Octopus has announced that it has introduced the new Octopus Web Client. It provides an intuitive and user-friendly design that allows users access to the most essential Octopus 12 functionalities effortlessly from a browser, the company said. 

Octopus will show the Client and other products at IBC2023 at booth 6.C12 in Hall 6.

The new Octopus Web Client allows real-time collaboration across team members and ensures that they stay connected and productive, no matter where they are, the company said. 

The Client is also designed to improve efficiency with multi-user editing, encouraging smooth collaboration and creativity among the newsroom team.

The launch means that Octopus 12 gets the green light for remote news production by providing web-based, on-the-go access; integrations with 70+ technologies; cross-platform compatibility and the flexibility of on-prem or cloud deployment.

Key features include: 

• Real-Time Collaboration
• Collaborative Script Editor
• Single Page Script
• Real-Time Updates
• Multi-User Editing
• Collaborative Approval Processes
• Intuitive User Interface
• Remote News Production

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—Bitcentral this week announced it has deepened its partnership with OCTOPUS Newsroom by making the company’s Octopus 11 newsroom computer system available to Bitcentral customers.

Octopus 11 enables users to be more productive thanks to a revamped user interface, native device support for PC, Mac OS, iOS and Android and advanced newsgathering, planning and collaboration tools, Bitcentral said.

Launched earlier this year, Octopus 11 facilitates editorial collaboration among team members at every stage of the production process, it said.

This includes publishing content beyond traditional audiences to the web and social media, giving users a platform to contribute to stories as they develop. By being fully compatible with Bitcentral’s Core News products, Octopus 11 offers modern news technology solutions that will enable Bitcentral’s customers to manage the entire lifecycle of live and pre-recorded content, it said.

The latest Octopus release works as an on-premise NRCS or in the cloud for remote production. It enables station newsrooms with the flexibility to collaborate, produce rundowns, create scripts, share videos and post to social media in one system.

The seamless process of Octopus 11 enables Bitcentral customers to adapt to new workflows, empowering them to produce, direct and host entire shows and newscasts remotely, the company said.

More information is available on the Bitcentral website.

NORFOLK, NE--News Channel Nebraska (NCN)—an independent TV and radio network serving Nebraska state and Sioux City, Iowa—has chosen the Octopus newsroom computer system (NRCS) from Octopus Newsroom as the platform unifying and supporting its multi-site newsroom operations.

The Octopus NRCS—which Octopus Newsroom says now serves over 300 channels worldwide—facilitates editorial collaboration throughout the newsroom production process, while providing full rundown management and tools for publishing content to web and social media channels from a single platform.

Since its 2015 founding by Flood Communications LLC, NCN has been delivering live news, sports and events via its six TV stations serving eastern Nebraska and Siouxland, the region encompassing parts of Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.

[Read: Octopus Bringing Latest Newsroom Computer System to 2018 NAB Show]

NCN Founder and Owner Michael Flood explained that NCN had outgrown its original NRCS and was now being held back by its limitations. Calling Octopus a better fit for its operational requirements, NCN decided to switch to Octopus for its reliability, flexibility, and user-friendly MOS-compliant workflow.

“Our studio-based news teams and mobile reporters find it a pleasure to work with [Octopus, which puts] all the tools they need for each project within easy reach, [while facilitating] fast searching of archived clips,” Flood said. “Octopus gives us the ability to integrate freely with systems from other manufacturers and software developers. In terms of features, it provides a lot of value for its price."

NCN’s Octopus implementation integrates an Octopus server, 15 user client licenses, and 10 Octopus Mobile Journalist licenses. The configuration also includes a MOS module, an agency wires module, an email module, an RSS module, and social media integration.

A cross-platform solution, Octopus runs natively on Linux, Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X, with mobile apps for Google Android and Apple iOS tablets and smartphones. Octopus Newsroom Americas, Inc., in San Francisco—the U.S. office of Czech Republic-based Octopus Newsroom—also provided onsite professional services to ensure that NCN would have a seamless transition to its platform.

LAS VEGAS—Octopus Newsroom will be touting v8.1 of its Octopus newsroom computer system to the U.S. broadcast market at the 2018 NAB Show. This latest version adds features and improvements that boost newsroom efficiency including: advanced clip and rundown management, enhanced assignment sorting and grouping and live insertion of social media posts.

Octopus 8.1 also adds fast story editing, conform of rundown timing after a rehearsal, fast clip insertion/replacement, color-coding of main menu items and repeatable assignments. Social media integration has been expanded to handle Facebook comments. Also, Twitter posting, which now allows 280 characters instead of 140, can now be done directly from within Octopus.

The Journalist app can now record audio clips for easy attachment to the relevant story. This companion app offers journalists full news production capabilities on Apple iOS or Google Android tablets and mobile phones. Reporters and editors working remotely can gain instant access to all wires, rundowns and assignments, and edit stories within a rundown, preview prompter text, as well as create wires and reports in the field.

Introduced at the 2017 IBC Show, the new release is now available to all new customers and as a free upgrade to existing customers with an active standard or premium support contract.

The 2018 NAB Show takes place in Las Vegas, April 9-12. Octopus Newsroom will be in booth SL7627. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com.

Read up on all of TVT's NAB Show Sneak Peeks and other 2018 NAB Show news here.  

LAS VEGAS—Octopus will spotlight Octopus 8, its latest broadcast newsroom automation system at the 2016 NAB Show. Octopus 8 treats social media with the same importance as a traditional news feed or program rundown, and lets administrators assign users to create social media content. Tweets and Facebook posts are also treated like news stories, with team managers able to assign and share tasks, and approve posts before they go live.

With audiences increasingly using the Internet for news, many media organizations are under increasing pressure to publish stories to the web. Octopus 8 directly interconnects with CMS systems, such as Wordpress or Joomla, allowing scripts and articles to be uploaded dynamically to web portals. This new web component enables users to upload pages directly, and publish social media posts directly from the rundown.

Octopus will also debut its Octopus Mobile App, which offers journalists full news production capabilities on iOS and Android tablets and mobile phones. This gives reporters and editors working remotely instant access to all wires, rundowns and assignments, and they can edit stories within a rundown, preview prompter text, and create wires and reports in the field.

The 2016 NAB Show takes place in Las Vegas, April 18-21. Octopus will be in booth SL8427. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com.