TV Technology - January 7, 2009 - (Page 46)

BUYERS GUIDE USER REPORT WDSI-TV Updates With Digital Broadcast by Patrick Motley Chief Engineer WDSI-TV/WFLI-TV CHATTANOOGA, TENN. DSI-TV is a Fox-affiliate property of New Age Media, and in 2006 it was clear that we had to replace our outdated video server system. It had served its time and was so old that it was no longer being supported. We needed a way to air our spots and programming as efficiently as possible, and completely without tape. We found precisely what we needed with Digital Broadcast’s MediaFire automated master control system. We discovered that the MediaFire, with master control automation built into and totally integrated with the hardware, could perform a multitude of functions at a surprisingly low cost. The other systems with comparable capabilities that we examined cost far more than the MediaFire. The MediaFire package has worked W quite well for us. It’s been very easy to work with and operate. It interfaces bidirectionally with our traffic and billing system, allowing air schedules to be loaded into the MediaFire, played and reconciled back automatically. The system has been very stable, and our on-air look has been excellent. Most significantly, the system has streamlined our operations, especially with its interface to Pathfire syndicated programming. Patrick Motley CUTS PREPARATION TIMES The MediaFire takes syndicated programming directly and automatically from Pathfire without having to first dub to tape. There is no format conversion required at all. In addition, the MediaFire automatically segments the programs so there’s virtually no manpower required in the processing. The transfer from Pathfire is literally faster than real time. A 30-minute show can be transferred to the MediaFire in approximately 10 minutes, already segmented and ready to air. Needless to say, this has significantly reduced the man-hours formerly required for processing syndicated programming. MediaFire has certainly met and exceeded our expectations. Its multiple functions have eased our workload and freed our engineers from a lot of the prep work previously required. In fact, we are continually amazed at how little space it takes up, given the amount of functionality it possesses. When it comes to technical sup- port, we’ve been extremely pleased with Digital Broadcast’s performance. They have the ability to dial into our system, and can promptly and efficiently troubleshoot and resolve issues. When the time came earlier this year to acquire a server system for our CW affiliate, we had no problem in making a choice—another MediaFire. Some of our sister stations in the New Age Media group have followed suit and also purchased MediaFire systems. Our experience has demonstrated to them, as well as to us, that the MediaFire virtually takes the worry out of on-air spots and programming. Patrick Motley is the chief engineer at WDSI-TV/WFLI-TV and has been with that operation for four years. He may be contacted at pmotley@fox61tv.com. For additional information, contact Digital Broadcast at 352-377-8344 or visit www.digitalbcast.com. USER REPORT College Changes Workflow With JVC by Dave Dvorak Operations Manager Columbia College Chicago CHICAGO s the largest and most diverse private arts and media college in the country, the television department at Columbia College Chicago provides state-of-the-art technical facilities to offer classes that are hands-on and project-based so that students gain the technical skills needed to become a working television professional. For our Advanced Production and Editing program, we use nine JVC ProHD cameras packaged with DRHD100 HD hard disk recorders for field production and editing classes. Our students shoot anything from experimental projects to documentaries and narratives. A NO MORE TAPE Our primary goal in choosing JVC cameras was to go tapeless. We looked at a variety of cameras, but for this particular class. The new workflow eliminates tape decks in the edit suites. This is our first step into a truly tapeless workflow, from acquisition to post production. It’s very exciting for the students to be able to shoot and record to hard drive and output to a The JVC DR-HD100 hard drive ready for use QuickTime movie or eventually to Blu-ray. It’s JVC’s were the only ones that allowed definitely going to enhance things— us to record onto tape in HDV and to even the options that are available, a hard disk recorder simultaneously. such as different frame rates and difJVC’s DR-HD100 hard drive ferent resolutions. And that’s the great recorders enabled us to go tapeless; thing about a tapeless workflow—we however, if there are any issues or now have options that tape couldn’t just for peace of mind, we still can give us. record to tape as a backup. That’s something none of the other camera BR-HD50 DECKS ARE WORKHORSES manufacturers could offer. In the future, we’re planning to We’re really trying to focus on having our students’ record straight upgrade our output options. But in to hard drive and import files into the interim, we’re utilizing JVC’s BRour Avid Media Composer or Final HD50 decks so that students can Cut Pro editing systems for post pro- archive their projects back to tape. duction. We have nine editing bays We’ll use the decks to play out via HDV over FireWire. The other nice thing about the BR-HD50 decks is that we have tons of legacy standarddefinition DV footage that we’re going to be using for quite some time. Having a deck that can playback and record in both SD and HD is very handy for us. The decks give us flexibility—we can use it for our intro and intermediate classes that are recording in SD and for the advanced classes that are recording in HD. The students are given external FireWire hard drives so they can keep all their media secure. Right now we record in HDV because it’s cost-effective for us and we can use a standard DV tape, which still gives us that HD quality that we’re looking for. Dave Dvorak is the operations manager at Columbia College. He worked for CBS News and post production companies before joining the staff coming at Columbia. He may be contacted at ddvorak@colum.edu. For additional information, contact JVC at 800-526-5308 or visit 0 46 January 7, 2009 • TV Technology • www.tvtechnology.com http://www.digitalbcast.com http://www.jvc.com/pro http://www.tvtechnology.com

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TV Technology - January 7, 2009 NFL Enters a New Dimension Mobile DTV Looms Large in 2009 Contents A ‘Flexible Framework’ Doing More With Less ‘X’tra-Streamlined Finish Line in Sight for BAS Transition Ahead of the Relocation Curve DTV Transition Survival Guide ENG and the Lines of Communication DTV Transition Survival Guide Who Do We Really Work For? Obama to Expand Internet Access The Wizard Takes a Holiday The Solid-State Disk Revival To Light the Ear... or Not Hulu Gets It Right—the First Time User Reports—Video Servers & Recording/Controllers Reference Guide Product Showcase Classifieds Marketplace TV Tech Business

TV Technology - January 7, 2009

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