Pinnacle Systems iNews ControlAir - 1.0.5 User Manual

iNEWS ControlAir

User Manual

Version 1.0.5

™

Product specifications are subject to change without notice and do not represent a commitment on the part of Avid Technology, Inc. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement. You can obtain a copy of that license by visiting Avid's Web site at www.avid.com. The terms of that license are also available in the product in the same directory as the software. The software may not be reverse assembled and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the license agreement. It is against the law to copy the software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the license agreement. Avid products or por tions thereof are protected by one or more of the following United States patents: 4,746,994; 4,970,663; 5,045,940; 5,063,448; 5,077,604; 5,245,432; 5,267,351; 5,309,528; 5,325,200; 5,355,450; 5,396,594; 5,440,348; 5,452,378; 5,467,288; 5,513,375; 5,528,310; 5,557,423; 5,568,275; 5,577,190; 5,583,496; 5,584,006; 5,627,765; 5,634,020; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; 5,701,404; 5,715,018; 5,719,570; 5,724,605; 5,726,717; 5,729,673; 5,731,819; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,180; 5,754,851; 5,781,188; 5,799,150; 5,812,216; 5,828,678; 5,842,014; 5,852,435; 5,883,670; 5,889,532; 5,892,507; 5,905,841; 5,912,675; 5,929,836; 5,929,942; 5,930,445; 5,930,797; 5,946,445; 5,966,134; 5,977,982; 5,986,584; 5,987,501; 5,995,079; 5,995,115; 5,999,190; 5,999,406; 6,009,507; 6,011,562; 6,014,150; 6,016,152; 6,016,380; 6,018,337; 6,023,531; 6,023,703; 6,031,529; 6,035,367; 6,038,573; 6,052,508; 6,058,236; 6,061,758; 6,072,796; 6,084,569; 6,091,422; 6,091,778; 6,105,083; 6,118,444; 6,128,001; 6,128,681; 6,130,676; 6,134,379; 6,134,607; 6,137,919; 6,141,007; 6,141,691; 6,154,221; 6,157,929; 6,160,548; 6,161,115; 6,167,404; 6,174,206; 6,192,388; 6,198,477; 6,208,357; 6,211,869; 6,212,197; 6,215,485; 6,223,211; 6,226,005; 6,226,038; 6,229,576; 6,239,815; 6,249,280; 6,269,195; 6,271,829; 6,301,105; 6,310,621; 6,314,403; 6,317,142; 6,317,153; 6,317,515; D352,278; D372,478; D373,778; D392,267; D392,268; D392,269; D395,291; D396,853; D398,912. Additional U.S. and foreign patents pending. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the express written permission of Avid Technology, Inc.

The following disclaimer is required by Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics, Inc. for the use of their TIFF library:

Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software [i.e., the TIFF library] and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that (i) the above copyright notices and this permission notice appear in all copies of the software and related documentation, and (ii) the names of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics may not be used in any advertising or publicity relating to the software without the specific, prior written permission of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS-IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL SAM LEFFLER OR SILICON GRAPHICS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGE, AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

The following disclaimer is required by the Independent JPEG Group:

Portions of this software are based on work of the Independent JPEG Group.

The following disclaimer is required by Ray Sauers Associates, Inc.:

“Install-It” is licensed from Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. End-User is prohibited from taking any action to derive a source code equivalent of “Install-It,” including by reverse assembly or reverse compilation, Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. shall in no event be liable for any damages resulting from reseller’s failure to perform reseller’s obligation; or any damages arising from use or operation of reseller’s products or the software; or any other damages, including but not limited to, incidental, direct, indirect, special or consequential Damages including lost profits, or damages resulting from loss of use or inability to use reseller’s products or the software for any reason including copyright or patent infringement, or lost data, even if Ray Sauers Associates has been advised, knew or should have known of the possibility of such damages.

The following disclaimer is required by Videomedia, Inc.:

“Videomedia, Inc. makes no warranties whatsoever, either express or implied, regarding this product, including warranties with respect to its merchantability or its fitness for any particular purpose.”

“This software contains V-LAN ver. 3.0 Command Protocols which communicate with V-LAN ver. 3.0 products developed by Videomedia, Inc. and V-LAN ver. 3.0 compatible products developed by third parties under license from Videomedia, Inc. Use of this software will allow “frame accurate” editing control of applicable videotape recorder decks, videodisc recorders/players and the like.”

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U.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS. This Software and its documentation are “commercial computer software” or “commercial computer software documentation.” In the event that such Software or documentation is acquired by or on behalf of a unit or agency of the U.S. Government, all rights with respect to this Software and documentation are subject to the terms of the License Agreement, pursuant to FAR §12.212(a) and/or DFARS §227.7202-1(a), as applicable.

Trademarks

AirPlay, AudioVision, Avid, Avid Xpress, CamCutter, Digidesign, FieldPak, Film Composer, HIIP, Image Independence, Marquee, Media Composer, Media Recorder, NewsCutter, OMF, OMF Interchange, Open Media Framework, Pro Tools, and Softimage are registered trademarks and 888 I/O, AirSPACE, AirSPACE HD, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AutoSync, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, AvidNet, Avid Production Network, AvidProNet, AvidProNet.com, AVIDstripe, Avid Unity, AVX, DAE, D-Fi, D-fx, Digidesign Audio Engine, DINR, D-Verb, ExpertRender, FilmScribe, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, Intraframe, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, Lo-Fi, Magic Mask, make manage move | media, Matador, Maxim, MCXpress, MEDIArray, MediaDock, MediaDock Shuttle, Media Fusion, Media Illusion, MediaLog, Media Reader, MediaShare, Meridien, NaturalMatch, NetReview, OMM, Open Media Management, ProEncode, QuietDrive, R&A, Recti-Fi, Review & Approval, rS9, rS18, Sci-Fi, Sound Designer II, SPACE, SPACEShift, Symphony, Trilligent, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Video Slave Driver, and VideoSPACE are trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc.

ControlAir, iNEWS, and Media Browse are trademarks of iNews, LLC.

iNEWS ControlAir™ User Manual Version 1.0.5

Part 0130-05583-01 Rev. A

November 8, 2002

(bbl)

Contents

Using This Manual

Who Should Use This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

If You Need Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Related Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

If You Have Documentation Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

How to Order Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

Chapter 1 The iNEWS ControlAir™ System Overview

Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Links to Other Newsroom Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

System Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

ControlAir Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

ControlAir Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

casvr.exe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

AMCPapp.exe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

camgr.exe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Device Managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

ControlAir Workstation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Monitor Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

ControlAir Work Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Monitor Mode - ON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Monitor Mode - LOAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Chapter 2 Machine Control Events

iNEWS Workspace Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Inserting Machine Control Events into Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Character Generator (CG) and Still Store (SS) Styles . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Video Playback Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Chapter 3 The Monitor Server Utility Program

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Using the Monitor Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Monitor LOAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Monitor Off and Unload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Quit Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Event List Queue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Composite Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Correcting Errors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Chapter 4 ControlAir Workstation

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

The ControlAir User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Optional Alternative ControlAir Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Using the ControlAir Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Reserving a Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Understanding the Event List & Event List Status . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Controlling Events Through Devices in a Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Making On-Air Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Releasing a Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Playlist is Not Received . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Red Event Display Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Device Polling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Chapter 5 ControlAir Configuration & Customization

Opening and Saving User Configured Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Changing Default User Preference Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Fonts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Channel Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Rescan Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Event Display Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Using This Manual

Congratulations on your purchase of your Avid ControlAir system. You can use your system to create broadcast-quality output incorporating every possible production element from full-speed, high-resolution footage, to multimedia artwork and animation, to computer-generated effects and titling.

This publication provides information on how to use the ControlAir system.

The documentation describes the features and hardware of all models. Therefore, your system might not contain certain features and hardware that are covered in the documentation.

Who Should Use This Manual

This manual is written for journalists, producers, directors, writers, and various technical personnel responsible for using the ControlAir system in a broadcast newsroom.This manual is intended for all ControlAir users, from beginning to advanced.

It is strongly recommended that system users have prior experience in or classroom knowledge of the Windows 2000 or NT® operating system.

Using This Manual

About This Manual

This manual will lead you through even the most complex procedures with task-oriented instructions, illustrated for a more realistic presentation of the actual icons and images you will encounter. The information provides basic user procedures, while adding a complete explanation of all the tools and techniques required to create, apply, and adjust various settings, including useful tips, shortcuts, and custom options.

The Table of Contents that precedes this preface lists all topics included in the book. They are presented with the following overall structure:The Contents lists all topics included in the book. They are presented with the following overall structure:

• The Introduction helps you get oriented with beginning concepts and general workflow and provides valuable pointers to keep in the back of your mind as you proceed.

• The main body of the manual follows the natural flow of your work, with clear and comprehensive step-by-step procedures.

• At the back of the book is a comprehensive Glossary, providing crossindustry terms and definitions.

• Finally, a detailed Index helps you quickly locate specific topics.

This manual provides instruction for your system in the following areas:

• System Architecture & Dataflow

• iNEWS Machine Control Instructions

• The Monitor Server Utility Program

• The ControlAir Workstation

• Configuration and Customization of ControlAir

Use this manual for help in using your system after you have installed ControlAir components according to requirements and specifications. Before installing any equipment, the site must already have a configured network.

Symbols and Conventions

Unless noted otherwise, the material in this document applies to the Windows 2000 operating system.

The ControlAir documentation uses the following special symbols and conventions:

1. Numbered lists, when the order of the items is important.

a. Alphabetical lists, when the order of secondary items is important.

• Bulleted lists, when the order of the items is unimportant.

- Indented dashed lists, when the order of secondary items is unimportant.

One arrow indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple arrows in a list indicate that you perform one of the actions listed.

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

Symbols and Conventions

Look here in the margin for tips.

In the margin, you will find tips that help you perform tasks more easily and efficiently.

A note provides important related information, reminders, recommendations, and strong suggestions.

A caution means that a specific action you take could cause harm to your computer or cause you to lose data.

A warning describes an action that could cause you physical harm. Follow the guidelines in this manual or on the unit itself when handling electrical equipment.

Cross references are provided throughout this manual to give readers locations where additional—sometimes more detailed—information on a certain topic can be found. In some cases, the chapter name and number is provided. In most cases, a page number is given.

For instance: See “ControlAir Work Flow” on page 8

Using This Manual

See “About This Manual” on page iv for more information on what chapters are in which sections of this manual.

In this example, information on work flows through a ControlAir system can be found on page 8 of this manual. Chapters are numbered consecutively with page numbers continued from the previous chapter. Keyboard Conventions

Ctrl+x means to press and hold down the Control key and then press another key on the keyboard, represented here by x. This is also used for other key+combinations, such as Alt+x or Shift+x.

“Type” in a command procedure means to type the command on the command line and then “press” the Enter key.

“Select” means to choose an operation on a menu.

“Click” means to click the left mouse button, usually in response to a dialog box. “Right-click” means to click the right mouse button.

If You Need Help

If you are having trouble using ControlAir, you should:

1. Repeat the procedure, carefully following the instructions provided for the task in this guide.

2. Refer to the documentation included with your hardware to review the maintenance procedures or the hardware-related issues.

3. Check the Support section of Avid’s Web site at http://www.avid.com/support/ for online technical publications and additional telephone support phone numbers.

4. Maintenance Agreement contract customers can contact Av id Broadcast Customer Support personnel at any of these 24-hour global telephone numbers:

• 1 800 639 7364 in the Americas

• 44 1256 814222 in Europe, Africa, and Mid-East

(All Broadcast products, ex ce p t Ne ws-

view)

• 61 2 9963 2895 in Asia/Pacific Or online:

•e-mail support@inewsroom.com

• http://www.avid.com/support/contact.html

For general information, call your local Avid reseller or in North America call the Avid Broadcast Customer Relations desk at 1-800-869-7009.

Related Information

Contact your Avid Sales representative for documentation and information on other Avid system, Media Browse AirSPACE

products, such as the iNEWS™ newsroom computer

™

, and so forth.

™

, EditStar™, LeaderPlus™, MOS Gateway,

If You Have Documentation Comments

The Avid Broadcast Technical Publications department continually seeks to improve its documentation. We value your comments about this manual or other Avid-supplied documentation.

Send your documentation comments by e-mail to:

techpubs_wi@avid.com

Include the title of the document, its part number, revision, and the specific section that you are commenting on in all correspondence. Please include the title of the document, its part number, revision, and the specific section you are commenting on in all correspondence.

vii

Using This Manual

How to Order Documentation

To order additional copies of this documentation from within the United States, call the Avid Sales department at 1-608-274-8686. If you are placing an order from outside the United States, contact your local Avid Sales representative.

viii

Chapter 1

The iNEWS ControlAir System Overview

This chapter contains the following major sections:

• Overview

• System Architecture

• ControlAir Work Flow

™

Chapter 1 The iNEWS ControlAir™ System Overview

Overview

The iNEWS ControlAir system is a machine control system for on-air operations, which can be integrated into the iNEWS newsroom computer system, or into another newsroom computer system. It can also operate in a standalone environment if the iNEWS connection is lost.

A ControlAir system normally consists of a server, one or more workstations, and several Device Managers (DMs). Also, ControlAir:

• Directly controls production devices

• Receives information from the iNEWS Workstation as control events are entered into production cues in scripts

• Handles several shows simultaneously, while enabling shows to be produced back-to-back, with only a few seconds between them

Windows-based workstations, with Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs), allow production personnel to control events on the ControlAir Server.

Links to Other Newsroom Products

The iNEWS ControlAir system also provides efficient links to other Avid products for additional scripting and video capabilities, such as Digital News Gathering (DNG), a disk-based production system, which stores digital video, audio, and graphics data in a single central library. That data is then accessible by workstations for recording, editing, and playback. Another feature is the iNEWS CG Title Entry, which enables newsroom personnel to simulate character-generated graphics on the iNEWS Workstation.

The iNEWS product set is constructed on a modular, open architecture, enabling its components to work efficiently not only with other Avid products, but also with third-party hardware and software. The iNEWS newsroom computer system operates on industry-standard technologies, including Windows Silicon Graphics protocols.

-based operating systems, Intel®-based PCs, Intel and

-based servers, and TCP/IP Internet networking

Avid publishes open Applications Programming Interfaces (APIs) for ControlAir that enables integration with third-party software and hardware.

System Architecture

There are three groups of software in the iNEWS ControlAir system.

• The ControlAir Server (which includes the casvr.exe and AMCPapp.exe executable programs)

•Device Managers (DMs)

• ControlAir Workstation

Typically, ControlAir Server software and device managers are installed on the ControlAir Server, while the ControlAir Workstation is installed on computers in each of the control rooms where ControlAir will be operated.

ControlAir architecture consists of:

System Architecture

• ControlAir Server

- Avid Machine Control Protocol application (AMCPapp.exe)

- ControlAir Server application (casvr.exe)

- ControlAir Manager application (camgr.exe)

•Device Managers

• ControlAir Workstation(s)

• The monitor server utility program - running on the iNEWS Server.

ControlAir software can be installed on either the Mirror Net or the House Net of the iNEWS hosts. If ControlAir components need access to other station networking services than just iNEWS Servers, then they should be placed on the House network. In either case, static IP addresses and local hosts files should be used for all ControlAir components.

Chapter 1 The iNEWS ControlAir™ System Overview

ControlAir Components

There are several components that make up the ControlAir system, including the ControlAir Server program (casvr.exe), AMCP application (AMCPapp.exe), ControlAir Manager program (camgr.exe), device managers, and ControlAir Workstation, which are explained in this section.

ControlAir Server

The ControlAir Server is a computer that runs the casvr.exe, AMCPapp.exe, and camgr.exe programs, as well as any device

managers (DMs) that are controlled by that server. It is also possible to run ControlAir Workstation software on this computer, if desired, but it is not required. For more information on hardware requirements for the ControlAir Server, see the iNEWS ControlAir Installation and Operations Manual.

casvr.exe

The executable program called casvr.exe is the central program that runs on the ControlAir Server.

The ControlAir Server program:

• Routes status and messages between AMCPapp.exe, device

managers, and ControlAir Workstations

• Creates and manages playlists and downloads them to their respective devices

• Tracks which components have playlists and devices reserved

• Directs control commands from ControlAir Workstation to the appropriate device manager (DM).

If ControlAir Server program (casvr.exe) fails or is stopped, other components, such as DMs, must also be restarted. If the ControlAir Manager program is set up, it will monitor the ControlAir Server program and components and restart them should they stop running. Each DM will reconnect at start up to the ControlAir Server and to the device(s) it controls. If ControlAir Manager is not used,

System Architecture

components of the ControlAir system must be restarted manually. Any playlists loaded at the time the ControlAir Server program is stopped should be reloaded after the program is restarted.

AMCPapp.exe

The executable program called AMCPapp.exe is the interface between Avid’s iNEWS newsroom computer system and the ControlAir Server running casvr.exe. It translates Avid Machine Control Protocol (AMCP) data coming in from iNEWS—or other newsroom computer system—into data that the ControlAir system can manage.

camgr.exe

The executable program named camgr.exe is known as the ControlAir Manager. It monitors ControlAir components, including device managers, on the ControlAir Server. If a component stops running, the ControlAir Manager will restart it automatically.

Device Managers

ControlAir Manager can also monitor third-party device managers.

A device manager (DM) is an executable program that connects directly or via the network to casvr.exe. When the connection is made to casvr.exe, the DM will accept playlists from iNEWS and commands from ControlAir Workstation. Although DMs can run on other computers, Avid recommends they be installed on the ControlAir Server—the same computer running the casvr.exe program.

Each DM is designed to control a specific machine. For instance, LouthDM.exe is a DM designed to control any video server that correctly supports the Louth video device control protocol (VDCP)—such as Avid’s AirSPACE series of video servers.

There are existing DMs that allow the ControlAir operator to control the following machine types used for broadcast production:

• Character Generator (CG)

Chapter 1 The iNEWS ControlAir™ System Overview

• Still stores

• Video playback devices

ControlAir Workstation

See Chapter 4 for more information.

Monitor Server

See Chapter 3 for more information.

The ControlAir Workstation provides the operator with a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that allows control of broadcast events. From the ControlAir Workstation, the ControlAir operator can view playlists that have been downloaded from iNEWS, get device and event status, and control the broadcast production devices.

The ControlAir Workstation software can run on the same computer as the casvr.exe program, or on a separate computer.

The monitor server is not an actual part of ControlAir software, but is a utility program on the iNEWS Server. For ControlAir, it is used to scan stories in the rundown, searching for machine control events to build event lists (playlists) for the production devices. It continues monitoring the rundown for changes to machine control events and sends them to the ControlAir system until the show goes off the air.

System Architecture

Figure 1 depicts how connections are made from iNEWS, through the

AMCP application (AMCPapp.exe), to the ControlAir Server program (casvr.exe), then to the ControlAir Workstation, device managers, and devices

Still Store,

CG, Cart, & other Video

Devices

ControlAir

Workstation

ControlAir

Workstation

ControlAir

Workstation

N NN

iNEWS

newsroom computer system

Network Serial

AMCP

Application

ControlAir

Server Application (casvr.exe)

ControlAir

Workstation

Device

Manager

Device

Manager

Device

Manager

Device

Manager

Communication between

Still Store

CharacterGenerator

programs in computer

Figure 1 ControlAir Component Associations

MCS-PC

Video

Chapter 1 The iNEWS ControlAir™ System Overview

ControlAir Work Flow

After the news staff has entered machine control events in scripts, the producer can download rundowns to ControlAir using the monitor server in iNEWS.

See Chapter 2 for more information.

Monitor Mode - ON

For more information on creating monitor servers, see the iNEWS ControlAir Installation and Operations Manual.

From the ControlAir Workstation, production personnel, such as the ControlAir operator, can access playlists for downloaded rundowns and control associated production devices to cue, play, and stop the production events requested.

When your newsroom staff builds a show, they insert special keywords into scripts, known as machine control events. These items include a word to identify the specific machine or a machine type, such as CG or SS, and some information to indicate what they want that machine to display.

The following example shows a machine control event that instructs the character generator to display two lines of text using a saved template named LOC2:

*CG LOC2 Bob Willhouser Washington DC

See Chapter 3 for more information.

When the monitor server is turned on—usually by the producer, from the iNEWS Workstation’s Tools menu—it will read all machine control events in the rundown and build playlists, also known as event lists, for each device.

After the monitor server is turned on, it continues to monitor the rundown, examining every saved story for deleted, new, or updated events in the playlist.

The monitor server performs as much error checking as it can without communicating with any broadcast equipment.

ControlAir Work Flow

The iNEWS ControlAir system is not yet involved. Playlists can be printed and distributed to the equipment operators, who can control devices, such as the CG, using traditional methods.

Figure 2 shows communication paths after the monitor server is turned on

from the iNEWS Workstation.

For more information about iNEWS utility programs known as monitor servers, see the iNEWS ControlAir Installation and Operations Manual.

Chapter 1 The iNEWS ControlAir™ System Overview

AMCPapp

Protocol converter

Maintains link to each loaded monitor server

casvr.exe

Retains all loaded playlists,

playlist & event status,

status of attached DM and

ControlAir workstations. Distributes Commands,

updated status, event

changes & messages.

iNEWS Monitor

Servers

ON: Watch for added,

deleted, or Modified

Machine Control Events

LOAD: Send playlists and

updates to ControlAir

MCSDM

MCSPC

Monitor Commands

(ON, LOAD, UNLOAD, OFF)

(progress, errors, warnings)

Any MCS Legacy

Playbackdevice

Messages

Rundown & Event List queues

System Map & Resource queues

Workstations

iNEWS DB

iNEWS Software

Monitor Server

MCSPC Legacy Drivers

iNEWS

ControlAir

Workstations

Chyron DM

Chyron

Leitch DM

Louth DM

10base-T

ASC 300's

RS-422

Video Servers

Figure 2 Monitor Mode - ON Communication Paths

Monitor Mode - LOAD

As air time nears and the newsroom staff completes the rundown, someone—usually the producer or equipment (ControlAir) operator—will instruct the monitor server to load the playlist into the ControlAir system (via the AMCP application program). See the iNEWS ControlAir Installation and Operations Manual.

As the rundown is downloaded to the ControlAir Server, the casvr.exe program loads it to the ControlAir Workstation, and loads individual event lists or playlists to the appropriate device manager (DM). That DM establishes a connection to the device (if it has not already done so) and begins its assigned task, such as inserting CG text, checking for availability of video clips, and so forth.

Each DM sends to the ControlAir Server program (casvr.exe) the status of devices and individual playlists, such as whether video is available, and so forth. The ControlAir Server then forwards the data to the ControlAir Workstation and iNEWS monitor server (via AMCPApp.exe). Error messages are returned to the iNEWS user who loaded the rundown and the ControlAir operator. The monitor server also displays status for video clips, such as whether the clip is available, into stories in the rundown and event lists located in the iNEWS database.

ControlAir Work Flow

The ControlAir operator may now take control of the playback devices and take the show to air.

Figure 3 shows communication paths after the monitor server is instructed

to load playlists, commands, status, and user messages between ControlAir components; note the direction of flow for the four different kinds of data.

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