WTOG-TV Taps Volicon’s Observer for On-Air Logging
“In addition to the on-air logging, we needed to be able to automate the storage of these signals for both our NTSC and digital stations. The ability to quickly search on-air events for content as well as the capability for multiple users within the station to access the unit from their desktops was also a necessity. In short, the Observer meets all of these needs.”
Volicon, a provider of advanced solutions for efficient recording, archiving, and streaming of digital video, today announced the sale of its award-winning Observer multichannel media monitoring system to WTOG-TV/DT, a CBS-owned and –operated station out of St. Petersburg, Fla. WTOG-TV/DT is using the Observer primarily for on-air logging related to FCC compliancy and advertising issues.
“I had been looking for a system like the Volicon Observer for quite some time,” said Bob Sink, assistant chief engineer at WTOG-TV/DT. “In addition to the on-air logging, we needed to be able to automate the storage of these signals for both our NTSC and digital stations. The ability to quickly search on-air events for content as well as the capability for multiple users within the station to access the unit from their desktops was also a necessity. In short, the Observer meets all of these needs.”
Prior to the Observer, WTOG-TV/DT had been logging on-air programming using a system involving three VHS tape decks in eight-hour mode, storing the tapes for 90 days. An operator needed to load each deck manually, and when a compliancy, advertising, or technical issue arose, a staff member needed to find the tape and search through the eight hours of video for content.
With the Observer, WTOG-TV/DT now automatically records and stores its programming to a server with no operator effort. Multiple users within multiple departments can immediately search on-air events via a desktop client. There is no longer a need for manually loading a tape deck or even storage of the tapes themselves. Staffers can also export video clips to viewers outside the facility, such as advertisers or the FCC.
The Observer has allowed WTOG-TV/DT to eliminate an entire wall of tape stock and cease manual loading of tape decks. The amount of time the engineering department needs to be involved in locating logged events for review has been greatly reduced, saving a great deal of time and money for the station.
The Observer uses Volicon’s unique video processing technology to allow a large number of users simultaneous access to multiple channels of live and archived content from the desktop using a Microsoft Internet Explorer-compatible interface. Users can log their own and competitors’ broadcasts, as well as retrieve and analyze video clips with metadata, locally or remotely.
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