KAUZ, KSWO Upgrade With Utah Scientific

Installation of routing and master control equipment are part of larger digital upgrades

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/31/2012 5:26:06 PM

The Drewry Communications Group stations KAUZ in Wichita Falls (Texas) KAUZ and KSWO in Lawton (Okla.) have completed installations of Utah Scientific routing and master control equipment in their broadcast facilities.

The upgrades were made as part of Drewry's plans to standardize on Utah Scientific equipment for digital upgrades at all of its stations.

KAUZ, a CBS affiliate, and KSWO, an ABC affiliate, each are using a master control system that includes two Utah Scientific MC-4000 units, an MCP-2020 panel, a master control MCP-GUI, and software options for integrated logo and EAS insertion.

The stations' Utah Scientific routing systems include a UTAH-400 3G HD/SD video router loaded 48x32, an SC-4 control system, a router SoftPanel-2 GUI, and various control panels.

Nathan Bowers, chief engineer for both KAUZ and KSWO noted in a statement that the upgrades involved a complete rebuild of "our entire infrastructure from top to bottom" and that the selection of Utah Scientific was based in part on the reliability of their equipment and customer service.

The new master control and routing equipment has also simplified workflows at both stations. For example, the master control system's integrated graphic and EAS insertion capability allows the stations to easily do squeezebacks live on air to display election results, school closures, and the like without losing any of the existing picture.

The squeezebacks had previously been a labor-intensive process that involved an entire production team.