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| KSPS takes time with transition |
| by James Careless |
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Since 2000, KSPS in Spokane, WA, has been slowly transitioning from an analog facility to a digital facility. Today, eight years after the process began, the PBS member station is an HD production facility.
KSPS made the changes incrementally, expanding its capabilities (including managing a Web site) without increasing its staff size. “We began by replacing our transmitter, antenna, and RF infrastructure.” recalled Bob Wyatt, director of engineering. “That allowed us to begin broadcasting PBS HD programming in 2002.”
However, back in master control, KSPS was still firmly entrenched in SD. “We had Sony Beta and Sony 1-inch tape machines,” Wyatt told GOVERNMENT VIDEO. “It was a typical 1990s-type TV station.”
In a 2003 cost-cutting move, KSPS took over master control duties for KWSU in Pullman and KTNW in Richmond. Those feeds are now switched at KSPS, then microwaved to the other
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The upgraded facilities at KSPS include a new Sony MVS-8000 HD switcher.
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stations’ transmitter sites.
At the same time, KSPS replaced its videotape machines with file servers and an automation system to manage the three feeds, as well as the KSPS HD feed. “The system also originates five educational channels seen on the local cable company,” Wyatt said. “All told, 10 separate program feeds originate from our master control room.”
Still, it wasn’t until this year that KSPS moved to HD. Wyatt said the station finally retired Sony studio cameras that were almost 25 years old and a Grass Valley analog switcher from 1975.
The new KSPS production facility is anchored by a Sony MVS-8000 HD switcher and Sony HDC-1400 studio cameras equipped with Fujinon XA22x7BES compact HD studio lenses. The facility features a 70x50-foot main studio plus an additional 40x30- foot space. In the field, KSPS shoots using a Sony PDW-700 XDCAM HD camcorder. For editing, it has installed five Apple Final Cut Pro HD editing stations, which are connected to a central network with a shared CUC archive storage system.
In total, the upgrades have cost more than $4 million. “The only major thing we haven’t changed other than the audio infrastructure is our 1996 lighting grid,” said Wyatt, though plans are in place to modernize the station’s audio capaibilities next year.
Moving into local HD production has opened up new money-making opportunities for KSPS. “We are the only full-blown HD production facility in Spokane,” said Wyatt. “The commercial stations are focused on news, so they don’t have the kind of studio space that we have. As a result, we are now able to lease out our facilities. This brings in extra revenue, which helps us do our jobs.”
Wyatt said half of the station’s audience is in Canada, located mainly in Calgary and Edmonton. “They contribute a considerable amount of our donated operating revenues,” he said. “Producing HD content that appeals to both countries — and looks as good as anything on TV — makes a real difference to our audience share and ultimately our bottom line.”
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