ORLANDO, Fla.—I started my first TV job in 1985 in the Orlando market at WESH-TV, loading 2-inch carts into an ACR25 for commercial playout and news playback on ¾-inch tape. At the same time, Florical Systems released its first product, TimeShifter. Since then, I moved on to Betacart, live shot acquisition and master control while Florical stepped up the technology with ShowTimer and AirBoss.

Forty years later, we’re both still here—my employer, Hearst Television, which acquired WESH in 1998, operates 35 stations nationwide. Every day, we manage the flow of syndicated shows, network feeds, commercials and promos that need to reach the air without fail.

My current role is to make sure that content is prepared, validated and delivered to our stations in a way that is both reliable and efficient. Ingest and media asset management sit at the center of this process, and over the past two years, we’ve transformed how we handle them with Florical.

The Deployment
We began rolling out Florical’s ingest and asset management module in 2024 with the goal of creating a stronger foundation for how content enters our ecosystem—whether that content is coming in from distributors, agencies or internal production teams. By putting ingest and asset management in place first, we were able to establish group-wide consistency in how files are received, cataloged and validated.

Earlier this year, we completed the next phase of that transition, moving our stations onto Florical’s AirBoss automation for playout. Having the ingest and asset-management tools already in place made that transition much smoother, because the content feeding automation was already standardized and predictable.

Stephanie Sobiech, our content coordinator, is on the front line every day, handling program and promo distribution and working directly with incoming feeds from Pathfire, PitchBlue, Extreme Reach, OTSM and our networks. With Florical, she no longer has to manually track whether a file is complete or in the right format; the system validates incoming content automatically and flags any problems before they reach the air chain. That has freed her to focus on higher-level coordination instead of chasing technical errors.

Commercials and syndicated programming represent another critical part of our workflow, and Florical has helped us bring real efficiency to that process. At Hearst, we operate on a “touch-once, distribute-to-many” model.

A single program or commercial may need to be delivered to 25 stations, and Florical’s workflows allow us to handle that with economies of scale. The content is ingested and validated once, then mapped and distributed to all the stations that need it. Our dedicated commercial preparation and approval team depends on these workflows every day to ensure spots and shows are delivered consistently group-wide. Instead of repeating the same steps, they can focus on confirming the content is correct and ready, knowing the distribution piece is handled efficiently.

The benefits extend to housekeeping, as well. Because the system manages distribution centrally, we can avoid duplication and unnecessary storage at the station level. At the same time, archived content remains accessible through AWS, so if a station needs to pull material back, it can be retrieved quickly without adding complexity to the local workflow.

Error Reduction
Since completing the rollout, the biggest change I’ve seen is consistency across the group. Whether it’s Stephanie managing syndicated feeds, the commercial team approving spots or operators checking final playlists, everyone is working under the same ingest and distribution standards. We’ve reduced manual errors, shortened turnaround times and freed people to spend more energy on coordination and quality control rather than on chasing missing files.

Looking forward, the metadata foundation we’ve built with Florical puts us in a strong position for the next phase of automation. AI-assisted workflows that can reconcile traffic logs, detect anomalies, and even self-correct ingest issues will depend on having robust and consistent metadata. For us, that future starts with the reliability we’ve already gained from
Florical’s ingest and asset-management tools.

More information is available at www.florical.com.

LAS VEGAS—Here’s an extended preview of some of the products that will be on display from eight exhibitors:

Broadcast Pix

Take control anywhere with the BPswitch family of integrated production switchers. Broadcast Pix leads the industry with its control-over-IP capabilities. Produce your live programming from a traditional control room, or use a customizable browser-based interface on your mobile device.

With the BPNet IP ecosystem, powered through the ioGates cloud-based media management platform, BPswitch delivers secure, full-motion video and complete access to all your sources and workflow tools. And because it only requires a typical internet connection, BPswitch is a cost-effective solution for remote unmanned studios. Get up to 22 SDI inputs and 12 outputs, with eight channels for clips and graphics and four customizable BPview multi-view outputs.

Every BPswitch system includes NewBlueNTX 3D motion graphics with hundreds of title styles and templates, plus clip stores, device control, file-based macros, integrated streaming to Facebook Live and other CDNs, and more.

www.broadcastpix.com
Booth: SL8320

Comark

For over 45 years Comark has been a trusted partner of TV broadcasters. For NAB 2018, Comark is announcing the availability of the Parallax solid state liquid cooled DTV transmitter for VHF Band 1 (54-88MHz).

This new model is available to support RF power levels from 4.0 up to 41kW. The new Band 1 version of Parallax shares the common architecture (cabinet, distributed control system, user interface) with the UHF and VHF Band 3 models. It provides the highest reliability and efficiency, while keeping the cost of ownership low. Parallax is manufactured, serviced, and supported out of the company’s MA facility.

www.comarktv.com
Booth: C4309

Florical Systems

Florical introduces a new integrated playout solution called FéniX. The server features SDI and IP I/O options on the same box. Includes integrated MC switching, branding, and DVE effects. The FéniX is powered by Harmonic technology and Florical's enterprise automation suite creating the most comprehensive system on the market.

www.florical.com
Booth: N2524

Fluotec

Fluotec is an award-winning manufacturer of professional LED lighting for Television, Video, Photography and Digital & Film Cinema

For more than two decades the Fluotec vision has been to create precision luminaires that deliver pure white lighting. Fluotec’s sustainable and efficient LED technology has already saved millions of dollars in energy costs for hundreds of television studios around the world.

Fluotec presents “The CINELIGHT Studio Long Throw,” three Models of Constant Output Tunable LED Panels for use in high altitude studios.

These professional fixtures sport very High CRI & TLCI Indexes for accurate rendering of skin tones and stage colors and step-less Halodim 0-100 percent dimming for precise control in a studio lighting environment

Pure White Light = Energy & Cost Savings.

www.flutec.net
Booth: C161

IHSE USA

The Draco tera compact XV matrix for ultra-image 4K is offered in eight to 80 user-configurable I/O ports to support a full range of video formats up to 4096x2160@60Hz and 30bit 4:4:4 color depth. The matrix supports the full line of innovative draco ultra series KVM extenders using Fraunhofer’s Lici codec with low latency and perfect pixel-for-pixel performance. Using the 490 series DisplayPort extender units, users can either create a stretched desktop of 8192x2160 across two 4K displays or run in “clone” mode to show full 4K applications on two screens.

www.ihseusa.com - http://www.ihseusa.com/products/kvm-matrix-switch-compact-xv-fiber.html
Booth: SL10216

Myers

ProTrack empowers broadcast networks, affiliates and independent media companies to acquire, schedule, monetize and distribute content with greater efficiency than ever before. It consolidates all of the roles and responsibilities that go into linear and non-linear distribution, so media facilities can optimize their content and associated opportunities.

ProTrack is a proven solution that provides a single source for critical business data across multiple distributors, departments, technical systems and distribution channels. No matter how much disruption is occurring in the industry, our flexible, adaptable technology platform stays one step ahead—giving you the right data, at just the right time, from a single, centralized source.

ProTrack is built to keep pace with change, making it easier to scale up operations to cater to a growing customer base, cut costs, and monetize content.

For updates on all the Myers products coming to the NAB Show in April, please follow @MyersInVegas on Twitter.

www.myersinfosys.com
Booth: N3711

Primestream

At NAB 2018, Primestream will demonstrate new solutions to capture, edit and transcode live IP streams, a cloud-based review and approval system, robust 4K workflow, public APIs to easily integrate into the Xchange platform and a new centralized configuration management portal for quick and easy installations.

Primestream will also highlight VR/360 asset management, an updated Adobe Premiere Pro extension panel that features a new versioning system, as well as improvements to archival workflow with leading cloud and tape storage providers. The next generation Dynamic Media Management platform is built for ease-of-use with powerful features needed to manage the most complex sports, enterprise and broadcast workflow.

www.primestream.com/nab
Booth: SL12111

TSL Products

With over 1,000 global installations, TSL Product’s TallyMan Advanced Broadcast Control System provides broadcasters with reliable, user-oriented control and dynamic data display. TSL continues to enhance TallyMan’s capabilities with new features and protocols allowing operators to integrate a broad range of broadcast equipment into automated workflows. TallyMan now offers Ember+ protocol support, enabling engineers to intuitively integrate all Ember+ capable third-party devices.

TSL’s updated TallyMan Virtual Panel more effectively enhances operational workflow and flexibility for outside broadcast and transmission facilities with several new control features integrated into the panel’s customizable, drag-and-drop interface. New source selection architecture allows users to access presets at the touch of a button. Operators can also take advantage of improved sliders, rotary encoders and X-Y control to better steer robotic cameras, adjust gain on audio devices and tweak levels on color correctors.

www.tslproducts.com
Booth: N5615

TV TECHNOLOGY: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trend at the 2017 NAB Show?

SHAWN MAYNARD:I believe we are beginning to see IP connectivity for video workflow taking a significant leap. We have reached early adopter stage and are moving quickly into early majority for ST-2022-6 in the production space. This is really exciting and opens up a plethora of possibilities. The most exciting transition as we enter the innovator stage for ST-2110 for a more comprehensive playout format. This is truly a game changer. Lastly, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the possibilities being explored in virtualization and cloud computing utilization. Truly exciting times.

TVT: What will be your most important product news?

MAYNARD:Acuitas is our integrated playout platform and has been hugely successful for us. We continue to expand our offerings for our customers to take advantage of more flexible playout options. I believe we will be in a hybrid SDI/IP world for several years within a content creator’s facility so we will continue to have our off-the-shelf solution that uses IT industry servers (HPE) with hardware codecs (Matrox) for those who want handles on their environment. For those growing and experimenting in the cloud computing space, whether private or secured public, we also will be showing a virtualized solution as well.

Of course, we also continue to expand our Smart Central suite of tools which allows users to interact with their automation, inventory and playout ecosystem from any PC through a webserver. These tools offer nearly unlimited flexibility for how to manage their on-air environment. Really cool stuff.

TVT: How is your new product different from what’s available on the market?

MAYNARD:I love what we can do in software these days. It’s a lot of fun. As a broadcaster I am just amazed by our capabilities and our offerings for the industry. I ran a hub operation for a network stations group back in the day and I could only dream about what we are doing on a daily basis. That’s really saying something because we were innovators and risk-takers in our space. What distinguishes Florical’s offerings is that our solutions work and are not marketing hype. We are very transparent and honest about what is possible today and that sets us apart. We can do what others only talk about. Since we are innovators at heart we also invite our partners, which are our customers, to dream alongside us. We dare to whiteboard and create the impossible. We have a great team of engineers that make miracles happen. If we say it will work you can take that to the bank. We hang our reputation on it.

TVT: What is it about the NAB Show that brings you back every year?

MAYNARD:No doubt NAB Show is the show for the broadcaster. Over time this may change. We are quickly moving into a commodity and IT industry standards era, which will shift which shows will be important for the content creators. But at this time NAB is still the sweetest place to be to see the latest and greatest in our space.

BOTHELL, WASH.—AIMS continues to add to its roster with the announcement that Belgian-based Deltacast and U.S.-based Florical Systems have agreed to join the alliance. The Alliance of IP Media Solutions promotes industry standards for the transmission of video, audio and other information over an IP infrastructure.

Deltacast is a developer of OEM PCI Express video cards for SDI SD/HD/3G, DVI, HDMI and ASI interfacing, and linear keying and codec applications. Florical provides off-the-shelf station-in-a-box video server technology, remote access of system control, automated reports for traffic and management, and centralizing operations and centrally managing content.

AIMS currently endorses an IP transition that includes support for SMPTE 2022-6, AES67 and VSF recommendations TR-03 and TR-04.