Pappas stations KREN-TV and KAZR-TV bring workflow transparency to a new level

From its beginning, Pappas Telecasting Companies has been committed to being close to the community. Nowhere is there a better example of this dedication than at the newly launched studios for Pappas television stations KRENTV and KAZR-TV within Meadowood Mall, the largest regional shopping center in northern Nevada.

The 8500sq ft digital facility in Reno hosts one-hour local news production for both KREN-TV (English-language) and KAZR-TV (Spanish-language). Pappas completed the new design and build by leveraging the collective experience of its own engineering community and Professional Video Supply.

Project engineers put systems in place that make every station asset accessible from a variety of locations. This unusual remote-control capability — which relies on an Avocent KVM switching system, Black Box interfaces and a substantial CAT 6 infrastructure — allows for a much more efficient and modern production environment by minimizing the space needed while maximizing the use of workstations, staff and media assets.

Master control is now an automation control area, shifting control over quality and programming to the traffic and programming department, now responsible for QC, ingest, and automation operations. One or two operators move between news and traffic to check on automated processes such as recording of satellite feeds or to perform tasks such as trimming or cutting recorded clips. An Evertz multiviewer system and 40in LCD monitor installed in the traffic area enable staff to monitor on-air signals along with the playlist as it scrolls.

The native 1080i HD plant is built around the Omneon MediaGrid active-storage system, which provides fast and reliable access to up to 4000 hours of HD content, and a Utah Scientific UTAH-400 HD routing system, which handles routing of all signals around the facility. Canon XLH1 HD cameras are used in the studio, combined with a Ross multidefi nition production switcher. A Vizrt graphics system and an Edius Canopus HD edit system are linked to the active storage system.

For automation control, the station uses a Utah Scientific UTAH-400 router, along with an Omneon Spectrum media server system for playout, running under the control of Nverzion automation. The HD output is downconverted for SD broadcasts with Evertz conversion gear.

The station also has integrated holographic storage into its facility. The InPhase Tapestry holographic drive and media support the facility’s automated archive system, allowing users to record 35 hours of broadcast-quality video on a single disk at a transfer rate of 20MB/s, or just over four hours.