With a new state-of-the-art studio Old Rochester Community Television’s regularly scheduled programming is ready for a shake-up.

“People won’t be limited by our technology any more,” ORCTV Executive Director Robert Chiarito said.

Last month, ORCTV moved from the Captain Hadley House to a spacious studio located between Old Rochester Regional junior high and high schools.

Under the terms of a new ten-year lease agreement, ORCTV is now in a former teacher’s lounge on the high school's first floor.

Incorporated in 2005, ORCTV was originally located in the high school’s basement. Having the studio inside the school gave students access to equipment and provided learning opportunities.

Only a few months in, however, a mold infestation forced ORCTV out of the space.

Chiarito said returning to ORR was always the plan. Four years ago, school officials approached him and former executive director Kim Miot about returning.

In early 2014, ORCTV learned that CVS developers were interested in building a store on the Captain Hadley House site.

With the old lease almost up, Chiarito said it made sense to move.

Coming back means students will again have studio access. Chiarito said learning opportunities were available at the former space, but the size and distance limited who participated.

“Now students can just walk down the hall to get here,” he said.

Programs such as Bulldog T.V. and a show featuring the superintendent may film at the new studio.

These past few weeks, staff from ORCTV and the high school have worked to bring in new high definition cameras, control room and editing gear, and updated sound and lighting equipment.

“Members' shows will look like high value productions,” Chiarito said. “We’re not that different from some of the studios used by Boston news network affiliates.”

In fact, ORCTV hired lighting expert Jonathan Lipsy to design and install the studio’s light system. Lipsy has installed studio lighting for major television networks, including ESPN and NECN.

The new system features 30 lights, an improvement from the six in the old system.

While ORCTV Production Coordinator Gary Lawrence demonstrated the new system’s ability to cycle through different colored lights, Chiarito said the studio is larger than the previous one.

The Captain Hadley House studio had a footprint of 15 by 15 square feet. The new studio is 24 by 40 square feet.

“The old place was all office and no studio,” Chiarito said. “This is the opposite.”

Adjacent to the main studio is an area perfect for an aspiring Julia Child or Wolfgang Puck. Chiarito said community members have long expressed interest in filming cooking shows. That wasn’t possible until now.

The former lounge features a sink and plenty of cabinet space. There are plans to install a cooking island, stove and refrigerator, Chiarito said.

Other upgrades include a faster Internet connection. That means video of municipal meetings will be posted on ORCTV’s Vimeo channel quicker.

“Our old office had two megabytes of upload speed,” Lawrence said. “That might as well have been a dial-up connection.”

Now, ORCTV can upload at speeds between 80 and 90 megabytes.

Lawrence said the additional studio space is a welcome change, too.

“This space is much more conducive to making television,” Lawrence said. “The old space was more conducive to pushing paper.”

Chiarito credited ORCTV’s Board of Directors for setting aside funds through the years for the upgrades.

A grand opening will be held April 11 at 1 p.m. following ORCTV’s annual meeting. The meeting is open to the public.

Visitors should enter ORCTV through a door marked with the number 43, located in front of the school between the high school and junior high.

For more information, call 508-758-2300 or email Chiarito at Robert@orctv.org.