New York Network Goes HD With Sony’s XDCAM Professional Disc System

New York Network, which is the broadcast center owned by the State University of New York (SUNY) and serves many of the state’s educational institutions, government agencies and private-sector clients, is entering the next phase of its technology life cycle, centered on Sony’s XDCAM® HD Professional Disc™ system.

In 2003, the network completed the first phase, opening a complete HD broadcast and production facility. This included three studios, three control rooms, master control, two nonlinear edit suites, an announcer booth, satellite uplinks, and field production facilities.

According to the network’s executives, a technology like Sony’s XDCAM HD system was vital to continuing this effort to prepare the network’s operations for the future.

“Other competitive solutions required the media to be dumped to a server, and then you had to burn a DVD for long-term storage,” said Patrick Roche, director of engineering, New York Network/State University of New York. “The XDCAM system allows us to take media directly from the camera to the shelf.”

According to Sara M. Hill, the network’s production manager, in addition to significant workflow improvements, the XDCAM technology provided the necessary flexibility to handle the diverse range of programming produced by NYN.

“We wanted the XDCAM system because it offers a much more flexible acquisition and storage system for the long-form projects we do,” Hill said. “We can shoot for extended periods of time and store the media conveniently"

According to the network, NYN produces numerous videoconferences and training programs for state agencies, which have adopted live interactive TV as an alternative to training “road shows” for staff scattered across the state.

The network is also a prime provider of web casting and streaming services to state agencies, recently required by New York’s Governor Eliot Spitzer to provide live coverage of open meetings.

“Sony provided the bulk of the equipment and installation for our Broadcast Center in Albany, which has functioned at top efficiency and reliability since 2003,” said William F. Snyder, executive director of NYN. “So, naturally, we looked at Sony for this current phase of our growth, and the XDCAM HD system was a perfect fit for many of our acquisition and production needs.”

Snyder said the network also produces live coverage of New York Lottery drawings four times each day and operates a network of racing coverage for the New York Off-Track Betting Corporations. In addition, NYN provides a media gateway for the major networks and broadcast stations for coverage of New York State government and politics.