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[Wednesday at NAB]
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‘Automation’ Tools Reflect Shift Toward Streaming
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by James G. Withers,
~ April 16, 2008
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RADIO WORLD
Not so many years ago, broadcast automation meant simple hard-drive systems that were essentially standalone record/playback units built around consumer-grade sound cards and off-the-shelf IBM clones with 250 MB drives.
Really sophisticated systems added networking via LANtastic, but these were islands of automation rather than truly integrated automation “systems.”
And the idea of digital management? That simply didn’t exist.
This year’s offerings at the annual NAB Show, though, are three generations removed from those days, and the improvements have been market-driven, according to George Thomas, president of Pristine Systems.
“Stations are beginning to stream again and they are using ‘Now Playing’ text on their Web site and spot insertion in their Web stream more often than in the past,” he said.
These operational requirements are increasing, and have driven manufactures to respond. “We are seeing more stations take advantage of the Internet and technologies that have been available for a few years, but under-utilized,” said Thomas.
UPSTREAM
Automation systems of today are highly capable and totally scalable, as suppliers of these now essential tools strive to help broadcasters run their daily operations more efficiently, and at the same time, monetize their investments in HD Radio and Web streaming.
According to Don Backus, vice president, sales and marketing, ENCO Systems, “The biggest trends in radio automation have to do with increasing choices on the hardware side, from sound cards to audio-over-IP audio drivers to new lower-cost SATA servers.”
Ray Miklius, vice president of studio systems for Broadcast Electronics, agrees: “Radio broadcasters are telling us that they want to do more — more programs, more localization, more of radio in general,” he said, “but at the same time, they have fewer studios and even fewer people in those studios.”
As a result, automation companies have designed systems that can operate just as they did in the old days, as standalone “islands,” but also have the connectivity and horsepower to service multiple users and audio streams.
Marie Summers, sales manager at Broadcast Software International in Eugene, Ore., confirms the trend: “HD2 and HD3, podcasting and streaming are all common words in our industry. The future of automation will be constantly evolving to incorporate the needs of radio stations to support such trends.”
At the NAB Show, ENCO Systems is offering the latest version of its Digital Audio Delivery software, featuring a number of incremental improvements both in user interface and system performance. The company also has incorporated several new tools, such as LiveList and support for DADmin, a new administrative tool that allows centralized management of a DAD system from a single location via LAN or WAN.
“LiveList allows users to dynamically share and update playlists within DAD, making previously complex workflows much simpler for fast-paced broadcast facilities,” Backus said.
The next-generation AudioVault X from Broadcast Electronics is built around the same application layer as the current AudioVault, and sports significant user-interface changes that allow users to create a custom screen presentation, which the company calls a screen “mashup.”
The new customized setup allows producers, air talent, editors or any other system user to create their own presentation with complete flexibility. The new AudioVault also includes a much more powerful multi-thread engine and segue editor, allowing for complex audio transitions, such as multiple segued donuts to be performed.
BSI has long been associated with smaller-market automation systems, according to Summers. This year, she said that is going to change. “BSI has spent the last two years getting input from stations, and will be showing a brand-new automation system at the NAB Show. Called Op-X, it’s being beta-tested right now, and is very different from our past offerings, in that it is built around totally new, modular architecture.”
Summers said Op-X is automation designed for “singletons,” or station clusters. “We’ve adopted a multi-level approach built around servers and clients, and the result is a system that is very fluid and expandable. All workstations are interchangeable, so any client can react with the server and allow operation of any station on the network.”
RCS of White Plains, N.Y., has been a player in station automation for more than a decade. This year, Marketing Manager Diana Stokey said it’s all about integration. “We’re introducing the first interactive interface between NexGen Digital, our leading automation system, and GSelector,” she said.
GSelector is the latest version of the company’s Selector music playlist software, and Stokey said the interface between the two products is now complete. “Each system is independent,” she said, “yet the level of interactivity between them is unprecedented.”
In addition, she said, RCS is unveiling its new digital audio system for radio stations. “The product is built new from the ground up. We think it’s the future of automation.”
NOW PLAYING
Pristine Systems is showing the new CDS32 version 4.5, a live assist, satellite automation and music-on-hard-drive digital audio workstation. New for this year is support for ID3 tags, advanced RDS Radio Text, XML (podcast) item creation and interface capability to many popular streaming services for “now playing” text and spot insertion, as well as automatic Web site content generation.
Also new is “Smart Promo,” which automatically assembles “Coming up Next”-style promos in real time.
Axel Technology is demonstrating a combination satellite time synchronizer and on-air clock, a general purpose accessory for studio automation systems. This application uses GPS signals to keep PC clocks updated smoothly, and includes USB connectivity.
Netia is demonstrating new Radio-Assist 7.5 digital audio software that includes a Web-based component that allows journalists to access and edit audio clips directly from their station’s database. On the hardware side, Netia also is showing a new audio switcher that includes both an audio input for national program content and an internal sound card that allows regional commercials to be cut into the national program.
Further enhancements include U-Share Integration, software that automates the exchange of content over IP transport. Taking advantage of its partnership with Axia Audio, Netia also is showing Radio-Assist 7.5 bundled with Axia IP-Audio networking components that allow any audio workstation PC running Windows to send studio-grade audio to an Axia audio network from its network interface card, bypassing the need for PC sound cards.
OMT is showing the recently released iMediaTouch v3 and iMediaLogger v3. The latest versions have enhanced features for automating sports events including baseball and NASCAR, optional on-air screen displays for both touchscreen and drag-and-drop studio control, additional Internet streaming and substitution features and instant restore options for audio, database and system configuration settings.
OMT also is introducing an application called WebSecure+, Linux-based security software that uses a SQL database to centralize storage, audio asset management and distribution methods of logged content for both internal personal and public radio listeners. Jackie Tetlock, manager, broadcast sales and marketing for OMT Media, said OMT is designing its products with an eye toward future revenue streams.
Google is premiering Google Radio Automation, which the company says combines the simplicity of its SS32 and the power of Maestro into one system. The interface allows other systems to exchange data with Google’s automation, control it or be controlled by it. A customizable widget-based user interface provides integration with music schedulers, EAS gear and other devices like phone systems. Webcasting, podcasting, remote voice tracking and content sharing are supported.
On display from WinMedia Software is WinRadio, a turnkey solution for production, voice tracking, music scheduling, ad scheduling, statistics and reports, intranet server, automated or assisted broadcasting, Internet streaming, data transmissions for RDS, Web or digital radio; it can be adapted for stations of all sizes and configurations. The WinLogger archiving tool for radio and television records up to four stereo channels with various sampling qualities, can be scheduled to record satellite feeds, FTP audio file downloads and audio failure detection. WinTransfer handles the transfer of audio via Internet and FTP, and is suitable for podcasting use.
D.A.V.I.D. is at the show, featuring upgrades in its offerings for newsroom integration including DigaToolbar, a dashboard to centralize communication and launch other applications. It is showing Story Editor, a universal pre-production tool for combining text and audio in a single application. And it is telling attendees about transfer solutions for fast, secure transfer of media files via IP connections including firewall support and automatic resumption of aborted broadcasts. The latest version of DigaTrans IP sends data as “named accounts” and converts them automatically if required.
Also on the news side, Burli Software has added the Burli Integrated NewsFeed to its computer newsroom software. It automatically shares content from affiliated newsrooms as a “newswire” of their own material, gathering content from group-wide newsrooms into one news stream.
The feature is in use by broadcast groups in Europe and North America. It distributes text and audio data in open-standard formats.
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