TV stations are still putting most of their dollars into on-prem hardware for master control functions, with their cloud investments aimed at OTT and disaster recovery. Pictured: Imagine recently partnered with Vizrt to integrate its cloud playout software with Vizrt’s live production tools.
Eastern Illinois University’s PBS station WEIU Charleston, Ill., recently upgraded its facility with NVerzion’s NFinity Broadcast Video Server and NFinity View file management package. WEIU needed a new master control system after 20 years of NVerzion automation use, and as part of the expansion, the station upgraded to NVerzion’s NFinity Broadcast Video Server and Automation. […]
Cobalt Digital will be at NAB Show New York (Oct. 19-20, Javits Center, booth 915) with numerous new solutions that target the top trends challenging an industry in transition. The designer and manufacturer of award-winning edge devices for live video production and master control, and a founding partner in the openGear initiative, will be highlighting its 9904-UDX-4K card […]
The cloud and master control — a measured migration
Public cloud platforms aren’t yet ready to handle playout of local TV stations, but a new generation of hubbing strategies offers high-performance, cost-effective solutions for large and even small groups intent on modernizing master control.
TV stations and groups are increasingly turning to the cloud for playout solutions, and vendors are meeting them there with SaaS options. Above: Imagine’s Aviator control interface. The cloud-based system is designed to support both linear and OTT playout.
Cobalt Digital, designer and manufacturer of edge devices for live video production and master control, and a founding partner of openGear, has increased its international sales team with Berend Blokzijl, now director of sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The announcement was made by Suzana Brady, SVP of worldwide sales and marketing, who said […]
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Cobalt Digital, designer and manufacturer of edge devices for live video production and master control, and a founding partner in the openGear initiative, has kicked off 2022 with the launch of a Representative Office in China. Based in Beijing, the office is staffed by local sales and support professionals. The office, which represents Cobalt’s expanded […]
Executives at NBCUniversal Local, Sinclair, ABC Owned Stations and Avid shared stories of their accelerated shift to the cloud and virtualization in a TVNewsCheck virtual conference last week.
Rohde & Schwarz and Pixel Power have appointed two new sales executives to cover their complete media technology portfolio for broadcasters and post production, from ingest through to playout. Ben Lloyd, based in the U.K., takes over the U.K. and Nordic region, and Alexandre Rouly, based in Barcelona, will lead sales across southern Europe and the […]
The tech company’s VP of Sales Brett Benson will succeed him as president on Oct. 1 and president and CEO on Jan. 1, 2022. Above, Dave Burand (l) congratulates Benson on his new position.
Executives from Tegna, E.W. Scripps, Hearst and Gray told a TVNewsCheck webinar last week that the cloud’s impact on master control operations is still years off, with those who have adopted hubbing still depending on traditional equipment.
Polygon Labs, a studio specializing in interactive data applications and visual branding, says that News12 Networks has selected its data aggregation and visualization platform, Ipsum, which is fully integrated with Epic Games’ real-time 3D creation platform, Unreal Engine. News12 Networks, consisting of seven local cable news channels in the New York area, owned by Altice […]
Pixel Power, a global provider of graphics and software-defined master control playout, has joined the SRT Alliance, the open-source initiative dedicated to overcoming the challenges of low-latency video streaming. The company said the move “will support Pixel Power’s flexible solutions for master control playout with fully integrated graphics and branding.” The SRT Alliance, founded by […]
Gene Zimmerman, president of Cobalt Digital, today announced the promotion of four key team members noting that the multiple moves “are an indicator of the company’s unprecedented growth in difficult times.” Cobalt is a designer and manufacturer of award-winning edge devices for live video production and master control. “We are fortunate to have such talented, skilled […]
Bitcentral Inc., a provider of media workflows in the U.S. and Latin America, has completed centralizing operations for Entravision Communications Corp. through its Central Control product, a comprehensive and fully integrated master control and automation system. Entravision’s shift to Central Control marks Bitcentral’s largest installation of this product in the United States, consolidating 22 broadcast […]
Cobalt Digital, designer and manufacturer of award-winning edge devices for live video production and master control, says that its implementation of the Reliable Internet Stream Transport (RIST) Main Profile now includes full support for certificate-based authentication. The enhanced functionality gives users of Cobalt’s 9992 encoder/decoder family and 9990 decoder an added level of security by ensuring the identity of the remote site […]
New Facilities Insider | Disney’s Digital Center 3 Centralizes Hardware, Allows Control From Anywhere
A first look at Disney’s new Digital Center 3 (DC3) in The Woodlands, Texas, a massive, 187,000-square-foot plant consolidating playout, transmission and media operations. (Sam Exley photo)
Bitcentral Inc., a provider of media workflows in the U.S. and Latin America, has introduced new versions of Central Control, its comprehensive and fully integrated master control and automation software, and its browser-based Create editor. The company says the new features built into Central Control and Create “provide greater efficiencies and usability for thousands of […]
Bitcentral Inc., a provider of media workflows in the U.S. and Latin America, has released updated versions of Central Control, its comprehensive and fully integrated master control and automation software, and its browser-based Create editor. The new features built into Central Control and Create provide greater efficiencies and usability for thousands of production teams. Both […]
Tegna recently partnered with systems integrator BeckTV on the design, installation and integration of all systems for a new master control operation, the Tegna Stream Center. This new facility uses a cloud-based hub-and-spoke approach to serve all Tegna stations.
BeckTV, a systems integrator for the broadcast media industry, has completed a project for one of its major U.S. clients — station group Tegna Inc. Tegna had BeckTV design, instal, and integrate all systems for Tegna’s centralized new master control operation, the Tegna Stream Center, based on a cloud-based hub-and-spoke approach that will serve all […]
CEO Fred Fourcher, said: “As difficult as it was to make this decision, we believe in upholding our corporate promise of providing peace of mind to our community of employees, customers and colleagues. We are taking the stance of being overly sensitive and responsible to their health and well-being.”
Red Bee has signed a multiyear contract to deliver master control room (MCR) services to Fox Sports in the Netherlands. Fox Sports will be providing high-end international sports content to their viewers using Red Bee’s multi-tenant IP-based Global MCR Platform in Hilversum. As part of the contribution and distribution, Red Bee will provide mobile encoding […]
MyNetworkTV affiliate WKTC Columbia, S.C. (DMA 75), contacted NVerzion to explore possibilities on updating some aging gear. It needed to consider replacing an automation system, a router and an old multichannel server. “General Manager Stefanie Rein and Chief Engineer David Canfield loved the fact that we jumped in and proceeded to draw out a solution […]
Ross Video will be exhibiting at NAB Show New York this week (Oct. 16-17, The Jacob K. Javits Center of New York) and will be demonstrating a range of high impact, high efficiency solutions for the live production industry. In addition, Ross will launch two new solutions at the event — MC1 UHD and NWE-IP. MC1 UHD is a new high-quality 4K […]
Imagine Communications is building a completely updated master control and playout platform for the newly formed Egyptian National Media Authority (ENMA), previously Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU), the national broadcaster in Egypt. The phased upgrade of this facility is designed to deliver a high level of operational resilience and integrates seamlessly with the broadcaster’s […]
New Facilities Insider | Building A News Network From The Ground Up
Black News Channel is constructing a $26 million facility in Tallahassee, Fla., anchored by technology from Bitcentral, Vizrt and Sony. Its engineering chief, Kenny Elcock, explains how interoperability is key.
Rohde & Schwarz has signed a contract with Serbian national broadcaster, Belgrade-based RTS Serbia, that sees its R&S Venice-S server system placed at the heart of a new master control room in the broadcaster’s production center in Košutnjak. The order includes eight R&S Venice-S servers being installed to provide content ingest and channel playout facilities […]
Independent television automation provider Aveco has been selected by Medcom to provide a studio production automation system and ASTRA MAM system for three of its Panamanian operations, which includes three terrestrial television channels (Telemetro, RPC TV and Oye TV) and four cable television channels (ECO TV, Mall TV, Cable Onda Sports and Cable Onda Sports […]
Flexibility, Efficiency Driving Master Control
Playout has taken a leading role in early IP deployments around the world. As master control technology providers work to transition customers, they are focused on providing platforms that can operate on premises, fully in the cloud or in hybrid set-ups.
Rohde & Schwarz has acquired Pixel Power Ltd., a provider of television branding, graphics, automation, master control and playout. A price was not disclosed. With this acquisition, Rohde & Schwarz says it is “executing its plan to expand further in broadcast playout while taking ownership of a company with significant technological leadership.” The subsidiary will […]
As public TV engineering leaders navigate their stations through the post-auction channel restructuring and the looming transition to ATSC 3.0, they’ll be re-evaluating the future of their master control facilities.
On The NAB Exhibit Floor: DBi
DBi | Booth N1727 | www.digitalbcast.com DBi (Digital Broadcast Inc.) has been supplying automated master control and MAM solutions for 16 years. DBi’s MediaFire automated master control solution simplifies implementation of newer technologies such as IP, ATSC 3.0, SCTE 104, and OTT without disrupting operations or obsoleting current product. This hybrid approach assures maximum efficiency […]
Stations Eye Virtual Master Control, Playout
Everyone from smaller station groups to major playout centers are examining software- and cloud-based solutions as they look at consolidation, centralization and density of operations. But whether IP and virtualization can replace all SDI functionality today remains a “big question mark” for many broadcasters. Above, Grass Valley’s iTX channel control. Click here to access TVNewsCheck’s NAB 2018 Resource Guide listing of master control and playout vendors and products or here to download it as a PDF.
For the third year, TVNewsCheck is augmenting its coverage of NAB Show Hot Topics tech trends stories with information that can make your visit to the NAB Show easier. This week’s focus is master control and playout (read the main story here). These companion resource guides on the technology covered each week are compilations of information provided […]
KLCS Adds Aveco Master Control Automation
The four-channel platform includes integrated media asset management, the industry’s first BXF 5.0 system and a range of unique high-end automation features.
KETK Gets A $4 Million Dollar Makeover
Sinclair is using public cloud-based playout to broadcast a three-hour block of children’s programming loaded across 51 stations. So far, so good, says CTO Del Parks. “It’s been pretty bulletproof.” And it also just may be the future for the whole industry.
Tribune Broadcasting recently reversed its policy of reticence when it comes to discussing technology, and what a story the station group has to tell. Motivated by a desire to shrink its tech spending dramatically and shed costly maintenance contracts, Hank Hundemer, Tribune SVP of engineering (above), launched an ambitious engineering project to create and maintain a homebrew newsroom system and master control that the group began to deploy in 2008.
Sony Acquires Crispin Corp.
The announcement comes after the successful completion of joint project by Sony and Crispin to create a cloud-based ingest operation for Tegna, called the Media Clearinghouse, and an earlier project, Public Media Management, which provides master control and cloud-based distribution service for PBS.
