San Diego CBS Affiliate Turns to Grass Valley for Playout, Master Control

San Diego-based KFMB TV, a CBS affiliate, selected the iTX Integrated Playout Platform from Grass Valley, a Belden Brand, to serve as the master control system for ingest, live, and file-based content for its two-channel operation.

KFMB will increase productivity by enabling its traffic department and others to securely upload and change content as needed, reducing the risk of data re-entry errors and eliminating back and forth between departments. The production team will also be able to easily handle JIP (join in progress) events, and then go back to the original schedule. iTX is fully redundant, enabling KFMB operators to leverage the integrated asset management for both low-resolution proxies and full high-resolution media from operator positions. KFMB has been a Grass Valley customer for more than 30 years.

“iTX has a solid reputation and Grass Valley always stands behind their products,” says Leann Lanflisi, engineering operations manager, KFMB. “iTX is the perfect solution for our operation and it works with a wide range of traffic and external production systems, which means we can continue to build out our workflow and add more features as our needs change.”

Grass Valley’s iTX is one of the world’s most widely deployed, advanced and integrated playout platforms for broadcast television. Handling everything from primetime TV to specialized channels, iTX delivers outstanding IP/SDI format flexibility and scalability for future readiness in a flexible multifunction playout platform that includes audio processing and the industry’s widest selection of multilevel graphics capabilities.

“People often think of iTX as a solution that’s only for big broadcasters or multistation operations, but that’s not the case at all,” says Kyle Luther, vice president of sales, North America, Grass Valley. “With iTX, KFMB gets IT-based automated playout for two channels and has the option to expand as needed. It’s a great way for stations like this to modernize operations and improve efficiency at an affordable cost.”