WTHR Integrates with QueManager with ENPS Newsroom System for Easy Graphics Order Management
April 26, 2011
Diaquest Products, a software development firm with a focus on the video and film industries, announced today that WTHR, the NBC affiliate serving Indianapolis (DMA #27), has integrated its QueManager Web-based graphics order management system (OMS) with an ENPS newsroom computer system. The station, which is owned by Dispatch Broadcast Group in Columbus, Ohio, went online with QueManager in February.
QueManager is an affordable OMS software add-on for Apple Final Cut Server 1.5 that can be integrated with ENPS or iNEWS via plug-ins. Through a simple GUI, it provides an easy way to search and browse assets, generate orders, assign projects, and deliver finished graphics for broadcast. It can installed as a direct (yet more robust) replacement for Proximity Artbox or used instead of proprietary asset management systems in other newsrooms.
Randy White, WTHR operations manager, said the station needed to replace its aging Proximity Artbox software, which was having operating issues and was no longer supported by the manufacturer. During the installation, Diaquest was able to extract all of WTHR's Artbox environments and metadata and incorporate them into QueManager without disrupting station operations.
At WTHR, QueManager is used almost exclusively by about 10 producers to produce over-the-shoulder news graphics. Producers access the software through ENPS and use it to find graphics that can be used for specific stories. If no graphics are appropriate, they can request the design of a new one. When the graphic is complete, a producer can add or update CG text through QueManager so it is ready for air.
The QueManager interface is almost identical to Artbox, so WTHR producers did not need to be retrained. White said each of them adapted to the new system very well. In fact, he said the move to QueManager from Artbox was almost entirely transparent to the producers – except the system now worked reliably. "It's working perfectly for what we wanted it to do," he added.
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.
