Change is a scary and avoided obstacle that a lot of individuals and organizations fear to approach. For UW-Whitewater’s cable TV station, it is a necessity and something to look forward to.
This year, the cable TV station has been going through the process of renovating their entire station with new computers, new equipment, and a lot more space.
Professor Jim Mead, interim director of cable TV operations, is one of the people who led this project into action
“We have been broadcasting news for many years with a news room that isn’t quite up to code,” Mead said. “Our goal is to have a more comfortable, business-like working environment so that students could have a small, significant taste of what it will be like in the real world.”
Some of the technological renovations included were the addition of two new Macintosh computers, the reimaging of multiple computers, a new room for their headend and a new sound booth with improved sound quality.
The renovations began over spring break of 2011 and have been continually worked on throughout the summer and the beginning of this semester. The project is anticipated to be completed within the next month, Mead said.
UW-Whitewater’s Residence Life team and the UWW-TV personnel combined to put this ideal vision into motion.
“We knew that things needed to be upgraded, and ideas kept on snowballing during casual conversations with my team,” Mead said. “ResLife and UWW-TV made it possible to make this station a lot more student friendly.”
Originally, the cable TV station had its editing systems in four different areas of Andersen Library. The idea for this project is to get all of those stations in one area and use the empty space for storage and their headend.
Alex Shanahan, a senior who has spent a lot of time using the equipment offered by the cable TV station, is already reaping the benefits of some of the upgraded systems.
“They upgraded a lot of equipment for students and have made it very accessible for us,” Shanahan said. “It is awesome for real world experience and being able to go out into the field and actually use that experience.”
The TV station also made the transition to working with Campus Televideo, a company that provides satellite delivered cable television to universities.
This switch-over allows UW-Whitewater to access more hi-definition channels without the dilemma of having to purchase set-top boxes for each building with televisions.
Though the project has included a lot of unwanted clutter, difficult moving around of the station, and money spent for new equipment and materials, the outlook for the cable TV station looks very bright.
“I hope that the students see what we envisioned of this project,” Mead said. “With the renovations, we now have all of these great gifts and opportunities to provide good quality work and hopefully live up to the campus’ expectations.”
