By Brian Galante
Thomson Broadcast-owned GatesAir has successfully worked with longtime Chilean broadcast company Megamedia (formerly known as Megavision) in its transition from analog to digital television. It saw the implementation of GatesAir Maxiva transmitters, and the shutdown of legacy Harris Platinum VHF 45kW transmitter.
This took place on April 8 in Santiago, concluding 34 years of continuous service. Megamedia’s digital TV transition, now completed, includes GatesAir Maxiva liquid-cooled UHF DTV transmitters installed throughout the country.
The digital and analog transmitters at their main transmission site in Santiago operated in parallel until one week prior to the official cessation of analog TV transmission on April 15, as mandated by a 2019 Chilean governmental directive. The Maxiva liquid-cooled transmitter’s DTV signal in Santiago is augmented by a network of roughly two dozen smaller regional transmitters that covers most of Chile, reaching over seven million TV households.
Megamedia RF Engineer Roberto Hilario Silva Cruces has managed the analog and digital transmitters over several decades. By virtue of the seamless continuity when Harris Broadcast became GatesAir in 2014, Silva continued working with many of the same representatives for the company over the same period.
“Were it not for Chile’s mandatory analog TV shutdown, this older Platinum transmitter would probably have kept running well for possibly another decade or more,” said Silva. “During its 34-year run, this solid-state transmitter was in service 99.9% of the time, coming off the air only for very limited, routine maintenance.”
While a 10kW Harris transmitter had been purchased 15 years ago for redundancy, Silva says it was rarely needed because of the main Platinum transmitter’s exceptional performance. And despite rebranding as GatesAir in 2014, he has always able to obtain the spare parts he needed from the factory quickly. He is also a champion of GatesAir’s consistently responsive customer service and technical support over the years.
Megamedia ceremoniously retired the older Platinum transmitter on April 8 by shooting a video and taking photos of its momentous final broadcast, and Silva hopes to keep parts of transmitter as an important relic of the network’s history. About his own storied career with Megamedia, Silva said, “One of the things I’m most proud of is keeping our transmitters up and running so dependably. GatesAir makes very good transmitters and I trust the company to stand behind them.”
“The digital TV transition in the CALA region requires a thoughtful approach and careful balance considering the many different transitional timelines and DTV standards, as well as the fact that many countries continue to simultaneously broadcast in analog and digital,” said Mark Goins, Vice President of Global Sales for GatesAir. “Chile is no different, and we congratulate Megamedia on a successful transition and share our appreciation for our long-standing working relationship with Mr. Silva and his engineering team.”
