ABC 7 Chicago WLS-TV provided live HD nighttime coverage of the 16th annual Magnificent Mile Lights Festival with a variety of microwave equipment from Nucomm.
WLS-TV wanted to elevate its coverage of the event by transitioning from its traditional analog coverage to HD. WLS-TV set up four remote sites along the procession route, which ran three quarters of a mile between the north end of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive.
The Nucomm gear used included three portable ChannelMaster TX1 transmitters. Two were based on rooftops, and the third — positioned on a scissor lift platform in the center of Michigan Avenue — was used to send signals back to a central receive site.
Joining the transmitter on the platform were a ChannelMaster RX1 receiver, two Newscaster CR6D receivers and a Newscaster DR diversity receiver. Additionally, a Nucomm Newscaster VT2 transmitter was mounted inside one of the station’s mobile trucks, and a CamPac2 COFDM transmitter was attached alongside a 1936 fire truck, which functioned as a chase vehicle to capture the front of the festival’s signature Walt Disney float.
More than 180,000 households tuned in to watch the 1 million lights illuminate during the festival and its fireworks finale over the Chicago River. WLS-TV’s live broadcast was syndicated throughout the country and televised in 24 separate markets including New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. For more information, visit www.nucomm.com.
