MBC, MAURITIUS’ NATIONAL BROADCASTER, MODERNIZES WITH WINMEDIA SOFTWARE

During the summer of 2023, the WinMedia team (Benjamin, Christophe, Adrien, Maxime, Philippe, Coumarène) installed its WinCam broadcast software and filmed radio system at Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). Already aware of the benefits of WinMedia software, MBC chose the company’s proposal after an international call for tenders. The installations focused on MBC’s headquarters in Moka and the antenna on Rodrigues, the smallest island in the Mascareignes archipelago, a few hundred kilometers east of Mauritius. In the space of a few weeks, MBC has gone modern.

Since 2011, MBC Radio has been operating from its current premises on the Moka site, with a staff of 150, including some 30 radio technicians (notably for recording, routing and technical assistance) working in the control room and CDM. MBC operates two AM channels (Radio Mauritius in French and Creole, and Radio Mauritius in Hindustani and regional languages) and 3 FM channels (Kool FM in English, French and Creole, Best FM, a Bollywood music channel, and Taal FM in Hindustani and regional languages). MBC broadcasts in French, English, Hindi and Creole. The Moka site infrastructure comprises 4 open-space studios and 3 studios with control rooms and guest sets.

In Rodrigues, MBC operates an FM channel with 2 radio studios: an on-air studio and a back-up studio also used as a recording studio.

THE MBC PROJECT WITH WINMEDIA

WinMedia responded in parallel with Eurocom to MBC’s call for tenders. The WinMedia solution was chosen by MBC’s technical and financial managers. WinMedia’s sales teams had been in contact with them for over 10 years, so as to fully understand their needs, present them with the latest innovations and stay in tune with their expectations, thanks in particular to regular visits by Stéphane Tésorière, Director. “This enabled us to be in the know when the call for tenders came in.“explains Benjamin Gianelli, Project Manager for WinMedia, who managed the project. “Since they knew about our products and their potential, they wanted to modernize; we had an advantage because they knew how they were going to use them.“.

The project involved both the renewal of the broadcast park and the equipping of the studios. We therefore proposed a joint WinMedia/WinCam solution in response to the call for tenders. “When we learned that we had been selected with Eurocom, we worked hand in hand: Eurocom managed its part, which was the audio over IP, the consoles, the microphones, the refurbishment and the work in the studios; we carried out the IT part and the network part. Eurocom and I are used to working together, especially since WinMedia software and solutions are designed to work with DHD consoles.“.

WINMEDIA’S ON-SITE INTERVENTION

“With the WinMedia team we were the first to arrive in Moka and immediately installed a complete new network to today’s standards, with shielded Category 6 cables and fiber optics to interconnect the main studios ,” explains Christophe Le Kouidec, WinMedia’s Technical Director. “Once the network was in place, we set up a server room in which we installed our main server and our backup server, which host the entire radio database and all the media files, i.e. all the sounds played on air. The system is networked to all the studios. Each of the 9 studios in Moka has its own broadcaster, so WinMedia broadcasting software is on the air for each station.
At the same time, we equipped the studios with 4K cameras and our WinCam automatic video production management software for filmed radio. The WinMedia connection enables automatic production based on the speakers on set, real-time publication on social networks and preparation and recording of video podcasts.“.

WINMEDIA SOFTWARE, A LEVER FOR MODERNITY

In all, WinMedia installed 4 cameras per studio. Then 13 broadcast stations were installed, including 2 in Rodrigues. On each site there is a main server and a backup server with data transfer between the two sites: a point-to-point link between Moka and Rodrigues enables MBC teams to exchange data directly into the WinMedia system: for example, advertising campaign files, new music, news, files for newspapers. “This is precisely where we have brought modernity to MBC: before, the teams used to transfer files using airlifted hard disks. We’ve also added a modern touch with video filming: the cameras in the studios are connected to the WinMedia software and to the consoles for audio detection, which wasn’t the case at all before! As a result, the system is able to detect the person speaking and put them on the air without a director! MBC teams are already looking to add more cameras to their studios.“says Christophe Rossi, technician and trainer at WinMedia.

WINMEDIA TEAMS IN MAURITIUS

Adrien Mejane, technician and WinCam specialist trainer, explains: “there were a good dozen of us on site for the WinMedia part. We had two full-time trainers from La Réunion and Mayotte and a third from France, then three installers, and finally all the people who helped build the network. We were never all there at the same time: we took turns depending on the two sites to be equipped and the different stages of the installation: work, commissioning, support, training. We also relied on local partners (Arnaud and his team) to provide the manpower for the network.“.

UPSTREAM PREPARATION

Before the two-month on-site installation, there was all the upstream preparation for the network driver, over a period of two to three months. “For the transport of the equipment, we made an agreement with Eurocom, who managed the transport part, collecting our prepared equipment from our warehouses and putting it with their own equipment in a large shared container, which was then shipped to Mauritius.“.