Caracol TV in Columbia Taps Grass Valley

As part of its historic transition to full high-definition (HD) production and content distribution, Caracol Television, one of Colombia’s leading broadcast network, has converted all of the production control rooms at its main facility in Bogotá to HD capability with the installation of six Grass Valley Kayak HD production switchers. The network’s multi-phase migration from SD to HD operations is now complete with its latest commitment to Grass Valley technology, valued at more than $1 million (US).

The control rooms features six Grass Valley Kayak HD switchers (five with 1.5 M/E channels and one with 2 M/Es), a new Maestro master control and branding system, and numerous audio and video conversion modules that are part of the expanding family of Grass Valley GeckoFlex signal equipment. All this joins more than a dozen SD Grass Valley switchers already working in the facility. The broadcaster also purchased a Grass Valley Indigo A/V Mixer for its production activities.

“Our staff has become very productive with the Grass Valley Kayak SD switcher, so we knew we wanted to stay with the same look and feel for our new HD switchers and also get the same performance,” says Yesid Guerra, Technical Director for Caracol. “Grass Valley technology has always been extremely reliable for us and the company supports it very well, so when we decided to upgrade our production facilities to HD operation, Grass Valley was the clear choice.”

The new Maestro HD master control switcher at Caracol Television is being used in tandem with an existing Grass Valley Jupiter control system and Grass Valley Saturn SD master control switcher.

“Caracol Television is a pioneering broadcaster that knows the value of moving to HD operations ahead of its competitors, and is doing so in a cost-effective way,” adds Jeff Rosica, Senior Vice President for Grass Valley. “As the entire country of Colombia migrates to digital television, we expect many other broadcasters in the region to follow Caracol’s lead and Grass Valley, along with our local dealer network, is ready to support them.”

Grass Valley representative Videoelec S.A., located in Bogotá, Colombia, coordinated the new equipment purchase at Caracol Television.