Austin Independent School District Speeds Up File-Based Workflow With NVerzion Automation
SALT LAKE CITY — Oct. 1, 2013 — NVerzion, a leading provider of cutting-edge tools for digital broadcasting and television station automation, today announced that AISD-TV, the broadcast television station managed by the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in Texas, has streamlined its file-based workflow relying on a new automation system from NVerzion. Harnessing the flexibility and reliability of NVerzion automation, AISD-TV can get content on air more quickly, reduce costs, and deliver a superior quality production to viewers.
AISD-TV provides a variety of local television programming and educational content to the Austin community via two channels distributed on cable, the Web, and within the Austin Independent School District, which serves approximately 86,000 students at 124 schools. Prior to installing the NVerzion automation system, AISD-TV was using on an outdated analog-based playback system. Migrating to a digital, file-based workflow with NVerzion allows AISD-TV to automate dozens of tasks that were previously done manually, maximizing the station's efficiencies. Integrated with the cooperation of local company ZVS Media, the complete system includes: NGest professional dubbing and recording software applications, NPoint video preparation software for segmenting and trimming, NControl router/cuts-only playlists, an NBase SQL media database manager, NCommand machine status and control, NTime event scheduling application, NConvert traffic interface, NGuide EPG tool, XPansion storage management software, and EMC-Router Ethernet machine control.
"All of the production, programming, and distribution tasks at AISD-TV are managed by four people. Given the small size of our organization, efficiency is of utmost concern," said Garry Wilkison, chief engineer at AISD-TV. "When we decided to modernize our master control operations, NVerzion was the obvious choice for automation based on cost, flexibility, and reliability. Our new platform automatically performs critical operations, including scheduling, recording, and playout, so that we can concentrate on the quality of production. Transitioning from an analog to digital workflow has not only been cost-effective, but it enables many of our viewers to enjoy the pristine quality of HD."
The NVerzion system at AISD-TV controls a wide range of third-party equipment, including a Harmonic Spectrum™ ChannelPort™ playout server, Utah Scientific UTAH-400 Series video/audio router, Compix Media LCG9000R character generator, and production-shared EditShare Energy Series NAS archive system. By supporting interoperability with any manufacturer, the NVerzion platform ensures continuous and reliable operations while allowing AISD-TV to maximize its investment in existing equipment.
NVerzion automation is based on a highly modular architecture that guarantees the integrity of AISD-TV's on-air presentation by eliminating any single point of failure within the station's file-based workflow. Station engineers can easily bypass any piece of equipment that is not functioning properly in order to deliver a seamless on-air broadcast. Relying on the scalable platform, the station has the flexibility to support additional channels in the future.
"In addition to serving the city of Austin, AISD-TV's mission is to provide a video curriculum for students. Given the station's important role in shaping the lives of students, an efficient file-based workflow was needed to ensure video and audio content are the highest possible quality," said Reed Haslam, director of sales and marketing at NVerzion. "The NVerzion automation system relieves the pressure from AISD-TV's engineers by streamlining the entire workflow, leading to a noticeable improvement in video quality for viewers and massive cost savings for the station."
