TVNZ Plan To Extend Newsroom System In Auckland

OmniBus Systems has announced that TVNZ plans to extend and upgrade its Digiknow server-based newsroom system in Auckland, New Zealand, and extend it to its regional news-gathering bureaux in Wellington and Christchurch.
TVNZ is New Zealand's state-owned public-service broadcaster and is required under the terms of its charter to make a profit. Digiknow, an inspiration system combining Quantel servers and craft edit stations with OmniBus automation and media management, has been in operation since 2002.
The new system is based around OmniBus Systems' modular G3 automation technology and OPUS asset management system, integrated with the latest Quantel Q series video servers and edit stations to provide full file-sharing between all three sites. There are three separate Quantel server zones, with OmniBus MAM operating as a single domain.
The Digiknow system introduced a tapeless production system as a means of increasing the efficiency of TVNZ's news operation, the ratings driver for the broadcaster's TVONE channel. "The Digiknow system has delivered the benefits we were looking for, making our operation much more productive," said Don Cunningham, head of news operations at TVNZ. "With this new equipment we can extend the gains throughout the three TVNZ sites, giving the news-gathering bureaux the same powerful tools and productive workflow that we've had in Auckland for four years."
OPUS MAM tools and G3 controls are integrated with, or replace, existing G2 devices. The new G3 Feed Manager provides enhanced recording control of live feeds for recurring, scheduled, and non-scheduled bookings.
To assist efficient use and repurposing of archive material, OPUS Logging lets operators add custom-indexed metadata throughout the production process to provide powerful searching in OPUS PinPoint using synonym, phonetic, and proximity search criteria. OPUS and the OmniBus Desktop Control are integrated into the Quantel SQ View X client, allowing journalists to locate, view, and edit material rapidly.
(DS/SP)