WCFE, Plattsburgh, NY-based Mountain Lake PBS, has installed a Broadcast Pix Granite 5000 live video production system as part of its transition to full HD production and distribution.
Completed in March, the updated control room and studio produce a variety of local programs, including the weekly "Mountain Lake Journal" newsmagazine.
The PBS member station serves the Burlington-Plattsburgh market, which includes areas of Vermont, New York and Quebec. Director of engineering Charlie Zarbo said the studio and control room upgrades were the final stage of the station's HD migration, which began with master control in 2007. The new switcher replaced an aging Grass Valley 200 switcher. The HD upgrade also included new Hitachi Z-HD5000 studio cameras, Clear-Com intercom system and Yamaha DM2000VCM digital audio mixer.
Beyond its 2M/E switcher, Granite 5000 provides Mountain Lake PBS with a number of integrated Fluent workflow tools, including a clip store that is used regularly for productions. Although Granite includes a built-in Inscriber GS CG, Zarbo said the station produces its graphics with Adobe Photoshop, then transfers them to Granite via Fluent Watch-Folders.
Mountain Lake PBS replaced its CRT monitor wall with two 50in LCDs, which are fed by Granite's built-in Fluent-View, providing a complete display for the technical director and producer. The control room also has smaller monitors for dedicated CG and audio use that are also fed by Fluent-View.
