Spotlight: North Brunswick – New Era begins at North Brunswick TV with new and improved Control Room.

by Craig Yetsko, Station Manager, North Brunswick TV

A new era for North Brunswick TV began last summer with the completion of a project that included major improvements to the control room and a new sound system for the Municipal Building Courtroom and Council Meeting Room.

The origins of this transformation began in 2021 as the remnants of Hurricane Ida caused significant damage and closure of the Municipal Building. While the control room and meeting rooms were largely spared much damage, it became apparent that new and upgraded equipment would be needed.

In early 2023, the station began working with Varto Technologies on a plan to integrate high-quality video, audio and presentation display capabilities. Work on the project began in May 2024, with completion in late July. The new setup had its debut at the July 29 Township Council Meeting.

The control room also has six TV monitors connected to the TriCaster TC2 Elite, speakers and a utility computer, with two monitors used for Cablecast operations, audio control and video editing through DaVinci Resolve.

Feedback has been positive from viewers who tell us that video and audio quality is much improved. This improvement is due to the change from the previous analog composite video wiring to HD-SDI.

The components in the control room’s rack unit include new Cablecast VIO, live and VOD servers, TriCaster TC2 Elite server, Blackmagic Design Smart VideoHub Video, Router, Blue Stream Video Matrix, servers for the Shure wireless microphone system and two UPS battery backup systems.

The TriCaster2 Elite includes a Flex Control Surface. The control room also has six TV monitors connected to the TriCaster TC2 Elite, speakers and a utility computer, with two monitors used for Cablecast operations, audio control and video editing through DaVinci Resolve.

The Court Room and Council Meeting Room have Panasonic AW-UE80 PTZ cameras (4 in the Court Room, 2 in the Council Meeting Room) with a joystick controller in the control room. Two 55 inch TV monitors were installed in each room.

The township moved to a wireless microphone system in the two meeting rooms. A Shure Microflex wireless system was installed, which included 12 microphones in each room, two handheld microphones and charging bays in the control room. Previously, the Court Room had wired microphones while the Council Meeting Room had drop microphones from the ceiling.

An enhancement that really elevated the station’s live meeting production is the ability to control the audio levels in each room and the volume of each microphone. Through the Symextrix’s SymVue control screen, the speakers in each of the room’s zones (three zones in the Court Room, two in the Council Meeting Room) can easily be adjusted or muted.

Another item which will enhance presentation in both meeting rooms is the addition of two T-10 Glass touch screens. The touch screen is plugged into a HDBT port while a laptop is plugged into an HDMI port. The T-10 Glass has a control screen, just like the utility computer, that routes the laptop’s screen to project on to monitors in either room.

Since the return to the Municipal Building, the station has also worked with North Brunswick Township High School to receive videos of athletic games and a semi-monthly news show for broadcast. Another initiative that is around the corner is a video podcast with Mayor Francis ‘Mac’ Womack. The station is currently researching equipment to purchase for the setup. Last year, the township received a $10,000 grant from Altice for the podcast project.

With the upgrades to the control room as well as new equipment in the coming months, the future looks very bright for North Brunswick TV to deliver quality programming to the community.

Essential Guide to Video Frame Rates and Conversion Tools

Whether you’re a seasoned video producer and director like myself or just starting, having the right tools is essential for creating high-quality content. I’ve been a long-time fan of both the free and pro versions of DaVinci Resolve, but sometimes, you need to convert video or audio formats quickly and may not have all your professional tools at your fingertips.

JAG’s Annual Conference 2025: Sessions & Roundtables

The JAG Conference Committee has finalizing eight sessions for the Production/Management Symposium on the second day of the conference. Four of these will be panel presentations by industry professional and four will be roundtables that include both JAG members and vendors.

Legislative Update March 2025: News from Trenton & Washington, DC – Changes in the FCC

Last month became an active one for us, but now Congress is dealing with other issues and everything else has slowed down a-bit. So, instead of discussing actions being taken in either our federal or state governments, we are turning our attention to New Jersey for a more in-depth discussion and perspective on what is going on with all legislation and broadband deployment in the Garden State, along with technology backed by acts to aid in emergency situations.

President’s Message: March 2025 Too Big and Too Important to Miss

In life, some events come along at just the right time. The annual JAG Conference is one of those events! As we gradually recovered from the challenges of COVID-19, we decided to bring back the JAG Conference, and what better way to do so than with a full-packed, one-day event?

The response was overwhelmingly positive, but we heard you loud and clear: you want more. After conducting a survey, we found nearly everyone wanted a multi-day conference with more vendors, more sessions, and a larger, all-around experience. We’re excited to announce that this year’s conference will be more!

A JAG Parable

The article discusses the significance of JAG membership for West Milford, emphasizing the support it provides in broadcasting operations. Despite budget constraints, the decision to renew membership reflects the local government’s commitment. JAG’s resources, including programming access and legislative updates, enhance the town’s community channel, demonstrating the value of active involvement in the organization.