MIME-Version: 1.0 Server: CERN/3.0 Date: Friday, 19-Dec-97 04:24:50 GMT Content-Type: text/html Content-Length: 11269 Last-Modified: Friday, 01-Aug-97 20:22:34 GMT Axess


Axess

Stills and Clips Store

Integrated Storage of Stills, PLUS Real-Time Clips, (Video + Key, and Audio!)

Why buy another "still" store??


Accom's Axess provides a new way to enhance the look of any live presentation. Now real-time video, video+key, video+audio, and video+key+audio clips can be accessed and aired as quickly and easily as still graphics. Imagine the speed and flexibility of recording and going to air directly from disk: CLIPS on-line, faster and easier than your old still store.

All from Accom...the leader in real-time disk technology.

Accom, Inc., Winner of 2 Emmys for Engineering Excellence

Designed for LIVE Presentation

Axess can record and play real-time clips as well as traditional still graphics. Clips can consist of any combination of real-time video, audio, or key elements. Imagine moving images with associated keys and up to four audio tracks played back from Axess, and, just like a still store, all with the press of a button.

And all with perfect quality. Axess is ideal for graphics. Video and keys are stored in full-bandwidth CCIR 601 component digital 4:2:2:4 format, while audio is full resolution AES/EBU digital.

By combining video, audio, or key elements in any clip, Axess can be used for applications that, until now, required several pieces of equipment and complex setups. Show opens/closes, news presentations, live sports coverage elements, and playback of break bumps and teases are only a few of Axess' many applications.

Axess is also available in smaller, stills-only configurations that can be fully upgraded at any time for real-time clips.

Speed PLUS Easy Operation

With real-time disk storage, clip access in Axess is faster than any still store. Whatever the size of an Axess network, all clips and stills residing on real-time disks can be accessed quickly, typically within 0.5 second or less.

The Axess On-Air Panel is designed for crowded control rooms where space is limited. Clips and stills can be recorded or recalled to air quickly. Most operations are dedicated to hard keys or soft keys in single-layer menus.

Play lists are easy to create and edit. Clips can be played to air in two basic modes. In the Preview/Program mode, clips and stills are first recalled and cued in the preview channel, then played to the air channel. Built-in transitions allow cuts or variable-rate dissolves, soft-edged wipes, or fades-to-black between clips.

In the A/B two-channel mode (A/B/C/D on four-channel systems) each clip or still is recalled and cued directly to the designated or selected output channel.

Sophisticated Clip Management

The Extended Control Panel allows the user to add titles, keywords, and other fields of text information to each still or clip of every node on an Axess network. The ECP consists of Accom software running on a user-supplied Macintosh PowerPC, and allows searching for clips by database fields such as I.D. number, title, keywords, or creation date. (All database fields can be used independently or combined for searches). With an Accom serial CCIR 601 Input card installed, clips can also be "browsed" visually from the ECP. Play lists can be created using clips selected from search results or from clip browses.

An Accom serial CCIR 601 Input+Output card is also available that provides one still-frame output from the ECP. This output can be used independent of the node I/Os.

Low Cost Entry Systems

The smallest Axess system consists of a single node with storage for 1,000 525-line stills (835 625-line stills). This basic, entry-level system includes one On-Air Panel and has two video input/output channels for a single user. The two video channels can be configured for Preview/Program or A/B video operation, or the system can be set up for a single A channel of video+key. The basic Axess system can be switched between these modes in just seconds from the On-Air Panel.

Integrated Networked Architecture

Multi-user Axess systems are based on a network of interconnected "nodes".

Each local node supports one user and can have up to four video+key input/output channels with two AES/EBU stereo audio pairs per video channel. Each local node can have either stills-only or real-time disk storage, with up to seven real-time disk modules on each node. This means that with 34- minute RAIDs, for example, each node can store up to four hours of real-time clips, all with uncompressed CCIR 601 picture quality.

Small or large multi-user systems can be created from these simple Axess modules. All command and control between nodes are via Ethernet, while stills and clips are transferred in real-time via dedicated CCIR 601 serial digital I/Os. Up to 32 nodes can be networked into one integrated system.

All stills are available at any time to all nodes on the network. Clips must be played from the real-time disks of the local node, but clips can be transferred from node to node in real-time. This distributed architecture allows each node to be configured with only the channel I/Os and disk storage (stills or real-time) required for that location. Each system can be designed and configured specifically to meet the budget and requirements of each facility.

AUDIO

With RAID storage and the Audio Option installed, each Axess clip can have up to four associated AES/EBU digital audio tracks (two stereo pairs).

Standard Computer Graphics and Paint Systems

Axess interfaces to many popular graphics systems via its extensive Ethernet command set. Specific frames of a clip can be grabbed, painted, then recorded back to Axess - all simply and easily over Ethernet. Accom provides Plug-ins for Adobe PhotoShopĆand also provides a Virtual Control Panel (VCP) for Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) platforms. The VCP provides SGI users many of the functions of the On-Air Panel.

Clip Editing

Axess provides full RS422 transport control of an external VTR for loading clips or backing up material. Clips can be topped and tailed using Axess' Clip Trim feature.

Axess also provides RS422 ports for control of clip record and playout by edit controllers (using Sony protocol). Each port provides control for a separate Axess channel (up to four, depending upon the number of channels and real-time drive modules installed).

The Clip Store with the Power to GROW

All Axess systems are fully upgradable! Nodes can be added at any time for additional users on the network (up to 32). I/O channels and real-time disks can be added as needed to increase the capacity of any node. Audio and compression can be added if desired to only those nodes that need those features.

 

VALUE! Present and Future

Every Axess system is unique, yet based on standard system components. Whatever your need, whatever your budget, you can create a Axess system tailored to the way you work.

For more information, also see:

or e-mail "info@accom.com"

Accom is a registered trademark of Accom, Inc. All other product and company names are the property of their respective owners.

rev. August 1996

SPECIFICATIONS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE