Nara Television (located in Horen, Nara) completed their new company building that
supports terrestrial digital broadcasting and started operation of the HD studio / studio sub
with 5 cameras, 4 HD nonlinear editing rooms, and integrated server / bank system for
HD-SD program, commercials, and VAF. Their digital transmission station in Ikoma is still
under construction, therefore digital broadcasting has not yet started, but it should be
completed in autumn this year, and terrestrial digital programs in HD will become
simultaneously available with the existing analog programs sometime next year. Following
is an interview with Mr. Masashi Sawanishi (經營企劃室), who was involved in designing of
the new building (Nara was the ancient capital, therefore many building restrictions are
placed on constructing new buildings in the area) and maintaining of the terrestrial digital
broadcast facility systems.

■Q (FDI Editor): I was surprised at the design of the building when I drove through the gates
today. It was completely different from my image of a TV station�cI almost though that I
came to the wrong place. I was also surprised by the wood furniture and accessories in
the entrance hall. I cannot imagine how an HD studio, editing rooms, and master
storage could all be here. Does this new building come equipped with all the necessary
broadcasting equipments?
▲N (Nara TV): There is a strict list of building restrictions to protect the scenery of the ancient
capital. To maintain sufficient ceiling height of the studios, the middle part of the
building is 3-stories high, but to blend in with the surrounding environments, a big roof
was constructed, and on the outside, it appears as a 2-story building. Inside, local
Yoshino Pine was used lavishly.

■Q: Harmony of the bare concrete walls with the pine boards, the large roof, and the
vermillion pillars are very striking.
▲N: In addition to maintaining the balance with the surrounding environment of the ancient
capital, this building has the responsibility of announcing and transmitting local disaster
information in emergencies. All measures have been taken in this regard also,
including the building�fs anti-seismic structure.

■Q: Has terrestrial digital broadcasting been started with the completion of the new building?
▲N: No, all mains in the station from cameras to masters, including HD studio / studio sub, HD
nonlinear editing rooms, and integrated server / bank systems, supporting HD-SDI
terrestrial broadcasting has been prepared, but the digital transmission station in Ikoma
is still under construction, to be completed in autumn. Broadcasting should start in
spring 2006, after a period of test runs.

■Q: So you have decided to support HD terrestrial digital broadcasting within the TV station
before the completion of the transmission station.
▲N: The original company building and studios were too small for supporting terrestrial digital
broadcasting. We have decided to move the entire building to a new location, and
since its construction was started earlier, it ended up being completed earlier than the
transmission station. It was good in that it will give us an extra year to experience HD
production, and by the time the actual programs go on air, we will be able to produce
programs that will satisfy our viewers.

■Q: Whereas other stations may start by transmitting airwaves, your choice of setting up the
environment for HD production before the completion of the transmission station will
provide a guideline for those stations considering the transition to terrestrial digital
broadcasting.
Now, can you explain the design concept of the new building and its broadcasting
facilities?
▲N: Our goal is to become a community-based TV station. Our audience-participating-type
studios are placed next to the liberating entrance hall.
Contents Workshop

■Q: While I was waiting at the entrance, audiences were going in and out of the studio, so I
peeked in.
▲N: We are taping an audience participation-type program, but it is almost over, so I will give
you a tour. The concept of the broadcasting facilities of the new building is to portray
the whole building as a contents workshop, placing the studio at the center of the
building and the broadcasting facilities surrounding it. The studio is 230m2 x 6.8m high.
We have 5 sets of HD cameras, Ikegami Tsushinki HDK-75EX, and 2 sets of build-ups.
Maximum of 6-camera operation will be available. Cameras will be shared with the HD
relay van (to become available this summer) for the time being. Studio sub is on the
second floor with a 2MK configuration based on HD switcher and Ikegami Tsushinki
HSS-2000.
Audio uses Yamaha digital mixer DM-2000, recorded together with the images on Sony
HDW-S2000. The monitor wall has two 61 inch PDP, allowing monitoring on
multi-screens.

■Q: I have noticed that production has started using multi-screen monitors also.
▲N: I was a little uncomfortable about it before it was set up, but it actually doesn�ft seem to be
a problem. Even the masters are configured on multi-screen monitors.

■Q: Can you explain your HD program production workflow?
▲N: HDCAM tape recorded in the studio sub is taken to the HD editing room on the 3rd floor.
The studio sub can be used as a linear editing room, adding up to a total of four program
editing rooms in this building. The other three editing rooms are setup with Canopus
HD nonlinear editing machine HDWS-1000. We also have a commercial editing room
equipped with Canopus HD nonlinear editing machine HDWS-1000.

Digital Master

■Q: I understand that all programs are currently for analog broadcasting only; how are the HD
materials handled for master production?
▲N: Live video from studio sub is in HD-SDI, so it will be down-converted to analog (SD-SDI).
Data produced in the HD nonlinear editing rooms are converted into MPEG files stored in
the servers, using the filing console of the integrated bank system in realtime. This then
is readout on EDPS play list, but since the server simultaneously has filed HD and SD in
one filing operation, exporting can be executed without giving much thought to whether it
is in HD or SD. Currently, analog broadcasting uses HD16:0 video, and simultaneous
broadcasting is required until 2011, therefore captions are being created with the thought
of side-cutting them to 4:3 in the future.
Master has multi-rate switcher for terrestrial digital & analog broadcasting, so when the
digital transmission station is complete, output can be converted to MPEG2 format and
transmitted, for HD broadcasting. Main features of the transmission facility are the first
data server-less master facility (Toshiba) in Japan, and the integrated bank system
(Hitachi Kokusai Electric) which is also first in Japan. Up until now, transmission
equipment have been controlled by D3 on the master facilities side, but the data
server-less master facility provides simple operation and low-cost equipment
maintenance, allowing control from EDPS (Mitsubishi Electric). Program bank can file
150 hours of HD programs and SD programs for a total of 300 hours. The same server
is used by commercials, in which 1,000 commercials in HD & SD (total of 2,000
commercials) can be filed. All in one bank is now available, with audio files, still image
files, and video data all filed in one place, unlike how it used to be, where they were in
different systems.

■Q: That is why the master storage room was so organized! Which in-house production
program do you recommend the most?
▲N: We are currently producing around 14% of the programs in-house on a monthly basis.
Our main regulars are the news & information programs, [News on Stage] and
[Zakkubaran], and audience participation-type program [Weekly Karaoke-zanmai]. We
are currently preparing new in-house productions also.

■Q: You said that the future productions will be in HD, but what are your plans for HD and
news programs?
▲N: As for the news programs, our main concern will be speed, not image quality. Using our
seven DV cameras, we will be up-converting materials shot for a while.

■Q: Today, I visited Nara Television’s new building supporting terrestrial digital broadcasting
and covered their HD broadcasting system. I look forward to seeing your HD programs
on TV next year. Thank you.