Chelmsford, Mass. –Broadcast Pix™ today announced the Wake County Public School System, based in Cary, N.C., is using its new Granite™ 1000 integrated production switcher to produce live coverage of its school board meetings. Installed in July, the new switcher is part of a facility upgrade in the central office facility that included new PTZ cameras and an improved sound system in the boardroom.
Technical Video Systems in Cary installed the new production system, which replaced an aging, piecemeal system that was causing a lot of technical difficulties. The small control room is anchored by the Granite, but also houses an equipment rack with new encoding, routing, and recording gear.
Neither Bill Poston, communications senior administrator, nor Lori Roach, communications administrator, has a video production background, but both are responsible for video production of school board meetings. They were concerned the new Granite would be too complicated to operate, but were convinced after third graders in a local elementary school demonstrated their Broadcast Pix system.
“The system works so easily and is so simple to understand,” Poston explained. “TVS tailored the system to make it easy for us to use, so we can produce a high-quality broadcast we can share with our community.”
Bill Poston and Lori Roach show off the new Broadcast Pix Granite 1000 integrated production switcher that is being used to produce video coverage of Wake County Public School System board meetings.
Twice a month, the system is used to record meetings in the WCPSS central office facility. A work session, where the staff updates the board members on current projects, is held in a room with only one camera. The formal meeting, where board members make official decisions that affect the school system, is held in a boardroom equipped with four Panasonic cameras.
One camera in the back of the room maintains a wide shot of the nine board members, superintendent, and attorney on the dais. Two cameras, mounted on either side of the room, provide close-ups, while the fourth camera is dedicated to capturing public comments.
The cameras are controlled using the joystick on the Granite’s control panel, and Roach said the system’s camera presets are very helpful during production. Meetings also feature lower-thirds and other graphics produced with the Granite’s built-in CG, as well as still images and video roll-ins. Poston and Roach monitor the production using the Granite’s customizable multi-view.
Meetings are streamed live to the WCPSS YouTube Channel, and local NBC affiliate WRAL streams the meetings on its website as well. Since WCPSS started using the new system, Poston said there has been a very obvious improvement of video quality. “We feel like we’re doing a much more professional job,” he said.
About Broadcast Pix Founded in 2002, Broadcast Pix provides integrated live video production switchers with the best control. From compact mobile units to large-scale solutions, every Broadcast Pix features patented control and automation technology that make it easy to optimize and customize your workflows. With customers in more than 100 countries, Broadcast Pix is the leader in totally integrated production switchers for broadcast, streaming, live event, and visual radio applications. Its BPNet ioGates media management products are used by leading broadcasters and production houses. Learn more at www.broadcastpix.com.
Broadcast Pix and Granite are trademarks of Broadcast Pix, Inc. Patented. Switchers are made in USA.
