Grass Valley Group Profile & Avid NewsCutter

Complete Newsroom Production from Disk to Air

Industry leaders, Grass Valley Group and Avid, have recently formed an alliance which focuses on delivering best-in-class broadcast solutions. The first effects of this alliance will be realized with the integration of Avid's NewsCutter™ nonlinear editing system and Grass Valley Group' Profile video server. The integration of these market-leading products delivers on a strong commitment to create products with open standards, a strategy promoted strongly by both Grass Valley Group and Avid. The integration streamlines the production of news from field acquisition to on-air playback by allowing the process to occur entirely within a DV-native environment.

Benefits of Avid NewsCutter

Avid's NewsCutter nonlinear editing system is designed to provide the fastest and most efficient means to edit hard news. Because NewsCutter gives you instant random access to audio and video, the system is faster and easier to use than tape-based systems. NewsCutter was built to be easy to learn without compromising on timesaving and quality enhancing features. NewsCutter is compatible with most acquisition formats, and DV users have the added benefit of maintaining a consistent compression format throughout the broadcast process.

Benefits of Grass Valley Group Profile

Once you have edited a story, time-to-air can be critical. And the video server you chose for on-air playback must meet stringent quality and reliability benchmarks needed for broadcast operation. Profile meets these needs and has proven its reliability with over 13,000 channels playing to air at some of the world's largest networks

and broadcast facilities. Profile can be controlled by a variety of newsroom computer systems or automation systems and has satisfied even the most demanding expectations for compressed video quality.

	Figure 1. Baseband Configuration

Open Systems

The integration of the Grass Valley Group Profile video server and the Avid NewsCutter editing system delivers on a strong commitment to offer open broadcast solutions. The power of open systems is to provide a wider choice of systems that work together in the DV environment. This integration offers broadcasters the best of all worlds:

• Broadcast-Quality Profile Video Play-To-Air Server
• Powerful Avid Nonlinear Editing System
• 16 or 32X Channels of Uncompressed Audio
• 525/-line & 625 l-Line, 50/60Hz formats
• Complete Integrated DVCPRO Solution (option)
• Windows NT Based Open Systems Solution
• Faster than real-time transfers via Fibre Channel network

The Avid/Grass Valley Group Video Connection

Figure 1 shows a sample configuration using a/v routing. In this configuration, which is available immediately, material is ingested directly into the NewsCutter from tape or from a Profile via an SDI connection using your existing routing system. Stories edited on NewsCutter are transferred to the play-to-air Profile via a standard audio/video routing switcher. Once the correct destination is selected on the router, NewsCutter controls the dub to Profile ready for the replay under control of your newsroom computer system or other automation system. This system can be configured with PDR200 (JPEG) Profiles and upgraded to DVCPRO as required. In addition, fibre channel networking will also be available making it possible to remain entirely in the DV compressed video domain.

The Avid/Grass Valley Group Fibre Channel Connection

This configuration (figure 2) speeds the transfer process with faster than real-time playback transfers of video from the NewsCutter to Profile. A two minute news story finished on NewsCutter can now be transferred to a play-to-air Profile in faster than real time.

With the addition of the SDTI option, which will be available in NewsCutter's second release, compressed video transfers will be possible via a serial digital routing switcher. This transfer option allows material to be uploaded from a DVCPRO 4X transfer VTR directly into NewsCutter at up to 4X faster than normal play speed.

The Diagram below illustrates a PDR400 with DVCPRO compression all networked together via a Fibre Channel connection.

	Figure 2. Fibre Channel Configuration

Once in the Profile, the video data can be moved over fibre channel atm faster than real-time speeds to one or more of the Avid NewsCutter systems for editing. Once the editing is complete, the data is transferred via fibre channel to the PDR400 for on-air playback.

For more information on Grass Valley Group and Avid broadcast solutions, call your local sales representative or call 1-800-547-8949.