ABC-TV affiliate WPTY and its sister station, UPN affiliate WLMT, both in Memphis, Tennessee, recently upgraded their news programs to digital quality with the purchase and installation of 10 BR-D80 DIGITAL-S recorders and 15 BR-D50 DIGITAL-S players.

The stations, which share news studios and equipment, both cover the greater Memphis area, which includes Northwest Mississippi, Southwest Tennessee, and Eastern Arkansas.

The Stations are currently using eight JVC KY-27C cameras for news gathering and have integrated the DIGITAL-S equipment into their existing S-VHS equipment. WPTY-TV broadcasts news programs at 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., while WLMT-TV broadcasts news at 9:00 p.m.

Pickel said he considered DV and its professional derivatives before deciding on DIGITAL-S, but ruled them out because he did not have faith in the smaller format size. "We wanted something rugged," Pickel noted. "DIGITAL-S looked like it fit the ticket exactly." Pickel first saw DIGITAL-S at NAB 1996, and when the station got a demonstration this year, he was sold. "We wanted 4:2:2 and it was affordable," he noted. "The picture quality of DIGITAL-S is great. Now that we've switched formats we have a visible edge over our competition."

The station has six edit rooms, of which four are cuts-only and two are A/B roll edit rooms. The facility also has an ENG record room where four BR-D80's are used and a playback room where news is aired via four BR-D50 is being utilized in each of the stations' live ENG trucks and satellite feed truck as well as in their satellite uplink truck.