The Cox Media Group has deployed Observer systems across its broadcast stations, allowing staff to use the Observer platform and Web-based GUI to access and review content recorded at any of its other stations.
Burlington, Mass.—Stations KTVU and KICU, co-located in Oakland, California and owned by Cox Media Group, have upgraded their Volicon Observer video monitoring and logging system to increase their channel density as well as support rapid repurposing of high-resolution aired content for news promos. The result is a six-channel Observer TSsystem, which records the two main KTVU and KICU channels along with four competitor stations, and a four-channel Observer Scout system, which is dedicated to audio compliance monitoring.
The Cox stations use the upgraded Observer system to record the transport stream for the main KTVU channel and also capture KICU and competitor channels in a lower-resolution format. Staff members often view these channels in a quad-split display to enable convenient competitive monitoring. In addition to supporting engineering operations, the Observer TS serves as a repurposing tool, enabling staff in the creative services department to access aired content for promo creation. The intuitive playback controller, with its powerful search features and a real-time shuttle feature, is key to a highly efficient repurposing workflow.
The Observer Scout system records the two stations' main and secondary channels. Engineers use the recordings to verify compliance with loudness regulations and to identify and resolve any issues quickly.
Because the Cox Media Group has deployed Observer systems across its broadcast stations, staff associated with these facilities can use the Observer platform and Web-based GUI to access and review content recorded at any other station. This capability allows all Cox Media Group stations not only to share the content on their Observer systems, but also to leverage the group's collective engineering expertise to the benefit of all stations.
