West Virginia Media Management Completes Multistation Upgrade With IMT

In 2012, Integrated Media Technologies (IMT) modernized the master-control infrastructure of West Virginia Media’s (WVMM) eight television stations in the state, using Ross Video, Utah Scientific, Harmonic, and other vendors, to allow transmission of HD content.

The Phase I modernization provided a two-station upgrade that automated the news systems at WTRF Wheeling and WOWK Charleston, deploying the Ross OverDrive solution with Vision Switcher, and XPression CG, controlling Telemetrics robotics with Panasonic cameras.

In the recently completed Phase II, WBOY Clarksburg and WVNS Beckley automated their news-production–control rooms with Ross and Telemetrics camera robotics. WVMM implemented the Omneon MediaDeck servers for news packages and clip playout and has taken advantage of the Harmonic Carbon Coder transcoding system, providing a gateway for field-produced content to be loaded into the servers to maintain a file-based workflow.

An integral part of the Phase II upgrade was the addition of Harmonic’s Video-Over-IP (VoIP) equipment, which allows WVMM to transmit all content between stations in HD with high bitrates and low latency. The company selected the Harmonic Ellipse HD encoders and ProView 7000 decoders for the task. Encoders and decoders were installed across all stations, including remote news bureaus. This capability allows WVMM to leverage its television stations’ statewide news programs and to share all content among all stations.