Equipment Planning Joe Conlon, CSTE Wednesday, July 10, 2017 9:00 AM

Joe Conlon, CSTE Engineering Manager for Town Square Television for the past 20 years Serve 20,000 households on Comcast and CenturyLink Staff of 12 Fulltime employees (7-Nonprofit, 5-Cable Commission) Maintain, Repair, Research, Order and Install all equipment Own our own building (7,200 square feet) Studio Space of 1,570 square feet (42 ft. by 37 ft.)

Joe Conlon, CSTE Production Truck with 5 Cameras, this year we installed $425,000 of new equipment (used for about 130 productions per year) 4 City Council Chamber Systems (each with 5 cameras) Master Control Playback System (7 channels) 5 Editing Systems 6 Field Camera Packages (wireless mics, tripods, lights, etc…)

Production Van 1988 Stated with a 2 Cam Van Small Limited Camera Angles Basic Graphics No Replay Lots of Technical Problems We Were Out in the Community Live Community Events Board and Commission Support We Knew We Could Do Better and Planned To Do Better

Production Van 1991 Budget $12,000 Added 3rd Camera Replaced the 3 Cameras Better Graphics Added 1 Angle of Replay Minimized Tech Problems Kept Board and Commission Informed Limitations and Challenges

Production Truck 2002 Budget $300,000 Purchased Rack Ready Production Truck ($171,000) Planned Equipment Layout to Cover Events with Large or Small Crew Went from Analog to SDI (Digital Video) Added 4th Camera (used equipment) New Graphics 2 Channels of Replay New Switcher – video effects Expanded to Regular Sports Coverage Give The Board and Commission Truck Tours

Production Truck 2007 Budget $150,000 4 New Cameras Showed the Board and Commission Regularly the Productions We Do

Production Truck 2015 Budget $45,000 New Live Feed Equipment (HD Capable) New 8 Channel Replay System (HD Capable) Give The Board and Commission Future Needs Update Regularly about 2017 equipment replacement

Production Truck 2017 Budget $425,000 Went from SD to HD Production Went from Recording on Tape to Hard drives 5 New Truck Cameras 2 New CG Systems New Production Switcher (38 inputs, 16 outputs, 2.5 ME) Added 4 Channels of Frame Sync Added 2 PTZ Cameras Added 2 POV Cameras Added Fiber Equipment Did All Equipment Specification and Installation In House to Save Budget Dollars and Allow Staff to Support the Technical Needs in the Future

Production Truck

Truck – Director’s Area

Truck Switcher

Truck Extra Work Area - Replay

Truck Extra Work Area – PTZ Cam

Equipment Budget Budgeting Tips Use List Pricing – Extra cost cover installation parts and labor Dream Big – then evaluate what parts fit your budget Look at what other studios purchase and ask what they paid Build Systems that can grow over a couple of budget years Keep the Board or Commission informed on what will be needed Plan a contingency amount of 10% to 15% - to help cover the costs of shipping, taxes or forgotten items

Equipment Budget Budgeting Tips Replacement vs Upgrading – Know equipment useful life Have a realistic budget number ready for Board or Commission – they may be ready to give you a budget Make a 5 year Capital Improvement Plan – Cities like to see a CIP plan for future expenses Dollars are tight – pick equipment that will last Watch the project total that would trigger Bidding Process – in MN it is $100,000 Prep the Board or Commission over a series of meetings ”Didn’t we already approve this?”

Town Square Television Contact Info Joe Conlon, CSTE Engineering Manager Town Square Television Joe@TownSquare.TV 651-451-7834