Oklahoma City station finds (financial and technical) freedom with cellular transmission
Nov 10, 2011 12:15 PM, By Michael Grotticelli
KSBI reporters can get up close during an event and begin transmitting live HD video within minutes.
The use of cellular networks to transmit live video is gaining momentum across the country, and not just in the biggest media markets. KSBI-TV, an independent station in Oklahoma City, OK, is among the latest to take advantage of the freedom and immediacy that a single operator with a backpack transmitter can bring.
The station is using two TVUPack systems, from a company called TVU Networks, attached to Panasonic 430 P2 HD camcorders to shoot local sports and entertainment events and stream a 1080p/30 signal back to the station live. The station does not produce a newscast, but it does broadcast 17 hours per week of local programming (both live and taped in the studio), as well as syndicated shows.
The TVUPack system supports all of the major cellular carriers by adding receiver cards as needed. For about $6000 per year, KSBI subscribes to both AT&T and Verizon, which both offer 3G and 4G service in the Oklahoma City area. If a camera operator pulls up to an event and can't get one service to work, he or she instantly switches over to the other.
“I just have to get a good signal from one service or the other, and we usually do,” said Jerry Hart, vice president of operations for KSBI. “In our world, the real challenge of compression is fast motion. With the TVUPacks, if I have about a 1.5Mb/s connection, we can show live football highlights, and you don't see any artifacts. It’s very impressive.”
The station produces two one-hour shows live in its studios that often include cut-ins from the field using the TVUPack. For one assignment, a camera operator covered the local Oklahoma State Fair and rode the Ferris wheel while transmitting live video. There was also a recent birth of a baby elephant at the local zoo and, while all of the other stations in the market had to use their microwave trucks to send back the story to the station, the KSBI reporter went live from the elephant pen.
“While the stations had to shoot B-roll video at the elephant pen, then run back to the microwave truck, roll in B-roll footage and then shoot a live standup from the front gates of the zoo, we did a live shot with the elephant,” Hart said.
| Want to use this article? Click here for options! |  |
