Feed of other stations. (Not a good title I know).

[DENDude 152]

Do all tv stations have a monitor in the control room or newsroom that shows the other stations in that market on split screen?   And who runs that? (master control, the networks??).  

I know the Denver stations do, KUSA & KCNC for example have numerous monitors in the newsroom showing the other stations.  They monitor each other and maybe CNN or MSNBC.

[noggi 472]

Yes. 

[TheRyan 556]

I can't speak to all stations, but I believe generally local newsrooms will have the other market stations on a row of monitors.

 

As far as networks go, I remember a few years ago there was some type of camera shot showing a monitor embedded within what was then the current anchor desk for ABC World News showing both the CBS and NBC feeds.

Edited April 2, 2021 by TheRyan

[C Block 1396]

Yep, you’ll find this in every newsroom and every news director and general manager’s office. Nothing special with how the signal is brought in – usually, the station will have a cable line just like what you have in your own home. Most stations also have individual monitors at every desk with the ability to also watch in-house feeds in addition to other channels.

[tyrannical bastard 2935]

Usually it's either an antenna or a feed from the local cable company.

 

Some stations have had to pull some acrobatics when companies like Comcast/Xfinity went full digital and were only wired for the old analog service.   I've seen one that created it's own in house system of cable channel modulators that had their own decoder box for a particular channel, so TVs in the station could tune to that channel.

 

Newer solutions may be more IP based, so they can deliver a better picture to the source.

 

[DENDude 152]

Cool!!!   Thanks guys!

[mrschimpf 1528]

2 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said:

Usually it's either an antenna or a feed from the local cable company.

 

Some stations have had to pull some acrobatics when companies like Comcast/Xfinity went full digital and were only wired for the old analog service.   I've seen one that created it's own in house system of cable channel modulators that had their own decoder box for a particular channel, so TVs in the station could tune to that channel

 

Just think of it just like LodgeNet does for their hotels; the chain usually subscribes to something like the local cable company or Dish or DirecTV, and then to create a 0-99 channel lineup, they have some kind of LodgeNet system around in-house so that instead of the having to figure out that 200 or 202 is CNN, it's on a more logical channel lower channel number, paired with other news channels (especially in rat's nest markets where providers never have changed their maps).

 

There are local and national companies whose entire purpose is wiring places that need multiple TVs and feeds (like a stock exchange, hospital stadium, arena, radio/TV station or sports bar) and switching around a system into a more logical channel map for their needs, because unless it's a home expo or realtor, you're never going to need 12 to be HGTV or 10 to be Food Network. I know my local hospital mixes the local cable system with their chapel feed and radio stations into something like this.

Edited April 6, 2021 by mrschimpf

[rkolsen 1664]

On 4/5/2021 at 8:16 PM, mrschimpf said:

There are local and national companies whose entire purpose is wiring places that need multiple TVs and feeds (like a stock exchange, hospital stadium, arena, radio/TV station or sports bar) and switching around a system into a more logical channel map for their needs, because unless it's a home expo or realtor, you're never going to need 12 to be HGTV or 10 to be Food Network. I know my local hospital mixes the local cable system with their chapel feed and radio stations into something like this.

One is Technicolor, they take DirecTV feeds and they can be rearranged any which way.  Some TVs such as ones on newsroom ceilings maybe controlled by a controller such as a sports bar while others maybe using commercial televisions that are used to decrypt the feeds.  They have ATSC decoders so when your station gets pulled from DirecTV you can still monitor it.

 

Comcast had lineups for organization like college campuses where you don’t need a box for every TV and can login like you do at home for their TVEverywhere lineup.  It wouldn’t surprise me if stations went this route. I’m not sure what the type of setup would be needed at the station level though. If everything is in the free and clear that would allow stations to stream and develop an IP option. 

[MorningNews 1090]

KTLA’s newsroom shot demonstrates this really well. Right over the presenter’s shoulder you can see each of the local competitors programming.