Posted by Bill Hollis
As more and more national and local government agencies turn to fiber infrastructures to distribute signals, Telecast Fiber Systems full range of transceivers, converters, multiplexers and audio intercom management systems are getting more attention… and generating more sales. We’ve seen a significant upswing in government sector sales since the end of November 2011 and we expect this to continue throughout 2012.
The new Telecast Fiber Systems 6442i CommLink module is being considered by a variety of high-profile organizations, including the United Nations Building, in New York City. The Housing & Urban Development (HUD) agency, with sites all across the country, has built several new mobile “Command Centers” that roll up to a disaster area and serves as the immediate central site for all emergency related operations. HUD is purchasing our Viper 1 Mussel Shell and 442 rack-mounted solution for these vehicles, which will help the do their job. This, for all Intents and purposes was their field camera signal distribution solution prior to the Copperhead's arrival. This too also has a Intercom solution. Now they use CopperHead units to get signals between command locations.
The new 6442i CommLink module—which is housed in our rugged Muscle Shell enclosures and will start s
hipping in a month—offers the flexibility to be used in different modes of operation, making it a unique Intercom solution currently not offered anywhere else in the business today. Among the many ways it can be used is to extend two ports from a digital matrix intercom system out to two remote key panels that can be placed anyway you can run a single mode fiber-optic cable.
With the new CommLink module, anyone on the emergency reaction team inside the Command Center can seamlessly communicate with the people in the field. Working on fiber also allows them to use our CopperHead transceivers mounted on cameras to send back pictures (and intercom and other critical data) from disaster areas as far as 2,000 feet away. This bi-directional visual (and audio) assessment is critically important in times of real emergencies.
So, we’re seeing lots of our Rattler converters going out into the military, although I’m not allowed to say to whom or where. Many of our resellers are telling us that military bases are laying fiber everywhere and using it to send HD video and high-quality audio to and from remote sites. The Rattler is used to convert baseband HD-SDI signals to optical for easy and fast transmission. It even fits in your pocket for easy portability, yet delivers pristine signal quality every time out.
In order for our resellers to win government business, Telecast products had to endure some of the most rigorous testing to be certified good enough for military use. As we all know, the military does not fool around with second- rate gear from overseas suppliers. They want the best and, increasingly, they want made-in-the-U.S.A. Telecast Fiber Systems technology.
If you work at a government agency of any kind, give me (bill.hollis@belden.com) a call (630-305-0877) and let me show you how our skilled sales channels can solve your infrastructure requirements in the most rugged, reliable and cost-effective way. We’ve got the experience—been doing it for several years now—and the engineering knowledge, so we know what you need to configure a custom system to get the job done.
And, as you can see, I’m very good about honoring non-disclosure agreements. Promise, I won't tell a soul.
Posted by Darren Fordham
In an increasing trend that has boosted our business across a variety of new markets, the Athletic departments at many of the nation’s largest schools are upgrading their video production facilities to handle high-definition signals for the enjoyment of fans in attendance at home games. Understanding that fans want a similar experience to what they get from broadcast television, the schools are improving the look of the video images on their large in-stadium scoreboards, adding more camera views and pre-taped content, and installing multilayered digital signage systems to keep people informed..JPG)
To make sense of it all, schools are building one really nice control room and then linking all of the various venues on campus and managing the sources through this one centralized location. From this one, state-of-the-art room, HD signals are easily received, mixed and distributed as required. These productions often rival any live sports network broadcast on TV. We’re also seeing school’s link up their performing arts centers and even doing remote teaching (we used to call that “distance learning”) from the same control room.
In all cases, what they've realized is that moving video signals over fiber-optic cable is the way to do it. You get more distance, the signal quality is pristine and the installation process is easier and less painful (to your back and your wallet). Speaking of distance, campuses like that at Georgia Tech have installed up to five miles of fiber all across the downtown area to show games in progress. You can’t do that with coaxial cable (even though our parent company, Belden, makes some fine, high-quality copper cable).
For the past two years Telecast has found success in helping these school’s build a better infrastructure that they can grow with into the future. We just closed a major deal with the University of Florida (Gainesville) for dozens of our Adders: Adder II (audio signal and Intercom multiplexing), Copperheads (camera-mounted transceiver), Python 3G (signal transmitters and receivers), SHEDs (SMPTE Hybrid Elimination Devices), HDX (power) units, and Telethon 3G units (optical and electrical multiplexer). All accommodate the highest quality 3 Gbps infrastructures.
It’s the same “single control room, multi-venue application” system that we've installed at University of Alabama, University of Kentucky, University of Oklahoma (“SoonerVision”), Mississippi State, Texas Tech, and the University of Texas. They all have one thing in common, a need to entertain and inform in the most cost-effective way.
In all cases, the need for Telecast Fiber Systems technology is clear. Our Python systems, for example (in 8x8 and 16x1 I/O configurations) are used to send signals where they need to go. Installing a Python 8x8 unit in their remote truck dock, the school then installs one in the control room. This way they can mix camera feeds from the truck with their own in-stadium sources to make the A/V presentation for fans that much more sophisticated. The Python also helps the guys in the truck pick and choose feeds coming from inside the control room. A truck is not going to be able to get every camera angle or video feed on its own.
These days nearly everyone is sharing resources and moving more and more HD content around a building and around a campus or other multi-venue environment. And they’re using Telecast gear to keep fans in the seats.
Give me darren.fordham@belden.com a call at (256) 830-5594 and let me show you how it’s done.
Posted by Steve DeFrancesco
The pushing and shoving of camera operators at the New Hampshire Republican primary last night (10/12) was comical to see, but underscored the value of our camera-mounted, fiber-optic transceivers (Copperhead) and signal distribution gear (SHED/HDX). In the midst of the crush of photographers there to cover the voting and campaign headquarters, our Copperhead 3050 units, being used by a number of network and local affiliate stations, allowed the shooters to move around and set up easily, without the need for heavy and clumsy coax cables.
The Copperheads-equipped cameras were also able to get closer to the story, which, judging by all of the commotion and frenetic activity, clearly every camera operator in town wanted to do in order to get the “big story.”
The CopperHead 3050 has all of the features news crews need. They get uncompressed and rock-solid HD video and broadcast quality (stereo) audio from the camera to the truck, and then IFB, return video and Ethernet connectivity back, all on a one, military-spec, single-mode fiber cable.
Our SHED (SMPTE Hybrid Elimination Device) was also evident in the photog gallery at some of the key polling locations at the major campaign headquarter hotels. It’s a small adapter that allows news shooters to use ordinary single mode optical fiber for their HD camera links and eliminate bulky hybrid wire/fiber.
They're actually using two SHED adapter units with our HDX camera power unit cables, one at the base station inside an ENG truck and the other at the camera. This allows them to locally 
power the camera, or use the HDX unit to power the camera through the hybrid tail cable. In fact, several SHED units can be support on one lightweight fiber cable.
Of course, Mitt Romney won the Republican primary vote last night, but I'll bet there were a lot of camera operators that, after seeing the Copperhead in action, would vote for getting one themselves. The guys using fiber were able to tear down and get out of there a lot sooner than most of the others with coax.
So, it’s on to South Carolina, where more Copperheads will be in use. Give us a call and let us show you how to get the shots you need, without all of the fuss.
Posted by Jim Hurwitz
We‘re starting the New Year off on the right foot, with a new order from a major O&O station in Los Angeles for our Copperhead 3050 camera-mounted transceivers and other orders soon to be closed.
This latest major market station, which won't let me use their call letters, had purchased ten units last year and has been so impressed that they've come back for at least three more. Now most of their 25 live trucks—they have one of the largest fleets in the country—are outfitted with CopperHeads and enjoying all of the benefits of fiber-optic newsgathering (signals travel farther, equipment setup and tear down is much easier than with coax, its more reliable, robust and stronger than coax, and much lighter weight than copper cable reels).
The photogs at the station love the Copperheads and said they are changing the way they approach newsgathering. Now they can get closer to the story, which could translate into better ratings (at least that’s the theory), and they can easily plug into existing fiber infrastructure at local city government buildings and be ready for the next “big story” to take place inside the courtroom.
This is in light of the emergence of bonded cellular transmission for ENG. Our loyal customer said they have used cellular paths, but can't guarantee its reliability. The Copperhead 3050 in tandem with a small microwave truck, on the other hand, has provided them with an uninterrupted, pristine HD picture every time out.
The 3050 has all of the features news crews need. They get 3050 they get uncompressed and rock-solid HD video and broadcast quality (stereo) audio from the camera to the truck, and then IFB, return video and Ethernet connectivity back, all on a one, military-spec, single-mode fiber cable.
We're also receiving recurring orders for the Copperhead 3050 from a major Spanish-language network, which is on a mission to increase local HD news coverage in all of the markets they serve (including Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Miami). And we’re happy to support them.
Other broadcast news operations are also increasingly using our CopperHead Visa, which gives them a seamless fiber-optic link between the camera and any third-party transmit/receive and audio embedder/de-embedder systems, such as the Evertz Video PassPort™.
We’re proud to see that stations across the country have all embraced the Copperhead 3050 because it performs well under all conditions and fits nicely into their operating expense (OpEx) budget. That’s a key point to remember. The CopperHead 3050 is tailored to ENG and fits in nicely under the $10,000 price range that most OpEx budgets can easily absorb. And it works on all types of ENG cameras, so your investment is secure through several revolutions of cameras, which we all know regularly pass through the station’s maintenance department and succumb to wear and tear.
Give us a call and let us show you how the CopperHead can literally change your approach to newsgathering and all types of production applications.
So, Happy New Year from all of us at Telecast Fiber Systems. With a variety of hot products and some very interesting new ones coming down the road, we’re looking forward to 2012 being a good one.
Posted by Eric Sullivan
We just wanted to say thank you for a great year, and here is looking to 2012! Happy Holidays to all our friends and families from everyone here at Telecast Fiber Systems.
Posted by Ed Miley
While many broadcasters and production companies are focused on next summer’s Olympic games in London, we also have our eyes set on the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. (Hey, we’re headquartered in central Massachusetts, we like cold weather. And our equipment stands up to the worst conditions.)
As you know, these multi-venue games take time and effort to produce and host, so everything has to be ready way beforehand. Working more than two years in advance is not unusual (just ask NBC).
In fact, during the past six months we have seen a great deal of interest coming out of Russia for Telecast products—some gearing up for a variety of upcoming large projects some associated with the Olympics of 2014 and others to be used for other productions.
I’m happy to report that the Winter Olympics in Russia are turning out to be a boon for Telecast Fiber Systems. We recently completed a deal with ISPA-SAT, a Russia-based systems integrator, for a major project that will put a large amount of our fiber transceivers and other equipment into the Russian market by early next year.
The large order—which includes numerous Copperhead 3400 transceiver systems, SHED & HDX, Tactical Fiber, SMPTE cable, Viper Mussel Shell and the new T-POV-324 systems—will be used for a variety of live sporting events, including the downhill ski trials at Sochi in February 2012. All of the regional broadcasters will use this equipment and more during the Winter Olympics at Sochi in 2014.
As head of International sales here at Telecast, I have seen a steady demand for Copperhead 3200 and Copperhead 3400 systems in the past two years from broadcasters and major production companies. They are putting them on OB trucks, in flight-pack production systems and in educational facilities. This trend is looking very healthy for 2012 as well.
In addition to Russia, we have also had great success winning new business for large projects in the France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Norway, the UK and other countries in Eastern Europe. And not just for sports.
For example, the Technical University of Lodz and several other educational institutions in Poland have deployed our technology (Copperhead 3200s and other systems) in several production studios and training centers across the country. In fact, Telecast gear is now eight large cities (such as Lodz and Warsaw). Each institution typically has purchased three systems.
One student operator named “Matthew” in Warsaw, where they use our fiber transceiver on a Panasonic DMC-LZ7 HD camera, said that the Copperhead 3200 “turns any ENG camcorder into a EFP camera with remote paint control, HD-SDI in/out, three channels of analog video, dual-channel audio and dual-channel intercom. It's quite remarkable, really.”
And he has pictures to prove it. [You can see his posts at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jstarpl/5158260265/in/photostream/.]
We have also been enjoying renewed interest in our products from the Oil Exploration, Underwater and Teaching Hospital market segments. This is great news for us, as these are not markets we normally support.
Our worldwide success is due to the great sales and service teams we have assembled to serve our customers locally, where they work. We are fortunate to have a thriving and supportive network of dealers, systems integrators and key customers across Europe that help keep the Telecast brand at the forefront overseas.
It doesn't matter whether you work in North America or overseas, when you are spec’ing your next projects, think fiber—to make your work easier and your clients happier—and call Telecast Fiber Systems—to make you a hero in everyone’s eyes.
You owe it to yourself, wherever you might be in the world.
Posted by Steve DeFrancesco
Telecast Fiber Systems is looking better all the time.
With the acquisition of Telecast Fiber Systems by Belden complete, and the reorganization of our sales force fully implemented, we’re now happy to announce a new website http://www.telecast-fiber.com/ to better serve you, our loyal community.
We received lots of feedback regarding how to improve upon our initial site and have come up with what I think is a great online resource to help with your purchase decisions. It’s been a lot of hard work, but the results speak for themselves.
The site features a variety of highly interactive ways to find information and specs on our complete product portfolio, connect with a sales engineer to help configure your next system, and a refreshing look that presents our products in their best light.
There’s also links to our weekly blog, product videos, educational white papers, comprehensive data sheets and a list of every Telecast Fiber Systems dealer and reseller in the world. And our social media links are clearly visible to enable you to provide feedback on our products or your sales experience, simply by registering your name and contact info. We’ll get back to you (if required) within a day.
We encourage you to visit the site at http://www.telecast-fiber.com/ and see what we’ve been up to. Our goal is always to get closer to our customers and valued channel partners while providing the best tools to ensure success. Let us show you how we can streamline your projects and make your business more successful.
Posted by Bill Hollis
We just wrapped up our exhibit at the Government Video Expo conference in Washington DC this week and saw a lot of good friends and customers. We also won an award for developing and exhibiting one of the most innovative products at the show: THOR. Not a bad two days in our nation’s capitol.
What’s clear is that our government-rated business is picking up, after a (too long) period of
budgets constraints, and that this market really likes our technology—because it’s robust enough to stand up to military applications and it can be relied upon to work every time out.
Several people from the White House Communications department stopped by to say how much they loved the Copperhead 3200 transceivers they are now using virtually every day (we had one on display) and were looking to retrofit the interface connections from MX to Nuetrik.
The award-winning Thor (which was recognized with the “Government Video Salute” award at the show) is our new family of signal conversion and transport devices that includes high-quality fiber optic interfaces for the conversion and handling of DVI and HDMI signals in a wide range of mission-critical applications.
There are a range of Thor devices, depending on your application. For example, you can use a Thor-C device to convert VGA sources to DVI. Or use a Thor-S for a combination multiplexer,
repeater and crosspoint switcher. Using the Thor software command GUI, the serial device can be used to setup I/O requirements for specific KVM/Video output combinations. KVM switching is accomplished via push-button commands specified through stored macros or accessed directly through GPIO contacts.
The product family is ideally suited for military and government training applications that require the highest resolution imaging and full support of keyboard and mouse control. It works with legacy systems in all applications to bring the best digital quality images to displays across a network.
Winning wards like the “Government Video Salute” proves that Telecast Fiber Systems is developing products that important vertical markets like government need most.
Visitors to our both also were enthusiastic about our Viper I throwdown box and muscle shell enclosure, which saves time effort and cost. The government guys love the fact that this combination gives you the confidence of, so the system is always available when you need it most. Believe me, these things have been field-proven in the most rigorous conditions (ones I’m not allowed to mention in detail, or you might never hear from me again).
Another product I had lots of positive conversations about is our Rattler and Rattler 3G signal
converters. This small (3 inches long) device easily fits in your pocket yet can handle almost any type of signal in and out. The Rattler 3G allows you to transmit 3 Gbps SMPTE 424M HD/SDI, 1.5 Gbps SMPTE 292M HD/SDI and 19.4 Mbps SMPTE 310M over distances of a mile or more, with no signal degradation. Customers simply order the type of conversion they need and can add a variety of serial digital transmission modules as they need it. It protects your investment and gives you the tools you need to get the job done.
I think that was the most important message we presented at this year’s show: Telecast is happy to cater to your needs and provide you with the right fiber optic transmitters and receivers for your individual application. Everyone uses it them in a slightly different way, and here at Telecast we can accommodate you.
So, judging by the great conversations I had and the steady stream of visitors interested in our signal distribution over fiber technology (many of whom already know and love our stuff), the government is embracing video production in a big way and, with new capital to spend, are looking to Telecast Fiber Systems to support their efforts. We know this market and have a lot of experience in supporting it. In fact, for many few years Telecast Fiber Systems has been providing high-quality fiber optic solutions to various private educational, government, and military organizations to extend range, simplify cabling, and reduce labor costs and set up time.
Give me a call at (630) 305-0877 (or visit http://www.telecast-fiber.com/) and let me show you how I can help make your projects better and your crews more productive.
Posted by John Herrholz
Those watching NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” might be surprised to learn that crews have exactly 12 minutes to get that on-field announce desk (seen at the beginning of each game) for the “Football Night in America” show on and off the field. If they don’t, the home team is assessed a 15 yard penalty (maybe “interference” or “obstruction”). Ouch!
To ensure success, the crew involved has compartmentalized each part of the set (the desk, cameras, equipment rack and lights) and configured it such as way that it can be set up and taken down quickly. Telecast Fiber Systems gear helps make that transition smooth and easy.
For “Football Night in America,” (FNiA) they use two SHED/HDX systems each and every week to interconnect the remote set to video for camera shading, power, intercom, prompter etc.
The Telecast SHED (SMPTE Hybrid Elimination Device) system allows SMPTE-equipped HD broadcast cameras to run over two single mode fibers, rather than using heavy SMPTE hybrid cables. A “SHED-BS” at the truck makes the CCU think it is connected to SMPTE hybrid cable and that there is a camera at the other end, when it is really just connected to two dry fiber 
strands. At the camera end, an HDX unit connects to the other ends of the fiber, then links to the camera using a short SMPTE hybrid jumper, providing connectivity and power for the camera. The HDX looks at the power load the camera is requesting and adjusts for that particular requirement. We offer HDX versions for Grass Valley, Hitachi, Ikegami, and Sony cameras.
For the actual game coverage, each “Sunday Night Football” telecast uses 26 cameras located throughout the particular venue. Of these, up to 20 cameras are attached to Telecast SHED/HDX systems—depending upon the infrastructure at a given stadium. NEP SuperShooters and its ND-3 HD truck, which carries 26 SHED/HDX systems on board, handle the production.
[NEP actually owns about 150 of the Telecast SHEDS, which it uses with Sony HDC-1000 fixed and HDC-1500 handheld HD cameras. George Hoover, Chief Technology Officer at NEP Broadcasting, said that in many stadiums there is no installed SMPTE fiber but there is single mode fiber in place, so SHED systems are used to make the transition. On golf telecasts, NEP
uses them in the same way, except of course, there is no installed cable infrastructure, so they run miles of 12-strand tactical fiber rather than individual camera cables.]
For return video to the field, Telecast 6292 and/or 5142 Viper modules are used for either HD or NTSC video return for the sideline monitors. A pair of Telecast Rattlers is used to feed the HD wireless confidence monitor used by the sideline reporter. For up to eight channels of return NTSC video to the broadcast booth, a Telecast Diamondback is employed.
For transmission to the uplink truck (primary transmission for the FNiA cameras and audio as well as backup transmission for the game), a Telecast Viper 442 throwdown with two Telecast Fiber reels are used.
Understanding the way production works better than most companies; we continue to develop new products to make the job smoother. We recently supplied the crew with our new 6442i “CommLink” system for field-testing. The CommLink extends the reach of matrix or party line 
intercom systems over a single strand of single mode fiber. In this case, it permits a fully featured RTS Adam keypanel to be connected between the field and the truck bay so that the Engineer in Charge (EIC) at the FNiA set can now talk with all of the personnel in the production truck, the uplink truck and even to the Technical Director who is located at 30 Rock, in New York. He can also confirm return video feeds and teleprompter feed with NYC as this content is backhauled from 30 Rock.
To say this is a huge advantage and the guys are excited is an understatement. Prior to this product (meaning now), the EIC had to use his cell phone and call each person involved with the production individually to ensure everything is working properly. And anyone who’s ever tried to get a good cell phone connection inside a football stadium understands the issues that could arise.
The new CommLink module, which will be available early next year (just in time for the Super Bowl) in a Telecast Viper chassis mount and in a throwdown configuration, gives him a dedicated intercom link to discuss the gear and troubleshoot any problems. It’s as if he were in New York City. That’s how reliable the link is.
Live sports are just one application where our products are making a difference. At Telecast Fiber Systems, we’re not waiting for Sunday Night… we are working every day for our partners in sports broadcasting… as well as Corporate AV presentations, government and military applications, houses of worship, and so much more.
Posted by Steve DeFrancesco
By Steve DeFrancesco
Our gear is used for a wide variety of applications, but the installation at NESN is noteworthy for its cost-effective use of our technology to repurpose a valuable asset and produce television programming that literally didn’t exist previously..jpg)
For eight years, NESN (New England Sports Network) has depended on Telecast Fiber Systems' fiber-optic transceiver technology for its local television coverage of the Boston Red Sox and Bruins games as well as collegiate sports on a cable network that serves four million homes in six New England States.
Beginning last November, however, NESN partnered with WEEI Sports Radio in Boston to break new ground in combining radio and television media and experiment with remote-controlled fiber optic technology.
WEEI, one of the most successful sports radio talk stations in America, now does video simulcasts of the “Dennis and Callahan Morning Show” each weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. It’s 
aired live on NESN in New England and later in prime time across the country to 3.7 million viewers on NESN National.
This unique programming partnership brings together the two most popular sports media companies in New England in ways that complement the strengths of each organization. It—and other experiments like it throughout the nation—may signal a new trend in combining the power of media assets.
For the show, NESN installed four remotely controlled Sony BRC-H700 HD cameras with pan/tilt/zoom mechanisms connected to Telecast Fiber’s bi-directional 5400-series POV remote camera systems in WEEI's studio in Brighton, Mass. The POV system allows video, audio, monitor return, a genlock signal and duplex data for the pan-tilt-zoom camera control to be combined and transported on the single fiber connection.
Dark fiber supplied by Sidera Networks feeds video signals back to the NESN HD Television Center in Watertown, Mass. In the Watertown control room, NESN directs and switches the four video feeds and add graphics, finishing the program. No personnel is needed at WEEI during the recording. In the morning, before each show, the crew simply makes contact with the WEEI staff through the intercom system.
“The WEEI video link has been fantastic,” said Dave Desrochers, vice president of engineering for NESN. “It has been a technical success from day one. We are doing the show from an actual radio studio and it looks like a radio show on TV which is the look we were going for.”
In addition to its WEEI show, NESN uses fiber for its game coverage, pre-game shows and press conferences. It uses Telecast Fiber’s Viper I, Viper II and Adder II modular audio/video systems to send uncompressed HD and audio feeds plus a combination of Ethernet, and analog signals on fiber. Recently, during the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup championship, NESN used Telecast Rattlers to go live from multiple locations throughout the TD Garden facility.