With the implementation of new technologies in schools, having a high-quality broadcast TV studio in place can help your school reach a wider audience and keep everyone informed and engaged. Whether your school is just starting from scratch or looking to improve an already existing broadcast TV studio, this informative guide will walk you through everything you’ll need to consider when it comes to cameras, camera accessories, lighting, audio gear, as well as live streaming equipment. We will be teaching you how to build, upgrade, and enhance a broadcast TV studio for your school’s morning announcements and news programs.

Camera

Image quality, autofocus performance, low-light performance, lens selection, and live streaming support are all crucial factors you should be considering when choosing the right camera for your school’s broadcast TV studio. A camera that meets these requirements allows you to produce high-quality, engaging, and informative content that captivates and informs the audience, making it an important investment.

Image Quality – A camera with good image quality is essential for capturing clear and detailed visuals. This is a critical element when producing engaging and informative morning announcements and other video content.

Autofocus Performance – Since your school’s broadcast TV studio will likely be staffed primarily by students — none of which being trained camera operators — having a camera with good autofocus performance will help ensure that the subjects within your video content remain in focus.

Low-Light Performance – Having a camera with good low-light performance allows you to capture clear videos with minimal noise, even under challenging lighting conditions such as dimly lit studio environments.

Lens Selection – Choosing the right lens is important when producing video content as the lens dictates what your camera’s field of view is. When choosing your camera, it’s prudent to invest in one that has a healthy selection of lenses available. This gives you a wealth of options to choose from depending on what you’re shooting — such as a wide-angle lens for establishing shots or a telephoto lens for close-ups.

Live Streaming Support – With live streaming becoming more popular than ever, choosing a camera with robust live streaming support makes it easy for your school’s TV studio to broadcast live events, news, or other content directly to remote students, interested parents, etc.

Audio

The audio quality of your broadcasts is just as important as their video quality. Subpar audio quality can be very distracting and makes it challenging for viewers to comprehend your broadcast. When outfitting your broadcast TV studio, take care not to overlook the importance of having good audio recording equipment in place. The most essential piece of audio equipment for a school broadcast TV studio is a good quality condenser microphone.

Condenser microphones come in a variety of form factors and sizes, ranging from desktop ones (like those commonly seen on late night talk shows), boom poles, or even compact, wireless options that can be warm on the presenter like lavaliers. Any of them will do a good job over the built-in microphone included with your camera. For the best results, you’ll want to connect the microphone(s) into a mixer or audio interface and have someone manage the levels, EQ, etc.

Whether or not to soundproof your studio is another important consideration as well. This will depend on the size and location of your studio, along with the amount and prevalence of ambient noise present within its vicinity. It’s always a good idea to minimize outside noses as much as possible — if not eliminate them altogether. Installing sound absorbing acoustic panels, soundproof curtains, and ensuring that all doors and windows are closed during recording/broadcast can be helpful to help keep outside noise to a minimum. In extreme cases, you may need to enlist the services of an acoustical engineer to address noise-related issues.

Streaming Outputs

In order to transmit its broadcasts to classrooms throughout the school as well as to an external audience, your broadcast TV studio will require a number of specialized live streaming hardware/software along with a stable high-speed internet connection. One of the most important pieces of the puzzle is a live streaming encoder. This essentially converts the video and audio feeds from your camera and audio equipment into a live stream that can be transmitted over the internet through the various live streaming platforms such as YouTube and Twitch.

Live stream encoders can be either a dedicated piece of hardware or software that runs on a computer (or even a combination of both in some cases). If your studio has a multi camera setup, you will also want to invest in a switcher as well to switch between the various video feeds. Additional cabling and networking equipment may also be required depending on your school’s broadcast TV studio setup.