The projects are collaborations among the school district; Austin Digital Media, which performed the engineering design and consultation; and systems integrator Commercial Video Systems, also located in Austin.
“As a selling point, Utah can make a unique claim: They still service and support the very first router they ever made,” said Oscar Palomo, assistant coordinator of the Austin Independent School District‘s Media Production/Cable TV Department. “To me, that says they believe in what they sell. Most school districts don‘t have the funding to purchase new equipment every five to seven years; therefore, I wanted equipment that would still be operational 20 years from now. With the Utah routers, I know that‘s what we have.”
The board room building project began in Spring 2007 and was near enough to completion when the board convened at the start of school in August that the meeting could be shot and broadcast on schedule.
Austin school district officials embarked on the board room facility upgrade because they needed to replace 20-year-old equipment that was no longer supported by the manufacturer. They chose Utah as the most taxpayer-sensitive choice because the routers are compatible with legacy analog equipment, as well as being sophisticated enough to endure the technological advances of the next 20 years - in particular the foreseeable transition to all-HD. With the current upgrade, school board meetings are produced and digitally archived in high definition, but the limitations of the local cable company mean that the signal must be downconverted to SD for broadcast.
The modular design of Utah‘s equipment gives it additional advantages for the future. It can be expanded with the addition of cards or transitioned from one signal type to another with the replacement of cards - all within the confines of the existing frame and without the need for new wiring.
“We don‘t stand by our products because it helps us make sales,” said Tom Harmon, president and CEO of Utah Scientific. “We make sales because we stand by our products. The Austin Independent School District is a fine example of a new customer with which we expect to have a durable relationship for many years to come.”
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About Austin Digital Media
The associates of Austin Digital Media (ADM) have more than 70 years of combined experience working in the audio/visual, television production, and broadcast industries. ADM has designed, engineered, and managed hundreds of major system installations in education, religious, government, and entertainment facilities. In addition to design services, ADM operates, plans, and creates productions for presentation and broadcast. Not affiliated with any manufacturer, the company strives to develop the optimum solution to address each client‘s specific needs and budget based on all available technology solutions.
About Utah Scientific, Inc.
Utah Scientific, Inc., is a leading manufacturer of analog, digital, and HDTV routing switchers, master control switchers, and related products including a full range of software for controlling and managing switching systems. The company has been serving the broadcast industry for 30 years with industry-leading products and best-in-class service and support as recognized by Frost & Sullivan with its 2005 Customer Service Leadership Award and demonstrated by the industry‘s first 10-year warranty. Additional information may be found at www.utahscientific.com.