James BoberROCHESTER, N.Y.
Rochester Institute of Technology is a comprehensive university, specializing in professional and career-oriented education. Its cooperative education program is a hallmark of an RIT education and students have unmatched opportunities in experiential learning in some of the most sophisticated classroom, laboratory and studio facilities available on any campus.
The University stays in the forefront by continually upgrading its facilities and infrastructure. This was evidenced by the recent move to high-definition production in the Education Technology Center. However, this upgrade was more involved than transitioning to HD production. The school went a step further and funded an HD mobile production unit to help market and promote the athletic program here. In keeping with the philosophy of career-oriented education, the HD mobile unit was largely designed and built by students.
The finished product is a full-production HD mobile studio and the only one of its kind in upstate New York.
The broadcast trailer is 24 feet long and is outfitted with a full complement of tape decks, switchers, audio boards, monitors and graphics equipment. Each of the five Panasonic AG-HPX500 P2 HD cameras is connected to the trailer using the Telemetrics Coax Link 55C-CA-HDFL camera adapter, with an HD Fiber Link Base Station (HDFL-BS) and five Coax Link 55C-BS Camera Control Units.
PREPARED FOR LONG CABLE RUNS
Camera cable runs in the sports pickup environment here vary from 200 feet to 750 feet. As we anticipate we'll be broadcasting away from home games next year where cabling distances may be up to 1,500 feet, HD signals are transmitted through single-mode fiber that runs along with the main coax connection in a single custom cable.
Frequency division multiplexing is used to transmit video from the camera, external video to the camera, genlock and power, along with mic audio, intercom and camera control and tally signals.
Our equipment supplier, Audio Video Systems of Albany, N.Y. originally suggested we look at the Telemetrics control system. I did and soon realized that it was a good fit for us. Compared with other manufacturers' products, the Telemetrics Coax Link HD Camera Control System provided all of the features that we wanted and needed, with no compromises. And the Telemetrics package was priced to fit our budget.
The Telemetrics gear is quite robust, and this too was a consideration in our purchasing decision. As students, both experienced and otherwise, are the primary users of the broadcast trailer equipment, we did not want to be continually servicing a delicate system. Also, the equipment is relatively intuitive and easy to use, especially when you consider it was a custom interface. It was easy to set up and begin using the system because everything came out of the box clearly labeled and identified.
My background is in broadcast industry customer service, and I tend to judge and evaluate vendors to a higher standard. By my measurement, Telemetrics provided excellent customer service and went above and beyond to make sure that the we had first class service, along with a first class product solution.
James Bober has worked in the broadcast industry for more than 20 years. He was Thomson's director of service and support for North America before joining RIT in 2003. He may be contacted atjpbetc@rit.edu.
For additional information, contact Telemetrics at 800-424-9626 or visitwww.telemetricsinc.com.
