UTV gear up for May elections

UTV have upgraded their graphics presentation facilities with three fully optioned Aston RED character generators in preparation for coverage of May's assembly election.

The units, which are fitted with integral VIP2 clipstores and HyperMoves animation options, are already in action for news and in UTV's new OB truck, with the third unit installed in the new central graphics area.

Sean Ferrin, the UTV Group Engineering Manager, said: "Software development for our coverage of the local elections for the Northern Ireland assembly in May is now well underway, and there is a production requirement to move up to a higher level of graphics. That means incorporating more live video and more sophisticated effects into our graphics output, and RED gives us this capability. We've found the interfacing to external databases very straightforward, and Aston's kit has always proved to be compatible with third party applications and equipment, so really it was a logical step for us to go up to the new range."

(GB)