Viz Engine, Viz Trio Power ‘Network Look’ for KCTV HD Broadcasts
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CBS affiliate KCTV Kansas City, MO, recently began broadcasting its nightly newscasts in HD, with all graphics generated by Vizrt software. Three Viz Engine real-time renderers installed in the control room power the graphics created in Viz Trio, Vizrt’s 2D/3D character generator.
The graphics are used for all the station’s lower-third, full-screen, and opening graphics, as well as interstitials. KCTV also uses Vizrt software for sports-graphics production during broadcasts of Kansas City Chiefs football games.
Chris Rohach, art director for KCTV and KSMO Kansas City, explains that KCTV’s upgrade to HD and selection of Vizrt software has dramatically elevated the look of the station’s news and programming. The station had been broadcasting in SD previously but was able to broadcast the 2008 U.S. presidential-election results in HD last month.
“We went with Vizrt because of the company’s ability to provide robust services and features in HD ,” Rohach says. “Election Night went very smoothly. The Viz Engines handled all the full-screen election results perfectly. Our specials and nightly news content is now on par with the network’s graphic look.”
In addition to basic CG functionality, a set of advanced features supply the operator with complex graphic and operational abilities. Viz Trio enables connectivity to multiple newsroom systems and integration with non-linear editing systems. KCTV’s newsroom workflow is enhanced by Viz Trio’s seamless context switching on graphics and Look-Ahead Transition Logic.
Viz Engine’s ability to perform and render 3D animations in real-time is a significant benefit at KCTV.
“News production is hectic and fast paced,” Rohach says. “We rely on Vizrt’s nimble and powerful graphics programs to get us through those crunch times. In fact, there have been times I’ve started to create an animation just one hour before the broadcast. With Vizrt’s solutions, I can finish it and play it on-air easily. Gone are the days of pre-rendering animations.”
