Automation-pros and cons [TV broadcasting]

Today the phrase `automation´ is more usually associated with the transmission playout operation and it is this particular application of automation that the article concentrates on. The application of automation in this area is not new. The key reasons behind the renewed interest are twofold. First, market forces now dictate that the broadcaster be as cost-efficient as possible (i.e. cost savings in manpower) and second, the introduction of the new generation of the very large robotic tape libraries that the manufacturers are now producing. There are four major suppliers of these MegaCart Players or MCPs and they are: Ampex ACR225, Odetics Cart Machine, Panasonic MARC, and Sony LMS. All are very similar in concept. They offer the broadcaster the ability to playout several days transmission totally automatically. To do this, they consist of a number of fairly standard VTRs, a basic switcher or matrix to route signals into and out of them, storage bins for upwards of 1000 tape cassettes or cartridges, one or more robotic arms to transfer tapes from their storage bins to the correct VTR and vice versa and a control box or sequencer to prevent the robotic equivalent of hari-kiri