LAS VEGAS
KLVX has just completed a phenomenal transformation. As of May, the station is housed in a totally new facility, is LEED Gold compliant, and has an unparalleled relationship with the Las Vegas community, including Clark County emergency services, and the Clark County school system.
THE TV FACILITY
The new KLVX Educational Technology Campus is a three-story, 112,000 square-foot site, housing a complete modern television production facility, complete with seven studios and up to 12 simultaneous playlists, along with a full-feature satellite campus for the Clark County School System. According to George Molnar, Director III, Engineering, IT and Emergency Response, the buildings are joined, but there are definite boundaries.
The KLVX Educational Technology Campus "Obviously, you're not going to see classes going on in room 171 [main equipment room]," said Molnar, "but there is a definite bond between the station, the community—including our public, the county educators, and emergency responders."
According to Molnar, daily playlists for KLVX include an HD broadcast and two SD broadcasts from their 105 kW ERP channel 10 transmitter located on Black Mountain, along with nine more pipes for distribution to cable and the Clark County School System. The new facility has Ross Vision and Sony 8000 video switchers, Evertz VIP multiviewers, and in full working order at the time of my tour were the two Solid State Logic C10 audio consoles. The C10s are convection cooled (quiet), and allow KLVX Producer/Director for Audio Tom Samo to program the boards for different levels of functionality/access. There are times when Samo operates the console, but college and high school students are also a large part of the 25-person production team, which makes the User Levels and Presets priceless. Another feature of the C10 is the "5.1 upmix" feature, which creates a credible 5.1 mix from discrete Left and Right stereo audio, explained Chris Jenkins, SSL director of commercial applications.
LEED FEATURES
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED ("Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design") green building certification is a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system for buildings designed, constructed and operated for improved environmental and human health performance. LEED addresses five basic building categories: Sustainable Sites (including keeping undeveloped land undeveloped), Water efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environment quality.
While the exterior of the KLVX facility has an ultra-modern appearance, the brushed metal front has an almost nostalgic look to it. One notable amenity are the external sunshades protruding over the windows.
According to Molnar, "In the lobby, almost everything is recycled, including the Liberace Piano! The desktops, structural steel, paint, flooring, it all contains recycled material, even the parking lot contains recycled fly ash.
"With KLVX located in the desert, water is a premium, so for landscape sprinkler water, there is a 100,000 gallon rain water collection tank."
The building is cooled by 90 tons of AC, with three cooling towers; and for electrical efficiency, the cooling system uses 202 water wells, about 400 feet deep to accomplish a loop ground-source heat exchange system. Other energy efficient technologies include roof-top solar panels that feed 150 kW of power back to Nevada Energy's grid, LED and fluorescent lighting in the studios, and roof-top solar light collectors to "pipe in" sunlight to light the inside the building. Other on-site initiatives included purchasing equipment with certified low power consumption and equipment manufactured with reduced waste and emission (such as the SSL C10).
COMMUNITY APPEAL
KLVX’s “Science Lab” Studio Like most PBS stations, the community is a prime focus. With shows like "Nevada Week in Review," "Inside Education," and "Homework Hotline," total community involvement is a must. For live shows such as "Homework Hotline," KLVX employs a 10 second delay via an Abekas Air Cleaner, and most shows produced on-site are bilingual with Spanish.
KLVX is a level II Homeland Security Site, housing Homeland Security and Emergency Response Support systems, including a data repository for state and county communications, according to Molnar. The station has a complete backup power system, complete with a 20,000 gallon fuel tank. In addition to adopting iPaws and CAPS technology, KLVX can datacast critical information (such as building plans) to emergency responders in times of crisis. After hours, other county agencies, along with local law enforcement, use the studios for briefings and training, including the full function "Science Lab" studio.
The co-location of the Clark County Virtual High School and Educational Media Center demonstrates total collaboration between the station and local educators, including the complete science lab studio, an on-site AP Science program, the substantial Computer Lab, and student involvement in daily television production.
As evidence of the partnership, the Clark County School District Board of School Trustees serve as the licensees of Channel 10, and upon completion, the renovation project was funded in equal thirds by private gifts, corporate and foundation grants, and entrepreneurial and demonstration projects.
