Crawford Communications Adds Volicon Observer
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Crawford
Communications has expanded its broadcast recording and monitoring capabilities
with the addition of a 12-channel Volicon Observer video monitoring and logging
solution. The new system adds additional SD and HD channels to an existing
Volicon Observer implementation.
For
several years, Crawford has been using a four-channel analog Observer system to
enable one of its clients to view a downlink of the network’s aired broadcast.
Additionally the system validates the integrity and quality of the signal as
well as verifies that advertising ran as scheduled. With the addition of
multiple SD and HD channels, the Observer system has been put into service for
another Crawford client, Latin American Pay Television (LAPTV). This enables
LAPTV engineers to log onto the Observer from any desktop computer to view a
recording of previously aired content and, if desired, download a clip to
e-mail to a colleague for viewing; for instance, to demonstrate that a graphic
or banner aired as intended.
The
Volicon systems replace Crawford’s previous system of recording aired content
onto videotapes and shipping them to clients. “Not only does the Observer
give our clients instant access, without the delay of waiting for tapes to
arrive, but it’s brought us significant savings in tape stock, storage space,
and recording equipment,” said Steven Southern, senior broadcast engineer
for Crawford.
Southern
added, “All of our broadcast clients require that we give them an air
check so they can verify the integrity of the signal we are transmitting for
them. The Observer gives clients much more convenience and flexibility in
accessing and sharing their aired content, which offers them significant time
savings as well. Furthermore Volicon’s technical support has been second to
none.”
“Crawford
recognized early on that by offering advanced digital video monitoring and
recording to its clients, it could reap the benefits, as well as cost savings,
of better and more proactive customer support,” said Julius Perl, vice
president of marketing at Volicon. “We are pleased that the Observer has
become such a pivotal component in Crawford’s business, to the extent that the
company actively encourages its clients to adopt the Observer
service.”