Volicon's Observer System Streamlines Broadcast and Cable Network Operations; Discovery Networks Latin America/Iberia Uses Observer to Go Digital; Realizes Greater Control Room Efficiency.BURLINGTON, Mass. -- Major broadcasters and cablecasters seeking to replace their archaic analog-based monitoring systems can view and log multiple broadcasts and monitor transmissions from numerous stations using only a desktop PC and the Internet with the Observer System (TM) from Volicon, Inc. The Observer is a high performance video monitoring solution that enables customers to perform advanced monitoring and video logging Video logging is a process in which video footage is watched and labelled according to its content. When a video is being made, there is typically much more material shot than is used in the final video. applications from ordinary desktop computers. The Observer is based on advanced MPEG-4 video streaming See streaming video and video stream. technology and is tailored to the video storage, retrieval, and analysis needs of broadcasters and cable networks as well as media monitoring services and Government agencies. Broadcasters and cable operators can use the Observer to log their own broadcasts for government compliance, to monitor competitors' broadcasts and to retrieve and analyze video clips based on as-run-log data. The Observer system's modular architecture scales to monitor a virtually unlimited number of channels and makes live or archived data instantly available over a LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. or via the Internet. Its simple interface allows users to quickly move to an actual or relative time stamp See timestamp. based on the station's clock. The Observer's powerful search feature uses metadata to allow users to find and select clips based on key words in closed captioning data. And it is the only system that enables users to overlay ratings information in real-time during clip playbacks. The Miami-based arm of global media and entertainment company Discovery Communications is using the Observer to monitor its 23 feeds to Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. and Iberia and will monitor six additional feeds to be launched before year-end. "In addition to replacing our traditional analog tape based system currently in use, the Observer system offers us powerful new capabilities helping to streamline our network operations and ensure signal quality," commented Lisa Hyams, acting Senior Vice President of Operations for DNLA/I DNLA/I Discovery Networks Latin America/Iberia . "Now we have the ability to instantly retrieve and email video clips as proof of advertising to our clients and remotely monitor broadcasts by streaming them live over the Internet." Features such as multiple signal monitoring, bilingual audio program recording, (in English/Spanish, or English/Portuguese), and an email alert system which indicates signal disruption will be a tremendous benefit for DNLA/I, added Hyams. "Working with Discovery gave us valuable insight into the needs of a state-of-the-art multi-channel network television operation and helped us define and implement a broad set of new capabilities that will benefit comparable users in the broadcast industry," stated Eli Warsawski, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Volicon. "Because the system is so user-friendly, virtually all contingents within the organization can benefit from its capabilities including the engineers, the newsroom, sales, marketing and public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most , corporate management and legal. With traditional control-room functionality this level of information sharing See data conferencing. would otherwise be time consuming and costly." The Observer's interface works with Microsoft's(R) Internet Explorer Microsoft's Web browser, which comes with Windows starting with Windows 98. Commonly called "IE," versions for Mac and Unix are also available. Internet Explorer is the most widely used Web browser on the market. It has also been the browser engine in AOL's Internet access software. (R) web browser The program that serves as your front end to the Web on the Internet. In order to view a site, you type its address (URL) into the browser's Location field; for example, www.computerlanguage.com, and the home page of that site is downloaded to you. running on off-the-shelf PCs with no need for special software. Familiar "VCR-style" controls are combined with color cues to clearly indicate channels displayed, whether they are live or recorded and which channel is providing the audio feed. Users can add or subtract channels from their display and switch between windowed Win´dowed a. 1. Having windows or openings. , split and full-screen display with a simple mouse click. Applications for Volicon's Observer technology include: --competitive news analysis --commercial advertisement placement --user rating monitoring --compliance logging for government regulations --overseas broadcast monitoring --long-term video broadcast archiving A basic four-channel system configuration allows 30 days archiving capacity for under $22,000. The system scales to record any number of channels and any recording duration by adding additional system and storage units. About Volicon, Inc. Incorporated in January 2004, Volicon develops and markets turnkey digital video archiving & streaming solutions for the television broadcast industry, including the Observer multi-channel video monitoring and logging system. Volicon's proprietary video processing system, comprised of a video encoder and streaming engine, enables a large number of users to simultaneously access multiple channels of video content over a network. Volicon is headquartered in Burlington, MA. For more information on Volicon or Observer, call 781-221-7400 or visit www.volicon.com. Microsoft and Internet Explorer are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Volicon Observer is a Volicon trademark. |
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