SUNY Fredonia Student Station WNYF Installs Broadcast Pix Granite 1000 for Transition to HD Production, File-Based Workflow


Billerica, Massachusetts - For more than 30 years, independent student television station WNYF has been one of the staples on the campus of SUNY Fredonia, which is part of the State University of New York. The station recently installed a Broadcast Pix(TM) Granite(TM) 1000 video production system, which has helped usher in a new era of high definition production and file-based workflow.

According to T. John McCune, multimedia team leader, SUNY Fredonia, the Granite 1000, which was purchased through Audio Video Corporation to replace a Panasonic AG-MX70 switcher, was installed last August in time for the fall semester. McCune said the students are still excited about the new system, because it is easy to use and has improved the quality of productions.

Students produce a variety of original programming, including news, cooking and game shows, campus event coverage, and PSAs. WNYF also offers live campus coverage of men's ice hockey from Steele Hall (using a fibre channel feed back to the station), and may expand its live sports coverage to include basketball. McCune said some hockey games have been streamed live on Ustream this season, which produced positive feedback from fans not able to attend the games.

The upgraded control room is based around the Granite 1000, and includes a Yamaha audio board, two legacy tape decks, computer stations for prompter and automation control, and an Apple Mac Pro with a Blackmagic Design DeckLink capture card for recording all programming. Programs are shot with Sony HVR-S270U cameras, which are equipped with HD-SDI outputs that connect directly to the Broadcast Pix system, and archived to an Apple Final Cut Server.

McCune credits the Granite 1000 as a major factor in the station's cost-effective transition to HD production. He said the system delivers high quality performance at a great price point, plus its built-in Fluent(TM) workflow software provides a number of important tools. Using Fluent Multi-View, for example, the control room monitor wall has been replaced by a single 46-inch Sony LCD monitor. A 24-inch LCD panel in the control room is used by the CG operator, who uses Granite's built-in Harris Inscriber CG.

McCune is particularly pleased with Fluent Watch-Folders, a built-in file management system that allows clips and graphics to be sent directly to the Granite system from separate workstations over a network. "For the workflow to be very powerful, I think it has to be intuitive - not just how you route files, but where you're routing them from and how they appear," he said. "Granite makes it easy."

About Broadcast Pix Broadcast Pix is the leader in integrated live video production systems. Its Granite(TM) native HD systems are the only switchers with a server to provide the best file-based workflow. Its Slate(TM) systems create highly affordable hybrid HD/SD/analog productions. Both systems create compelling live video by integrating a production switcher with a suite of Fluent(TM) file-based software tools, including clip and graphic stores, CG, multi-view, watch-folders and macros. Broadcast Pix systems are a fraction of the cost of a conventional control room to buy, staff and operate. Customers include leading broadcast, webcast, entertainment, mobile, corporate, education, religious, and government studios in more than 80 countries. Learn more and watch a video demo of Granite at www.broadcastpix.com.

Robin Hoffman
Pipeline Communications
277 Valley Way
Montclair, NJ 07042
(973) 746-6970
cell: (917) 763-8069

PR Contact:
Mark J. Pescatore
Pipeline Communications
Tel: 561-531-3106
mark@pipecomm.com

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