Television station automation
November 30, 2005 9:44 AM Subscribe
I work at a small television station, and I'm looking for an automation system to switch in commercials and programming that wouldn't be too expensive. We've done quite a bit of reasearch, but have come up dry.
We're running a videotech prodigy switcher, and have modern-ish equipment, with sync generators and all that stuff that a television station needs. I don't know if that'll really factor into the actual automation system, but there it is. We only run mac computers, so systems that use apple products would be preferable.
We're running a videotech prodigy switcher, and have modern-ish equipment, with sync generators and all that stuff that a television station needs. I don't know if that'll really factor into the actual automation system, but there it is. We only run mac computers, so systems that use apple products would be preferable.
Response by poster: I'm looking for a hard drive solution where we can capture programming and play it back along with something that can playback things on tape. We play programming over DVD decks, SVHS decks, and from the computer streaming over firewire from Final Cut Pro. Our tape decks are fairly old, possibly early nineties to late eighties, and our DVD decks are consumer-grade equipment.
They are trying to replace employees as far as the time involved in switching goes. What kills me is that most of the solutions they've come up with doesn't actually save anybody any time, it just shifts that time to another time of the day.
I keep telling the people in charge that this kind of thing will cost an arm and a leg, but they're not really listening. If you could point me in the direction of some things that are on the absolute lowest end of the spectrum, if it's still to expensive maybe that will scare them away. On the other side, if it's within budget, they can go ahead and purchase it (with me saying we really shouldn't be doing it) and when it fails to meet expectations, things can go back to normal.
posted by bigtimes at 11:51 AM on December 1, 2005
They are trying to replace employees as far as the time involved in switching goes. What kills me is that most of the solutions they've come up with doesn't actually save anybody any time, it just shifts that time to another time of the day.
I keep telling the people in charge that this kind of thing will cost an arm and a leg, but they're not really listening. If you could point me in the direction of some things that are on the absolute lowest end of the spectrum, if it's still to expensive maybe that will scare them away. On the other side, if it's within budget, they can go ahead and purchase it (with me saying we really shouldn't be doing it) and when it fails to meet expectations, things can go back to normal.
posted by bigtimes at 11:51 AM on December 1, 2005
I'm sorry, I can't really point you to any resources here - I wasn't involved in the selection process and I've been out of the industry a little while. All I have is anecdotal experience, but since the question is so specific, I thought I should offer it.
That being said, I'd venture that there is no way they can do this without at least replacing all the playback decks (with professional-grade gear) so that they are capable of being controlled by modern equipment. If I was in your position, I would start by estimating the budget for that part of the plan alone. If that's not oppressive enough for your needs, start calling some system providers and discussing your needs and asking for ballpark pricing. That should do it.
Our system was by a company called Odetics. You can probably find some more by checking ads in industry publications.
Our automated system was a large step forward. It allowed us to eliminate a single shift, taking us from 3/day down to 2/day. However, I'm sure that it was a significant investment, and much of our playback technology was already current and adaptable at that time. If your station is serious about this, it needs to be approached from more of an angle than just "cutting employees." You will probably need to approach this problem over the course of a few years, starting with playback equipment, then getting into a computer control system, then adding the hard drive.
posted by MrZero at 1:14 PM on December 1, 2005
That being said, I'd venture that there is no way they can do this without at least replacing all the playback decks (with professional-grade gear) so that they are capable of being controlled by modern equipment. If I was in your position, I would start by estimating the budget for that part of the plan alone. If that's not oppressive enough for your needs, start calling some system providers and discussing your needs and asking for ballpark pricing. That should do it.
Our system was by a company called Odetics. You can probably find some more by checking ads in industry publications.
Our automated system was a large step forward. It allowed us to eliminate a single shift, taking us from 3/day down to 2/day. However, I'm sure that it was a significant investment, and much of our playback technology was already current and adaptable at that time. If your station is serious about this, it needs to be approached from more of an angle than just "cutting employees." You will probably need to approach this problem over the course of a few years, starting with playback equipment, then getting into a computer control system, then adding the hard drive.
posted by MrZero at 1:14 PM on December 1, 2005
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I used to work production in a mid-market TV station a few years ago, after they had gone to an automated system. One thing I can say for sure is that you should not count on replacing an employee with a system like this unless you spend a lot of money on it. We eventually automated the overnight shift, but it took some serious work and the computer would still send a phone call to someone (sleeping at home) when things screwed up.
posted by MrZero at 2:56 PM on November 30, 2005