Harris will show three new ATSC transmitter solutions at NAB2006.
The Harris' Atlas water-cooled, solid-state UHF transmitter has been available for analog transmission, but the company has not offered a version for ATSC. This year, Harris promises to show an Atlas for ATSC in power levels ranging from 1 to 12 kW. Harris has sold analog Atlas transmitters to maximum power Class A TV stations and sees the new transmitter as ideal for Class A stations wanting a transmitter that can easily "flash cut" to DTV.
The company will also display a new single cabinet version of its PowerCD transmitter, which it calls an ideal solution for power maximization at stations where the dual-cabinet version introduced last year would exceed requirements. The single-cabinet version is also an option for stations looking into ATSC redundancy.
The PlatinumCD series of VHF transmitters will get new control cabinets with Harris' "eCDi" enhanced network control and monitoring system. The "eCDi" system was introduced last year in the PowerCD transmitter. It provides SNMP control and monitoring without the need for an external box. The new Platinum i7 series control cabinet, which includes the Harris Apex exciter, is designed for simple field upgrades. Existing PlatinumCD owners can upgrade to the new control cabinets as well.
"Many stations will relocate their digital transmission to their old analog channel assignments in 2009," said Dale Mowry, vice president and general manager of the Harris Television Broadcast Systems business unit. "Meanwhile, all stations must start thinking about digital redundancy, with three years remaining before their analog transmission stops." He noted that Harris is addressing these and other issues with a variety of ATSC solutions for optimizing transmission plants and for integration of such plants into networked broadcast facilities.
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