High Schools snag Broadcast Pix switchers

By Andrew Lippe

The Mansfield Independent School District in Texas recently purchased two Broadcast Pix 2000 switchers one for teaching digital technology at their Ben Barber Career Tech Academy and the other installed in their the press box to operate the jumbotron of their new multi-purpose stadium. The state-of-the-art switchers appealed to the school for their cost efficiency and their ability to control graphics and signal switching from the same server.

“Students easily learned how to implement graphics,” says Jerry Cantu, Media Technology Instructor, Ben Barber Career Tech Academy. The students receive college credit and hands on experience with the technology in Cantu’s class. When students go to the stadium they will find an identical switcher to the one they learned on in class where every Broadcast Pix system is integrated with a Windows XP computer. This enables the switching matrix to be extended into a computer, so it can access into disks of clips, graphics and
animations.”The Broadcast Pix switcher is a character generator and signal switcher rolled into one,” said Cantu.

The switcher has 22 digital and analog inputs, 4 keyers and 3 DVEs for cameras. The switcher in Mansfield Stadium is home to broadcasts of many high school football games. The stadium uses three JVC GY-DV550V cameras and one Canon NU700N remote camera located on top of the jumbotron operated from the press box.

The $25,000 switcher not only is it integrated with a computer but also its control panel features PixButtons that display the names of each content elements. “It’s the only switcher whose buttons are labeled what graphics, clips they represent,” says Ken Swanton president at Broadcast Pix. The software includes a Broadcast Pix Switcher version 4 which enables a solo switcher to produce quality video. “Unlike other switchers its uniqueness gives power to one person to control the switcher in the heat of battle.”

The software also includes the Inscriber TitleMotion Character Generator and a Break-out-Box (BoB), for multiple inputs and a rack-mounted workstation. Colleges and many major networks like CBS and Fox have broadcast switchers.

Today more high schools then ever want their paws on it. “Our technology makes a lot of sense to high schools who want digital technology, its low cost and very economical,” says Swanton.

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