Media Browsing
Neptune has functions for producing low resolution copies of each item of material. This is achieved either by shadowing each broadcast server encoder with a low-resolution encoder or by using a transcoder to "electronically" produce a low resolution proxy. If encoding, Neptune places both the broadcast device and the low-resolution encoder into "record" at the start of ingest. If transcoding, proxies can be produced at any time. Browse files are saved onto a browse file server and can be played back using Pebble Beach Systems browse products, Media porthole and Razorfish, from any client on the network.
Media Logger is a frame accurate, simple browse review, key frame identification and segmentation tool that provides users with the ability to review material from their desktop PCs and to enter metadata against key frames and segments. Users can drag and drop IDs from the Pebble Beach Systems database window into the browse player. A control panel provides simple start and stop functions as well as jog in both directions and slider controls. Metatdata can be added to the database to help describe a scene in the clip and this is tagged to the timecode. Users can search through the database later to find sections in the clip that are of particular of interest.
Razorfish is a cuts-only editor. It is designed to be fast and easy to use, so that journalists can use it with little or no training. It is ideal for the news and sports market where time to air is limited. Razorfish has a full range of features, such as drag and drop and slider control to help users find SOMs and EOMs. It has edit and review browser windows and a VTR-like transport control panel. Once editing is complete, Razorfish exports EDLs (in FCP XML, CMX or other formats) for use by a craft editor for fine-tuning and conforming. The EDL can be loaded into some video servers and conformed directly into a new clip.
