Looking to do more with less, independent Canadian broadcaster CHEK-TV has chosen the iTX master control and automation platform from OmniBus Systems for its news and entertainment program production and playout. Broadcasting from its base in Victoria to viewers across British Columbia, CHEK-TV delivers a news and entertainment channel with rolling newscasts during the day and evening.
CHEK-TV has implemented what it calls a cost-effective infrastructure to bring previously outsourced master control and news control room functions back in-house. With a tight implementation deadline to meet and a lean and efficient operating model as part of the business plan, CHEK-TV chose the iTX platform.
Configured with one SD channel and a full backup channel, together with four additional ingest ports, CHEK-TV's iTX installation also provides graphics for channel branding and sponsor bugs. Making extensive use of iTX's ability to record content and play it out almost instantaneously, CHEK-TV's schedule of rolling news coverage comprises a live segment of 20 minutes at the top of the hour, with the recording of the segment repeated twice over the next 40 minutes.
During live operation, the news feed is routed to iTX from the news control room for direct playout to air, and each 20-minute newscast recording is then dropped onto the iTX timeline for subsequent automated playout. Additional material from satellite and tape is continuously ingested into the iTX system using the remaining four ingest channels, with commercials fed to the system from three distribution systems. Commercials from file-based distribution systems are dropped direct onto the iTX timeline and are then immediately ready for playout.
