Texas Southern University’s (TSU) School of Communication has added a Granite 5000 Video Control Center to its student control room. The new control center is a product of Boston-based company Broadcast Pix.

TSU purchased the new system as part of an equipment upgrade to support HD and SD video production. The control room is part of the school’s production laboratory, where sophomores, juniors and seniors work with external producers to create video content. Students at TSU will use the control center for a variety of projects including the production of news programs and short films.

The Granite 5000 Control Center features a large full-function 2 Mix/Effect (M/E) switcher panel for a 2M/E Granite System. It can access both video- and file-based content. The Granite 5000 provides the user with enough power to drive a dual-screen production with full control of each show. Students can produce one show meant for broadcast and another meant for Internet viewing. The Granite 5000 is a video control center with an integrated switcher, clip store and CG Graphics inside.

“Because projects are produced in both SD and HD, it was important that TSU invest in a video switcher that could handle both. “The ability to go HD or SD, that was the goal,” TSU’s director of broadcast engineering, Cliff Edwards said in a prepared statement.

The Granite 5000 was purchased last summer and classes began using the technology in the fall.