File-Based Workflow at KGTF PBS Guam

PBS Guam operates two broadcast channels, both of which deliver customized educational and cultural programming to the Western Pacific island of Guam. NVerzion NControl Lite enables the station to control both channels independently as well as provide engineers with real-time access to file-based video assets. Leveraging NVerzion's intuitive asset management software — called XPANSION — and an 8TB TeraStore nearline/archive storage system, the station is able to realize total redundancy of its valuable file-based assets as well as efficiently preserve and manage the on-air video server storage.

"Prior to deploying NControl Lite, we were using DVDs to broadcast programs. This workflow was extremely cost-prohibitive and time-consuming," said Jason J. Fernandez, technical resource support, operations department, PBS Guam. "NVerzion file-based automation dramatically reduces the amount of personnel and equipment required to maintain both of our broadcast channels, increasing the efficiency of our workflow by an estimated 80 to 90 percent. The cost and workflow savings afforded by NControl Lite allow us to deliver additional content, leading to a greater viewer satisfaction."

The NControl Lite hardware package features an industrial rackmount PC with eight serial device control connections to NVerzion's Ethernet Machine Control (EMC), which is being used to seamlessly control two VTRs, five video server ports, and the main house video/audio router. Also included in the package are a variety of software systems, including NVerzion's NGest professional dubbing and recording application, NPoint video preparation software for segmenting and trimming, NControl transmission playlists, NBase SQL media database manager, and NView media database viewer.

At PBS Guam, scheduling logs are transferred from a Myers Traffic system using the CPIM/BXF traffic interface of NControl's intelligent scheduling software. During the course of each day, if the schedule changes, the NControl on-air playlist helps streamline changes to the event order, including deletions and additions to the original schedule. A unique Time Calculation function recalculates the time of day that each event is expected to start, from the current on-air event to the next manual or absolute event, to ensure a seamless, conflict-free broadcast schedule.

PBS Guam's engineer can also adjust the file-based schedule through an intuitive, software-based user interface that can be customized to account for user and station preferences. NControl Lite's highly scalable infrastructure will continue to support PBS Guam in the future as viewer demand for content increases.

"PBS Guam's previous manual workflow was archaic and expensive to maintain," said Reed Haslam, director of sales and marketing, NVerzion. "NControl Lite maximizes efficiencies for both of PBS Guam's broadcast channels so that the station can more quickly get content on-air. Working closely with station engineers, we were able to seamlessly migrate PBS Guam to a file-based workflow that is fast, efficient, and cost-effective — all without a single interruption to on-air operations."