PRAGUE, Czech Republic—CS live is a Czech Republic–based outside broadcast company that covers domestic soccer and ice hockey leagues, international UEFA competitions and large-scale mixed martial arts events. As our production work has grown in scale and complexity, we reached a point where our existing setup no longer matched how we needed to operate day to day.

When we started planning our newest OB van, the real question wasn’t just what equipment to use but how it would all work together once it was in the truck.

OB trucks have always pulled from multiple vendors—audio consoles, switchers, replay, monitoring—and each comes with its own way of working.

In practice, that often means juggling several control systems simultaneously. Operators learn each one separately, and even small changes, such as swapping out a device or reworking a setup between shows, can take more effort than necessary.

Streamlined Control
That complexity was becoming harder to manage across productions, so we set out to simplify it.

After thorough planning with Czech integrator Smart Informatics, we went for a Riedel solution. including the company’s “hi human interface” control system, a browser-based, platform-independent control layer that enables operators to manage a wide range of devices. Part of that decision came from prior experience with Riedel technology, but just as important was their approach to tying systems together rather than treating them as isolated components.

At the core of the truck is a MediorNet-distributed network built on 12 MicroN UHD nodes. Seven nodes handle signal routing, while five are configured as multiviewers. Two additional MicroN Standard nodes act as stageboxes, linking the truck to stadiums and other sources over a single fiber connection. SDI, MADI and Ethernet all run together, which helps keep the physical side of the build manageable.

For us, another advantage is flexibility going forward. We’re still working in baseband today, but the system gives us a way to move toward IP at our own pace without having to rethink the entire build.

On top of that sits hi, Riedel’s control system, which we use as a single layer across the truck. It brings control of audio, switching, replay, monitoring, GPI triggers and signaling together into one interface. Instead of moving between systems, operators stay in the same environment.

The setup includes five hiPush18 panels, a hiPush32 Shading panel, a hiPush36 panel and three hiContact panels, along with tablet control where it makes sense. We also use Riedel 1200 Series panels, where the intercom can sit on one layer and routing or device control on another—a practical option when space is tight.

From Days to Just Hours
The biggest operational change for us has been how hi separates the operator experience from the underlying hardware. The interface behaves the same way regardless of what’s behind it. In most cases, when a device changes or is reassigned, that update carries through automatically across the system.

What used to take days to reconfigure can now usually be handled in hours. That shows up most clearly in how we manage tight production schedules. Moving between venues or back-to-back events often means adjusting sources or workflows quickly. With a unified control layer, those changes are easier to implement without forcing operators to adapt at the same time.

There’s also a practical benefit in staffing. Because the interface stays consistent, operators don’t need deep familiarity with each system in the truck. That gives us more flexibility in how we crew productions.

This is the first deployment of hi in the Czech Republic, and it’s already shaped how we think about future builds. Moving to a distributed signal backbone combined with a single control layer changes the day-to-day experience of working in the truck in a meaningful way.

The system we’ve put together—MediorNet, hi, Artist intercom and Bolero wireless—isn’t tied to a fixed way of working. Instead of locking ourselves into one approach, we’ve built something we can adjust over time as our needs evolve.

More information is available on Riedel’s website.

SALT LAKE CITY—Utah Scientific has expanded its Technology Partner Program, adding Audinate, Bitfocus and Skaarhoj, each of which offers solutions that enhance hybrid SDI/IP workflows.

The integrations with Utah Scientific build on the company’s focus on interoperability, which gives broadcasters, production facilities and AV organizations more ways to incorporate emerging technologies while preserving the tools and workflows upon which they rely.

“We are always looking for ways to help customers build hybrid systems that blend the best of SDI and IP,” said Brett Benson, CEO of Utah Scientific. “By integrating with innovative solutions from Audinate, Bitfocus and Skaarhoj, we’re giving users more freedom in how they move audio and video, automate device control and interact with our routing infrastructure. At the heart of every system are Utah Scientific products backed by our legendary 10–year warranty — and these new integrations make it even easier for organizations to streamline operations, reduce system complexity and adapt their workflows as production demands evolve.”

Through its new relationship with Audinate, Utah Scientific is implementing native Dante audio I/O within its routers, eliminating the need for external MADI–to–Dante conversion and greatly supplementing IP audio routing for engineers. This enhancement aligns directly with the Dante–enabled mixers and consoles widely used in broadcast and AV environments, making it easier for facilities to move high–channel–count audio over Ethernet and streamline their transition toward more flexible IP–based audio workflows.

Bitfocus introduces seamless interoperability with the company’s Buttons facility–wide control platform. As part of the Bitfocus Connections Program, Utah Scientific routers can now be switched and automated alongside other devices in a hybrid SDI/IP production environment. This enables facilities that rely on modern, flexible automation tools to incorporate Utah Scientific routing without custom engineering, proprietary interfaces or workflow workarounds.

The addition of Skaarhoj expands Utah Scientific’s control surface options by enabling the Skaarhoj AirFly Pro to function as a streamlined and cost–effective desktop control alternative. This integration gives operators a compact, affordable desktop control surface that complements Utah Scientific’s existing control solutions.

Utah Scientific’s broader partner ecosystem further strengthens a hybrid approach, encompassing companies whose technologies complement Utah Scientific’s routing and master control platforms across IP, SDI, and fiber–based workflows.

Other ecosystem partners include:

• Apantac, offering multiviewers for production monitoring.
• Arista with switches that anchor many large–scale ST 2110 deployments.
• Embrionix, offering ST 2110 processing, JPEG XS capabilities and SFP–based conversion tools supporting IP transition paths.
• Norwia with fiber–transport solutions for broadcasters.
• NETGEAR, offering its M4350 switch family for the foundation of IP infrastructures.

More information is available on the company’s website.

ROME—Following a competitive public tender process, Rai (Radiotelevisione Italiana), the national public broadcasting company of Italy, has awarded Imagine Communications a three-year frame contract to support its transition from SDI to IP.

The agreement, which was done through local systems integrator Allyn Srl, positions Imagine’s Selenio Network Processor (SNP) as a core building block in Rai’s migration to SMPTE ST 2110 across its master control rooms (MCRs) and production control rooms (PCRs).

“Our move to IP is a long-term transformation, and we need a platform that will let us migrate at our own pace without disrupting operations,” said Stefano Marchetti, head of playout and network engineering at Rai. “Imagine’s SNP provides a practical foundation for how we want to build and manage our IP environments going forward — one that enables incremental deployment, operational continuity, and long-term scalability.”

As part of its modernization strategy, Rai is migrating key areas of its production and playout infrastructure from SDI to IP, carefully selecting technologies that enable a scalable and operationally sound transition. Under the frame contract, the SNPs will serve as gateway, conversion, multiviewing, and master control devices for newly deployed IP environments. Rai will also leverage the SNP with JPEG XS compression capability to support production-quality, low-latency connectivity between facilities, including links to outside broadcast vehicles.

SNP was selected for its ability to consolidate multiple critical functions into a single, highly flexible platform, helping streamline workflows in IP-based MCR environments. The unique SNP design enables it to be easily reconfigured with different personalities and upgraded in the field with new functionality. Its broad interoperability with third-party ST 2110 equipment was also a key factor in meeting Rai’s tender requirements.

At Rai, some SNPs will serve as IP gateways and some as low-latency, HDR-capable production multiviewers, which enable content from different video formats and HDR systems to be integrated into a consistent display environment. Other SNP devices will be configured with the Master Control Lite (MCL) personality, delivering branding, live graphics, and full master control functionality within the framework of the industry-proven platform. SNPs configured with JPEG XS compression will enable Rai to reduce the cost of video connectivity between facilities by using less bandwidth for signal transport.

“We are proud to support this multiyear project, which is a great example of how broadcasters are approaching IP migration in a thoughtful, incremental way,” said Mathias Eckert, senior vice president and general manager of EMEA and APAC for Imagine Communications. “SNP was designed specifically for this kind of transition, allowing customers to move from SDI to IP with confidence, interoperability, and clear operational benefits.”

The initial SNP orders will support deployments at two sites: the creation of an IP backbone for Rai’s Turin MCR and an IP infrastructure build-out at a facility in Rome. Over the duration of the three-year contract, multiple additional orders are anticipated as Rai expands its IP transition across a wider network of sites, ultimately spanning more than 25 locations nationwide.

BOULDER, Colo.—Public Media Venture Group (PMVG) has launched TechBundle, its comprehensive, modernized, low-cost shared technology bundle packaged specifically for local public media station operations.

As public media organizations face increasing financial pressure and complex technology decisions, TechBundle provides stations with a bundle of best-in-class services to manage essential operational services at a low cost, without sacrificing reliability, control or long-term flexibility.

“In today’s rapidly evolving media landscape, stations need tools that reduce cost and complexity while supporting growth,” said Marc Hand, founder and CEO of PMVG. “TechBundle was designed to help local stations stabilize their operations and position themselves for what comes next.”

TechBundle consolidates four essential services into one offering. By combining shared infrastructure, expert support and revenue and audience-focused digital tools, stations can modernize operations without rebuilding from scratch. Services may be purchased individually or with an additional introductory discount when purchased as a complete bundle. PMVG negotiated substantially reduced pricing on behalf of the public media system, creating access to enterprise-level infrastructure at a fraction of the traditional cost.

TechBundle is supported by PMVG’s Solution Advisor model. PMVG will help participating station leaders evaluate options, select the right services and configurations for their needs and plan technology investments strategically.

“Our role is not simply to deliver services,” said Hand. “It’s to help stations make smart, informed decisions that support long-term sustainability and reduce operating costs.”

The TechBundle combines master control, transmission monitoring & maintenance, traffic, and streaming into a unified solution delivered on modern infrastructure and supported by one dedicated PMVG contact.

TechBundle offers includes PMM Cloud, TSG managed encoding and transmission site services, TRAC traffic services and Local Public Light.

PMM Cloud is a centralized, fully managed, cloud-based master control solution built for public media. It features national content delivery, quality control, live local operations and 365/24/7 expert monitoring — with no capital equipment costs for stations.

TSG managed encoding and transmission site services offers comprehensive, proactive monitoring across RF, MVPD, and streaming distribution, including 24/7 technical oversight, on-site maintenance, site evaluations, and signal integrity monitoring.

TRAC offers reliable PBS-focused traffic services delivering clean, compliant logs, automation compatibility, continuity protection and 24/7 response for urgent changes and live events. Service can also include station programming.

Local Public’s Light tier offers local public and dual-licensee stations the full capabilities of its apps, which are designed to mint Passport members and replace lost broadcast-driven audiences and revenue across select platforms, including Roku and the web with optional mobile support, for a greatly reduced price.

More information is available on the PMVG, Local Public, PMM, TRAC and TSG websites.

BOSTON—Public Media Management (PMM) today launched PMM Cloud, its new managed cloud master-control solution that draws on over 10 years of experience operating its PMM Classic hybrid master control service through the Network Operations Center (NOC) at GBH Boston.

“Public media stations are navigating increasing financial pressure alongside aging broadcast infrastructure,” GBH Chief Operating Officer Shane Miner said. “Being part of the testing process has excited us about the solid technical solutions PMM is preparing to offer stations.”

PMM Cloud is a comprehensive managed service that integrates with essential broadcast operational areas, including scheduling, optimization, broadcast traffic and reliable linear channel playback with local live capabilities.

Built on technologies widely used by major commercial broadcast organizations, PMM Cloud brings enterprise-grade reliability, performance and scalability to public media—tailored to the operational, financial, and mission-driven needs of public television stations, PMM said.

The PMM Cloud solution emerged from extensive conversations at the 2025 NAB Show and a subsequent RFP process. In Q4 2025, PMM evaluated three vendor solutions and conducted proofs of concept with three existing PMM client stations.

Ultimately, PMM selected a single, best-fit platform. The result is a rigorously tested, production-ready solution tailored to the operational realities of public media, PMM said.

PMM Cloud offers simplified engineering and maintenance. It does so by consolidating technologies onto a resilient, managed platform. The system reduces on-premises hardware to a rack unit appliance that provides bidirectional connectivity for linear channel playout.

It also provides operational simplicity supporting seamless hands-off-the-wheel operation for routine programming while enabling local staff to make last-minute changes or take control and go live with local content or running live, local events, PMM said.

In addition to support traditional linear broadcasting, PMM Cloud enables modern digital features, including:

• Digital streaming management.
• Video on demand.
• Monetization opportunities (unique to PMM’s cloud-based Joint Master Control [JMC] solution).
• Readiness for future technologies, like ATSC 3.0.

State-of-the-art graphics and branding capabilities that enable stations to deliver a polished, modern on-air presentation while maintaining local identity and editorial control.

The PMM Cloud-based JMC is priced at $4,000 per month for core services and $575 per month for passthrough services with branding. A single piece of hardware is provided for free as part of the solution, PMM said.“Our new solution enables us to deliver a cloud-first, modernized master control solution—leveraging the same proven technologies used by leading commercial broadcasters, while tailoring them specifically for public media stations—to lower operating costs and create new opportunities for local impact,” Public Media Management CEO Marc Hand said.

More information is available on the PMM website.

HUDSON, Mass.—BitFire, a provider of software-defined live production and IP transmission, today announced the addition of cloud-based live master control capabilities to the BitFire Platform for live production and distribution. Built into BitFire’s Spark Production Environments, the new master control interface offers a familiar control room experience with professional-grade finishing tools—including captioning, as well as graphic / bug insertion, ad breaks, and SCTE—for live events of any scale. This advance makes full-scale master control more accessible to smaller operations while empowering larger media organizations to roll out high-volume live services, such as alternate broadcasts or streams tailored for different regions and languages, the company said.

“With these new capabilities, the BitFire Platform closes a critical gap in the transition to live production in the cloud,” said Jim Akimchuk, president and CEO at BitFire. “Whether producing one event or many simultaneously, production teams can now add a sophisticated layer of control and presentation — including live captioning, squeeze-back advertising, and playlist-driven break playout — without the cost or limitations of traditional master control rooms.”

BitFire’s live master control interface allows users to finish and master live shows without relying on downstream facilities. Accessible via an on-demand, cloud-based environment that allows for unlimited scalability, it brings professional orchestration and control to use cases in which traditional master control isn’t practical or economically viable, according to Bitfire.

From a single cloud-based interface, operators can insert closed captions using iCap-compatible workflows with EEG/AI-Media to meet established broadcast standards, as well as trigger SCTE-104/35 markers for downstream dynamic or server-side ad insertion. The system can automate break playout and playlist execution using standardized BXF files or manual triggers, execute advanced ad formats such as squeeze-back and picture-in-picture using Spark’s powerful switcher engine, and deliver finished, broadcast-quality transport streams with embedded captions, SCTE triggers, and metadata for either SDI or IP distribution.

By leveraging the BitFire Transmission Network from contribution to distribution, real-time, synchronized delivery of multiple versions of a broadcast becomes simple and scalable, whether delivering to one destination or hundreds, the company said. Because the BitFire Platform brings full-scale master control to the cloud, operators can configure redundant transmission with multiple paths into and out of the cloud, eliminating reliance on a single feed.

“With the addition of live master control to the BitFire Platform, we’re giving users even greater confidence that they can move forward with cloud-native workflows while maintaining quality, reliability, and control,” added Akimchuk. “Representing the first truly scalable, broadcast-quality master control solution in the cloud, this capability is already being used on national and international broadcasts of high-profile live sports, where it’s being leveraged to manage redundant feeds, HDR conversions, captioning, and SCTE ad triggers.”

More information about BitFire and its cloud-based live production and master control capabilities is available at www.bitfire.tv.

PADUCAH, Ky.—It’s no secret the world of TV news is changing faster than a June storm. Folks don’t just wait for the 6 o’clock news anymore—they want content on every screen, anytime. At WPSD-TV, a leading television station in Kentucky owned by Paxton Media Group (PMG), that put us at a crossroads: We had to modernize how we work or risk falling behind the very people we serve.

WPSD-TV has always prioritized delivering community-focused news and information. To maintain this standard, we’re always looking for ways to continuously improve our operations by modernizing workflows, positioning ourselves as a next-generation regional media hub equipped with cutting-edge technology. This led us recently to turn to our longstanding partner Bitcentral to enhance efficiency while minimizing costs.

Multiplatform Challenges
Whether it’s travel and lifestyle stories, high school sports, breaking news or weather coverage, WPSD-TV keeps our community informed and safe. But with viewer habits rapidly evolving, we found ourselves at a crossroads. We needed to rethink how we operated to keep up with the demands of today’s multiplatform media environment. We knew that modernizing our workflows was no longer optional; it was essential.

For that, we needed tools that were not only reliable and cost-effective; they also needed to streamline operations across departments, help us archive and access years of valuable media assets more efficiently, support our digital transformation and create a technology foundation that will remain strong well into the future.

To meet our goals, we chose several Bitcentral solutions, including ViewNexa Channels to launch and manage FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channels, efficiently distributing both live and on-demand content. We also deployed Core News Suite, which completely reimagined how we produce news by allowing our team to adopt a “produce once, publish many” workflow. This lets us get more mileage out of every story over every platform.

We also adopted Bitcentral’s Fusion Hybrid Storage (FHS) for our media library. This smart, scalable storage solution enables us to support our high-res video, metadata and proxies without overwhelming our infrastructure. And because we wanted to overhaul and future-proof our master control operations ahead of our move to a new facility, we installed Bitcentral’s Central Control system, which offers automated feed recording, traffic system integration, and real-time monitoring.

Something Invaluable
Partnering with Bitcentral has ushered in a new era for us at WPSD-TV. We’ve been able to bring innovation and efficiency to the forefront of everything we do. Today, we’re better-equipped to meet the demands of a fast-moving multiplatform
media world—and we’re in a strong position to explore new ways to grow and monetize our content.

Bitcentral’s technology has helped us streamline operations across the board. From simplifying maintenance to reducing day-to-day costs, their solutions have freed our team to focus on what matters most: delivering outstanding local news and storytelling to our community.

Most importantly, working with Bitcentral has given us something invaluable: peace of mind. We know we can rely on their systems and support, not just today, but for many years to come. With that kind of confidence, we’re able to stay ahead of the curve, innovate with purpose, and unlock new opportunities as our industry continues to evolve.

More information is available at bitcentral.com.

MADISON, Wis.—The Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (ECB), the public media hub in Wisconsin, partners with the University of Wisconsin to deliver television and radio content statewide through six TV stations, six TV translators and 39 radio stations, reaching audiences through PBS Wisconsin, Wisconsin Public Radio and our most recent partner, Milwaukee PBS.

We manage TV master control operations with the primary goal of ensuring that content is delivered to all stations with uninterrupted service. Automation plays a key role in making that happen, and we rely on Crispin’s RapidPlayX 2000 and CORE master control automation systems with the webRPX playlist tool to keep us on the air.

Out With the Old
Our previous aging automation was no longer supported by its manufacturer, prompting our search for a new, reliable system. Crispin’s technology stood out from the field.

We started running the Crispin automation in shadowcasting mode alongside our existing software to let the system prove itself, and within a few weeks, we were confident about cutting over to Crispin exclusively. Maybe an hour after that cutover, I remember our executive director walking down to see how things were going. I said, “Great, we’re all going out to lunch!”

The new system has increased our broadcast reliability and reduced user errors significantly. We’re comfortable knowing that the system is running and just works.

The Crispin system’s scalability is a benefit as we add more coverage for viewers statewide. In 2023, Milwaukee PBS approached ECB about expanding our Crispin system to include managing their master-control needs. We started by running similar shadow-casting tests and even before we cut over, we got our first big test.

Wisconsin’s governor was delivering a speech to be broadcast statewide. Milwaukee PBS was planning to use their previous master control, but soon realized they were more comfortable with ECB’s service. Even though it was still early in the test phase, they asked if they could take our Crispin playout on-air for the speech, and the broadcast was seamless with no issues. That was the historic day we went on the air in Milwaukee for the first time.

Disaster Recovery
Like all stations, we are always preparing for a natural disaster or event that takes us off the air. With Crispin’s support, we’ve established an off-site disaster recovery (DR) location on the University of Wisconsin campus.

Our initial DR goals were to just survive and stay on air with whatever we could pass through, starting from scratch and building up. We soon decided we’d rather immediately continue broadcasting media previously scheduled for air from our DR facility.

Crispin developed a new application for its AssetBase peer synchronization technology to create a separate, fully synced off-site database that ensures we can continue media acquisition and playout of our full programming schedule in a seamless cutover. Other than sending data from A to B, our primary and DR Crispin systems operate separately and really don’t know about each other.

It doesn’t need to be a full-blown emergency for this DR system to serve our broadcasting needs—if our primary location is doing maintenance work or there’s any situation where we would otherwise need to shut down, we can easily switch over to our alternate site and maintain on-air continuity.

Most broadcast errors are user-related and Crispin’s intuitive software interfaces have significantly reduced those instances. If we ever do experience any issue—system or user-related—we know Crispin’s support will provide the peace of mind and reliability essential for public media.

More information is available at crispincorp.com.

TORONTO—In 2019, I founded The Live Stream King, a Toronto-based livestreaming and audiovisual solutions provider. With more than 600 live streams under our belt, The Live Stream King has produced and streamed a range of events for clients such as Walmart, TD Bank and more. In 2025, we introduced a modular OB truck to expand the company’s offerings even further.

Over the past several years, I’ve seen the company grow exponentially, allowing us to service customers in diverse industries ranging from weddings to concerts and sports to religious gatherings. Our success in North America has been one of the many reasons why we launched an OB truck to achieve seamless setups and flexibility to meet our clients’ needs. Because many of the projects we work on require in-venue configurations, we opted for a modular approach that can be easily adjusted and allows us to use only what’s necessary for each project, no matter how small or big.

Designed To Stream
Our OB truck is equipped with Blackmagic Design products that allow us to deliver each project with precision. For large events, we usually use an ATEM 2 M/E Constellation 4K live production switcher paired with an ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel 10. For events that need a more mobile and compact setup, we use an ATEM Television Studio HD8 ISO live production switcher and for smaller productions, we rely on an ATEM SDI Extreme ISO live production switcher.

We also use an URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 as well as a Pocket Cinema Camera 6K and DaVinci Resolve Studio for editing. Recently, we started using the DaVinci Resolve Replay Editor for multicamera editing and replays for sports.

At the heart of our workflow, a Blackmagic Videohub 40x40 6G router is paired with the ATEM 2 M/E Constellation 4K, which is primarily used for large gigs where we need a lot of inputs/outputs. We also use a Videohub 20x20 with the ATEM SDI Extreme ISO to feed projectors, confidence monitors, screens and internal routing to our system, eliminating the need for multiple SDI splitters and resetting cables.

Signal flows are managed through our main Videohub 40x40 6G. By having a networked interface and app control in our iPads, every team member can make changes to their tasks and preferences as needed. The small preview screen on the Videohub 40x40 6G ensures that the appropriate signal is coming in when assigning it. For the truck setup, each person can use their iPad or the Videohub Smart Control Pro, allowing them to make changes to their own screens or inputs/outputs without having to be physically next to the switcher.

Videohub Setup
The Blackmagic Videohubs allow inputs to be assigned to any output very quickly, eliminating the need to manually unplug and plug cables. Sometimes we may want to send different feeds to different devices for display, recording, monitoring or GFX purposes, so having the Blackmagic Videohubs as our central component rather than tons of cables smooths out our workflow.

Looking back at some of the projects we worked on recently, like the Badminton and Racquetball Association winter competition, snocross racing events and plenty of conferences, I am amazed at how we were able to rely on the Blackmagic Videohubs to manage all of our SDI workflows so efficiently. Having input all cameras and media sources to the Blackmagic Videohub, then outputting them back into the ATEMs, monitors and the rest of the gear, was extremely easy and allowed us to deliver each project with superior quality.

For additional information, contact Blackmagic Design at 408-954-0500 or visit
www.blackmagicdesign.com.

BOSTON and DENVER—Media Management, the ownership group of Public Media Management (PMM), the cloud-based content distribution and master control solution for public television stations, has announced a new partnership with Twin Cities PBS (TPT).

Media Management is providing TPT with a cloud-hybrid solution that puts technology at the station while leveraging an expansive library of managed content and robust master control services, it said.

"As the media landscape continues to evolve, it's crucial for us to adopt cutting-edge solutions that ensure both reliability and flexibility in our operations," said Christian Siebeneck, chief technology officer at Twin Cities PBS. “By partnering with Media Management and using PMM's cloud-hybrid solution, we can operate similarly to our former in-house master control. This setup allows us to function without depending on dedicated circuits because the system is housed at TPT’s studios and in the cloud. This collaboration not only streamlines our processes, but also positions us to better serve our community with innovative and efficient broadcasting solutions."

“We are excited to work with TPT as a forward-thinking public station working to incorporate technology and operating platforms that improve and enhance services to their local communities,” said Marc Hand, CEO of Media Management. “PMM will provide cloud-hybrid solutions to content distribution and management tools that are essential to the future growth of TPT’s operation. Media Management offers the only cloud-hybrid master control solution for public stations and is developing a number of new initiatives to more fully incorporate new technologies essential for public stations in a fast-changing media and technology world.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo.—We’re a medium-sized broadcast group with multiple network affiliates across 10 markets, but we face the same challenges as other industry organizations, large or small.

If we want people to see us, then we need to be on every media platform. We couldn’t provide diverse programming and services on our increasing number of channels and stations without reliable and efficient master control, program automation and distribution.

We found the right platform for our needs with the Crispin Corporation, a Sony Group Company. The Crispin solution provides a browser-based playlist tool, webRPX, allowing for reliable and flexible control. Plus, Crispin’s CORE and its full suite of applications, is built to support a hybrid approach of on-prem, VM, and multisite.

Fractions of Seconds
We pride ourselves on local news coverage and in many of our markets we are the news leader. When viewers tune into live programming, everything must be dialed in perfectly—fractions of seconds can be the difference between ruining or enhancing the viewing experience.

In the fall of 2023, we deployed the Crispin software suite at our broadcast operations center (BOC) in Colorado Springs, Colo., and we are aggressively rolling it out to the remainder of our markets. We quickly began seeing the benefits—dependability and less time spent troubleshooting on-air issues, resulting in a better working environment and improved programming for our viewers.

I can best describe our search for a viable master control and automation platform as preparing for the future by going “back to basics.” Our industry used to be focused almost exclusively on hardware; now that’s become largely a commodity with so many software options on the market.

However there are still legacy workflows that aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. SDI is still a part of our plans. The resources simply aren’t there to redo each station and become a full IP house. IP will take the place of baseband, but the on-ramp to get there is still pretty long.

Crispin offered an ideal software-based platform that fits how we work today, allowing us to manage our existing baseband infrastructure and on-premise workflows. It also gives us the flexibility to leverage cloud and IP for future growth. It’s the best of both worlds.

Our BOC and market stations operate on a hub-and-spoke model. A few years ago, we were deciding between centralizing at the hub and transporting programming to the spokes or keeping the heavy lifting on-premise at the spokes with remote control managed from the hub. We chose the latter option.

Granular Control
Also, since we don’t have the resources for dedicated fiber or satellite uplink between all our facilities we rely heavily on public internet. The system we chose had to be resilient and able to run 24/7 without much maintenance required, which was especially important since we have added channels and services but not the staff.

With Crispin, we have granular system-wide control over a reliable remote IP connection and the assurance that all programming and ad content is being delivered and inserted properly with no downtime.

At one of our stations in the Crispin roll-out phase, our legacy automation system failed, and we were facing the prospect of dead air. But the Crispin system was running and even though it wasn’t fully commissioned, we flipped over to it to provide an hour of programming we otherwise wouldn’t have had.

That invaluable peace of mind is worth any time or costs involved with new technology, and we’re confident that as our needs change, the Crispin suite will grow and adapt with us.

James Crawford is director of engineering for St. Joseph, Missouri based News, Press & Gazette Broadcasting. He is based out of Idaho Falls, Idaho. He can be reached at james.crawford@npgco.com.

Additional information is available at www.crispincorp.com.

LINCOLN, Neb.—Starting out with a single over-the-air channel in 1954, Nebraska Public Media has been providing news, education, entertainment and sports programming for the last 70 years.

We now support five live-to-air TV channels, two radio channels and online resources. In addition to producing live community and news programs, we broadcast programming from PBS and NPR on TV, radio, online, social media and mobile apps. We transitioned into streaming when we began broadcasting live gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Nebraska Legislature.

The Emergency Alert System is also a huge portion of what we do, and as the State Emergency Communications Committee Chair for Nebraska, I help with a lot of EAS activities. In addition, we serve as the backup for the PBS Diverse Disaster Maintenance System, which means we cover the entire country with PBS signals when serious weather hits the East Coast. 

It’s a lot to manage, and I have spent the last 29 years helping the station connect its local communities to the world and each other. 

Automating Master Control
As network operations manager, it’s my job to keep everything on air, and I’ve been working with Imagine Communications products since 2000 to ensure our master control infrastructure meets our changing needs. 

We use Imagine’s Versio integrated playout engines for channel origination, four Nexio+ AMP servers for record and quality control, Nexio Motion for media asset management, and ADC automation for content control and delivery. The Versio offline Creation Station enables us to quickly create a snipe or a crawl for sports or for EAS alerts. In addition, we use Selenio encoders for transcoding, which enables us to operate 12 live streaming channels and create VOD files for PBS Passport delivery.

Imagine ties everything together, and everything is interoperable. The Nexio Motion software moves files around our facility, including to Avid editing stations and to the web, making our file-based workflow perform efficiently.  In total, we have 91 workflows built in the Motion system to shuffle files around in our facility.

All of our signals go to air through the Versio platform, with each of our five channels split between two ADC Air Clients, which let us monitor and control multiple playout and ingest channels from a single UI. Our operators are very comfortable with this setup, as we have been using ADC for years, and the Versio is mostly hands off. 

Automating our workflow helps simplify all our on-air operations, and the fact that our operators don’t have to touch it illustrates the reliability of the Air Client and how well it works. The playlist is everything, and the Versio platforms just run and run. 

Managing Growth
As time goes on, our services keep developing, and Imagine products enable us to grow alongside them.For example, our tie-in with the Nebraska Legislature requires a big commitment to record facilities, and we recently upgraded our Nexio servers to provide the capacity for 16 HD record channels. Next year we’ll add English and Spanish captioning to the Legislature—for each floor debate as well as all its hearing rooms—which we are obliged to copy for the public archives.

Finally, like most of our broadcast peers, we are starting to plan for the inevitable transition to IP, and we know that Imagine gateway products enable a hybrid environment and gradual migration to ST 2110. 

Al Krause is network operations manager at Nebraska Public Media. He can be reached at akrause@nebraskapublicmedia.org.

More information is available at https://imaginecommunications.com.

DUBAI—Imagine Communications is providing next-generation production and playout facilities for Rudaw Media Network, as part of the broadcaster’s transition to an all-new, state-of-the-art headquarters complex. 

The new infrastructure will be built using SMPTE ST 2110 IP connectivity, providing 4K UHD capabilities for production and playout in a highly agile and scalable architecture that will offer Rudaw operational and cost efficiencies across the network. The new installation will go live in early 2024.

Headquartered in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region of Iraq, Rudaw Media Network is a broadcaster dedicated to providing independent information in English, Kurdish, Arabic and Turkish. 

The network’s transformation roadmap entails migrating its operations to a new, eight-story complex that will house multiple studios and TV channels supported by IP infrastructure and 4K UHD playout and master control facilities. 

Working with systems integrator Wave Media Solutions, Imagine is providing the complete IP playout automation and master control infrastructure, including multiviewers, UHD conversion processing, network orchestration and routing control, the companies said. 

“When we launched our channels 10 years ago, we were the first network in Kurdistan and Iraq to broadcast in HD,” says Hejar Berenji, CTO at Rudaw Media Network. “Today, our move to a greenfield site is the perfect opportunity to maintain that pioneering spirit by migrating to IP and 4K UHD. That is just part of our goal to create a channel and content that is engaging and relevant to our audiences by insisting on the highest professional standards.

“Imagine’s state-of-the-art broadcast technology will, I believe, make a substantial contribution toward our organization’s mission to impart information and facilitate communication, by empowering journalists and producers to seamlessly translate their visions onto the screen,” Berenji continued. “Through the inauguration of this world-class, new facility, we are underscoring our ongoing technological leadership and affirming our commitment to maintaining a leading position within the industry.”

The new infrastructure at Rudaw Media Network will use a Cisco fabric for SMPTE ST 2110 IP connectivity. To ensure seamless integration of SDI and IP equipment, Rudaw will use Imagine’s award-winning Selenio Network Processor (SNP) as a convenient and compact gateway ― providing 128 configurable SDI/IP ports in just 4RU. This function is only one of many critical applications the uniquely configurable SNP will support within the new facility.

SNP is a highly versatile media processing platform with functionality that can be changed virtually and instantaneously by simply loading the appropriate software. At Rudaw, multiple SNPs will be deployed throughout the new facility, providing all core functionality from audio/video processing and synchronization to up/down/cross-conversion ― even supporting as many as 40 UHD multiviewer layouts with 180 inputs. With SNP easily field-upgraded as new functionality is developed or business requirements change, Rudaw will look to incorporate the new Master Control Lite (MCL) personality into the next phase of the build, which adds branding, graphics, master control and even dual downstream keying ― all in ST 2110, all in software and all in perfect UHD.

Rudaw’s channel origination workflow will be built on Imagine’s industry-proven Versio integrated playout platform and widely deployed ADC™ automation, supporting three UHD output channels and a preview channel ― all fully redundant. Featuring ST 2110 UHD I/Os, advanced graphics and master control capabilities, the Versio playout devices will provide both channel delivery and ingest into a 252TB Imagine IOX high-availability NAS storage solution, forming a seamless, end-to-end content management ecosystem.

Imagine’s powerful, operator-centric Magellan Control System will simplify management and operation of the entire workflow, from production and ingest through master control and playout. Essentially the “brain” of the system, Magellan Control provides a single point of management, automation and monitoring across the entire infrastructure ― including the Cisco switches, Vizrt graphics, Tektronix test equipment and other third-party broadcast equipment ― making the whole operation seamless and intuitive. Redundancy across the network ensures that every aspect of the new installation is highly reliable.

“Imagine’s relationship with Rudaw Media Network dates back more than a decade and has continued to strengthen through multiple upgrades and advancements,” said Anas Hantash, head of Middle East, South Asia and North Africa at Imagine Communications. “We are proud that Rudaw trusts Imagine ― both as an innovative technology provider and a transformation partner ―and we look forward to taking the next step in their exciting journey.”

Zaid Wattar of Wave Media Solutions added, “We are delighted to partner with Rudaw on this end-to-end IP project and will work closely with the company’s engineering team and Imagine’s support team to ensure a smooth transition to IP connectivity and 4K UHD.”

BATON ROUGE, La.—Louisiana Public Broadcasting has a 47-year track record of excellence in TV master control and in groundbreaking PBS programming. As one of the first to remotely operate PBS affiliate stations across the state (now in six cities), LPB has matured its technology approach at several key stages. We’re just at another major master control room transformation now. 

With the goal of educating Louisianians, LPB has played a leading role in many legendary productions, including early partnership with Ken Burns, the famous and hilarious Justin Wilson, extensive leadership in civil rights coverage, the landmark series “Louisiana: A History,” historic coverage of Hurricane Katrina, and great musical specials reflecting the region’s rich heritage. 

LPB manages the enormous Louisiana Digital Media Archive (LDMA) which preserves Louisiana’s media history, representing one of the best examples of the partnership between a public broadcast station and a state’s archive.  The LDMA also houses the WWL collection, making it a notable example of a successful public-commercial partnership.

Master Control Innovation
Master control innovations have defined LPB for decades. I was honored to serve as the head of engineering at LPB before being promoted to president-and-CEO last year. In LPB’s latest master control upgrade, local-and-remote TV operation is now combined at Baton Rouge for Monroe, Shreveport, Lafayette, Lake Charles and Alexandria.  This includes remote stream-splicing for Shreveport to locally insert programs, sponsorship breaks and local promotions.

For many years, using Harmonic’s encoders, LPB distributed compressed video transport streams across its fiber ring to all six LPB stations. When local programming and breaks need to be inserted, it’s best to keep feeds in the compressed domain and stream-splice, to avoid having to use costly dedicated encoders. 

LPB’s new automation system from Aveco stands out in its ability to manage central encoding, manage media operations to forward the right content, handle Myers traffic, execute SCTE commands for local insertion through control of the Harmonic platform, and return as-run logs for automated reconciliation back into traffic.

Uniquely, all of LPBs channels—local, remote and stream-spliced—are in one consolidated master control screen, making life easy for operators.

Aveco also handles cloud-based TV and streaming channels in the same system. When we need to use cloud resources, additional channels can simply pop up on the same master control screen as our system expands locally, remotely and via various clouds.

Pooling & Self-Healing
One of the reasons Aveco was selected for LPB’s master control automation was its ability to self-heal. Aveco manages pools of resources and priorities are set to use these resources on-air, in-studio and for preview/QC etc. 

For playout, all automation systems have primary-and-backup but Aveco goes beyond this. If a backup resource goes to air (e.g. video server port) Aveco instantly and automatically rebuilds a new backup, dynamically pulling from the pool, path-finding thru the router and delivering fully re-established 1:1 redundancy without human intervention. This is especially important during unattended operation for ingest and playout. 

There is tremendous efficiency found in a pool of resources, where appropriate, with guaranteed priority execution, implementing rules from LPB engineering and operations. Media workflow automation and Aveco’s built-in media asset management help master control operators with a variety of tasks and enable unique integration with the PBS sIX system.

LPB has implemented many innovations and upgrades over the years and with Aveco we’ve taken another major step in our new generation of master control automation. The industry keeps changing and our partnership with innovative companies like Aveco help us fulfill our mandate to help grow and improve our services to viewers.  

For more information visit www.aveco.com.

MATRAVILLE, NSW Australia—I launched Innovative Production Services (Innovative) with my colleague Brendan Sadgrove in 1997 to focus on live events. Over our 25-year history, Innovative has gained experience in all aspects of live production including live music, theater, TV and art and performance, but large corporate events had become our focus heading into 2020 when the Covid pandemic quickly changed everything. 

Realizing that there were not going to be any large events for the time being, we knew we had to adapt. We set up a trial studio in our factory that quickly moved into a 750 square-meter professional sound stage. We loved this new studio world and our gear had to step up in certain areas to match the standards that not only our customers expected, but what our staff and contractors were used to. So, we purchased a Ross Carbonite Black SOLO (split system) for our studio, The HUB. This little powerhouse was amazing, especially for its size. This only led to more interest in Ross Video products.

Tech for our Truck
After a very successful 18 months in the studio environment, we had the game-changing opportunity to purchase an impeccable broadcast truck with no gear in it—something Brendan and I had only dreamed about for years.

Whatever we selected needed to work with our current workflows and accommodate upgrades and changes as required. Ross Video products and solutions give us the flexibility we need—we wanted gear that could easily talk to each other and have control systems and solutions that are all part of an integrated unit.

After careful evaluation and assessment, we decided on a Ross Ultrix Carbonite FR5 Frame, and several other Ross products and solutions for our new truck.

We wanted something that would work for us now and into the future. The truck needed to offer ultimate simplicity, flexibility, and compatibility—not only in the physical domain, We also wanted it to be easy to understand, use and troubleshoot for our staff and contractors. Starting with 12G-SDI now means that everything works instantly for us and it’s a known signal format for all of our team, offering immediate benefits especially when it comes to supporting 4K workflows. Also, with the Ultrix system, if and when we need to include ST 2110, we can do that by simply swapping out an IO blade.

Flexible Panels
This flexibility is not just in the Ultrix solution—the Ultritouch Panels and TouchDrive panel also get updates to allow new functionality. We have been actively suggesting and requesting new features for many of the Ross Video products we now own. It’s so good to see Ross actively developing and working on their products and pushing those updates to their customers.

The success and validation of the truck’s design concepts were proven in two key jobs: IBM Think 2022 and TEDx Sydney. At IBM the truck was in “full event mode” where it was the technical hub for the entire main stage. All cameras came back to the truck as they would in a typical broadcast and the show was streamed from the truck. But that’s where the similarities ended.

We also ran all playback for the show from the truck and all outputs for the live event were also fed from the truck. This includes projector 3G-SDI feeds for the main screens, foldback monitor feeds, side of stage monitor feeds and lighting monitor feeds. For this event, besides handling the main switch of all cameras and content for the screens in the room and the live stream, Ross Ultritouch panels with Dashboard switched all the KVM stations. The two graphics positions relied heavily on these touch panels, contributing to a successful event.  

For more information on Ross Video, visit www.rossvideo.com.

JOHNSTOWN, Iowa—Iowa PBS has been a national leader in TV for decades.  We have centralized master control of four program streams, distributed statewide via 17 transmission facilities as well as outputs to streaming services. We produce nationally syndicated TV shows, use our studio facilities for widely viewed specials and have received many awards from our programs and live sports. 

When our Avid-Sundance system reached end-of-life, we carefully accessed all master control automation and found Aveco a stand-out leader. There are many important innovations in playout and we wanted to use them now!  

However, our transition period had to happen during COVID-19.  We were amazed at how smooth the process went—a major master control replacement, adding many new features, while no one could come on-site!  A well-designed transition plan and the workflow automation scripting in Aveco helped a lot. 

The Transition Plan
Aveco has a direct database conversion from Avid-Sundance (and others) as well as BXF integration with Myers ProTrack traffic and API integration with Telestream-Masstech. All existing media and metadata migrated easily into Aveco. 

Via BXF, whenever a trimming or segmentation update is made in Aveco, the updated “confirmed timing” instantly updates both ProTrack and Masstech. Bi-directional MXF was one of our first steps.

In the past, Iowa PBS used many video server ports for ingest but Aveco’s equipment pool management efficiently allows sharing of ingest ports for program feeds, studio feeds, archival ingest, etc. It implements priorities to ensure important scheduled feeds are never missed and provides equipment pool sharing of video server ports for video roll-ins during live production. Aveco also controls live graphics—bridging master control and production use of shared resources. 

While Iowa is the center of political hurricanes every four years, we’re also in the center of “Tornado Alley”—our Intelliweather system is integrated with Aveco master control to bring instantaneous storm updates; every second matters. 

Iowa PBS has a great staff and training remotely due to COVID—on a new advanced automation platform—was expected to be a big challenge. There were many new features and workflow improvements to learn.  The new Aveco software was easy to understand, the trainers had a great grasp of what’s needed, and our staff got up to speed surprisingly fast.

Cloud Leadership
There are many features our staff especially like in Aveco—the integrated MAM, multichannel timeline, BXF bidirectional integration between Aveco-ProTrack and Masstech, the efficiency of equipment pooling, the easy sharing of master control and studio production, ease of use, great reliability, the safe client-server architecture, and the flexibility of unattended and remote operation. We were and continue to be very pleased with Aveco’s responsiveness to our comments and concerns and their flexibility at working with us on refinements to the overall operation of the system.

Most broadcast technologists see current or near-term use of the cloud for a variety of functions—MAM, storage, playout, pop-up channels. It was impressive to see Aveco’s early leadership in this area, with on-prem, hybrid cloud and full cloud operation on air for a range of quality broadcasters. Aveco controls our Harmonic Spectrum platform on-site and the Harmonic VOS360 cloud system which we may use in the future.

TV is in another fast rate of change—over the years, there have been many major waves. We’ve found some smaller companies are the best in innovating and adapting and we consider Aveco one of these and are honored to work with them and other quality manufacturers helping lead our industry. 

For more information, visit aveco.com.

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—DeSales Media is a direct provider of Catholic news, events and original content through print, TV, digital and experiential, to engage Catholics and drive them to put their faith into action. With more than 100 years since the launch of our first newspaper, “The Tablet,” and an evolution spanning parochial schooling, prayer channels, evangelization television, an additional newspaper and a 24/7 cable channel carrying live mass, devotional programming, educational programming, news, and entertainment, DeSales is devoted to covering the Catholic perspective through a multifaceted 360-degree approach.

We’ve recently transformed ourselves into a content hub for the faith-based community and its creators. With focused programming and live feeds from local sites including the Cathedral Basilica of St. James and the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, in Brooklyn, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan and international locations including the Vatican, we sought a scalable master control solution to simplify playlist management and streamline efficiencies. We wanted something that had the proven ability to handle a variety of content distribution modes including playout to air for a regular channel and distribution of content to affiliates for their play to air. 

A Scalable Solution
That’s when we learned about Crispin’s master control automation and quickly implemented it for prep, storage, management and playout of live and pre-recorded content. Crispin runs control for a series of Harmonic Spectrum X playout devices, controlling the graphics. 

For us, Crispin has been transformative. When compared to our previous solution, Crispin gives us a lot more flexibility in handling the playlists and making adjustments. It has also changed the way we do live events—allowing us to program a live event without manual intervention has given us a whole new lease on how we can program, and even what we can program.

With Crispin’s master control automation, we don’t have to worry about server availabilities—we can see everything that we need to do and we’re able to record on multiple recorders if we need to. During the pandemic, when the church decided to do eight live masses every day in different languages, we were able to program that very simply: The ones that they wanted us to record, we were able to record and program it as a secondary record. If we needed to re-air that, we were able to schedule it for re-air and we were even able to QC it while we were on another live event. Those capabilities give us a lot more power and flexibility.

In addition, there are also some really nice features in the Crispin environment to handle getting back on time coming out of a live event. You can pre-build blocks and store them off to the side in the file cabinet and you can have some evergreen content there in case something goes wrong with the feed, which we’ve found to be an elegant and simple solution that gives us peace of mind.

Simplified Playlists
Something else we really appreciate about Crispin’s solution is that when we make changes on the playlist, being able to do a “ctrl R” and insert and replace everywhere a show is going to air on that whole playlist saves us a lot of time. You can also make one single replacement just for the master control instead of going through 800 lines of content trying to find and replace a single line. That alone has been a major blessing.

It’s evident that Crispin’s master control automation was thoughtfully built and designed by people in the industry. It accounts for a lot of the workflows that people are used to in other aspects of their computer life, where find and replace, and search are far more developed than the competition.  

Additionally, training operators on Crispin is easy. The speed with which new operators who don’t have a master control background catch on to Crispin is impressive. As a not-for-profit religious broadcaster, this is ideal since many of our staff are either experts or fairly green—and both ends of the spectrum have managed to pick it up quickly. 

For more information, visit https://crispincorp.com/.

Cooler fall temperatures may be on the way, but the heat is always on for the broadcast and IT equipment in master control. All electronics generate heat—and that heat can build up and damage the various components you need to run your station or provide access to content for post production. Proper cooling extends the life of your gear and makes it more reliable. Of course, most master controls don’t have an ambient temperature that supports IT or broadcast equipment, so you’re going to need more than the integrated fans in your equipment to keep the area cool and mitigate the heat. 

The optimal room temperature for most broadcast equipment is 68 degrees. This is not the same as modern IT server rooms. Much of the IT world has been redesigning equipment to operate in warmer temperatures—between 78 and 80 degrees—which means less cooling is required. Unfortunately, most broadcast equipment still includes temperature-sensitive components that are different than what you’d find in a typical server or switch. 

If you’re moving master control to a new area of an existing building, avoid spaces with exterior windows, which essentially act like solar heaters. And no, there is no window AC on the market that delivers enough cooling for any level of broadcast gear. 

Interior “show off” windows for master control are neither good nor bad, just expensive. Besides the never-ending battle of climate control, master control is filled with equipment that makes lots of noise. You don’t want to hear the fans, hard drive arrays and other components outside of the room—and you don’t want to transmit the heat from other parts of the building into the room. You’ll need a high-end window and a lot of insulation to compensate for both. Unless you really, really need to show off the blinking lights of your servers and broadcast gear, avoid the window. 

Given a choice in room size, bigger is always better. With a smaller space, there’s not a lot of margin for error. If the AC fails, the smaller room will get hotter faster, which means the risk of damaging your equipment gets much higher much faster. 

Some master control areas are nothing more than recommissioned closets with insufficient AC. For compact spaces like this, companies like Liebert and Emcor offer self-contained rack enclosure systems with integrated cooling systems, which can act as primary or secondary cooling alternatives. 

Remember, it’s essential that you have some way to not only cool the room but to remove heat from the equipment in the room. There are definitely more efficient equipment layouts to aid in your cooling quest. One time-tested technique is the “hot aisle/cold aisle” layout, which uses air flow management based on your equipment’s interior cooling fans. 

If you have multiple racks, the ideal cooling situation is to have them facing away from each other. The cooling fans intake air from the front, exhausting hotter air in the back, and then the hot air is directed toward the room’s AC return vent. By lowering the friction of air movement within the room, the air entering the equipment is as cold as possible. Studies have shown the hot aisle/cold aisle layout can increase AC efficiency by up to 20%, which can result in significant power savings. 

For a long time, there was a theory in our industry that colder was better. It’s true that cold is far more forgiving than heat when it comes to broadcast and IT equipment, and it’s always best to err on the side of being too cool as opposed to being too warm. However, you shouldn’t need to wear a parka if your master control is properly designed, particularly with today’s quality air conditioning systems and advanced thermostats.

Dave Van Hoy is the president of Advanced Systems Group, a systems integrator based in Emeryville, Calif., with offices in Los Angeles, the New York Metro Area, and the Rocky Mountain Region. Contact him at 510-654-8300 or visit www.asgllc.com.  

AKRON, Ohio—Religious broadcaster TCT Television will go live with a new hybrid master control (MC) system in mid-August that leverages a unique combination of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and MC and studio control automation to drive efficiency, save money and improve live program content.

“I’ve replaced a master control system that I literally put in in 2005,” says Bruce Hart, vice president of engineering at TCT. “I’ve been maintaining it now for 15 years, looking for the right option to transition to and move forward.”

Hart found his replacement in the form of master control automation, Media Asset Management (MAM) and studio control automation from Aveco and the MediaMind AI engine from TVU Networks. Besides automating master control for TCT’s three network channels originating in Akron, Ohio, and 22 O&Os around the country, the hybrid MC-AI system proved to be the answer for other important challenges facing the broadcaster.

“I needed to solve three problems: closed captioning, populating a database with descriptions of our programming and archiving,” says Hart.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

TCT is using four AI algorithms, including automated transcription, facial recognition, object recognition and lower-third recognition, as part of its TVU MediaMind deployment.

Not only does the transcription algorithm automatically generate accurate closed captions—thereby saving TCT on its captioning expense—but it also contributes to building a database of metadata along with the other three AI algorithms that together makes it possible for the broadcaster to derive other important benefits from its Aveco deployment, says Hart.

Integrated with the broadcaster’s 32 Aveco MAM seats, the TVU MediaMind AI algorithms are currently identifying unique characteristics that describe each frame of TCT’s 70,000 hours of programming. Currently stored on videotape, optical discs, individual hard drives and a RAID array, the archival content is bound for 925TB of storage and backup on sleeper disks from Alto under the orchestration of Aveco automation.

Unique identifiers, such as the facial features of people in shots, the shapes of objects in scenes, CG text burned into lower-thirds and speech translated to text, will one day make it possible to find desired footage from the entire archive in an instant, says Hart.

While that massive undertaking is going on in the background, the same set of algorithms is being used to create metadata for some 20 hours per week of live TCT programming, he adds.

“All of that footage will be available via a great portal for online [distribution] as well as for live program production,” says Jim O’Brien, president of Aveco.

When used for live production, the metadata will enable a show producer to search a topic being discussed on air, retrieve appropriate archival clips and choose the best one to enhance the live show—all in a matter of seconds, says Hart.

The TVU MediaMind-Aveco MAM hybrid also will put an end to the drudgery of manually completing quarterly FCC filings for TCT’s stations.

“That report is a very detailed thing, and it takes a full-time person to track down all the data the FCC requires for all of our 22 stations,” says Hart. “Now we can generate reports for each station automatically from the program data we are harvesting.”

While a significant time and money saver, today’s TVU MediaMind as currently configured is just a start. As new AI algorithms come along that prove to be useful to TCT, they can be integrated into the system to enhance metadata capture, adds Hart.

“With TVU’s AI interface module, we can use any commercially available artificial intelligence in the marketplace in conjunction with TVU’s own AI engine to ensure we are providing the maximum benefit,” says Kyle Luther, vice president of sales at TVU Networks.

MC AUTOMATION

TCT originally deployed a central-casting automation system to drive its hub-and-spoke model 15 years ago. With each passing month, it became ever more apparent the system, which relied on aging video servers running Microsoft Windows XP, was creaking ever closer to its demise. System reboots became a weekly occurrence, and reliability was sporadic, says Hart.

At the 2019 NAB Show in Las Vegas, Hart partnered with Ocon Solutions. Together he and Jim Ocon, president of the technology consultancy, identified the goal of relaunching TCT master control as an AI-driven platform—something both believed would be a first for the television industry.

Since then, Ocon has formed the OConsortium, an alliance of tech vendors, consultants and broadcasters working on next-generation media technology and solutions. Members participating in the TCT deployment include Aveco, TVU Networks, Ocon Solutions, Brainstorm, DTV Innovations, Alto, Titan TV, Teradek and Media Transport Solutions.

Planning for the hybrid master control system began in earnest two months later as TCT separately began preparations for a major renovation of its network headquarters in Akron, says Hart. 

The 26,000-square-foot facility has three studios, each equipped for productions enhanced by augmented reality (AR). One, a 40x30-foot studio, is outfitted with a Brainstorm InfinitySet for productions done on a virtual set. 

The facility’s control room is equipped with a 4K-capable Grass Valley Kula production switcher that TCT currently uses for 1080p productions. Signal routing and transport is a mix of baseband and IP, says Hart. 

Aveco’s centralized master control is at the heart of the new deployment. Responsible for network origination, control of each TCT station and two satellite dishes, the system is a night-and-day improvement for Hart.

“We will have one computer running the playlist for the three network channels and the 22 O&Os—25 playlists in total—running on a single screen that will have full control over every station and the network—all in one control room,” he says.

The system offers a “self-healing” feature that Hart found particularly attractive. “If a server fails, which is bound to happen, without having someone there watching the automation, the system will automatically switch to the backup and convert a server dedicated to recording to playout, change the router and put the video into the server so it plays out all on its own,” he says.

The Aveco system also controls the TVU MediaMind with respect to speech-to-text transcription turning it on when needed and off when not to control costs. “You pay for only what you need,” says Ocon. “When you don’t need to use the service, you can turn it off.”

For disaster recovery, TCT has deployed redundant systems at a site in Illinois, adds Hart.

GOING FORWARD

As TCT planned the renovation and its new hybrid master control deployment, Hart kept in mind it was likely the television broadcaster would continue to grow. “We started out last year with 14 stations. We are at 22 today,” he says.

“We are actively looking and planning to grow beyond that. To reliably control all of those stations, I needed a more robust system to ensure I had good, quality programming going out to all of those stations.” 

To do otherwise would diminish the broadcaster’s chance of winning viewers in markets targeted for expansion. “When you are new to a market, you’ve got one chance to do it right,” says Hart. 

More information on Aveco, TVU Networks and Ocon Solutions is available on the companies’ websites. 

New product specialists join from broadcasters to enrich customer understanding

Cambridge, 7 October 2019: Underlining the importance of its solutions business, Pixel Power has added two new product specialists to the team. Tanya Schurawel and Toria Farrell both come direct from broadcasters, and will use their unique insights to help customers develop optimised solutions for automated production, graphics and playout.

Tanya Schurawel joins from Univision in the US, where she was most recently technical supervisor, animator and designer. With her strong technical and creative background, Tanya – who will be based in Florida– will engage with customers during the pre-sales period, ensuring their complex requirements are identified and satisfactorily met with Pixel Power’s virtualizable, modular systems.

Toria Farrell was previously a transmission controller at Red Bee Media/Ericsson. Toria began her career at the BBC as an EPG scheduler, and her career has seen her act as network director and playout director. Toria was a key member of the transmission launch team for the BT Sport launch in 2013, and became a senior playout director in 2015. She has worked within many client transmission areas from uktv and ITV to Channel 4, BT Sport and BBC World News. Based in the Pixel Power headquarters in Cambridge, she will work with customers to define software and virtualized playout solutions which enhance their businesses.

“As playout moves from large hardware installations to the almost infinite capabilities of software-defined, virtualizable solutions, broadcasters need to look at their operations and workflows afresh,” said James Gilbert, CEO of Pixel Power. “Vendors have an important role here, in translating a broadcaster’s business needs into innovative, practical and affordable technologies and workflows.

“Tanya and Toria, because of their extensive and current experience in broadcast and online transmission, are great assets in these discussions,” Gilbert added. “I’m delighted they have joined the Pixel Power team, helping us – and our customers – go from strength to strength.”

###

About Pixel Power, a Rohde & Schwarz Company
Pixel Power develops software-defined, virtualizable, solutions for broadcast playout, automation, master control, graphics & branding used in linear television channels, OTT and VOD. Our award-winning branding and promotions systems, graphics-enabled master control switchers and sophisticated switchable graphics production systems allow producers to deliver dynamic live and pre-recorded content for any SD, HD, 4k, mobile, online or interactive application.

Pixel Power has 30 years’ experience of engineering prowess and dedication to customer support that has made it the industry’s first choice in graphics, branding and playout. With more than 2500 installations worldwide, customers including market-leading broadcasters such as BBC, Ericsson, ITV, SWR, WDR, TV2 Norway, Danmarks Radio, TV5 Monde, CBC, Disney, Discovery, ESPN, ViaSat and Sky.

Recently acquired by Rohde & Schwarz GmbH, Pixel Power corporate headquarters are in Cambridge UK with regional offices in Grass Valley California and Dubai UAE.

Pixel Power can be contacted online at www.pixelpower.com.


Pixel Power Contact:
Name: Ciaran Doran
Title: Exec VP
Email: cdoran@pixelpower.com
Tel: +44 7775 581301

PR Contact:
Name: Jennie Marwick-Evans
Company: Manor Marketing
Email: jennie@manormarketing.tv
Tel: +44 7748 636171

MUNICH, GERMANY—Rohde & Schwarz today announced the acquisition of Pixel Powel Ltd., a step in its plan to expand its position as a leading source of broadcast playout solutions.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Pixel Power CEO James Gilbert and CTO Nick Wright will remain in their current roles.

Pixel Power’s product lineup includes broadcast graphics, master control and integrated playout systems for use by linear TV broadcasters and playout facilities delivering mobile, online and OTT video-on-demand content.

While playout, branding and master control technology complement R&S’s existing product portfolio, it’s Pixel Power’s development in recent years of IP-based solutions that virtualize those functions in a public or private cloud that seems to have motivated the acquisition.

"We've introduced more software-based IP products that can be virtualized, and that's really caught the imagination of the market. That starts to paint a picture of why an organization like Pixel Power became attractive to a company like Rohde & Schwarz," said Ciarán Doran, Pixel Power EVP global sales and marketing to Jenny Priestley, a reporter with sister publication TVBEurope.com.

According to R&S, its acquisition means existing Pixel Power customers can be confident an established, highly stable technology group stands behind the company, an essential element of forging long-term partnerships and protecting the investment of customers in Pixel Power products.

"With the acquisition of Pixel Power we are significantly expanding our Broadcast & Media portfolio with new and exciting solutions,” said Cornelius Heinemann, R&S head of transmitter and amplifier systems, file-based media solutions. “Together we can combine the software-defined technologies and virtualized environments to offer customers the very real benefits that they provide in broadcast playout and VOD markets."

With the purchase, R&S has renamed the company Pixel Power Ltd. – A Rohde & Schwarz Company. 

DENVER—Colorado Public Television has a great history of technology innovation. We’ve produced multiple Emmy Award-winning shows and were one of the first digital TV stations on the air.

This year we decided to expand master control automation, video servers, storage and branding and invited all major vendors in for demonstrations. Aveco stood out dramatically in software features—with many of their most impressive capabilities not found in any other system.

For one, Aveco has equipment-pool facility management that dynamically assigns resources based on need. For example, in scheduled ingest, a video server port is assigned automatically, the route is locked and, when completed, resources return to the pool. In playout, if a primary video server fails, the 1:1 backup goes instantly to air, but now a new backup can automatically be built.

Our senior staff member who approves media needs to go between edit suites. Whenever a promo approval is required, he selects the media and Aveco automatically assigns a Harmonic output, path-find through the router and delivers video to his room’s monitor. Facility management is invaluable in the large national TV networks Aveco runs—but it’s also very helpful for smaller stations.

SOPHISTICATED MAM

Aveco’s Media Asset Management includes workflow rules that reviews the on-air schedule to determine the priority of transcoding in our Rhozet/Harmonic. When a promo or program arrives late, it’s instantly moved to the top of the processing list.

Aveco’s MAM has sophisticated video search, so operators can easily search-and-replace clips. It can automatically output CableLabs VOD specs and streaming media; we’re not using this yet but we can see how easy and inexpensive it is to grow.

Aveco automatically brings in media from the archive to the on-air video server according to on-air playlist schedules. It also implements our policies of where and when to store media, including checking space on storage subsystems; when they reach fullness-thresholds, it automatically begins using the next available system. This intelligent storage management includes purging rules based on media types, future reruns, etc.

There’s almost no limit to how efficient media operations can mature using Aveco’s workflow manager.

We’ve used Harmonic/Omneon video servers for years and we’ve seen how fully Aveco implements every nuance of the Harmonic APIs. We’re very happy to make a major upgrade to the new Harmonic Spectrum X under Aveco control.

In traffic, Aveco was the industry’s first MCR automation to implement BXF 5.0, and, more impressively, it had dynamic traffic interfacing over 20 years ago, long before BXF. Dynamic traffic interfacing makes it easy to handle changes.

The Aveco-traffic interface also allows dynamic “coming up tonight,” “coming up next” promos in real-time on-air through Aveco controlling the Harmonic Spectrum X branding overlays of graphics-video-audio. This greatly reduces editing time in the repetitive tasks of compositing regular promos, letting editors work on higher value content.

Aveco uses QNX, a real-time operating system common in Cisco switches, Boeing aircraft, etc. Software clients are on Windows, Mac and Linux, with all three OS clients operating simultaneously—locally and remotely. QNX has never had even one virus or worm. It’s POSIX-compliant and easily supported and looks like Linux. Access is only by a software client. Having a safe, reliable core will be increasingly important as the industry moves further into IP.

Aveco has a truly remarkable platform; we’re proud to work with them and would welcome any broadcaster to come visit us in Denver. We’d be happy to show you what we determined is the current state-of-the-art in master control automation.

Mark Seewald is a 35-year broadcast technologist at Colorado Public TV (14 years), DirecTV and other companies. Mark can be reached atmseewald@cpt12.org.

For more information, please visitwww.aveco.comor call 818-292-1489.

Leading this year’s recurring themes and category catch-phrases were the inevitable and overworked IP and Cloud, followed closely by Workflow Orchestration, Virtualization and relative newcomer Artificial Intelligence, all well-intentioned to automate the routine, liberate creativity, and enable deeper-than-ever dives into metadata, both for content and—shades of George Orwell—its consumers.

MASTER CONTROL AUTOMATION & CHANNEL PLAYOUT

AVECO debuted Ad Juggler, an ad revenue optimization tool for live sports coverage. A single key-press instantaneously executes an “alternate list” video/graphic sponsorship when a peak audience-interest play occurs; events post to the as-run for traffic and billing reconciliation.

BITCENTRAL showcased Central Control with multiple redundancy modes and Join-in-Progress updates, plus enhanced user-interface efficiency with multichannel control and customizable maps to aggregate and view remotely managed channels.

BROADSTREAM introduced Media Exchange for transcoder-free PitchBlue and Pathfire file acquisition and native playout. Also, CompuSat integration for off-satellite recording, and closed-caption display within its OASYS Browser.

CINEGY brought v12 of Air, Desktop, and Capture, plus Multiviewer v14. Desktop added real-time access to live feeds and its Archive MAM content. Included tools support logging, editing, post-production, news, and import/export to non-linear editing and automation.

CRISPIN unveiled a Sonybased Disaster Recovery solution via its RapidPlayX Web GUI. The Cloud-native playlist software offers on-premises and virtual deployment flexibility for stations to stay on-air when their ground facility’s off-line. Also, user feedback-based Join-in-Progress enhancements.

DNF CONTROLS unveiled its Live Cloud Playout collaboration with AWS. Thirdparty automation “sees” its GTP-32 controller as a local server channel, although content is remote on Amazon S3, and updates status as clips are added or removed. Also GTP-V1, a new software-only virtual IP controller for video/KVM routers, switchers, multiviewers, servers, tally systems, and more regardless of physical location.

ENCO announced NewTek Network Device Interface (NDI) support for IP video, plus a new ClipBoard interface for its Media Operations Manager (MOM) playout automation. Also, live input cut-ins without external switcher and support for SCTE-35 triggers and CEA-608/708 Closed Caption pass-through.

EVERTZ featured OvertureRT-LIVE workflow integration with iPowow, a social media aggregator and moderator, to enhance the viewer experience through real-time interaction with favorite shows.

FLORICAL partnered with Harmonic to debut FéniX, a scalable automation/playout package for simple channel to highyield enterprise configurations. Acuitas, its COTS hardware channel-in-a-box platform, added SAN environment capabilities for greater channel scalability.

GRASS VALLEY unveiled its SAM-merged automation range: iTX Flex, a Cloudbased SaaS solution for rapid channel spin-up; iTX Integrated Platform, software-based SD, HD or UHD playout with HDR support; and iTX On-Demand for VOD workflows. Complementing them: Multi-channel/screen Morpheus for on-premises, virtualized or multifacility operations, and ICE (Integrated Channel Playout), now supporting graphic templates with dynamic realtime data.

HARMONIC expanded its media processing family with VOS SW Cluster software and VOS 360 SaaS. Both support Cloud and bare metal environments to speed OTT deployment and channel migrations with greater flexibility and lower cost-per-channel.

IMAGINE COMMUNICATIONS added “Vizrt Inside” graphics to Versio, its Cloud-native, microservices-based playout platform, plus version redundancy, geo-zone back-up synchronization, and Adobe Acrobat integration.

NVERZION debuted Aramyst to automate syndicated content acquisition, prep and playout from PitchBlue and Pathfire; also announced, a Utah Scientific partnership combining their master control offerings under the brand “Uinta.”

PEBBLE BEACH added low-latency NDI confidence monitoring for live, reactive channels, plus 3D graphics integration with Pixel Power and Ross for Orca, its virtualized IP solution for scalable playout using private or public Cloud infrastructure.

PIXEL POWER showcased the addition of NewTek’s NDI technology to its Stream-Master integrated playout platform to generate and monitor low latency proxies. The company also demonstrated Gallium Workflow Orchestration to automate adding/removing graphics, branding, content packaging and regionalization; and GalliumVOD for OTT, catch-up and multiplatform services.

PRIMESTREAM debuted IP stream ingest and transcoding, a SaaS-based Review and Approval system, 4K/UHD end-to-end workflows, a centralized configuration module, and public APIs for Xchange.

RUSHWORKS unveiled A-List Streamster, IP-based desktop scheduling and playback automation for Internet channels, with URL and NDI input/output support for YouTube and similar outlets.

NEWSROOM SYSTEMS & WORKFLOWS

AVID brought multiple Cloud-centric journalist apps to its MediaCentral platform, including: “Publish,” to repurpose on-air content for Web and social media; “Rundown,” for live news production; “Research,” news feed and social media consolidation; and “Maestro News,” to facilitate graphic workflows.

BITCENTRAL launched FUEL, designed to dynamically stream and monetize viewer-personalized news content, while boosting engagement and ad impressions. Fuel incorporates the necessary tools to version, upload, and publish to digital audiences anywhere. The company also highlighted functionality updates throughout its newsroom workflow, including multiple third-party integrations, enhanced Oasis collaboration, and heightened security.

DALET showcased smart journalist modules powered by Media Cortex, part of its Galaxy AI framework. Content Discovery creates contextual recommendations with auto-content tagging, topic extraction, and key phrase searches; Social Media Framework lets editorial teams harvest, analyze, produce and deliver fast-paced news with popularity tracking and an aggregator tool to identify and follow threads.

GRASS VALLEY augmented its newsroom workflows with social media tools for STRATUS 6.0; enhanced video, IT and cloud-based asset management in Momentum; and v11 of its Ignite newscast production automation with upgraded Event Builder, third-party switcher support, and editing via SAM’s Go!, Rio or Grass’s EDIUS.

ENCO showed advanced ENPS, Avid and Octopus plug-ins and a new MOS interface for its Media Operations Manager (MOM) playout platform. Journalists can search asset libraries within their NRCS interface to add graphics, audio or video to scripts; rundowns auto-synchronize and are controllable via MOS for play-to-air.

OCTOPUS featured v8.2 of its eponymous NRCS. Among enhancements: collaborative scripting, faster rundown editing with clip replacement and in/out point modification, plus direct posting to social media and new story slug shortcuts.

TRAFFIC, BUSINESS & RIGHTS MANAGEMENT

BROADVIEW SOFTWARE rolled-out Version 8, with tools for linking series, seasons and episodes; expanded live event metadata management; upgraded auto-promo placement; enhanced secondary event and ad break functionality; and streamlined workflows to create and publish bulk program content.

IMAGINE COMMUNICATIONS debuted xG Scorecard. Blending input from sales and traffic, operational databases, social media, ratings and more across the enterprise, it empowers media executives to organize, navigate, interpret and draw real-time insights from their data.

MYERS introduced Console, a Cloud-enabled single point-of-entry to the ProTrack suite with enhanced security and multi-factor authentication. Also, ProTrack’s transition to browser front-end with advanced sales capabilities and interactive scheduling grid, and a significant update to ProWeb scheduling.

OPERATIVE (formerly SintecMedia) released an open API and ContentDNA, a machine learning algorithm within OnTarget forecasting to its Cloud-based AOS sales, traffic, and content management ecosystem. Also, new alliances with MediaOcean and Freewheel, among others.

WIDEORBIT launched Cloud Analytics, a streamlined SaaS edition of its flagship business intelligence solution that lowers implementation costs, yet retains its powerful dashboards, integrated traffic data, and mobile access for improved sales and financial decision-making.

ARCHIVE & MEDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS

AVID demonstrated On Demand, a Cloud-based SaaS platform to securely manage and deliver content to any device, anywhere, while automating transformation and QC tasks. Also, new AI Suite creates searchable rich metadata libraries, applying machine learning and cognitive services to content indexing, closed caption verification, scene and facial recognition, and speech-to-text conversion.

DALET introduced Galaxy five, the latest edition of its asset management and workflow orchestration platform. The new version adds AI across the workflow, hybrid infrastructures with on-premises and cloud deployments, and a core emphasis on social media.

EVERTZ showcased third-party integrations with Mediator-X, its Cloud-enabled asset management platform, including a file-based QC solution from Interra Systems; automated closed caption and video description verification, alignment and language identification with Avid|Illuminate; and scalable object storage with Cloudian HyperStore.

MASSTECH introduced its “Metadata Mining” concept: a framework to relay archive or production content to third-party AI services to create metadata such as voice-to-text, facial, object or location recognition, even sentiment recognition that can be converted into searchable metadata linked to specific stored assets, thereby expanding potential content discovery and monetization.

PRIME FOCUS TECHNOLOGIES added work order automation modules to its CLEAR Media ERP, including a Content Acquisition Portal to manage, evaluate, cata-logue and schedule; OTT Distribution for multi-platform VOD publishing; and Ingest for Satellite & Terrestrial Distribution for centralized capture, prep, QC and automated delivery to station master controls.

SONY announced full integration between Media Backbone NavigatorX and its Ci Media Cloud Platform, plus Avid and Adobe edit integration; HTML5 apps to ingest, organize, manage, and search across multiple departments and locations; and an Optical Disc Archive collaboration with Qualstar to develop an enterprise-class library system.

TEDIAL debuted AI-based SMARTLIVE, a metadata engine and production support tool for sports and live events. It automatically builds logs, player grids and schedules, captures actual multi-camera or multi-venue content, and creates highlight clips based on actions, keywords or logged occurrences for live production enhancement, archive, or publication to social media.

TMD showed Media-flex-UMS Orchestrator with third-party device controls and business system integrations for simple-to-complex software-defined workflows that adapt automatically based on metadata values. Companion Composer’s workflow designs may be cloned and edited in-house without programmers or costly professional services.

TVU NETWORKS unveiled its cloud-based MediaMind, consisting of Contribution Automation, AI Engine, Producer Pro, plus Real-Time Search and Workflow Engines. It precisely indexes video from the start of production based on AI-generated metadata, enabling production workgroups to efficiently locate and interact with content.

VERIZON DIGITAL MEDIA SERVICES featured Path Monitoring for OTT, part of Volicon Media Intelligence, with end-to-end delivery chain visibility, including a “what aired” video affidavit. It simultaneously monitors, logs and records baseband or transport stream feeds to confirm content integrity across geo-separated locations.

VSN showed Explorer MAM with new auto-metadata detection using IBM, Google or Microsoft Azure integration to obtain real-time insights from content via facial and brand recognition, keywords, speakers, objects, and more. Explorer now includes Wedit (web-based editor) enabling users to edit videos and export EDLs from any location.

XYECH revealed new features for its MediaPulse facility management, including Azure PaaS support, Change Control for Approval Workflows, Personnel Entitlements and Payroll Penalties in Schedule Book, and Auto-Assign Resource.

SWITCHERS/VISION MIXING

BLACKMAGIC DESIGN launched ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K, an all-in-one live UHD switcher with integrated hardware control panel featuring eight independent 12G-SDI inputs, built-in Fair-light audio mixer, ATEM Advanced Chroma Keyer, multi-view, flash-based media players, creative transitions, DVE, and more.

BROADCAST PIX released a dual-channel BPfusion CG software option for its BPswitch production series. It streamlines data-intensive graphics creation via built-in NewBlueNTX multilayer 3D motion CG and auto-updates with IP-based scoreboard, Twitter, RSS, spreadsheet, and similar sports, election, and news data.

EVS debuted X-ONE, an all-in-one live production system with software-defined technology for small to mid-sized events. An intuitive touchscreen interface enables solo operators to create replays, control audio, mix video sources, and add graphics over live content with high quality broadcast-standard output.

FOR-A unwrapped a new 4K 3 M/E model for its HVS-6000 switcher platform with a maximum 64 inputs/48 outputs in 12G-SDI and 12RU, Designed for users upgrading from HD to full 4K, it’s future-scalable to 8K.

GRASS VALLEY introduced K-Frame X, which uses existing K-FRM boards plus a new 192x96 I/O video production engine. It supports TICO compression or uncompressed SMPTE ST-2110 4K, along with HDR, and operates from any GV Kayenne, Karrera or Korona switcher panel.

JLCOOPER ELECTRONICS upped its Proton and Ion switcher control surfaces with front panel input mapping, Hall-effect T-Bar, GPI-input, and QuickSwitch to support multiple Blackmagic ATEMs.

NEWTEK unveiled NDI 3.5–its widely accepted interface protocol–with performance, network connectivity, and device discovery enhancements. Flagship TriCaster gained LiveGraphics with real-time motion and dynamic, data-driven text and imagery via Adobe Photoshop or After Effects, and without needing proprietary hardware.

ROSS VIDEO launched Carbonite Black Solo13, a compact 13-in/6-out switcher and hardware panel combo. Acuity gained Floating 3D DVE; 2020 WCG HDR Conversion on Input and Output Processing Boards with HLG, PQ and Slog3 support; audio on the Global Store; and enhanced Custom Controls. Carbonite v13 added DashBoard Virtual-Panel; input/output Color Corrector and proc amp controls; color temperature presets; Any Bus Follow, and more.

RUSHWORKS updated its VDESK Radio/TV Production System with 3n1 multi-function PTZ camera and TALK-TAKE voice-activated, hands-off switching between host and guests.

SONY unveiled the XVS-9000, an advanced live switcher for 4K, HD and HDR content productions with up to 80-inputs/40-outputs in 4K or 160-inputs/80-outputs in HD, plus IP, 12G-SDI in 4K, and hybrids of both for large sporting and entertainment programming.

ROUTING

EVERTZ debuted the XRF4, a modular RF router with hot-swappable rear panels, 64x128 matrix, direct fiber-optic inputs, and control/monitoring touch-screen.

FOR-A launched the MFR-6000 SD/HD/3G/6G/12G, a router with 12G-SDI compatibility across a matrix of up to 144-in/outputs plus 4K and 8K support. A built-in Web server simplifies setup and it can be integrated within an SNMP system to monitor operational states, I/O signals, and cross-point status.

GRASS VALLEY introduced v1.5 of Convergent, its SDI/IP router with familiar interface to visualize IP network bandwidth; it supports SDN and IGMP, as well as audio breakaway, shuffling and AES profile conversion. Also new, the Sirius 840 Enterprise, a router with integrated MV 850 multi-viewer with support for SDI, AES, MADI, 4K UHD, IP and 12G, 840 with integral audio/video processing.

ROSS VIDEO debuted the Ultrix-FR5, a 5RU, 144x144 routing/AV processing platform featuring SD to 12G, clean/quiet switching, audio embedding/de-embedding, and up to 24 MultiViewers with 100 PIPs per head.

UTAH SCIENTIFIC unveiled a pass-through card for its 400 Series 2/3 routers or standalone operation. It converts SDI to IP while keeping the original SDI for use elsewhere. Twelve 3G/HD/SD signals can be switched in SDI with simultaneous IP copies (2022 or 2110) fed to IP fabric, easing the migration to IP-based workflows.

KVM SWITCHES

ADDER TECHNOLOGY introduced the ALIF100T, a dongle-sized USB power-capable KVM, part of its ADDER-Link INFINITY series. The diminutive unit consumes a quarter the power of conventional rack units yet delivers up to 1920x1200@60Hz via DVI or DisplayPort interface.

BLACK BOX debuted its Emerald Unified KVM Platform, a converged solution to distribute video, audio, and peripheral signals in hybrid environments, including IP and proprietary direct-connect networks, with mixed resolutions up to UHD/4K and beyond.

G&D NORTH AMERICA unwrapped a KVM-over-IP matrix with dynamic access, secure AES-128 encrypted operation, and control room functionality for monitoring, scripting and scenario-switching.

IHSE launched the Draco ultra-491 Series, HDMI extenders that pass video over long distances without quality loss in simple point-to-point applications or combined with enterprise or compact matrix switches. It can extend HDMI up to 10 kilometers over fiber or 140 meters usingCat-X cables. Digital audio options include AES/EBU and S/PDIF up to 96 kilohertz.

THINKLOGICAL introduced the TLX Client Integration module, a virtual machine processor and KVM extender offering secure, uncompressed signal management without adding latency, artifacts or dropped-frames. It’s deployable point-to-point or in-conjunction with a matrix switch for multi-source/destination connectivity in collaborative workflows.

TOLEDO, OHIO—Sinclair Broadcast Group is moving master control for its Toledo station, WNWO NBC24, 140-plus miles away to South Bend, Ind., where Sinclair owns Fox affiliate WSBT. The transition is to take place during the first quarter of next year, Sinclair said in an announcement this morning.

“All of the local news content will continue to be covered by local reporters and will be produced in Toledo, but the technical aspects of the newscast will be handled by staff at Sinclair’s South Bend, Ind. station. The master control for WNWO by which content is readied for broadcast and commercials are inserted, will also be handled out of South Bend,” the announcement stated.

Sinclair said that it and WNWO “remain committed to delivering a strong local news product in Toledo and viewers will still find local news in the morning, evening and late night on WNWO, plus online at nbc24.com. In addition to the Toledo news staff producing local content, the station will continue to benefit from regional, national and international content produced by the Sinclair network of five stations in Ohio and southern Michigan and a bureau in Washington D.C. ”

Scott Livingston, Sinclair vice president of News, offered the following statement: “Sinclair’s investments in technology have made it possible for newscasts to be produced in a more efficient fashion and allow us to continue to provide local news to the community which in the past would not have been possible. WNWO will continue to have journalists on the Toledo streets every day gathering news and breaking stories. WNWO also understands the importance of local weather and will have a staff of meteorologists and the most up to date weather system in Toledo. WNWO appreciates the community support during the past 50 years and will remain a strong voice in Toledo and committed to our local communities.”