Weighing Up The Costs And Rewards
by Martyn Green
Steve Dunlop is the Chief Engineer, and Macmillan Macmillan is Head of News & Current Affairs, at Scotland's SMG's facility in Glasgow, and they talked to Martyn Green about the changes being made at SMG -- the Scottish Media Group, owners of Scottish TV, Scotland's largest independent TV station, and its former rival, Grampian Television, based in Aberdeen.
The question of what, when, and how -- and indeed how much -- to automate in the broadcast process is one being asked today by an increasing number of broadcast engineers around the world. And even when a decision has been made, and changes are starting to be implemented, the process is not something that always goes entirely smoothly, as SMG, owners of Scottish Television, and the ITV franchise holder for central Scotland since 1957 has been discovering.
Explains Scottish TV's wiry Chief Engineer, Steve Dunlop, "We are now in the process of having a second go at automation. It was back in 1998 that we first automated our news production and our transmission systems. This means they're both about seven years old, and as we're moving to a new purpose-built centre at Pacific Quay, alongside BBC Scotland, in the summer of 2006, we'd probably be doing it again, anyway. In fact we'll be disposing of everything we have here, to get entirely new automation equipment. Fortunately, as we'll be addressing automation for a second time, we know most of the issues."
According to Dunlop, the second time around, the parameters are much the same, except that back in 1997 video server capacity was very expensive. "Our ability to store material on a long-term basis on hard disk is now much cheaper and the technology is readily available," he says. "Also the ability to transfer material on a video file basis, rather than in live real-time video, is much easier now. These are the advantages that we would like to exploit."
Back in 1998, Scottish Television - which produces programs in English and Gaelic and is the main rival to BBC Scotland - also automated news operations.
Says Head of News & Current Affairs, Macmillan, "We were using NewsStar (a system developed by Dynatech, which was eventually taken over by Tektronix and then by Avid) and EditStar (Thompson Grass Valley) news production system. These were based on OmniBus Systems' Columbus automation and content management system and Grass Valley technology. But having had a successful migration to Avid at Grampian, which is our sister television station, we are doing the same thing here -- in common with many ITV regional stations."
Macmillan joined Scottish Television in early 2005, at which time the decisions concerning new automation equipment had already begun to be implemented. Says Macmillan, "By the time I came there was already a high degree of automation in the gallery but we are now moving towards a better balance between manual and automation. To be honest, I don't think we had it quite right before. We want to strike the optimum balance where what is suitable to be automated is automated, while making sure that that we keep the essential human element in the gallery, which is what has made our news program so successful."
Dunlop adds, "Obviously one shouldn't automate for automation's sake. And for us, for instance, camera acquisition will be tape based for a while longer. We had a long history with Beta SP before we introduced DVC Pro to our smaller sites in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and then moved the system to here in Glasgow."
But while automation obviously has its merits, it has contributed to the life cycle of equipment coming down considerably. Says Dunlop, "When I first joined this company, quite a few years ago, a video tape machine cost about three quarters of a million pounds, in today's money. And back then you wrote that off over ten to twelve years. Today, when you can buy a DVC Pro deck for a few thousand pounds, you can hardly expect the same life cycle. Technology is getting cheaper and you have to take advantage of it, but of course you shouldn't change just for the sake of new technology, but to take advantage of improved workflow and cost savings. He gives as an example, Panasonic's P2 cameras. "With these you can take the solid state PC memory cards out of the camera and put them straight into a laptop computer. There's no transfer time, no Firewire -- it's ready to go."
However, Macmillan adds, cautiously, "Of course, there is a certain amount of risk -- you may worry, how safe is the content? If you have a problem, do you lose all your material? There's an issue with every new generation of technology -- at what stage do you regard it as a safe standard, and well-supported? What's your relationship with other broadcasters -- what formats are they using? I would always be wary about being first in the queue for new technology because it comes with certain wrinkles that you have to iron out."
Dunlop agrees it's a good point. "We've been first on a couple of occasions over the years. There is a balance to be struck between being early adopters, and waiting in order to see the industry's experience of the new products."
He believes Panasonic's P2 camera is an interesting example, "Because, for instance, when you sell a mobile phone, you can sell the 'box' quite cheaply, as you may make your money on the calls. Manufacturing tape-based cameras, you can expect to sell a lot of tapes. But with the P2 that entire cost-model is altered because you are dealing with card, rather than tape, storage. With a Betacam tape you knew you'd be lucky to be able to use it 20 times, before dropouts became too obvious. But what happens with the P2 card?
"With tapes," Dunlop continues, "as long as you had shelf space, you could store them. But with the P2 cards, you have to have a different business model, as the cards are -- theoretically at least -- almost infinitely reusable. You don't store the cards, you store the material that is on them. You then have to work out a way to recirculate the cards back to the cameras. So it is a different workflow and costing exercise. And all along the price of the cards is falling."
It seems then that manufacturers will have to figure their way through a difficult equation as to how they are going to price these kind of products. If they won't get money coming in from the purchase of raw tape, it could be a dilemma for them. Indeed, this could be one of the reasons that the P2 cards are currently so relatively expensive. On the other hand a clear-cut advantage of P2 cameras is that the only thing that moves in the whole camera is the zoom lens. And that will inevitably impact on things like running costs and downtime. And of course, TCO -- the Total Cost of Ownership.
If automation is basically computer-based, then computers need software.
What software is SMG currently using for instance in video editing?
Says Macmillan, "Up to now we're been using Edit Star and NewsStar for desktop editing which our journalists do here. However, we are now training staff to use Avid I-News, as we introduced that at the end of August. That is the new editing and management system for our news programs. We have about 25 terminals/licenses. The journalists are based in Glasgow, and also in Edinburgh, and eventually they will be able to construct the running orders, access wire copy, and do desktop editing, all on Avid.
Dunlop adds, "The old style technology is you would cut a story in the Edinburgh office in the SDI vision domain and transfer it across to our Glasgow office via the usual line. For news transmission purposes it is a vision transfer. But we are now able to move a story as a simple file transfer. Within the ITV federation, we are just about to implement an ATM network, connecting each company with the potential to enhance the transfer of news material between the stations."
So, instead of STV using a vision circuit to Edinburgh, and another back to Glasgow, it will all simply become data with the ability to send video files, e-mails, or even Excel spreadsheets, all down the same line.
But how has increasing automation changed the workflow at SMG?
Says Macmillan, "From the news point of view our cameras on the floor are controlled from the gallery. We don't have camera operators anymore -- we have automated cameras, and that's been the case in British TV news for a number of years now -- since the 90s. Even in regional studios you will find a minimal amount of camera crewing on the floor, if at all. The BBC network has no camera operators, and with Channel Four and ITV news, they will have a couple of operators responsible for working four or five cameras. So automation in terms of cameras is pretty well established here in the U.K.
"When it was first introduced," Macmillan says, "people thought it would be a compromise, but I think that has become acceptable now. The big issue was in set design, as they were originally made for cameras that would move crablike across the floor, but now you have to build the use of robotic cameras into the set design. And that solves the issues of camera lines and eye lines.
"Our gallery operation relies upon the NewsStar system and OmniBus transmission and news studio automation systems," Macmillan continues. "At the start of the year, we had the system driving the vision mixer, so the direction of the news program was basically down to single button operation. But we've moved away from that now, and we've re-introduced director/vision mixers. So the automation delivers the video and cut stories to the gallery on various server ports, but the actual driving of the desk and pulling together of the graphics and video and the studio cameras, is all done by a director/vision mixer. The cameras are operated by an engineer who also manages the lights. And there is a sound operator as well. The requirement to deliver the pictures we want from the studio is achieved quite well by automation."
Macmillan notes, "If you look at the model for news programs ten years ago it would all have been tape-based edited packages, with a live link if you were lucky. But now the format is changing. People expect to see more on-location stories. And more people watch 24-hour news. So you are doing a lot of live stories. The requirements for a news program are always changing. And that has got to be reflected in how -- and where -- you choose to staff, and how you apportion your budget -- on technology, in the studio, satellite links, or camera crews.
When asked to evaluate how automation has saved Scottish TV money, Dunlop replies dryly, "I don't think automation is particularly about saving money. Obviously a TV station can't be driven by cost because there is no point in having the cheapest service in the world if no one's watching you."
Macmillan elaborates, "It's really more a question of how we spend our money. We have to consider if it is better to spend it on having people available in the studio to transmit material for effectively an hour a day or, by automating the cameras in the studio, have the ability to have more cameramen out on the road. You are always paying attention to what other TV stations are doing but you need a clear idea of what your own particular objectives are. As you are offering consumer choice you don't necessarily want to offer the same thing as your competitors."
Besides, Macmillan says, "News delivery styles are constantly changing. An earlier style had the news anchorman sitting behind
a desk in an anonymous studio with a simple news set. Then it moved into
one end of the actual news room. Then it moved into a newsroom created in
virtual reality. Then came standing up to deliver the news rather than sitting
at a desk. Things move in cycles -- fashions change. So automation isn't
about saving money -- it's really all about accessibility, and telling stories
simply, and in an engaging and increasingly effective way."
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