YOU RE HOME. Lynn Veltrie: Ops/Traffic Supervisor Barbara Harms: Broadcast Operator/Asset Manager

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1 YOU RE HOME Lynn Veltrie: Ops/Traffic Supervisor Barbara Harms: Broadcast Operator/Asset Manager

2 The NRT System or ET as we dubbed it lands at KSPS-TV in February 2011.

4 FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN Despite our comfort with File Based Workflows, which led us to sign up as an NRT Alpha Station, there was much trepidation. Early on much of the apprehension was centered in Engineering.

5 Besides Engineering, the Departments of Programming and Ops/Traffic were also on pins and needles with the arrival of ET. Concern #1 how do we integrate ET into the operation and give it a home?

6 ET FRIENDLY EARLY ON After arriving in Feb 2011 Engineering found ET easy to deal with. Within a week it was installed with power and connected to our server and the internet. PBS did the rest! By end of March we had transferred NRT files to our Seachange Server & played them on air.

7 HERES LOOKING AT YOU KID

To free ET from the closet it had to be assimilated into the operation.

8 ET WAS ALIVE BUT IN THE CLOSET Technically ET was working but there was still more to do. To free ET from the closet it had to be assimilated into the operation. This meant integrating ET within established workflows rather than developing separate workflows specific to NRT files.

9 KSPS FILE BASED WORKFLOW Why was it important to integrate ET into our real time program acquisition workflow? To answer that we have to go back to 2006.

10 TECHNOLOGY IN 2006 IPhones and IPads we take for granted today hadn t been developed yet. Social Media was just getting started given Face Book was just a year old. The Nintendo Wii was first introduced in 2006.

11 TELEVISION IN 2006 We were entrenched in the analog world and still 3 years away from turning off our analog transmitter. Our Archive was an 11,000 DVC-Pro Tape Library. Moving content from tape to our play out server was an entirely manual process. HD Content & File Based Workflows were just concepts.

12 KSPS JOURNEY TO FILE BASED OPERATION 2006 PBS Tech Conference was a watershed moment for the station. In order to move towards a File Based Operation we had to get beyond our legacy thinking. This required buy in from all the station departments.

13 PROCESS OF DISCOVERY We followed the path of a program and spot from acquisition and production to air. We found lots of steps and in some cases a duplication of steps. Further, we discovered far too many touches due to manual processes and lack of training.

14 TOUCH IT ONCE! We based our File Based Operation Plan on one overriding principle TOUCH IT ONCE whenever possible. Using the TOUCH IT ONCE model we established three main objectives to achieve a File Based Operation.

15 THREE MAIN OBJECTIVES Combine Master Control Operations and Traffic into one department called Ops/Traffic Make our Myers/ProTrack Traffic System the central hub of the station. Purchase an Asset Management System and reliable Archive System.

By 2006 the line between MCO s and Traffic Specialists had

16 OPS/TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT MC Ops were under Engineering. Traffic Specialists were under Programming. By 2006 the line between MCO s and Traffic Specialists had blurred. In many ways Traffic was switching air with their automation playlists.

17 MCO s and Traffic Specialists were both evolving into asset managers. We knew this evolution would only accelerate as we transitioned to a File Based Operation.

18 VALUE OF OPS/TRAFFIC MERGER MCO s were trained in ProTrack to be competent users. Traffic Specialists were trained in Operation processes. The Ops/Traffic merger was the single most important step in moving KSPS towards a File Based Operation.

19 PROTRACK CORE OF OPERATION As usual ProTrack would be the hub for scheduling programs & spots for record and for air. We wanted ProTrack to place & schedule all automation commands. We wanted ProTrack to assign Media ID s to all acquired program & spot assets.

20 PROTRACK CORE OF OPERATION The Media ID s assigned by ProTrack were a combination of NOLA Code, Episode Number, Package Type and Version Number. Example: SESA4302HDBA-1

21 MASSTECH ASSET MANAGER MassTech offered sound workflow solutions. MassTech & ProTrack had a working interface. The interface allowed ProTrack to track and notify users of asset locations. Media ID s assigned by ProTrack could be used to trigger MassTech workflows.

22 STATION WORKFLOW BUILDING _A (Archive) in Media ID triggers MassTech to move file to Archive after recording. _P (Proxy) in Media ID triggers MassTech to transcode file to WM9 file and move to Proxy Server. _F (FTP) in Media ID triggers MassTech to transcode file to WM9 and move to KSPS FTP Server.

23 STATION WORKFLOW BUILDING We also built workflows that were triggered by NOLA codes in our Media ID s i.e. PROM or IPSP in the SD world and later HDPR and HAPT in the HD world. Once a PROM or IPSP asset landed on the Seachange Server MassTech would perform two transcodes and then move the files to their appropriate locations. By 2011 we had implemented up to 11 different file based workflows triggered by Media ID s to handle both program acquisition and spots production activity.

24 REAL TIME FILE BASED OPERATION By the time ET was expected to arrive at KSPS in 2011 the station s mission to maximize the use of ProTrack to schedule, track and direct our various SD and HD assets through Harris Automation and the MassTech Asset Management System was nearly complete.

25 ET HAS LANDED NOW WHAT? When ET finally did land in February 2011 KSPS had built a highly productive and efficient File Based Operation. And it was our view adding ET to it would be no problem. WRONG!

26 HOW DO WE INTEGRATE THAT IS THE QUESTION? Aside from occasional issues with CC and Dolby Audio ET was working and it had required little Engineering effort. The real work to make ET truly a part of the operation was about to begin and it was all up to the ET Users to get it done.

27 ET REACTIONS: SCREAMS OF FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN SCREAMS OF DESPAIR & FRUSTRATION

28 REALITY TEMPERED ENTHUSIASM We wanted to move away from scheduling real time (RT) feeds but, while ET was alive, it was hardly useful. We could schedule NRT Transfers in ProTrack but the process was less than satisfying. It was clunky and totally manual.

29 ET WAS A CLOSET DWELLER Try as we might to dress it up and talk it up ET was still an alien within our operation. Technically ET worked, but for us to unlock the closet we needed a plan. One that would integrate ET within our established RT Record, File Based Operation.

30 ALIEN INTEGRATION PLAN After the 2011 PBS Tech Con our goal make ET less of an Alien and more user friendly. To make it happen we brought the station department s back to the table to develop a plan.

The combination to unlock the ProTrack lock on the closet door was clear cut. We wanted the Record Scheduling Process for NRT Transfers and RT Recordings to match.

32 The combination to unlock the ProTrack lock on the closet door was clear cut. We wanted the Record Scheduling Process for NRT Transfers and RT Recordings to match. We wanted to build & generate a single Record Log. We wanted ProTrack to assign Media ID s & Kill Dates to NRT Transfers using established rules on RT side. We wanted ProTrack to generate a Harris Dub List that would include both NRT Transfers & RT Record Feeds.

33 FIRST RESPONSE, NO RESPONSE Myers saw our request as a separate build. Myers was concentrating on a one size fits all solution to deal with NRT Transfer scheduling & reporting within ProTrack. For us a generic approach wasn t going to work given few PBS stations had our equipment configuration. We felt our solution was a simple one!

34 MYERS DELIVERS 7 months after being identified as the primary vendor that was keeping our ET in the closet Myers delivered. The software patch was the key that unlocked the closet and gave ET full run of the house. We went from airing 1 or 2 hours of NRT content a week to 20 to 25 hours a week.

This was a known problem but by the time ET arrived MassTech had no

35 MASSTECH LOCKS ET IN HOUSE MassTech/MassStore was unable to identify NRT AS03 MXF Files. This was a known problem but by the time ET arrived MassTech had no answers. We had the ability to play files without transcoding but it didn t matter. ET was stuck in the house with no place to go!

36 Even though Myers had provided us a Traffic Solution for NRT, MassTech s inability to deal with ASo3 files limited our ability to use ET to its full potential. We were drunk with frustration!

37 MASSTECH BEST ALTERNATIVE ProTrack and MassTech were at the core of the File Based Operation we had spent 4 years to build. We decided to stay with MassTech. Staying with MassTech meant upgrading it s server and installing Masstech s latest software Topaz. Who knew this would be the solution to our NRT archiving issue!

38 THE MAGIC POTION TOPAZ What happened after that was a happy accident! In July of 2012 we installed Topaz along with a 170 tb LTO Archive System and introduced both systems to ET.

39 TOPAZ UNLOCKS THE FRONT DOOR! We discover that we could archive our Local Production files, which were XDCAM MXF Files. If we could now move and archive XDCAM MXF Files, why not NRT, AS03 MXF Files? In the end we discovered that MassTech s Topaz software was now able to identify and move NRT files to archive.

40 Thanks to the NRT Software Patch provided by Myers & the MXF Archive Solution provided by MassTech s Topaz system ET was now free to take us to the non-real time world of program delivery. Finally, the potential of ET could be realized.

41 Today ET is an important part of the KSPS daily program acquisition routine. As we see it, the potential of ET going forward is now limited only by the amount of content being delivered by PBS Programming!

42 Record Log with NRT Barbara Harms

43 NRT Integration Goals NRT files managed like RT files Familiar process for users- MC Ops Media ID assignment at record log export ONE document for NRT and RT

44 Adding an NRT Feed Manually

45 Select Desired Feed

46 Add Detail Information

47 Create Media ID

48 Media ID Created

49 Meyers-Protrak as GUI File status prior to transfer File transfer is QUEUED

50 Transfer Status File is being transferred File transfer done

51 File Is Prepped And In Seachange

52 Use NRT When Available

53 Rough draft Record Log

54 PBS Feed Schedules HD01:HD05 NRT- HD*

55 NRT Feed Schedule

56 Scheduling Feed

57 Generating Record Log

58 Check NRT Transfer Box

59 Completed Record Log

60 Meyers-Protrak as GUI File status prior to transfer File transfer is QUEUED

61 Transfer Status File is being transferred File transfer done

62 NRT Integration Goals NRT files managed like RT files Familiar process for users- MC Ops Media ID assignment at record log export ONE document for NRT and RT

63 Q & A Lynn Veltrie - lynnve@ksps.org Barb Harm - barbarah@ksps.org Tracy Carter tcarter@myersinfosys.com Nick Agresti nagresti@pbs.org Steve Covert - scovert@ksps.org

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