Vitec Videocom Helps Launch New Benchmark in Community Television
SHELTON, CT, JUNE 6, 2012—Autoscript, part of Vitec Videocom, a Vitec Group company, and the world’s leading teleprompting company, is pleased to announce its donation of entry-level teleprompters and software to the Kiowa County Media Center in Greensburg, Kansas. Following the EF5 tornado—with winds estimated at 205 mph—that devastated Kiowa County in 2007, the Kiowa County Media Center was formed to bring a new communication medium to the community. Dedicated to citizen journalism, it features a high definition broadcast studio, as well as a 22-foot television production trailer for remote broadcasts throughout the region—equipped with the latest professional broadcast gear through generous manufacturer donations.
Following the destruction of the 2007 tornado, Kansas State University’s Bert R. Biles, Ph.D., led the charge to bring better communication to Kiowa County. “When my team from Kansas State University drove down to Greensburg for the first time in September of 2007, we came to explore a dream with the citizens of Kiowa County—the idea that a community could take responsibility for creating a new form of community journalism,” says Biles, who is executive producer in K-State's division of Communications and Marketing. After five years, funding from the county and corporate sponsorships of broadcast gear, the Kiowa County Media Center opened its doors on November 1, 2011, with an open house event held on Main Street in Greensburg to celebrate the $6.1-million LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum Kiowa County Commons building. The building includes the Media Center, which boasts a state-of-the art HDTV production trailer and a television studio, radio studio and editing laboratory, as one of its four tenants.
“The Kiowa County Media Center project is the centerpiece of a phenomenon—the restoration of a community that had been completely destroyed only five years prior,” says David Cox, key accounts manager, Autoscript. “Not only has the community sprung back, it is dedicated to bringing the latest advances from rebuilding a green community to forward-thinking communications facilities.”
Facilitated by Autoscript Managing Director Brian Larter, Autoscript donated two ELP15 LED-backlit 15-inch prompters, along with the corresponding WinPlus software. The perfect prompting solution for schools, colleges, universities and broadcasters, the ELP15 uses less power than older CRT units and provides a slimmer, more compact design in a rugged, all-metal case with either a lightweight folding hood for portability or a molded hood for the studio applications. Weighing just under six pounds, the ELP15 is an ideal teleprompter to stand up to entry-level users, while also offering great performance in the newsroom.
The new 15-inch monitor furthers the Media Center’s goal of energy efficiency, as it promotes longevity, performance and reliability—along with green energy savings—with 400 nits of brightness, composite, VGA and s-video inputs as well as the image-reversal capabilities necessary for prompting. Powered from an external AC to DC 12-volt power supply, the ELP15 can also be powered with 12-volts DC from a battery for portable applications. “The wonderfully lightweight and portable ELP15s are also easily adapted for field use in conjunction with the mobile production trailer,” adds Cox.
While prompters are most common in broadcast television newsrooms, they will have many uses in the Media Center. “With its staff of citizen journalists both in front of the cameras and behind them, I am absolutely convinced that the Autoscript teleprompters will help the Media Center team produce articulate, polished video presentations,” says Biles. “It will also provide an opportunity for the production staff to become accustomed to working with state-of-the-art prompters.
“Autoscript, their partners in the Vitec Group and the two dozen or so other companies from the television and radio broadcast and data communications industries have helped bring to reality a true miracle of the human spirit,” says Biles. “We especially want to thank David Cox of Autoscript for his unstinting efforts on behalf of the Media Center to encourage the various companies within the Vitec Group to support the project. The aggregate total of contributions puts the Vitec Group in the top tier of companies supporting the Media Center.”
Additional Vitec Group gear donated to support this initiative included batteries and chargers from Anton/Bauer; Sachtler, Vinten and Manfrotto camera support systems; Litepanels’ Emmy award-winning LED studio lighting technology; as well as camera backpacks, accessory bags, fanny packs, duffel bags and camera rain covers from Petrol to support field operations.
“I feel awed when I realize that in less than five years, the Media Center has been created as a vibrant, new journalistic model,” says Janet West, president, board of directors of the Kiowa County Media Center. “It is with heartfelt gratitude that we acknowledge the spirit of community, friendship and partnership with companies such as Autoscript and the Vitec Group that have brought this amazing community resource to fruition. Local programs produced by volunteers will have a network-style professional quality as a consequence of using the two Autoscript prompters in our HDTV Studio.”
For more information, visit www.Autoscript.tv.
About Autoscript
Established in the UK in 1984, with headquarters in the US and the UK, Autoscript is the world leader in the prompting industry. Autoscript provides a complete range of teleprompters for PC and the i-Series, the best designed and built hardware, PC cards and software, and—with its expanding line of intuitive accessories—is the new definition in prompting. Autoscript is a member of the Vitec Group. For more information visit www.autoscript.tv.
About Vitec Videocom
Vitec Videocom brings together some of the most respected, most innovative and most sought-after brands in the industry: Anton/Bauer, Autoscript, Litepanels, OConnor, Petrol Bags, Sachtler, Vinten and Vinten Radamec. It acts as an endorsing brand for these market-leading broadcast, film and pro video products, encouraging multi-brand system sales and simplifying the way that customers worldwide do business. Vitec Videocom is an operating division within the Vitec Group, an international business serving customers in the broadcast, photographic and military aerospace and government markets. Vitec is based on strong, well known, premium brands on which its customers rely on worldwide.
Vitec Videocom - innovative products around the camera.
