Looking at developments in the broadcasting world over the past twelve months, it's difficult to avoid the conclusion that the IT revolution has reached a tipping point. Judging by the uptake of iTX, our software-based production and transmission solution, broadcasters of all sizes are now ready to go IT and are leading the way in the development of new workflows and markets.

The core advantages of iTX technology are applicable in many different broadcasting and business scenarios, so our product roadmap has included the creation of some specially-developed variants that can be seen at NAB 2008:

	iTX NEWS: a news automation and production system that significantly streamlines workflow and offers incredible responsiveness to late-breaking news situations.
	iTX BCP: ensures business continuity without breaking the bank. Read more about iTX BCP below.
	iTX On-Demand: streamlines the process of creating VOD material by producing a rendered file from the same workflow and hardware as your conventional playout.
	iTX Version 1.2: new features include schedule preview, support for multi-regional breaks and opt-outs, enhanced capabilities for newsflash and roll under situations, Dolby® Digital audio encoding/decoding, and live instant playback for news, sports and entertainment programs.

At OmniBus, we’ve had a unifying vision for IT in broadcasting from the start. So it’s entirely fitting that our core products OPUS and Colossus are also seeing rapid developments that are keeping them at the forefront of new business models and leading-edge projects around the world. Technology like our SmartClient web-based picture research tool is just one example of the way we are narrowing the gap between traditional broadcast systems and the global, open file-based infrastructure that is increasingly the backbone of content production and delivery in our industry.

Ian Fletcher, CTO

Rapid and Creative Delivery of Content to Multiple Platforms

Efficient, flexible and imaginative deployment of content has become the overriding concern of broadcasters and media organizations the world over. The challenge the industry faces is how to reduce costs by streamlining access and delivery without compromising production values. With so many different outlets competing for audience share, and 24/7 operation as the norm, every aspect of the workflow is under the microscope in the search for potential inefficiencies.

Broadcasting is a data-intensive operation and it shares this characteristic with many of the other industries that make our world go round. As in these industries, the future of any broadcasting business will depend on how efficiently and flexibly its staff can find, analyze and deploy data. Fortunately the technology is now available for broadcasters to move rapidly towards new infrastructures and working methods, and more and more are taking advantage of it.

The old skepticism about the broadcasting potential of IT hardware and high-quality, purpose-designed software is gone. Even at the sharp end, the IT hardware that powers mission-critical applications for corporations and financial markets is now accepted as capable of delivering the goods when the red light goes on.

By removing the barrier between broadcasting operations and the data-driven world, IT based systems are changing the whole profile of the broadcasting business model. It’s now possible for broadcasters and content owners to launch new channels quicker than ever before, and with far lower costs: this means content owners can experiment with far less risk as they stake out new territory in the multi-platform world. Niche channels, speciality audiences, user-driven broadcasting and multi-versioning can come within easy reach, as can 'television' channels featured on print media websites, and other cross-pollinations we can hardly envision at this point. For a broadcast industry facing severe competition for eyeball time, this is great news.

More and more, technology can take care of the mechanical aspects of the workflow – ingest, conversion, data handling, playout automation, archiving and so on – while presenting the production staff with the most transparent access to the content. This is the whole idea behind iTX. By making it easier to find and work with suitable content, iTX shifts the use of staff resources away from routine mechanical tasks and into the kind of creative and editorial decision making where these professionals can add so much value.

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