Trinity Broadcasting Network switches to Grass Valley for companywide HD upgrade

Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the largest religious network in the world, has installed a Grass Valley Kayenne Video Production Center switcher as the centerpiece of a completely rebuilt HD production studio in Nashville, TN.

The new Nashville studio — one of eight major production centers that TBN maintains throughout the country — now serves as a model for the network’s continuing migration to HD at its other production facilities.

To date, the Los Angeles, CA-based network’s facilities in Costa Mesa, CA; Irving, TX; and New York City all have Grass Valley Kalypso HD switchers installed. Going forward, all new and upgraded TBN studios will feature Kayenne switchers, including the network’s new Nashville facility as well as its new Orlando site, which is scheduled for completion in December 2010.

TBN Nashville uses the Kayenne for a number of different types of programming, including live concerts and events, as well as sitcoms, award shows and talk shows. In Nashville, the shows are produced in the network’s 1500-seat theater, as well as a 100 x 100 box studio. The Kayenne is being used to handle sources for both rooms — often times simultaneously.

At TBN Nashville, the HD upgrade (from analog equipment) started in May of 2009 and finished in February of this year. The facility is now completely HD-compatible, which includes a 4M/E Kayenne, and also includes the addition of a new Grass Valley Trinix NXT 256 x 256 router.

In the past month TBN Nashville has enhanced its Kayenne with an optional ClipStore, which is based on Grass Valley’s K2 Summit and K2 Solo video servers and works in tandem with the Kayenne’s current internal ImageStore. The ClipStore allows TBN operators to store and recall still images and video clips from within the Kayenne’s ImageStore menu panel and E-MEM/Cue systems.