ENCO to Showcase AI Innovations At IBC 2024

Nearly 18 months after taking its first generative AI offerings public, ENCO has transformed its then-promising concepts into difference-making solutions that the company will continue to evolve over time.

ENCO returns to IBC this week with productised versions of two generative AI solutions that share similar performance qualities and achieve the same professional results for two different production needs.

ENCO will demonstrate the power of its award-winning SPECai and aiTrack solutions in their respective workflow positions at Stand 8.C76 in RAI Amsterdam beginning tomorrow. Their qualities are largely similar in performance and results thanks to their use of generative AI models to create compelling multi-lingual scripts, and the use of synthetic voice engines to produce natural sounding voiceovers in many languages.

The demonstrations also include the integration of AI technology into its new enCaption Sierra live captioning and translation system, which also builds in a hardware captioning encoder for the first time. The presence of advanced AI inside Sierra has further improved speed and accuracy over previous generations, allowing broadcasters to present live captions that are reliable, consistent for a true real-time experience.

SPECai's ad creation workflow was quickly recognised as an authentic game-changer upon its release last October as users witnessed its transformative powers in action. For the first time, SPECai placed the power of spec ad creation into the hands of account managers at radio stations, providing a simple software toolset to create compelling, localised spec ads on their personal devices. That alone introduces the novel approach of bringing ad concepts to life in front of their clients, and delivering completed spec ads within seconds.

SPECai also retains the professional sounding qualities of traditionally produced ads at substantially reduced rates, while completely removing “turnaround time” from the conversation. These remarkable efficiency improvements help users build complete ads on the spot, powered by SPECai's responsive workflow that guides users through three key steps. That process begins by creating copy with generative AI, which immediately delivers multiple script options.

SPECai then transitions to voiceover creation, with the freedom to choose from many voice styles, adjust tone of voice, and dial in phonetic pronunciations. That quickly leads to the final stage, which allows users to add music beds that suit the mood of each ad. SPECai provides direct access to the vast and diverse music libraries from Benztown who, along with Compass Media Networks, officially partner with ENCO on all SPECai initiatives.

New for IBC, ENCO has added a first-of-its-kind voice cloning feature that invites more freedom to customise ads. Customers can now bring recognisable voices they have authority to use into new ads through SPECai's ability to replicate the voice of the client, on-air talent or another known presenter upon analysing a short user-uploaded audio sample.

The introduction of voice cloning technology to SPECai also confirms ENCO’s intention to add new features over time that push the technology forward - a strategy that also applies for aiTrack, an on-air focused AI toolset that makes its IBC debut this year.

While SPECai represents a standalone solution accessible on any web browser or mobile device, ENCO has developed aiTrack as an AI production toolset built into to its DAD automation workflow. aiTrack is a dynamic content insertion tool that leverages generative AI models and synthetic speech engines to dynamically provide engaging content for listeners in diverse ways. aiTrack essentially assumes the role of the AI DJ, and amplifies the on-air experience by injecting more creativity into on-air broadcasts.

For example, aiTrack allows users to pre-schedule and customise automated voice tracks. Operators can also create and schedule unique content, such as summarising earlier shows or giving a detailed introduction of future song blocks, within DAD for playout at specified times.
As an authentic part of the DAD automation workflow broadcasters can deliver engaging content at any time, with instant turnaround and insertions of breaking news, weather, sports and more into live broadcasts.

In addition to aiTrack’s convergence with DAD to support radio operations, ENCO has creatively adapted other in-house-developed AI tools into its latest TV and live production systems. That includes ENCO’s enCaption Sierra, a new all-in-one live captioning solution that will also make its European debut at IBC. Sierra integrates AI technology to recognise and interpret voice with exceptional accuracy, and produce the captions for immediate delivery.

"ENCO has been on the leading edge of broadcast technology from the day we introduced our DAD radio automation solution to radio broadcasters more than 30 years ago," said Ken Frommert, President, ENCO. "That spirit of innovation continues this week at IBC as we shine a light on our fast-growing range of standalone and integrated AI solutions, which place the emphasis on producing results that matter to the business of broadcasting."

www.enco.com