[SBE] updated PEG channel playout to cable company

[David Baker]

Hello everyone,

I need to come up with a plan to update our signal transmission to Comcast
/ AT&T, and make an equipment list for budgeting.  Can someone provide some
guidance as to the most efficient way to upgrade our playout at this stage
of technology?  We have one channel dedicated to 24/7 programming and
another channel reserved for a digital bulletin board (both analog
signals).  I also need to expect not much more than $50,000 per year to
spend for the next few years.

Currently, our playout involves sending composite A/V from an aging
Leightronix PRO-16 router to even older Sci. Atl. modulators, and from
there it hits a transmitter feeding a fiber link to Comcast.  The same A/V
from playout is going to a pair of AT&T's encoders.

My hope was to create SD digital 16:9 channels, but maybe it's time to skip
right to HD.  I'm not sure Comcast will allow us an HD channel at this
time, and not sure what AT&T could provide us through UVerse.  I also have
to be concerned with the handling of different aspect ratios since we show
content from many different taxing bodies at various levels of production
sophistication.  Our in-house production can acquisition and edit in HD, as
well as route and switch HD video.  Studio cams are SD-SDI - Sony D55's.

Is it imperative at this stage to update to an SDI playout system first?  I
realize I'll need to worry about scaling all content into a 16:9 space,
converting to some type of transport, and then linking that transport to
the fiber node.  Does AFD also need to figure in anywhere here?  I'm very
concerned the viewer should get an optimized picture no matter what aspect
we are sending.

My initial thought was to not upgrade the Leightronix yet, due to both the
relatively large extra cost and the fact that we get a lot of content from
providers on DVD that gets played out analog, so it would all have to be
converted to digital on playback - more cost.  I'm also not sure how fast
we can get many of the providers to get us digital files of their
programming instead.  So I thought to start with the analog playout and
invest in A/D for that and process from there.

I know there is a lot I'm asking here, but if anyone can provide a general
starting approach to this issue, I'd appreciate it very much!

-- 
Thank you,

David Baker, CBTE <http://www.sbe.org/sections/descriptions.php#CBTE_CBRE>,
CBNT <http://www.sbe.org/sections/descriptions.php#CBNT>
Media Production Coordinator
Community Relations Dept.
Village of Addison
office: 630-693-7554
cell: 708-935-7829
www.addisonadvantage.org
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