Cutters Upgrades Facility’s Utah Scientific Router for HD

Cutters Inc., a Chicago post house, has upgraded its Utah Scientific Utah-400 routing system for high-definition as part of a major facility redesign intended to further the company’s transition to HD video.

Cutters specializes in short-form productions and is a long-term user of Utah Scientific routing equipment.

“When I came to work for Cutters more than 15 years ago, I chose Utah Scientific because its router was the only one able to control all the layers I needed,” said Arnell Patscott, chief engineer at Cutters. “Later, I came to appreciate Utah Scientific equipment even more because the company’s panels—and the control system itself—make intuitive sense to my operators, even to those who have never used a router before. Now that I’ve worked with Utah for many years, I’m impressed both with the reliability of the equipment, and with the outstanding service.”

The Utah-400 system provided an easy upgrade to HD, with a swap of new 3 GHz cards for existing SD units. The router is now configured for a 96x96 HD layer and a 24x24 SD layer. Utah’s SC-4 control system is used to tie all the elements together. Cutters is also installing a Utah 64-port data router for moving RS-422 machine control signals throughout the facility.

Cutters was founded in Chicago in 1980 and opened offices in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2006. The facility renovation has been ongoing since late 2007 and is scheduled to be complete this spring.