WRAL Adds Broadcast Pix Slate Switcher

WRAL, a CBS affiliate that broadcasts to the Raleigh-Durham, NC, market has purchased two Broadcast Pix Slate 5000 HD live-production systems for WRAL NewsChannel, a 24-hour channel offering news, sports, and weather. The systems will be installed in new chroma-key studios built specifically for preproduction of WRAL NewsChannel HD programming and will go live in December.
According to Pete Sockett, chief engineer for WRAL, cost savings and the single-operator approach of Broadcast Pix drove the decision to purchase Slate 5000 HD systems for his new studios.
“This all comes down to being a one-man band,” says Sockett. “The integration of a clip store, still store, and graphics makes it simple for one person to run the control room. And compared with building legacy HD control rooms, the Slate 5000 HD reduces equipment costs by as much as $100,000 per studio because it integrates so many production elements into a single unit.”
According to Sockett, the new chroma-key studios will drive WRAL’s focus to produce more local programming without impeding production workflow in the main control room. The compact Slate 5000 HD platform allowed Sockett and his team to build out “mini-studios” for talking-head interviews, Web programming, News Over Wireless updates, and special green-screen projects. The Slate 5000 HD is the centerpiece of the new studios.
The Slate 5000 HD production switcher includes integrated multi-view monitoring system, clip stores, still stores, character generator, and aspect and format conversion. A solo operator can manage complex graphics, animations, clips, and effects and also control robotic cameras, audio mixers, and video servers. It provides a dramatic improvement over conventional 2-M/E control rooms, which typically cost three times as much to buy and three times as much to staff.