Belo Taps ILC For VoP Automation

Atlanta, GA--Belo has tapped network control software developer ILC's MaxView software with Scenario scheduling to automate the management and scheduling of a video-over-IP network for its nationwide television stations. Deploying MaxView to optimize video path utilization, Belo stations in Texas, Washington, DC, Seattle, and Phoenix can send each other more breaking news segments--ultimately broadcast to more than 30 million viewers--without requiring costly satellite time.
Belo first sought a vendor-independent management system when a new encoder/decoder vendor was selected to upgrade its video paths, interconnecting its six Texas stations (KVUE in Austin, KHOU in Houston, KENS in San Antonio, WFAA-TV in Dallas/Fort Worth, and TXCN (Texas Cable News), its Belo Capitol Bureau in Washington, DC, KING-TV in Seattle/Tacoma, WA, and KTVK in Phoenix and KMSB in Tucson, AZ.
The broadcaster chose MaxView--a system open to different manufacturers--to control its old and new video equipment plus integrate additional equipment as future hardware upgrades would necessitate.
While Belo operators already use MaxView’s remote equipment monitor and control functionality, the software’s scheduling feature caught the attention of TXCN chief engineer David Boyd.
"With MaxView we have reduced configuration and diagnostics operations to graphical point-and-click control," said Boyd. "More importantly, MaxView’s integration of scheduling has the potential to reduce our operating expenses when our bandwidth requirements grow to the point that it is financially impractical to maintain dedicated video paths."
"The MaxView Scenario scheduling system will enable Belo to efficiently schedule feeds to optimally utilize bandwidth over its existing infrastructure," said ILC vice president Mark Krikorian. "Scenario accomplishes this by automatically allocating hardware and handling conflict resolution to automate the entire booking, scheduling and event launch process."
Belo
www.belo.com
www.belo.com
ILC
www.ilc.com