New end-to-end solution powered by Precis™ production system and Oasis™ media archive from Bitcentral
(Irvine, California--September 12, 2008) Bitcentral, Inc., a leading provider of news production, archiving and distribution solutions to television stations, has dramatically transformed Raycom Media’s WCSC in Charleston, S.C., with an entirely new digital and file-based workflow.
Bitcentral has gone live at the leading regional station with its revolutionary, non-proprietary Precis news production solution and its Oasis archiving and file sharing system. The massive implementation included eight new Edius™ editing bays, raw video repository platform and dual playout control/servers, plus full ENPS integration.
As is the case with all Bitcentral installations, the company serves as the single point of contact for 24/7/365 support in all parts of the station’s “ecosystem.”
“We took a huge leap in every aspect of our station’s culture and technology all at the same time,” said Mike Gurthie, Chief Engineer at WCSC. “Initially, a shift this big was a scary thought at first – as we were about to change the entire infrastructure of our newsroom and how it operates on all levels. But the thorough and precise planning, as well as the excellent support from Bitcentral’s engineering team and ENPS, ensured our launch was smooth. That first show went off without a hitch.”
Bitcentral’s engineering team closely guided WCSC’s transition before and following the final go-live, ensuring thoroughness and efficiency throughout the operation.
The seamless launch began a new era at the station. Its new turnkey system delivers a browser-based, file-based workflow with extreme scalability – with SD and HD video content easily delivered to multiple platforms without video file transcoding. The “ecosystem” is completed with Bitcentral’s Oasis™ - enabling innovative archiving capability and ENPS integration, plus the ability to share stories between sister stations with a click of a mouse. And to support WCSC’s enormous conversion, an intensive training program was implemented to ensure that the station immediately gained a competitive edge over its competitors.
“As consistently demonstrated, our engineering team is second to none in thoroughness, detail-orientation, efficiency and sheer expertise in taking a regional leader like WCSC into a digital workflow,” said John King, vice president of engineering at Bitcentral. “WCSC took multiple big steps all at once – converting their entire station in one fell swoop. Our team’s ability to tailor intensive training schedules to the particular needs of a station in real time is a valuable capability in an operation as complex as this.”
The station is also building an advanced high definition control room in efforts to convert to HD in the near future – further sharpening their edge over regional news rivals.
“For us to have launched four new, major platforms like that – and have the capability to seamlessly integrate everything at once - that is the leading edge of what you can do in news,” added Gurthie. “It’s the efficient workflow of how quick you can get your content to air that helps keep you competitive. When I have a guy out on the field editing a package on a laptop and he can send that file to the station and have it on air in multiple markets within minutes – that’s huge.”
About Bitcentral, Inc.
Bitcentral provides innovative solutions that transform the management, production and distribution of the news. Established in 1987, Bitcentral delivers non-proprietary systems that combine proven broadcast and network computing technologies to enable end-to-end digital workflows. With a growing suite of solutions, Bitcentral changes the way broadcast news does business. Bitcentral is headquartered in Irvine, CA.
For further information, contact Charlie Grisham at Bitcentral, Inc. at: 18872 Bardeen Avenue, Irvine, CA 92612; Phone: (949) 417-4152; Fax: (949) 474-1885 or visit the company’s website at
www.bitcentral.com.
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