The University of Florida's 21st Century News Lab
Apr 1, 2010 12:00 PM, By Michael Grotticelli
The state-of-the-art facility helps train future multimedia journalists.
The University of Florida’s news lab features a monitor wall made up of nine 46in Samsung LCD screens fed by three Harris Centrio multiviewers.
At the University of Florida's new 21st Century News Laboratory, the future of electronic newsgathering looks bright. Employing the same HD broadcast and production equipment used in commercial news organizations, the school recently completed the first phase of a multiyear project designed to train students to create content for all multimedia platforms, including print, radio, TV and the Web. The new facility and the technology have propelled it to the forefront of ENG in the digital age.
The project, completed by system integrator Professional Communications Systems (PCS) in a mere three months on the main campus in Gainesville, FL, is the centerpiece of the vision of Dr. John W. Wright, dean of the UF College of Journalism and Communications, and David Carlson, executive director of the college's Center for Media Innovation + Research. Their vision was to create a broadcast news, journalism and communications breeding ground that would “cross-pollinate” students and illustrate a path for the media companies of the future. It is the first of three strategic components of the Center for Media Innovation + Research, which include the news laboratory; a digital lab for strategic communications that will open later this year; and, ultimately, a digital communications think tank and research consortium.
David Palmeira, a senior design engineer with PCS, and Jeff Gierhart, a Harris systems engineer, designed the significant upgrade to existing facilities. They worked extensively with the university to create a fully networked learning environment. Highlights of the new system include four Harris NEXIO AMP SD/HD baseband video servers configured with a NEXIO SD/HD shared storage area network (SAN), a proxy server and a 9TB Isilon IQ X-series digital file storage system, along with a variety of Ethernet switches to support a state-of-the-art convergent newsroom at the second largest communications college in the nation.
Making it all work together
A Harris NEXIO FCP Integration Gateway provides a link between the facility's Apple Final Cut Pro nonlinear editing software and the servers. This allows third-party editing directly on the SAN. Low-resolution proxy editing is accomplished with 16 seats of Harris Velocity PRX editing software. Numerous Harris signal processing modules also provide format and resolution conversion from SD to HD (and vice versa), and frame synchronization, in addition to other tasks.
Students and teachers store their multimedia projects on a 9TB Isilon IQ X-series digital file storage system.
The technology enables a collaborative environment where everyone working on the network can use material stored on the centralized servers. The college previously had a file-based workflow that used Final Cut Pro workstations (or laptops) attached to portable hard drives for localized storage. That production method proved to be inefficient and expensive.
The 21
The studio, which is tied to an existing production control room and a new Extreme Networks Black Diamond switch, doubles as an interactive classroom, complete with five pods accommodating five students each. Students can plug in their laptops and edit stories on the storage array and servers. The Isilon system, with its clustered storage architecture, provides the fast media access and adequate bandwidth required for multiple users to simultaneously and easily locate and retrieve audio and video files.
Taking a multiview for news
The facility includes three Harris NEXIO AMP SD/HD servers configured as a SAN.
A monitor wall made up of nine 46in Samsung LCD screens is fed by three Harris Centrio multiviewer display systems, which are used for a set backdrop during production of the college's daily newscasts as well as for teaching purposes. The Centrio software also provides test and measurement features for monitoring systems status. A conference room with large glass windows adjacent to the studio is also tied into the network and is used for video conferencing, meetings and teaching purposes.
Content created in the 21
Designed for expansion
The news lab is just the first phase of a three-phase project. As part of a second phase, the college plans to install an asset management system and a node so that students can connect and edit their projects from their dorm rooms or apartments. Instructors have this capability today, but bandwidth needs to be increased to accommodate students remotely working.
A total of 10 edit rooms (labs) are located on other floors of the building, with the News Lab seamlessly connected to each one. Here, numerous Velocity edit systems are used for finishing projects and readying them for air on WUFT or the Web.
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