Telecast Fiber Network Powers Nebraska’s HuskerVision

University of Nebraska football fans were privy to a full-fledged HD experience last season thanks to a $4.2 million HD upgrade of the HuskerVision master control and production facilities last year. Fiber optic video and audio equipment from Telecast Fiber Systems (a Belden brand) played a key role in the upgrade. Telecast’s fiber optic network now links master control with the university’s Memorial Stadium and Bob Devaney Sports Center, giving HuskerVision centralized control of big-screen HD presentations for all home football and basketball games.

“Our relationship with Telecast Fiber Systems has been a long and productive one,” says Shot Kleen, assistant athletic director for HuskerVision. “In fact, with the completion of this project we’re now on our third generation of Telecast gear. When you make an investment of this size, you need to have the utmost confidence in your technology vendors. We know from experience that Telecast equipment is highly reliable and backed up by first-rate support.”

Alpha Video completed the HD upgrade of HuskerVision’s production facilities in time for the start of the 2009 season. The HuskerVision master control center receives signals over the fiber network from more than 30 camera sites in Memorial Stadium and the Devaney Center, and then transmits the live and instant replay feeds to large-screen HD video displays at both venues. Video feeds are also transmitted to the HuskerVision production studios where they are used in a variety of team highlight sports programs and also handed off to national sports networks. The Panasonic SMPTE HD cameras are outfitted with Telecast CopperHead camera-mounted fiber optic transceivers, and Telecast SMPTE Hybrid Elimination Devices (SHED) and HDX power adaptors enable the cameras to be remotely powered and centrally controlled. HuskerVision also uses Telecast’s Adder II and Python II fiber optic transceivers for bi-directional transport of audio and intercom signals, and Viper II terminal gear to facilitate both analog and HD-SDI signal transport.

“HuskerVision has always been a trendsetter. Memorial Stadium was the nation’s first college football stadium to have big-screen replay boards, and the HuskerVision engineers recognized early on that fiber optic networks held the key to centralizing operations — and thus saving a great deal of money — for feeding video to multiple venues,” says Richard Cerny, VP and COO of Telecast Fiber Systems. “Our solutions have been part of the HuskerVision story from the very beginning, and we’re excited that Telecast is continuing to play a key role as HuskerVision enters the HD era.”