The largest TV broadcaster in China is now also the country's first to use Lawo's flagship mc 96 Grand Production Console - part of China Central Television's (CCTV) swift and ambitious uptake of 4K/UHD and IP operation. The audio console has been installed in CCTV's No.8 Studio in Beijing by systems integrator, the NDT Group.
Begun in July 2018 with installation work starting in November, the project is now complete and marks the second of CCTV's studios to be upgraded to 4K/UHD with IP technology. The mc 96 and two further Lawo mc series consoles in No.8 Studio (aka the 800m studio) follows three prior AoIP projects for China's national state broadcaster undertaken by Lawo, perfectly demonstrating that the German technical pioneer's AoIP solutions are proven, safe and stable on the most high-profile of international broadcasters' stages.
The renovation of CCTV's 800m Studio audio system was handled by our long-term partner NDT, and finished mid-Jan 2019, says Lawo System Engineer Sam Zhang. As soon as it was finished, it was given a major mission - broadcasting the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, which is the largest live show on Chinese New Year's Eve, with 1.3 billion watching. The 800m Studio produced the 4K/UHD signal; the first time the Spring Festival Gala has been broadcast in 4K. The new system did the job perfectly.
The CCTV audio engineers chose AoIP without hesitation, since they believe IP is the future and they trust Lawo, adds System Engineer Bai Shi, of Lawo's Beijing Representative Office.
With many music shows and full bands recorded here, the new audio system for the 800m studio comprises three mc consoles - the 56-fader mc 96 for broadcasting, a 32-fader mc 56 for FOH, and a 40-fader mc 36 for monitors. The consoles share more than 300 analog and AES3 signal feeds, along with10 MADI feeds via two IP switches. Additionally, five Lawo Power Core remote production solutions and two A__madi4 units translate baseband signals into RAVENNA/AES67 streams and vice versa. Without AoIP, accommodating such a high signal count would be both difficult and costly.
CCTV places a very high value on operational reliability, with both the mc 96 and mc 56 consoles' HD Cores being fitted with redundant DSP and router cards. The mc 96 will also provide a backup FOH feed, while the mc 56 provides a corresponding live backup feed.
All of No.8 Studio's RAVENNA/AES67 streams are protected by Lawo's use of the SMPTE ST2022-7 hitless merge protocol, with two identical IP networks providing system redundancy. The Power Core also provides MADI I/O, used to connect the HD cores of the mc 96 and mc 56 consoles. In the unlikely event of these switches going down, both mixing consoles can still receive important I/O from the Power Cores via MADI at the press of a single button.
Two of No.8 Studio's five Power Core stageboxes - each with 32 mic inputs - are located inside the studio in flightcases, with all analog signals from inside the studio to the audio equipment room fed via fiber - as an alternative to copper multi-core cables, this ensures that there is no loss of sound quality on their 50-meter journey.
The remaining three Power Cores in the audio equipment room are used to provide analog and AES3 I/O for wireless mics, and EFX and VTR, EVS, EXT signals. Two Lawo A__madi4 units act as AoIP interfaces for the studio's two Avid Pro Tools HD2 workstations via an Avid HD-MADI audio interface.
Based on a SMPTE 2110-compliant IP audio backbone, the A_madi4 is part of Lawo's A__line of audio interfaces, providing connectivity in distributed locations and can be readily adapted to any change in CCTV's requirements as it can scale audio I/O capacity in a networked system, either temporarily or permanently. It also supports two MADI ports on SFP coaxial connections, and has two Dual Media RJ45/SFP 100/1000Base-T Ethernet ports for streaming and control.
The two A_madi4 units also work as the PTP (Precision Time Protocol) clocking master for the audio system, receiving word clock from the studio's video system and translating it into PTP for the AoIP network.
We found the A_madi4 is a great PTP grand master device, says Sam Zhang. It's not designed to do so, but during the completion of several AoIP projects, we have found it does work perfectly as PTP Grandmaster.
The studio is now taking care of normal daily work, mostly music shows with singers and bands, he reports. The CCTV audio engineers are happy with the new system; it's not only powerful and flexible, it also looks fantastic.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
12/05/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, has appointed Randy Koeman as Sales Manager, Netherlands, marking anot...
12/05/2026
Taiwan Television has expanded its HD content ingest workflow capabilities by investing in the PlayBox Neo Suite - a leading multi-channel multi-server UHD/HD/S...
12/05/2026
Jigsaw24 is strengthening its media team with the appointment of Tom Laker as Client Director and Ashish Chauhan as Project Manager. These strategic hires bring...
12/05/2026
Broadcast playout leader showcases hybrid IP infrastructure and workflow automation with Videoland deployment as regional benchmark...
12/05/2026
dzjinius, the all-in-one production management platform for the media and entertainment industry, will showcase its centralised approach to production workflows...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
The largest TV broadcaster in China is now also the country's first to use Lawo's flagship mc 96 Grand Production Console - part of China Central Television's (CCTV) swift and ambitious uptake of 4K/UHD and IP operation. The audio console has been installed in CCTV's No.8 Studio in Beijing by systems integrator, the NDT Group. 
