WSHM-TV selects VizRT 3D real-time graphics software

After carefully evaluating the top character generation (CG) systems on the market, WSHM-TV3 chose Vizrt’s Viz|Trio real-time 3D character generation and graphics system as the graphics platform for its newly launched news operation.
As a CBS affiliate serving the Springfield/Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts market, WSHM purchased the Viz|Trio CG system in Fall of 2005.
The configuration included a second channel, Viz|Artist real-time 3D animation software, and Viz|Content Pilot content management software central for asset management and desktop browsing. The graphics design tools within Viz|Artist were used to design the overall broadcast look for the channel’s live local newscasts .
“For us, the biggest selling point surrounding the Vizrt solution is that all of the graphics creation is template-driven. Once we’ve created a variety of templates, our journalists, producers, and reporters can select the ones that best suit their needs—such as over-the-shoulder, lower thirds, full-screen with bullet points, quotes, or pictures — and customise them to visually support their stories,” explained Thomas Shelburne, Manager of Technical Operations for WSHM, in Springfield.
“While they can create and animate their own 2D/3D graphics using whatever pictures and text elements they have for their news or sports stories, the templates ensure that the overall look we designed for our station branding remains consistent throughout our newscasts,” added Shelburne.
Another capability critical to the station’s workflow is the Viz|Content Pilot ActiveX interface to newsroom computer systems, such as the Associated Press’ Electronic News Production System (ENPS), which WSHM uses to develop and manage all aspects of its news production. This newsroom interface enables journalists to create and animate graphics with real-time 2D/3D preview from within the ENPS environment.
The station’s streamlined, efficient workflow culminates in the control room where a single operator can control all of the equipment related to the live newscast. Since Viz|Trio is a real-time system that does not require pre-rendering, Shelburne says that it can trigger the playout of even the most complex, animated 3D graphics, complete with backgrounds and keys—a feat which formerly required both a DVE and switcher to execute.
(CD)