The Harris Platinum routing system
BURBANK, CALIF.
Touring Video is a remote production television service company that specializes in game shows, award shows, concerts and other live events.
In our business, change is constant. Projects vary from place to place: from working with different video formats to dealing with truck wiring and cabling infrastructures. These variations make the choice of routing system that much more significant for maintaining consistency in the quality of remote television production.
HANDLES MULTIPLE VIDEO AND AUDIO FORMATS
We use Harris Platinum routers exclusively for routing all signals in and out of our trucks, control rooms and fly packs. The Platinum serves as a versatile routing platform for our trucks and production control rooms. It's designed to handle multiple formats (720p and 1080i HD, AES and analog audio), and can auto-sense any format and pass it through. The Platinum is essentially a master distribution system that supports all signal mapping, defining and splitting for the production workflow.
Touring Video uses 256x256 frames with integrated Centrio multiviewer functionality, Nucleus external command controllers and Navigator software for configuration and monitoring.
The Centrio module integrates the multiviewer operation directly into the routing system, saving router destination cards and providing high-quality visuals and meters that can be sent to several locations for monitoring in HD-SDI or DVI.
Navigator software is used to configure and monitor the Platinum routers, Nucleus panels and Centrio multiviewers. Technicians can program the salvos and map panels from a central location, monitoring inputs and outputs, as well as change various levels and settings.
The RCP-IDe panels that we've added provide backlit-labeled buttons that offer quick and easy camera identification for the technicians and clients alike.
The Platinum design has also simplifies the setup process for multi-camera productions.
CAT-5 ISN'T BEST CHOICE FOR FIELD ROUTERS
A big selling point for the Platinum is its ability to communicate with external panels via coax and BNC connectors up to 600 feet away.
Many other routers only work with a CAT-5 network and in the past we've had to deal with this technology on other routing systems. As CAT-5 cable was not designed for long-term use in field applications, it's not exactly the best way to go for remote TV and touring concert production. Also, the remote hub configuration used in such systems isn't very practical, and makes you worry about its overall reliability during a production when you realize that a wall wart hidden somewhere backstage is powering all of the router panels.
The Platinum frame allows us to use much more reliable five-pair coax, with data and video running on two separate lines. This is well suited to remote television work, where up to 10 connected router panels are situated at various locations outside of the production truck. It's even more significant in the concert and live event business, where cabling can be run to as many as 20 different positions from backstage to the front of house and separate home runs from the truck are needed.
Touring Video also uses Harris X75 signal processors in our routing workflow, in addition to various core processing modules in the 6800+ frames. The Platinum router brings these elements together as the core technical system for the company's remote productions.
Bill Keskinen is vice president of Touring Video Inc., and is based in Burbank, Calif. He may be contacted atbill@touringvideo.com.
For additional information, contact Harris at 800-231-9673 or visitwww.broadcast.harris.com.
