Louisiana Station Goes "On Air" With 4:2:2 Advantage

Elmwood Park, NJ (May 22, 1998) – KNTS-TV 17, an independent start-up television station in the greater Natchitoches, LA region, is going on air May 26, 1998 with JVC's DIGITAL-S equipment as its house videotape format.

KNTS-TV, which will broadcast on Channels 17 and 27, is a community-based television station affiliated with America One Television, a general entertainment broadcast network providing family-oriented programming. "In addition to serving mainstream feature programming, KNTS will broadcast local news, weather, high school and collegiate sports," said David Poston, KNTS Business Development Manager.

KNTS is owned by CP-Tel Broadcasting, a subsidiary of CP-Tel Holdings Inc., a local telco and Internet provider. When CP-Tel decided to diversify into the broadcast market, they decided a core competitive element of their new start-up would be a high quality programming delivered with the highest quality digital technology available.

Poston continued, "Since it's a rural area, there's not been much programming available to this community, therefore we're launching with tremendous local support. With our station launch, we'll reach more than 112,000 viewers spread across six Louisiana parishes and two Texas counties, creating a brand new forum for entertainment and news. KNTS management sees this as a great opportunity to be both profitable and community-minded – and because of this, we invested in JVC's DIGITAL-S for superior picture quality and economical production. There's no other videotape format which delivers high quality 4:2:2 component processing at the incredible price points of JVC."

KNTS General Manager Richard Gill researched competing digital formats prior to purchase in order to find a high-quality digital format capable of taking the station into the 21st Century. Gill became convinced of the superiority of DIGITAL-S after viewing a side-by-side demonstration that revealed DIGITAL-S footage was visually indistinguishable from Digital Betacam, and clearly superior to the DV derivatives.

Gill said, "The 4:2:2 processing and mild 3.3:1 compression was what really cinched the decision. It has terrific color detail and virtually no artifacts: yet, this superior picture quality comes at a very affordable price."

To start, KNTS purchased three DY-700 DIGITAL-S Camcorders; one RM-G820 Editor/Controller; seven BR-D750 DIGITAL-S VTRs; and two BM-H1300SU High Resolution Monitors.

Gill said the JVC equipment will be used in a variety of applications. In the field, station videographers will capture local ENG footage with the DY-700 camcorders, capable of shooting in extremely low light. Meanwhile, in the studio, the station's own commercial production and special effects will be edited on one of the station's seven BR-D750 VTRs, while two other BR-D750s will be used to edit the daily news. The remaining four BR-D750s will record satellite feeds that will be rebroadcast for KNTS programming.

Looking ahead five years, Gill said he plans to build out KNTS's viewership by increasing the station's coverage with the construction of a third tower, and by leveraging its marketshare in the central Louisiana/Eastern Texas region.

"We think DIGITAL-S can really make a difference," Gill said. "Since we intend to grow our station, KNTS's "brand identity" is vital. Reputation is everything. And our selection of a house videotape format will undoubtably have many long-term ramifications. In this case, I think our choice of DIGITAL-S will turn out to be a watershed moment in KNTS history."

JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY, located in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, distributes a complete line of broadcast and professional equipment. For more information about JVC's DIGITAL-S, contact David Walton at 1-800-JVC-5825, or visit the DIGITAL-S web site at www.digital-s.com or the JVC web site at www.jvcpro.com.