BACK9NETWORK Set for DIRECTV Launch with Help of Grass Valley

BACK9NETWORK, a golf lifestyle television network based in Hartford, CT, is working closely with Grass Valley, a Belden brand, for its launch on DIRECTV on Sept. 29. Grass Valley and Belden developed a customized suite of production solutions, backed by knowledge and experience from similar projects, to support BACK9NETWORK’s studio operations.

“We chose Grass Valley because their team brought the strongest, most flexible solution for our small, independent network,” says Charles Cox, chief executive officer at BACK9NETWORK. “The majority of our original programming will be studio-based, so it was essential that we select a partner that offered the right products and expertise for studio production and understood our entrepreneurial needs. With Grass Valley’s end-to-end solution, we now have the ability as a startup network to deliver over 1,000 hours of first-run studio programming in year one—providing compelling content with the production quality that our audience demands.”

Another deciding factor for BACK9NETWORK was Grass Valley’s ability to provide a comprehensive solution with minimal training requirements. According to Harry Goldberg, vice president of engineering & operations at BACK9NETWORK, “a seamless, efficient workflow is essential with the network launch happening in a compressed timeframe.”

“We didn’t have time to work through vendor-to-vendor issues and needed to know that the system will work right out of the gate,” explains Goldberg. “As we add more engineering and technical staff, we know there will be little to no learning curve because Grass Valley equipment is such an industry standard.”

BACK9NETWORK uses a variety of products from Grass Valley’s portfolio that encompasses acquisition through delivery including LDX Compact Première advanced imaging cameras that are built for tight spaces, remote pan/tilt heads, and POV applications, delivering superior imaging, processing and performance. They also purchased a Karrera 2 M/E production switcher with K-Frame delivers superior performance with a wide variety of configuration options and features including 1080p 3G and 4K/UHD support. A K2 Summit 3G production server is also tied into the production switcher via an NVISION 8144 hybrid router, part of the NVISION 8500 Enterprise Class router series. And a 3RU Densité 3 Frame simultaneously processes 3Gbps, HD/SD and analog video. A Kaleido multiviewer is also part of the solution and graphics and animation needs are met by Vertigo advanced channel branding solutions that also includes prerendering using Adobe After Effects, and a choice of dynamic rendering models using graphics templates.

And lastly Belden cables and racks deliver signal transmission solutions that provide the advanced performance and reliability needed to support mission-critical information systems, advanced communications networks, premise security systems and building automation and control systems. 

“We’re thrilled to collaborate with the BACK9NETWORK team on the launch of this innovative network,” says Kyle Luther, director of sales, Eastern Region, Grass Valley. “The set of solutions we developed for BACK9NETWORK, combining workflow and infrastructure from Grass Valley with racks and cables from Belden, really demonstrates our leadership position in offering the industry’s broadest portfolio of truly end-to-end solutions.”