5. SWCSR EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY REPORT 06-29-2023Sherburne Wright Cable Commission
Equipment and Technology Report
June 2023
Maple Lake St. Patrick's Day Parade
Parades
We always start the year of our parade coverage in Maple Lake at the St. Patrick's Day Parade. It
was cold and snowing but that didn't matter to anybody because everyone knows when you wear
green on this magical day it warms you up.
Our lead talent slipped on the ice and ended up at Urgent Care right before the start of the parade
so I filled in as one of the announcers. There was a very large turnout in spite of the weather and
we had a great time.
The summer parade and movie season is going very well. We have had 2 summer parades so far,
first in Buffalo and then in Big Lake. Laureen Bodin volunteered to announce the Buffalo
parade. Sherburne County Commissioner and former Big Lake Mayor Raeanne Danielowski
announced the Big Lake parade along with Corrie Scott. Next up is the big Delano 4th of July
extravaganza!
1
Buffalo Mock Car Crash
Buffalo Mock Car Crash
We provided a large audio system for the Buffalo Mock Car Crash. We put wireless
microphones on all of the student actors as well as the first responders. We do this event in a
different city each year and this year it was Buffalo's turn.
Wright County Commissioner Tina Diedrick sat with us. The Buffalo school staff is always very
helpful and grateful for our assistance. Jackson wasn't at the event but he did create a video of
the arrest segment that the students went indoors and watched after the outdoor portion.
The Buffalo Fire and Police Departments always do a great job along with the County first
responders.
Movie in the Park (or Parking Lot)
Our first movie this year was a Drive In movie in Big Lake. Corrie Scott always does a
wonderful job marking off the lot and getting food trucks to provide treats. People complimented
us on how great the picture looked. I've also attached a poster that she prepares for the movies.
We have also held movies in Buffalo and Rockford.
2
Movie in the Park in Big Lake, Buffalo and Rockford
New Movie Playback Equipment
Up until this year we have been limited to playing movies in standard definition. This has limited
our abilities. We have also had requests to use closed captioning.
We designed a new movie playback rack that allows us to playback High Definition Blu Ray
discs, thumb drives and even computer output. It also has Closed Caption capability.
We also found a DVD that had old Drive In movie refreshment trailers. We made a long loop out
of that and put it on a thumb drive. We play the old drive in clips before the movie as people are
coming in and buying food. We also put up the radio station frequency so people know which
channel to tune in on their radio.
T� _
New Movie Playback Rack
Rockford Veteran's Memorial Dedication
We covered the Rockford Veteran's Memorial Dedication. https://youtu.be/JUEIWxA-ZyH8
4
Other Events
We also covered the coronations in Maple Lake and Buffalo. State of the City events were
covered in Big Lake and Buffalo. Concerts in Big Lake, Delano and Monticello.
Maple Lake and Buffalo Coronations
Big Lake and Buffalo State of the City Events
Big Lake and Monticello Concerts
The Big Lake Community Fair was also covered. Videos of these events are available for
viewing and downloading at SWTV.viebit.com
5
Big Lake Community Fair
Installs and Upgrades
We had numerous installs and upgrades in addition to ongoing repairs and staff training. Here are
just a few of them.
Monticello Fire Department
Buffalo Community Center
Monticello Meeting Room
0
Elk River Playback and Control Room
Elk River Editing Bays
We relocated Elk River's playback system and made equipment upgrades to their Control Room
rack. Then we moved their editing bays to give each Producer their own space. We also have
been working with Charter to implement their new fiber equipment. We've also done this
Monticello, Cokato and Big Lake.
Buffalo Meeting Room
We added Clickshare and camera capability in the Buffalo meeting room that's right next to their
Council Chambers.
7
New Rockford Live Stream
We worked with Dan and the other Rockford staff to add live streaming capability. This allows
those without access to the cable TV feed to see the Rockford channel 24 hours a day.
Transitions
Laureen Bodin's Plant
I thought it would be fun for you to know that the plant we gave Laureen for her retirement has
made a successful transition itself from the flower pot to the garden. She sent this photo of how
well it's doing relaxing in a garden on beautiful Lake Pulaski!
TriCaster Purchase Request
We have recently had to replace TriCasters in Monticello and Elk River. They both were 8 years
old before they failed. This is well over the average lifespan for a computer based video
appliance. We need to purchase another unit. I have discussed this with both our Commission
Chair and Treasurer. Action Requested: Approve the purchase of a NewTek TC410 TriCaster
plus parts for a onetime equipment cost of $12,861.71
N
Channel Playback Equipment Upgrades
In each of our cities we use the Leightronix Ultra Nexus to run our cable channels. This device
also encodes the video recorded at city meetings so that it can be used for live streaming and
Video On Demand. It also has built in scheduling software that controls when the meetings are
played back. The Nexus also acts as an interface with the cable systems in each of our cities.
The current Nexus is a standard definition video device. Many of our units have been in use for
over 10 years which is well beyond their normal replacement date. We have cobbled together
repairs and chosen not to upgrade the units because we knew that we would eventually need to
replace them with HD compatible devices.
Currently in 4 of our cities (Monticello, Big Lake, Elk River and Cokato) I'm getting requests
from Charter to give them a higher definition signal than what we currently offer. I should also
mention that we've also been getting inquiries from subscribers and city staff on when we will be
upgrading our signal.
This is proving to be difficult without upgrading the Nexus units. Up until now there hasn't been
a direct replacement. Now Leightronix has released a replacement for the Nexus that will
interface with our other city council equipment.
I've attached information about the unit. It is much more advanced than our current units but
actually more user friendly. It will be able to handle our playback needs and work with our
existing video On Demand and Streaming equipment.
I discussed this with the Chair and the Treasurer. My recommendation is to start in Elk River and
advance to Buffalo and SWTV. From there I will report back to the Commission on the progress
so we can decide on which cities to upgrade next. Elk River was chosen first because their
current unit is failing and also because they have a very strong IT department and this will be
very helpful in setting up the first unit.
Action Requested: Approve the purchase of a Leightronix ipMergeNX for the City of Elk River
plus training for a onetime equipment cost of $13,825.00 then in 2 months purchase 2 more units
for use in Buffalo and SWTV at the same cost.
01