K2000 was looking for ways to improve their overall production schedule. In particular, they wanted to shorten the time-to-air for journalists and editors working on “Pásalo.” The public affairs program is broadcast directly from the K2000 facility for EiTB. The show includes several timely news and feature segments that are prepared shortly before airtime. These pieces were produced using tape-based editing which was a complex, awkward and time consuming workflow. Individual editors worked independently. Collaboration was difficult. If another editor needed the same material, copies had to be dubbed, losing both time and video quality in the process. As part of a production upgrade, K2000 wanted to move to a file-based infrastructure with centralized storage for “Pásalo.” “We looked for a digital shared storage solution that would allow editors to share media and work together,” says Javier Bilbao, Technical Director for K2000. “We wanted a more streamlined way to produce and get the show to air.”

The Solution
After investigating a range of potential solutions, K2000 installed a 3RU EditShare with 8 TB of storage as part of its facility upgrade. EditShare is a NAS-based system of hardware and software that is optimized for video collaboration. The file level sharing capabilities of EditShare allow editors on any connected workstation to capture, access and share in real time from a common pool of media files. EditShare’s Project Sharing capabilities for Avid or Final Cut Pro editors expand collaboration by allowing multiple editors to work from the exact same Project with instant Read Only access to each other’s bins and sequences. These capabilities would greatly improve the workflow for K2000. From field to finish – offline to uncompressed HD – EditShare storage series solutions are designed to maximize media sharing and storage for multi-user editing environments. K2000 installed the EditShare with 10 Gigabit connectivity between the EditShare server and a 10 Gb HP ProCurve switch.

Fourteen Avid Liquid non-linear editors are connected to the switch via 1 Gb connections. In addition, Autodesk graphics workstations and other production and playout devices are also connected to the EditShare network.

The Workflow
With all of the various production elements connected to the EditShare storage, K2000 journalists can quickly access, edit and produce video segments while preserving the video quality. Before the introduction of EditShare and Avid Liquid NLEs, journalists edited in A/B roll, moving sections of video from tape to tape and then re-recording the finished segment to tape. The workflow was tedious and piecemeal. And because the finished segment had to be re-recorded on tape, the video quality was diminished. If any modifications were needed, another round of cumbersome editing was needed. With the new EditShare and Avid workflow, content is ingested in DV25 only once and stored in the EditShare storage where it is immediately and simultaneously available for all editors. Typically, as many as 10 different users are working on the show at the same time. The editing and any additional re-cutting can be done quickly and efficiently on any NLE connected to the network. Graphical elements and animations created in Autodesk applications are stored in the EditShare, on the same network and can easily be incorporated into the piece. When a piece is edited and complete, it’s exported directly to master control for playout without the added step of going back to tape. The video quality remains pristine throughout the process. “The end-to-end workflow is greatly simplified,” says Bilbao. “We get work done more quickly with no loss in quality. EditShare is the production center for “Pásalo.”