VSN — all in one

By Vladimir Loshkarev, Valery Pan’zhensky

Review contents:

Network solutions in TV production Network solutions of company Avid for broadcasting and video production Automation of broadcasting: DIP solutions Networking for live television production Solutions of the JC System Integration Company VSN — all in one Network disk arrays of company Maxtronic Network file-based broadcasting with On-Air Central Video server The tvSuite as the output module of system for organization of the off-the-air broadcasting built with application of network technologies Network solutions for program-making on the basis of Pinnacle Liquid systems Network production from Sony Network solutions Vectorbox

VSN is a new generation of systems for TV production and broadcasting automation. Already more than ten years the Spanish company Just Edit delivers in the European and American TV companies the new system solution — VSN (Video Stream Network). For this time VSN has received a wide distribution, has deserved a high estimation and recognition among professionals. The main system features are the modularity and the complex approach to realization of tapeless technology covering a whole cycle of TV production, from gathering and storage of materials to video production and automation of broadcasting. For this reason company Sony has involved Just Edit as the designer of news system DVLince and used the VSN ideology as the base concept.

System VSN is a set of hardware-software means intended for gathering, storage, production of video & audio materials and broadcasting. The basic purpose of the system is complex automation of technological process of video production and broadcasting on the basis of the uniform operating environment unitizing various services (main editorial staff, news studio, off-the-air and server equipment rooms, department of advertising, archive etc.). VSN includes more than 20 software and hardware modules and gives an opportunity of construction of the completed solution for the organization of TV process, including digitization, planning and editing of the broadcasting schedule, preparation and issue of news programs, organization and control of the round-the-clock broadcasting. Work of a complex is organized in view of modern concepts of construction of broadcasting on the basis of network solutions and tapeless technology. Due to the modular circuit where each module may operate as independent element, VSN system allows to create an individual configuration of a complex under the solution of the certain problems of the concrete customer.

Giving unique opportunities, VSN system has pretty low price accessible to the majority of the corporate and regional TV companies. Such approach in a combination of the incorporated opportunity of integration with any professional equipment allows to offer to the wide range of broadcasters the effective solution in view of individual technical requirements and financial opportunities of the customer. A wide spectrum of formats, simplicity of mastering and operation, support of the majority of systems and programs of nonlinear editing — there are the features of VSN system which provide an effective way during the transition to new technologies. Successful practice of exploitation of solutions on base of VSN on the largest European broadcasting companies guarantees a high level of functionality and reliability.

The basic modules of VSN system

The central program module of control and administration

The service of the centralized control and administration is intended for the organization of broadcasting schedule (preparation of daily programs, the whole control over their accomplishment and going on-the-air), control of broadcasting servers and external devices (VTRs, mixers, arrays, TV prompters, character generators etc.) and other modules of the complex. The base device of the complex is the main program module VSN Matic which carries out the control and job coordination of other program services responsible for control of the traffic, output of commercial inserts, interactive interaction with TV viewers, switching of broadcast TV channels and inserts of the air from the studio, the organization of control recording of the air and stream broadcasting in Internet. Besides VSN Matic is carried out the integration with others components of VSN system, such as news studio, system of archiving, studio of digitization.

Studio of news production (NewsRoom)

The news studio is a set of software and hardware providing an opportunity of creation of integrated environment for preparation, editing and organization of news program issue. The news complex of program applications assumes a joint access to materials. It allows for journalists remotely to carry out a full cycle of production of separate news scenes (digitization, scoring, editing, recording and synchronization of the announcer text) and organization of news program release as a whole (preparation, editing and control of the program release).

Thus journalistic editing is carried out by means of program module VSN News which provides editing in real time over network of the materials located on the central server and in archive. VSN News is installed on any PC and does not demand any special hardware.

The module VSN Airnews provides synchronization in real time, simultaneous display of all changes and the current status of the off-the-air schedule (rundown) on all workplaces of journalists, the central server and the appropriate TV prompter in the air studio. Multiformattness of this module allows to go on-the-air the video clips of different types (DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, M-JPEG, MXF, WM9) from one off-the-air schedule without the calculation or transcoding!

For complex and expanded editing the VSN provides compatibility almost with any leading system and NLE software (Adobe Premiere, Avid, Canopus, Final Cut Pro, Pinnacle, Sony Vegas Video etc.).

Studio of digitization

The studio of digitization VSN AutoRec is the hardware-software complex intended for digitization of video from various sources (VTRs, satellite receivers, studio cameras). The studio is designed on the basis of digitization station (VSN Autorec Capture), each of which is the separate device with input interfaces and is intended for encoding of recorded material in digital format. Encoding is carried out at a level of program codecs. The following formats are possible: DV25, MPEG-2 4:2:0/4:2:2 (up to 50 Mbit/sec). Simultaneously it is carried out the forming of low resolution video clips in Windows Media 9 format that enables to operate with video materials on workplaces of a complex in margins of Gigabit network. Control of digitization stations is carried out by program application VSN Autorec Director which organizes the digitization mode, carries out the audio, video and satellite switchboard control and the switching of satellite channels. Various modes of recording — hand-held and packet capture (over time-code or schedule) are foreseen. The task of this application includes the classification of digitizing material and its sorting by categories. The system gives an opportunity of editing of digitizing material in one minute after the recording beginning, not waiting its termination. Control of recording can be carried out from any remote workplace with the means of user application VSN Autorec Terminal.

Subsystem of storage, administration and distribution of the data

The system of storage of all working materials is solved on the basis of network file servers VSN Storage with disk subsystem on the basis of two-channel disk RAIDs with interfaces SCSI or Fibre Channel. Any RAID may store 75…300 hours of video of DV25 quality. Each file server is connected to the network over Gigabit channel and provides an opportunity of simultaneous operation with DV25 materials up to 25 remote users. The data organization and its control are carried out by the program application VSN Netshare.

The module of the organization and conducting of video archive

The complex of software applications VSN Archive is intended for the organization and control by archive of the content. One of primary goals of video archive is the breakdown over catalogues of available video which may be stored both as in a mode of operative use on disc arrays, and in a mode of long-term storage (for example, on tapes). Without any dependence from the modes of storage, each element of archival materials contains the viewing copy of low resolution which can be used not only for simplification of search of a material, but also for editing of programs with archival materials.

Other modules VSN:

• CG — formation of titles and logos according to schedule;
• Prompter — control of the TV prompter (Russian and other languages are supported due to application of the unicode coding);
• Publi — control of commercial inserts;
• SMSTV — service of interactive interaction with the TV viewer with the help of SMS-messages;
• TVChat — output of SMS-messages in real time with an automatic filtration of unwanted words and expressions;
• Melody & Games for mobile — organization of loading and transfer of games and melodies to mobile phones.

The basic resume

For today the VSN system is one of the most universal and flexible tool. On the one hand, it allows to build the uniform automated complex covering a whole organization cycle of broadcast process from digitization up to output in the air. On the other hand, the modular architecture incorporated in a base of system, and full integration with the professional video equipment allow, as from the Lego cubes to build a wide range of complexes for the solution of the separate problems facing to any TV company. There is provisional and not a whole list of services and systems which can be built on the basis of VSN system:

• Automated studio of multichannel recording with an opportunity of the remote control of external sources and editing of materials without interruption of the digitization mode;
• Studio of news (News Room) — the integrated environment which unites the journalist workplaces, editorial places and system of news servers with an opportunity of control of external devices — cameras, VTRs, TV prompters and so on;
• Uniform automated service of the broadcasting organization which may form a broadcasting schedule, to unite and coordinate job of dufferent departments (news, advertising, interactive interaction with the TV viewer);
• Service of video archiving on the basis of the structured database with inclusion of viewing copies of low resolution and an opportunity of work with the archival material on the remote workplaces;
• Reliable automated system of continuous round-the-clock broadcasting with an opportunity of control of external devices (VTRs, switchboards, arrays etc.).

Broad opportunities, universality and the reasonable price of VSN system is provided to the wide range of broadcasting studios and regional broadcasting companies an opportunity of optimum transition to the new tapeless technology. Due to modular structure the process can be carried out stage by stage.

Material provided by System Video Graphics Alliance Company