Volicon Launches Reconciliation Report Module for Observer® Monitoring and Logging SystemNew Module Accelerates Reconciliation of Aired Content; Centralizes Discrepancy Data for Fast, Comprehensive Reconciliations
BURLINGTON, Mass. — March 26, 2009 — Volicon today announced the release of its new Reconciliation Report Module, an option for the Volicon Observer® digital video monitoring and logging system that provides comprehensive and near-real-time content reconciliation and discrepancy reporting. The new module is ideal for broadcasters that need to centralize and archive critical data about scheduled vs. actual aired content, and to share the information across different departments and facilities.
Developed through Volicon’s partnership with Floripa Integration, the Reconciliation Report Module is a natural extension of the Observer, which automatically records content as it airs and creates a comprehensive log of all aired video that can be easily browsed and searched from any networked computer. The Reconciliation Report Module instantly compares as-run data from the automation system with the original traffic schedule to identify discrepancies, such as commercials that did not air according to the original schedule. When a difference is identified, the system immediately notifies traffic and sales via e-mail and, if required, attaches a link to the video demonstrating the error. Master control operators can annotate the reconciled log with a description of the discrepancy for later reference by the accounting and traffic departments. Because the reconciliation happens close to real time, stations have a higher chance of “making good” on a missed commercial in the same day.
“In a typical broadcasting environment, reconciliations often are not performed until the next day, which lessens the possibility of ‘make-goods’ for time-sensitive ads and can result in lost revenue,” said Cris Nuernberg, founder of Floripa Integration. “The immediacy of the digital monitoring provided by the Volicon Observer makes the Reconciliation Report Module a perfect fit for the solution, as it allows broadcasters to react quickly and correct the problem before it impacts the revenue stream.
“Now, with the Volicon Observer, the information is complete, up-to-the-minute, and easy to access from a centralized source — giving broadcasters a powerful tool for preserving revenues and customer goodwill, maximizing efficiency across the board, and maintaining regulatory compliance.”
The Reconciliation Report Module provides a convenient, centralized location for all departments in the broadcasting organization to access scheduled vs. aired data. The accounting and traffic departments now have fingertip access to all tools needed to perform a reconciliation, including the traffic schedule, the as-run log, the operator sign-on log, the discrepancy report, and video documentation of what actually aired (as provided by the Observer). The discrepancy report indicates which operator was on duty at the time an error occurred, so accounting and traffic managers know whom to contact for more information. Portions of the as-run log can be exported to Excel® for easy creation of reports to show clients when their commercials aired.
Because the Reconciliation Report Module provides detailed closed-caption reports, broadcasters also can demonstrate any attempts they made to correct captioning errors — and this demonstration in turn can assist in avoiding closed-captioning violation fines from the FCC in the U.S. or the CRTC in Canada.
“The Reconciliation Report Module extends the state-of-the-art monitoring capabilities of the Volicon Observer to bring new efficiencies to our customers in an area that is typically very inefficient,” said Julius Perl, vice president of marketing at Volicon. “No longer are personnel required to sort through multiple disconnected sources such as e-mail and volumes of printed as-run logs to create a reconciliation.”
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About Floripa Integration
Floripa Integration provides innovative solutions for television and cable broadcasters, allowing different departments and facilities to share critical data and to quickly set action items in motion. Floripa’s comprehensive long- and short-form automatic ingest and promo management solution manages content acquisition from scheduling to ingest to prepping to purging, adding much-needed efficiency, reliability, and accountability to file-based workflows. Floripa supports a broad range of systems and devices including leading program management, traffic, and automation systems; video delivery systems; transcoding applications; and play-out servers. More information is available at http://www.floripaintegration.com.
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