The integrated production facility

The integrated production facility is the future of television production. It will result from two converging trends-the advance of digital technology and the rise of mass market software. New players like Lotus, Microsoft and Oracle will enter the market and exist alongside traditional industry suppliers, like Avid and Discreet Logic. Cheaper ways of operating are demanded by the international multichannel environment. The economics of programming will not change-original programming will remain expensive. Therefore, broadcasters need to look to efficient transmission systems and communicating hardware and software as the broadcast centres of the future evolve. Using technology to improve the flow of information will be the key. Changes will stem partly from process automation and partly from the nature of mass market software. The integrated production facility is a question of modelling the workflow of a television station to fit with digital technology.