Quantel Streamlines Highlights Production With New LiveTouch System

Quantel has released LiveTouch – a brand new range of studio sports highlighting systems that feature a robust, ergonomic live control panel and unique bi-directional editor integration. LiveTouch encompasses a complete range of studio highlighting applications from single operator standalone set-ups to complete, integrated production systems.

The Quantel Live Touch

LiveTouch has been developed following close consultation with sports broadcasters and their on-air operators, and features a purpose-designed control panel to make highlights selection fast, sure and simple, meeting the rigorous needs of live production. At the system’s heart is the new, compact 3U power-efficient LiveTouch server. Inter-server streaming allows multiple LiveTouch servers to be used as one large, virtual server, giving operators instant access to any clip irrespective of where it is being recorded.

LiveTouch also integrates Quantel editing. The workflow is two-way – editors can access the highlights with no media movement and any panel can play back any completed sequence. Thanks to Quantel’s unique FrameMagic technology, the system delivers the fastest highlights-to-edit-to-air workflow on the market – no media ever needs to be copied or moved and there is no need to duplicate storage for editing.

“We have tested LiveTouch with a number of major sports broadcasters around the world since we first showed it in prototype form at IBC 2014,” said Steve Owen, Quantel Marketing Director. “It has been very enthusiastically received, particularly the up-to-the-minute look and functionality of the control panel, the inter-server streaming and the integrated editing. And this is just the start; LiveTouch will grow rapidly in capabilities and applications over the coming months as our development team continues to drive forward what’s possible in sports highlighting.”

There are three models in the LiveTouch product range: LiveTouch Highlight, LiveTouch Production, LiveTouch Enterprise.

LiveTouch Highlights is the entry level, standalone system, comprising a single LiveTouch server and one or two LiveTouch control panels and integrated editing LiveTouch Highlights offers a low entry cost and is easily deployed in any studio environment.

LiveTouch Production is a complete highlighting system for sophisticated studio applications. LiveTouch Production is powerful enough to support multiple studios and demanding productions, yet is simple to use and configure. LiveTouch Production includes integrated editing as standard, allowing fast editing of highlights and playout of finished pieces.

LiveTouch Enterprise adds sports highlighting to Quantel Enterprise sQ fast turnaround production systems. The result is unified system covering every aspect of sports highlighting and program production that delivers a complete, efficient workflow that eliminates much of the complexity and duplication that often exist today.

Quantel Releases New Edition of Digital Fact Book Online
Quantel has also released a brand new edition of the Digital Fact Book. It has been completely overhauled and updated to reflect the latest developments across our industry, and has its very own website at www.digitalfactbook.tv – putting more than 80 years of Quantel and Snell’s combined experience in the digital world at the industry’s fingertips.

In producing the new edition, every one of over 600 entries has been reviewed and updated, and many new ones added, echoing particularly the increasing adoption of web and IP technologies in the broadcast industry today.

Industry veteran Bob Pank, who has edited every edition of the Digital Fact Book in its 27 year history, has once again overseen the project. “It’s been an interesting as well as challenging job,” he said. “What is great about our industry is the way it continues to develop at breathtaking speed; keeping up with those changes is essential for broadcast and post professionals, and the Digital Fact Book is a useful one-stop resource for this. And now that it’s online, we can of course update it as and when new developments occur that impact our industry; it’s very much a living book!”

“You’d think that in the online age there would be no need any more for the Digital Fact Book, but the reality is everywhere we go people still ask us for copies of it; it’s great that the DFB still has this position in our industry,” said Steve Owen, Quantel Marketing Director. “We haven’t done a new edition for a few years but the coming together of Quantel and Snell gave us the opportunity to do a completely new version that makes the great depth of knowledge of both organizations available to the whole industry.”

Quantel welcomes all suggestions for updates and new entries for the Digital Fact Book from anyone in the industry. Send them to us at [email protected].

Corus Entertainment Adds Four New Quantel Pablo Rio Systems
In other Quantel news, Canadian-based media and entertainment company Corus Entertainment jas upgraded its current Quantel eQ systems. The four new Pablo Rio 2KO high quality color and finishing systems provide Corus with postproduction color and finishing services for short and long form content across the company’s suite of television channels. Corus has also purchased Quantel’s Genetic Engineering 2 (GE2) system to maximize storage and workflow efficiencies on the Pablo Rio systems.

Pablo Rio is Quantel’s high quality color and finishing system that provides the ultimate productive post workflow. Pablo Rio runs on high performance PC hardware and exploits NVIDIA Maximus multi-GPU technology to deliver true interactivity and maximum productivity, with realtime performance at 4K 60p and beyond. Pablo Rio is available as software only and as a range of Quantel-backed turnkey systems. Genetic Engineering 2 provides shared storage and workflow for up to four Pablo Rio systems, enabling better teamworking and more productive post.

“Pablo Rio and GE2 is the perfect choice for Corus Entertainment,” says Quantel Sales Director, Martin Mulligan. “Pablo Rio’s intuitive interface, immense power and fantastic color toolset will provide Corus with the ultimate post production workflow.”

Corus Entertainment is a leading specialty television and radio broadcaster with additional assets in pay television, children’s animation and animation software. The company’s multimedia entertainment brands include YTV, Treehouse, Nickelodeon (Canada), TELETOON, Cartoon Network (Canada), ABC Spark, Network, Cosmopolitan TV, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada), Historia and HBO Canada.

Scott Dyer, EVP and CTO, Corus Entertainment adds, “We are pleased to be enhancing our post production operations with the addition of Quantel’s Pablo Rio and GE2 systems which provide us with greater speed and flexibility, positioning us well for a variety of content platforms now and in the future.”