Description of the project

“Teleradio Moldova: backward technology? Far from it”
by Roberto Melis, project manager


I must admit that when they contacted us to bid in this international tender for the renovation of a nearly 1,000 sqm TV studio, I went almost reluctantly. I had to phone to ask for the exact spelling of the city to reach by plane for making the preliminary visit.

Teleradio-Moldova is the state television company of this small republic. The first surprise was that the studio had been built in 1977 using technology that the West still dreamt of at that time. It was equipped with 30 lighting suspension bars moved by motors that weighed over a tonne each, and Fresnel-lens spots with motorized yoke and focus. Everything was bulky, and with noisy movements yet still partly working.
At that time, how other televisions such as ZDF o BBC and RAI  were equipped?

I was surprised to discover both an advanced lighting technology for the times and an excellent knowledge among the qualified Technicians there. They  knew everything and had very specific questions about how to renew the studio. Their original goal was  beyond their budget, which was a fairly ample one by Western European standards in terms of lighting fittings in TV studios, but not enough for their aspirations.

So their competent engineers reached a compromise and the specifications were downsized accordingly.

In the studio, we mounted 24 light hoists and 6 cyclorama cloth hoists, all with 29 cm flat trusses, 60 motorized pantographs, 60 3-way motorized yokes (pan-tilt-focus) for thirty 2,000 W Solaris Fresnels, and another thirty 5,000 W ones.

We also installed seven moving motors running longitudinally on 7 beams along the studio, for raising/lowering the scenery. Last but not least, we installed eight motors that raise/lower the air conditioning pipes from 12.50 m to 3 m in height. 

The total added up to 112 motors and 60 motorized forks with colour-changers mounted on the Fresnels .

Everything is controlled by a single DMX lighting console, the “Road Hog” by High End Systems,  with a small back-up DMX console beside by ETC.  We supplied light consoles on their specific request. We fully respected the specifications, or “book of undertakings”, as they call it. Their technicians and engineers were constantly at our side during setup. To learn of course but also ready to raise any doubts about what we were doing. The installation of the Ethernet DMX was the subject of a friendly but detailed debate and they allowed us to install it only after they’d fully understood the philosophy behind it: that with only a few DMX splitters and a pair of hubs, it can manage over 1,000 DMX channels, including 2 dimmer racks in the new, spacious, beautiful dimmer room, up high close to the perfect and functional grid-level.

A general 800-A electrical switch board powers the two dimmer cabinets for about 150 channels (5 kW), the board of the direct sockets and the motor control panels in the grid-level.

Of course the utilities are not only on the hoists but fully cover the studio at ground level so as to power - whether directly or through dimmers - a set of Backlites asymmetric diffusers, the 220W ICE 4 cold lights, the 2000W and 650W Solaris Fresnel spot-lights, and other existing fixtures.

A touch of colour the Republic of Moldova is a great producer of quality wine, some glasses of which we raised to celebrate the end of another stimulating project!

Summary of products supplied and installed

24 Motorized hoists with power supply, for the 29cm section lighting trusses , and their DMX control

6   Motorized hoists for the trusses with 200kg load capacity,  and their DMX control

8   Motors for the air conditioning hoses, and their DMX control

7   Motors with load capacity of  250 Kg, , movable longitudinally across the Studio with motorized carriages, and their DMX control

1   General power cabinet 800A 

1   Power board for direct outlets

2   Power board for motors

30 I-beams IPE 120 for suspension of hoists

60 Motorized pantographs  with DMX control

30 3-way motorized yokes for Fresnel Solaris 2000W, with DMX control

30 3-way motorized yokes for Fresnel 5KW, with DMX control

15 Gel colour changers for  Fresnels Solaris 2KW 2000, with DMX control

15 Gel colour changers  for Fresnel 5KW, with DMX control

36 Fresnel Solaris 2KW

30 Fresnel 5KW

6   Fresnel Solaris 650W

6   ICE 4 Cool lights 220W

6   Backlite Diffusers 1KW

2   Dimmer racks for 138 5KW channels

1   Road Hog High End Systems lighting console

1   Smartfade ETC lighting console

Break down old Studio equipment Executive project for the new Studio
Electrical distribution to the utilities and to the hoists

General information


TeleRadio-Moldovais the state-owned national radio-TV broadcaster. It owns the TV channels Moldova 1 and TVMI and the radio channels Radio Moldova and Radio Moldova Interna?ional.

TRM was admitted as a full active member of the European Broadcasting Union on 1 January 1993, under its former name Radioteleviziunea Nationala din Moldova (RTNM).
The company was launched on 8 October 1939, as Radio Basarabia, the second radio station of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company.

In 1958, Nicolae Lupan became the first chief redactor of TeleRadio-Moldova.
Official web site : http://www.trm.md