[Earlie37]

Early37, Steve in Pudsey, thank you for clarification and explanation!

Physical screens with the exception of Newsline in Belfast (a Nation not a region) who have extended their physical set with (very conspicuous) VR

Indeed, it was Northern Ireland set with its virtual wall(s?) complaints that put me off - although many English regions are more populated than Nations, the latter are considered more senior as they cover a lot more politics, so it is weird that NI remained with a partially virtual set while most of the English regions get 3 solid video walls.

NI has a similar set up to the English regions in that it has a monolith panel with three LED walls. However, as their studio is quite large, essentially the cameras can be turned almost 180 degrees in the opposite direction to the physical set. This is where the green screen is located. So essentially, you could say NI almost has a full box (i.e. three sides of LED screen and the last side is CSO). I suppose it was a cost effective way of extending what they have without splashing out on more expensive LED panelling. 

Will be intriguing to see what BBC Scotland do and if they do the same as NI with a CSO or if they can stretch to using more LED wall - I would assume they will be treated to a more 'grand' version than what the English regions are receiving.

But as you've noted, it is a nice surprise that the BBC are investing to this level with the regional sets. I think there is a huge intention this will be a long term investment (i.e. you can change the look of the set instantly if there's a new look / revamp), should hopefully last a long time and it will lead to cost savings with consistency too.

I think a lot of people were surprised at how large the Midlands Today set looks on camera - having LED walls that can go against the firelanes shows how much more space can be freed up with this design in the tightest of spaces. Will be intriguing how the regions with even tighter space will adapt.