KGW-TV, the NBC affiliate in Portland, OR, recently completed a multimillion-dollar upgrade of its news production department to accommodate HDTV production and broadcast.
The station was the first in Portland to broadcast local news in HD. The move to HD, including a complete infrastructure redesign, started in the summer of 2007 and was completed in time for a Jan. 21, 2008 launch. The station has also commenced construction of a new studio facility in downtown Portland, scheduled to open in the fall of 2008.
Included in the new upgrade is a comprehensive Telemetrics Camera Control Robotics System, which provides unified camera robotic control capability on a single platform for both the indoor and outdoor camera systems.
Two indoor and two outdoor systems are used to control four Sony HD cameras and Fujinon remote control lenses. The Telemetrics CLIU-HFUX 310 Camera Control Interface unit, with dual camera support, provides the interface between the company’s control panel and software and the Sony camera fiber interface unit. All robotic control signals are sent through the Sony fiber interface, which enables the remote camera and Telemetrics robotics to be run via fiber optics over very long distances.
A rooftop HD camera was installed in a weatherproof Telemetrics LWP-HOUL Heavy Duty Large Camera Housing, fitted to a Telemetrics PT-LWP-S3 Servo Pan/Tilt Head. The second outdoor HD camera, referred to as the Rose City Sky-Cam, is similarly outfitted and both locations transmit video and receive control signals over fiber (via the Telemetrics CLIU-HFUX 310 Camera Control Interface). In the future, KGW plans to put its entire Sky-Cam network of 10 cameras under Telemetrics control.
In the control room, the Telemetrics desk-top CP-R-3A Remote Control Panel, complete with CPS-ST-S Studio Control System Software, operates both the newsroom and the outdoor HD cameras using a dedicated network. The system offers single operator efficient management of studio operations, with such features as storyboard configuration presets and camera grouping. A joystick panel provides trim controls for pan/tilt/zoom and focus, as well as camera iris and master pedestal.
For more information, visit www.telemetricsinc.com.