Broadcasters have more competition than ever before in the news category and the stakes are high to keep viewers’ eyes on the screen. Breaking news becomes old news faster than ever as broadcasters strive to keep up with each other, the 24-hour news cycle and social media journalists. Grass Valley, a Belden Brand, understands that as the news environment changes, broadcast equipment must change as well to adapt to mobile studios, new media platforms including digital and social, and the growing use of user-generated content (UGC). The newly upgraded GV STRATUS 5.7, EDIUS 8.5 and Ignite v10 are designed to meet these shifting customer needs.
“If you picture a news broadcast 25 years ago you probably imagine one reporter sitting at a desk, reading to a camera on the five o’clock program. In a very short time news has exploded from a half hour broadcast to 24-hour coverage on TV, digital and social, including up-to-the-minute data and real-time graphics.” said Neerav Shah, sr. VP of strategic marketing, Grass Valley. “Broadcasters have a lot to consider to keep viewers engaged and we’re always considering those same factors to optimize our news solutions for their needs.”
As news breaks, broadcasters require flexible, collaborative solutions to keep up with the pace and create quality programming. The latest upgrade to GV STRATUS adds powerful transcoding options to the world-class video and workflow orchestration platform. The XRE Transcoder is now fully integrated into GV STRATUS, enabling broadcasters to ingest a wide range of UGC, leveraging the concept of “edit anything,” a philosophy that has been a unique feature of Grass Valley’s EDIUS platform for over a decade. GV STRATUS 5.7 also introduces a new web application for desktop and mobile. Why does this matter? It’s simple, with GV STRATUS you can use “Any Media on Any Device.”
Even breaking news programs require editing before broadcast. EDIUS Pro and EDIUS Workgroup are now faster than ever and able to export, decode and add metadata in more formats than before. Among other usability improvements, the editing platform now includes “PQ Gamma” support of Primary Color Collection video filter for High Dynamic Range (HDR) editing. EDIUS 8.5’s companion personal content management tool, Mync, has also been enhanced to feature more storyboard export options.
Ignite v10 brings more flexibility where breaking and unscripted productions are concerned and now supports a completely customizable UI, letting users configure a unique layout for every show. Additionally, Ignite PT (Persistent Templates) allow operators to make last minute changes to production events directly inside the Ignite rundown, removing the need to go to the NRCS for changing live broadcasts. The Ignite playlist has been redesigned with speed in mind, featuring lightning-fast playlist updates – less than one second regardless of rundown size. The combination of these and other version 10 enhancements means that Ignite is the only solution on the market which can handle scripted, unscripted, and chaotic productions where change is a constant.
“Today’s broadcasters are expected to meet the news where it’s happening, when it’s happening, knowing that the next big story is just around the corner” added Shah. “Grass Valley consistently provides fast and flexible workflow, editing and asset management tools, giving them more capabilities in the field so they can package and distribute stories quickly.”
The competitive edge of broadcast news makes it critical to work faster and smarter on the scene. Through better management of assets, better integration of metadata and better ability to deliver content to multiple platforms, Grass Valley is helping broadcasters improve the experience for loyal viewers.
Grass Valley is demonstrating its news solutions at NAB in booth SL106.
