Utah Scientific Upgrades Hawaii’s KHON-TV to HD

Honolulu Fox affiliate KHON-TV has purchased a Utah Scientific master control system, routing switcher, and related equipment to take its entire operation from SD to HD.

KHON will install a Utah Scientific MC-4000 two-channel master control switcher, a UTAH-400 series digital routing switcher, two MCP-2020 multichannel master control panels, three UTAH-400/MV multiviewers, two GS-4000 graphics stations, an MCP-GUI soft panel, and SoftPanel-2 GUI routing switcher. The new equipment will be the backbone of the station’s HD operation, with the routing system at the core of its infrastructure. The UTAH-400/144 unit will provide routing for all incoming and outgoing HD signals supporting KHON, as well as those of its digital channels 2.1 and 2.2.

“There were many reasons why we chose to revamp our operation with Utah Scientific equipment,” said Bob Vaillancourt, KHON’s director of engineering. “Utah Scientific helped us design the system, and provided superb sales support. They came with great referrals, their equipment has always performed well for our sister stations, and they have a reputation for post-sale support and a 10-year warranty that other manufacturers can’t beat.”

Housed in a compact 9-RU frame that includes dual power supplies and optional redundant crosspoints, the UTAH-400 is specifically designed to address the growing requirement for large switching systems with its ability to expand from 8×8 to 1152×1152 and beyond. Its revolutionary matrix architecture greatly reduces the complexity of large systems, resulting in a considerable reduction in rack space and power requirements, and yielding significant cost reductions.

The MC-4000 master controller is an integrated system for handling the most demanding on-air operations in live, automated, or automation-assisted operating environments. The MC-4000 offers capabilities to handle all of the most commonly required on-air operations, including still and animated logo insertion, audio and video clip playback, and reliable, foolproof Emergency Alert System (EAS) messaging.

The UTAH-400/MV multiviewers bring convenience and ease of use to the complex job of setting up a router-based multiview display system. By combining an interactive display design tool with the flexibility of an “any picture anywhere” architecture, this system makes it simple to design screen layouts that place pictures, meters, alarm and tally indicators, and extra items like clock and logo displays.

KHON will install the new system in December 2011.