Broadcast Beat Magazine 2018 NAB Show Edition | Page 100

tem is redesigned around an IP-enabled workflow that takes advantage of the new world of packet-based signal distri- bution, a node failure does not have to mean a network failure. An IP-based prompting system creates connectivity without requiring point-to-point con- nections, and therefore deliv- ers core redundancy. At the prompting application level, this enables a full-redundancy failsafe by which a mirrored PC running the application can seamlessly take over, with com- plete time synchronization, if the first PC/application fails and without manual interven- tion. When the first application recovers, it drops into standby mode, at the ready should the active PC fail. Video delivery to the prompt- ing monitors is another area that presents an opportunity for building in failsafe redun- dancy. Sending the full video feed over IP might seem like the obvious approach for deliver- ing prompting video, but video over IP has a number of poten- tial drawbacks including band- width challenges, latency issues, and synchronization errors. The solution is to bu ild intelligent scroll technology into every monitor, enabling each to gen- erate a video output from small unicast data packets sent from prompting software. In other words, rather than all monitors relying on a single video stream – and thus a single point of fail- ure – each monitor on the net- work produces its own video. Therefore, if a single monitor goes down, it won’t take the entire network with it. IP network, every monitor can remain in constant communi- cation with the master appli- cation to ensure reliable syn- chronization and centralized management. A single operator can keep an eye on multiple prompters and call each one up with an individualized naming process to see, at a glance, if each device is working prop- erly. In Conclusion To fully appreciate the potential of IP prompting, consider the talent’s point of view. At the end of the day, the anchor or other on- air personality doesn’t care how the scripts are delivered; he or she just wants to be able to read the text at a comfort- able and adjustable pace, with no hiccups or interruptions. For an IP-based teleprompting solution, it all comes down to the right built-in intelligence to create failsafe redundancy and create a win-win situation: tal- ent is enabled, rather than hin- dered, by the technology, and the broadcast operation is able to take maximum advantage of IP’s connectivity, flexibility, ease of use, and cost efficiencies. With less data sent over the 100 • Broadcast Beat Magazine • www.broadcastbeat.com