Rabat-based Maghreb Arabe Presse, the Moroccan state-owned news agency, has completed a transition to IP with the installation of Lawo broadcast technology in their radio production studios. Lawo’s Morocco partner, Casablanca-based LTS Network, did the installation.
The extensive technical update encompasses three radio and two TV studios, fully-based on IP technology. This is important because MAP presents international programs across five languages — Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Tamazight (the language of the Berber people) — and needs to access all audio sources available on the network at a moment’s notice.
LTS Network CEO Hassan Eddahbi explains: “The radio architecture comprises two control rooms, two small studios and another large studio that accommodates multiple guests. Lawo’s radio AoIP solution enables fast operation and an easy working environment for talent. The ruby consoles allow MAP to quickly switch between the different control rooms and choose the desired environments in record time, whether broadcasting live or recording for later use. They also make it possible to host all three studios simultaneously during a single broadcast. Working together with the Lawo team, we realized all the customer’s wishes for this project.”
Integrating the studettes
In addition to the ruby mixing consoles, MAP’s radio studios are fitted with Lawo Power Core DSP mixing engines and I/O nodes. These integrate the studios with adjacent voice booths, called “studettes”; the setup then interlinks the studios and studettes with MAP’s large Grand Studio with just the push of a button.
“The project’s requirements were quite challenging,” says Eddahbi, “We needed to match the new technical solutions and customer-defined workflows and fully integrate the overall network. The result, says Eddahbi, is that MAP’s new studios are now future-proof. “Choosing the ‘right’ network is very important these days, not only to serve the needs of the present but also to serve the needs of your audience in the future. With Lawo, MAP is well-positioned to meet whatever new challenges the future brings.”