News Technology & Live Sport
The changing role of
browse technology in
today’s newsrooms
DAVE COLE, CEO of IPV, reports.
accurate video technology, launched a product
suite called SpectreView. This browse solution
he way that browse technology is distributed over a was quickly adopted by a large number of
T
being used in the newsroom standard IT vendors of playout automation, newsrooms,
environment has changed infrastructure. There are asset management and access services.
dramatically over recent years and many ways to browse a Providers of integrated newsroom solutions
broadcasters have moved to exploit this proxy of the broadcast- such as Avid, Quantel, Omnibus, Thomson and
change by incorporating browse solutions in resolution content. At its Pebble Beach to name a few, were keen to
the heart of their newsroom business in order most rudimentary, a file incorporate this browse technology into their
to streamline workflows and make cost is streamed for viewing own newsroom systems.
efficiencies in one of the most time-sensitive at standard play speed. This file can be used To that end SpectreView became ‘the
environments. This article examines some of for review or approval purposes. But for many technology under the hood’ that transformed
these developments and how they have broadcast applications, such as news and the news journalist’s role. It did this by
impacted today’s newsroom but to start I will sports, something more sophisticated is changing their role from one that had
provide some background to the technology required. The remote user may require instant historically been limited to editing scripts at
that has made these changes possible and how access and full VCR-like control at the desktop the desktop to one of being able to view live
IPV is at the forefront of these developments. - functions such as fast forward/rewind, scrub, and archive content at their workstation. It
slow motion, voice-overs, cuing and frame- provided visual storytelling capabilities to
Browse technology explained accurate tagging and logging of the material so journalists at their fingertips. Ultimately it
that an edit decision list (EDL) can be created. allowed journalists to create and modify stories
Browse is a term used to describe the To meet these specific requirements IPV, a quickly from any location - and to minimise,
method by which a low-resolution copy or global leader and in fact the largest and in some respects eliminate, the time spent
proxy, of broadcast-quality material is independent supplier of low bit-rate, frame- in craft edit suites with expensive
infrastructure and trained operators. Browse
became the catalyst for a range of industry
changes owing to both the innovative
technologies offered by IPV and the revolution
that was taking place in practices and
standards. It enabled late breaking stories to be
aired directly from the desktop with unmatched
accuracy, reliability and control.
This continues to be a successful approach
and in fact SpectreView has become the de
facto technology that makes most of today’s
advanced browse systems work.
How Browse works
As indicated above, time to market with
news stories before the introduction of browse
technology was a slow process. Fundamentally
it was based on the ability to acquire raw
material into a facility, distribute it to the
necessary people, and then take their input,
24 IBE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008
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