‘Hometown Stations’ Widen Their TV Broadcast Capability

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For more than a decade, Toledo, Ohio-based Block Communications has been the owner of the dual NBC/FOX affiliate serving Lima, Ohio, in addition to the low-power ABC/CBS digital Class A facility serving the small city to the north of Dayton.


Now, this “Hometown Stations of Lima” operation has expanded their station’s broadcast capability through the use of two NVerzion technology offerings in conjunction with equipment from Telestream and Grass Valley.

For Block and WLIO-TV, the use of NVerzion’s NControl and TeraStore
technologies in conjunction with WLIO’s Grass Valley and Telestream equipment.

WLIO’s facility arrangement is one that sees the operation of all “Big Four” networks. This makes NVerzion’s equipment configuration one of the most extensive in a broadcast setting.

The first task for NVerzion: determining a method to successfully simulcast multiple newscasts. NVerzion’s Automation System was the ultimate tool put in place.

WLIO’s previous automation system operated on four independent servers, running
each network, without any means of backup. NVerzion’s system now provides redundancy, where any issue associated with a primary channel allows a seamless transition to a backup channel with little or no loss in air time, the company said. Uninterrupted delivery is facilitated by dual playlist management; two machines running playlists for WLIO
and its sister station WOHL-CD.

Salt Lake City-based NVerzion noted, “In the event a playlist disruption affects one of these machines, the backup NControl activates and takes over the scheduling on the opposite server. Along with the smooth transition from the previous configuration, this redundancy has been a significant gain for WLIO.”

Ultimately, NControl and Terastore provide convenience for both operators and engineering personnel.

Meanwhile, the company’s NCompass has erased any need to edit individual files, particularly during seasonal programming updates, saving a great deal of time across four networks. User acceptability has been a great benefit, and the satellite recording feature within NTime, NVerzion’s event scheduling app, has been a big plus for WLIO, NVerzion claims.

Scheduling updates are also managed in-house, with no need to communicate with vendors
each time a change occurs. “In a 24-hour operation containing thousands of hours of content, customer support is vital where minutes of downtime can result in revenue loss,” NVerzion says. “The system integration went well, with personalized support from NVerzion’s staff all along the way, particularly in the area of third-party routing and control configuration.”

“WLIO and ‘Your Hometown Stations’ is a great example of NVERZION’s loyalty to all our
customer installed base. Understanding every detail from a customer allows us to provide
better solutions and results,” said Reed Haslam, NVerzion’s Director of Sales. He can be reached at [email protected].