Switching Over to HD, by Bill Hayes

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From the Editors

Switching Over to HD

The road to a full digital plant is filled with unexpected potholes

by Bill Hayes , November 27, 2007

Bill Hayes is the director of engineering for Iowa Public Television.

JOHNSTON, IOWA
In 1998, IPTV began converting field acquisition and nonlinear editing to high definition and as of 2007 the vast majority of our field work is shot and edited in high definition. This project has triggered many changes because in 1999, we launched a four-year conversion plan to convert IPTV’s primary facility in Johnston from a standard definition facility with some islands of high definition to a fully high-definition native facility. Early on I was one of the few people that believed in the concept of producing everything in high definition and then downconverting for standard definition.

However, two major factors contributed to the changes. The collapse of the dot-com economy in 2001 reduced the money flow for the project to a trickle, forcing us to put all studio conversion plans on hold, while what money was available was applied to the federally mandated conversion of transmission facilities. Advances in the development of digital production equipment and the subsequent decrease in the premium paid for high definition equipment were also factors. As the economy rebounded, the money began to flow and it became more apparent to all concerned that a native high-definition facility was not only a good decision but a wise decision.

STAND BACK

Last year IPTV contracted with TV Magic, a San Diego-based system integrator to build our new studio facility. We have enough talented engineers and technicians at IPTV to build the facility ourselves but I was concerned that we were all too close to the facility and that the design might not take advantage of some of the changes to workflow that digital production makes available. By hiring an outside firm to work with the internal staff to analyze current workflows and forecast future expansion the integrator was able to develop a facility plan and a list of recommended equipment which IPTV staff then proceeded to evaluate.

One of most important pieces of hardware to be considered in the online and live production environment is the video switcher. In our case, we are replacing a Grass Valley Group 250 switcher which has served us very well. Our technical directors were intimately familiar with the switcher’s strengths and weaknesses. Probably the biggest weakness was that the number of M/E banks available in the 250 was limited to two and a half, two full M/E banks and a hot row for on-line switching. A second obvious weakness was the number of inputs available on the 250. Much of the early conversation about the switcher centered on the need for at least four full M/E banks and a frightening number of inputs.

Grass Valley Kalypso

This is where the having an independent outside expert can be invaluable. As a result of their input and our research a short list of four high-definition production switchers with the functions and features that our productions require was created.

The four switchers were the Ross Video Synergy, the Snell and Wilcox Kahuna, the Sony MVS-8000 and the Grass Valley Group Kalypso. While talking with my peers at facilities that were using these models I focused on how well the systems were working for them, what problems they had during installation and how those manufacturers resolved the problems and overall support. I learned that satisfied customers are very important to all of them and the few problems that were noted were dealt with quickly and efficiently.

TEST DRIVE

Once I and the rest of my engineering staff were satisfied that the proposed switchers were reliable and well supported, we then allowed the operators try them out. To that end, each manufacturer brought to the IPTV facility a fully working model that was set up in one of our small studios and allowed operators to give it test drive and inquire about the switcher’s operation and design. This was very educational, especially in helping our operators who were used to an analog Grass Valley Group 250 learn about the changes and power that had been integrated into the modern digital switcher. On M/Es, the need for the increased number was based on the number of layers we needed to do in order to use the external digital effects devices that are part of our current facility like our two channel GVG-700 or ADO (yes we still have one working). Since we were primarily working in the analog domain, digital effects and such were hybrid devices that needed analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion. Once the entire signal path becomes digital the devices can be fully integrated into the switcher and as a result we discovered that a single M/E on one of the proposed switchers had more power and capability than all of the M/Es on the 250.

The operators put the switchers through their paces, asked questions and ultimately decided that while any of the units would meet our needs their preference was the Grass Valley Kalypso. The final system ordered included a 3 M/E system with 45 inputs, internal DPMs for each M/E, two layers of chroma key per M/E and the internal stillstore. We did end up with a 4 M/E panel since there is no 3 M/E panel available for the unit.

We hope to have our facility completed and operational by the end of the year and are looking forward to being the only station in Iowa that produces local content in high definition.