Facility Automation System
Sundance Digital, Inc.utomation is for broadcasters looking to automate their facility using a combination of server, tape and live events.
A typical system for a single channel broadcaster will consist of one Air Station, one Prep Station, and a SIDON Device Server. Larger installations will also have a fault tolerant Data Server to protect the integrity of the databases.
Air Stations
The main screen shows a great deal of information, and the user can choose between two types of views. The "New" display shows the information in a more graphical format and the "Old" display presents the information presented in a more typical automation format.
Each element in the Event List can be triggered as a Manual Event (such as a GPI trigger), a Clock hit time, or a follow event (where the event starts at the completion of the previous event).
The Air Station can also control the transitions on a master control switcher to provide smooth transitions between the events.
Prep Stations
The Sundance Digital, Inc.utomation Prep Station consists of the Prep Software and the Tape Segmenter. The Prep Station software allows the user to manage the media on the video server by encoding, modifying, and deleting. This software provides control of external VTRs to bring material frame accurately into the video server. The Prep Station software also allows users to build and modify the playlists which will be executed in the Air Station.
Segmenter is a comprehensive tape preparation system. It is used to mark the different segments of a tape show, and to tell the system which tape a specific element resides on. If the Barcode option has been purchased, Segmenter also prints out a barcode for the tape to identify it with the Air Station.
Traffic Integration
Sundance Digital, Inc.utomation offers integration with a stations traffic system. Sundance custom writes a traffic interface for every system to provide a very tight integration, and to make sure there are no errors in translation. In addition, the Air Station generates an As Run file which can be used in an auto-reconciliation process (if the traffic system supports it).
SalesView allows the Traffic (or Sales) departments to view the inventory of material on the video server and play elements back either directly from the server or as a low-res copy. There are also several tools which let the Traffic department view the on-air log and see which tape elements have been prepared for air through Segmenter.
Satellite Recording
Sundance Digital, Inc.utomation can be integrated with Sundance's Intelli-Sat Broadcast Recording Manager to handle the scheduling and recording of satellite feeds.
Offset Events
One of the most powerful elements of Sundance Digital, Inc.utomation are the Offset Events. Any element in the inventory, or any line within the playlist can have a virtually unlimited number of offset events. These events can be anything from triggering a GPI to insert a logo to complex events encompassing many external devices.
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