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Click here for information in Japanese. 
Broadcast media servers are powerful tools that
are capable of storing and managing immense
amounts of material. Once a facility implements a
digital, net-worked server-based infrastructure, it
becomes necessary to have tools that enable
operators to have very specific control over the
material stored within the server. As utilization of
an Omneon media server system increases, so too
does the requirement to be able to control the
ingest, movement and playout of material within
the system.
ClipTool™Pro
As broadcasters increasingly utilize media servers at the core of their operations, there is a growing need for smart, intuitive utilities for controlling server functions and managing media files contained within the system. To meet this need, Omneon offers a suite of MediaTools that provide simple and cost-effective, yet powerful, functionality. The Omneon ClipTool Pro is a Windows-based software application that provides an easy-to-use graphical user interface to monitor and control playout and record functionality for an Omneon Spectrum media server. With a VTR-like control panel, ClipTool Pro provides powerful control for ingest, quality assurance and playout operations. Written directly to Omneon APIs, ClipTool Pro provides agile, precise manual record and playout control.
Intuitive Operations
ClipTool Pro provides basic and advanced functionality ranging from displaying a listing of clips to "crash record" capability. ClipTool Pro was designed to make it easy for broadcasters to manage manual interaction with their Spectrum media server and includes the following capabilities:
Sub Clipping
Creating new partial clips and throwing away unwanted tops and tails has never been easier. A copy clip function creates sub clips from manually selected in and out points. Variable length handles can be adjusted to allow for in and out point trimming in the future. The original clip can then be deleted, freeing up storage on the media server.
Merge Timeline
This feature allows users to take several small clips located in a timeline, and merge them into a single, larer clip. Users can effectively use ClipTool Pro to preform a cuts-only edit on these pieces of material.
Jog/Shuttle
The jog and shuttle capabilities enable quick movement through a clip, making it easier to find specific frames for marking in and out points. Simple, on-screen buttons allow users to move forwards and backwards through material to help them quickly identify precise segments for playout.
Crash Record
The instant crash record feature streamlines the manual ingest process and allows for a fast response when needed to record incoming material. Automatic naming of files in this mode allows for multiple open-ended records in rapid succession.
Loop Record
Operators can use ClipTool Pro to designate a section of disk storage for loop recording. Upon command, the system would start recording at the beginning of the designated storage section, continue to the end, and then loop back to the beginning, overwriting what had originally been recorded in that section.
Multiple Playback Modes
Bounce mode and standard loop mode allow product shots, bumpers and graphics elements to fill timeslots as needed.
Storage Availability Gauge
When manually ingesting material, particularly with open-ended edits, it is critical to know how much record capacity remains available on the media server. The storage availability gauge is always displayed prominently in the user interface to keep users informed of the amount of record time remaining.
MirrorTool™
 The Omneon MirrorTool is specifically designed for facilities that use redundant Omneon Spectrum™ media servers as part of their overall media server infrastructure. In situations where one system is used as the primary machine and a second system is used as a backup, MirrorTool automatically copies ingested and edited media files to the backup system, duplicating the folder hierarchy as needed to make it an exact match. When the secondary server is located in an off-site location, MirrorTool supports disaster recovery configurations. In situations where two Spectrum systems are used in a peer-to-peer arrangement, ingest and editing can take place on either system and
MirrorTool’s bidirectional synchronization capability ensures that the two systems always mirror one another.
MirrorTool can dramatically reduce costs and manpower associated with managing files, particularly for facilities with limited automation. With its unattended background operation and easy-to-use file explorer interface, system administrators spend significantly less time maintaining synchronized file systems.
TrackTool™
TrackTool is a powerful new Omneon utility which allows users to modify media content on both Omneon Spectrum media servers or MediaGrid content storage systems, while also enabling intelligent management of the components that make up a media clip. With TrackTool, operators can easily add, change or remove any component, as well as incorporate unique metadata about specific components.
In addition to simply managing tracks within a clip, TrackTool can also "tag" them with an identifier. When used in conjunction with an Omneon Spectrum system, a specific audio track can then be automatically routed to the correct output based on the identifier. No more duplication costs, no more on-air errors.
MigrateTool
The Omneon MigrateTool eliminates the cumbersome handling of tape and the need for digital-to-analog conversions when moving media from one server to another. With MigrateTool, convert and transfer media from legacy video servers including Grass Valley, Pinnacle, SeaChange, Leitch, Quantel, and SGI to the Omneon Spectrum media server quickly and easily. Video is directly converted (no baseband video decoding and re-encoding) resulting in digital transfers that are much cleaner and faster than traditional digital transcoding methods which rely on baseband video as the common denominator between file formats. Video, audio, and accompanying vertical interval timecode are converted and transferred to the Omneon Spectrum media server in an open QuickTime format ready for playout.
Production Enabling Tools
ConformTool
Easily implement a best-of-breed collaborative editing environment using the most trusted edit system in broadcast with the most trusted broadcast playout server. Now, with Omneon Conform ToolTM, Avid edit systems and software seamlessly integrate with the Omneon Spectrum media server. Avid editors use the Omneon MediaGrid active storage or Spectrum media server as central storage. They view files on the Omneon systems using the Omneon ConformTool browser menu and then simply drag and drop files from the MediaGrid or Spectrum into their workstation and then into an open bin within the Avid project. Clips are converted to Avid-compatible OMF or MXF files and transferred at much faster than real-time in the background. Since media is transferred over a data network, multiple servers and editing stations are able to work together.
Omneon’s ConformTool is fully integrated with Unity network workgroups and individual standalone Avid NewsCutter, MediaComposer® and Xpress® lines of edit systems to access Omneon stored media. Sequences are conformed, converted and ready for transmission. The conform and conversion is performed in the background by ConformTool, either on the edit workstation, or for high-volume environments, on a separate Windows server. Getting segments to air can hardly be any faster or more reliable.
XSend Plug-in
The XSend Plug-In provides the ability to export Omneon clips from Liquid non-linear editing systems. DV, DVCPRO and MPEG video formats are supported.
Additional Tools
ClipTool
The ClipTool provides control and monitoring of Omneon players and is supplied with every Omneon Media Server System. A VTR-like graphical user interface allows basic control functions with both Windows and Java versions available. Additional features include the ability to load and save lists, trim clips and frame accurately dub clips between Omneon players.
DelayTool
The DelayTool provides automated program playout delay capabilities. For each input, up to six simultaneous delayed outputs can be configured and controlled. The amount of delay can be changed dynamically on each delay channel and sections of the delay program can be copied as new media. DelayTool is perfect for broadcasters with multiple time zone requirements.
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