Testimonials - Synergy 3

WLFI Accredits Improved Station Look to Ross Synergy 3

Chris Hilgendorf
Director of Studio Operations
WLFI-TV
West Lafayette, IN

WLFI is the CBS affiliate for Lafayette, Indiana, and the only broadcast station in town. Being there is no direct competition , we are very small, however, we are big in the eyes of the local viewing public. We produce the only local news, other than the paper, and we do a lot of commercial production for local businesses.

As Director of Studio Operations at WLFI, I am in charge of all the production and related operations for the station. Prior to coming to West Lafayette, I'd been directing and producing for various broadcast stations around the country. I have been in West Lafayette only a few months and am enjoying the challenges of helping to run a small station.

WLFI bought the Ross Synergy 3 switcher a couple years ago because it was time for a replacement. The industry is requiring broadcast affiliates to be digital in the future, so it made sense to get started. Previously, we had been using a Grass Valley 1600.

Laurence Richesin, our chief engineer, looked at Grass Valley, Phillips, Sony, as well Ross switchers. He decided to purchase the Ross Synergy 3 because it switched like a Grass Valley but was more economically priced. Also, Ross switchers are durable. WLFI still uses a small analog one for remote productions.

The Synergy is primarily used in the production of our live news broadcasts. It has some features that have improved the look for the station. For instance, Squeeze & Tease is a feature that acts as an internal DVE for each key. We are able to do double boxes for live shots without using the external DVE.

The installation was easy and on time. I heard that support was good during the installation and training when the switcher was new. Being a small market, there is a lot of turnover. There is no longer anybody in the production department that was here for that training. I have been able to teach our directors many things just from experience of working on other switchers.

The Ross Synergy switcher was an improvement for WLFI and compared to other switchers I've used, when price is a big factor, the Ross Synergy is a smart way to go.