New Video Wall Gives St. John’s Students Competitive Edge

September 25, 2009

Committed to the continuous improvement of the student experience, St. John’s University has recently upgraded its television production technology for students in the College of Professional Studies. 

The newly enhanced TV, Film and Radio Center’s control room now features a state-of-the-art Evertz® Video Wall Monitor. This new video wall gives students studying in the various communications fields access to the same technology that major television networks throughout the world are using.

The wall consists of one 46” and two 57” LCD monitors as well as two glass monitors for previewing shows while they are being produced and directed. The entire unit can display up to 32 separate video sources in both high definition and standard definition and allows side-by-side viewing of two separate video formats on the same LCD monitor.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate for the entire country to switch to digital broadcast television prompted the University to invest in a new video wall and move towards high definition television. “Students are learning with the same equipment being used by producers of the Primetime Emmy Awards. This type of video monitor wall is what graduates see and work with once they enter into the world of professional television,” explained Greg Bogart ’73SVC, Production Manager of the TV, Film and Radio Center.

The video wall was installed this summer to replace the TV center’s glass monitors, which only displayed analog standard definition video. “The wall is fully expandable to meet the future needs of the TV Center as we progress towards full HD capability in the TV Center facilities,” noted Bogart.

Students are also commenting on how beneficial the new equipment has been to their television and film studies. Leanda Taitt, senior television film major and president of St. John’s WRED-TV club, shared her opinion about the new installation, “I'm extremely happy to be working with the brand new video wall. It's a definite upgrade in technology for the studio and takes you a step closer to the real-world control-room experience. As a TV film major, getting that kind of experience gives you an edge and is hands-down extremely cool.”

For more information about the new video wall or St. John’s Television, Film and Radio Center, please visit the center’s Web site.