BroadView Software, a provider of broadcast information-management solutions, and OmniBus Systems have combined their traffic, programming and automation technology to facilitate the exchange of data in real time between broadcast systems using the SMPTE-standardized BXF protocol. The two companies have created a sophisticated interface to address the entire workflow between programming, traffic and automation, and the effort has resulted in an improvement over legacy approaches that are limited to periodic updates.
The groundbreaking BXF implementation unites BroadView Software’s broadcast management suite combining traffic, programming and billing with OmniBus' iTX software-based automated transmission platform that includes automation, playout, character generator (CG) and branding functions.
The BXF integration between BroadView and OmniBus iTX is now in use at several broadcasters in the United States and Canada. It includes the ability to leverage information in BroadView's programming and traffic modules to create sophisticated secondary events with iTX CG/branding capabilities. This reduces the effort required for day-to-day management of such secondary events. For example, programming information such as title, author, duration and next showing is accessed dynamically for use in lower thirds and snipes.
John Wadle, vice president for technology, OmniBus Systems, said this is a full-scope BXF implementation that utilizes its comprehensive XML-based schema to create a data exchange environment that extends the functionality of both companies’ systems.
“The opportunity for broadcasters is to reengineer workflows to take advantage of the fact that participating systems can share information throughout the scheduling and playout process, allowing changes in the schedule much closer to airtime than previously possible,” he said.
