By Elina Shatkin, January 22, 2004
Granite Broadcasting-owned KBWB-TV, the WB affiliate for the San Francisco market, has undergone an analog-to-digital conversion with assistance from premiere systems integrator Digital System Technology (DST). The station’s new digital infrastructure and master control center streamlines KBWB operations with an automated approach that produces a capital expense return on investment for the station and allows space for up to three simultaneous digital program streams.
KBWB was an analog facility with minimal automation prior to the digital conversion. The station was looking to replace its aging master control, technical core and on-air delivery systems with a modern, highly automated approach that would reduce operational costs, improve broadcast quality and increase on-air reliability. DST led the transition to digital with a complete rebuild of these systems and the establishment of an ingest room to prepare long-form server-based playout to air -- further reducing costs associated with manual operations.
DST’s design plan also leaves space for two additional simultaneous program streams
. As designed by DST, a high definition program stream can be fed from the station’s new Leitch router directly to a Miranda PressMaster digital master control switcher to accommodate the second channel. Space was also created for a third digital channel.
DST also installed three new controllable satellite dishes on the facility’s roof to interact with KBWB’s new satellite ingest system. The controllable aspect allows the ingest station to receive satellite feeds without human operation. The new satellite dishes also feature a narrower angle of reception compared to the previous models, which were often vulnerable to interference.
Digital System Technology, Inc. (DST) provides architectural consulting, systems design, project management and coordination, installation, and equipment from a wide range of manufacturers. The company specializes in the development of television production and technical operations centers, satellite and microwave systems, Internet streaming systems and digital conversion of broadcast television stations.
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