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BBC One Problems

Fault on BBC One (April 2010)

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JU
jumpinjack

I think they push back is done live - hence the DVE frame jump - however I suspect they were rehearsing without the mixer in rehearsal mode, or without The One Show switched directly to line downstream, and thus as they triggered the push back (which had the EastEnders video coming off the server that they were previewing it on) the DVE/keyer was cut to line, and they cut away from The One Show?

My understanding of the playout software is that they can effectively bypass what's going out and preview the next junction or other sequence in the future. The interface is like an edit time-line so the director can adjust timings and tweak transitions as they wish. Before they could check individual items but had to do a junction or a credit squeeze once - live on air!


Indeed, the director can copy and paste a sequence from the channel's schedule into a 'preview' channel. The software puts the on-air channel into bypass and uses the vision mixer to show the director exactly what will happen in the next junction including IPPs, Squeezes, GFX elements, trails, ident and any recorded announcement. If needs be, the live announcer can join in on rehearsal too.

Ironically, this functionality was built in to the old manual control rooms which closed in 1996. Junctions were routinely reahearsed and fine tuned. The automated control rooms that were used from 1996 to 2000ish were supposed to have a rehearse mode, but they never ever got it to work properly. The idea wasn't ever put into the Digital Control area used from 1998 - 2003/4, and only returned to the architecture at the broadcast centre.


This is all correct, the error on the One Show was that the Graphic device was stuck 'on' on the main channel from the Next slide going into the One Show. The Main and Preview channels share the graphics device used to generate the squeeze so hence when the director tried to rehearse we saw it on the main channel.


In Northern Ireland (and Scotland and Wales too I'm fairly sure) you don't run the danger of this fault...

...as when they click on 'Preview', the highlighted part of the schedule is automatically copy&pasted in a preview stream which has its own graphics hardware which is not shared with the main playout stream.


They use exactly the same automation as Network, but may have separate graphics devices that would get round this problem
DE
denton

I think they push back is done live - hence the DVE frame jump - however I suspect they were rehearsing without the mixer in rehearsal mode, or without The One Show switched directly to line downstream, and thus as they triggered the push back (which had the EastEnders video coming off the server that they were previewing it on) the DVE/keyer was cut to line, and they cut away from The One Show?

My understanding of the playout software is that they can effectively bypass what's going out and preview the next junction or other sequence in the future. The interface is like an edit time-line so the director can adjust timings and tweak transitions as they wish. Before they could check individual items but had to do a junction or a credit squeeze once - live on air!


Indeed, the director can copy and paste a sequence from the channel's schedule into a 'preview' channel. The software puts the on-air channel into bypass and uses the vision mixer to show the director exactly what will happen in the next junction including IPPs, Squeezes, GFX elements, trails, ident and any recorded announcement. If needs be, the live announcer can join in on rehearsal too.

Ironically, this functionality was built in to the old manual control rooms which closed in 1996. Junctions were routinely reahearsed and fine tuned. The automated control rooms that were used from 1996 to 2000ish were supposed to have a rehearse mode, but they never ever got it to work properly. The idea wasn't ever put into the Digital Control area used from 1998 - 2003/4, and only returned to the architecture at the broadcast centre.


This is all correct, the error on the One Show was that the Graphic device was stuck 'on' on the main channel from the Next slide going into the One Show. The Main and Preview channels share the graphics device used to generate the squeeze so hence when the director tried to rehearse we saw it on the main channel.


In Northern Ireland (and Scotland and Wales too I'm fairly sure) you don't run the danger of this fault...

...as when they click on 'Preview', the highlighted part of the schedule is automatically copy&pasted in a preview stream which has its own graphics hardware which is not shared with the main playout stream.


They use exactly the same automation as Network, but may have separate graphics devices that would get round this problem


No... they don't actually. They run G3 Colossus in the Nations, rather than the G2 Colossus that Red Bee use to run BBC 1 and BBC 2 in England. There are also some differences in how the hardware and software is set-up in each Nation.
JU
jumpinjack

I think they push back is done live - hence the DVE frame jump - however I suspect they were rehearsing without the mixer in rehearsal mode, or without The One Show switched directly to line downstream, and thus as they triggered the push back (which had the EastEnders video coming off the server that they were previewing it on) the DVE/keyer was cut to line, and they cut away from The One Show?

My understanding of the playout software is that they can effectively bypass what's going out and preview the next junction or other sequence in the future. The interface is like an edit time-line so the director can adjust timings and tweak transitions as they wish. Before they could check individual items but had to do a junction or a credit squeeze once - live on air!


Indeed, the director can copy and paste a sequence from the channel's schedule into a 'preview' channel. The software puts the on-air channel into bypass and uses the vision mixer to show the director exactly what will happen in the next junction including IPPs, Squeezes, GFX elements, trails, ident and any recorded announcement. If needs be, the live announcer can join in on rehearsal too.

Ironically, this functionality was built in to the old manual control rooms which closed in 1996. Junctions were routinely reahearsed and fine tuned. The automated control rooms that were used from 1996 to 2000ish were supposed to have a rehearse mode, but they never ever got it to work properly. The idea wasn't ever put into the Digital Control area used from 1998 - 2003/4, and only returned to the architecture at the broadcast centre.


This is all correct, the error on the One Show was that the Graphic device was stuck 'on' on the main channel from the Next slide going into the One Show. The Main and Preview channels share the graphics device used to generate the squeeze so hence when the director tried to rehearse we saw it on the main channel.


In Northern Ireland (and Scotland and Wales too I'm fairly sure) you don't run the danger of this fault...

...as when they click on 'Preview', the highlighted part of the schedule is automatically copy&pasted in a preview stream which has its own graphics hardware which is not shared with the main playout stream.


They use exactly the same automation as Network, but may have separate graphics devices that would get round this problem


No... they don't actually. They run G3 Colossus in the Nations, rather than the G2 Colossus that Red Bee use to run BBC 1 and BBC 2 in England. There are also some differences in how the hardware and software is set-up in each Nation.


Yes....but it is all Colossus by Omnibus with similar functionallity with regards to the preview channel which is what I was talking about....
GS
Gavin Scott Founding member
This is really quite fascinating (scan for sarcasm if you like, but I assure you there is none).

But could you avoid all these nested quotes as its taking an age to read on a potable device?
DE
denton
Sorry, it was your use of the word "exactly" that confused me Wink

Yes indeed, there is similar funtionality with regrards to the preview channels of G2 in Red Bee and G3 in BBC NI... in that they both let you preview items in the schedule... however, as I said there are significant differences in the way that the Nations playout software & hardware is set up compared to Red Bee's. The preview channel in NI has its own mixer and its own graphics kit, and does not need to share this with the main playout channels.

These differences mean that the fault that occurred on BBC 1 England, with the end credit squeeze preview being seen on air, cannot occur in Northern Ireland with locally generated End Credit Squeezes.
Last edited by denton on 11 May 2010 5:36pm
DA
David
Someone has messed up the EPG (BBC One SE on Sky anyway) and deleted EastEnders. They have put an extra show "BBC News Special" in at 19:30 but haven't switched to it. I doubt the News Special will ever get shown according to the EPG, they have done this kind of thing before. Why couldn't they just leave it. The EPG is designed for schedule changes but the BBC seem to mess it up more often than not, the news on BBC One should have been kept as part of 'The One Show and EastEnders can then be shown whenever it fits in and the EPG updated to reflect that.
SP
Steve in Pudsey
Interesting use by pres of the different feeds out of N6, mixing to the clean feed to get rid of the News graphics, super an "EastEnders follows" strap then go back to the feed with graphics.

It worked well, even if the two feeds weren't exactly lined up (one was a line or two lower down the screen).
DA
David
Delaying EastEnders has confused iPlayer...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s9wc6/EastEnders_11_05_2010/

It looks like the programme is there but it won't play. Up until 20:00 it was 'coming soon'.
GM
nodnirG kraM
*
AN
Ant
EPG updated - EastEnders due at 20:30 now. Whether it will or not is another question.
AS
Asa Admin
Delaying EastEnders has confused iPlayer...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s9wc6/EastEnders_11_05_2010/

It looks like the programme is there but it won't play. Up until 20:00 it was 'coming soon'.

Wonder if there's some emergency stop feature to block what I assume is an automated process for pre-recorded shows. Shame in a way that it can't be promoted as 'available on iPlayer now'.
SP
Steve in Pudsey
I suspect it could well be driven from the same information feed as the EPG - and if the EPG is fed duff info, strange things can happen!

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