Serving the news

News is a demanding area of operation with its own set of priorities and requirements. Serving the news is all about accepting the source information, rushes, text and archives, and playing the edited results to the programme output. Over the years there have already been a number of technical revolutions, ENG made the change from film to tape while newsroom computers streamlined text-based operations and many aspects of production. Now the advent of video servers offers many possibilities and raises as many complex questions. Video servers can handle pictures and sound from the recorded rushes through to transmission into the final programme up to now activities that have centred on the use of tape and associated VTRs, cart machines and automation systems. Switching to a server-based operation is not a one-for-one swap-out and the change impinges on many aspects of the whole operation. At the same time, although video servers still come under the heading of 'new technology', there are already widely differing designs, specifications and proposed system configurations. So working out how to make the most of this latest 'news revolution' is a complex task.