Since Electronics and Communication Engineering course prepares students for a wide range of practical electronics jobs ranging from circuit analysis to digital design, control and robotics, studio tours at GMA7 and ABS-CBN2 could one of the relevant activities for ECE students.
GMA 7 NETWORK CENTER
The GMA Network Center is equipped with MARC (Multiple Automated Recorder Cassette) System with a D3 format digital video recorder and a Broadcast Automation System that allows the network to manage live feeds and international feeds that will be carried out to GMA Pinoy TV subscribers around the world.
The GMA compound has seven studios, three of which (Studios 1, 2 and 3) are in the new network center, two (Studios 4 and 5) in the new GMA Network Studios Building, and two (Studios A and B) in the old GMA Building. The Center serves as the Corporate Headquarters for the network and also houses radio stations DZBB and 97.1 Barangay LS, as well as the newsroom.
Although the Network Center was inaugurated in 2000, GMA has held office in its current EDSA headquarters since 1957, having moved from the Calvo Building in Escolta, Manila (where the network, then known as the Loreto de F. Hemedes, Inc., later renamed Republic Broadcasting System, had its first studios and corporate offices since its inception in 1950).
In 2006, On an 18,404-square-meter complex GMA built a 3,000-square meter 4-storey structure beside the old network complex. The structure houses two state-of-the art soundstages, one of which can accommodate up to 1,000 studio audience. The new building, dubbed the GMA Network Studios, also houses studio support and set construction facilities, technical equipment for broadcast and theater systems, props storage, garage areas, rehearsal rooms, talent dressing and makeup rooms, as well as administrative and production offices. A bridge also connects the new building to the rest of the compound.
ABS-CBN 2 NETWORK CENTER
ABS-CBN is principally involved in television and radio broadcasting, as well as the production of television programming for domestic and international audiences and other related businesses.
At the heart of ABS-CBN’s new capabilities are its technical equipment and systems. Consisting of a new master routing system. A 400×400 input/output matrix, has full stereo-audio capability and also provides additional levels of tally, serial control, machine control, and SMPTE time-code functions. The TOC houses 125 equipment racks providing space for a control system for studio and post-production; 200 stereo-audio distribution amplifiers; 325 video distribution amplifiers; a 2,880-position video patchbay; and a 3,380-position stereo audio patch field. The camera control center supports a total of 27 cameras, assignable to any studio. Linking the entire production and technical complex is a cable management system consisting of more than 50,000 meters (165,000 ft) of 8281 double-shielded coax cable; 106,000 meters (350,000 ft) of 8451 shielded audio cable; 5,000 meters (17,000 ft) of serial control cable; and 12,000 meters (40,000 ft) of triax camera cable. Post-production facilities include six computer-edit-equipped suites, with the 28 VTRs assignable to any suite. There are also an additional 18 A/B roll-edit suites. Each of the eight studios is equipped with a minimum of three cameras, with the capability of expansion to six cameras each. Individual studio control rooms include dual mix/effects switchers; dual channel DVE systems; 24-channel stereo-audio mixing boards; dual channel character generators; multichannel facility intercom; and remote serial machine control. New studio lighting includes remote-controlled motorized battens and a 3,200K SCR programmable lighting control system. This alleviated the requirement for lengthy testing and troubleshooting at the ABS-CBN Broadcast Center in Manila.
ABS-CBN’s facility is among the most sophisticated broadcast centers in the Pacific Rim and among the most modern in the world. It is capable of producing and airing multiple, simultaneous live and recorded productions (from and to any part of the world). The enhancement and digitalization of the Broadcast Center has enabled the network to respond to a diverse market’s rapidly growing demand for a greater variety of broadcast programming.
These two largest networks in the Philippines, the GMA7 and ABS-CBN2, are open to public, specifically to students who might want to learn more about communication systems.
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