Grass Valley NewsQ Pro User Manual

Copyright

Trademarks

Disclaimer

U.S. Government
Restricted Rights
Legend

Revision Status

Copyright © 2003 Grass Valley Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States
of America.

This document may not be copied in whole or in part, or otherwise reproduced
except as specifically permitted under U.S. copyright law, without the prior written
consent of Grass Valley Inc., P.O. Box 59900, Nevada City, California 95959-7900

Grass Valley, NewsEdit, NewsQ, NewsQ Pro and Profile are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Grass Valley in the United States and/or other
countries. Other trademarks used in this document are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of the manufacturers or vendors of the associated
products. Grass Valley products are covered by U.S. and foreign patents, issued
and pending. Additional information regarding Grass Valley's trademarks and other
proprietary rights may be found at www.thomsongrassvalley.com.

Product options and specifications subject to change without notice. The
information in this manual is furnished for informational use only, is subject to
change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Grass
Valley. Grass Valley assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or
inaccuracies that may appear in this publication.

Use, duplication, or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to
restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data
and Computer Software clause at DFARS 252.277-7013 or in subparagraph c(1)
and (2) of the Commercial Computer Software Restricted Rights clause at FAR

52.227-19, as applicable. Manufacturer is Grass Valley Inc., P.O. Box 59900,
Nevada City, California 95959-7900 U.S.A.

Rev Date Description

December 2001 First Release Part Number 071-8143-00
October 2002 Release for Software Version 1.1 071-8143-01
June 2003 Release for Software Version 1.5 071-8143-02

Contents

Contents

Grass Valley Product Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Safety Summaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Safety Terms and Symbols. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x

Service Safety Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

Certifications and Compliances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii

Environmental Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv

Chapter 1 Introducing NewsQ Pro

What is NewsQ Pro? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Terms You Should Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Using NewsQ Pro in Your Newsroom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Linking to a Newsroom Computer System (NCS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Creating a Playlist Manually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Tour of NewsQ Pro and Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The NewsQ Pro Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Assignment List Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

The Assignment List Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

The Housekeeper Utility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Simple Database Server (SDB) Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Thumbnail Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

XMOS Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Chapter 2 Installing and Configuring NewsQ Pro

Installing NewsQ Pro and Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Installing the Assignment List Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Using the Installer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Using a Configuration File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Configuring the NewsQ Pro Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Setting General Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Setting Playback Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Setting Channel Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Configuring the Remote Display Unit (RDU) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Setting Cue and Chain Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Configuring Archive Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Configuring GPI Inputs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Defining Function Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Defining Status Colors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Configuring the Simple Database (SDB) Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Setting General Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Setting Up Rundowns on the Profile Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Configuring the Thumbnail Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

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iv

Contents

Creating a Thumbnail Folder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Setting Up the Thumbnail Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Configuring the XMOS Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Configuring the Housekeeper Utility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Setting General Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Setting Profile Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Configuring the Assignment List Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Chapter 3 NCS Rundowns and NewsQ Pro

Tour of the Assignment List Plug-In. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Using ENPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Creating Placeholders Automatically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Linking Clips to ENPS Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Assigning Playout Channels to Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Using iNews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Using the Assignment List Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Creating Placeholders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Reassigning Placeholders to Editors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Viewing Clip Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Viewing a Video Thumbnail for a Placeholder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Chapter 4 Editing and NewsQ Pro

Tour of the Assignment List Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Receiving Editing Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Sending Completed Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Additional Assignment List Manager Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Creating New Placeholders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Changing a Clip Assignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Viewing the Assignment List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Identifying Missing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Chapter 5 Playing Clips to Air

Tour of the NewsQ Pro Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Playlist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Understanding Playlist Colors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Rundowns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Playlist Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Creating a Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Linking to a NCS Rundown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Appending Rundowns to a Playlist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

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Previewing Other Rundowns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Manually Creating a New Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Saving and Opening Local Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Exporting a Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Chaining Clips in a Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Cueing and Playing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Cueing Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Playing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Archiving Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Additional Playlist Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Rearranging the Layout of a Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Viewing Clip Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Assigning Clips to Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Rearranging a Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Adding New Clips to a Playlist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Using the Context-Sensitive Playlist Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Chapter 6 Managing Clips

Tour of the Housekeeper Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

The Housekeeping Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

The Clip Import Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

The Archive Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Deleting Clips From the Clip Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Moving Files to the Recycle Bin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Emptying the Recycle Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Unprotecting a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Refreshing the Clip List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Deleting Clips From a Profile Video Server Only. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Importing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Importing Clips from a Profile Video Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Creating New Placeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Archiving Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Index

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Digital News Production

Grass Valley Product Support

To get technical assistance, check on the status of problems, or report new
problems, contact Grass Valley Product Support via e-mail, the Web, or by
phone or fax.

Grass Valley Product Support

Web Technical Support

To access support information on the Web, visit the product support Web page
on the Grass Valley Web site. You can download software or find solutions to
problems by searching our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) database.

World Wide Web: http://www.thomsongrassvalley.com/support/
Technical Support E-mail Address:

[e-mail].

Phone Support

Use the following information to contact product support by phone during
business hours. After-hours phone support is available for warranty and
contract customers.

USA and Americas (includes Latin America and Canada)

Telephone [phone] (Toll Free)

[phone] (Direct Dial Toll Call)

Fax [phone]

Europe and UK

UK Regional
Service
Location

France Tel [phone]

Tel [phone]
Fax [phone]

Fax [phone]

Italy Tel [phone]

Germany Tel [phone]

Fax [phone]

Fax [phone]

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Preface

Asia Pacific

Australia Tel [phone]

Fax [phone]

China Tel [phone]

Fax [phone]

Hong Kong Tel [phone]

Fax [phone]

Authorized Support Representative

A local authorized support representative may be available in your country. To
locate the support representative for your country, visit the product support
Web page on the Grass Valley Web site.

Profile Users Group

You can connect with other Profile XP Media Platform users to ask questions
or share advice, tips, and hints.

Send email to profi[e-mail] to join the community
and benefit from the experience of others.

India Tel [phone]

Fax [phone]

Japan Tel [phone]

Fax [phone]

Southeast
Asia

Tel [phone]
Fax [phone]

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Digital News Production

Safety Summaries

General Safety Summary

Review the following safety precautions to avoid injury and prevent damage to
this product or any products connected to it.

Safety Summaries

Only qualified personnel should perform service procedures.
While using this product, you may need to access other parts of the system.

Read the General Safety Summary in other system manuals for warnings and
cautions related to operating the system.

Review all system operator manuals, including manuals in electronic format on
the system hard drive.

Injury Precautions

Use Proper Power

Cord

Ground the Product

Do Not Operate

Without Covers

Do Not Operate in

Wet/Damp

Conditions

To avoid fire hazard, use only the power cord specified for
this product.

This product is grounded through the grounding conductor of
the power cord. To avoid electric shock, the grounding
conductor must be connected to earth ground. Before making
connections to the input or output terminals of the product,
ensure that the product is properly grounded.

To avoid electric shock or fire hazard, do not operate this
product with covers or panels removed.

To avoid electric shock, do not operate this product in wet or
damp conditions.

Do Not Operate in

an Explosive

Atmosphere

Avoid Exposed

Circuitry

To avoid injury or fire hazard, do not operate this product in
an explosive atmosphere.

To avoid injury, remove jewelry such as rings, watches, and
other metallic objects. Do not touch exposed connections and
components when power is present.

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Preface

Product Damage Precautions

x

Use Proper Power

Source

Provide Proper

Ventilation

Do Not Operate With

Suspected Failures

Battery

Replacement

Do not operate this product from a power source that applies
more than the voltage specified.

To prevent product overheating, provide proper ventilation.

If you suspect there is damage to this product, have it
inspected by qualified service personnel.

To avoid damage, replace only with the same or equivalent
type recommended by the circuit board manufacturer.
Dispose of used battery according to the circuit board
manufacturer’s instructions.

Safety Terms and Symbols

Terms in This

Manual

!

!

Terms on the

Product

These terms may appear in this and other product manuals:
WARNING : Warning statements identify conditions or

practices that can result in personal injury or loss of life.
CAUTION : Caution statements identify conditions or practices

that can result in damage to the equipment or other property.
These terms may appear on the product:
DANGER indicates a personal injury hazard immediately

accessible as one reads the marking.

Digital News Production

WARNING indicates a personal injury hazard not immediately
accessible as you read the marking.

CAUTION indicates a hazard to property including the product.

Service Safety Summary

Symbols on the

Product

!

The following symbols may appear on the product:
DANGER high voltage
Protective ground (earth) terminal
ATTENTION – refer to manual

Service Safety Summary

Do Not Service

Alone

No Power Switch

Use Care When

Servicing With

Power On

Do not perform internal service or adjustment of this product
unless another person capable of rendering first aid and
resuscitation is present.

To avoid electric shock, disconnect the main power by means
of the power cord. The power cord is the main power
disconnect. Ensure that the power cord is easily accessible at
the rear of the product or at the power receptacle.

Dangerous voltages or currents may exist in this product.
Disconnect power and remove battery (if applicable) before
removing protective panels, soldering, or replacing
components.

To avoid electric shock, do not touch exposed connections.

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Certifications and Compliances

Canadian Certified

Power Cords

Canadian approval includes the products and power cords
appropriate for use in the North America power network. All
other power cords supplied are approved for the country of use.

FCC Emission

Control

Canadian EMC

Notice of

Compliance

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the
limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the
FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable
protection against harmful interference when the equipment
is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment
generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and,
if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction
manual, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential
area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the
user will be required to correct the interference at his own
expense. Changes or modifications not expressly approved
by Tektronix can affect emission compliance and could void
the user’s authority to operate this equipment.

This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class A limits for
radio noise emissions from digital apparatus set out in the
Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian Department
of Communications.

Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de bruits
radioélectriques dépassant les limites applicables aux
appareils numériques de la classe A préscrites dans le
Règlement sur le brouillage radioélectrique édicté par le
ministère des Communications du Canada.

Canadian Certified

EN55022 Class A

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Digital News Production

AC Adapter

Warning

Canadian approval includes the AC adapters appropriate for
use in the North America power network. All other AC
adapters supplied are approved for the country of use.

For products that comply with Class A. In a domestic
environment this product may cause radio interference in which
case the user may be required to take adequate measures.

Laser Compliance

Laser Safety

Requirements

Certifications and Compliances

The device used in this product is a Class 1 certified laser
product. Operating this product outside specifications or
altering its original design may result in hazardous radiation
exposure, and may be considered an act of modifying or new
manufacturing of a laser product under U.S. regulations
contained in 21CFR Chapter 1, subchapter J or CENELEC
regulations in HD 482 S1. People performing such an act are
required by law to recertify and reidentify this product in
accordance with provisions of 21CFR subchapter J for
distribution within the U.S.A., and in accordance with
CENELEC HD 482 S1 for distribution within countries using
the IEC 825 standard.

Laser Safety

FCC Emission

Limits

Laser safety in the United States is regulated by the Center for
Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). The laser safety
regulations are published in the “Laser Product Performance
Standard,” Code of Federal Regulation (CFR), Title 21,
Subchapter J.

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
Standard 825, “Radiation of Laser Products, Equipment
Classification, Requirements and User’s Guide,” governs
laser products outside the United States. Europe and member
nations of the European Free Trade Association fall under the
jurisdiction of the Comité Européen de Normalization
Electrotechnique (CENELEC).

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This
device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this
device must accept any interference received, including
interference that may cause undesirable operation.

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Preface

Certification

Category Standard

Safety

Designed/tested for compliance with:
ANSI/UL60950-2000 - Safety of Information Technology Equipment
IEC 60950 - Safety of Information Technology Equipment (3rd edition, 1999)
CAN/CSA C22.2, No. 60950-00 - Safety of Information Technology Equipment
EN60950:2000 - Safety of Information Technology Equipment (3rd edition)

Environmental Criteria

The following table lists the environmental criteria for the NewsQ Pro.

Characteristics Description

Operating Temperature Requirement: 10° to 40°C
Storage Temperature
Operating Altitude

Storage Altitude
Mechanical Shock
Random Vibration

Requirement: -40° to 65°C
Requirement: To 10,000 feet

Supplemental Data: IEC 60950 compliant to 2000 meters
Requirement: To 40,000 feet
Supplemental Data: Class 5 (30G) Grass Valley 001131500
Requirement:

Requirement: Non-Operational: Class 5 Grass Valley 001131500

Operational: Class 6 Grass Valley 001131500

Transportation
Equipment Type
Equipment Class
Installation Category

Pollution Degree
Relative Humidity

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Digital News Production

Requirement: Grass Valley 001131500
Supplemental Data: Information Technology
Supplemental Data: Class 1
Requirement: Category II Local level mains, appliances,

Requirement:
Requirement: Operating 80% from +30° to +40°C

portable equipment, etc.
Level 2 operating environment, indoor use only.

Non-Operating 90% from +30° to +60°C
Do not operate with visible moisture on the circuit boards.

1

Chapter

1

Introducing NewsQ Pro

NewsQ Pro is a news playout control system that works with Grass Valley’s
Profile Video Servers, NewsEdit (version 4.0 and above), and an MOS­compatible newsroom computer system, such as the Associated Press
Electronic News Production System (ENPS), version 2.09 and above, or Avid
Technology’s iNews, version 1.5 and above.

NewsQ Pro combines a nonlinear editing system with an electronic news
production system and a media server for a complete digital solution.

This manual shows you how to use NewsQ Pro effectively and efficiently to
play out clips to air using electronic news clips created with NewsEdit.

This chapter discusses:

•What NewsQ Pro is

• Terms you should know

•How to use NewsQ Pro in your newsroom, and the roles of newsroom staff

• The NewsQ Pro software components
For detailed information on installing the NewsQ Pro system in your newsroom,

see the NewsQ Pro Installation Guide.

Digital News Production

1

Chapter 1 Introducing NewsQ Pro

What is NewsQ Pro?

NewsQ Pro is a news playout system that controls Profile Video Servers for live
news playback. It includes tools to integrate the news production workflow
between a Profile Video Server, NewsEdit, and optionally a newsroom
computer system. You can also use NewsQ Pro as a manual control system for
Profile Video Servers.

By using NewsQ Pro with a Profile Video Server for news playout you can
effectively replace four to six tape machines. NewsQ Pro displays each channel
simultaneously and you can control playout with a keyboard and mouse.

NewsQ Pro consists of seven software components:

•Main NewsQ Pro application

•Assignment List Plug-in

•Assignment List Manager

•Housekeeper utility

•SDB Server

• Thumbnail Server

• XMOS Server

Each component plays a different role in the newsroom workflow and is
introduced later in this chapter.

2 Digital News Production

Terms You Should Know

To use NewsQ Pro effectively and efficiently, you should become familiar with
these terms:

Term Definition

Clip A piece of media you can edit, containing video, audio, or both.

Once a sequence is sent from a NewsEdit workstation to a Profile Video Server
it becomes a clip again. All clips and subclips merge into one clip.

Terms You Should Know

Placeholder An item (in the NewsQ Pro Assignment List Plug-in or the Assignment List

Script The textual information for a news story in the newsroom computer system

Sequence Edited media, consisting of different clips and subclips edited using the

Story The story — a collection of clips, sequences, and scripts — is the complete

Manager) reserved for a clip that doesn’t yet exist or is not complete. Clips are
linked in the playlist and played to air.

(NCS) rundown. Scripts can also reference electronic media, such as clips from
the Profile Video Server.

NewsEdit editing system.

news segment that plays to air.

Digital News Production 3

Chapter 1 Introducing NewsQ Pro

Using NewsQ Pro in Your Newsroom

Newsrooms can use NewsQ Pro in two ways:

• To create playlists by linking to a newsroom computer system (NCS)

• To create playlists manually in NewsQ Pro

Linking to a Newsroom Computer System (NCS)

The most efficient way to use NewsQ Pro is with a newsroom computer system
such as the Associated Press Electronic News Production System (ENPS) or
Avid iNews. The producer uses the newsroom computer system to create
rundowns for news shows and links clips created in NewsEdit to rundown
scripts. After the clips are complete, the playback operator uses NewsQ Pro to
play out the clips to air.

Incoming

Feeds

Ethernet LAN

Ingest Profile

Fibre

NewsEdit™ with

Assignment List

ENPS Server and

MOS Gateway

Fibre Channel Switch

ENPS Client with

NewsQ™ Pro Plug-in

Video/Audio Routing System

NewsQ™ Pro

Playout Profile

RS422

On-Air

Transmission

4 Digital News Production

Linking to a Newsroom Computer System (NCS)

A typical newsroom workflow using a newsroom computer system (NCS) is:

• The news producer creates a rundown using NCS

• The news producer uses the NewsQ Pro Assignment List Plug-in to:

-Create placeholders for scripts that require clips

-Assign placeholders to editors

- Link placeholders to scripts in the rundown

• The news producer assigns playback channels within the NCS rundown

• The news editor creates sequences for assignments using NewsEdit

• The news editor uses the NewsQ Pro Assignment List Manager to:

-Receive assignments from the producer

-Create additional clip placeholders

-Reassign placeholders to other editors

- Send completed clips to a Profile Video Server

• The playback operator uses the main NewsQ Pro application to:

-Open the producer’s rundown playlist

-Assign clips to specific channels for playback

-Rearrange, insert, or delete clips prior to broadcast if necessary

- Play back clips during the news broadcast

Digital News Production 5

Chapter 1 Introducing NewsQ Pro

Creating a Playlist Manually

Newsrooms without MOS-compatible NCSs can also use the NewsQ Pro
application to manually create rundowns and playlists.

After creating playlists, using placeholders to link to clips created in NewsEdit,
you can cue and play the clips for broadcast.

Incoming

Feeds

Ethernet LAN

Ingest Profile

Fibre

NewsEdit™ with

Assignment List

Fibre Channel Switch

Video/Audio Routing System

NewsQ™ Pro

Playout Profile

RS422

On-Air

Transmission

6 Digital News Production

Creating a Playlist Manually

A typical newsroom workflow using NewsQ Pro to create playlists is:

• The news producer creates a rundown

• The news editor creates sequences for assignments using NewsEdit

• The news producer uses the NewsQ Pro Assignment List Manager to:

-Create placeholders for clips

-Assign placeholders to editors

• The news editor uses the NewsQ Pro Assignment List Manager to:

-Create placeholders for clips

-Reassign placeholders to other editors

- Send completed clips to a Profile Video Server

• The playback operator uses the main NewsQ Pro application to:

-Create a new playlist and rundown using the scripts from the producer and
the clip database

-Assign clips to specific channels for playback

-Rearrange, insert, or delete clips prior to broadcast if necessary

- Play back clips during the news broadcast

Digital News Production 7

Chapter 1 Introducing NewsQ Pro

Tour of NewsQ Pro and Plug-ins

NewsQ Pro consists of several components to allow newsrooms to coordinate
news playback with a Profile Video Server and a NewsEdit workstation.

The NewsQ Pro Application

Playback operators use the main NewsQ Pro application to control playlists
before and during news broadcasts and to create new playlists.

Playlist

Toolbar

Clip
Browser

Rundowns

Playlist
Overview

Channels

Chapter 5, “Playing Clips to Air,” describes the NewsQ Pro application.

8 Digital News Production

The Assignment List Plug-in

Producers use the NewsQ Pro Assignment List Plug-in to create placeholders
for clips and to coordinate electronic news stories with ENPS or iNews
rundown scripts. The Assignment List Plug-in integrates with the ENPS and
iNews applications.

The Assignment List Plug-in

Chapter 3, “NCS Rundowns and NewsQ Pro,” describes the Assignment List
Plug-in.

Digital News Production 9

Chapter 1 Introducing NewsQ Pro

The Assignment List Manager

Editors use the Assignment List Manager to receive assignments from the
producer, to create additional placeholders for clips, to reassign placeholders to
other editors, and to send completed clips to a Profile Video Server.

The Assignment List Manager runs on the NewsEdit workstation and integrates
with NewsEdit — the NewsEdit toolbar displays part of the Assignment List
Manager so editors can see at a glance how many stories need video. Opening
the Assignment List Manager provides more detail on specific stories.

Chapter 4, “Editing and NewsQ Pro,” describes the Assignment List Manager.

10 Digital News Production

The Housekeeper Utility

Playback operators use the Housekeeper utility to remove files from the clip
database and to import files from Profile Video Servers. The Housekeeper
utility typically runs on the computer with the main NewsQ Pro main
application, though it can be installed on another computer if necessary.

The Housekeeper Utility

Chapter 6, “Managing Clips,” describes the Housekeeper utility.

Digital News Production 11

Chapter 1 Introducing NewsQ Pro

Simple Database Server (SDB) Server

The SDB Server provides newsroom staff with status on all NewsQ Pro
playlists associated with ENPS or iNews rundowns. The SDB Server typically
runs on the same computer as the main NewsQ Pro application and on the
system hosting the hot standby backup database, usually a Profile Video Server.

Activity within the
NewsQ Pro database

Connection status Tests the system

Chapter 7, “Understanding the Server Components,” describes the SDB Server.

Activity within rundowns

12 Digital News Production

Thumbnail Server

The Thumbnail Server displays connection status to the Profile Media Server(s)
and creates thumbnails for MPEG clips. The Thumbnail Server typically runs
on a Profile Server for flexibility, but can run on the same computer as the other
NewsQ Pro Server Components.

Thumbnail Server

Chapter 7, “Understanding the Server Components,” describes the Thumbnail
Server.

Digital News Production 13

Chapter 1 Introducing NewsQ Pro

XMOS Server

The XMOS Server displays the communication between the Newsroom
Computer System and NewsQ Pro. It typically runs on the same computer as
the other NewsQ Pro Server Components, Housekeeper and the SDB Server.

Chapter 7, “Understanding the Server Components,” describes the XMOS
Server.

14 Digital News Production

Chapter

22

Installing and Configuring NewsQ Pro

NewsQ Pro consists of several plug-ins and server components in addition to
the main application. You need to install and configure each component.

This chapter discusses how to:

• Install NewsQ Pro software, including components and plug-ins

•Configure these components:

-NewsQ Pro application

-SDB Server

- Thumbnail Server

- XMOS Server

-Housekeeper Utility

-Assignment List Manager

Digital News Production 15

Chapter 2 Installing and Configuring NewsQ Pro

Installing NewsQ Pro and Components

The various NewsQ Pro components reside on multiple computers. The
following table indicates where each component is typically installed:

Component Machine where you install it...

NewsQ Pro application NewsQ Pro computer
Thumbnail Server
NewsQ Pro Server

Components, which includes:

• Housekeeper

• XMOS Server

• SDB Server
Assignment List Manager Non-NCS computers, usually used by Newsroom Producers.
Assignment List Plugin All NCS client computers. See “Installing the Assignment List

Hot Standby Database Server Optional; install on a PC on the same network as the NewsQ

Plug-in” on page 18 for specific installation instructions.

Pro computer.

Because you must configure some components with the locations of other
components, you should plan your overall installation before beginning.

To install the NewsQ Pro application and its components:

1. Insert the NewsQ Pro CD into the CD-ROM drive.

2. Navigate to the CD and double-click

NewsQ Pro 1.5.exe.

16 Digital News Production