Situated between Denver and Boulder, the City of Louisville, Colorado has received national attention for being one of the best places to live in the United States. The small community of approx. 20,000 broadcasts public meetings and other programming on a local government access channel (Channel 8). The City broadcasts live City Council, Planning Commission and Historic Preservation Commission meetings, as well as prerecorded video segments about City programming and events. Currently the broadcast is transmitted in standard definition. The live feed for meetings is simultaneously recorded digitally on a standalone City server and DVD and fed to a Comcast modulator for broadcast on Channel 8. The live broadcast and archived videos can be found on the City’s website and on the City’s YouTube channel.
The City is interested in upgrading its broadcast system to transmit in high definition and updating the audio and visual components of the system as the equipment is outdated and should be replaced. The City is requesting that the proposal be divided into three separate projects (audio, visual and broadcast upgrades) that can be completed separately with cost estimates for each. The immediate priority for the City is the audio upgrade as staff is experiencing ongoing issues related to sound quality. Another priority for the City is to separate the visual components from the audio and broadcast system. City staff would prefer replacing visual equipment as-needed, which is not possible currently as visual components are tied to the broadcast equipment.
