OLD BRIDGE, N.J.—Blonder Tongue Laboratories announced Purdue University has successfully transitioned its campus television network, Boiler TV, from analog to digital relying on a wide range of solutions from Blonder Tongue. Utilizing a combination of Blonder Tongue’s multiplexers, MPEG-2 SD and HD encoders, and amplifiers, the university can affordably deliver more than 100 SD and HD channels to students, faculty, and visitors in residence halls, athletic buildings, and auditoriums as well as the on-campus Union Club Hotel. In addition to enabling Purdue University to deliver better quality video content, Blonder Tongue’s equipment also allows the university to send out timely and reliable emergency alert information.
“When migrating to a digital infrastructure, we needed to deploy CATV equipment that would improve the student experience and the performance of our emergency alert system,” said Michael Beach, manager, Boiler Television Network at Purdue University.
Purdue University uses Blonder Tongue’s MUX-2D-QAM multiplexers, HDE-2H/2S-QAM MPEG-2 HD encoders, SDE-4AV-QAM MPEG-2 SD encoders, and HDE-8C-QAM MPEG-2 HD encoders for video processing before distributing the signals via fiber and RF to Blonder Tongue amplifiers located around campus. Based on a high-density, low-cost, flexible design that reduces the equipment, space, and power needed for QAM distribution, Blonder Tongue’s digital television DTV solutions dramatically lower the university’s capital and operating expenses.
Prior to the digital conversion, Boiler TV found it challenging to deliver clear video. Using Blonder Tongue encoders, which feature optimized motion estimation capabilities, the university can deliver an exceptional video quality, even those with fast motion such as sports events, the vendor said. All Blonder Tongue equipment features an intuitive Web-based interface through which Boiler TV engineers can easily make on the fly channel changes from any remote location.
One of the key requirements of the Boiler TV upgrade was to improve the university’s ability to deliver timely emergency alert information. Blonder Tongue’s encoders are one of the only solutions on the market that come equipped with an Emergency Alert System interface, enabling Purdue University to distribute information to students and faculty in a matter of seconds in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. Currently, the university is looking into implementing a one-button emergency alert approach so that Boiler TV can simultaneously send campus-wide emergency alerts via text message, email, and TV programming with the push of a button.
