ClipFire from ENCO is a broadcast-grade live video production system that plays out video and audio instantly via one or more channels either manually or per a user-defined playout schedule driven by automation. As we discussed in our previous blog, this compact, all-in-one appliance offers a configurable graphical user interface (GUI) that lets users perform many tasks by touchscreen or keyboard and mouse operation, including:
- Access media in the library
- Assign library assets to a particular on-screen button
- Preview media for playout
- Monitor program output of one or more player windows
- Enhance video with graphics, animations, rolls, crawls, CG text and more
- Use integrated editing and transcoding capabilities to get files ready for playout
With its many integrated video production and playout capabilities, a single operator can produce professional-looking videos for applications such as online lectures, church services, and corporate presentations. This is because repetitive routines can be automated, including the following:
- Switching between live video sources and recorded media
- Switching between multiple HD/SD-SDI, NDI, and HDMI cameras
- Rolling program opens that include animated titling, keying, voice-overs, and music
- Overlaying video with graphical elements, logos, or other branding elements
ClipFire users can drag and drop media files from the library onto the GUI screen for production or playout using familiar Explorer file lists and ingest media into the library manually or via unmanned DropBox Watch folders. Users can tell ClipFire how to handle newly ingested assets, including assigning file names, categorizing them, and adding metadata for searching.
Sophisticated library and media asset management functionality are important because many large organizations, such as universities and corporations, have growing libraries that typically contain tens of thousands of media assets that must be managed, categorized, grouped, transcoded, and repurposed.
ClipFire also integrates transcoding tools capable of converting and transcoding on the fly between popular file formats, as well as light-duty editing tools for trimming, modifying, and repurposing assets as needed. And when ClipFire is used in conjunction with another ENCO solution—the enCaption closed captioning system—live videos, as well as high-volume archival media, can be captioned in a fully automated workflow to better serve hard of hearing viewers. In our next blog, we’ll look at how to create ClipFire playlists for instant or fully automated playout, and why we call ClipFire a TV Channel-in-a-Box.
