DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTIMATRIX ROUTING SWITCHER CONTROL-SYSTEM FOR THE CBC TORONTO BROADCAST CENTER

The extensive and diverse routing switcher requirements of the CBC's T oronto Broadcast Centre called for the development and implementation of a multimatrix system with previously unavailable control system fun ctionality. This control system has been developed to specifications t o provide the flexibility and future expansion required by CBC operati ons. The system is highly redundant and protected from failure. Variou s strategies are used to maximize the robustness of the system. The co ntrol panels provide user features such as direct key-entry or menu-dr iven source selection. Besides a source name, each input has an associ ated descriptor and optional text note. User help is built into the pa nels. By configuration, each panel in the system can control any bus o r buses on any matrix. The requirements for the system, analyses used to meet those requirements, and system implementation and operation ar e described in this article.