By Elina Shatkin, March 18, 2005
VertigoXmedia, a provider of broadcast graphics software and hardware, announced an upgrade of its MOS-compliant Xmedia Suite centralized asset management system. Engineered to provide a significant reduction in the time it takes to produce and distribute graphics, Version 3.5 adds a bevy of new features that include work order management functionality throughout the suite, along with improvements to Xplay functionality, asset management, and server redundancy. The new version also includes the VertigoNLX, a plug-in for Avid nonlinear editing systems (NLEs) that makes assets such as templates available to Avid editors. These advancements, along with the new VertigoXG family of graphics systems, make the latest Xmedia Suite a more comprehensive and powerful solution than ever before.
The new VertigoNLX plug-in for Avid NLEs brings the entire functionality of the Xmedia Suite to the Avid desktop. Avid users browse a library of "smart" templates stored in the central Xmedia Server, select a template style, and automatically insert finished graphics and animations directly into the video timeline. Templates can include links to live data sources as well as preprogrammed production logic that automatically updates elements based on user selections. The resulting video clip can then be stored in the Xmedia Server and automatically published to the appropriate production system for playout.
Xmedia Version 3.5 also includes a new Graphics Work Order Management feature that gives journalists and production staff the ability to generate work orders for new graphic elements electronically, directly from their desktops
. The Xmedia Server automatically distributes those work orders to the graphics department, tracks their completion, and notifies users of their status. As new graphic elements are created, they are ingested by the Xmedia Server and made available for use as part of an on-air graphic.
Vertigo has augmented its asset management tools to support server-based publishing and automated cleanup. Because the server publishes all the assets required -- including audio clips, graphics, and data -- to each graphics system, asset management is greatly simplified. At intervals designated by the user, the server purges files on the graphics systems to prevent overload. The Xmedia Suite now has the ability to manage external assets as well, allowing the Xmedia Server to manage large clips without having to move them physically onto the server itself. For added security, the Xmedia Server can be easily made fully redundant by adding an optional "buddy" server that automatically takes over if the primary server fails.
The system's Xplay functionality has also been updated and can now control an unlimited number of graphics systems. Xplay is compatible with Vertigo's new XG family of graphics systems, as well as all industry-standard 2D and 3D character generators from Chyron, Pinnacle, Miranda, Orad, VizRT, and others. In addition, the latest Xplay can control an unlimited number of virtual keyers, providing users with independent control over individual elements such as a bug, crawl, or sponsor logo.
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