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The laptops will be wired to cameras to transmit live video feed of meetings. The Selectmen will also be able to present information for the meetings onto the monitors from the laptops and it will be broadcast on cable. They will have wireless microphones that can be passed to the audience.
“It’s going to be much more efficient,” said Lynch. “(Town Administrator) Kevin Mearn is looking to essentially have a paperless operation for the Selectmen.
MPEG has begun preparing for its takeover of the public access stations, which will become official on Dec. 15 when Comcast moves out.
Installation of new audio and video playback equipment has already begun at Pierce Middle School, where the group has a studio. It will begin testing the equipment in the coming weeks.
“It’s a lot of work,” said Lynch of the transition to the town-run cable service. “There’s a lot to get done but Comcast has been very helpful.”
Lynch and his group have been working with Tiffany Carr, Comcast’s area access supervisor, who used to work on the town’s cable access.
Recent meetings have been hampered by poor video and audio from Comcast’s equipment, which is out of date.
“We’ve also had trouble with our microphones,” said Selectmen Chair Kathy Fagan. “We’re using old mics right now that aren’t picking up the sound well.”
Fagan said the laptops will allow the board to be “a little more effective” in keeping large amounts of paper records in one place.
The three channels for public access will be 8, 10 and 22. Lynch said MPEG will continue to broadcast government meetings on Channel 8 and school meetings and events on Channel 22.
He said he hopes eventually to be able to take over the School Committee coverage with new equipment in the same way as the Selectmen.
“We don’t have that much money at this point,” he said. “The schools have been very good to us. But we’re really running on bare bones right now.”
He said Channel 10 will “be dark for awhile” but will eventually broadcast Milton Hospital programming and some church events.
Also, MPEG will run police and fire department radio bans when no programs are being aired.
MPEG has about $90,000 currently budgeted from the town’s deal
with RCN. About $65,000 will be
spent on the new equipment and they also have to pay for insurance and licenses.
MPEG wants people to come forward with new programming ideas.
Lynch said he wants “everyone to be involved in what should be everyone’s cable system.”