Volicon Observer Rapidly Becoming Worldwide Industry-Standard Video Monitoring Solution
“Our wide range of customer implementations really demonstrates the sheer versatility of the Observer solution. The Observer is ideal for any type of organization that needs an easy and efficient way to record, track, and analyze their video content.”
When Volicon executives introduced their groundbreaking Volicon Observer® desktop video monitoring solution at NAB2005, even they couldn’t have foreseen how quickly it would be adopted by such a wide range of organizations. In less than three years, the Observer has become indispensible to more than 300 TV stations, cable programmers, cable MSOs, government and military entities, and businesses worldwide, monitoring 1,000s of channels with over 10,000 users. Manufactured by Volicon, a leading provider of media monitoring, recording, archiving, and streaming solutions, the Observer brings new levels of efficiency to such tasks as monitoring and troubleshooting transmissions, ensuring compliance, verifying advertising broadcasts, and tracking and analyzing viewer ratings and PR information.
The Observer enables users to capture, search and retrieve, review, analyze, and log video from an unlimited number of live and pre-recorded channels, right from their own desktops. In addition to the standard Observer system, Volicon also markets four specialized versions. The Observer Remote Program Monitor (RPM) enables cable MSOs and telco operators to monitor and evaluate the quality of their NOC/head-end and remote hubsite broadcasts from a central location and the HD Observer offers users 30-day HD signal logging and monitoring capabilities for two or four channels. The new Observer PR is a powerful research tool for media professionals and communications specialists who need easy access to live and pre-recorded video in order to analyze news coverage.
Media organizations large and small have experienced significant benefits from the Volicon Observer product line including greater quality of service, efficiency, and accountability in their broadcasting operations. For example, FOX’s SPEED channel has implemented the Observer to provide proof of performance of sponsored elements during broadcasts. SPEED is also using the Observer to monitor the overall quality of its programming.
“The Volicon Observer allows us to quickly access sponsored program elements, convert them into video clips, and transport them digitally to anywhere in the world,” said Kevin Annison, vice president of business development and operations for SPEED. “Overall, it’s an extremely useful tool for helping us maintain the high level of quality and performance we require at the channel.”
At CBS affiliate WFMY News 2 in Greensboro, N.C., the Observer is helping to streamline compliance monitoring and simplify creation and playout of clip segments for testing with audience focus groups. “When I first saw the Observer demonstrated I knew that it was a wonderful piece of equipment that would meet our current monitoring needs and provide a foundation for other innovative uses at our station,” said Deana Coble, director of technology and operations at WFMY News 2. “I’m confident that with the forward-looking approach of Volicon and the creativity of our team at WFMY, we’ll be able to grow our use of the Observer in exciting new ways.”
Discovery Communications has installed 28 SDI channels of the Observer at its state-of-the-art Discovery Television and Technology Center in Sterling, VA, as well as four Observer HD channels to record our four newly launched HD simulcasts of the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, and The Science Channel. The Observer downlinks and records the satellite transmission of each channel as it airs, giving Discovery operators the ability to view the same content that its cable head-ends are broadcasting.
“Our commitment to quality broadcasting permeates our organization, and we rely on systems such as the Observer to help us fulfill that commitment,” said Jonathan Perkes, V.P of Engineering for the Discovery Television and Technology Center. “Since installing the Observer, we’ve noticed a marked improvement in our ability to validate performance and maintain transmission quality, and our operators are working smarter and more efficiently.”
Governmental bodies such as the City of Dallas, Texas and Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá, the governor of Puerto Rico, have embraced the Observer as an efficient and cost-effective method for briefing their public officials and tracking news coverage.
“It used to take our public information officers half their days to search, edit together, and deliver important news stories to the city manager,” said Bennie Wilcox Jr., manager of the City of Dallas’ cable television systems. “Now, this process takes about an hour.”
Abner Serrano, an engineering consultant for Puerto Rico’s Governor Acevedo-Vilá, commented, “The Volicon Observer has helped bring about a sea change in terms of how news content is managed at Governor Vilá’s office. Combined with the radio and print elements of the overall system, it provides an efficient, comprehensive solution for the office’s news monitoring needs.”
Likewise, Japan’s KAB (Kumamoto Asahi Broadcaster) uses the Observer to provide a permanent archive of all aired content and to verify compliance with government regulations and advertiser contracts.
“We were impressed with the Observer demonstration provided by HOEI because it illustrated how easily the system would enable us to meet government regulations and make the shift away from tape-based recording and archiving,” said Akihiro Shiraishi, technical officer in charge of transmission at Kumamoto Asahi Broadcasting.
“Our wide range of customer implementations really demonstrates the sheer versatility of the Observer solution,” said Julius Perl, vice president of marketing at Volicon. “The Observer is ideal for any type of organization that needs an easy and efficient way to record, track, and analyze their video content.”
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