There was a time when a neat camera trick was enough to have viewers at home suitably entertained by broadcast standards. Those days, however, are long gone. Broadcasting has become much more technologically complex, with features designed to make a visual impact, meaning that having closed caption software, with which to provide a valuable viewer service, is not enough anymore. While caption and subtitle software is very much necessary to provide the services expected from socially considerate national broadcasters, these are just part of the overall picture. With all of the extra features that are commonly used, effective ancillary data processing capabilities that can marry all of the various parts together are now an essential. In the modern world of broadcasting, it is impossible to satisfy the viewers with plain video and audio. There are a series of features in the image to be seen on a television screen that only the relevant technology can produce, and which the public are now conditioned to see. In sports broadcasting, for example, the time, either that has elapsed or is remaining in a match or event, needs to be displayed clearly and attractively, usually in the top left of right corner of the screen. When it comes to news broadcasts, items such as the news programme logo and reporter names are commonly displayed. In essence, practical effects that enhance the viewing experience have become basic features to the viewing public. The problem is that this type of ancillary data is only part of the mesh of effects, features and images that needs to come together to meet the modern standards of broadcasting. And, the most complex aspect of this is the need to cope with the variety of different coding systems, file types and digital television technologies that are used. It is therefore essential that ancillary data is integrated to allow for a smooth flow of data from one system to another. To this end, multipurpose ancillary data processors have been developed, through which practically every aspect can be handled. These are effectively a management system where the separate contributing elements that go into making a modern television programme can be accepted or created, encoded, transcoded, inserted and then stored efficiently on a server to be accessed and broadcast when necessary. Integrated data processors are designed to ensure that flow of data from an array of sources can be quickly and easily extracted, processed and injected into the broadcast stream. After all, the broadcast industry shares much of the content that is used, with news bulletins including pictures relating to a foreign event. A street riot, a sports event, election coverage or a natural disaster can all be covered by a local station but footage can be distributed to television stations all over the world. Distributing footage is easy between video servers, but the files are not always the same, thereby creating a need to be able to transcode pictures and broadcast them. Similarly, if this footage arrives complete with graphics relevant to the source broadcaster, this needs to be extracted from the footage and replaced by one’s own. Comments made by a foreign figure may need to be subtitled, while unclear dialogue and background noise may need to be clarified through captioning. Carrying out all of these tasks on separate systems would not only be time consuming, but also cost a considerable amount more than is necessary. Each task may need a processor of its own, and the editor may need to spend most of the day getting one small length of programming ready for broadcast. The cost of equipment and man hours spent would be hard to justify. However, by integrating these systems on one management system, complete with easy to use interface, the time taken can be slashed dramatically. Captions and subtitles can be extracted and inserted in any format, as can specific graphics. And since all of the ancillary data processing is done on one system, storing is made easier and the process of searching is streamlined. The result is faster, more reliable and more accurate data processing, and drastically reduced operational costs. Even with the latest closed caption software and cutting edge subtitle software, a broadcaster still needs one overall integrated processing system with which to masterfully manage all the elements required for modern television programming.
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