Comcast

Comcast streamlines their live sporting productions with the LVS-400. On location at local sporting events, Comcast in Dover Delaware uses the LVS-400, a 4 channel video mixer, when they tape and broadcast college and high school sports. Football, basketball, and softball as well as post season high school championships are their speciality. Permanently installed in their remote truck with Fast Forward instant replay machines and slow motion controllers DNF ST 300's, the LVS-400 allows the Comcast production crew the ability to pre-mix their video replays between different cameras prior to being routed to the main switcher.

When Production Manager Ron Dagley ran out of inputs on their main computer-based video switcher the Echo Lab 2700, he looked for alternative options because the 2700's expansion module not only would have been costly, but it would have required more rack space than was available. He explored the option of a small video mixer.

Dagley jumped on the web and upon doing a Google search, repeatedly came up with video mixers from Roland. The decision to go with the LVS-400 was easy - it has the basic functionality of four inputs and the basic switcher/mixer capabilities that they needed. The fact that the LSV-400 has BNC and SVHS connections sealed the deal.

Within the Comcast production truck there are 6 members of the production team in which the LVS-400 is utilized by the replay producer, Shane Burton. Burton is accompanied by two graphics techs that update the game stats, a program coordinator, audio tech, and Ron Dagley, the producer/ director who also has the job of the technical director during all productions.

A small environment with many people and lots of gear requires organization; in addition to supplying Comcast with more video inputs, the LVS-400 has helped streamline their production by getting the replays up in a fast and orderly manner. Comcast's instant replay machines are mixed through the LVS-400 before they go live, allowing these video signals to be pre-mixed through the LVS-400. Before the LVS-800 was in the chain, the instant replay machines were identified by color names so that they could be easily called up to bat. Burton would call out "Blue" or "Gold" and the replay machine by that name would be called up. Now with the LVS-400 in the chain, no more call outs are necessary. The Comcast truck is a lot quieter now and their production process is faster.

Another benefit that the LVS-400 has provided to Comcast is upstream keying. With both a Pinnacle and a Deko 500 character generator providing downstream keying, the LVS-400 allows upstream keying with the Comcast logo positioned in the corner with no risk of another video source transposing over their logo. With the LVS-400 the Comcast logo is dissolved over other keyed video sources.

The LVS-400 has been so successful in the Comcast remote truck that they are now looking at other applications where it could be used; a lot of their local municipalities want their meetings on TV and the LVS-400 is an obvious solution due to its simplicity. Once the cameras are set up and connected to the mixer's inputs, the operation is so easy to use that even a non-video person can run the system, making the LVS-400 the mixer for the job.

LVS-400

Simple, straightforward operation for all your mixing requirements.