-Hagger. "Bespoke designs tend to be expensive and require very detailed specification. We commissioned all four desks by selecting optimal elements from Custom Consoles' established Module-R series. Our clients appreciate the robust build quality, excellent ergonomics and timeless styling of Module-R. The Module-R range is also well thought out in terms of cable ducting, equipment access and ventilation."

Custom Consoles announces the completion of two studio control desks and MediaWall monitor displays for a new UHD production facility at the London headquarters of Fidelity International. Supervised by systems integration specialist ATG Danmon, the project formed part of Fidelity's relocation to new premises in the centre of the city's financial district. The studios will be used for a range of applications including participation in finance-related broadcasts.

"We recommended Module-R and MediaWall on the basis of long experience with both product ranges," comments ATG Danmon Managing Director Russell Peirson-Hagger. "Their inherent modularity allowed us to specify exactly the required parameters in the full knowledge that the results would be robustly built, ergonomically sound, attractively styled, accurately sized and easy to install."

Largest of the two desks is a six metre wide in-line unit positioned along the main wall of the Studio 1 production gallery. This is configured for use by up to six operators including camera shading, robotic camera control, lighting control, graphic effects, vision mixing and control room to studio talkback. Sloping 3U high equipment pods run almost the entire width of this desk. All equipment above and below the main worktop remains easily accessible.

Custom Consoles has completed a twin-desk project for the Geneva offices of a globally active service organisation. Designed and supplied in partnership with Swiss broadcast systems integrator Visuals, the desks comprise an L-shaped Module-R for use by up to five production gallery operators and a rectangular Module-R Lite configured for two operators.

"The desks form a core part of a new television studio," says Peter Sullivan, Visuals' Broadcast Systems Project Manager. "These will be used for a wide range of productions which can be live streamed or recorded for later viewing."

"Custom Consoles' Module-R and Module-R Lite series have proved a successful choice in earlier projects we have completed for major broadcasters such as RTS and more recently for Switzerland's National Equestrian Institute, allowing robust and operator-friendly desks to be produced from our initial draft designs."

"The L-shaped Module-R desk is a seven-bay straight section combined with a four-bay and twin-bay corner unit situated alongside a soundproofed window into the studio. A camera control unit embedded in the corner desk surface is used to control multiple robotic cameras."

"To the CCU operator's left is a ColourSource console which controls the studio's LED-illuminated cyclorama.

Custom Consoles announces the completion and installation of eight control desks and a large MediaWall monitor display support system for NEP Media Solutions BV. Located in the master control room at the company's studios in Hilversum's Media Park, the desks are configured in front and rear rows for use by up to six and four operators respectively.

"The desks are similar in style and colour scheme to a suite we produced in early 2018 for another NEP television studio facility," says Custom Consoles' Sales Manager Gary Fuller. "The forward desk centres on a dual-operator bridge with a total of eight forward-sloping 4U equipment pods. This is constructed as a rectangular unit with space for two operators. Left and right of the bridge are two units of identical design to the bridge but angled to match the curve of the 13.9 metre wide six-frame MediaWall."

"The MediaWall itself is one of the largest we have produced to date, each of the six frames accommodating four 55 inch UHD displays to create an 11-wide by two-high screen array with two additional pairs of 32 inch screens positioned to form vertical columns immediately left and right of the front-centre bridge desk. The result is a very elegant solution which can justifiably be termed state-of-the-art."

Custom Consoles announces the completion of Module-R studio control desks and two MediaWall monitor display mounts for Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media & Cultural Studios. The desks and display mounts form part of a full broadcast-quality news studio facility designed by UK-based system integrator ATG Danmon.

"We were invited to propose a turnkey solution based on an outline specification provided by the university," explains ATG Danmon Managing Director Russell Peirson-Hagger. "The project coincided with a relocation to new city-centre premises. It comprised a large TV studio and dedicated gallery, a smaller TV studio with its associated gallery, plus a broadcast newsroom. These will be used to train the next generation of television, radio, online and printed-media journalists. Module-R desks and MediaWalls are used in many broadcast facilities in the UK, Europe, MENA and Asia, so were a logical choice given the need to match the functionality and processes of a real broadcast environment. They are robustly constructed, ergonomically efficient for engineering staff and well as operators, and attractively styled. Both product series also gave us the freedom to match the available room dimensions from standard modular elements."

Altered Images, a leading UK supplier of visual communications technology solutions, has chosen Custom Consoles Module-R, M-Desk Technical and custom-designed studio furniture for a newly completed broadcast media training suite at Plymouth Marjon University.

The new resource includes a total of seven desks in an open plan configuration. Located on the former BBC South West villa site in Plymouth, it is equipped with all the facilities required for the university's courses in journalism and broadcast production. These include a four-camera TV studio, a TV news room and TV production gallery, a radio news room, radio studio and central apparatus room.

"The design brief we were given was to create a fully professional radio and TV production environment including latest-generation Dante IP networking", says Altered Images' Media and Broadcast Solutions Director Russell Butcher. "Custom Consoles desks are very widely used throughout the broadcast media industry so will be met by many students as they progress into their careers. The desks and equipment bays look good, are ergonomically comfortable and efficient, and are very long-lasting."

Working in partnership with UK based broadcast system integrator Megahertz Ltd, Custom Consoles has completed a new production gallery desk, engineering control desk and a MediaWall monitor display for the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden. The project forms part of an extensive UHD/HDR upgrade to the facilities used by the ROH to relay performances of over 12 events each season for live viewing by cinema audiences in Europe and for distribution to other venues around the world. The ROH also live streams frequently from the main house, Linbury theatre and other studios in the building.

Custom Consoles marks its 23rd anniversary with a completely new version of the company's www.customconsoles.co.uk website, offering faster than ever access to information about its wide range of technical furniture. Structured to allow easy navigation, it highlights the company's five key market sectors: Broadcast, Transport, Security/Defence, Process Control and Network Operation Control. Single-click access to products, news, photo gallery and corporate information are available from a drop-down menu at the head of every page.

Custom Consoles reports a surge in demand from broadcasters for technical desks and monitor screen mounting systems. Highlights of 2018 included projects for RT in Paris, BBC Studioworks in London, NEP Sweden in Stockholm, BBC Scotland in Glasgow, Cambridge-based Intergence, various events during the 2018 'summer of sport' plus a substantial contract currently in progress for a Greek television channel.