| MIDDLE ATLANTIC PRODUCTS AND ASCENT MEDIA SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY PROVIDE END-TO-END ENCLOSURE/CABLE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS AT CNN'S STATE-OF-THE-ART STUDIOS
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, April 18, 2005 — In a showcase of its ability to provide broadcast industry professionals with the highest quality custom enclosure systems that incorporate sophisticated cable and thermal management techniques, Middle Atlantic Products today outlined the extensive array of custom rack enclosures installed at the state-of-the-art CNN Studios at the Time Warner Center Building in New York City. It is one of the city’s elite showcase buildings located adjacent to Central Park on Columbus Circle.
The system designer/integrator team was Ascent Media Systems and Technology Services, formerly AF Associates. The CNN/NY Studios are complex, and are unprecedented in size and scope for technical facilities that need to accommodate huge amounts of data for broadcast IT, as well as a large video technical facility. The Technical Gear Room, TGR, takes up a vast amount of space.
The Senior Project Manager in charge for Ascent Media Systems was Steven Sabin. “We have an excellent relationship with Middle Atlantic Products,” said Sabin. “They are willing to do custom work and fit our needs exactly. And for a design of this complexity, there was a lot of custom work required. On more than one occasion Middle Atlantic Products has come through for us.”
A brief overview shows the magnitude of the effort: it comprises 250,000 square feet, five studios, 23 graphics workstations and 18 edit rooms and is home to the New York Bureau as well as originating about half the network’s content. The systems in place to handle this load required more than 300 racks of equipment. Ascent Media Systems preloaded as many as they could at their facility in Northvale, NJ before bringing them to the facility at 58 th St.
One design requirement was that CNN wanted the racks to fit into limited available space so they turned to Middle Atlantic Products, which modified its broadcast racks for them. Beyond the special sizes required, there was also the assembly by Middle Atlantic Products of a polycarbonate grounding isolator built into the bottom of the racks.
An important element in the studios is the Media Operations Center, MOCs, which is where the video from the field is archived and loaded into the internal system. The visual design of this space called for a wall of rack equipment and monitors to conform to an elegant arched surface. The designers did not want a faceted appearance, but wanted the arc of the wall and its equipment to appear smooth. Middle Atlantic Products created custom spacers for the racks so the degree of arc across the back wall of the MOCs would have a graceful curve, even though it houses racks of square equipment like tape players or a large flat panel screen.
In the broadcast data center in the TGR, Middle Atlantic Products made custom cable management systems to feed wires to the data routers. Obviously cable management and thermal management are critical issues when you have such a large equipment center feeding the studios on multiple floors. As an example, there are 11 racks strictly for the Video servers with accompanying RAIDs.
In all, the massive studio complex represents a cutting edge achievement in engineering design for Ascent Media Systems and Technology Services and a triumph of cost effective, quick and application-specific enclosure design and manufacture by Middle Atlantic Products.
About Middle Atlantic Products
Middle Atlantic Products, Inc. is headquartered in Riverdale, New Jersey and is an ISO 9001:2000-registered leading manufacturer of state-of-the-art steel enclosure systems for a wide range of applications, including the broadcast, post production, commercial audio video installation, security, structured cabling and premise wiring markets. For over 25 years the company has been dedicated to the proposition that the enclosure system is as important as the equipment it protects. Middle Atlantic Products incorporates application-driven engineering into every system it designs in order to meet the individualized requirements of the broadest range of installers.
To request a catalog of Middle Atlantic Products full line of equipment and accessories, visit middleatlantic.com or contact: Middle Atlantic Products, North Corporate Drive, Riverdale, New Jersey 07457; Tel: (800) 266-7225 or (973) 839-1011; Fax: (973) 839-1976.
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