11 September 2006
The Associated Press (AP) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) marked the tenth anniversary of the agreement to install ENPS – the electronic news production system – for its global broadcasting operation. Today, ENPS is used in 40% of the world’s newsrooms by more than 40,000 reporters, writers, editors and producers across 48 countries. The ENPS installation at the BBC continues to be the largest broadcast newsroom operation in the world, supporting around 12,000 users responsible for all of the BBCs radio and TV news programmes.
ENPS tracks thousands of words of text, hundreds of hours of audio, and video streaming in and out of the BBC everyday. It feeds online operations and helps the World Service broadcast in more than 30 languages.
ENPS is a vital technological structure which holds together BBC News, from the 24-hour news operations in London, to the smallest regional radio station, to the furthest far-flung foreign correspondent with laptop and modem. This huge global operation gives journalists unparalleled access to networked information and more control from their desktops and in the field.
The BBC – a pioneer in news technology – selected ENPS in 1996 from an original slate of 65 companies. Since then, there has been a revolution in newsroom integration and constant refinement of the system.
“When we started in 1996 with ENPS we had 4,600 work stations, today we have grown to around 7,000 work stations, said Adrian van Klaveren, Deputy Director of BBC News. Throughout, ENPS has been flexible enough to adapt to our growing needs and allowed us to be effective and competitive.”
AP led the development of the MOS protocol introduced in 1998 which has been crucial to the development of the integrated newsroom. It has enabled journalists to access multiple third-party applications through the ENPS window. This means ENPS can integrate a range of production functions including video servers and editors, audio servers and editors, still stores, character generators, and special effects devices. MOS is used by more than 50 manufacturers in development of interfaces for easily connecting and integrating newsroom computer systems and broadcast production equipment.
“ENPS sits at the heart of our domestic and international news output and a complex matrix of broadcast systems. MOS is the communication path that holds this matrix together, linking our core news production system with the necessary video and audio servers to get our programmes to air,” said Julie Foster, the BBCs ENPS Project Director. “It’s a very stable and resilient broadcast environment.”
ENPS is designed for multi-language use and operates in over 40 languages. Different scripts can be selected e.g. Arabic, Greek, simplified and traditional Chinese and the Indian language scripts. In addition, on-screen commands and other text can be modified to native language and even local dialects.
Looking to the future, the BBC and Associated Press have joined forces with the UK’s leading broadcast journalism courses to provide a major free training initiative for the next generation of TV and radio journalists.
Today, all journalism courses accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) can install the ENPS news production system free of charge enabling undergraduate and postgraduate students to gain practical experience of work in a newsroom environment.
8 September 2006
VTC has been awarded a contract to broadcast a significant number of analogue and digital shortwave programmes for the German International Broadcaster, Deutsche Welle.
VTC will broadcast an initial 90 hours per day of Deutsche Welle programmes, in 14 languages, from its network of UK and worldwide transmission sites, targeting more than 108 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. The new arrangements will start from January 1 next year. The five-year contract, which provides Deutsche Welle with a highly flexible and cost effective service, includes potential to increase significantly programme transmission hours from May 2007.
VTC, which already owns and operates short wave and medium wave transmitter sites worldwide, will make a multi-million pound investment in its sites in the UK and its partner site in Austria to facilitate Deutsche Welles digital broadcast requirements. This will involve creating a newly re-engineered infrastructure to support the services required, including new transmitters, antennas and support infrastructure, demonstrating VTC’s commitment to providing state-of-the-art solutions for broadcasters in analogue and digital.
VTC has also been awarded a £1.4M contract with BBC World Service for the deployment of their new Satellite Media Distribution System (SMDS). The SMDS system replaces the current satellite based Global Delivery System (GDS), with Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) based technology. As the BBC addresses the challenges of the global media environment, this technology gives them greater flexibility and better management of their programme content and distribution.
The contract covers the migration from the GDS system to the SMDS system globally, over a 2-year period, including the shipping and installation of over 1000 new satellite receivers at BBC partner sites worldwide, as well as the reengineering of programme feeds at the BBC World Service overseas relay stations and FM relays and programme distribution hubs.
Award of this contract is recognition of VTC’s unique expertise and track record in providing programme delivery services to the BBC World Service over the last 9 years, and in managing innovative end-to-end solutions and system integration in over 100 countries from 29 locations around the world.
8 September 2006
Stand no 7.229, IBC, Amsterdam
Autocue, leading provider of newsroom automation and prompting solutions, is introducing a transformation to the world of prompting at this years IBC with the introduction of network-based architecture.
The company has taken a radical new approach to deliver this leap forwards in prompting versatility, reliability and usability. The QNxt system uses an IP architecture and comprises QMaster software on a PC, which communicates over an Ethernet link with a QBox unit co-located with the prompter. By providing a level of intelligence at the prompter a number of real world user benefits immediately open up. Prior to this innovation every prompting solution has relied on a single composite video source produced by a central PC leading to an inherent lack of flexibility and potential entire prompter system failure.
Kieran Smith, Autocue CEO, explains, The QNxt architecture is Autocues answer to longstanding customer demand for a versatile, robust and modern approach to prompting. By introducing a level of intelligence at the prompter, Autocue unleashes functionality in the field or studio previously only dreamed of. The benefits include: wireless operation, local presenter or remote operator control over any distance – and individual control of each prompter in a multi-prompter environment. This allows off-air presenters to scroll through the script individually while the on-air presenter continues. By also being light and portable, the QBox provides presenters with much greater flexibility in their interaction with the camera. Smith continues, With presenters able to self-operate and the ability to operate remote prompters from a central location, staff costs can be reduced. This, combined with the increased reliability and flexibility provided by the system, means the prompting world is set for real change.
QNxt comprises QBox and QMaster. QBox is the hardware component – approximately the size of a car radio that is located at the prompter and contains the script and local prompting applications. It communicates with the central control PC via an Ethernet link, allowing high-speed IP communication wired or wirelessly. This allows the camera and prompter to be untethered. QBox will work with any third-party on-camera unit too. QBox offers a range of connectivity options including IP, USB, IEEE1394, FireWire, Serial and Bluetooth.
A further element of the QNxt product line is QPro, a software-only prompting system. This is a limited-capability product that allows remote operation of a prompter but without the high level functionality of QBox.
This QNxt product line is incorporated within Autocues QSeries range. As a consequence, QSeries now includes the entire portfolio of Autocue software applications, ranging from prompting with QNxt through production and scripting with QNet, to newsroom products with QNews and QSmart. QSmart is an affordable newsroom system targeted at developing and small market stations, and was launched at NAB this year; IBC 2006 sees its European debut.
Imagine an outside broadcast scenario where the script is sent to a presenters mobile phone, they load the script via Bluetooth onto the QBox and then make final edits using the QBox script editing application, explains Smith, continuing, The cameraperson is using a shoulder-mounted ENG camera or DVCam with an 8 lightweight prompter and has the QBox attached to their belt, all running off their battery belt. The cameraperson is thus entirely unhindered and is free to get the best dynamic camera shot, while the presenter scrolls the script using the wireless hand control. This is just one of many exciting examples of the benefits of the QNxt technology in action.
Autocue has appointed Frank Hyman to the position of Sales and Marketing Director.
8 September 2006
35 Radio One stations on-air with Harris HD Radio transmitters
and/or multicasting solutions by the end of 2006
Harris Corporation’s Broadcast Communications Division today announced that Radio One, the nation’s seventh-largest radio broadcasting company, has exclusively purchased Harris transmitters for its third round of HD Radio(TM) conversions. Radio One will install Harris transmitters at 18 stations (17 FM and one AM) through the end of the year. All FM stations will receive
Z-Series(TM) transmitters with the Harris(R) FlexStar(R) family of HD
Radio(TM) products (HDI-100 Importers, HDE-100 Exporters and HDX-FM
exciters) for multicasting. Harris also will supply a DAX(TM) transmitter with its DEXSTAR(R) exciter for the AM installation, and will deliver FlexStar(R) products to three existing HD Radio installations to initiate multicasting.
Radio One was the first commercial radio broadcasting group to purchase HD Radio transmission equipment in 2003. Since then, the company has exclusively purchased Harris transmitters. A total of 35 Radio One stations will be on the air with Harris transmitters by the end of 2006. The incorporation of FlexStar(R) HDI-100 importers at certain stations will allow Radio One to launch supplementary channel programming alongside its main HD Radio channel program.
“Radio One’s early HD Radio experiments came at a time when only beta test sites existed for commercial HD Radio,” said John Mathews, vice president of engineering, Radio One. “My experience with Harris, which began with a training session at the company’s Quincy, Illinois facility, instilled the confidence that its HD Radio product research and development was ahead of its peers as far back as 2003. The consistent transmission performance and product support we have since received from Harris, coupled with its continued advancement of multicasting technology, have kept us firmly in the Harris camp for HD Radio.”
Most FM stations in Radio One’s second round of HD Radio conversions will install Harris(R) Z-Series(TM) solid-state transmitters, which feature the industry’s most successful FM amplifier design. Dallas station KSOC-FM will use the Harris proprietary Split-Level(TM) combining method, which sums the output from an existing analog FM transmitter and a common amplification FM-HD Radio transmitter. This increases combining efficiency, reduces existing FM transmitter power requirements and improves overall system efficiency.
“Radio One’s decision to exclusively install Harris transmitters for HD Radio shows enormous confidence in our ability to deliver technically superior transmission systems that also meet the business requirements of its HD Radio conversion plans,” said Debra Huttenburg, vice president and general manager of Harris Broadcast Division’s Radio Broadcast Systems business unit. “Radio One has been a true pioneer in delivering HD Radio to the public. We are pleased to have played an important role in its early HD Radio deployments and to continue to be an important factor in future conversions.”
8 September 2006
Swedens largest television broadcaster, TV4, has renewed its contract with ENPS, Associated Press electronic news production system, for another five years. The broadcaster, which started operating with this world-renowned newsroom technology in 2002, is now on track to mark a decade with ENPS in 2012.
TV4 is Swedens largest commercial channel, and made broadcast history in 1995 when it became the worlds first tapeless digital TV station. It has spearheaded interactive initiatives across the internet, teletext, digital text and mobile platforms.
The main installation in Stockholm now supports more than 300 reporters, writers, editors and producers using 300 workstations. TV4s largest department, News and Sports, uses ENPS to produce morning and evening programmes in addition to several daily bulletins. TV4 also offers the channels TV4 Plus, TV4 Film, TV4 Fakta and TV400. Tv4.se is one of Swedens largest media sites on the Internet.
Sweden has a reputation for innovation in technology, and we are thrilled that TV4 have chosen to extend their contract with us, said Eric Bowman, APs Director of International Business Development, Newsroom Systems.
ENPS has a firm hold in the Scandinavian market, and TV4 is a key client in a stable of broadcast organisations, all reliant upon ENPS for innovative, reliable, and scalable news technology.
As newsroom system of choice for Swedish Broadcasting Corporations SR, the national public-service broadcaster ENPS works at the heart of this impressive venture, connecting over 2000 journalists across 28 sites, to enable an integrated local, regional and national operation.
ENPS also has a long-standing partnership with Norwegian state broadcaster NRK. Norway’s largest broadcaster first installed ENPS in 1999, and now boasts an installation of more than 1800 workstations. It comprises 17 offices producing television and radio news and entertainment programming for regional stations and national networks all linked to the company’s main Oslo facility.
Other Nordic clients include Reykjavik-based 365 Media (Iceland), MTV Nyheter (Norway), TV2 Lorry (Denmark), TV2 East (Denmark), TV2 Nord (Denmark), TV Trøndelag (Norway), Luleå University of Technology (Sweden), Sjónvarp Føroya (Faroes-Denmark) and TV2 Bornholm (Denmark). TV 2 Bornholm recently marked its 3000th day using ENPS.
Visit ENPS on Stand 7.430 at IBC 2006 in the Amsterdam RAI
8 September 2006
Pharos Communications announces the opening of a new 36 square metre training facility at the company’s Reading headquarters. Equipped with six desks, three computer workstations and an overhead electronic projector, the resource will be used to instruct clients and staff in the operation of Pharos media management, process control and automation systems.
Patrick Keys, Pharos Communications’ Support, Training and Investigations Manager, comments: “The day-to-day operating routines for Pharos broadcast process control systems are inherently easy to learn and have become even more so with the latest versions of Mediator, Pilot and Playtime. We will continue our existing practice of training clients’ senior creatives who then share their experience with on-site colleagues. We have progressed a long way from the days when each process in the broadcast chain required a dedicated box of kit, another control panel to get your head round and another set of configuration presets. Pharos systems are tailor-made to match each client’s workflow far more precisely than was ever possible with off-the-shelf hardware. We haven’t eliminated the need for training but we have made it faster, easier and more enjoyable.”
See Pharos on stand 10.421 at IBC2006, Amsterdam RAI, September 8-12
