Blackmagic Design announced that Grupo La República, a leading media organization in Lima, Perú, has incorporated a full Blackmagic Design workflow including URSA Broadcast cameras, ATEM Television Studio HD live production switchers, Blackmagic Studio Cameras and more. The investment is part of a company wide digital transformation and laid the foundation for RTV, Grupo La República’s new digital television channel.

Grupo La Repubblica powers new multimedia news business with Blackmagic Design

Founded in 1981, Grupo La República is the second largest print and digital media organization in Perú, owning several print news publications including La República, El Popular and Libero. Recently, Grupo La República embarked on a digital upgrade by adapting all of its print content for its new digital platforms, including live news and sports programming via RTV.

“This digital transformation is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time, but to be successful we knew we needed to have the proper equipment,” said Alfieri Noce, chief technical officer of R&D at Grupo La República. “I’ve used Blackmagic Design gear in the past, so when we were ready to move forward, I advised on what we needed to make this happen.”

He continued, “The reason for implementing Blackmagic Design was very clear from the beginning. We needed budget friendly gear that also delivered the superior quality that Grupo La República is known for.”

Grupo La República started by incorporating three URSA Broadcast cameras to shoot several shows, including the political morning show “Sin Guión con Rosa María Palacios,” the sports show “Libero” and the pop culture entertainment show “Populovers.”

“A main factor for us in selecting the URSA Broadcast was the capability to use the lenses we already had, including older, after market HD lenses. With the URSA Broadcast, we were spared from having to repurchase an entire stock of lenses, which helped keep us on budget,” said Noce.

Additionally, Grupo La República has four Blackmagic Studio Cameras. “The Blackmagic Studio Cameras are extremely reliable and complement the URSA Broadcast cameras we have in studio,” continued Noce. “Some features that make the Blackmagic Studio Camera perfect for our productions is the 10” viewfinder, remote camera controls, the different input connections and how user friendly and intuitive they are.”

Grupo La República also implemented two ATEM Television Studio HD live production switchers which allow them to easily switch between cameras while shooting their RTV programming.

“Because of the dynamism of our shows, we need switchers that are reliable and easy to use. The ATEM Television Studio HD has really eased the production process for us, especially when switching cameras, zooming in and focusing on those details that we truly want to highlight during broadcast,” said Noce. “Another quality that impacted our decision when integrating them into our workflow was their compact design. Everything is so easy to control from the front panel, and they’re also super portable, so we can move them around as needed.”

Rounding out its digital upgrade, Grupo La República also relies on a SmartScope Duo 4K to monitor broadcasts, finding the waveform monitoring incredibly useful. Additional Blackmagic Design gear includes a Smart Videohub 20x20 router, SmartView 4K to monitor the program feed, and several converters, including Mini Converter Optical Fiber 12G and twelve Mini Converter SDI to HDMI 6G.

“Our goal for Grupo La República is to be fully equipped with Blackmagic Design gear,” Noce concluded. “We have two other studios in Perú, Chiclayo and Arequipa, that we’ll be taking some of our gear to as we purchase more for our Lima studio. That’s the great thing about Blackmagic Design, the price points allow you to expand your workflow as needed without hurting your budget.”

As Grupo La República’s digital transformation continues, the organization plans on rebranding RTV this year, launching it on its own independent website and fully relying on Blackmagic Design once again.

Info: www.blackmagicdesign.com.