Detroit Public TV to Build New HD Truck with Grass Valley Technologies

January 27, 2010

Source: Thomson-Grass Valley

Detroit Public TV, WTVS, is building a new high-definition production truck based on the latest production technologies from Grass Valley. The new 35-foot truck will include six LDK 3000 HD cameras with LCD viewfinders, a Kayak 2 M/E HD production switcher, and a K2 Dyno HD replay system.

The new truck will perfectly complement the station's new HD production studio, which features four Infinity Digital Media Camcorders (DMC) and a Kayak 1.5 M/E switcher in the control room. The new cameras will be used in both the studio and the field in stand-alone and system configurations.

“We’ve equipped our studio with Grass Valley HD equipment because image quality is the most important aspect to help our programs attract as wide an audience as possible,” said Helge Blucher, Vice President of Engineering at Detroit Public TV.

The new HD equipment is being installed onboard the truck (built by Gerling & Associates) by Bennett Systems, in Sunbury, Ohio. It is expected to be completed in late January and will make its official debut at the Sphinx Competition Finals Concert at Orchestra Hall in Detroit on February 7, 2010. The truck will also be on display at the Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference & Expo, March 2-3, 2010 in Lansing, Michigan.

“By staying with Grass Valley technology across all of our facilities, we can share cameras from our studio for remote productions and vice versa, and maintain a consistent high-quality image throughout. Plus, training will be minimal since our staff is already familiar with the Grass Valley equipment we have in house. This is critical to keeping productivity high because the staff can move between the studio and the field without having to rethink everything,” said Blucher.

“The HD truck production package selected by WTVS is perfectly suited to PBS member stations and commercial broadcasters looking for great value and reliable system performance,” said Jeff Rosica, Senior Vice President of Grass Valley. “It is clear how important image quality is to the final on-air product and WTVS understands that full bandwidth HD is the best way to ensure that its programs are not only competitive, but provide viewers with the exceptional HD quality that they expect from a PBS member station.”

The HD truck will be used to cover a wide variety of local and national culture, arts, public affairs and lifestyle programs in the 1080i HD format, as well as fundraising programs for national public television audiences. The Grass Valley LDK 3000 is a multi-format camera system that supports the 1080i50/60 and 720p50/60 HD formats, allowing the station to use the same camera to produce HD projects in either HD format. The camera features three 2/3-inch, 2.4 million pixel CMOS imagers, specially developed for broadcast applications.

The Infinity cameras in the studio are configured with a Telecast Fiber Systems CopperHead INF fiber optic camera transceiver, which provides a robust fiber optic link between the Infinity DMC camcorder and WTVS’ new HD truck or production control room transforming the camcorder into a full system camera.

The LDK 3000 uses full-bandwidth HD triax transmission to allow cable runs up to 1,200 meters (3,900 feet) or 2,400 meters (7,800 feet) with a triax repeater. Like other cameras in the LDK family, it utilizes existing accessories such as the SuperXpander long lens adapter.

The K2 Dyno HD replay system is composed of Grass Valley's next-generation K2 Dyno controller coupled with the new K2 Summit™ production client. The system is designed to help production professionals capture live events in crystal-clear HD resolutions and instantly play them out at variable speeds for critical analysis during fast-paced events. It is ideally suited for HD mobile production trucks and shared storage production facilities.

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