TORONTO – Building on more than 20 years of legacy in newsroom production, Imagine Communications introduces a new approach to content access, management and cross-platform delivery.
Introducing Nexio NewsCraft, marketed as a newsmaking tool that allows organizations to work smarter and more efficiently – ensuring that every news item is broadcast quickly, no matter where the operators are.
Nexio NewsCraft provides a feature-rich and intuitive set of tools in a highly automated environment that streamlines news production from ingestion and preparation to playback and delivery across multiple platforms. Based on proven open standards throughout the period, Nexio NewsCraft works seamlessly in hybrid SDI / IP architectures, interacts closely with computer news systems (NRCS) through a fully integrated MOS interface and allows access to systems in advance, on-site or from home.
“In talking to broadcasters around the world, the message was absolutely clear,” said Steve Reynolds, president of Imagine Communications. “The overriding desire is to be the first to tell the story accurately – and our new solution will meet these critical requirements.
“Whether it’s commercial news channels, state television broadcasters or public service, the ability to quickly receive news from their viewers is paramount and adds real value to their operations. We designed Nexio NewsCraft as a seamlessly integrated, software-defined ecosystem that facilitates implementation and makes the production process more efficient. Journalists can tell the best story, and producers can get it quickly on the air and online. It is equally important that we can provide a full-featured, elegant workflow solution at a competitive price. “
Nexio NewsCraft incorporates the best of breed components in highly integrated, virtualized software for deployment indoors, in the cloud, or in hybrid architecture. The solution combines the proven performance and reliability of MOS-enabled Nexio® production servers and IOX shared storage with a modern, easy-to-use GUI and best-in-class media management capabilities from the EditShare FLOW family.
Many software tools can be layered on the server architecture, providing broad and fast access to content and empowering journalists, removing technical and operational constraints wherever they have access to functionality. If necessary, artificial intelligence tools such as automated metadata retrieval can be added to facilitate increased productivity and asset monetization.
As a system designed specifically for speed, Nexio NewsCraft allows the recording of crashes to start with a button on the control screen; scheduling a record is as simple as putting an event on a calendar. No matter how the content is absorbed, the material can be played or edited within seconds of recording. Intelligent, flexible user interfaces simplify the tasks of operators on site or in remote collaboration.
Simplified browsing controls on the journalist’s workstation allow basic editing tasks, such as topping and queuing, lists and registration, all through an intuitive web user interface. When more complex editing is required, Nexio NewsCraft is fully integrated with popular third-party tools such as Adobe® Premiere® Pro and DaVinci Resolve, providing fast access and seamless content flow from ingestion to delivery and transparent project sharing between editors.
For distributors who already use Imagine’s extensive Nexio servers, editing functionality can simply be layered on top. For media companies looking for a new approach to news content management, Nexio NewsCraft can be cost-effectively deployed with resources scaled directly to their operational needs. For each COTS-hosted news operation, the software architecture of the Nexio NewsCraft solution facilitates and is accessible for channel scaling and system-free storage and provides a future migration path to IP, UHD and the cloud.
– Karina Newton, in North York, Ontario