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Stations covering severe weather tap portable setups
Though equipment being used to cover the war in Afghanistan has received a lot of attention these days, similar technology has been used for some time here at home to cover a different threat.
TV stations in Oklahoma, Texas and other tornado-prone areas have relied on satellite phone- and cellphone-based video transmission equipment for more than 10 years to deliver the initial images of storms, though recently upgraded equipment has allowed for faster transmission and more editing capabilities.
KOCO-TV and KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City use technology from FoNet in Tulsa, Okla., to deliver upto-the-minute weather images. The equipment is essentially a computer with an interface that allows the user to edit and view the video frames captured on camera. The computer connects the camera to either a cellphone a satellite phone to transmit the pictures back to the station.
The images are sent as individual frames, not as video, and then a "movie loop" is created at the station, said Bob Ablah, VP...