Chelmsford, Massachusetts – Broadcast Pix™ today announced Polk County Government TV in Central Florida installed two Mica™ 1000 integrated production switchers in March for its extensive coverage of government meetings and studio productions. Stephen Barnes, PGTV producer, said the upgrades to both control rooms were essential, as PGTV staff was spending too much time and money trying to find and replace parts to keep its older systems operational.
“An outdated system becomes more expensive to maintain,” Barnes explained. “Even our new equipment was old. Downtime had also become a problem. We felt that upgrading to a system that could be installed properly – and integrated properly – would reduce a lot of our internal engineering.”
The Mica systems, which replaced two aging Echolab switchers, were installed by Encore Broadcast Solutions, a systems integrator with offices in Orlando, Tampa, and Bridgeport, Ala. “Having something that we could rely on faithfully for the next several years was a real driving factor,” Barnes explained. “The price point and the functionality of the Broadcast Pix fit our budget for this government project.”
Housed in the County Commission Boardroom, the first Mica is dedicated to meeting coverage. There are five Panasonic PTZ cameras in the room, with two positioned for coverage of meetings when most activity occurs at work tables in the “pit,” not on the dais. Barnes said the station covers about eight government meetings each month, and the Mica’s built-in CG is used to produce lower-thirds for each meeting’s agenda items.
The switcher also has an input that is shared between the room’s document camera and computer input, plus two additional inputs that can be used for inputs from the production studio or the field routed through master control. “Those extra inputs come in really handy when you want to mix things up a bit,” said Barnes.
The second Mica anchors PGTV’s three-camera studio, which is used by the PGTV team to produce about a dozen different local shows every month. According to Barnes, many series focus on topics other than government. Writer’s Den, for example, spotlights local authors, while Brain Food is a children’s educational series. The Mica’s built-in clip store has “really simplified the live aspect” of PGTV’s live sports show, because it has made it easier to include roll-ins and animations.
BPview, Mica’s integrated multi-view, has also been a big hit with the PGTV team, allowing different producers to set their work area the way they want it to look. “There are a lot of people getting their hands on it for different purposes,” he added. “You can customize each show, which is great.”
PGTV has a dozen employees producing content, including eight producers and four communication specialists. The 24-hour station is available locally on Spectrum (formerly BrightHouse), Comcast, and Frontier. The channel feed also streams live and offers on-demand access to board meetings on its website, and shares HD video of its studio and field programming on YouTube.
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 Mica are trademarks of Broadcast Pix, Inc. Patented. Switchers are made in USA.
