 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
|||
Fail-Safe Commercial Spot Automation with 360 Systems Server and Argentem User Report from:
WKPT-DT is Tennessee’s first digital television station. In addition to the main station on Channel 19, we also broadcast SD programming over WAPK-TV Channel 36. We operate all programming and commercial spot servers for both stations from the main broadcasting center in Kingsport, TN. Until late last year, we utilized a 1997-vintage video server for commercial spots. It met the needs sufficiently well when first purchased, but began to fail in 2006. One of our challenges was that the server manufacturer no longer offered replacement parts at a reasonable price; e.g. the price for 9 GB replacement hard drives was in the $900 range. In a short period of time we endured two catastrophic failures with this equipment, hanging us out in a painful way. As there was no way to back up the old server, we decided to purchase a used one of the same model to get up and running again. This worked for another six months. EQUIPMENT SELECTION We clearly needed to make a permanent upgrade, but didn’t want to spend big dollars to replace the old system with a new model from the same manufacturer. Our budget for a new spot server was $40,000 - less than half the cost of a new server of the same brand. In the two years prior to this occurrence, 360 Systems had been calling to educate us about their Image Server line. Because the company had a strong reputation for dependability, we were evaluating their product for program servers, but hadn’t yet made the decision to purchase. So when the urgent requirement for a spot server presented itself, the Image Server’s dependability factor combined with an amazingly attractive price point was a key factor steering our choice. While evaluating various servers, it was clear that the 360 Image Server provided the channel and storage capacity and reliability we were looking for, but the standard playlist software didn’t include certain features we needed for spot server use, specifically the reconciliation capability and other functions for billing. We evaluated other servers - all in the $80K plus range - and found it was the price of the software that made the other products so expensive. We got very excited about the ability of Argentem Artist to interface with our traffic system and the Argus automation program without needing to write any original software - simply using data that the automation systems already produces. The functionality, reliability, and price point of the combined 360 Systems Image Server and Argentem automation solution was a blockbuster find. At our target budget, we would be able to purchase two Image Servers, a primary and a backup, along with the Argentem Argus and Artist software. We acquired the two 360 servers, and Argentem provided us with the software on a trial basis. As we started experimenting with Argus Model100, it worked well as designed but didn’t have all the functions we wanted for commercial spot server automation. The Argentem team worked closely with us to make modifications to accommodate our needs; once completed and tested, we moved ahead and finalized the purchase. For less than our target budget of $40,000, we were able to acquire two servers that provide 70 hours storage capacity on each, and a fully-automated spot server that automatically updates traffic and billing logs as the commercial spots run. In contrast, on a good day our old server gave us 13 hours of total capacity. STREAMLINED WORKFLOW The new workflow at WKPT-DT/WAPK-DT goes like this: Traffic creates the commercial schedules and downloads them directly to the Argentem Artist, which extracts the spot schedules and reformats them for automation; the spot schedules are refreshed daily. Schedules are loaded for the network affiliate stations WKPT and WAPK in addition to one digital plus channel into both servers. We have two PCs loaded with the Argentem software, giving us complete backup and redundancy. In the event that one of the servers goes down, Flash XP transfers the playlist and content to the other server – a simple matter of highlighting the list of spots to transfer, and a quick mouse click. The 360 Systems Image Server has proven very simple and easy to use for ingesting content. It has three channels, one for record and two for playback; we use channel 1 for ingest, with tapes and satellite feeds to ingest commercials. MORE BENEFIT, LESS INVESTMENT The major benefits we realized with the 360 Systems Image Servers and the Argentem automation software is an increase of five times the capacity versus our previous solution, along with full backup and redundancy for fail-safe operation. As an added protection, we plan to purchase another hard drive as a third backup, added insurance that in the future we won’t lose our commercial playout files. In the coming year we’re looking at 360 Systems for another program server for our digital plus channel. We’re also looking at adding more automation in 2007. Our current program server is dependable but does not deliver the superior image quality of the 360 Systems Image Server. Bobby Flowers is the Production Manager for WKPT-DT 19 and WAPK-TV 39 in Kingsport, TN. He may be contacted at bobbyf@wkpttv.com. For additional information: Jim Peacher at 360 Systems 818-735-8221 or www.360systems.com; Jim Moneyhun at Argentem 775-322-7436 or www.argentem.com.
|
||||
 |
||||
One of the most costly failures for a television broadcaster is not airing commercials. It means revenue loss and the high cost of make-goods. Last year our station, WKPT-DT/WAPK-DT, had to pay the price for a catastrophic system failure, and as a result we installed a far more robust and dependable video server solution for less money than expected.
During this period we were introduced to Argentem, a developer of playlist software that runs on standard PC hardware. They educated us on how a combination of two of their control software products could both control the 360 Systems server and interface with our traffic and spot billing systems. The Argentem Argus Model 100 software could control the 360 server and, with a few modifications, effectively automate our commercial playlist the way we wanted. For interfacing with our traffic and billing system, the Argentem Artist, a universal record translator, provided a simple data-driven integration with the traffic system to automatically feed the information into Argus to run spot server automation.