TV Azteca Noreste Goes HD With Miranda

SAN DIEGO
TV Magic is an internationally known broadcast systems integrator, providing comprehensive broadcast and AV integration services for leaders in the broadcast, civic, education, and house of worship markets. One of our clients, TV Azteca Noreste in Monterey, Mexico, approached us about building a broadcast system for producing and broadcasting in high definition. We worked closely with them to achieve this goal, helping them to become the first local television station in that market to produce and broadcast content in 1080i.

NEEDED TIGHT MC/ROUTER INTEGRATION

The TV Azteca Noreste Facility in Monterey, Mexico In designing the HD facility, one of the key requirements was tightly integrated control of the routers and master control, as well as system flexibility and future-proof operation. The configuration also had to provide support for existing analog, as well as new HD sources.

We selected Miranda's Nvision 5128 mid-size, multiformat router as the nucleus of the new system, along with the Nvision NV5100MC master control panel and Nvision 9000 router control system, for the TV Azteca Noreste project. Together, they provide a simple operator interface that combines all aspects of the content delivery process in an easy-to-use control environment. The NV5100MC master control panel includes integrated X-Y router functions, and the router control system can allocate system resources automatically via tielines. All of these operations can be monitored using additional hardware and/or GUI panels from other locations within the facility. The Nvision router control system lets operators access third-party routers and equipment, allowing the station to continue to use of its legacy products for a few more years.

After the integration work and installation of the Nvision 9000, TV Azteca Noreste can now manage signal routing via the router control system and associated video and audio routers, eliminating a lot of manual patching operations in getting signals from point A to point B. Adding the new products has streamlined the facility's workflow, making last-minute changes easy and predictable. Content distribution may be set up in a matter of minutes, and problems can be resolved with just a few button presses. The ability of the Nvision router control system to recall and execute common sets of routes reduces errors, and this contributes to a better end product for TV Azteca Noreste viewers.

The Nvision 5128 router supports multiple formats within a single compact chassis. As TV Azteca Noreste continues the migration to a full high-definition configuration, the station will be able to continue using the same router chassis, motherboard, and other common components. As with most of Miranda's products, the Nvision 5128 features a future-proof design, with the flexibility to support HD without modifications to internal wiring.

COMPANY SUPPORT IS GREAT TOO

Miranda's HD products have exceeded all expectations with respect to performance within the TV Azteca Noreste facility. I'd like to add that throughout this project, Miranda's customer support responded to our tight schedules, and overcame several obstacles in delivering a product with which the customer is extremely satisfied. When issues arose, Miranda's technical resources staff understood the problem and provided us with solutions very quickly. The quality of Miranda products and technical support was key to the success of this installation, an HD first for a local broadcast station in Mexico.

Benito Behar is the vice president and general manager of Latin American operations at TV Magic. His eight years of management experience in the broadcasting industry span radio, television, and cable operations in both the United States and Mexico. He may be contacted atbenito.behar@tvmagic.tv.

For additional information, contact Miranda at 760-846-3203 or visitwww.miranda.com.