Testimonials - Synergy 3

WKAR Sees Ross Synergy as an Investment in Their Future

John Shutt
Staff Engineer
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

WKAR-TV is part of the Broadcasting Services Division of Michigan State University, and is a member of the Public Broadcasting Service. In service to the mid-Michigan community since 1954, WKAR-TV provides quality, family television programming seven days a week.

Located only a few miles east of Michigan's state capitol, WKAR-TV is the flagship station for Michigan Public Broadcasting (MPB) television programs. Programs distributed statewide on a weekly or monthly basis include "Off the Record," "Michigan At Risk", and "Michigan Gateways", as well as specials like the governor's annual "State of the State" address.

Locally, WKAR-TV produces weekly and monthly programming for the mid-Michigan community like "QuizBusters" and "Off the Record".

Reason for New Switcher:
WKAR TV has been working out of the Communication Arts and Sciences Building since 1981. In 1987, new studio production equipment was installed, including a CDL 1082 Production Switcher. That switcher had served WKAR well, but was in need of replacement. The requirements of Digital Television meant that we could either build a brand new High Definition production facility, or replace our current switcher, character generator, still store, and DVE with Serial Digital 601 gear as an interim measure.

After looking at the costs involved with a full blown HDTV production facility, it was clear that the Serial Digital option was going to be the right choice. We compared what was available, and keeping our budget in mind, narrowed the field to two candidates; the Ross Synergy and the ECHOlab 5000 series Serial Digital Switchers.

We wanted to make sure our investment would be as future proof as possible, so the capability of 16x9 as well as 4x3 production was important, as was the flexibility of having the ability to mix and match legacy 4x3 material within a 16x9 program.

We also wanted to have a production switcher that could take advantage of numerous DVEs, multi layer keys, and seamless integration of video clip and video server material into a program.

After demonstrations of both systems, we decided that the Ross Synergy most closely met our needs. We liked the way the 2D "Squeeze and Tease" functionality was presented to the operator as simply another wipe option, as well as being able to fly and resize character generator Keys. The ability to mark and store video clips, then be able to cue them and roll tape automatically upon a transition really made the performance of complicated program opens much easier to execute and also be repeatable.

The included 12 Auxilliary Busses added additional flexibility to our installation, allowing us to use it as a mini SDI router to feed the inputs to our monitor wall, our CG /Still Store, and digital videotape recorders.

We had also had very good experience with a Ross 216A analog switcher, which has seen much hard use in one of our distance education classroom / studios. This added to our confidence that our Ross Synergy would give us a long and uneventful service life.

Although we did not purchase it, the availability of the Ross Aspectizer boards will allow us to seamlessly integrate legacy 4x3 material into our future 16x9 productions, and also allow us to produce a 16x9 and 4x3 version of a program simultaneously.

Purchasing Decision:
We purchased the Ross Synergy 3, with its 3 MLE banks and the maximum of 6 Squeeze and Tease modules, two for each bus. The included RGB keyer is very good, but we also included one Ultimatte Insider board that allows us the sophisticated Matte compositing that Ultimatte is famous for, but is transparent to use, as it appears to the operator to be just another built in Chroma Keyer. Our Ross Synergy 3 also came with 6 independent keyers, two for each MLE.

We also purchased the Preview Overlay option that allows us to key in safe title and safe area markings on our preview monitor, as well as provide a visual status of VTR clips and selected video sources. Preview Overlay also provides a handy on screen timer that can count up or down, and can be triggered either manually or automatically upon an MLE transition. This is very handy for knowing how long you have been in a videotaped package.

The true power of the Ross Synergy production switcher lies in its very powerful Custom Controls. These are user-defined buttons that can trigger a series of crosspoint takes, memory recalls, DVE moves, VTR rolls, or any other combination of functions. You can literally program an entire show open to be executed with one button press. Our technical directors have programmed all of their most common "moves" onto custom control buttons, and now there is almost never an accidental mis-key or other common switcher mistakes on air. All of the moves have been worked out and programmed off-line, so you know they are right.

Installation / RossGear:
Our Ross Synergy was only one part of building a 601 Serial Digital "Island" in our current Analog plant. In order to get several more years of use out of our otherwise very serviceable BTS LDK-9 Studio Cameras, we decided on converting their RGB outputs to Serial Digital for use with the Synergy. We also had to interface several feeds from Analog tape machines, as well as our newly purchased Sony Betacam SX SDI machines. The Program Output of the Synergy production switcher still had to interface into our Analog router and Master Control for recording and live productions. And, there was also the matter of feeding our mostly analog video monitors in our Studio Control Room with feeds from the all Digital Synergy production switcher.

To do all of this, we turned again to Ross and purchased their RossGear A to D and D to A conversion cards and cardframes. These interface cards work very well in bringing in analog video signals cleanly into our digital switcher, with the advantage that as we grow our system and purchase newer equipment that has built in SDI capability, the Ross Synergy is ready to accept those sources without having to throw away any built in interface modules. The RossGear cards can simply be re-deployed to other uses in the plant.

Training:
Learning to operate our Ross Synergy 3 production switcher was made very easy with the on-site 3 day instruction course that was included with our bid package. Ross sent a very well trained instructor, Grant Lofthouse, who took us step by step in unlocking the full potential of the Synergy. The training had to be good, as the "final exam" was a production of our statewide program on Michigan politics, "Off The Record".

Operation:
Using the Ross has been a very positive experience for our Directors and Producers. Our High School quiz program "QuizBusters" is a very fast paced live-on-tape production that has been greatly enhanced by our Ross Synergy production switcher. Complicated multiple simultaneous "Squeeze and Tease" moves keyed over an animated background from videotape are performed by a single Custom Control button press. Series of quick moves and transitions can be executed with confidence and repeatability, and it has given our program a whole new level of production quality.

Sales Support / Customer Service:
Ross has been very good with working with us in easing our teething pains that one expects with any piece of new gear as sophisticated and powerful as the Ross Synergy production switcher. Software upgrades are easily performed in the field by the engineering staff, and Ross is committed to listening to their customers and including new features into their Synergy Switcher.

Conclusion:
Our Ross Synergy 3 production switcher has provided us with a tool that allows us to make better programs, and to take less time doing it. The Custom Control feature has reduced the amount of retakes we have to perform, and that is important to a political discussion program such as "Off The Record", or to a fast paced quiz program like "QuizBusters", where a "stop tape" breaks the guest's concentration and can detract from the overall program.

Needless to say, the technical quality of the video produced by the Ross Synergy is digitally perfect. With a digital switcher, there is no imbalance between banks or MLEs, and no image shifts when taking the same source in a different MLE bus. Keys, including Chroma Keys, External Keys, and Lum Keys are all flawlessly executed and, since the key clip and gain settings can be programmed individually for each source, are always repeatable. The flexibility of having 6 2D DVEs built right into the switcher adds to the freedom in creativity in program production. The ability to perform uncannily realistic Matte Composites using the Ultimatte Insider, and doing it with the ease of calling up just another chroma key also adds to the production possibilities like never before.

We feel that we will be pleased with our Ross Synergy for years to come.