KVIE Orders Hitachi-Comark Parallax VHF DTV Transmitter

SOUTHWICK, MASS.—KVIE, the public broadcaster serving Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto, Calif., has ordered a new Hitachi-Comark Parallax VHF Band 3 DTV transmitter for Channel 9, the broadcast transmitter announced today.

At the 2018 NAB Show, KVIE director of engineering Mike Cappi (L) and Hitachi-Comark VP of engineering Tom Barbeau check out  a VHF Parallax transmitter.   

At the 2018 NAB Show, KVIE director of engineering Mike Cappi (L) and Hitachi-Comark VP of engineering Tom Barbeau check out  a VHF Parallax transmitter.   

Initially, the transmitter will be equipped with 12 VHF power amplifiers, which will provide 17.3kW TPO. To enable a future boost in power output, the transmitter is pre-wired to accept additional PAs that can take TPO to 23.1kW if necessary.

[Read: WGBH/WBGY Taps Hitachi-Comark Transmitters For Repack]

The transmitter will be delivered with a liquid cooling system and dual Exact-V2 exciters in a main-standby configuration, Hitachi-Comark said. The company will manage shipment, offloading and placement of the new unit and remove and dispose of the station’s existing transmitter.

“Comark worked with the management of KVIE to provide a complete solution to replace their existing unit with the latest technology. The transmitter will be delivered with ATSC 1.0 compatible exciters, but the unit is easily upgradeable for ATSC 3.0 as soon as the station is ready for testing,” said Dick Fiore, president and CEO of Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark. 

Phil Kurz

Phil Kurz is a contributing editor to TV Tech. He has written about TV and video technology for more than 30 years and served as editor of three leading industry magazines. He earned a Bachelor of Journalism and a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism.