IBIS completes first phase of transition to digital for BBC English Regional Newsrooms

Automation and Process Management experts IBIS have completed the first phase of the transition to digital for BBC Regional newsrooms.
This phase was for newsrooms now on air in Norwich, Newcastle, Hull, Leeds and Birmingham. The automation system from IBIS provides MOS enabled reactive software operating on standard IT based open architecture, integrating with Quantel sQ servers. The modular applications deliver seamless integration from journalist workstations to playout, including ingest control and media management.
This system is especially suited for news environments where the requirements are for a user-friendly intuitive system with the flexibility to handle breaking news and running order changes.
Each BBC Regional newsroom operates in similar fashion, broadcasting live news bulletins regularly throughout the day. The IBIS range of Newsroom Management applications provides each IBIS-equipped newsroom with the ability to react quickly and easily across the newsroom workflow: from ingest control to management of multiple versions and variants of news material, from essential automation assist function for gallery playout under MOS and/or manual control to manual or automated archive to tape.
The Media Hub is the centre of each newsroom operation. IBIS ServerLoad allows the Media Hub to operate as the central ingest area whether material is arriving for the bulletin on tape, a line feed or OB output. ServerLoad’s manual and timer record functions are used to guarantee the successful ingest of all required material to the edit environment or, if necessary, ingest and then play straight to air.
Essential news and sport material can be efficiently saved using IBIS Archive Manager to create an archive list. In BBC regions equipped with IBIS, archived material is stored on DV Cam tape in a Flexicart. Newsroom staff can use IBIS ServerArchive to browse material on the Flexicart and then ‘order’ clips to be restored onto the server. The IBIS newsroom asset management feature makes sure the metadata for the clips is made available throughout the system once the clip is restored.
In October 2005 BBC Oxford will open its new television studio equipped with IBIS technology. IBIS ServerPlay, the multi-channel gallery playout device, has been selected for programme transmission. IBIS ServerPlay allows the news gallery to play clips in any order, regardless of position in the gallery running order. Clips not ready for transmission can be held in the running order until their final edit is complete. ServerPlay at the BBC is operated with full MOS integration - ENPS running orders will be downloaded as playlists of clips onto ServerPlay.
BBC Leeds, Hull, Norwich, Newcastle and Birmingham will make the transition to ServerPlay playout in the coming months.
(GB)