Thomson Grass Valley Integrated Production System Ignites Staff At KSNW-DT

The practical benefits that KSNW-DT, the NBC affiliate in Wichita, Kansas, is enjoying after installing a Grass Valley™ Ignite™ integrated production system from Thomson, go far beyond increased productivity and reduced on-air errors. Much to the station management's surprise, it has brought the staff closer together, where they now work as a cohesive team to produce four highly rated daily newscasts.

Owned by Montecito Broadcast Group, KSNW was a digital station that was in need of an upgrade of its news production environment when they went live with the automated Ignite system. It was June 12 2006, during the noon newscast, and it went so well that they continued to use it at 5PM, 6PM and 10PM. That same day, the station also debuted the use of new video servers, replacing an existing VTR playback system. This technical tandem has meant a world of difference, both in terms of operations and cost savings.

They were looking for ways to streamline their production control and its associated workflow in order to get the most out of the resources that they had in house. This was not a case of wanting to reduce staff. In fact, (S0ME) stations employees that previously were responsible for a specific task, that in many cases might soon be obsolete, have been reassigned to others jobs that have helped them grow and expand their skills (and their salaries).

For example, while the number of full-time directors at KSNW has not changed, graphics machine operators now have more time to do what they do best, creating graphics for the station's newscasts. They don't have to sit through the newscast, so they can update titles and graphic elements right up to several minutes before the newscast goes live. This has significantly improved the station's on-air look.

A master control operator, who once worked part time there, has now become a talented Ignite director who is used to run entire newscast on her own. So she is now available to perform both jobs, and often does.

Automated News Production Boosts Productivity

With the Ignite system linked to three Sony box-style cameras on Vinten robotic pedestals, KSNW produces four hours of local news per day. They've set up a redundant dual-path system that includes a Grass Valley Kayak™ video production switcher. Along with switching the camera angles, audio levels, graphics generation and story clip playout internally, the Ignite system also controls all of this external equipment during the newscast as well.

With the Ignite system, directors spend less time setting up for a newscast than they did before and are able to handle breaking news and live cut-ins a lot easier than previously. They've even reblocked an entire newscast and get it ready for air a couple of minutes before going live. That's the power and flexibility of the Grass Valley Ignite system.

Warren Kunkle, chief engineer at the station, has had a lot of experience with automated production systems, having worked with the predecessor to Ignite (ParkerVision) at another station in West Virginia in 2000. Kunkle said he predicted then, and he's sure now, that automating the workflow process to enable one or two people to run a newscast that used to be operated by four or five people is good for business.

"I am a long-time proponent of automating the production of a newscast because I have seen the benefits and how it can make a station more efficient," said Kunkle. "What we didn't realize here at KSNW until we installed the Ignite system is that running a tight production can be good for morale."

Igniting The Process And Its Users

Kunkle has seen the Ignite system grow and expand over the years, taking advantages of ideas supplied by users like him to make the Ignite more broadcast friendly. "When I look at the Ignite system today, I can actually see the faces of directors from the past that have put their stamp on it. It's exciting to see."

These advancements include improvements to the Ignite system's audio interface. The fact that the Preview and Program audio busses are dynamically created on the main page eliminates the need to scroll through multiple pages to get to a desired channel. According to Kunkle, this saves a lot of time during set up of a newscast. The system is also easier to operate because there are fewer functions under the control of a computer mouse, he said, referring to the Ignite's new Shotbox panel that emulates video switcher functionality.

Kunkle has also seen the industry's mindset change towards integrated production systems and said that the Ignite was universally accepted at KSNW right from the start. The key, he said, was getting everyone on the staff, especially upper management, to understand what it would do for them personally and how it would make their jobs easier.

"Our news director and genera manager were very positive from Day One, which I feel is very critical," said Kunkle. "I think the important thing for them, is that they are seeing the Ignite system succeed in other markets [Augusta, Ga., Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif., and Springfield, Mass.] "They also felt positively about the fact that we were providing valuable input to Grass Valley and helping to develop the system for other stations, both within our company and across the entire industry."

Training the staff on the Ignite system went well, once the technical and news staff recognized the features and functionality and how it improved upon what they did previously. Grass Valley employees helped in this regard, taking about three weeks to get directors and technical directors feeling comfortable with the new way of setting up and executing a multi-camera newscast.

"What we've got now with Ignite is a system that is streamlined and allows you to produce shows that duplicates or exceed the values that you had on a traditional systems, with fewer people and fewer on-air mistakes," said Kunkle. "And we have the flexibility to easily make last-minute changes if necessary. That helps us stay competitive by providing the latest news and information for our viewers."

To keep his staff current on the latest Ignite developments, Kunkle shares his experiences on a weekly conference call with other stations owned by Montecito Broadcasting, including KOIN-DT, the CBS affiliate in Portland, Oregon, and KHON-TV, the Fox station in Honolulu, Hawaii; which also have Ignite systems and are seeing positive results.

Technology aside, the biggest benefit has been that the Grass Valley Ignite system has helped pull the station together. "We've found that our producers and directors work better and more closely than ever," Kunkle said. "I've noticed that the level of communication between staff members has been increased significantly."

According to Kunkle, once the station makes the decision to move to high-definition broadcasting, they will simply have to replace a circuit board with the internal Kayak switcher and will be ready to go on air in HD the next day. This easy upgrade path fits in with KSNW's current policy of not buying any equipment that isn't HD-ready. The station will begin using Panasonic P2 solid-state cameras for ENG later this year (in SD mode) as a first step towards that HD goal.