New OASYS Features

OASYS LATEST RELEASE V6.13.12

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Our OASYS Playout Team has published v6.13.12, the OASYS LATEST RELEASE. Please contact BroadStream Support for details and recommendations if you are interested. Here’s a recap of a few items in the update:

  • SRT and RTMP streams are now supported in Player from this version onwards. RTMP stream has the following limitations: only 1
    audio stream (either AAC or Dolby) is supported and SCTE35 is not supported. SRT and RTMP streams are not supported in Hub.
  • SRT input (UDP mode only) and output stream options were added to IP stream settings. Stream with or without
    Passphrase (between 10 and 79 characters) for encryption is supported. SRT stream can be configured in either listener
    or caller mode. For listener mode IP address should be left empty and only port should be defined. For caller mode IP
    address should be set to the adapter IP address.
  • RTMP output stream options were added to IP output stream settings. It must be used with a locally running RTMP
    server. Application name in Configure must match the application name in the RTMP server configuration. Stream key can be
    used, if needed.
  • Substream events are now prepared in advance in accordance with their scheduled start time, rather than all of them
    being prepared at the same time as the clip.
  • Added on-group distinction in AS RUN logs (XML only) for <PlaySubstream>. If substream event was scheduled on a
    group level. <OnGroup> in AS RUN log will be logged as True.
  • FFMPEG has been improved to handle issues with audio glitching in CBR stream passthrough on the input. <PipeFramesToBuffer>
    option in oachannel file can be set up to 250 frames to make audio glitching happen more rarely, but the greater
    number might cause delay on the input.
  • Audio handling has been updated to improve stability.
  • Improved handling of corrupt oaseq projects. They will now be marked in playlist as an error with “Active content object
    missing” message.

There are other features and defect fixes in OASYS LATEST VERSION so please contact Support or Sales for more information.

To be automatically notified when new releases are available please click here to Stay in Touch!

EOL Announcement

BroadStream Windows Operating Systems Support Update

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Distribution: All Customers, Engineering, Sales

18 December 2024 – This is to provide you with the latest update on Windows Operating Systems and their compatibility with BroadStream Software.

Windows 7

Windows 7 reached its end-of-life years ago. Any customers with Windows 7 operating system should be aware that we can only help with configuration changes. We are unable to provide any software updates, and we are not able to debug logs of any systems that use Windows 7 because the tools for this purpose are no longer available. The latest software version that works is OASYS 6.13. Should you wish to move past 6.13 you will need to contact our Sales Team ([email protected]) to request a hardware and software upgrade quote.

Windows Server 2008

The same details that apply to Windows 7 also apply to Windows Server 2008. If you have any of these operating systems and wish to move forward with the latest version of OASYS you will need to contact our Sales Team to request a quote for new hardware and software.

Windows Server 2012 SP2

In some cases, we may be able to provide Service Packs and install the latest version of OASYS, which is 6.13.11. We can also debug logs on the newer software, but this is dependent on the specific hardware you currently have. The limiting factor will be the availability of proper Drivers from third parties like Nvidia who controls the availability of GPUs and chipsets. If the older versions are no longer available or are a mismatch for the drivers needed it won’t be possible to upgrade your system. In this case, please contact BroadStream Engineering for information about your specific hardware should you wish to update your system.

If you have any questions about this update or how it impacts your current system, please contact our Engineering team for additional support. You can reach the team here:

Email:            [email protected]

Phone:           +1 404-327-8300

Website:        https://broadstream.com/support 

 

About Us

BroadStream specializes in flexible and highly scalable broadcast and streaming solutions for SDI, IP, and Hybrid SDI/IP with our OASYS Integrated Playout Solution.

Additionally, we provide a broad array of manual and automated captioning and subtitling solutions and tools that include the following brands:

  • SubCaptioner.com – for quick and easy file and live-based captioning along with transcripts and translation.
  • VoCaption – Automated Live Captioning for broadcasters that need simple solutions to start and stop a live captioning session without the need to schedule a human to perform this task.
  • WincapsASR for enterprise customers with significant file-based content that need to be captioned and edited for quality.
  • Q-LiveASR is for large customers that employ professional subtitlers and want live captions to be edited before being published to ensure maximum accuracy.

WRAL USES OASYS FOR 24/7 OTT CHANNEL WRAL NEWS+

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WRAL uses OASYS for 24/7 OTT channel WRAL News+

WRAL uses OASYS for 24/7 OTT channel WRAL News+. OTT (over-the-top) refers to media services that are separate from the over the air broadcast and  stream directly to viewers via the Internet. This is becoming a very popular service with viewers as they can access the stream from any device. This convenience means more and more consumers are looking for OTT content which allows them to watch what they want at any time and on any device, instead of the traditional linear TV where consumers have to adhere to scheduled programming on their television.

OASYS customer, WRAL, have dedicated one of their their OASYS Players to deliver a new multi-input OTT channel called WRAL News+. (WRAL is a Raleigh, North Carolina based television station serving as the NBC affiliate for the Research Triangle Area and part of Capital Broadcasting Company, Inc.).

This new OTT channel allows WRAL viewers to access live content, such as weather reports and live traffic announcements, directly from the WRAL website. This convenient access to live content benefits not only the viewers but also the station, who can now stream important news coverage to more viewers.

See their OTT channel in action below! 

Here’s how OASYS allows users to stream an OTT channel:

An OTT channel can be created using a single channel of OASYS with multiple live inputs. These  can be weather, traffic, sports or other live inputs. Using the flexibility of OASYS’ Graphics Extension package, these live inputs are integrated along with options like squeeze and crawl.

Creating a playlist incorporates all the live inputs for a 24/7 stream with a graphic showing all of the streaming options. In WRAL’s configuraton, the SDI output produced by OASYS is routed to various encoders to produce the IP streaming options needed.

OASYS is a flexible integrated playout software that can be configured to fit virtually any broadcast requirement. To learn how your station can use OASYS to create OTT channels, reach out to our team via our contact page!

World Television Day: Celebrating the Power of the Global Screen

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In the age of rapid technological advancements and digital media dominance, World Television Day stands as a reminder of the enduring influence and impact of television on societies across the globe. Established by the United Nations in 1996, this annual observance, celebrated on November 21st, recognizes the pivotal role television plays in shaping public opinion, fostering cultural exchange, and disseminating information. As we delve into the significance of World Television Day, let us explore the evolution of television, its cultural impact, and its role in shaping the world we live in today. 

The Evolution of Television 

The journey of television began in the early 20th century, marked by inventors and engineers experimenting with transmitting images and sounds over the airwaves. The first commercially available television sets emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, introducing a new era of communication and entertainment. Over the decades, television technology has undergone remarkable transformations, transitioning from black-and-white to color, and from analog to digital broadcasting. The advent of cable and satellite television expanded the reach of programming, providing viewers with an unprecedented variety of content. 

Cultural Impact of Television

Television has not only been a technological marvel but also a cultural phenomenon that has significantly influenced society. It has served as a powerful medium for storytelling, bringing narratives from different corners of the world into people’s living rooms. Iconic shows and characters have become embedded in the collective consciousness, shaping cultural identities and sparking conversations. From the gripping dramas of the Golden Age of Television to the groundbreaking reality shows that redefine entertainment, television has played a pivotal role in reflecting and shaping societal norms. 

Television as a Catalyst for Social Change

One of the most impactful aspects of television is its ability to catalyze social change. Through news reporting and documentaries, television has brought attention to critical issues, fostering awareness and mobilizing public opinion. Historic moments, from the Civil Rights Movement to the fall of the Berlin Wall, have been broadcasted to millions, uniting people in shared experiences. In recent years, television has been a platform for discussions on pressing global challenges, including climate change, inequality, and public health crises. 

Globalization of Television

World Television Day highlights the global nature of television, transcending borders and languages. The exchange of television programs across cultures has facilitated a more interconnected world, allowing viewers to glimpse into the lives and perspectives of people in distant lands. International collaborations in the entertainment industry have led to the creation of cross-cultural content, fostering mutual understanding and appreciation. Streaming platforms, with their vast libraries of diverse content, have further accelerated the globalization of television, making it accessible to audiences around the world. 

Television in the Digital Age

The 21st century has witnessed a digital revolution that has reshaped the television landscape. The rise of streaming services has challenged traditional broadcasting models, giving viewers unprecedented control over what, when, and how they consume content. This shift has also given rise to new forms of storytelling, interactive experiences, and innovative content formats. While the traditional television set remains a fixture in many households, an increasing number of viewers are accessing content through a myriad of devices, from smartphones to smart TVs. 

Challenges and Opportunities

As we celebrate World Television Day, it is essential to acknowledge the challenges facing the medium. The proliferation of misinformation, the impact of streaming on traditional broadcasting, and the evolving nature of audience preferences pose significant challenges. However, these challenges also present opportunities for creativity, innovation, and the exploration of new narratives. Television, in its adaptability, has the potential to continue captivating and informing audiences in the ever-evolving digital landscape. 

The Future of Television

Looking ahead, the future of television is marked by both uncertainty and excitement. Technological advancements such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) promise to redefine the viewing experience, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. Interactive storytelling, personalized content recommendations, and artificial intelligence-driven production processes are poised to shape the next chapter in the evolution of television. As the medium continues to evolve, it will be crucial to preserve the values that have made television a powerful force for education, entertainment, and social change. 

World Television Day serves as a time for reflection on the journey of television, from its humble beginnings to its current status as a global cultural force. As we celebrate this day, we recognize the enduring power of television to inform, entertain, and connect people across the world. In an era of constant change, World Television Day invites us to appreciate the medium’s rich history, embrace its present diversity, and anticipate the exciting possibilities that lie ahead for the global screen. Television, in its many forms, continues to be a window to the world, reflecting the shared human experience and shaping the narratives that define our collective story. 

 

NAB Show 2023 Recap

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Our team had a great time at NAB2023!

This year, our team headed back to the NAB Show in Las Vegas to meet with customers, resellers, and partners to showcase our new line of ASR products as well as the new features recently added to OASYS Integrated Playout.

If you weren’t able to attend the event this year, here’s a quick recap of what our team demo’d on the showroom floor:

WincapsASR: WincapsASR is a file-based, on-premise captioning software that uses ASR technology to easily convert audio to text. When partnered with a professional caption editing software such as WincapsQ4, Wincaps can help broadcasters improve productivity by over 30%. Professional captioners no longer take on the role of both caption creation and editing. With WincapsASR, the ASR technology handles the caption creation so that humans edit and monitor for quality control. Features such as intelligent caption segmentation, custom dictionaries, and substitution lists also help to make the editing workflow easier. Media files stay on-premise or in a private cloud for full file security.

Q-LiveASR: Our newest, hybrid live captioning software seeks to take the pressure off of live captioners and make creating captions for live/news programming simpler and quicker. Q-LiveASR combines ASR technology with professional editing software in a system that can be easily installed on-premise or through a private cloud. Files are kept secure and users control ASR activation and selection. ASR takes the main active input while subtitlers take a break, buffer ASR to allow for quick corrections, and override ASR via manual or apology captioning if needed.

VoCaption Live: Our fully automated live captioning software, VoCaption, has been updated and improved to better support live captioning. With VoCaption, broadcasters can easily convert program audio to text with just the click of a button. Custom vocabulary tools, alternate word lists, and profanity filters help to improve accuracy. There are no scheduling issues and no need to pay for a full hour of labor when only a few minutes of captioning are needed.

Polistream: Polistream is known globally for being the most flexible captioning and subtitling encoder and transmission system on the market. By utilizing an array of software modules and internal cards we are able to create a subtitle transmission system that meets users exact requirements now and into the future. Our team is constantly updating the Polistream hardware and software to meet our customer’s changing needs.

OASYS Integrated Playout: Our new OASYS end-to-end compressed IP playout software was an important focus this year. Our team showed broadcasters around the world how OASYS can easily integrate into their system to help them run their channels more efficiently. With compressed end-to-end IP broadcasters can ensure that their station is set up to run smoothly into the future as their station and technology grows.

SubCaptioner Online Portal: SubCaptioner is an online transcription service that converts audio to text, automatically, for only $0.25/minute. At this price, users receive a TXT, WebVTT and a SRT file! Files are converted in just minutes by our innovative ASR technology that takes the manual labor out of creating transcriptions and captions. Create an account on subcaptioner.com to get started. Once you’ve uploaded your first media file, use the code NAB2023 to receive 50% off at checkout.

If you’re interested in scheduling an online demo with our team, visit our contact page.

OASYS Integrated Playout Adds New Features to User Experience

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OASYS Integrated Playout

OASYS Integrated Playout, one of our flagship solutions, provides broadcasters of all sizes with scalable playout that delivers maximum flexibility to match your workflow environment and is available in SDI, full IP and Hybrid to match your operational requirements. In 2022, the OASYS software team has delivered multiple new versions on a regular cadence with each version including new features to enhance your user experience. Here’s a recap of just a few:

Media Library, HUB, Logger

  • OASYS Media Library now supports Kill Dates for media contributed to the system.
  • OASYS HUB now supports the Ross Video Ultrix video routers.
  • Logger has been upgraded from an application to a service with auto-restart, so the app icon no longer needs to be in the desktop icon tray as it now runs in the background as a service.
  • We now support sending configurable email notifications via Media Library.

Global Media Library, Sender, Graphics Sequence Editor and MultiChannel Web Client

  • Global Media Library supports purging from an XLS spreadsheet.
  • Cue sheets can be converted to side car files to eliminate extra input work.
  • Sender and Sender buttons have been added to MultiChannel Web Client and behaves the same as the stand-alone application.
  • We’ve added Split Commercial and Promo counters to MultiChannel Web Client as well.
  • The OASYS Graphics Sequence Editor now enables masking animation graphics in frame preview. The color used for masking objects or animations is white.

OASYS Player

  • Continue to enhancements for IP support for OAYS Player for input and output streams.
  • Audio normalization is supported with audio streams. Licensing fees apply.
  • Added support for audio normalization per EBU R 128 and BS1770, which helps eliminate the need for some downstream equipment.
  • Added enhanced downscaling capabilities for more file formats and to reduce load on CPU.
  • We continue to expand the number of SCTE trigger elements we support in OASYS and now support splicing for immediate and non-immediate mode in the IP stream output.

OASYS Integrated Playout is part of a suite of Automation solutions for Broadcasters that includes VoCaption, our automated live captioning solutions that uses ASR, Automated Speech Response, to deliver hightly accurated captions and subtitles in real time that achieves accuracy levels in line with human captioners at a fraction of the cost and streamlines your workflow.

For additonal information or to request a budgetary quotation please contact our Sales Team here.

How Broadcasters Can Find Peace of Mind

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We’ve been helping Bob, and many other broadcasters around the world, to find peace of mind in their playout systems. Bob had a similar problem to many other broadcasters: he was constantly stressed about how he could do more with fewer operators, constantly concerned that his playout and captioning solutions would crash from on-going problems, and constantly worried that major problems in their broadcasts would cost them thousands of dollars in commercial revenue.

To bring Bob peace of mind, we provided him with a fully integrated solution by a single vendor. This eliminated one of his major problems of having to work with multiple vendors and support contracts. Our integrated solution, OASYS Integrated Playout, also replaced his old, purpose-built hardware systems with software to manage the same functions.

This same OASYS Integrated Playout Solution is used by call letter stations, PBS stations, cable channels, and other content and service providers around the world to deliver solutions and reliability. With OASYS, broadcasters can manage their system remotely with fewer staff and feel sure that if a problem occurs, the playout system will take over and switch the back-up on-air so no programming or commercials are missed.

Engineers, like Bob, are very happy with OASYS because its a game-changer for their operation:

  • OASYS reduces the amount of hardware needed
  • Removes most purpose-built devices
  • Can be managed remotely
  • Adds multiple redundancy and back-up options so that any point of failure has a way to recover and continue operation, many times without human intervention.

Bob and his team are no longer held hostage by expensive, hard to maintain, proprietary boxes. Their operations thrive using standard IT hardware that is more cost-effective and reliable running our integrated software. It delivers on their operational needs, grows with them and is easily upgraded. Peace of mind, delivered in a timely, professional manner.

Learn More about our OASYS Integrated Playout System here, or contact our team directly.

Why Do Our Customers Recommend OASYS Integrated Playout?

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Why do our customers recommend OASYS Integrated Playout?

There are several reasons our customers love us and here’s what they say:

1. OASYS has given their station engineers peace-of-mind in a software solution that’s reliable and efficient.

2. OASYS combines multiple processes into one, meaning broadcasters save themselves the headaches of working with various vendors and support contracts. Everything works together seamlessly in an efficient process that removes unnecessary third-parties.

3. Our support team has a reputation for being available around-the-clock to help clients make changes and fix problems immediately. A great support team behind the software helps our customers feel confident that someone has their back.

4. The software is flexible. As your station grows and your needs change, OASYS can be easily reconfigured or expanded to meet your new requirements. Need to add a channel? No problem. Want to step up your graphics game? OASYS’ Graphics package can assist with dynamically updated graphics for news, sports, weather or other situations. Need to begin providing live closed captioning that fits your workflow and costs less than human captioners with similar accuracy?

Don’t just take our word for it. Read our customer’s testimonies to see why our customers recommend OASYS Integrated Playout as well.

Interested in learning more about OASYS integrated playout system? Contact Us!

 

Have you evaluated your Master Control operations recently?

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Have you evaluated your Master Control operations recently?

What’s going on…

  • more problems than you need;
  • can’t trust the system to be reliable; system aging out;
  • need to find more efficient workflows or make it work with fewer people?

You, more than anyone else, knows how important it is to trust your Master Control software and systems. If they fail, you miss programs and commercials or go off air completely. And if you experience any on-air issues you hear it from viewers and advertisers.

So, are you feeling at peace with your Master Control system, or stressed out? Let’s evaluate:

  • During the week, do you and your team spend too many hours dealing with third-party vendor support or trouble-shooting problems?
  • Can you leave Master Control un-manned or running over night, or days at a time, and be confident your phone won’t ring with new problems?
  • Do you feel confident that your live-captions will work for your next live broadcast?
  • During the holiday season, does your stress increase due to lower staffing levels or slower response times from 3rd party vendor support?
  • Do you have a redundant back-up solution that can take-over automatically when the system detects any problems?
  • Many chief engineers will probably say no. Their systems are overly complex, require more man-power than you can budget and are woefully out of date. They worry about the impact on viewers and staff should the system crater, which it will, when you least expect it.

You are not alone. We commonly hear that Master Control is out-of-date, it causes too many problems; program prep workflows are slow and too much time is spent with multiple support vendors that point fingers or don’t seem to care if your issue is solved today or next week.

Did we just describe your situation? Then maybe it’s time for a change.

If your Master Control system doesn’t bring you and your team joy and peace-of-mind, then you need to learn more about OASYS Integrated Playout. OASYS delivers confidence and peace of mind by using standard IT hardware and fully integrated software that:

  • Reduces your overall dependence on specific boxes because software replaces the need for purpose-built hardware.
  • Reduces the number of support contracts you need to maintain.
  • Reduces your overall foot-print requirement and saves money on utilities.
  • Future-proofs your path forward because the software is easier to upgrade than hardware and saves money in the long-run.

So, if your current system isn’t flexible, doesn’t automate your workflows, doesn’t eliminate your need for purpose-built devices and multiple vendors, then you need OASYS.

Learn more about OASYS Integrated Playout here.