Mexico City, Mexico (March 27, 2024)—Broadcaster Televisa has upgraded Studio 7 at its San Angel facility in Mexico City for 7.1.4 immersive production.
Studio 7 is the largest post-production room at the San Angel facility and proved to be the best space to convert. It had previously been a 5.1 room and it was the proportions that led the in-house installation team, working closely with Genelec’s Miguel Dominguez and local distribution partner VARI, to select it for the upgrade. Televisa has been a Genelec user for more than 20 years and there are approximately 200 Genelec monitors at San Angel’s post production complex.
Studio 7 has been equipped with seven slimline 1238 three-way monitors in the surround positions, comprising the room’s original five 1238CF models and two new 1238DFs. Four of Televisa’s existing 8351A coaxial three-way monitors were brought into the room to provide the height channels, with the original pair of 7271A subwoofers handling the low frequencies.
The San Angel complex was chosen for a new 7.1.4 room for immersive mixing and mastering, since it records on average 15 soap operas and television series every year, and is home to 16 digital studios, all capable of 4K production, and more than 20 editing rooms for video in HD and 4K.
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There are also 13 sound design and audio post-production rooms, as well as six rooms for recording, editing and foley. The addition of immersive production came from commercial demands: “The world expects content with this format,” states Rafael Alfaro, coordinator of audio engineering and projects at Televisa. “The most important TV production companies like TelevisaUnivision must have series that are Atmos-ready.”
Genelec’s GLM calibration software was key to fixing the challenges in the room, recalls Alfaro. “We used it to analyze, compare and make the adjustments to get the best response with the room automatically. It’s a marvelous piece of software, and the additional ability to perform manual fixes makes it even better.”
While Studio 7 was the first space to get the immersive treatment, it will not be the last. The current plan is to upgrade most of the facility’s 5.1 rooms to 5.1.4 or 7.1.4.
Televisa’s studio complex in San Angel is one of two in Mexico City, alongside the Chapultepec facilities and a third in Santa Fe. All three locations are led by engineer Elias Rodríguez, managing director of TV and operations.
