SP
Leeds will often mix on the opt back, sometimes leading vision so the very end of their end sting is under the network announcer doing the menu.
IS
Also - if the salvo is controlled centrally, and not remotely by the region, it stops regions being able to decide unilaterally to opt-out independently. (Which some have on occasions - or stolen extra air time by not optiing back for the first network junction...)
Though just because it's done centrally doesn't mean it'll be automatic. I'd have thought doing it as you describe wouldn't be popular with the regions.
Although there has always been a system that can force all the regions to opt back despite opt control being in the regions. It's only ever been intended for big news like a royal obit so afaik has never been used for reigning in a rebellious region
Also - if the salvo is controlled centrally, and not remotely by the region, it stops regions being able to decide unilaterally to opt-out independently. (Which some have on occasions - or stolen extra air time by not optiing back for the first network junction...)
Though just because it's done centrally doesn't mean it'll be automatic. I'd have thought doing it as you describe wouldn't be popular with the regions.
Although there has always been a system that can force all the regions to opt back despite opt control being in the regions. It's only ever been intended for big news like a royal obit so afaik has never been used for reigning in a rebellious region
MA
Also - if the salvo is controlled centrally, and not remotely by the region, it stops regions being able to decide unilaterally to opt-out independently. (Which some have on occasions - or stolen extra air time by not optiing back for the first network junction...)
Though just because it's done centrally doesn't mean it'll be automatic. I'd have thought doing it as you describe wouldn't be popular with the regions.
Although there has always been a system that can force all the regions to opt back despite opt control being in the regions. It's only ever been intended for big news like a royal obit so afaik has never been used for reigning in a rebellious region
I think the regional news opts in ITV's GMB are manually fired off from a GPI, (that then fires off the salvos in Chiswick and Leeds) from the GMB gallery ?
If our American members are in here, how do the local affiliates handle this sort of thing, I think there's a fair amount of similar centralisation over there there too ?
Also - if the salvo is controlled centrally, and not remotely by the region, it stops regions being able to decide unilaterally to opt-out independently. (Which some have on occasions - or stolen extra air time by not optiing back for the first network junction...)
Though just because it's done centrally doesn't mean it'll be automatic. I'd have thought doing it as you describe wouldn't be popular with the regions.
Although there has always been a system that can force all the regions to opt back despite opt control being in the regions. It's only ever been intended for big news like a royal obit so afaik has never been used for reigning in a rebellious region
I think the regional news opts in ITV's GMB are manually fired off from a GPI, (that then fires off the salvos in Chiswick and Leeds) from the GMB gallery ?
If our American members are in here, how do the local affiliates handle this sort of thing, I think there's a fair amount of similar centralisation over there there too ?
NG
If our American members are in here, how do the local affiliates handle this sort of thing, I think there's a fair amount of similar centralisation over there there too ?
AIUI most local affiliates run their own presentation playout operations for commercials and local/syndicated programming - and also encode locally for their own transmitter. I suspect it is done manually - though I may be wrong.
noggin
Founding member
If our American members are in here, how do the local affiliates handle this sort of thing, I think there's a fair amount of similar centralisation over there there too ?
AIUI most local affiliates run their own presentation playout operations for commercials and local/syndicated programming - and also encode locally for their own transmitter. I suspect it is done manually - though I may be wrong.
NG
Although there has always been a system that can force all the regions to opt back despite opt control being in the regions. It's only ever been intended for big news like a royal obit so afaik has never been used for reigning in a rebellious region
Yes - though I'm not sure it has ever actually been used has it? In the analogue, and locally encoded digital days, when there wasn't a CCM-style operation for BBC One, there was a system called RATS - which was a regional alert system. I believe there were both Radio and TV versions that were designed to flash lights in the newsroom and gallery / radio studio to ensure people listened to network talkback (or the equivalent thing - GNS? - for radio) to return to network ASAP if they were opted out (or in the case of radio join up the stations for a common announcement)
noggin
Founding member
Although there has always been a system that can force all the regions to opt back despite opt control being in the regions. It's only ever been intended for big news like a royal obit so afaik has never been used for reigning in a rebellious region
Yes - though I'm not sure it has ever actually been used has it? In the analogue, and locally encoded digital days, when there wasn't a CCM-style operation for BBC One, there was a system called RATS - which was a regional alert system. I believe there were both Radio and TV versions that were designed to flash lights in the newsroom and gallery / radio studio to ensure people listened to network talkback (or the equivalent thing - GNS? - for radio) to return to network ASAP if they were opted out (or in the case of radio join up the stations for a common announcement)
JA
I don't know if it's still the case, but at one time when Hull opted out, the picture on the network output would revert to 14:9 for some reason.
IS
Yes - though I'm not sure it has ever actually been used has it? In the analogue, and locally encoded digital days, when there wasn't a CCM-style operation for BBC One, there was a system called RATS - which was a regional alert system. I believe there were both Radio and TV versions that were designed to flash lights in the newsroom and gallery / radio studio to ensure people listened to network talkback (or the equivalent thing - GNS? - for radio) to return to network ASAP if they were opted out (or in the case of radio join up the stations for a common announcement)
I don't think RATs was/is anything to do with the way TV is distributed though, I'd assume that it or a similar system still exists. I remember a box for it on the wall of a former workplace, I have a feeling it was radio activated as it wasn't connected to anything, though no idea how.
Commercial radio has a similar system, which famously failed when the Queen Mum died as it was bank holiday weekend and IRN was on minimal freelance staffing and didn't press the button to activate it!
The network recall system was a button in pres. Don't think it was used in anger, tested regularly though
Yes - though I'm not sure it has ever actually been used has it? In the analogue, and locally encoded digital days, when there wasn't a CCM-style operation for BBC One, there was a system called RATS - which was a regional alert system. I believe there were both Radio and TV versions that were designed to flash lights in the newsroom and gallery / radio studio to ensure people listened to network talkback (or the equivalent thing - GNS? - for radio) to return to network ASAP if they were opted out (or in the case of radio join up the stations for a common announcement)
I don't think RATs was/is anything to do with the way TV is distributed though, I'd assume that it or a similar system still exists. I remember a box for it on the wall of a former workplace, I have a feeling it was radio activated as it wasn't connected to anything, though no idea how.
Commercial radio has a similar system, which famously failed when the Queen Mum died as it was bank holiday weekend and IRN was on minimal freelance staffing and didn't press the button to activate it!
The network recall system was a button in pres. Don't think it was used in anger, tested regularly though
NG
Yes - Fox is the odd-one-out in the US markets as it provides affiliates with a pre-encoded 'network' feed rather than a high bitrate, high quality mezzanine 'contribution quality' feed. The Fox stations all have 'splicers' installed.
These splicers take the pre-encoded MPEG2 network feed, and do a very clever partial decode to insert a local bug, by decoding just the macroblocks in the stream that need to be decoded and re-encoded to do so. The rest of the picture just passes straight through and is not decoded and recoded (avoiding further compression artefacts) This also allows Fox to tightly handle 5.1 Dolby audio on their network shows I believe - which some other networks historically struggled with (or more accurately their local stations did)
The Fox splicer also has an MPEG2 encoder for local material played out from the station (commercials, local news etc.) which is synchronised to the splicer's incoming network feed, allowing clean junctions to and from network. This gives Fox tighter control, mandates a uniform bug insertion system that can be remotely triggered etc.
This system was introduced when Fox switched from running a 480i 16:9 SD network feed - which was encoded at the local stations in 480p - and introduced 720p HD. (Fox - unlike ABC, NBC and CBS didn't initially run HD on digital OTA. Their 480p was 'good enough' for them)
This was the situation a few years ago - I think Fox may have since upgraded their splicer tech further.
ABC, CBS and NBC work differently and distribute a higher quality network feed BUT this is then permanently decoded to baseband video and then re-encoded after playout master control in each station. This requires more equipement and personnel than Fox stations I believe.
noggin
Founding member
I definitely know Fox US fires trigger pings to affiliates for things such as local watermarking.
Yes - Fox is the odd-one-out in the US markets as it provides affiliates with a pre-encoded 'network' feed rather than a high bitrate, high quality mezzanine 'contribution quality' feed. The Fox stations all have 'splicers' installed.
These splicers take the pre-encoded MPEG2 network feed, and do a very clever partial decode to insert a local bug, by decoding just the macroblocks in the stream that need to be decoded and re-encoded to do so. The rest of the picture just passes straight through and is not decoded and recoded (avoiding further compression artefacts) This also allows Fox to tightly handle 5.1 Dolby audio on their network shows I believe - which some other networks historically struggled with (or more accurately their local stations did)
The Fox splicer also has an MPEG2 encoder for local material played out from the station (commercials, local news etc.) which is synchronised to the splicer's incoming network feed, allowing clean junctions to and from network. This gives Fox tighter control, mandates a uniform bug insertion system that can be remotely triggered etc.
This system was introduced when Fox switched from running a 480i 16:9 SD network feed - which was encoded at the local stations in 480p - and introduced 720p HD. (Fox - unlike ABC, NBC and CBS didn't initially run HD on digital OTA. Their 480p was 'good enough' for them)
This was the situation a few years ago - I think Fox may have since upgraded their splicer tech further.
ABC, CBS and NBC work differently and distribute a higher quality network feed BUT this is then permanently decoded to baseband video and then re-encoded after playout master control in each station. This requires more equipement and personnel than Fox stations I believe.
MA
Commercial radio has a similar system, which famously failed when the Queen Mum died as it was bank holiday weekend and IRN was on minimal freelance staffing and didn't press the button to activate it!
Yes, I think the original (1970s) IRN/ILR system was using units designed, and built by Plymouth Sound's engineering dept ? (both of them presumably !)
Here's a webpage from 20 years ago, how to set the units up (that was during ITN's tenure of running IRN) Sky News now run what was IRN, I assume the signalling system has been up dated (or maybe not !)
http://www.gemteksys.com/obitalgn.html
Commercial radio has a similar system, which famously failed when the Queen Mum died as it was bank holiday weekend and IRN was on minimal freelance staffing and didn't press the button to activate it!
Yes, I think the original (1970s) IRN/ILR system was using units designed, and built by Plymouth Sound's engineering dept ? (both of them presumably !)
Here's a webpage from 20 years ago, how to set the units up (that was during ITN's tenure of running IRN) Sky News now run what was IRN, I assume the signalling system has been up dated (or maybe not !)
http://www.gemteksys.com/obitalgn.html