Billerica, Massachusetts – July 17, 2012
Broadcast Pix™ today announced that Frost Cutlery is using a Slate™ 1000 Video Control Center ™ to produce 16 hours of live programming each week to sell its extensive catalog of products, as well as a Slate Desktop to handle master control. Based in Chattanooga, Tenn., Frost Cutlery offers a variety of knives, swords, and kitchen cutlery, as well as other collectibles.
Through Frost Media Group, its in-house production company, Frost Cutlery produces four-hour live shows four days per week, which are broadcast live and replayed on various satellite and broadcast channels across the country, including several Ion Television stations. The program, Cutlery Corner Network, is also streamed live at www.cutlerycorner.net. Frost also has plans to ramp up production for Frost Great Outdoors, a 24/7/365 network currently in development.
“Broadcast Pix is effective for Frost Cutlery because it provides unlimited creativity, functionality, and productivity,” said Tim Colvard, director of broadcast operations. Cutlery Corner Network is a four-camera studio production, with two Panasonic cameras on pedestals, one on a jib, and one handheld. Colvard also expects to add a fifth camera, a Steadicam unit, in the near future. Frost Media Group went live with its Broadcast Pix systems in July 2010 and purchased them from Encore Broadcast Solutions in Chattanooga.
While programming is not produced in HD, it is very graphic intensive. Six keys are used during the show (with additional keys utilized from master control) to display the product number, product details, animations produced in Motion, graphics for special segments that highlight multiple knife sets, and more. “The key in the Broadcast Pix is just so clean that the graphics look great,” Colvard added.
Colvard also relies on Fluent™ Macros to transition on-screen formats between sets. “The memories are a godsend. The CG stays on the air, but everything changes upstream,” he said. “It completely changes the function of the switcher with one button. It’s a beautiful thing.”
Using Slate’s built-in Fluent-View, all sources are displayed in front of the director on a 42-inch screen, with a 23-inch touch-screen located to the side for easy access to additional clips and graphics. The configuration is duplicated at master control with two 23-inch monitors.
Frost has a unique setup, with its Slate 1000 and Slate Desktop installed next to each other in the control room for redundancy. Using a built-in failsafe feature, the Slate 1000 feeds master control on Input 1. If master control goes down, it defaults automatically to the production switcher (and the transition is seamless for viewers). Conversely, if the Slate 1000 fails, the Slate Desktop is configured to switch the show live, and the director can continue switching the show by literally sliding his chair to the right.
“With so much riding on the reliability and security of the technology to keep us on the air, it made selecting the Broadcast Pix line of products a no-brainer. We installed both chassis near each other to facilitate interconnection as necessary,” Colvard explained. “We’ve got $15,000 an hour riding on Broadcast Pix for staying in business. If I’ve got a switcher that dies, it can take up to five minutes to get back on the air. In the meantime, I’ve lost viewers and I’ve lost revenue. With Broadcast Pix, I can focus on other things – I don’t have to worry about being off the air.”
About Broadcast Pix Broadcast Pix is the leader in live video production systems. Its Video Control Centers™ empower operators with patented techniques that combine cameras, clips and graphics to create compelling live video. The integration of a multi-format switcher, clip store, graphics system with a Harris or Chyron CG, and device controls provides the lowest cost of ownership at a fraction of the cost of a conventional control room to buy, staff and operate. Systems range from compact systems controlled by a touch-screen or voice-automation to sophisticated 2 M/E control panels. Customers include leading broadcast, corporate, education, religious, government, webcast, entertainment and mobile studios in more than 110 countries.
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