Digital Nirvana updates broadcast-monitoring software

Digital Nirvana has unveiled Version 3.1 of its flagship broadcast monitoring software, Monitor IQ.

Version 3.1 includes several new features that are a direct result of customer feedback received since Version 3.0 was released at NAB2012 in April. Among the new, customer-suggested features are: SDI playout, flexible content archiving, real-time newscast exporting, Dolby E audio standard support, and H.264 video format support.

Version 3.1 also includes the following features that were first introduced at NAB 2012: watermark NAVE decoding, centralized management, and a director’s audio track.

Monitor IQ is a monitoring, logging, compliance, and content republishing system for TV networks and stations. It combines the functionality of content recording (HD and SD in full resolution), content searching, retrieve and repurposing, Web publishing, signal monitoring, air-check logging, archiving, ad verification and tracking, and competitive analysis in a scalable networked appliance.

“Each of the features we’ve added into Version 3.1 comes directly from customer input,” said Ned Chini, vice president of sales and marketing, Digital Nirvana. “We’ve listened to what our customers tell us they need in a broadcast monitoring solution and created a tool that’s tailor made to address their requirements. Our system is significantly more advanced than anything else on the market.”

Version 3.1’s new SDI playout capability allows broadcasters to playout content from the SDI stream, record it, perform diagnostics and generate diagnostic reports. The full MPEG file can be played out, recorded and used by third party systems within the broadcaster’s operation. A media aggregator, for example, can record and then play out any audio/video they received from a customer to demonstrate the original quality of the content, thereby proving that they are not responsible for any errors within the broadcast video and audio. And, thanks to the diagnostic reporting capability, they can pinpoint exactly where an issue in the signal chain originated.

The new flexible archive functionality allows a broadcaster to enter a specific start and end point of what they want to record in shorter time periods than was previously allowed. By archiving only the content they want, a broadcaster can save valuable storage space and streamline future search inquiries. TV stations that want to archive their newscasts on a weekly basis and copy those onto a DVD, for example, now have the flexibility to do just that.

“This is a much more granular way to archive based upon a broadcaster’s specific business requirements,” explained Chini.

Because the platform is based on open web services (REST) API’s, Monitor IQ now offers real-time export of newscasts. Monitor IQ’s AsRun Log imports the newscast content into the system.  While the show is in progress, the operator can output the content to multiple formats for the Internet and mobile devices. The API’s automate this process and put the content into a workflow that is published quickly to various mobile devices or to the web. Efficiency is greatly enhanced since export is done automatically without the need for any manual intervention.

Version 3.1 can also now record and support content in the Dolby E audio standard.  Previously, broadcasters could record video but could not hear Dolby E audio within the facility because the majority of monitoring systems don’t support this standard. Now, broadcasters can monitor Dolby E audio and video at all points in the process – within the facility, between facilities, and after transmission. This allows the broadcaster to monitor their signal and quickly diagnose any problems as the signal travels to various points within a broadcast network as well as monitoring the post-broadcast signal.

Monitor IQ, Version 3.1, can also now record and support content in the H.264 format, which is becoming a global video formatting standard. H.264 is often used for video streaming because of its bandwidth efficiency and high-quality video output. This new feature also improves upon the accuracy of Monitor IQ’s cut/clip functionality for H.264. Monitor IQ can now take frame-accurate cut/clips from video in the H.264 format.