32 years ago the first regional channel in Colombia was born. And since then Teleantioquia has been at the forefront of both technology and content production. To fulfill that role, they are constantly modernizing processes, which is why they are always researching the new technologies and developments available in the market.
Mauricio Lotero, technical head of Teleantioquia, spoke with TVyVideo+Radio about the Channel and the new projects. He assured that "we are always very careful when choosing technology, because we cannot experiment or make mistakes, because, being a public medium, we would be incurring in patrimonial detriment. Although the advancement of technology benefits us because there are more possibilities, public channels, having limited resources, are thorough with resources."
Among the projects they are currently carrying out, they are aligned with what is a public TV operator in Colombia. They are migrating the broadcast platform to DTT, they already have 100% of the flows from capture to HD broadcast. The analog signal is kept in operation because they must serve the entire population, something that generates a high cost for the Channel.
Today they are working on several lines of investment: modernization from the capture, for which they will acquire three studio cameras in high definition, they are looking to include a fourth camera that serves for sports broadcasts with super slow motion, four field recording cameras for reporting, and they are finishing the analyzes to acquire a camera in 4K. The Canal is going to modernize the tripod system they have.
Teleantioquia are also looking to strengthen audio capture systems, are planning to acquire a mobile unit and update the flyaway to strengthen their transmissions, which has been complemented by the recent acquisition of wireless systems supported by 3G and 4G networks. In addition, they have begun to replace tungsten lighting with LED lighting in studios. The previous year they did it with the news set to evaluate how to change the whole study.
Another line of investment is content management. And taking into account that the historical archive of Teleantioquia is the history of Antioquia, therefore a heritage that they must take care of, since 2013 a work plan was structured to implement an appropriate content management.
"The Channel has always had good content management. Last year it updated the emission automation system. and for this year it is going to start with the archive, because we have more than 4500 hours of recording at risk because they are on 3/4 betacam tape, for which we are going to acquire a second storage of 300 teras, in addition to the implementation of a deep file based on LTO. In order for all processes to have the flows from a browser, we will acquire two video servers for the production master. The content management system will be the backbone of the entire audiovisual flow of the Channel," said Mauricio Lotero.
Teleantioquia, with the engineering team of 18 people, is analyzing how to take advantage of a second channel with the digital division of DTT. A second channel of its own with educational or cultural content is being evaluated or seeking an alliance with other channels in the department.
Finally, on the adoption of new content distribution platforms, Teleantioquia has a digital strategy area, with possibilities to generate its own content and broadcast some programs from the traditional screen, for which they use social networks and the Canal's website. Today they are looking at an on-demand platform that could provide monetization options.
