Broadcast Center

Broadcast Center staff can assist other departments with the planning of any special video projects. Pre-production planning meetings can begin far in advance of actual video production and allow for a more efficient and cost-effective project.  There is no charge associated with pre-production planning meetings.

 

The requesting department is responsible for scheduling rooms and talent for video shoots, writing scripts and creating storyboards.  BC staff will assist with each phase of production to ensure a smooth project from start to finish.

 

To help in the planning of your production, we also provide other Adobe pdf forms to facilitate documentation and realization of your video project in the Production Tips section.

 

 

The Broadcast Center offers a professional video production service to members of the University community. The BC produces promotional videos, course introductions, faculty projects, public service announcements (PSAs), and documentaries.  BC staff can light and shoot video in either high definition or standard definition formats, utilizing an array of professional-grade equipment to produce the highest quality product possible.

 

 

When a single camera isn’t enough for an event, the Broadcast Center has a multi-camera setup solution.  A multi-camera production typically consists of 2-3 cameras and a mobile video switcher operated by a technical director who edits the event live.

 

There are several benefits to a multi-camera shoot: a more professional look, faster turnaround time, and the addition of graphics, transitions, and music during the event.  Please contact bctv@princeton.edu to request this service.

 

 

For more complex standard-definition shoots, the Broadcast Center has a production truck equipped with a video switcher, cameras, monitors, and audio mixer.  This mobile production facility allows BC staff to professionally record an event, anywhere on campus.  This setup is used for Commencement, Baccalaureate and Opening Ceremonies.

 

 

The Broadcast Center has the technology to edit video, color-correct footage, edit and sweeten audio. Footage provided by external sources can also be edited.

 

BC staff can create original animations and motion graphics to enhance an edited project.  

 

When a project is completed it can be burned to audio CD, DVD or Blu-Ray, or compressed for streaming on a web site.

 

 

In conjunction with the University's WebMedia site, the Broadcast Center can provide a live streaming webcast of a studio production or campus event.  Webcasts are viewable on the WebMedia home page in the form of an embedded video using the Adobe Flash plug-in.  A private or password-protected webcast page can be requested for events requiring restricted access.  Broadcast Center staff can prepare a URL address in advance of the event so that the webcast can be promoted or the link published to a separate web site.

 

Live webcasts are possible for events held in University rooms equipped with VideoNet ethernet connections.  Please refer to this list of rooms to see if your event is in a room with a known VideoNet connection.  Please contact OIT Hardware Support (?) to have a VideoNet connection installed in your event's location.  There is a charge for this request.  Please allow 1-2 weeks (?) for a new VideoNet connection to be turned on in a new location, and for proper testing to occur.

 

 

 

An event can be viewed on TigerTV channel 8 available to campus subscribers.  This event is viewable in any room on campus with a TigerTV connection.

 

 

An event can be viewed on TigerTV channel 7.  As well as being seen on campus the event is available to Comcast subscribers in Princeton Borough.  When FIOS installation is complete on campus, the event will be available to viewers in a wider area.

 

 

Audio and video signals from a live event are transmitted to another single campus location.  Due to a setup required in both locations, there is a greater charge for a private simulcast than a campus-wide broadcast.  When necessary the simulcast room must be reserved in advance by contacting the Office of the Registrar or University Services.  Media Services must also be contacted to provide support in the simulcast room.  To ensure proper testing, simulcast requests must be submitted 48 hours in advance of the event.

 

Live broadcasts and simulcasts are possible for events held in University rooms equipped with VideoNet ethernet connections.  Please refer to this list of rooms to see if your event is in a room with a known VideoNet connection.  Please contact OIT Hardware Support (?) to have a VideoNet connection installed in your event's location.  There is a charge for this request.  Please allow 1-2 weeks (?) for a new VideoNet connection to be turned on in a new location, and for proper testing to occur.

 

 

 

Located in the Broadcast Center studio, the University's ISDN radio studio is available to transmit feeds for live or recorded interviews for radio stations via ISDN and/or telephone connections. It is located in the Broadcast Center on the A Level of the Lewis Library at the corner of Washington Road and Ivy Lane.

 

This service is available during regular business hours free of charge to representatives of news organizations who are interviewing members of the Princeton University community. The studio cannot accommodate requests from the general public.

 

The audio recording studio has four broadcast-grade microphones, which are mixed and edited in a separate control room with Digidesign Pro Tools and transmitted via a Zephyr ISDN encoder/decoder capable of interfacing with any codec required by remote radio or television stations. This provides clear sound quality for interviews in a soundproof environment.

 

Here are the standard settings for the BC ISDN codec:
 

Codec: *L2 mono 128
Bitrate: *64 Kbps
Sampling: *48 Kbps

 

A Broadcast Center staff member will set up the recording studio for your broadcast and handle the connection to the journalists. To request an ISDN or other radio feed, please e-mail bctv@princeton.edu or call (609) 258-7872. For more information, visit the Broadcast Center website. 

 

The Broadcast Center studio is located on the A level of the Lewis Library.

 

 

The Broadcast Center video studio is available to record interviews, public service announcements, green screen productions and live televised broadcasts.  Featuring three high-definition cameras and a professional lighting grid of energy-efficient LEDs, the Broadcast Center is capable of creating a professional-quality production with minimal set-up time.  On-screen talent can enjoy the benefits of reading scripts directly from teleprompters customized to suit their preferences, and interviews can be conducted free of distractions thanks to the studio's soundproof enclosure.  Multi-camera productions are edited live from the adjoining video control room, eliminating lengthy post-production editing time and ensuring a quick turnaround to a completed product ready for distribution.

 

Project producers and guests can comfortably watch a live recording from our video control room and communicate directly with the camera operators and studio engineer without interrupting the production.  A private green room with a large monitor for live screening is available for guest preparation and makeup.

 

The Broadcast Center studio is located on the A level of the Lewis Library.

 

 

Princeton University faculty members can be interviewed by national and international television agencies on campus in the Broadcast Center studio.  The news agency will arrange for the interview with Broadcast Center staff, who will handle all the technical aspects.  

 

The Broadcast Center studio is located on the A level of the Lewis Library.

 

 

The BC provides a fee-based archived streaming file creation service to the University community. Videos submitted to the BC for conversion are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Under normal circumstances the turnaround time is one week. The media can be dropped off at the Lewis Library, room 132 and picked up after encoding has been completed.

 

It is the responsibility of the individual or group requesting the encoding to ensure that the copyright holders of the original media have given explicit permission for this media to be streamed over the internet and/or that the use of the copyrighted materials falls within the domain of “fair use.” For help in determining the copyright status of your media before submitting it to the Broadcast Center, please refer to the Princeton University Guidelines for Instructional Use of Copyrighted Electronic and Multimedia Materials.

 

A project request form must be submitted for video conversions.

 

The Broadcast Center can convert a variety of video formats to digital files that can be used in presentation software as well as downloadable and streaming formats for viewing on a web site.  Original media should be delivered to the New Media Center reception desk located on level 1 of the Lewis Library.

 

*Note* Tape-to-tape transfers are handled by Media Services.  Please contact them with any questions.

 

 

The Broadcast Center can create custom, professional-looking menus for your DVD projects. Past projects have included a DVD bundled with a book and gift DVDs to commemorate an event.

 

We create a master disc that you can take to a professional duplication service for mass production, or we can make a limited number (up to five) of DVD-R duplicates in-house. For further duplication of these discs, Media Services provides a disc duplication service.

 

These DVD-R discs are compatible with most consumer DVD players and are single-sided, single layer discs, which can hold just over an hour of footage at highest quality (more with compression).

 

Custom-designed labels printed directly onto the disc are an additional option.

 

 

DVD copies for clients are $4/each up to 5 copies for each event if ordered at the time of the original request. If additional DVDs are ordered at a later date, there is a duplication fee of $50 plus the cost of the DVD(s). 

 

For more detailed information, please contact the BC at bctv@princeton.edu or 8-7872.