According to a recent study commissioned by the Royal Mail, two-thirds (65%) of UK SME craft and design retailers have seen an increase in their sales over the last 12 months. This comes as no surprise to Hochanda TV, one of the UK’s leading craft TV channel dedicated to Crafts, Hobbies and Arts. Hochanda has recently expanded with a second, state-of-the-art TV studio at its headquarters in Peterborough, UK, which was designed, built and installed by Trickbox TV.

This is the second time that Hochanda has enlisted Trickbox TV’s studio installation and broadcast systems integration services. When the channel launched in September 2015, Trickbox provided the design and installation of a new studio in Peterborough, from concept through to build, commissioning and launch, within an 8-week time frame. Seven months after Hochanda launched, Trickbox moved the facility to a new building in Peterborough where both studios are now based.

The equipment supplied by Trickbox for the new studio, which was installed without any programme interruptions, provides Hochanda TV with a fully integrated studio and control room including: A Ross Video Carbonite vision mixer; expanding Hochanda TV’s existing Ross Video NK144x144 router; Ross Video openGear signal processing; Ross Video PIVOTCam remote cameras; Sennheiser mics and IEMs; and a Playbox playout system. The control room furniture supplied by MW Video was custom designed to suit Hochanda TV’s unique operations. The project also included an upgrade of the existing camera robotics (in studio 1) to Ross Video CamBot robotic camera systems.

Stuart Russell, Senior Communications Manager with Ross Video says, “We are delighted to work with Trickbox on this second project for Hochanda TV. Our range of Smart Production solutions – arguably the most comprehensive in the industry – makes it easy for broadcasters to create engaging and compelling content; the fact that Hochanda has chosen to work again with Ross and Trickbox is complimentary proof of the fact.”

Trickbox TV’s Managing Director, added, “We’re very happy to have been able to assist Hochanda TV with this further expansion. The studios provide state-of-the-art facilities for shows on-air 24/7/365, played out in HD across multi-language regions on Sky, Freeview and Freesat and on Hochanda.com.”

Trickbox TV has applied its System Integration expertise to design and build a studio for the new 24-hour arts and crafts, Hochanda TV (Home of Hobbies, Crafts and Arts).

Launched in September 2015 across multi-language regions, the channel boasts 365 day transmission to Sky, Freeview and Freesat, with live broadcast 12 hours each day covering an array of hobby categories including DIY, kitchen, crafts and gardening.

Within an eight week timeline, Trickbox TV provided the design and installation of two brand new studios in Peterborough, from planning and design through to build, commissioning and launch within the tight time frame. Panasonic remote cameras and Ross Video were among the headline equipment used, including a Carbonite vision mixer, 144×144 video router and Ross openGear signal processing and glue cards. Additional equipment included a Trilogy intercoms system which is intuitive to learn and use, and can scale up as the channel grows.

Since it broadcasts across multiple countries, Hochanda TV also benefits from automated live audio translation and variations of graphics across the different regions.

Trickbox TV went up against other companies for the pitch and was ultimately chosen due to its flexibility and understanding of Hochanda’s requirements. David Taaffe, Head of Television at Hochanda TV said, “Trickbox TV really took the time to listen to the needs of the channel and worked with us, responding to any concerns with innovative alternatives.”

“Working with Trickbox TV has been great, we were really impressed with the efficient installation of the new studio facility in such a short time frame and their ability to respond to last minute changes,” David Taffe continued, “Trickbox TV was very approachable and worked around the clock to resolve any teething issues.”

Watch Hochanda TV at www.hochanda.com