The anticipation was almost too much; as the large truck backed into the Broadcast Beat Studios loading dock, a swash of joy overcame me; the studio was about to get its control room console – and while I consider the server as the brains of the operation, the brains aren’t anything without the central nervous system.
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As they started unloading, I examined the inside of the truck; my eyes widened as I realized how much there is to a TBC Console. The truck was extremely well packed, and every piece of the console was well–padded.
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It was almost overwhelming; to think – there it was: Broadcast Beat’s custom TBC Console. The studio was about to receive its most important part; the part that controls all the other equipment and literally makes the studio a studio.
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I stood in awe as I watched each of the pieces come off of the truck, each wrapped in its own protective padding.Carefully the pieces were unloaded, destined to become the most awesome piece of equipment at the studio – the nerve center.
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Here were two pieces of the console that were soon to be installed so that they can hold monitors. When I saw them, I immediately imagined what they would look like. Faster, guys! Unload faster!
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Piece after piece was unloaded out of the truck; with the handling of each piece, I was putting the console together in my mind. I didn’t worry though; the modular design of the console should make it easy to assemble.
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More pieces unloaded – and now a cart to escort the body of the console into its final resting place; seeing the cart made me more expectant for the body of the console to appear.
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As each piece was brought into the studio, the protective padding was removed, revealing more and more of the beautiful handcrafted piece of furniture.
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Every piece was painstakingly labeled with a tag stating where it belonged. Because of the expert details such as this, I was sure that assembly would take very little time – especially since I was so excited.
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Here it was – and not a moment too soon! The main body of the IntelliTrac console, carefully wrapped like a beautiful Christmas present – a present that I was certainly too eager to rip into!
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As they were moving the IntelliTrac console off of the truck, I looked behind it – there certainly were a lot of boxes! I stood there: transfixed at all the parts that were soon going to be my console.
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As I stood there, admiring all the pieces, the unloading process continued. Box after box, piece after piece, all of them wrapped, banded, protected with cardboard, protected with padding, but all labeled for easy assembly.
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With most of the pieces off the truck, it was time for some serious assembly. Now all we had to do was move all of this from the back of Broadcast Beat Studios to the control room – at the front of the building.
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Cartload after cartload brought the pieces together as they once had been in the truck. The once empty control room, which had plenty of room to move around in, was soon littered with pieces of the console – it was time to put it all together.
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I had to admire the main IntelliTrac console pieces; as I stood there, I could see it all put together, finished, and up and running. At least, in my mind I could! I couldn’t wait to get started…
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I stood at the far end of the room looking at the IntelliTrac console. In a couple hours, this was going to be beautiful! (Between you and me, though, it already was a beautiful thing!)
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Stepping to the other end of the room, and looking back, I could see the boxes that contained the Tracwall. I knew that the TracWall was going to have to be put up first. This is the essential piece of the console that holds all the monitors.
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As you can see, each piece had its green identifier tag, outlining where it was supposed to go. From my experience with TBC consoles, I knew the assembly was going to be easier than it looked. And, of course, I was right!
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The hallway was a good place to store the many parts, in order to have some moving around space inside of the control room. The IntelliTrac console, which was going to be the centerpiece of the room, was already in the room, albeit in pieces.
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Aha! The most important box of them all! The green tags show what important pieces of assembly hardware in this box, but the most important thing – the instructions! (I made sure to keep track of THIS particular box!)
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I’m glad that all the individually wrapped pieces inside the instruction box were also labeled with the familiar green tags! This was the box with all the little screws and bolts and nuts and various other things required to put the console together.
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Look at all the hardware! All packed neatly into the instruction box… I think, when looking into the box, there is many pieces in this box as there are larger pieces that need to be assembled! I didn’t put this box very far out of my sight!
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Now this is what I was looking for! Of course, this was back right on top of the instruction box – and I had to move it to look at all the parts. If you’ll notice on the front page, since each of the consoles is custom manufactured, this particular set of instructions has been created just for Broadcast Beat!
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Here are all the pages from the instruction manual – all laid out so that you can see them. It’s really a good thing that these were right on top in the box clearly marked instructions, or else the box may have been lost with one of the other boxes!
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As you can see, from this close-up view of one of the pages, all of the measurements of the console and all of the assembly instructions are very well detailed. And now, with the instructions in hand, we begin the assembly.
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With the instructions close at hand, as you can see them spread out where I’m working, the first pieces of the TracWall are set into place. From this initial stage, it doesn’t look like much – but I assure you, it’s going to be the cat’s meow!
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Another green tag clearly identifies this piece as part of the TracWall. You’ll also notice underneath the name on this particular tag it says “Upright #1” so that I can quickly and easily place it where it belongs, per the instructions.
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A piece here, a piece there, and slowly the TracWall begins to form. Now where did I put that Upright #2 piece? I know it’s around here somewhere…
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Found it! And now the TracWall is beginning to look like a TracWall! Now, let’s see what other pieces we have to put in in order to really make it look like we made progress…
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Not sure you can see me very well behind my big smile! Can you tell how happy I am at this point? The assembly is going by like a breeze, everything is going into place quickly and easily, and now I’m even more bound and determined to get this finished!
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This view is looking into the center of the console itself, with the IntelliTrac countertop removed. I just put the racks into place, which will hold the equipment as we install it into the console. You can see how each console leg has been engineered specifically to not only support the console but all of the equipment the must rest inside of it.
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You can plainly see the racks for all the equipment, as well as the outlets for that equipment. The console has been very well thought out, and expertly designed and crafted. All of these inside pieces were very easy to apply, with the IntelliTrac countertop removed.
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Here I am, consulting the easy to read diagrams to ensure that I’m putting the pieces together properly. The assembly was going so quickly and easily that I had to remind myself to look at the instructions to make sure I was on point.
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The countertop seem to have as many parts as the entire rest of the console and TracWall unit! But here I am, making sure that each part is in its place.
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Here it is so far – the TracWall and the IntelliTrac console. Everything is coming together so nicely, but you know – the TracWall needs more monitors! I wonder what we can do about that?
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Ah – here’s a monitor! Attaching the TracWall components in order to hang it on the TracWall was very quick and painless. As a matter of fact, I think mounting the monitors was the fastest part of the entire process!
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The hallway – this is where we find still more monitors! Well, that’s only because that’s where I put them… Placing the monitors on the TracWall was so quick that I had to have the monitors in a handy spot.
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Here it is so far! We’re getting closer than ever to having it completed! Now we need to do is move the console of the closer to the TracWall to check the spacing, and then we can continue with the installation process.
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Taking a step back, admiring all the work we’ve done thus far, and you can see as I did what a beautiful, beautiful unit TBC has crafted! But there’s still some parts missing… Now where are they?
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Here they are! Rushworks VDesk equipment and software box. Once this gets installed, will really be cooking with gas!
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More instructions! Before getting down to the wire of being finished! Just a few more components to add, and the control room will be complete. It’s already in the final stages of completion…
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The control panel – this is what truly makes the console look as though it’s in a broadcast television studio! What I unpacked and installed this into the console, it brought tears to my eyes…
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More Rushworks VDesk components…
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It’s this device that is going to help us display our virtual studio and graphics.
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Here is the VDesk up and running! With its very own place within the console, it is a very welcome piece of equipment.
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And now I have to run the wires so that the console can speak to all of the rest of the equipment in the studio. I’ve stretched out the cables in the hallway, because the control rooms at one in the studio and the actual studio space is at the other end of the studio.
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As you can see, we have a very long hallway! Naturally, with the control room at one end and the studio at the other, there’s going to have to be some very long cable runs.
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Here I am out back, running cables…
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Me again! There are so, so many cables!
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Okay… With all the cables run let’s go back to the control room and start turning things on…
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As you can see, the monitors are quickly reacting to the new signals now feeding them. With communication occurring between the control room and the studio, it looks as though everything is correctly assembled.
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The screens are coming on, showing what the cameras are picking up in the studio. Everything is in place, and seems to be operating at peak efficiency.
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Finally, here it is – the TracWall with all its monitors, the console with all of its equipment and monitors, and my chair sitting squarely in the middle, giving me full range of motion and total control over Broadcast Beat Studios.
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Thank you, TBC consoles, for an outstanding job at engineering, creating, and delivering a superb control center console – not merely the nervous system as previously described, but the very heart of Broadcast Beat Studios.
About TBC
Founded in 1988, TBC began with a specialty in broadcast and video production consoles including command centers and process control rooms. They continue that commitment today with expertise in height-adjustable desks, technical furniture, control rooms, edit consoles, graphics consoles, broadcast furniture, and more. They have also expanded their expertise to include security and network operations, transportation, power utilities, dispatch, healthcare, and other applications of our products. They also supply a wide variety of monitor arms and other accessories. Their focus is building consoles, from single operator desks to sophisticated control rooms; they provide the products and the expertise to create ergonomically correct and organized workspaces that lead to greater efficiency, productivity and personal performance. TBC has a deep commitment to customer satisfaction and innovation. Their staff includes highly experienced designers, engineers, project managers, CNC operators, craftsman, laminators, and metal workers all geared toward producing The Best Consoles and quality technical furniture to meet their customer’s needs. Their company headquarters in Long Island, New York includes over 30,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Explore the possibilities of the optimal interface between people and technology by visiting their website: www.tbcconsoles.com/Default.aspx
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