5.0. SWCASR 01 16 2014 Sherburne Wright Cable Commission
4th Quarter Report
January 14th, 2014
Web Site
The web site is ready to demo. We have been working with Suzie Meier of Web Site Solutions.
She also designed the City of Buffalo site. The link is: http: testsm v.-s.Into'ssvYv!htdoesi new,.html
We will be updating the Movie in the Park schedule after everyone selects their movie dates.
Mark is working on a calendar for the upcoming spring and summer productions that will
include the parade and sports schedule. He is also working on a list of completed programs that
will be located in our video store are and also will be loaded to our Video on Demand site. Right
now we estimate that we will have over 100 programs accessible on the Video on Demand site
by February.
We have many other features that we will be adding in the very near future. Suzie told us that she
needs more time to finish the separate commission web site. Please let us know your thoughts
and ideas. We would like to do a soft launch as soon as everyone has had a chance to review it.
And then issue a press release and try to get some press coverage after the commission web site
is ready.
Channel 19
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HID Equipment Transition
We are still moving along with the upgrade work. Right now we are concentrating on replacing
monitors and other support pieces that have failed. Most of the new equipment will be available
to purchase in March and April as manufacturers release their 2014 products.
At the last meeting I handed out packets with estimated costs and upgrade paths to transition to
HD equipment. As we have previously discussed,manufacturers are no longer producing analog
production gear anymore to replace our existing equipment. During the last quarter I have been
meeting with cities to review these recommendations. We have almost met with everyone. The
holiday season and winter schedules delayed some of the meetings but they should all be
wrapped up soon.
Attempted Trailer Break in
Thieves pried open 2 small access doors on our production trailer while it was parked at our
storage site. They did not gain access to the inside of our trailer. We contacted the Wright
County Sheriff's office and found out that this was part of a larger crime spree that started in
Cokato and covered Annandale and Minneapolis as well.
A neighboring trailer in the facility was stolen. The video cameras in the facility were able to get
good shots of the perpetrators faces and the Sheriff's Department told me that they had the
suspects.
In addition to door locks,we also use a hitch lock and a wheel lock. We contacted Russell's
Lock of Buffalo to make sure we are using the best door locks that are available for our vehicle.
They showed us a new type of lock that they felt would better protect the doors. Russell's has
ordered the parts and will install them as soon as they arrive.
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Winter Equipment Repairs
This winter has been very tough on the trailer camera and audio cable reels. We have had to
repair the reels quite a few times and replace numerous connectors both on the cables and on our
access panel. The new cameras have been working great and the volunteers seem to love them.
As Mark will detail, it has been a very busy winter season for shoots. We have increased the
number of holiday concerts and sporting events which has allowed us to keep the programming
on the channel fresh.
The winter storms have also affected the city channels more then usual this year. The Charter
techs have been very responsive to our calls when we have problems and have kept down time to
a minimum.
Cable and Power Access Panels
As I mentioned previously we have been installing electrical and cable access panels in
commission buildings where we do frequent shoots. We already have them in several city halls
and are also adding them to gymnasiums and other event facilities.
These provide us with faster setup times,easier access to electrical power, make it safer for staff
and the public with long cable runs and also give us a connection to the Internet.
We are starting the 2nd phase of our interconnection at the Elk River Hockey arena. The city is
allowing us to link with the fiber that they have run to the arena. We will be able to link back to
Elk River City Hall from there and also potentially to our S WTV l9 head end and other
communities.
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Monticello Projector Install
At the last meeting you approved the Monticello projector upgrade. Everything is working
perfectly and the city of Monticello is very happy with the new equipment.
Delano Twitter Project
This project is almost ready to launch. We have been held up by software license issues with the
bulletin board software. The Scala software company has apologized for the problems and
promises to have it fixed soon. The Twitter equipment is ready to launch but needs to work in
conjunction with the bulletin board software to work properly. I expect it to be fully operational
before the month is over.
Watertown Dais Remodel Changes
Watertown city staff had us make some additional changes to the new dais. We changed some
microphone locations and updated their Apple TV software. We also need to replace a
microphone.
.Changes to Sympodium Laptop Interfaces
Many cities have reported that they are frequently receiving requests for HDMI connectors from
people who give presentations at city council meetings. Most of the new laptops come with an
HDMI output instead of a VGA connector. We have already placed these in several cities and
will be providing these connector adaptors to all member cities for PC's along with additional
adaptors for the new Apple Laptop connections.
Big Lake and Maple Lake Remote Access
The cities of Big Lake and Maple Lake recently upgraded their internet service. This increased
bandwidth allowed us to setup remote access links to each city. We will now be able to send live
signals to their Leightronix Ultra Nexus equipment,check for some channel problems remotely
and post finished programs directly to their channel hard drives instead of having to physically
drive to each city.
In Big Lake we will also be able to add streaming capability of their channel and link it to the
city web site. This will help the hundreds of city residents who are frustrated about Windstream's
change to Dish Network which effectively shuts down access to watching the city meetings and
programming.
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January 2014 Production Report
Lots of Fun this quarter, starting with Football and ending with the 2nd season of Community Health
Topic.
Football came to a close this quarter with three football games, two in Elk River and one in Rockford,
Replays became"the thing"this season announcers started asking for replays during the game and we
were able to respond.
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City Works Elections.
We taped a City Works video on the Election Process. The video has been edited and submitted for
review to the City of Delano.
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Also for the City of Delano I am working on a Parks &Rec Year End Wrap Up video, which is also
waiting review.
Basketball and Hockey Season is here.
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So far we have taped 6 basketball games and two hockey games. In the last game we were able to
sneak in a few replays. Our camera operators are learning where they need to be and when giving us a
few more seconds in the trailer to play replays and not have to set up shots. We did have to cancel two
games so far due to the extreme cold.
Monroe Crossing Christmas
One of my favorite events this year is the Monroe Crossing Christmas Concert. Taped at the
Dassel/Cokato Performing Arts Center it was a very entertaining show, and our crew was excellent too.
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Christmas Tree Lighting
With the holiday season both Watertown and Delano have Christmas tree lighting's. It was the coldest
night of the season to that point. Delano canceled their lighting,but Watertown toughed it out.
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Holiday Season on Channel 19
During the month of December, I changed the background music on 19 to a holiday channel and made
a bunch of generic holiday greetings with festive motion backgrounds.
Buffalo Community Orchestra's Nutcracker Another holiday program featured the North Ballet
Youth Company, The Wright County Chamber Chorus and The wRight Ringers performing with the
Buffalo Community Orchestra.
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