WTAE, a Hearst Argyle-owned station based in Pittsburgh, is both converting to serial digital and embedded audio as well as to automated recording of satellite-fed syndicated programming.
The company recently purchased a UTAH-400 router from Utah Scientific to transmit SD and HD signals within the studio for its two channels, including Channel 4, its ABC affiliate. WTAE cited continuity and reliability as factors that heavily influenced the decision; the company has been using Utah Scientific routers since the 1970s.
The UTAH-400 serves as the station’s main router for transmission and signal distribution through the facility and allows WTAE to manage various types of signal formats simultaneously. This provides the station with maximum flexibility and ensures that various audio and video feeds are routed to the appropriate signal converters and on to the correct SD or HD channel.
In addition to WTAE-TV4, broadcast in SD, the station offers an HD channel to Pittsburgh-area residents. Along with the UTAH-400 routing switcher, WTAE is outfitted with Harris and CompuSet automation software and records feeds for both channels on MediaStream 900 storage servers. WTAE’s UTAH-400 router is expected to be online in the upcoming weeks and running by mid-summer, and will become the foundation for the station’s eventual shift to exclusively HD for operations.
For more information, please visit www.utahscientific.com/routers.html#utah_400.
