LSCC-TV chooses COMMAND Corporation

A top institute of learning continues the tradition of excellence in TV.

Backhistory 

For over two years, LSCC had been chomping at the bit to upgrade their television production and master control facilities.  Sure there were low-cost, PEG-centric solutions that they could have chosen, but they really needed a broadcast level product mix.

In 2006 LSCC decided to lease their under-utilized ITFS signal which generated a new revenue stream for the college.  Terry Longordo, Chief Engineer, chose COMMAND Corporation to walk with them and help determine how best to utilize their funds.  At the first of the year, Terry finished specifying and the bid was released.

The Requirement

LSCC runs 24x7 on the local cable network and the college CCTV system.  The feed from the college to cable is fiber optic and the CCTV system is RF.  What they wanted to do was leverage their legacy infrastrucutre as much as possible to help stretch the dollar, while jumping into products that would grow with them.

Master Control

In master control they run three satellite receivers, a bank of SVHS decks, and sometimes DVD.  They were switching with a modified Crestron system.  They needed to replace the Crestron with a broadcast - grade automation, add a video server, and upgrade some of their test, processing, and monitoring equipment.

Production Control

In production control they needed to completely replace their cameras and switcher while adding CG, Clipstore, and an audio board.  Also, Terry was now tasked to produce the baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball, and theatrical events on campus.  This either required a flight pack, remote truck, or remote connectivity to those locations.  Terry chose remote connectivity.  In his case it was less expensive and allowed him to direct from the comfort of his control room.

The Solution

We were able to utilize much of his legacy equipment in order to reduce the cost.  For master control we chose NVERZION's entry level automation package, which is basically their full broadcast automation with the number of serial devices cut down.  To mate with that a 360 systems image server MAXX 250 was chosen because of its ability to work within a file based environment and at very low cost of ownership.  An ESE Time clock was added to MCR as well as a GIG-E backbone, and a new Sigma Router for switching.

The only thing left was to assist in the processing of the signal.  With some of the best specifications of any TBC/FS on the market, Ensemble Designs Bright Eye 5 was chosen to process his critical paths.

For production, Terry was pleasantly suprised that his new Hitachi Z4000W cameras arrived with new 14 bit processing which blows away any other camera in its class.  He also was pleased to see that the Broadcast Pix Slate 1000 had every feature he could possibly want in a production control room all at his fingertips.  And because it sits on the same GIG-E backbone, FTP of files between his editors, his switcher, and his server now is completely seamless.   A Yamaha O1V Version 2 was chosen to mix audio since it easily integrates with the switcher and provides more power per channel than most others.

Finale...

As I stated earlier, Terry chose the remote connectivity option for producing shows for the athletic and art departments.  Camplex was chosen so that Terry is able to direct all productions for LSCC-TV in the comfort of his control room not the heat of the announcer's booth.

They just completed their first production of the season, 08-28-07.

Camplex modulates the video, audio, control, and power onto one strand of RG-11.  Clark Wire and Cable provided us with the best spec cable for this project.  Reels of Camplex 2 HD flex RG-11 cable were chosen to connect the cameras to the drop locations.