Apr 05, 2007

Volicon Announces Release of the Observer 4.0

Award-Winning Observer Desktop Video Monitoring System Now Provides Even Greater Functionality Within Broadcast Workflow

Volicon, a leading provider of media monitoring, recording, archiving, and streaming solutions, today announced the release of the Observer 4.0. This new version of the industry-leading Observer desktop video monitoring system features integrated SD and HD monitoring, SNMP support, LDAP authentication, transport stream analyzer interface, Teletext support, multilanguage closed-captioning, and a visual loudness meter, all of which help broadcasters make monitoring a more intuitive part of their operations.

“We work closely with each customer to ensure the Observer system meets their monitoring needs, and the feedback we receive from users has allowed us to offer an even more robust solution for streamlined video monitoring,” said Julius Perl, vice president of marketing at Volicon. “With the release of the Observer 4.0, we’ve added new features and capabilities that allow for tighter integration of monitoring into broadcasters’ overall digital workflows.”

Built on a powerful streaming video engine and player, Volicon’s award-winning Observer system allows desktop users to log broadcasts and search, retrieve, analyze, and export video clips with metadata, locally or remotely. Observer allows users to check not only video and audio quality, but also the presence of closed-caption information. With a link to ratings data, the Observer system allows users to evaluate their broadcasts and even compare their content and ratings against those of competing stations.

The Observer 4.0 supports integrated SD and HD content within the same deployment. So, for example, a broadcaster with both SD and HD channels will be able to monitor both types of channels on the same screen. The Observer 4.0 interface supports ingest of analog audio and video, composite video with non-balanced audio, SD-SDI with embedded audio, and HD-SDI with embedded audio.

SNMP Support
SNMP support allows the Observer 4.0 to be integrated with the broadcaster’s enterprise network management system (NMS) so that any issues with the monitoring system or with the broadcast can be reported to the central NMS in the form of an SNMP trap. This new Observer feature allows all control and monitoring to be performed through a single management system.

LDAP Authentication
The Observer 4.0’s LDAP authentication support simplifies user access by eliminating redundant login whereby users must log into their local system and then, again, into the Observer. With a centralized authorization system in place, the Observer authenticates the user against the existing login and then grants access.

Transport Stream Analyzer Interface
Digital stream monitoring and analysis becomes an integral part of the signal integrity assurance module of the Observer with the introduction of a transport stream analyzer interface. The Observer 4.0 transparently interfaces with stream analyzers for enhanced alerting and management of digital stream errors, such as tiling, macro-blocking, and pixelization.

Teletext Support
Support for Teletext, a European data superset that includes closed-captioning and other information about programming, lets users capture parts of Teletext data relevant to their operations. This information is stored along with video so that Observer users can see the Teletext data that was transmitted along with the broadcast.

Multilanguage Closed-Captioning
Multilanguage closed-captioning is becoming more common in U.S. broadcasts, and the Observer 4.0 supports the capture of this data in multiple languages. Users can select the language of choice during playback and verification.

Visual Loudness Meter
A new loudness meter, displayed over video, uses the conventional sliding green bars to show the user that audio is present. The ability to verify the presence of audio through this graphical representation makes it easier for the operator to monitor multiple channels at once. While the Observer does provide alarms and alerts to signal loss or low audio, the new loudness meter offers the user instant reassurance at a glance.

Events

Events
HDWorld Booth 1157 October 15-16 2008

Volicon’s Observer HD is the industry’s premier High Definition content monitoring solution for Broadcasters.

Observer …

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Awards

awards
Volicon Observer wins TV Technology STAR Award @ IBC 2006

Volicon, a leading provider of advanced solutions for monitoring broadcasts, logging, archiving, and streaming of digital video, …

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About Volicon

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About Volicon

Company Profile

Volicon is the leading supplier of broadcast monitoring systems used by broadcasters and cable …

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