Wichita Falls, TX-based KAUZ and Lawton, OK-based KSWO have each upgraded their broadcast facilities to digital operations with Utah Scientific routing and master control equipment. The two stations installed the gear as part of an ongoing initiative of their parent company, Drewry Communications Group, to standardize on Utah Scientific equipment for digital upgrades of all of its stations.
KAUZ, a CBS affiliate, and KSWO, an ABC affiliate, each are using a master control system that includes two Utah Scientific MC-4000 units, an MCP-2020 panel, a master control MCP-GUI, and software options for integrated logo and EAS insertion.
The stations' Utah Scientific routing systems include a UTAH-400 3G HD/SD video router loaded 48 x 32, an SC-4 control system, a router SoftPanel-2 GUI and various control panels.
The new master control and routing equipment has simplified the workflow for both stations, condensing several time- and manpower-consuming analog functions into a job that one person can cover with the flip of a switch or push of a button. For example, the master control system's integrated graphic and EAS insertion capability allows the stations to do squeezebacks live on air, a function that would have taken an entire production team before. Now they can display election results, school closures and the like without losing any of the existing picture.
