DNF Announces ‘Simple-Stupid’ Talley Manager

DNF Controls today announced a new application to that offers automatic and versatile control of a deceptively-simple problem — making sure the ubiquitous red tally light is displayed at the right time on the right studio, control room and equipment.

“We’ve built a ‘simple-stupid’ solution,” says DNF Chief Technology Officer Dan Fogel, with a smile. “It’s an extremely easy-to-use application we’ve added to our Flex Control Network system.

DNF’s Flex Control Network manages and synchronizes complex playout instructions across networked facilities, whether they’re in adjacent rooms or continents apart. Clients include the NBC Operations Center at 30 Rock, Fox News and film director Jim Cameron who used equipment to simultaneously screen dailies for Avatar for production teams in the U.S. and New Zealand.

Tally Manager is an Ethernet-based scalable, real-time software that turns the red light on for monitor wall UMDs, on-air, record, and device tallies for television broadcast, live production, and event production.

The system is designed to eliminate complex programming instructions, and make it easy to create complex and conditional rules for tally light display when “on/off” is not enough. “You can customize the system any way you want,” says Fogel. “In fact we encourage people to play with it.”

Tally Manager’s Web browser-based interface even  allows room configurations to be changed or restored while other rooms are still in use.

DNF Controls is demonstrating the new Tally Manager at the 2012 NAB Show, in booth N2115.