Octopus Newsroom has partnered with software developer and system integrator Traco Systems to introduce the Traco Media Bridge plug-in to allow users of its NRCS to browse and deploy content for Avid Interplay using a drag-and-drop graphic display, the company said today. Media Bridge offers Octopus-based newsrooms an optimized video production workflow. It supports the […]
News Automation
KTLM McAllen Advances ’25 Years Overnight’
The days of unpredictable power interruptions, local SD production and being forced to adapt to the limitations of a set rather than having the set meet its needs are in the rearview mirror for KTLM, Telemundo 40, in McAllen, Texas. Since June 25, the station has been operating from its new 23,000-square-foot Telemundo 40 Studios on […]
WKTV Transitions Local News To HD
WKTV, the NBC affiliate in Utica, N.Y., has upgraded its live news production to high definition with the addition of five Hitachi DK-Z50 multi-purpose HD box cameras, the company said today in a press release. The cameras are being used in the station’s news studio and are controlled via Ross Video’s Overdrive automated production control […]
NBC O&Os Launch Amazon Alexa ‘Flash Briefings’
NBC Owned Television Stations and its regional network NECN have begun offering local news updates on Alexa-enabled devices, such as the Amazon Echo, the station division of NBCUniversal announced today. The NBC O&Os will provide local “Flash Briefings” on the Alexa-enabled devices, it said. Flash Briefings are available from: WNBC New York KNBC Los Angeles […]
Sinclair Commits To Avid MediaCentral For IP-Based News Workflow
Sinclair Broadcast Group has selected Avid’s MediaCentral Platform to enable an advanced, end-to-end IP-based newsroom production workflow and provide a content management solution. The 10-year agreement represents a “record-setting contract” for Avid, the company said. With the Avid MediaCentral Platform, the core technology that enables Avid Everywhere, Sinclair will move to a common platform for […]
ASTRA Studio 3 Takes Aim At Speed, Production Values
The difference between being first and last on air in a market with a breaking news story can be a matter of mere seconds. Doing so without diminishing production values goes without saying. That’s precisely what Aveco aims to do with its ASTRA Studio 3, the company’s third-generation news production automation system. The centerpiece of the Aveco NAB Show […]
Bitcentral Buys Fission Software, Enters Master Control Market
Bitcentral has acquired master control automation and playout provider Fission Software, the company announced today. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. The company has posted details on its website. I interviewed Rick Young, VP and general manager, sales and business development, at Bitcentral about the acquisition. Tell me about Fission Software. Fission is […]
Redwood Studio Automates News Production
A few months ago, I wrote an article about changing directions in news automation called “News Automation Gear Going Agnostic.” Shortly after it was published, I heard from Jim O’Brien, a 46-year TV industry veteran who is now the Global SVP, sales, of Prague, Czech Republic-based Aveco. I was unaware of Aveco, and the company […]
Three More SBG Stations Slated For OverDrive Before 2015
Sinclair Broadcast Group will deploy new news automation systems at at least three more of its stations before the end of the year. The stations, all in Texas, including KGBT in Harlingen, KVII in Amarillo and KFOX in El Paso, will be the latest to get OverDrive news automation from Ross Video, said Del Parks, […]
Severe Weather Reporting Odds And Ends
Before moving on from last week’s coverage of developments in the technology used to identify and report on severe weather, a few remaining odds and ends in my reporter’s notebook deserve some attention. They include: KCCI-TV, the Hearst Television station in Des Moines, Iowa, has on at least three occasions picked up the presence of […]