The Inspiration Networks has revamped its monitoring system to speed up the time taken to verify the playout of programming and associated closed captions. The changes are being implemented on all of its digital and analog channels including INSP-The Inspiration Network, Inspirational Life Television (i-Lifetv) and Inspiration Network International (INI).
The production complex on The Inspiration Networks' campus comprises seven separate buildings, with additional studios located 6mi away. The station is using Volicon's Observer desktop video monitoring solution to help the staff service all of its facilities as if they were next door to one another. For INSP, which contains both an analog and digital feed, and the digital i-Lifetv, the satellite return is run back to a video server and used to verify the actual content on air. The output of INI (which is delivered to the pan-European region by fiber) is verified before its transatlantic journey to a satellite uplink in Spain.
The Volicon Observer replaces a tape-based monitoring system that was time-intensive and prone to error. Observer monitors signals on an ongoing basis, maintaining clips for up to 30 days so the content of broadcasts can be verified. Observer allows The Inspiration Networks' channels to be screened over various networks, so personnel in engineering, traffic and sales departments all have "seats" from which to answer any queries about aired content. It also simplifies confirmation of program verbiage because operators now have the ability to search closed-captioned content to see if a particular word was used during programming.
For more information, visit www.volicon.com/observer.html.
