CAMBRIDGE, Ontario—Bannister Lake recently completed a project for the Nashville-based RFD-TV, which included the transition to a new data provider, integration of real-time data into updated graphics engines, create and power graph tickers and the design and building of a custom application that allows on-air talent to select, edit and control graphic playout.

“Bannister Lake provided RFD-TV with an innovative way to take real-time data from our data provider and give our editorial teams the control they needed to customize that content,” said David Mitchell, chief technology officer at RFD-TV’s parent company, RMG. Mitchell says that the update also increased the station’s production process by enabling the graphics workflow to run through the anchor desk.

The financial application from Bannister Lake also included a sponsorship management component that allows the station to schedule and execute sponsors’ logos associated with specific graphic boards. The system automatically generates logs to reconcile logo exposure with advertising sales, Bannister Lake says.

In addition to the financial application, Bannister Lake’s Chameleon platform is now being utilized by RFD-TV, specifically to help visualize results, standings and event schedules.

For more information, visit www.bannisterlake.com.  

LAS VEGAS—Bannister Lake’s booth at the 2020 NAB Show will house its Chameleon platform, as the real-time data solutions provider aims to focus on how the data aggregation and management system can add value to broadcast and OTT applications.

Since 2020 is an election, one element of the Chameleon platform that Bannister Lake plans to highlight is its enhanced election module. New features allow for the production of real-time election coverage on any screen, with Chameleon getting results from both the Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ.

Chameleon also has the ability to manage and visualize live data feeds and on-air branding content. Broadcasters, using any output device, can integrate, moderate and customize multiple live data feeds into graphic templates and provide audiences with real-time news data. Chameleon’s branding module can also control sponsors’ snipes, bugs and other promotional graphic content.

Another element that will be shown at the NAB Show will be automated infochannels. Chameleon can ingest, manage and visualize a number of data feeds that can be rendered to graphics engines, HTML 5 or NDIs. Bannister Lake has also added transit and car sharing data to the system.

In addition, Bannister Lake is integrating capabilities into Chameleon for presenting sports wagering information with on-air broadcasts.

Bannister Lake will be located at booth SL4711 during the 2020 NAB Show, which runs from April 18-22 in Las Vegas.

For more information, visit www.bannisterlake.com. 

CAMBRIDGE, Ontario—Less than a year away from the 2020 U.S. presidential elections, Bannister Lake has announced that it is partnering with Decision Desk HQ to assist with providing U.S. election data and analysis to broadcasters.

As part of this partnership, Bannister Lake has developed a parser for DDHQ election results that ingests results data directly into its Chameleon data aggregation and management system. Broadcast producers using Chameleon can then track results, identify voting trends, make race calls or use DDHQ supplied calls, as well as generate graphic playlists and then use Chameleon’s RESTful API to distribute data and render graphics through broadcast graphic engines.

In addition to providing data for federal elections, DDHQ collects and reports election results for county and local offices, which can be utilized by local broadcasters.

“The product will allow broadcasters in any market, and online services, the ability to produce highly visual election coverage featuring graphics populated with up to the second results,” said Drew McCoy, president of DDHQ.

Bannister Lake will make DDHQ election data available within broadcast graphic engines, web widgets, on-set interactive touch screen displays and as customized social media content.

CAMBRIDGE, Ontario—Cable 14, serving Hamilton, Ontario, and nearby communities, has deployed Bannister Lake’s Chameleon data management and aggregation solution to drive its new on-air look to help mark the station’s 50th broadcast season.

"As we kick off our 50th broadcast season, Cable 14 continues to evolve and deliver to cable television subscribers the best local content available on television and online," said Bill Custers, senior manager, broadcast for Cable 14. "Cable 14 has been, is and always will be about Hamilton. This innovative, fresh look, facilitated by the Bannister Lake team, enables us to continue to exceed the expectations of our viewers every single hour."

The company developed and implemented new data readers for Cable 14’s coverage of the Canadian University Football League and Ontario Hockey League. It also helped Cable 14 enhance its ability to manage and visualize Twitter content and local traffic cameras, the company said.

Cable 14’s new on-air look integrates social media and local news sources to provide viewers with compelling, hyper-local information, the company said. Up-to-date sports scores and schedules from both local and professional sports teams and leagues are also presented as part of the new look.

Automated features available in Chameleon help to simplify and streamline how data feeds are managed so that expired data is continuously and automatically refreshed. The system’s integration with Cable 14’s traffic system gives it the ability to automate “Coming Up Next” snipes and billboards.

More information is available on the company’s website.

LAS VEGAS—We’re edging closer to the 2020 presidential election, and Bannister Lake looks to help broadcasters with their coverage with new updates to its Chameleon data and graphics management platform. This new update,along with more for sponsorship and security functionality, will be part of the company’s presentation at the 2019 NAB Show.

Chameleon’s updates to its election race modules provide producers with more options to ingest and manage result data feeds, referendums, propositions and acclaimed candidates. The new features also help drive online, mobile and social media election experiences by feeding data to web widgets and automatically sending out tweets based on Chameleon data conditions so producers can visualize election results interactively.

Bannister Lake has also updated its sponsorship module to track and connect campaigns to specific sponsors. There are also enhanced security features aligned with NIST guidelines with improved password protection. Other new features for the Chameleon include enhanced Twitter search capabilities and an improved media module with the introduction of bins for organizing content and enabling multifile uploads.

The NAB Show will also serve as the introduction for a new version of the Chameleon NDI player, allowing NDI users to manage and visualize live data feeds. This new version enables users to integrate, moderate and customize multiple live data feeds into graphic templates so to provide audiences with real-time news, weather, sports, social media, financial and customized data.

Another product to be on display at Bannister Lake’s booth is the Zeus media storage and playout system. Designed for image- and clip-intensive production environments, Zeus allows for easy access to content. The Zeus system can be fully integrated with popular MAM systems.

Outside of the company’s booth, Bannister Lake’s Creative and Technical Director Al Savoie will present his co-authored white paper, “New Methodologies in Real-Time Data Aggregation and Management for Broadcast Presentation and Distribution,” during NAB’s Broadcast Engineering and Information Technology Conference on April 10 at 4 p.m. in room N260 of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Bannister Lake will display all of its latest products at its booth, SL5616. To register for the NAB Show, visit www.nabshow.com.