[Moz]

Wonder if they’ll be in E from 3?

[oscillon]

Wonder if they’ll be in E from 3?

Nope, Geeta is in C, so that photo with Matthew(?) must have been from rehearsals before the return.

[DTV]

So basically a set refresh on a par with when they changed the screens in 2018.

Frankly, for a set that's already more than 11-years-old, this is a missed opportunity and tempting fate a little. There will be core parts of that set that don't have long left in their working life and will be functionally irreplaceable. I know that the partial refresh will be argued for on cost grounds, but this is exactly the kind of half-job that ends up costing more in the long-run. If, or more likely when, parts break down, repairs will be costly, disruptive, difficult and potentially even impossible due to products being discontinued.

[Lec_Ver16]

I don`t understand why they took so long for this kind of refresh. This is a job that could have taken only one weekend.
Unless they plan to launch it with some kind of change on the schedule...

[Keith]

I don`t understand why they took so long for this kind of refresh. This is a job that could have taken only one weekend.
Unless they plan to launch it with some kind of change on the schedule...

My understanding from insiders on here is that there have been upgrades to the gallery, and other behind the camera bits. This might also explain why they're doing some rehearsals, ensuring everything is working and that everyone is familiar with using any new bits of kit.

[harryb]

Nope, Geeta is in C, so that photo with Matthew(?) must have been from rehearsals before the return.

Did I miss something here? What is the photo of Matthew?

[oscillon]

Did I miss something here? What is the photo of Matthew?

Well, that appears to have been taken down for whatever reason, but there was a photo earlier in the thread of a refurbished Studio E with, presumably, Matthew Amroliwala at the desk.

[Moz]

Did I miss something here? What is the photo of Matthew?

Sorry. I was advised it was best to take it down by someone quite important.

[interestednovice]

So basically a set refresh on a par with when they changed the screens in 2018.

Frankly, for a set that's already more than 11-years-old, this is a missed opportunity and tempting fate a little.

I very much take your point DTV, however I suspect with BBC finances as they are this was still seen as, overall, cost effective. I imagine the plan will now be to literally run the set into the ground and, if anything breaks, simply work around it (as much as possible) as they did with the newsroom hoop.

So if the Furios stopped working, for example, we’d likely just have fixed static shot presentation instead.

It sounds like (at least some) gallery equipment actually has been upgraded so at least those elements of the setup should now have several years left. The view is probably that they will then be able to put out some kind of broadcast from the gallery for a long time to come, and the studio can be left to decay in-situ, as they use it.

Hardly ideal, as you say, and in some ways a sad indictment of the current state of BBC News, but in some ways understandable.

I’ve always loved how E appears on-screen, so personally I’m not mad at the decision to leave the set largely as it is, even though I realise it’s not great from a technical perspective.

[bkman1990]

Does anyone notice the sound being a bit muffled on the Six with Sophie Raworth in Studio B?