Testimonials - Synergy 3

A New Ross Synergy 3 Switcher for the New PL, The New WI, and The New NX

Jim Kippen
Manager, Engineering and Operations
The New PL
London, Ontario

What We Do
We are three television facilities that focus on local programming, news and information to serve the community west of Kitchener, through to Windsor, and north to Owen Sound. The three stations, The New PL, The New WI, and The New NX share staff and facilities to increase efficiency and enhance our on-air product.

My function is to plan and develop technical direction as well as oversee the day-to-day operation of our facilities from a production and technical requirement.

With few exceptions, we plan and install all equipment and systems in our stations by using our own engineering department personnel.

Reason for New Switcher
The New PL and The New WI newscasts at six and eleven are both live out of the London facilities. The New PL news was switched to air with a Ross RVS 630 switcher. The New WI news was switched with a Central Dynamics CDL 4800 M 50 switcher, circa 1960. While this switcher was maintained to a functional level, the manufacturer's support was diminishing.

It is a CHUM policy that new technical purchases and installations be digital or digital compatible where and whenever possible. Further, when adding a major component, such as a switcher, we prefer to keep it totally digital and convert its input and output signals where necessary to integrate with existing analog equipment.

Purchase Decision
We chose the Ross switcher for several reasons, not the least of which is our previous experience with Ross, the company, and the switcher itself. In the past, we had purchased a Ross RV-16-6 and an RVS 630, both of which are still in service.

As production enhancements are required (for example, "Squeeze & Tease", etc.), upgrades are done on-site and with our own people participating.

Installation/RossGear
We purchased Ross encoders and decoders for two reasons: (1) our confidence in their product, and (2) past experience has taught us that compatibility issues are less when dealing with only one manufacturer. Several months after our installation, we installed a digital video server and fed its SDI output directly to the Synergy switcher.

Training
The operations staff were satisfied with the level of training received; however, as more experience is being gained, they do see value in a future advanced seminar. Technical training is still an issue, and we are actively seeking support from Ross in this area.

Conclusion
The Ross Synergy 3 switcher has been a great tool for us. It has proved to be both reliable and intuitive to operate. We feel we now have the key ingredient in place to add to and enhance our on-air presentation allowing us to compete with the look of the networks. We also are able to take advantage of some of the auto features (such as VTR start) to improve efficiency and "tighten" an already good presentation.