The FOX Broadcasting Company has selected Quartz Electronics equipment to provide high-definition (HD) master control capability in its Network Operations Center in Los Angeles. The new MC area will be used for the upcoming roll out of the FOX Network in 720p HD, including up to six NFL games per week, later this year.
The equipment chosen includes Quartz QMC-HD master control switchers, the new Xenon router for upstream source selection and switching of regional feeds, and the SC1000 system controller, that offers integrated control and seamless interfacing with other systems at FOX. The QMCs will be driven by automation systems with manual control by QMC FS control panels and a number of Quartz CP1000s; LCD-button based intelligent control panels. Installation is scheduled for this summer, with the full roll out of the new services in the fall.
Hal Reynolds, vice president of broadcast engineering, at FOX, said that the move to 720p HDTV programming (FOX’s preferred format) demands new strategies in operations and the QMC-HD provides unique advantages for mixed resolution, multichannel, network operations.
More than 200 channels of the QMC range have been installed worldwide, according to the company, including installations ranging from single channels in analog environments, to some of the largest digital centralcasting systems.
For more information visit www.quartzus.com.
