NBC affiliate WKEF-TV and Fox station WRGT-TV recently installed a two-channel FastBreak system and a Pinnacle Systems MediaStream server that includes a dedicated channel for the WKEF/NBC side and for WRGT/Fox.
NBC affiliate WKEF-TV and Fox station WRGT-TV, which both share the same facility and owner in Sinclair Broadcast Group, are using Sundance Digital's FastBreak Automation system. The multi-purpose facility, located in Dayton, Ohio, recently installed a two-channel FastBreak system and a Pinnacle Systems MediaStream server that includes a dedicated channel for WKEF/NBC and WRGT/Fox.
Director of Engineering Roland Martel said breakdowns in the station's old system, that included Panasonic M-II tape machines, had become commonplace, resulting in commercials being misplayed to not being played at all.
"We were dropping commercials with such regularity," Martel said, "that I had grown used to being called in to the station four or five nights a week to try to keep the old system up and running."
The WKEF/WRGT engineering team did the necessary wiring and installed the specified equipment, while the Sundance Digital team configured the new system and trained the staff to facilitate the dual-station operation.
Since the installation of Sundance Digital's FastBreak Automation System, WKEF/WRGT is no longer dropping commercials and its on-air look has been improved, Martel said.
In addition to the Dayton facility, Sinclair is working with system integrator AZCAR to install servers and Sundance Digital's FastBreak Automation at several of their stations. FastBreak's system is a scaleable and frame-accurate controller of video servers and other station peripherals.
For more information visit www.SundanceDigital.com.
