Synergy Broadcast Systems

CNN Airport Network has selected BugCrawler for it’s installation in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP).  The BugCrawler is being used to provide both ADA Compliance and emergency messaging throughout the airport.  In addition to the BugCrawler hardware and BugMaster software, MSP is also using InformaWeb to update their projects.  BugCrawler was selected over a product that CNN previously used based on it’s overall design and easy-to-use software.

Columbia Public Schools, Columbia, MO recently purchased a Cable Broadcast solution that included FireBird and VLM/Master Control to run their District Channel.  The District has included the channel as part of their overall Communications Plan to upgrade it’s impact in the District and include more original programming to support the community.

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We launched a weekly newsletter entitled Informa News and Tips to provide additional user information to customers who have purchased BugCrawler, Informa and FireBird.  This newsletter is published each Friday.  If you would like to receive this weekly update please visit the sign-up page and check the selection for Informa.  An archive of all previous issues is available at http://www.synergybroadcast.com/news.htm.

January and 2008 have started off fast for us and we are happy to welcome several new customers.

The City of Charlotte joins us this month as we completed the installation of an HD capable system for the City Channel and a secondary channel they use periodically.

IPFW or Indian Purdue University at Fort Wayne, IN joined the SBS Network with a new single channel system that is ready to go and will come online shortly.

Kia Motors is the end customer on a project we just completed for Georgia Quick Start and Media Products Company in Atlanta for a streaming and video on-demand solution that Kia Motors will use for employee training.

And URTV in Asheville, NC joins us with an official cut-over within the last two weeks as the city of Asheville’s Public Access Station.  URTV also joins BCTV which is Buncombe County’s government access channel which also uses Synergy Broadcast Systems equipment.

We welcome these new customers on board and look forward to serving their needs for many years to come.

Our thanks to the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Knowledge Network for working with us to establish a download link between FKN and the state’s many educational SBS users.  This enables many school districts in the state to directly download programing from FKN for use in their schools using our VideoCourier solution.  An announcement will made shortly regarding a gateway for non-Synergy Broadcast users.

Our InformaWeb software has been installed at Frederick Community College and Northern Virginia Community College to provide both facilities with a web interface that can be used to update their Synergy Broadcast graphics products.  In this case both entities employ BugCrawlers to output emergency and informational crawls and scrolls on their educational channels.  InformaWeb provides them with a very simple web interface to use to update weather closings and other emergency data on these devices.

Finally, we plan to launch an Informa Tips Newsletter within the next two weeks to provide weekly updates, tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your BugCrawler, Informa or FireBird.

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The clock ticked and the calendar changed and hopefully you ended the year on a positive note like we did and are ready to get back in the game after the holidays and face whatever new challenges come your way.

We are looking forward to 2008 and plan to introduce some new features and new products throughout the year.  We will be at FETC in January.  FETC is the Florida Educational Technology Conference held each year in Orlando for the educational community in Florida.  In February we plan to attend the annual conference for the National ITFS Association.  One of our customers will present a session on how their school district uses our VideoCourier solution to deliver video to their 80+ schools and the classrooms in each of those schools.

Our software group is finishing up the last few details on a new management software console for VideoCourier that will have a very positive impact on our edcation and healthcare customers that use VideoCourier to distribute video to their remote sites and locations.

If you have received several update emails from FeedBlitz about our web site and wonder what that’s all about…we’ve been updating the content on the site and when we publish new or revised pages FeedBlitz sends out an update.  These updates will tail off as we are almost done with the changes.  Please take some time to visit the site for the latest information on our solutions and products.

We hope your 2008 is productive and positive.

Best regards,

Chuck Jones

As we close in on the end of 2007 everyone at Synergy Broadcast Systems would like to wish all of our customers and their families the Happiest of Holidays.  You have helped make 2007 a great year for us and we look forward to serving you in 2008.  At Synergy Broadcast Systems we are committed to providing products, services and support that enhance your operation and mission.

For the holidays we will be closed December 24 - 25 and reopen December 26th.  For the new year we will be closed December 31, 2007 and January 1, 2008 and reopen for business on January 2nd.  For customers under original warranty or those who have purchased the weekend support option and need assistance you can reach an “on-call” technician by calling 800-601-6991 ext. 316 and your call will be forwarded.  Should you experience any difficulty reaching support you can call 214-783-1930 for assistance.

Thanks and Best Wishes for the New Year.

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I talked with Todd Barnes at City of Thornton today.  They have been a Synergy Broadcast customer for many, many years dating back to our robotics days.  He’s been on a mission to make their station tapeless and has succeeded.

They use Final Cut Pro as their NLE with Episode Pro to transcode the file from Quicktime to MPEG2 and he says they are achieving flawless playback from this setup.  They also use Cinematize to convert their DVD programming and Womble as their MPEG2 Editor.

All live meetings are encoded directly into their Synergy Broadcast encoder and transferred to the Synergy Broadcast DS-1000 for playback.  In a recent upgrade they also purchased Informa to replace their Scala CG so their graphics could be controlled directly by our VLM Automation Software.

Todd says the new workflow set up is saving them countless hours in both production and playback.  After the first of the year they will upgrade their Informa with our new Web Interface, DataXpress and Weather Retriever recently announced in our November eNewsletter.Â

We would like to take this time to wish our friends and customers a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope you have a great holiday season.

Our November Newsletter will be published November 21st.  This month’s newsletter will contain information on RAID Maintenance and news about updates on BugCrawler, Informa and FireBird.  If you are not on our email newsletter list and would like to receive a copy click here.  If you do not receive a copy of the newsletter on the 21st you can visit our newsletter archive to look at past issues for software updates, maintenance ideas and new product information.

VLM versions 2.80 - 2.82 are available for release to all existing customers covered under warranty or extended support and maintenance.  Primary enhancements to these version releases include improvements for educational broadcasters and educators that use Synergy Broadcast’s Video On Demand and VideoCourier solutions to deliver video to schools and classrooms.  Key changes include:

• The addition of new fields for State Standards Based Curriculum Codes.  These codes are used to sort and identify programming based on state standards.  Florida, as an example, has the Sunshine State Standards.
• Updates to Category and Subcategory listings to create a “grade level” subcategory list.
• Improvements in Traffic Manager so it is compatible with VideoCourier to create and distribute programming to remote sites.
• We have improved the way we handle device management to make it easier to organize the devices in your system.
• The Daily Back Up program has been improved so that we now save seven days of back up data for restoration purposes.

For more information on these and other improvements please follow the link to the Release Notes.

Most areas return to Standard Time on Sunday, November 4, 2007.  To adjust the time in your broadcast schedule we recommend an Operator Assisted adjustment be made.  Instructions on how to make the change can be found at this link: Standard Time 2007.

La Posada, a recognized leader in providing senior residential services in Southern Arizona has selected Synergy Broadcast Systems of Addison, TX as their video on demand provider.  La Posada is a not-for-profit, nationally accredited, continuing care retirement community located in Tucson, AZ.  This 100 acre campus supports a very unique lifestyle for their residents including birding and hiking, resort style amenities, fitness center and gourmet dining.  Over 700 residents enjoy La Posada’s exceptional housing options and numerous support services.

La Posada recently decided to offer their residents more choices in entertainment and information and selected Synergy Broadcast Systems to provide them with a turnkey video on demand system.  This system will be installed in early November and provide La Posada’s residents with exciting new entertainment options that can be accessed via their telephone or personal computers.

We look forward to working with La Posada’s staff and residents on this project and welcome them into the Synergy Broadcast family of users.