ABS-CBN Logo
Last July 27, 2012 we BROACOU (Broadcast Engineering and Acoustics) students together with our professor, Engr. Roman Palo, PECE went to ABS-CBN for an exposure trip. The ABS-CBN broadcast center is located in Quezon City.
Karla, Me, Paolo and Charles at the Studio Tour Orientation Room
Studio Tour Orientation Room
ABS-CBN is one of the major commercial television networks in the Philippines. It was launched in 1953 and is considered one of the earliest commercial television stations in Asia. It was born due to a merger between the Quirino and Lopez families. The Quirino family owned the Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) while the Lopezes owned the Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN). Hence the name, ABS-CBN. According to our tour guide, currently the Lopez family has the full ownership over the network. Eugenio Lopez III is currently the Kapamilya network's Chairman and CEO.
ABS-CBN Motto: In Service of the Filipino
ABS-CBN is said to be the largest media company in the country today. Its assets include the ABS-CBN broadcast television network, the Studio 23 broadcast television network, The Filipino Channel (TFC- international television network), MYX TV, DZMM Radyo Patrol 630 AM radio station, Tambayan 101.9 FM radio station and Sky Cable Corporation ( cable television communications company). ABS-CBN has some notable firsts. ABS-CBN is the first television network in the Philippines and Southeast Asia to broadcast Color Television. ABS-CBN is also known to be the first television network to use live satellite transmissions from abroad and the first television network to air Filipino-dubbed programs. Lastly, ABS-CBN has a foundation, the ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc., which has charitable programs for children, families and the environment. Some of their current projects include Bantay Kalikasan, Bayan ni Juan, Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig and Sagip Kapamilya.
Studio Signs: ABS-CBN Studio 10
The first part of the trip was our studio tour orientation. We were briefly introduced to what ABS-CBN is about, what they do, how they started and what they offer. After the short video presentation we were then divided into groups. Our group started with the studio tour.
Me, Karla and Fitz inside Studio 10
We first went to Studio 10. Studio 10 is said to be the largest and most advanced studio in ABS-CBN. We learned that each studio may either have a temporary or permanent setup. Studio 10 is currently in a temporary setup and different TV programs use the studio. Shows like Maalaala Mo Kaya, Gandang Gabi Vice and Rated K do their taping in this studio. Our tour guides told us that it takes 5-8 hours for the crew of the said shows to ready the setup before tapings are made, they then dismantle everything again after the tapings.
Advance Lighting Equipment installed in Studio 10
There are several lighting equipment installed in the studio. Some are called soft lights, these lights ensure that the actors look good and clear in television. The light effects make the person/people look like they have smooth skin. The black curtains are also special, known as cyclorama cloth. They absorb the light and ensure that light rays do not reflect inside the studio; this ensures great lighting effects during filming. The studio has 3 layers of cyclorama cloth, green for special effects and black or white for conventional purposes.
TV Crew setting up Studio 10
We were also able to see a permanent setup studio being used by Ms. Kris Aquino for KrisTV. We thought that the studio was very small. According to our tour guides, the standard size of the studios in ABS-CBN are only 100+ square meters. We learned that in TV, the sizes are magnified ten(10) times because the cameras have wide angle lenses. So whatever you see in TV, imagine that 10 times smaller and that's the actual size. The studios are very small but they look quite spacious in TV.
KrisTV Studio
We also noticed that the studios are located side by side. We learned that it is possible to do tapings simultaneously without causing sound interference with one another because the walls are soundproof. Studios are equipped with acoustic fiber walls that transfer the sound waves to the ground. So even if you shout real loud you wont hear echoes! Again, this feature ensures superb sound quality when recording.
ANC Studio
We also got the chance to visit the ANC studio. We learned that news studios are always kept "ready for action" since they will never know if there will be breaking news. In addition to this, the news studio is very small since audiences are not allowed when they go on air.
Fitz, MC and Me at the ANC Studio
Karla, Me and Charles at the ANC Studio
We also got to see the teleprompter being used by ANC. Teleprompters are very expensive. From our BroadcastAsia days, millions. Anyway, they function as the dummy board wherein the scripts/texts are displayed plus the camera. The screen displaying the texts is in front of the camera lens of a professional video camera. This enables the person/reporter/anchor to conveniently read the news and look straight into the camera at the same time. Neat.
Teleprompter
We were also able to see the studio setup for an FM station. We didn't go inside since they were on air.
DWRR FM Radio Studio
FM Studio Setup
After visiting the studios, we then headed to the transmitter facility. ABS-CBN operates within 54 - 60 MHz, Channel 2 in the VHF (Very High Frequency, 30 - 300 MHz) range. The picture below shows the antenna tower inside the ABS-CBN complex. The antennas for the different channels under ABS-CBN are in this common antenna tower.
ABS-CBN Antenna Tower
We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the transmitter facility because they didn't want competitors to see the type of equipment used inside. The engineer who toured us stated that currently, they have the most advanced facility in the Philippines. We also learned that the facilities inside the ABS-CBN complex are linked through a fiber optic cable system, especially the link from the transmission facility and the technical operations center. The communications between the regional centers are done through microwave communications and/or satellite communications.
ABS-CBN Transmission Facility Building
Inside the transmission facility we were able to see amplifiers and modulators. They modulate the signals (from the Technical Operation and Media Center) according to the proper settings before feeding them to the transmitter. The engineers monitor each stage of the process, each stage is outputted to a monitor. We noticed the delay of the transmitted signal versus the received signals is about 6 seconds. We then proceeded to the Technical Operations and Media Center.
BetaCam Media Tape Player
We first visited the media center. It housed a lot of tapes containing commercials. They store the approved standard commercials in the room and check the content before airing them. We wondered why they still used tapes. Apparently, those tapes were not regular tapes. The tapes have gigabytes of capacity since the data rate requirement is very high in GB/s. The main tape they use is the BetaCam media tape, which looks a lot like a regular VHS. We learned that they also have devices for digital hard drives but since their clients still use tapes, they keep their BetaCam readers.
Advertisements are the biggest source of the network's revenue. The officer in the media center told us that the usual rate for TV commercials is more or less 400,000 pesos per 30 seconds segments per PLAY! That's really a lot of money. The rate is also different depending on the time slot in which the advertisement will be played. The prime time slot, which has the most viewers, has the highest rate. ABS-CBN also generates income from other value added services like pay-per-view, TFC subscriptions, HDTV subscription and more.
Different Types of Media Tapes Being Used
The next part of the tour was the DTT (Digital Terrestial Television) Headend.This facility monitors the received digital television signals for processing and distribution over a cable television facility. They monitor the DTT sources (transmit signals) and the MUX loopout STB (receive signals).
DTT Headend Facility(1)
DTT Headend Facility(2)
We then proceeded to the ingest stations. The recorded programs to be aired by each channel is stored in a server. Each channel under ABS-CBN has it's own ingest station. The setup for each station can be seen below.
Cinema One Ingest Booth
Ingest Equipment
While saving the files, the status of each aspect of the files is monitored. These includes vector analyzation, signal levels and gain.
Ingest Monitoring Equipment
The operator of each booth follows a schedule and saves the files depending on the segment schedules, total running time, file code and time. After about 2 weeks, the ingested files will be deleted to allot memory space for more file ingestion.
Ingest Guide and Schedules
The control rooms of the different channels under ABS-CBN were our next stop. Numerous channels are being monitored in each control room. Basically, the control rooms are where the operators control what materials to broadcast. The control room for ABS-CBN Channel 2 has a scheduler. The scheduler is a software that is responsible for updating the line up for the shows to be played. It maintains the line up of the commercials and the shows. One of the main roles of the scheduler is making sure that shows and commercials are aired on time, as scheduled. In addition to this, the control rooms also monitor each stage of the program, they monitor the preview, the actual program to be transmitted and the demodulated view of the program.
Control Room for ANC
The control is also where they insert the ABS-CBN logos and the MTRCB reminders. We were also able to see the modulation status of the channels in this area. We learned that most of the networks overmodulate (not allowed according to the KBP manual) to increase signal strength and therefore increase reception. Control rooms also have switchers, the switchers are responsible for keeping records of the shows/commercials being played. Switchers also monitor and log the plugs being inserted in the shows.
Monitoring Screen for ANC's Control Room
The Master Control Room was the last
part of our tour. From the name itself, we know that this room is in charge of controlling
and monitoring all the channels under ABS-CBN (Hero TV, MYX, TFC and so on). In
this facility, the staff can easily make changes before transmission when they
deem it necessary, such as audio and video levels. There are several monitors
inside the Master Control Room, video feeds of the pre-transmitted signals and
the demodulated signals for each type of transmission (satellite, RF, OneSeg,
DTT) can be seen. The control rooms and the Master Control Room coordinate with
the transmitter facility.
Master Control Room (1)
Master Control Room (2)
Inside the Master Control Room, the signal levels, vector signals and phase signals are also monitored. From the picture below, you can see that they are monitoring the IRE Scale of the signals which has a range of 140 IRE units.
Monitoring Equipment(1)
Monitoring Equipment (2)
As for future plans, the engineer who toured us told us that currently ABS-CBN is preparing for digital TV broadcasting, they are just waiting for NTC, since not all of the specifications for DTTB has been decided on yet. He stated some of the important strengths that digital TV broadcasting will bring about for the company. He mentioned the strength against interference, low bandwidth requirements, lower power requirements and more. Then again, we already learned that from BROACOU!
All in all, I can say that the facilities and equipment looked well maintained. I noticed that ABS-CBN is trying to keep up with advances in technology, but is still maintaining old equipment. I also realized that in the broadcasting industry, huge initial investments are necessary, but will eventually pay off.
I think that our ABS-CBN tour was handled well. Engineers gave us their time and explained the technical aspects of the facility. For the studio tour, our tour guides also showed that they were familiar with the specifications of the studios and gave us facts regarding their operation.
For me, ABS-CBN should continue its efforts to make their equipment up to date. I think that will enable them to gain more revenue and subscribers in the future. Furthermore, I think they should invest in their engineers. Giving them training and advance learning opportunities will also aid in the expansion of the network.
I can also proudly say that I learned a lot from the trip. I used to have no idea on how a network organizes all its programs and transmission equipment. The trip also enabled me to see career opportunities in broadcasting and gave me a better picture of an engineer's role in this industry.
Jenny Jane O. Tan
10827978
BROACOU-EK
jennyjaneongtan@yahoo.com
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