BBC News has selected the OmniBus iTX NEWS system and will use it to broadcast daytime news summaries.
BBC News is using the software-based iTX play-out and automation system for the two-minute national news briefs broadcast throughout the day between major news programs starting in the second quarter of 2008. The iTX system is integrated with the network’s Quantel servers and Jupiter asset management system, and allows the summaries to be broadcast by a two-person producer-presenter team.
iTX NEWS can take edits to air without prior rendering, with graphics, audio and video effects, stills and captions all generated in real time. iTX NEWS also can ingest and edit SD and HD sources together, and combine them in the same playlist with nonbroadcast material, with real-time format conversion and rendering of effects. The iTX architecture streamlines the output of multiple versions of the same playlist for SD, HD, Internet streaming, mobile TV and other platforms, with automatic transcoding and distribution of content.
“The iTX NEWS system offers several significant advantages in the busy and complex environment at BBC News,” said Ian Fletcher, chief technical officer at OmniBus Systems. “The integration within the iTX software suite of all the functions of a play-out and automation chain allows such forward-thinking organizations to create innovative workflows and find new ways of delivering their services.”
