KSL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City, has completely upgraded its end-to-end NVerzion automation system to realize a more streamlined, file-based operation and guaranteed redundancy of its main, backup, and archive devices.
The new NVerzion automation platform increases efficiencies by managing short- and long-form program playback for KSL's main station, a separate Comcast feed, local independent station KJZZ, and the Live Well Network, which KSL broadcasts as a digital subchannel. The complete system includes NBase SQL media database manager, NView database viewer, NControlMC Master Control transmission playlists, NConvert manual and automated traffic interface, NCompass ingest manager, NGest professional dubbing and recording software application, NTime event scheduling application, NPoint video preparation software for segmenting and trimming, NVero on-air verification and video logger, EMC-Router Ethernet machine control, and TeraStore nearline storage archive.
"The cost to upgrade our NVerzion automation platform was inconsequential when compared with the long-term efficiencies and savings that the system provides us," said Brent Robinson, chief engineer, KSL. "In addition to delivering continuity for our broadcast operations, which is paramount in maintaining viewer satisfaction, the NVerzion automation system helps us efficiently manage additional stations like KJZZ while utilizing significantly fewer resources."
NVerzion's automation solution runs on completely off-the-shelf hardware, providing an easy integration path with third-party equipment. The automation platform manages a broad range of equipment, including Omneon Spectrum media servers, as well as Utah Scientific 400SD/HD routers and MC-2020 SD/HD master control switchers. NVerzion's NCompass ingest manager automatically ingests content from approximately 10 different edge servers and transfers it to the Omneon servers as needed, offering operators simultaneous access to all of the station's content from a unified platform that can scale to meet KSL's growing needs. An NVerzion TeraStore RAID-protected nearline/archive storage solution decreases the amount of required video server online storage, reducing the station's capital and operating expenses dramatically.
One of the enhancements KSL finds particularly useful is NVerzion's new Join-in-Progress (JIP) functionality. The software application performs complex timing calculations to cue into show segments at the correct time, based on when the show should have started. This feature eliminates the traditional "dead roll" operation, enabling KSL to seamlessly join a scheduled program in the event of a live over-run — and thereby avoid typical operations chaos.
