Public Station WIPB-TV Chooses Observer as Automatic Monitoring Solution
BURLINGTON, Mass. — March 8, 2010 — Indiana public television station WIPB-TV has chosen the award-winning Volicon Observer™ digital video logging and monitoring system as an integral component in the station‘s upgrade to digital multicast operations. The Observer provides automatic, 24x7 monitoring and transmission troubleshooting in WIPB-TV‘s newly automated broadcast environment.
“Simply stated, the Observer offers us peace of mind. Running the station unattended is a new experience for our crew, and it helps to know that the Observer is always watching,” said Max Hunt, operations supervisor for WIPB-TV. “In the old days, we would have relied on six-hour VHS recordings for ‘air checks‘ – a method that was not ideal then and would be truly untenable in the new environment. But the Observer removes all of the inefficiencies and inaccuracies of manual tape-based processes and helps us identify and troubleshoot errors without requiring the constant attention of a crew member.”
Installed at WIPB-TV‘s broadcast center on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., the Observer provides continuous recording, logging, and notifications for the station‘s high-definition broadcast as well as two SD sub-channels. The system is set to automatically notify engineers via e-mail when it detects transmission errors such as missing video or audio, or missing closed captions that fall outside of WIPB-TV‘s pre-determined thresholds. In this manner, engineers are given a “heads up” to begin troubleshooting transmission errors before they turn into larger problems, with easy Web-based access to video clips that demonstrate the error. Since the Observer provides a continuous, searchable log of all aired broadcasts, the station‘s sales and traffic department is able to verify that all underwriting spots aired as scheduled.
In addition, WIPB-TV appreciates the ease at which all video archived by the Observer can be easily downloaded onto DVD for a variety of uses. In one recent example, six-hour blocks of video from a recent pledge drive on the station‘s “PBS Create” sub-channel were burned to DVD in fulfillment of a requirement by PBS to provide a verifiable air-check of the broadcast. “The video was of much higher quality, and the presentation much more professional, than if we had sent out a couple of videotapes – and the non-linear nature of Observer‘s file based system makes it much easier to access certain spots in the broadcast than having to manually search and rewind through tape,” said Hunt.
“WIPB-TV is an excellent example of the growing number of call-letter stations that are relying on the Observer to provide around-the-clock monitoring of aired broadcasts—especially as they continue to rely less on ‗human eyeballs‘ to identify transmission errors,” said Julius Perl, vice president of marketing for Volicon. “As WIPB-TV demonstrates, the Observer is ideal for helping these stations maintain high broadcast quality levels and stay in compliance while operating with more automation and less staff.”
More information about the Volicon Observer product family is available at http://www.volicon.com.
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About WIPB-TV
WIPB-TV, digital channel 23, is the PBS member station serving the East-Central Indiana market. Owned and operated by Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., WIPB-TV has won four regional Emmy awards since 2002 for its locally produced programs. For more information, visit http://www.bsu.edu/wipb.
About Volicon
Volicon is the broadcast and cable industry‘s most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer real-time, digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon‘s patent-pending Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
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