WTHR-TV, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis, owned by the Dispatch Broadcast Group Inc., and KEYC-TV, the CBS affiliate in North Mankato, Minn. owned by United Communications Corp. have chosen MicroFirst Engineering Inc.'s digital automation system to provide each station's automation control. This new comprehensive digital automation system is designed to provide a streamlined workflow for the ingest, metadata management and transmission of multichannel content.
At WTHR-TV, MicroFirst's digital automation system will control 18 server channels as well as Thomson's Trinix Routing Switcher, 3 Maestro Master Control Switchers, and more. WTHR-TV has more than 200 employees working at the station, which houses two large broadcast studios where a large amount of local programming is produced.
"The selection of MicroFirst for this major facility upgrade underscores the broad capabilities and interoperability of our product with existing television station infrastructure, as well as our company's solid reputation within the broadcast market," said Jerry Berger, MicroFirst's vice president and general manager.
At KEYC-TV, the digital automation system will control five Omneon server channels as well as Miranda's ImageStore, Pesa's Jaguar Routing Switcher, several VTRs and more. The real-time control for the system runs on MicroFirst's real-time WinMOS OS, running on MicroFirst's PowerPC-based Multiport Microcontroller (MPC 3200). It prevents lockups, blue-screens, and provides instant boot up.
KEYC-TV is a CBS-affiliate d television station licensed to Mankato, Minn., with studios in neighboring North Mankato. KEYC broadcasts from a transmitter located outside of Lewisville, Minn., about 25 miles southwest of Mankato.
