San Diego, CA--WRTV News in Indianapolis, IN, has selected SmartDraw.com, a provider of business graphics software for creating engineering diagrams, to diagram the relationships between various pieces of newsroom equipment including microphones, computers, and cameras.
"Our network is fairly complex, and when one thing breaks down, it affects a lot of different equipment," said Steve Russell, WRTV engineer. "We needed a way to come up with a visual system that would help us ensure that things run properly."
Russell said he knew the station needed a better system when the weatherman's microphone broke, and he had to spend an hour looking up information on how to rewire the equipment. With SmartDraw, Russell could easily create a diagram of the station's wiring scheme and store it locally, so key information could be retrieved quickly when needed.
SmartDraw offers more than 50,000 symbols, images and templates, including an entire collection of electrical engineering symbols. Its drag-and-drop drawing and automatic formatting make easy work out of even the most complex engineering diagram.
"I looked at a few other programs, but they were too expensive and were overkill for what we needed to do," said Russell. "SmartDraw does the job at a better price."
SmartDraw software is available online for a free trial download at www.smartdraw.com
