CBC/Radio-Canada Chooses ETL’s RF Equipment For State-Of-The-Art Broadcast Centre 

CBC/Radio-Canada’s new production center in Montreal has been fitted with ETL Systems’ RF distribution equipment to help ensure the reliability of RF signals being carried from the antenna parc, located on the rooftop, to the satellite reception facility.

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. As Canada’s trusted news source, CBC/Radio-Canada offers a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Its broadcasting facilities need to be supported with reliable RF equipment for a consistent and uninterrupted broadcast feed.

The new 420,000 square foot, state-of-the-art Maison de Radio-Canada will broadcast 13 radio stations and CBC’s French-speaking arm with 20 TV channels and 80 radio channels operating out of the hub. The new center is completely fiber based; IP has become a core focus for many broadcasters as they look to create more flexibility and reliability in their operation - especially in the wake of Covid-19.

The careful design of the new Maison de Radio-Canada means every piece of RF equipment and component was specifically chosen to reduce downtime to a minimum and ensure continuous, strong signals to support the public broadcaster’s entertainment and news output.

ETL’s RF distribution equipment was supplied through its partner Consultation Pefau Consulting, which it has worked with since 2016.

The RF equipment for this project was chosen because of its redundancy capability, scalability and longevity as the production facility will serve the broadcaster for years to come. The project included ETL’s Hurricane 64x 64 RF switch matrix (HUR-10) equipped with active fiber optic input modules, L-band Alto line amplifier and 8, 16 and 32-way single L-Band Active Dextra splitters.

Speaking about the project, Bill Pryle, RF Consultant at ETL Systems, says broadcasters are having to upgrade infrastructure to meet the ever-growing demand for news, information and entertainment. He said; “During the last 5 years, lots of broadcasters, especially in North America, have either upgraded or moved broadcasting facilities to expand, improve or ensure the quality of service being provided. In CBC/Radio-Canada’s case, its new facility in Montreal is state-of-the-art and has moved the broadcaster towards IP, which will support its broadcast of huge one-off events or regular local ones, as well its ability to essentially transmit channels and information anywhere at any time.

“That’s why CBC/Radio-Canada wanted to ensure all RF equipment used in its new facility met stringent requirements around reliability and could work hand-in-hand with IP. ETL’s RF matrices, RF amplifiers and RF splitters met these criteria and will play their part in distributing the satellite signals to the satellite receivers - to ensure continued quality coverage.”

The Maison de Radio-Canada is the second project on which CBC/Radio-Canada has used ETL’s RF distribution equipment after working with the manufacturer on the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto in 2016, where ETL’s StingRay RF Over Fibre equipment is installed.