Broadcast Pix Showcases New Live Video Production Systems

“We have the best control surfaces for combining cameras, clips, and graphics to create compelling live video," said Ken Swanton, president of Broadcast Pix. “Now our 500 systems feature a new control panel and enhanced Fluent-View display, which lowers the cost of our integrated production systems to just $24,900 for HD/SD Granite and just $14,900 for Slate, complete with switcher, clip store, graphics system, and more."

Granite 500 and Slate 500

The new Granite 500 and Slate 500 systems significantly lower the entry point for Broadcast Pix systems with a control panel. Each system includes a compact control panel for comprehensive monitoring of video and files, as well as complete control of the system's clip store, CG, cameras, and other devices. The new 1 M/E control panel supports up to 18 sources and six keyers for overlays of picture-in-picture boxes and graphics, yet is so compact that it fits in a rack drawer.

Granite 500 offers 11 HD/SD-SDI inputs (expandable to 22) and six HD/SD-SDI outputs (expandable to 12). The Slate 500 hybrid system offers four or eight analog, HD/SD-SDI, or DVI inputs and four (expandable to five) outputs. Both systems provide seven channels of file-based inputs from the built-in clip store and graphics systems. Plus, both include the complete suite of Fluent file-based workflow tools, including Fluent-View monitoring of video and files, Fluent Watch Folders for importing files, and Fluent Macros, the industry’s only file-based macros.

Granite 2.0 and Slate 8.5 Software Upgrades

Apple Final Cut Pro users can take advantage of the new Granite 2.0 pipeline to simplify the production workflow for ProRes clips and QuickTime animations. Operators can simply copy a single file to the Broadcast Pix system and instantly load animations with key and audio. Plus, new playlist capabilities enable a sequence of clips to automatically play and then transition to the source on preview. Granite 2.0 also adds rolls and crawls to Granite's Harris CG, key priority control, and enhanced chromakey control including an eyedropper, and makes control of a ViewCast streaming device standard.

Slate 8.5 upgrades the system's built-in CG to Harris GS, a more powerful CG with an easier interface and improved handling of Asian languages. Slate 8.5 also adds some Granite 2.0 features, including clip playlist capabilities and an enhanced chromakey interface. Granite 2.0 and Slate 8.5 software are now shipping with all new systems and are available for download for existing customers.

Granite 2000

Another recent addition to the Granite family, Granite 2000 features a wide 1 M/E control panel with a large work area. It includes 16 input buttons (up to 32 with shift), six keyer buttons, and 10 auxiliary output buttons, plus key priority controls and mnemonics to display aux output assignments. The new panel features patented PixButtons™ for every input, key, and content library, which enable operators to switch both video and file-based content with confidence, because they dynamically display the sources and file names on the buttons.

Like all Broadcast Pix systems, it has a unique device control section to provide easy access to Granite’s built-in Fluent file stores for clips, animations, and graphics (including ones from the built-in CG), as well as controls for external devices like robotic cameras, audio mixers, video streamers, and video servers. Granite 2000 also includes a dedicated bank of controls for Fluent Macros.