Following the merger of Belgian TV stations WTV and Focus TV, both channels have gone live with the Starfish Technologies Isis subtitling solution to provide open and closed captions.
A single stand-alone Isis workstation is used to create subtitles for two 30-minute evening news programs broadcast back-to-back throughout the evening and overnight.
During the afternoon as news items are prepared, video clips are played out of Quantel Clipboxes using IBIS automation and encoded using IPV SpectreView. These items are accessed on Isis by the subtitle operator, who inserts subtitle time codes.
The programs are first broadcast at 6:30 p.m. with the final edit captured to the SpectreView system. During the first one or two runs of the news programs, the subtitle operator places time-coded subtitles for each item at the correct point in the final broadcast edit.
These subtitle files are then exported to two Starfish TransCast Load & Go subtitle scheduling and transmission engines, which read incoming time code and drive inserters creating both teletext and open subtitles. The Load & Go systems are interfaced with the automation system to provide automated subtitle playout. TransCast automatically accommodates time-code shifts, by locating the correct subtitle for the incoming time code and restarting the transmission of subtitles from the beginning of the programs.
Subtitle transmission is spread throughout the network of cable headends and bridged into local teletext services that exist for each headend. Starfish ATOM teletext inserters and data-bridging Quark units are used to accomplish this powerful and flexible transmission arrangement.
For more information visit www.starfishtechnologies.com.
