Sky News’ new HD production control room will be based around a Kayenne switcher and two K2 Summit servers following a deal agreed between BSkyB and manufacturer Grass Valley.

The Kayenne Video Production Center is a family of modular production switchers available in configurations from 1.5 M/Es (mix/effects) to 4.5 M/Es.

The K2s will integrate directly into the switcher’s control system to allow the immediate update of banners, straps and on-air graphics, a move that will enable Sky to continually refresh the on-air presentation in a dynamic manner.

At the same time a production studio will be kitted out with 12 Grass Valley LDK 8000 Elite WorldCam multiformat HD cameras.

Jon Bennett, the head of studio output at Sky News said: “As we intend to be the first news channel to go HD in the UK, we wanted to make sure we had the right equipment in place to make a significant impact in the history of news television.

“The performance and reliability of Grass Valley’s equipment has served us well in the past, and we look forward to many more years of fruitful cooperation with this new installation.”

Sky News HD will be simulcast alongside Sky News’ existing standard definition channel. It will launch in Spring 2010.

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