BBC Post Production completes first tapeless delivery for transmission

BBC Post Production has completed the first tapeless delivery for transmission to BBC Broadcast.
CBBC Extra Interactive content travelled direct from an Avid editing system at the Children’s Village at Television Centre to playout servers at the Broadcast Centre for playout.
Normally programme content would have to be transferred from the Avid Xpress to a DVCAM tape, this would be copied to a Digital Betacam tape, which a runner would take up the road to the Broadcast Centre, where an editorial assistant would ingest the tape into the server ready for transmission. The production team would have to allow a day for this process.
However, with a click of a button, BBC Post Production was able to send programme content as a video and audio files directly from the Avid Xpress into the BBC Broadcast server in just 40 minutes.
Metadata for the clip, containing scheduling information, was also digitally transmitted to the Broadcast Centre. This metdata generates the schedule for the Automation System to link the programme up to CBBC Interactive so viewers could access it when the programme started at 7am on Monday May 16.
BBC Post Production exported the programme with an appropriate template through its Webreview system. This converted DV programme media into Omneon compliant 30i MPEG and wav files which automatically transferred via FTP to the Broadcast Centre’s quarantine servers and hence to the playout Omneon servers.
Clive Hodge, Head of Operations at BBC Post Production, said: “Although a small beginning, file delivery of programmes will be the future, reducing time, cost and hassle for programme makers and broadcasters.”
(GB)