Looking to install a digital system that works well within its public broadcast infrastructure, KACV, a PBS member station in Amarillo, Tex., has purchased an AgileVision system from Toronto, Canada-based Leitch Technology.
Key features of the AgileVision include s SD and HD splicing, logo overlays, and data rate control — all while remaining in the compressed domain.
Don Ford, the station’s director of engineering, said that the AgileVision system enables them to handle important Emergency Alert System (EAS) data and eliminates the need to decode and re-encode the PBS network compressed satellite signal, all within a single unit.
The AgileVision system uses a MPEG-2 compression-based method for implementing EAS into a DTV broadcast. Most EAS decoders on the market interface seamlessly with the system, as the EAS text and audio are overlaid on all on-air DTV channels. In the event of an emergency, the number and type of channels that are on-air are abstracted, and the AgileVision system intelligently routes the EAS text and audio to the correct channels.
Leitch’s AgileVision compressed video system has been embraced by a number of PBS stations as they make the transition to DTV because it allows them to get on-the-air with a digital signal at an affordable price. Key features include s SD and HD splicing, logo overlays, and data rate control — all while remaining in the compressed domain.
The system also provides integrated MPEG-2 real-time encoders and high-capacity, redundant storage, in addition to PSIP generation, datacasting services multiplexing, and a number of automation/control features.
Jerry Berger, vice president of sales for AgileVision, said that because the system can manipulate both SD and HD programs in the compressed domain, KACV would have the flexibility to program its DTV signal in any manner they desire.
In related news, Leitch announced two key appointments to its management team. Robert Seufferheld joins the company as vice president of sales for the Americas, and Laura Whitaker, most recently with Omneon Video Networks, has been named vice president of marketing communications. Seufferheld will run the company’s Americas sales and distribution network, while Whitaker will spearhead branding and outbound marketing communications worldwide.
For more information visit www.leitch.com.
