EVS Xfile User Manual Version 1.01

User's Manual - Version 1.01 - December 2006

Archive/Storage & Gateway Solutions

www.evs.tv

XFILE LITE Version 1. 01 – U s er’s M anual

Author: M. Lothaire

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents.....................................................................................1

Introduction...............................................................................................2

Configuration ............................................................................................3

Software installation .............................................................................................3

Software management.............................................................................5

Start-up (default) ..................................................................................................5

System configuration............................................................................................6

Clips management.............................................................................................10

DEFINING COLUMNS.......................................................................................12

FILTERS.............................................................................................................13

EXPORT Data t o H TM L f ile ( Stor yboard)........................................................24

Folders................................................................................................................28

Clip Info...............................................................................................................30

Notes.......................................................................................................40

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XFILE LITE Version 1. 01 – U s er’s M anual

Author: M. Lothaire

Introduction

DIGITAL ARCHIVING ON REMOV ABLE ME DIA

The XFile has access to all footage recorded on XT6U, XT4U, AirBox and
SpotBox servers through the SDTI network. When a clip is created on

one of the servers, a copy is automatically transferred to XFile.

Each clip is saved as a separate file on the removable media, including
not only video, audio and time code information, but also all metadata
associated with that clip: name, descriptors, creation date, original
location (server s/n, register), etc. The transfer between an XT6U or
XT4U to the XFile is a data transfer, i.e. no decoding/encoding process
takes place at any point, preserving the original quality of the footage,
including super-motion character if applicable.

All files saved to XFILE can be opened with XFILE Lite application.

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Software installation

Run XFILE_Lite INSTALLER and then follow the steps of the Setup Wizard:

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Configuration

1. Accept the software license agreement;

2. Select the destination directory to install the new software;

3. Select the items to install:

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XFILE LITE Version 1. 01 – U s er’s M anual

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 XFILE LITE
 XSecure Licensing Softwae
 MMEUniversalPlayer (for VGA preview).
 EVS Log collector.

4. Select the start menu folder to place the application’s shortcuts;

5. The last step of the process is the LOG_INSPECTOR installation.
Press INSTALL to begin.

6. Then press QUIT for ending the installation process.

The XFile lite installation is successfully completed and a XFILE lite
shortcut is saved to your desktop.

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Start-up (default)

At first sta rt select th e root folde r to scan :

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Software

management

The MXf files from the root folder are displayed in the list.

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System configuration

The system configuration is available from the Configuration menu in the
Menu bar.
Select Config… to open the following window:

START UP

Select the default folder to display at start-up

GRAB

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Grab folder

Select the destination folder to save the JPG/BMP files.

Output format

The automatic selection of the output format depends on the original
format of the MXF files. If the images are not modified by stretching the
JPG format is defined and if the images are modified by stretching the
BMP format is selected. The user can force the selection of one format.

ADVANCED PARAM ETERS

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Note: No compression ar tifact is added to this file creation process,

so the original quality of the image is kept.

MME Player full path:
The MME player is an universal player. The player can be already installed
on your computer. Browse the folders and program files to define the path
to access the MME player from XFile Lite application.

Tree parameters:
This option displays the complete contents of folders.

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AVID TM

An external module allows the user to export
files to OMF or MXF Avid Media Type formats.

This command is available from the right click
button while selecting a clip in the XFile Lite
list.

A message confirms the clip selected and the target name before starting
the transfer. This message box can be disabled upon request.

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Target Name Format String

A default filename is automatically given to the target file.
This filename is user-defined and can be modified by typing a generic term

(i.e.: WC2006_Match03…) and/or by adding one or many available items:

LICENCE INFORMATION

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To generate a software key, see complete information from XSECURE
guide.

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Clips management

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The Graphic user interface is divided into 3 areas:

1. the clips lis t

2. The folders management

3. and the file info

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THE CLIPS LIST

The XFile Lite displays the contents of the selected path, the second tab
‘selection’ displays the list of clips selected (cut/copy/paste functions)

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Refining the selection in the List:

SORTING CL IPS

To sort a column in alphabetical or numerical order, click on the column
label to display the arrow icon

and click again to invert the sorting.

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DEFINING COLUMNS

XFILE LITE Version 1. 01 – U s er’s M anual

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Use the right-click button of the
mouse (into the list) to access
this selection menu.

All columns available are listed
here.
Select or unselect the item to
be displayed or to be hidden.

The Reset to Default option
allows you to restore the
standard display

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Note: Following the t i m ecode and vi deo syst em s, t he t i m ecode i n t he col um n i s

displayed with dif f erent characters:

The duration for NTSC clips is alw ays cal culated on non-drop-frame basis.

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FILTERS

The upper part of the XFILE list displays a list of icons. These icons give
access to the different filters to be applied to the XFILE list.

The filters are available in the four modes: Autobackup, Manual Backup,
Restore and Maintenance modes.

default values (= ALL for most of filters)
Click on the icon to display/hide the filter or use the right-click button of

the mouse to access this selection menu.

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Filter inactive and hidden
Filter is visible but inactive
Filter is ac tive

: the RESET icon is present in all modes and resets all filters to

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Creation date

Note: The Creation date and the backup time are different values.

The creation date depends on the date and time defined on your
XT6U, XT4U, AirBox or SpotBox. Please check the date-time of your
system before operating.

‘Last Hour’ and ‘Last Day’ are both quick shortcuts to display the clips
created during the last hour or during the last 24 hours.

A range of date-time can be defined to sort the clips creating during that
period. Click on the ‘Range’ button to open the following dialog box:

The ‘Creation date’ filter requires a date-time for the beginning and a
date-time for the end to be valid.

1. In the calendar field select the month, and then select the day of the
month.

2. In the time field select the hour, use the arrows to change the value
displayed or directly type the value when the field lights green.

3. Press enter to confirm your selection.

4. Enter the second selection window to validate the values for the end

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limit.
The filter is now active and the clips created in between the time range

defined are displayed in the XFile list.

Select the squares representing the cameras and/or the PREFS cameras
of the clips to be displayed in the XFile list. Selected cameras appear in a
green square.

Select the squares representing the four levels of Rating. Selected items
appear in a green square and the XFile list is refreshed to display the new
selection of clips.

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Camera selection

Rating

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Clipnames

Clicking on the icon on the right side opens the following dialog box:

'Filter based on Prefix' allows defining a quick filter based on the first
character or first-second-… character of a clipname. The system adds
automatically a "*" sign while adding a prefix in order to mark the prefix
out from the clipnames in the filter list.

At start-up all clipnames assigned to the clips are extracted from the MXF
files and are listed in the 'Filter based on existing Clipname' field.

Select a clipname from the list and press 'Add' to fill out the filter list.

Note 1: The number of clipnames/prefix in the list is restricted to 5 items.
Note 2: The filter mode is not selectable

In the Filter list, select an item and press ‘Remove selected’ to cancel the
selection of this clipname.

Press 'OK' to confirm your selection and to quit the dialog box. The new
clipnames appear in the filter field.

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Clicking on the icon on the right side opens the following dialog box:

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Keywords

'Filter based on Prefix' allows defining a quick filter based on the first
character or first-second-… character of a keyword. The system adds
automatically a "*" sign while adding a prefix in order to mark the prefix
out from the keywords in the filter list.

At start-up all keywords assigned to the clips are extracted from the MXF
files and are listed in the 'Filter based on existing Keyword' field.

Select a keyword from the list and press 'Add' to fill out the filter list.
Note: The number of keywords/prefix in the list is restricted to 5 items.
In the filter mode field, select between the cross-selection mode (i.e.

keyword 1 AND

keyword 2)

OR

keyword2) and the global selection mode (i.e. Keyword 1

In the Filter list, select a keyword and press ‘Remove selected’ to cancel
the selection of this keyword.

Press 'OK' to confirm your selection and to quit the dialog box. The new
keywords appear in the filter field.

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UmID

Clicking on the icon on the right side opens the following dialog box:

'Filter based on Prefix' defines a quick filter based on the first character or
first-second-… character of the UmID. The system adds automatically a "*"
sign while adding a prefix in order to mark the prefix out from the UmID in
the filter lis t.

At start-up all keywords assigned to the clips are extracted from the MXF
files and are listed in the 'Filter based on existing Keyword' field.

Note: The list of existing UmID and the filter mode are not selectable.
In the Filter list, select an UmID and press ‘Remove selected’ to cancel the

selection of this UmID.
Press 'OK' to confirm your selection and to quit the dialog box. The new

UmID appear in the filter field

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The MXF file is the file containing all data related to a common audio/video
data.

The first clip created with this A/V data is called the MasterClip and has
the particularity to get the same code for the ID-material and for the ID­louth.

All clips ensued from this masterclip, either by copy, or by update, or by
modifying the short IN short OUT point are linked to the MXF file and a
different ID-louth is defined for each them.

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Media / clips

Selecting ‘ALL’ in the MEDIA / CLIPS filter disp lays all the Clips.
Selecting ‘MasterClip’ displays only the MasterClips

Note: This filter is helpful when restoring clips in the studio, because

it will only transfer the Original clips, and skip the copies.

Selecting ‘Group’ displays both MasterClips and Clips linked by a “bracket”
sign in the XF ile list.

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Video Standards

Select the squares representing the different video standards. Selected
items appear in a green square and the XFile list is refreshed to display
the new selection of clips.

Video Codecs

Select the squares representing the different video codecs. Selected items
appear in a green square and the XFile list is refreshed to display the new
selection of clips.

Camer a label

Clicking on the icon on the right side opens the following dialog box:

'Filter based on Prefix' defines a quick filter based on the first character or
first-second-… character of the Camera Label. The system adds
automatically a "*" sign while adding a prefix in order to mark the prefix
out from the Camera label in the filter list.

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The session information is entered via the Config session window – tab 2
‘MXF Metadata’ at startup. This information is saved to the descriptive
metadata of all the clips backed up during the ‘session’.

Clicking on the icon on the right side opens the following dialog box:

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Session Filters

'Filter based on Prefix' defines a quick filter based on the first character or
first-second-… character of the Session data. The system adds
automatically a "*" sign while adding a prefix in order to mark the prefix
out from the session data in the filter list.

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Clip Marke rs

The clip markers allow to tag clips into a global selection and to keep this
selection from one mode to another.

5 different markers are available and can be combined if necessary.
Select a clip in the XFile list and press

to tag the clip or press to

clear the marker.
In the XFile list the clips marked are displayed as follows:

Note: The clip markers are not saved to the header of the MXF file

and therefore are temporary. When you quit the XFile software all
markers are removed.

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COUNTERS

A counter of clips is available in all modes in the upper side of the list.

The first value is the number of clips displayed in the list, the second
value is the total amount of clips in memory (contents of path(s) + external
folder + clips scheduled).

The number of items in the different lists can affect the performance of the
system. So it is advised to reduce the number of clips displayed in the
lists.
When the total amount of clips displayed in the list exceeds 2000 clips, the
counter lights orange.

When the total number of clips displayed in the list exceeds 4000 clips, the
counter lights red. If the total number of clips exceeds 5000 clips, the
refresh of the list stops and the counter displays + 5000+.

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EXPORT Data to HTML file (Storyboard)

The ‘export’ button is available for exporting DATA to HTML file format.
Press

to open the following dialog box:

Author: M. Lothaire

1. Enter a filename for the HTML file

2. Then define a folder to save the thumbnails

3. And select the DATA to include in the HTML file

4. Then press the START button to proceed with the HTML export.

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DELETE CLIP / DELETE FILE:

As several clips are linked to a file the delete command has been split in 2
buttons: Delete File and Delete Clip:

To mark the clips and the files out, it is advised to change the display to
'Group' in the ‘Media / Clips’ filter.

The group of clips is represented with brackets in the XFile list.

MULTI-SELECTION FOR DELETE FILE:

1. Press SHIFT or CTRL and select a batch of files from the XFile list

2. Press

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to open the following window:

3. This window allows the operator to review the files before deletion. Pay
attention to the number of clips included in each file. Deleting the file will

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obviously delete all the clips included into this file.

4. Press ‘Delete All files’ to confirm the command or ‘Cancel’ to abort the
operation.

MULTI-SELECTION FOR DELETE CLIP:

1. Press SHIFT or CTRL and select a batch of clips from the XFile list

2. Press
operator to review the clips before deletion:

to open the following window. This window allows the

3. Press ‘Delete All Clips’ to confirm the command or ‘Cancel’ to abort the
operation.

4. If one/several clips are the last clip into the MXF file, the following
message notices the operator:

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5. Press ‘OK’ to close the message box and to switch to the 'Multi-Delete
Files' window (shown on a red background)

6. Press 'Delete All files' to confirm the command or 'Cancel' to abort the
operation.

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Folders

The main screen displays the folders organization on the left part of the
screen and the content of the selected folder on the right part of the
screen.

The
root folder:

button opens the following dialog box in order to change the

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In the folder list two additional functions has been added to ease the use
of the folders list:

Select a position in the folders tree to create a new folder then click on
the ‘Create Folder’ button to open the following dialog box:

Type the name of the new folder and press OK to validate.
In the folder list, select a folder to delete and click on the ‘Delete Folder’

button. A message box requires a confirmation:

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Clip Info

This area displays the current parameters and values saved to the
descriptive metadata of the MXF file.

The thumbnails:

The thumbnails defined for each file are extracted from the MJPEG files.
The first thumbnail shows the SHORT IN frame and the last is the SHORT
OUT frame. The REF frame is automatically defined at the middle duration
of the clip.

The XFILE versions previous to the version 1.01.05 do not include the
thumbnails creation process. Use the

button to create new thumbnails
or to update the current thumbnails.
The thumbnail format respects the aspect ratio of the different video
signals.

SD clips are displayed with 4:3 aspect ratio.

16:9 SD clips are displayed with the usual black strips.

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HD clips are displayed with 16:9 aspect ratio.

The Data:

The MXF file is the file containing all data related to a common audio/video
data. Different clips are therefore linked to the same MXF file.

The first parameters (left area) display the common parameters, the A/V
parameters given by the XNet: clip duration, TC IN and OUT excl., ID-
material, creation date-time, the video standard and format, number of
video signals (SLSM = 3), number of audio tracks, audio type and the
number of clips included in this MXF file.

The last parameters (right area) display the current values saved to the
Session configuration window. These parameters are common for each
clip.

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EDIT:

When selecting a file/clip in the XFile list, use the right-button of the
mouse to access the selection menu and select EDIT:

The ‘XFile Edit clip’ window appears. The first tab shows all current data
of selected file.

The list box in the right area displays all clips saved in a common MXF
file. Use the

to delete a clip into the MXF file.

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buttons to make a copy of a selected clip or

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To modify shortIN and shortOUT points, to define a REF frame or to modify
the aspect ratio, select the IN-OUT tab:

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Important Note: The MXF doctor software is integrated to the Edit clip

module. When editing a clip with a corrupted file index, the system
automatically detects the error, notifies the user and starts the repair
process. A progress bar appears in the file info tab while repairing the
file.

The timeline in the bottom of the window allows you to search the clip in
jog mode:

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The first line gathers the GRAB & EXPORT functions. The second line of
buttons gathers the SEARCH functions and the third line of buttons
gathers the commands which modify the clip. The last line gathers the
PREVIEW functions:

GRAB field GRAB frame

Partial export

of with new

IN/OUT points

Go to File IN

point

Go to

ShortIN point

Go to

previous

frame

Go to REF

frame

Go to next

frame

Go to

ShortOUT

point

Go to File

OUT point

Mark a new

ShortIN

point

Define a new

REF frame

Mark a new

ShortOUT

point

Start PREVIEW Stop PREVIEW

To modify the ID louth, to modify or to add a ClipName or keywords, select
the Clipname-keywords tab:

GRAB option :

From the Edit Clip module, the operator can select one image in the main
window (current position of the cursor) and press the Grab Field or the
Grab Frame button to open the following dialog box:

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File

Select the filename and the destination folder to save the JPG/BMP files.

Options:

Stretch fiel d to frame size

Enabling this option will automatically stretch the ‘field image’ to the
original ‘fr ame size’

Output format

The automatic selection of the output format depends on the previous
option. If the images are not modified by stretching the JPG format is
defined and if the images are modified by stretching the BMP format is
selected. The user can force the selection of one format.

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Note: No compression ar tifact is added to this file creation process,

so the original quality of the image is kept.

.

EXPORT option:

A portion of clip can be extracted from its original clip and export to a
different MXF file. In this case a different UmID is assigned to the new
clip.
When the shortIN and shortOUT points of the new clip are defined, press
the Export button to open the following dialog box:

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File dest ination

Select the filename and the destination folder to save the new MXF file.

Options:

Keep original file creation date-time

Enabling this option will keep the creation date-time of the original clip
even if the UmID is re-defined.

Guardbands

Define the duration of A/V material before and after the shortIN/ShortOUT
points.

Generate new UmID

Set this option to generate a new UmID for the new clip created. (default)
Press the START button to create the new file.

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Select a clip in the list and then enter the new clipname or new keywords
in the related field. The new clipname/keyword is updated in the upper list.

Important note: All clips edited in the ‘XFile Edit Clip’ module are

updated on the XFile disks but a few of them can be also present on
the XNet. If those clips need to be updated at the same time, place a
checkmark in the following box:

The machine and position of the clip on the XNet are displayed in the

XNet column :

When editing an HD clip, a third tab is added to the Editclip module in
order to play back the clip with full quality preview in a larger view.

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PREVIEW:

Double-click on a clip in the list or press the button. The
MMEUniversal player module is loaded with the selected clip.

Use the command buttons to play back the clip, to search material, to
review the clip frame by frame, etc.

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Note: The MME player plays back the clip from t he I N poi nt t o t he O UT poi nt .

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Headquarters

EVS Broadcast Equipment - Liege Science Park - 16, rue Bois St-Jean - 4102 Ougrée - BELGIUM

Tel-: [phone] - Fax-: [phone] - Tech. line-: [phone] - Marketing-: [e-mail]

Technical support-: [e-mail] - Recruitment-: [e-mail] - Corporate & Investors relations-: [e-mail]

Sales and Support Offices

NORTH AMERICA & LATIN AMERICA

EVS Broadcast Equipment Inc - 9 Law Drive, Suite 200 – Fairfield, NJ 07004-3233 - USA

Tel-: [phone] - Fax-: [phone] - Tech. line-: [phone] - [e-mail]

ASIA & PACIFIC

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Tel-: [phone] - Fax-: [phone] - Tech. line-: [phone] - [e-mail]

EVS Broadcast Equipment - Canway Building, Rm.702A - 66 Nan Li Shi Lu - Beijing - CHINA

Tel-: [phone] - Fax-: [phone] - Tech. line-: [phone] - [e-mail]

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Tel-: [phone] - Fax-: [phone] - Tech. line-: [phone] - [e-mail]

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Tel-: [phone] - Fax-: [phone] - Tech. line-: [phone] - [e-mail]

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Tel-: [phone] - Fax-: [phone] - Tech. line-: [phone] - [e-mail]

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Tel-: [phone]/2 - Fax-: [phone] - Tech. line-: [phone], [phone] - [e-mail]

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