Scripps Networks Expands Facilities to Accommodate Significant Growth
Las Vegas, NV – Scripps Technology Center, home to the successful Home and Garden Television network (HGTV) has commenced operations from an expanded campus located in Knoxville, TN, to accommodate an increase of active networks from one to three with space for a fourth. The newest additions to the Scripps Networks family are the Food Network and Do It Yourself (DIY) network. Scripps selected AF Associates, Inc. (AFA) to design and build the new facilities which include an expanded Master Control, a mass-storage archiving system, a new studio, an Internet Web command center, and an expanded graphics department. AFA , the nation's leading systems integrator, is located in Northvale, NJ and operates a facility in Burbank, CA.
"A. F. Associates has been our systems integrator from our launch in 1995 through our steady growth and expansion," said Mark Hale, executive vice president for Scripps Network. "Our successful track record has been based on a team approach to meeting our integration challenges. Working as a team we successfully completed the newly established Scripps Technology Center on time, on budget, and at the level of quality we expect for our organization and from A. F. Associates."
Expansion of the Master Control included additional master control switchers to handle the increased channel capacity. AFA designed the systems to share two common control panels that were retrofitted into the original control room console. The new master control system has the capacity to monitor and switch four or more simultaneous broadcast channels.
The Philips server system consists of three separate servers, a six-channel ingest Media Pool, and two identical 10-channel playout systems controlled from Philips Automation. This project included upgrading the original MediaPool video fileserver capacity from three-hours of capacity to 150 hours of capacity, changing it from a commercial insertion system to a program playout system. A StorageTek mass storage system was added to provide system-wide storage of program assets.
An Internet/Web command center was constructed to serve as the host site for E. W. Scripps' entire Internet presence which currently consists of over 1400 web sites with exponential growth potential. The design provides for traditional hosting services and serves as a new distribution channel for content and digital assets. Its system includes an array of Sun Enterprise-class servers, a KVM matrix from Cybex, and Sony 42" Plasma displays.
To make room for the expanded server system, the existing dub and duplication system was moved and integrated into the existing Cinetel production system equipment room. This included expanding the Philips Venus video and Lighthouse audio routing systems.
The new studio, Studio C, was added and is an extension of the existing Scripps Technology Center studio and control room system. The existing production control room is used commonly between all studios via tie lines and a triax patchbay located in Studio A.
The Graphics department was moved to the newly constructed area, and new equipment was added to augment their operations. Their systems now include two Quantel Hals and a PictureBox, an SGI Indigo and Apple PowerMac G4.
In the former graphics area, two Quantel EditBox editing systems were added for non-linear editing. The remaining space was left empty for future expansion of the editing department. These systems augmented existing AVID non-linear and Sony on-line editing suites. Additional equipment for the two editing rooms included small analog audio mixers, digital effects processors, new audio reinforcement and metering equipment.
A. F. Associates, Inc. is a Video Services Corporation company (Amex: VS). AFA is an industry leader in the design, engineering and fabrication of fixed and mobile television facilities. Services include design, engineering, consulting, detailed design, documentation, prewiring, installation, and commissioning for broadcast, cable, satellite, production/post production and corporate video markets.