Kanal 75 Upgrades Swedish TV Studio with INFiLED LED Technology

Overview

Swedish production company Kanal 75 wanted to develop the breadth of its creative broadcasting, and this meant rethinking the capabilities of an aging LED studio setup. The company chose INFiLED’s DBmk2 Series to help transform one of its smaller studios into a broadcast space reliably capable of supporting Kanal 75’s daily broadcast workload, and also to strengthen its capability for testing and developing new content for its global audience.   

The result was a sleek 2×8 metre curved LED installation that delivered exceptional visual performance in a compact space. The speedy setup, calibration and testing meant that Kanal 75 went from an empty studio to broadcast-ready in only two days. Throughout the project the hard-working Kanal 75 team tapped into on-the-ground support from its local INFiLED team.

About Kanal 75

Kanal 75 is one of Sweden’s leading (and busiest) producers of TV and digital sports content, broadcasting 365 days a year. Specializing in horseracing and its betting culture, but expanding into more types of sport, it brings more than 100 hours of live-action, commentary or documentary content to fans at home —and in betting shops —  across the globe every single week. 

The Vision: An LED Screen Fit for the Future 

Kanal 75’s vision for its future was to have a studio set-up that could better support all the different types of content it wanted to be able to produce: not just for the live feeds for which it was renowned, but also to develop further Live On Tape (LOT) broadcasting. 

The company had been working with a rental 2×6 m LED screen in one of its studios, but it was out of date and couldn’t provide what Kanal 75 wanted. The Kanal 75 team wanted to have the freedom and flexibility to experiment with real-time vision mixing, live commentary, high-impact graphics and new backgrounds, and needed a technical set-up that could perform brilliantly with different types of content, and one that wouldn’t let them down. 

The Challenge: Small Studio, Big Ambition

Replacing the existing LED screen with something that would overcome the common challenges of a live broadcast environment AND was built for the experimentation was no small task. There were many technical and practical challenges to solve: 

• Downtime: With programming to create and broadcast daily, the studio wanted to avoid the lengthy downtime of a complicated LED screen setup and testing.  

• Limited space: As with many broadcasting studios, the physical constraints of the space can create issues. A bulky LED backdrop would limit the already-tight floorspace, which meant restrictions on camera positioning, tracking shots, and even presenter movements — and with exciting live sports like horse racing, you’d want the presenters to be able to jump around a little. 

• Image performance: Broadcast environments are associated with the double horror of color shifting and moiré patterning  — the distracting interference that appears on camera when LED pixel arrays fight with camera sensor patterns. Both of these are damaging for production quality, with effects like weird skin tones, inaccurate brand colors, problems in compositing and other production difficulties, as well as a less-than-perfect experience for the viewers at home. 

• Flexibility: The studio needed an LED wall capable of handling whatever Kanal 75 threw at it: live video feeds, loops, still imagery, and experimental backgrounds across both live and LOT productions. 

The Solution: Performance LEDs Built For Broadcast 

Christian Bruns, Studio Manager at Kanal 75, chose panels from INFiLED’s DBmk2 Series for the new LED studio screen. Christian had scoured the LED market for screens that would fit his demanding spec, and settled on INFiLED after hearing good things from a high-level broadcast industry contact, and seeing INFiLED screens in action at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) and National Association of Broadcasters show (NAB). 

Working with our local INFiLED sales and installation team, Christian went for a 2x8m curved DBmk2 Series LED screen wall, paired with a Novastar MX40 Pro LED processor. The screen’s technical capabilities and design features directly addressed his production requirements and standards, as well as challenges of the studio itself: 

• Faceted curve design: The LED screen was built from both flat and 10° curved panels from the series to achieve a gradual 90° curve at one end. This avoided the hard artificial aesthetic of a flat screen, and gave the studio a natural, immersive feel and depth. The curve also gave Kanal 75 more flexibility with camera positioning, as well as a more realistic look on broadcast. 

• Fast set-up: Downtime was kept to a minimum as DBmk2 panels are designed for touring and are bursting with features that make installation fast, accurate and easy. The quick-lock system connected cabinets together securely, an arc adjustment slider made precision-fitting the curved panels simple, and pre-connection magnets at the top and bottom of panels added more stability. Talking of stability… 

• Stability without bulk: It’s important that studio screens are physically stable, so that bumps or knocks don’t lead to visible panel seams and broken graphics. But it’s also important for a small studio with space constraints that any stability fixings don’t add to the bulk of the screen. To combat bulk, the DBmk2 panels are engineered with an in-built ultra-compact stacking system, with integral joints that lock with the cabinets, as well as INFiLED’s proprietary ArmorLED technology that keeps the individual LEDs strong and bump-proof.  

• Sharp, reliable images: The DBmk2 series has a blend of design features that, together, deliver high, reliable image quality for the full range of content. As well as the benefits of the screen’s high refresh and low scan rate, CBSF technology kept the color temperature consistent across the different viewing angles expected in a broadcast environment. This is especially important in live and LOT broadcasting, where there’s very little time for colour correction. Added to this, M2 chip technology helped the LEDs play nice with camera sensors, reducing the risk of moire patterning, color shifting or reflection hotspots. A contrast ratio of 10000:1 meant a strong separation between light and dark areas, giving images a sharper, more detailed effect.  

With the support of an INFiLED technician, the installation and calibration of the screens from scratch to full working studio took just two days. Part of this was due to INFiLED’s customer service ethos, but also to the availability of a local INFiLED support team that was on hand to help and guide at every stage of the project.

Room to Grow

With the new LED screen successfully deployed, Kanal 75 now has a future-ready studio that’s capable of supporting its current productions, as well as the experiments that Kanal 75 has planned for its creative testing phase. The installation delivered exactly what the studio required: outstanding visual performance, fast deployment, reliability, effective use of the limited space, and dependable local support throughout the process. 

“We’re really grateful that we teamed up with INFiLED. The sales team and technicians have been more than helpful throughout the project. We feel really confident in this product and we’ll keep on developing and evolving our TV shows.” 

Christian Bruns, Studio Manager, Kanal 75 

Got a teeny indoor space or a heritage site that needs brilliance without the bulk? Check out how the DBmk2 Series’ ultra-compact stacking system helped sensitively transform the historical Artillery Barracks in Murcia, Spain, into a techno-hub, or how the Series was used to create the mind blowing visuals of the K3 Reunion Tour in The Netherlands and Belgium. Want to chat through a project? Get in touch with your local INFiLED team today.