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New Detroit School of Arts houses both radio and television broadcast facilities for a truly hands-on learning experience

RIVERDALE, NEW JERSEY, April 24, 2006 – Providing an integral backend solution for one of the newest media and arts education facilities in Detroit, Middle Atlantic Products today announced the successful installation of 70 VRK Series broadcast racks in the Detroit School of Arts. The brand new, state-of-the-art media and performing arts high school in the heart of Detroit features a full radio station and two complete television studios, and required systems integrators Diversified Systems Inc. (DSI) to use an equipment mounting solution sturdy enough to handle each studio’s massive cable feed, yet versatile enough to allow for the combining of new and existing products.

Nearing completion, the Detroit School of Arts is home to a number of broadcast facilities that students can take advantage of in their curriculum. The school features a full radio station and two complete television stations that make use of some of today’s newest technology.

“To call this facility a simple ‘high school’ is an understatement, “ commented Kevin Collins, Senior Vice President, Diversified Systems, Inc. “This is a massive facility that took some creative thinking to effectively meet all of the expectations the school administrators had for this project. In the end though, this is a beautiful school and will be a true asset to the city’s youth for a long time to come.”

The high school’s radio station is also home to local Detroit radio station WRCJ, as well as an internal broadcast system for school announcements and productions. For all of the radio broadcast needs, the school features 10 editing rooms for audio production and two on-air rooms. To organize and arrange the essential components needed to keep the station on-air and the editing suites operational, DSI installed 14 Middle Atlantic Products VRK Series 44 racks and had to match new cable trays to the existing cable trays to ensure that the more than 1,000 cables beings used were correctly fed from the equipment room to the various editing and broadcast rooms.

The two television studios installed in the school are very large in size and scope, measuring 80’ x 50’ in the main room and 50’ x 50’ in the second room, both with 27’ high ceilings. Again, DSI called on VRK racks in the television tech core rooms, using 56 36” deep Middle Atlantic Products VRK racks to house all of the necessary routers, servers, drives, broadcast cameras, etc. To handle the more than 15,000 cables needed to route and distribute video to the various broadcast booths, DSI opted for a raised floor setup as opposed to an overhead cable tray setup. This made cable management a much easier task, and will make future troubleshooting and expansion much easier as well.

Phil Bernal, Senior Project Engineer, Diversified Systems Inc. reflects the flexibility of Middle Atlantic Products enclosures helped the job move much smoother. “In each equipment room, a different cable management solution was used, and it was nice to not have to order a completely different model for each room. With the VRK racks, we knew exactly what we were getting and were able to work them into the project very smoothly, even though we were making changes on the fly. What we have as a result are two clean equipment rooms that were completed on time, that are easy to maintain and will be easy to upgrade in the future.”

UL listed in the US and Canada, the Middle Atlantic Products VRK Series can accommodate a 2,500 lb. weight capacity and is seismic certified for protecting 1000 lbs. of essential equipment. The unit features built-in cable management features like horizontal bars with 7" centers for quick "tie-&-slide lacing" and two pairs of wider rackrail for more interior room, as well as a configurable open top that accepts a number of top options. Middle Atlantic Products’ VRK Series is manufactured to accept a variety of thermal management solutions. Other standard features of the broadcast-optimized Middle Atlantic Products VRK Series are grounding and bonding stud, keylocked vented rear door and durable black textured powder coat.

About Middle Atlantic Products:
Middle Atlantic Products, Inc. is headquartered in Riverdale, New Jersey and is an ISO 9001:2000-registered leading manufacturer of state-of-the-art steel enclosure systems for a wide range of applications, including the broadcast, post production, commercial audio video installation, security, structured cabling and premise wiring markets. For over 25 years the company has been dedicated to the proposition that the enclosure system is as important as the equipment it protects. Middle Atlantic Products incorporates application-driven engineering into every system it designs in order to meet the individualized requirements of the broadest range of installers.

To request a catalog of Middle Atlantic Products full line of equipment and accessories, visit middleatlantic.com or contact: Middle Atlantic Products, North Corporate Drive, Riverdale, New Jersey 07457; Tel: (800) 266-7225 or (973) 839-1011; Fax: (973) 839-1976.

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