KFDA-TV, the CBS affiliate in Amarillo, TX, has upgraded its broadcast facility to fully digital operations with routing and master control equipment from Utah Scientific.
It is the first of what will be five installations for Drewry Communications Group, which has standardized on Utah Scientific equipment for digital upgrades of all of its stations.
KFDA has installed a master control system that includes four Utah Scientific MC-4000 units, an MCP-2020 panel, four master control MC-GUI systems, and software options on the MC-4000 for integrated DVE, logo and EAS insertion.
The Utah Scientific routing systems include a UTAH-400 3G HD/SD video router loaded 88 x 64, an SC-4 control system, multiple router SoftPanel-2 GUIs and various control panels, UTAH-100 3G digital distribution amplifiers, and a TSG-490 sync generator.
The new equipment enables KFDA to broadcast HD-originated content rather than upconverting from SD. In addition, because of the tight integration between the master control switcher and the routing switcher, operators have easy access to all sources connected to the router. KFDA and its four subchannels can consolidate their assets, and operators can manage everything from one place.
Previously, the station had four different routers that didn’t talk to each other, and none of the on-air switchers could share resources. That made it difficult for the station to do weather cut-ins, which were needed at its location. The new system handles that sort of thing with ease — and on any combination of channels the station desires.
