Fox-affliate KRXI and UPN-affliate KAME conveniently share the same studio space in downtown Reno, Nevada. After considering all of the digital formats, these sister stations chose JVC's robust 4:2:2 DIGITAL-S to migrate gently and economically to the digital future.

Like many small braodcasters in America, the engineers of sister stations KRXI and KAME in Reno, Nevada strategized carefully on how to choreograph their shift to digital. The wheels of change began turning in 1994 when Cox Broadcasting bought KRXI and LMA'd with KAME. The following year, Cox Broadcasting made the commitment to move to gidital. As is true in many businesses, the motivating force behind the upgrade was to increase profitbility. However, the management of KRXI and KAME found that with one sweeping upgrade, they could also transform the sister stations' technical strength, broadcast product, and their image in the marketplace.

Side by side Master Controls

KRXI and KAME conveniently share space in downtown Reno, Nevada. Their master controls are side by side. KRXI-TV, Channel 11, a Fox affliate, is owned by Cox Broadcasting outright, KAME-TV, Channel 21, a UPN affliate, is managed by Cox Broadcast Development Corp. It is a delicate balance of competition and sisterhood. While both stations are in the same Reno market, they have vastly different audiences.

Knowing the broadcast industry and its trends toward better picture quality and NLE, Peter Grimm, KRXI station engineer urged Cox Broadcasting to choose a format that would serve the station well as the industry moved toward DTV.

Management at Cox Broadcasting stipulated that upgrades at both stationd be economical and of superior broadcast quality. Also, according to a management growth plan, both stations were slated to go digital within a three-year period. "This management-imposed deadline made my equipment decision list a hot topic" said Grimm. Renovating KRXI/KAME in tandem, instead if sequentially, made financial and technical ramifications doubly important. "A good decision would place us ahead of the market, and keep us poised for strong growth. A poor decision could be crippling," realized Grimm. KRXI and KAME found that their solution in JVC's DIGITAL-S.

The choice of DIGITAL-S was bolstered by months of research and the fact that other Cox Broadcasting stations had found great success with JVC' professional VTR's.

Ultimately, station engineers were impressed by the price/performance ratio of the DIGITAL-S. It was far more robust, and more economical than any of the DV formats – yet, it offered picture quality indistinguishable from other more expensive digital formats.

"Our station's management was impressed with he price and the technical superiority of DIGITAL-S," said Grimm, who was instrumental in guiding the decision. "I recommended DIGITAL-S because it has extremely high quality 4:2:2 component digital sampling, mild 3:3:1 compression and robust 1/2-inch tape. The competing DV formats offer weaker 4:1:1 sampling and 5:1 compression that produces artifacts."

All in all, the transition to digital via JVC proved to be a "blueprint" for success. With groundwork laid in S-VHS, the upgrade to DIGITAL-S was gentle because JVC's BR-D51 VTR player is engineered to offer both digital capability and S-VHS playback capability. This enabled the station to preserve its extensive S-VHS library while still achieving digital 4:2:2 broadcast quality.

KRXI purchased four JVC DIGITAL-S BR-D750 editing VTRs, three of which are used for production. The station also purchased two JVC DIGITAL-S BR-D40 dockable recorders that operate with the station's existing inventory of three JVC KY-27 cameras.

The savings resluting from the sister station's economical transition to digital, allowed KRXI and KAME, to fast track the total upgrade of all of its 31 S-VHS machines to JVC'S DIGITAL-S. "1998 is an important year for us," Grimm stressed. "Both stations will continue to upgrade to digital with the ultimate goal of being completely digital by year's end."