Greg, Ok so you are used to doing everything already :) You could have ENPS just make the stack. If a producer moves a story in the middle of the show then the stack will change as well. It puts it in their hands good or bad, they will learn to know they control the show and the tape elements as well. You guys could still be in charge of playing and advancing the stack. You could still go up and down through the stack if something gets messed up, etc. One device to check out is They make a keyboard macro controller that lets you shuttle as well, if the playout software supports it. Also the playout program may support GPI inputs for not only play but for re-cue, and cue next, etc. You could have the Kalypso firing off those commands as well. Let us know how it goes Bill

Bill, Hopefully we are going to have a former VC to stack and load the channels for us and deal with last minute feeds coming in. The TD/director will do the rolling. So I guess we will have a combination of a playback OP and the TD will have some of the duties. We already call and punch our own shows so hopefully We don't have to deal with stacking the show. We do have ENPS so it may be set up to run with the producers rundown but that means the Producer will be responsible for loading the clips for us (VERY BAD THING IN MY BOOK). Originally (when the system used profiles) we were told the auto start/ cue next function would work but It doesn't look like that is now the option.

I have some knowledge/experience with a GVG News Q system connected to a profile. Seems like a similar thing. I don't think machine control through the switcher is going to work if you have a playout system. That system will probably have the 'control' of the K2's. Will there be a playback op, or will the TD's be doing the playout. Ideal setup would be Inews or whatever rundown system you are using to make the playlist, as well as to stack each clip into the channel you want. Then through the use of the playout system, alow you to go through and advance to the next clip. I have also heard of systems that after it is first tallied and played and then tally goes away (off air) automatically advacnes to the next clip in the list. Bill

Bill, We are in the early phases of this setup (the news folks need training, etc.) and are not really sure how things are going to be setup. It looks like we are leaning toward having a media manager to stack the clips for us. However it would be nice to get the TC readout and all the other controls with the use of the serial port. There are shows that may not have the option of a second person to manage the clips, so that is another obstacle to think about. Like I said we are trying to get input on the entire set up to see what the best option is. Do you by any chance have any experience with this system? greg

Greg this may be why they mentioned GPI's. If the playout system has control of the K2's which is what it sounds like, you may not be able to control them through 422. It is possible that if the Aurora is connected to the K2 via ethernet, try connecting the switcher to the K2's via serial, or vice versa. I am pretty sure this will not work, but you never know. Will it be a dual use of Aurora by an operator or is the TD the operator? Are you looking at just playing the clips, or do you want to make stacks of clips like a sequence. I imagine the rundown talks to this system so not sure if that is necessary. GPI play may be all you need if you are just playing the clips. If you are going to call up clips you would want to run it in AMP probably so you can select the clip you want to recall or play through the switcher. BVW will only work for one clip. Lastly if you use GPI, you can make some macros that fire that GPI and attach them to buttons or pre attach them to source buttons so that when you take the source it will play the channel, etc. Bill

Thanks Bob, Our servers are strictly for news playout so there will be no need to key (at least in the imediate future). Do you know if it matters what software is used with the servers? We are using Aurora Playout. thanks again greg

I have used the K2's in the RS-422 configuration that you're mentioning. In the K2's setup, you tell it what type of machine it is (I used BVW-75 protocol). Then you tell the Kalypso to "talk" BVE on the port that you have assigned each channel of K2. It works quite well, although we've found that the recue times are slower than when using a PDR-200. You then used the Device Control / Timeline Events menu to tell the channel(s) to cue-up, play, etc. The way that I use them, we wire together the Video & Key channels using a "Y" cable. That way, you can run 2 machines while only talking to one. Obviously the key channel has to have the exact same key signals at the exact same time code as does the fill side, but this setup works quite well for us & saves me from having to double-program the devices (I have found the LINK menu to be less than reliable).