Oregon’s KGW-TV taps Calrec Omega for news production

KGW-TV,
Portland, Oregon, a NBC affiliate has installed Calrec’s Omega with Bluefin audio console and its Hydra Network. The new
system is part of KGW’s transition from analog to digital audio, which
coincided with the station’s January upgrade to HD production.

Calrec’s digital audio board enables KGW to create and store setups for
different shows, saving time and enhancing production consistency, which is
especially important at a station that prides itself on meeting the fast-paced
demands of local news coverage.

“For us, it’s all about keeping the local product strong,” said Eric
Dausman, KGW director of technology. “The installation of the Omega
console is the culmination of a process of budgeting and evaluation that lasted
four years. Remarkably, that time was well spent because in the end, the
features we wanted in a console became available very cost effectively in the
Omega. And for its part, the Hydra Network is a very neat concept that
eliminates the need for us to run mic cabling among multiple studios.”

Calrec’s Omega console is equipped with 160 channel processing paths managed on
just one DSP card, providing a lot of power in a small frame. Omega with
Calrec’s Bluefin High Density Signal Processing (HDSP) has 8 x 5.1 surround,
stereo, or mono audio groups, 20 auxiliary outputs (which can be 20 mono or 10
stereo), and 48 outputs for multitrack general purpose feeds. The console also
has two main stereo or 5.1 surround program outputs with full EQ and
compressor/limiter facilities.

At KGW, the Hydra Network currently connects the Omega console to two studios,
one dedicated to news and one to special productions, thus simplifying
infrastructure and eliminating duplication of equipment. KGW plans to add a
second Omega console in the future that will also be linked to the Hydra.

KGW-TV is owned by Belo Corp., which owns and operates 20 television stations
in the
United States.