Cox Media Group Counts On DiaQuest QueManager for Efficient Graphics Order System in Newsrooms November 3, 2010Diaquest Products, a software development firm with a focus on the video and film industries, today announced that Cox Media Group (CMG) has adopted QueManager, a new graphics order management system (OMS) for Apple Final Cut Server 1.5 newsroom systems, to replace its Proximity Artbox installations. The new software add-on, which can be integrated with the station group's Avid iNews newsroom computer systems and Deko graphics systems, provides an efficient workflow for managing over-the-shoulder and other broadcast graphics.
QueManager has been or will be installed in seven CMG stations and duopolies by the end of November: KTVU, San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose (DMA #6); WSB, Atlanta (DMA #8); KIRO, Seattle/Tacoma (DMA #13); WFTV/WRDQ, Orlando, Fla. (DMA #19); WPXI, Pittsburgh (DMA #23); WSOC/WAXN, Charlotte, N.C. (DMA #24); and WHIO, Dayton, Ohio (DMA #65). According to Chip Reif, engineering manager for WFTV/WRDQ, CMG plans to implement QueManager in some of its smaller stations in 2011.
With development stalled on the Artbox product years ago, CMG stations needed a new way to search its graphics library for images that would enhance its news stories. Artbox was a product that plugged in and it worked, said Reif. What we really wanted was a product that would give us that same degree of reliability. As we changed from the workflow of Artbox to QueManager, no one noticed. It was that seamless.
Every news story has its own life cycle. A local accident might have a life cycle of one day, for example, while a national disaster can have a life cycle of a week or more. What you want to do is take an image and use it throughout the life cycle of the news story, Reif explained, and yet change the words to update what is occurring. Anytime the audience sees that graphic image, they know what the story will be about.
QueManager helps make that process more efficient by allowing CMG producers to search thumbnails of existing graphics and attach the finished graphics to stories in Avid iNews. When used with the Deko ActiveX plug-in, producers can also add titles to a graphic, which can be updated throughout the story's life cycle without requesting new graphics each time from the graphics department.
Producers can also place an order for a new graphic through QueManager if they cannot find an image in the archives that works for the story. While Artbox required support materials to be e-mailed to the graphic artist, QueManager allows existing graphics, notes, and other materials to be attached directly to the order.
Reif said CMG will be able to measure its return on investment (ROI) through efficiency and accuracy. He said QueManager reduces the labor required for the people who have to interact with graphics, which frees up station personnel to perform other tasks. As a result, it also has reduced spelling and other human errors.
QueManager provides a Web-based order system that can be integrated with ENPS or iNews newsroom computer systems via plug-ins. The software add-on offers easy access to the most needed tools for asset searches and browsing, as well as order requests, job assignment, review and approval, and publishing. Not only does Que Manager provide a robust replacement for existing Artbox applications, it offers new workflows that utilize Final Cut Server, including integration with Apple Xsan and other centralized storage systems, as well as support for image sequences, editorial applications, and a wide range of CODECs.
About Diaquest:
Based in Emeryville, Calif., Diaquest Products LLC has been developing mission critical software for the video, film, and broadcast industries since 1982. The company develops software as an OEM for several manufacturers, as well as custom software tools for a variety of clients. In addition to software development, Diaquest provides professional-level support of related software and hardware products. Find out more at www.diaquest.com or call (510) 547-4544.
