I’m More Highly Defined

Almost nothing that worked in an analog standard definition world works in a digital high definition world.

Yesterday was the day we switched to high definition at work. We’d already been passing network programming that way. Now nearly everything that originates inside our building is in high def too.

It wasn’t a painless transition. No one expected it would be. All things considered it went pretty well.

Because we were still on-the-air with our old control room some equipment couldn’t be tested fully until we made the final switch and things went to the transmitter. 99% of yesterdays problems should be solved today.

What most people, myself included, are stunned by is we needed to change virtually every piece of equipment! Almost nothing that worked in an analog standard definition world works in a digital high definition world. Runs of coaxial cable were pulled out and replaced by digital “Cat5” cable.

Our equipment room with its own air conditioning system and rack upon rack upon rack of gear is now loaded with PCs. The majority of our new equipment is powered by reasonably standard PCs configured for special use.

As a techno guy it’s all pretty exciting to see. Much of what I knew about how TV works is now wrong! Systems I understood thoroughly have been replaced. The learning begins again.

Do you really want to see me that clearly?

The New Control Room

The control room is just the most obvious addition in a project which will replace nearly every wire and piece of gear at the station. It’s a crazily complex project.

A new control room is being constructed at work. That’s actually an understatement because the control room is just the most obvious addition in a project which will replace nearly every wire and piece of gear at the station. It’s a crazily complex project.

Instead of the traditional broadcast switcher we’ll be using Ignite from Grass Valley. Think non-linear editor or PowerPoint for a live broadcast. It’s more structured than a legacy control room but it’s a whole lot less labor intensive which seems to be the goal everywhere nowadays.

Here’s a very short video to show you a little of where we are.