Studer Vista 7 digital audio consoles will play key roles in two major TV production facilities in France. A Vista 7 has recently been installed by TDF Video Services in Studio 102 in the Paris Maison de la Radio. And VCF, one of the largest TV facilities companies in France, will equip its newest and most sophisticated OB vehicle, Truck 21, with the first Vista 7 of its type ever installed in a mobile. 
The Vista 7 at Studio 102 is fitted with 50 faders and 5.1 multichannel monitoring. It can control up to 300 audio sources, and has 44 mic inputs, 84 line inputs, 48 analogue outputs and 34 AES/EBU ins and outs, the configuration of which may be changed as required. Each mic input has a splitter output from the integral Studer mic pre-amp to feed the hall PA console, and the 5 mic/line stage boxes, all with stage talkback, are fed via fibre optic MADI links.
Studio 102’s Vista uses Studer’s unique Vistonics control system, which incorporates knobs and switches within a colour LCD panel, providing a highly-ergonomic and totally-intuitive control surface – a major factor in TDF’s choice of console.
Studio 102 is France’s most legendary television studio. With its large stage and audience areas, it is famous for having been the home of the broadcasts of Guy Lux in the 80s. Today, the studio hosts many of France’s most popular shows, including Reservoir Prod and “Ca se discute.”
The Vista 7 commissioned for VCF’s new outside broadcast vehicle also features the Vistonics control surface. This one is fitted with 50 faders and can control up to 300 audio sources. There are 64 mic preamps, 48 of which are fitted in 2 remote stageboxes connected to the console via dual redundant fibre optic cables. The monitoring system is 5.1 multichannel, enhanced by the truck’s extremely sophisticated acoustics.
Jean-Louis Nathan, VCF’s director of audio, explains the choice of the Vista 7: “We chose Studer because it satisfies our three main criteria – reliability, flexibility and good ergonomics. Reliability is vital because we have many live broadcasts and nowadays TV stations do not accept any failures whatsoever. We know that the Vista 7, although it’s a new concept, is based on D950 technology which has largely proved its reliability.”
“We work with a key group of audio engineers and the intuitive Vistonics control surface enables them to become fully operational very quickly,” continues M. Nathan. “Also, the very open architecture of the Vista 7 allows easy transitions between very different types of programmes such as sports broadcasts, live concerts and multitrack recordings.”
Truck 21, one of the largest TV mobiles in Europe, will accommodate 30 cameras, 11 VTRs and 11 video servers. It is digital throughout. With sides fully extended, it provides 78 sq.m. of working area, with seating for 34 operators, and is expected to provide facilities for much of Canal Plus’s sports broadcasting and other major broadcast events such as the NRJ Music Awards.
The specially-commissioned tour truck that Euphonix has been driving around the U.S.A. since last September, demonstating its MaxAir digital console and other digital broadcast equipment, is heading west for the next leg of its current 77-city circuit.