VP of Sales Brett Benson to Take Over as President on Oct. 1 and President and CEO on Jan. 1, 2022

Utah Scientific today announced that its president and CEO, Dave Burland, will be retiring after almost three decades with the company. Burland plans to step down as president on Oct. 1 and as CEO on Jan. 1, 2022. Brett Benson, the company’s vice president of sales, will assume the roles of Utah Scientific president and CEO as Burland departs.

Under Burland’s direction, Utah Scientific has continued to expand its global leadership in video routers, master control switchers, and related control software and has strengthened its reputation as the authority in those areas. During his tenure as president and CEO, and earlier as chief operating officer and executive vice president of finance, Burland also cultivated meaningful relationships with some of the biggest names in broadcast.

“Dave is leaving Utah Scientific in great shape,” said Benson. “His leadership has guided us through some challenging times in the industry, including through the uncertainty of the pandemic, causing Utah Scientific not only to survive but even to flourish, and the momentum continues in 2021. It’s an exciting time to be taking on a new leadership role within the company, and I look forward to working with Dave to make it a seamless transition.”

Benson, who joined the Utah Scientific sales team in April 2017, is a 25-year veteran of the broadcast industry. Prior to joining Utah Scientific, Benson built a unique set of skills working as both a vendor to the broadcast industry and as a professional broadcaster. His experience includes everything from television station management to regional sales management to chief meteorologist. He appreciates Utah Scientific’s strong reputation and looks forward to continuing that tradition. Benson adds, “Every Utah Scientific product I have sold still has at least five years of warranty left. I couldn’t say that if I worked for any other broadcast manufacturer.”

“Brett has consistently demonstrated the ability to grow revenue and profitability for Utah Scientific, and he has been critical in building and nurturing deep ties with our customers,” said Burland. “He already is a great ambassador for Utah Scientific, and I am confident he will be a strong leader as the company continues on its trajectory of success.”

In retirement, Burland plans to catch up on his reading, spend additional time with his grandkids, play his guitar, and put more miles on his mountain bike.

Utah Scientific, a world leader in providing mission-critical equipment to content creators, distributors, and broadcasters, today announced a new reseller partnership with EVS, the leader in live video technology for broadcast and new media productions. EVS will package Utah Scientific video routers together with its all-new MediaInfra Strada routing solution to empower live broadcast productions operating in a native SDI routing infrastructure.

“EVS’ new MediaInfra Strada solutions offer multiple approaches to routing: pure IP, native SDI, and turnkey solutions for customers working in mixed environments. Our partnership with Utah Scientific will greatly strengthen our native SDI offering for those customers who are not ready to invest in an IP-based operation,” said Peter Schut, senior vice president, Media Infrastructure, EVS. “As a well-known provider of dependable, worry-free routers with the world’s best warranty, Utah Scientific was an easy choice to supply the routers for this value-added solution.”

While EVS is known for its strong presence in the live sports market, the inclusion of Utah Scientific’s routers to this new MediaInfra Strada offering is ideal for any live production environment in which SDI routing is required: news production, broadcast operations, transmission, playout, and master control rooms, as well as corporate video production. The solution packages Utah Scientific’s UTAH-400 Series 2, UHD-12G, and UDS routers with EVS’ Cerebrum control and monitoring system, which features a logical routing control system with dynamic tie-line management, and options such as integrated tally management, scheduling, and many more capabilities to help customers streamline their workflows. With the exception of Italy, EVS will resell this SDI solution to its worldwide markets.

“Our partnership with EVS is a strategic milestone for Utah Scientific and will deliver big advantages to broadcast customers of both companies,” said Brett Benson, vice president of sales, Utah Scientific. “From the customers’ perspective, live broadcasters still active in the SDI world will be able to benefit from a best-of-breed routing and control solution from two best-of-breed companies. And, from a corporate perspective, the collaboration with EVS means Utah Scientific will be able to expand its reach in the live broadcast arena by working with one of the industry’s best-known power players.

Utah Scientific Announces New Director of Product Development and Technical Marketing

SALT LAKE CITY —Jan 3, 2019 — Utah Scientific, a world leader in providing mission critical equipment to content creators, distributors, and broadcasters, announced the appointment of John Schilberg to the position of director of product development and technical marketing.

In this role, Schilberg’s main focus will be product development by working with industry professionals, the in-house engineering team, and current and potential customers. He will help in the design and release of Utah Scientific products and serve as the company’s technical spokesperson. In addition to his product management responsibilities, he will develop and deliver engineering presentations, consult on improvements to Utah Scientific’s web presence, and lead other marketing efforts.

Dave Burland, Utah Scientific president and CEO said, “John brings extensive system design, customer engagement experience, and many years of engineering project management to the table at the perfect time for Utah Scientific.”

Schilberg has been with Utah Scientific for two years as a regional sales manager. He has a diverse work history and solid understanding of current and future broadcast technology. Schilberg’s experience as both a vendor and end user gives him the right mix of skills to help lead Utah Scientific in its continuous product portfolio development.

“This is a dream-come-true position and it comes at a truly amazing time in our industry,” Schilberg said. “The combination of technology and the joy of working with such diversely talented people in content creation, distribution, and equipment design brings all of the things I love under one umbrella.”

Schilberg will report to Brett Benson, Utah Scientific vice president of strategic accounts, and will continue to work out of his Dallas area office with frequent travel to meet customers, work with factory personnel in Salt Lake City, and attend local, regional, and nationwide industry related events.

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About Utah Scientific
Utah Scientific is the world’s leading specialist in routing switchers, master control switchers, and related control software, and it set the benchmark for the broadcast industry with the first no-fee, 10-year product warranty. Since 1977, the company has provided industry-leading products and best-in-class service and support as recognized three times by Frost & Sullivan with its Global Customer Service Leadership Award. Additional information about the company can be found at www.utahscientific.com.

Promotion of Three Longtime Employees Signals Ongoing Business Growth

SALT LAKE CITY — Aug. 27, 2019 — Utah Scientific has promoted longtime employees Randy Rose, John Bell, and Jim Barnhurst, and welcomed Mario Moreno to the team as a field service engineer. Rose has been named the new director of sales engineering, Bell will serve as customer service manager, and Barnhurst will act as the company’s new field and technical service manager.
“I am thrilled to be offered this new position in a company where there are supportive people and continued growth,” said Rose. “I look forward to bettering relationships with our integrators and external dealers, as well as to helping the sales team create more streamlined tools and functionality that will help them become more successful.”
As the new director of sales engineering, Rose will act as the technical interface between sales and customers. He began his career at Utah Scientific in 1988, serving as a technician for 10 years and more recently holding the position of customer service manager.
Bell is replacing Rose in the role of customer service manager. In his previous position as the customer support manager, Bell provided award-winning customer assistance for 14 years, and he looks forward to continuing this success in his new role. “It’s great to be part of Utah Scientific’s high-level customer service, which we have become known for over the years,” said Bell. He also plays a major role in representing Utah Scientific at the industry’s largest technology trade show, the annual NAB Show in Las Vegas, as the booth manager.

Barnhurst is in his 29th year as a Utah Scientific employee. He spent more than three decades as a broadcast industry professional and is well-qualified to take on the role of field and technical service manager. His professional efforts will be focused on service calls, troubleshooting equipment, training customers, commissioning/implementing systems, and overseeing day-to-day technical operations in customer service.
Moreno, the company’s new field service engineer, will be headquartered in Utah Scientific’s Houston, Texas, office and report to Barnhurst. Moreno’s background with broadcast began in 1991, and over his career he has worked in a variety of positions at television stations.
“Mario’s experience at TV stations gives him a unique perspective as he extends his skills to the supplier side,” Barnhurst commented. “He is well-positioned to make an immediate impact in his new role at Utah Scientific.”
“At Utah Scientific, our customers are the priority, so we are proud to have a highly skilled team supporting them,” said Dave Burland, Utah Scientific president and CEO. “Our success over the years is made possible by dedicated individuals who uphold the company values. We are pleased to have experienced talent to promote within, which allows us to welcome strong new team members.”

The August 2019 Texas Association of Broadcasters show in Austin Texas was a huge success with record numbers of attendees and exhibitors! Utah Scientific was there too, filled with information for all, ready to discuss the latest offerings in routing, fiber optic transmission, and hybrid SDI-IP video. John Schilberg, US Central Regional Sales Manager was joined by Sidney Rogers, Marketing Specialist. We were treated to a near constant flow of current and future customers with a wide range of questions.

If I had to compare things to a year ago, I’d say a lot of the IP Video dust kicked-up over the past couple of years is beginning to settle. At NAB 2018 the ST2110 buzz was so loud it was almost deafening, and TAB 2018 was no different. This year, a more pragmatic approach is replacing that roar of the buzz, and a lot of the fear for the future has been replaced with a new understanding. For example, we now know three things to be true:

1) SDI video will be a prevalent signal format for many years to come.
2) IP video will become a prevalent video format in the future.
3) We have no idea what dates will be attached to those two statements.

People responsible for ensuring that every newscast and production goes without a hitch are coming to terms with the radical differences between SDI and IP system designs. They’re also starting to realize there may not be one future system, but many future systems. Then, for safe measure, add the impact of High Dynamic Range (HDR), Wide Color Gamut (WCG), and High Frame Rate (HFR) and you’ve got a real alphabet soup starting to form, with the obvious question being, “Is it soup yet?”

See you at the next show!

Broadcast VS. OTT Workflows at HPA

HPA this year truly presented us with five days of candid conversation with world-class thinkers. The conference brought content creators, production managers, Hollywood, OTT, and broadcast giants together in large “supersessions” where wide-ranging topics were discussed. Topics covered this year included everything from IP-based workflows to color-correction tips.  As a hardware engineering and manufacturing company, we were mostly interested in the panels that featured some of our largest clientele (Sinclair, Cox, NEP).  It was surprising to find minimal discussion of live production and broadcasting while seeing an immense focus on OTT.

One of the most enlightening presentations was a comparison of cable/OTT and broadcast workflows by Phil Squyres of Sony Pictures TV. After watching the presentation, it was easy to see the attractiveness of the cable/OTT world for content creators. Let’s take a look at the creative workflows in the world of broadcast and compare it to the cable/OTT world.

In the broadcast world, creators must learn to work with a fixed number of distributors like NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC, or CW.  In this framework strict content restrictions (FCC) and cancellation decisions are often made after only a few episodes. Therefore, talent and production face an unknown future.  Broadcast delivers HD video and surround sound while dealing with much tighter productions schedules.

The Comparison

When looking at the creation workflow of the cable/OTT world. There are hundreds of distribution channels including HBO, Netflix, FX, Discovery, and more with much fewer content restrictions. Most series are shorter (10-12 episodes) when compared to broadcast and cancellation decisions are made later in the process.  This creates substantially more security for the talent and creatives alike. Producing for cable/OTT opens the world of 4K, HDR, and Atmos audio. The “binge-watching” nature of OTT lends itself to more intricate storytelling and the time allowed to produce is typically 2-3 times longer than broadcast.

All this extra time to produce also comes with a downside. It has a major impact ranging from cost and time commitment to the storage of material.  According to Phil Squyers, creators will have to store over 120 terabytes of material for weeks or months. Additionally, the audiences are generally not as large because they fill specific niches.

Broadcasters have looked for ways to add OTT distribution as a potential revenue stream but struggle to see significant ROI. What became clear was the cable/OTT world is not something you can do on a part-time basis.  It’s a large financial and time commitment. To discuss this further and how it might apply to you with one of our professionals don’t hesitate to contact us online or by calling us at 801-575-8801.

Looking to Get the Job Done With Less Staff?

Utah Scientific loves visiting SMPTE’s annual conference because it brings a wide array of interested individuals to meet with. The SMPTE community is made up broadcast, production, post production, government and more.  It is such a diverse group of professions it is always guaranteed to keep us on our toes.  

This year our VP of Sales Troy Davis made it out to the show and covered popular topics of interest including SMPTE-2110, 2022 routing, control, and our monitoring systems.  Amongst all the interest we noticed  a lot of excitement this year at our booth for Emotion audio file software.

Audio File Software

Understandably, companies are working to reduce margins and get the job done with less staff. When making or distributing broadcast content there are several excellent tools to help get the video right or where it needs to be, but once the audio has been mixed and added to the media file, there isn’t much available to alter it. But this is where multiple versions are required to create all the required deliverables and the need to create the deliverables ends up increasing staff. Emotion audio file software reduces that need.

We think that with the large amount of content creation and more importantly content distribution in Los Angeles the emotion product makes lot of sense for individuals that visited our booth this year. It also makes a lot of sense to consider the hardware that Utah Scientific has available because our routing and distribution hardware is the only hardware industry wide backed by a no fluff 10-year warranty. Here at Utah Scientific we like to ensure that businesses can comfortably reduce margins through dependable solutions that simply don’t quit.

Flexible Distribution

Utah Scientific uses an innovative matrix architecture which lets all our routing products scale from 8×8 to 1056×1056 and beyond using a single family of matrix building blocks. In addition to flexibility of configuration our routing and distribution products typically provide a huge reduction in physical space required for routing hardware and have significantly lower power consumption requirements.  

We provide a host of solutions, each and every one of them is flexibility you can count on.If you need to follow up with Troy regarding SMPTE or have additional questions don’t hesitate to contact us online or by calling here 801-575-8801.