KOTV and KQCW, the Griffin Communications CBS and CW affiliates in Tulsa, OK, recently opened a new 57,000sq ft broadcast facility that relies on a Solid State Logic C10 HD compact broadcast console to cover audio for news, weather and specialty programming.
The facility houses both stations, but also has dedicated fiber lines between it and sister station KWTV in Oklahoma City to streamline production resources for statewide news coverage. The C10 HD was chosen for its advanced features, compact size and sound quality.
“For our new production facility, we wanted a console that was capable, but was also cost-effective and backed by a manufacturer with a solid reputation and years of broadcast experience. That led us to the C10,” says John Quesnel, director of production for KOTV and KQCW.
“Several of our engineers have had good experiences freelancing with the larger C100 HDS, and we even had the SSL C10 broadcast equipment demonstration vehicle visit our facility for an extensive hands-on session. We are an HD, AES-embedded house, and the C10 gives us the kind of flexibility and capability that we need to support a large news set.”
The new production facility has one large 5525sq ft studio with associated production and audio control rooms. The expansive news set in the studio is divided into subsets to accommodate different programming needs. For example, one of the largest subsets is for weather forecasting. Additionally, the studio features a large news anchor area, three smaller news presentation sets, an interview set and specialty sets for entertainment presentations of commercial production. The C10 is used to produce more than seven hours of news and specialty programming per day.
“We use the one-touch setup recall on the C10 to streamline our workflow through the different news and non-newscast programs we produce,” says Quesnel. “Because we are located in tornado alley, weather is a very important element for us, so that particular area of the set is very large and comprehensive. We have a standard microphone setup for breaking emergency weather coverage. Beyond news programming, we also have a full kitchen set for cooking segments and a stage set for presentations ranging from live music and fashion to the DIY hardware guy.”
The compact design of the C10 was a factor, as the console is essentially self-contained, without the need for a mainframe in a climate-controlled machine room. The C10 is supported by three Alpha-Link 8RMP remote mic-pre units and five Alpha-Link Live-R I/O units. It also was configured with the Dialogue Automix option.
Because the station relies on many people to run the console, having a user levels system that tailors the features available for control to the skillset of individual operators was also a key component for the facility.
