Divi does Emergency Alert Systems............................
frontlinecom.com
FRONTLINE DEVELOPES DIGITAL EAS
by Lauren Rooney
SALT LAKE CITY
In this time of transition, even the country's Emergency Alert System (EAS) is going digital. FrontLine Communications has developed an all-digital EAS for digital cable and wireless broadcasters that, according to the company, allows these multichannel operators to comply with EAS requirements in the least disruptive manner possible.
Why do we need digital EAS? "Once you're in the digital domain," says Bill Robertson, FrontLine chief technical officer, "you want to stay there as much as possible. But there are other reasons to go with a digital EAS. You can send specific emergency information to specific viewers."FrontLine's EAS utilizes its All Channel Message (ACM) system product line. The emergency information is received on standard EAS receivers and decoders, and passed on to a cable headend's ACM, where text or audio messages can be inserted into the signal on specific channels.
These messages are then sent over a network to a digital broadcast system and decoded on the viewer's set top. The cable operator can then program specific types of messages from selected geographic areas, and send that data to which ever set tops they wish.The result is that viewers get only the information affecting their area, ending confusion and needless interruption of programming. This message can be crawled along the top of the screen, or viewers can be instructed to turn to another channel (set aside by the cable company) for complete emergency information.
"ACM is a patented device that is unique in the industry," said Tom Harmon, president of FrontLine. "Unlike other systems, the ACM features intelligent control through a standard Pentium processor with Ethernet networking capability. DiviCom's selection of the ACM for EAS applications is testimony to the robustness of this product line. It has found applications and been widely used with traditional broadcasters, with large cable operations and now with digital broadcasting.:
In fact, over 270 systems have been installed at cable operations around the world, providing them with cross-channel and pay-per-view promotions, on-air message services to subscribers, scramble control for free pay TV showings, logo insertion, sports blackout with messaging, and non-duplication switching--in addition to a reliable digital EAS system.
The FrontLine ACM system includes a control unit and individual ACM modules that each provide the ability to generate text pages, text crawls and switching for all of the requisite channels. Each ACM module is a one-rack unit device that serves four channels.Individual ACM systems can be configured in a variety of ways to meet the needs of any cable operator. It allows independent control of each channel and provides a high resolution character generator on each channel.
DiviCom, a wholly-owned subsidiary of C-Cube Microsystems (based in Milpitas, Calif., was apparently so impressed with FrontLine's equipment that they are offering it to their multichannel distributor customers. Although the FCC has not yet put forth final emergency broadcast requirements for digital cable and wireless broadcasters, Dan Daines, DiviCom national account manager, says that some of his customers want to stay a step ahead of the Commission and are looking for ways to get emergency information to their viewers in digital form.
"FrontLine's was the best system we saw," Daines said, adding that he likes the versatility of customizing emergency messages. "Most cable systems are local, and sending all the information to all the channels is o-k," he says, "but if you have a wide system on digital, you can give messages only to those affected."
DiviCom's Dan Maltibie, vice president of DiviSys, the company's systems integration division, concurs. "The FrontLine ACM system was the only one we found that would give us the power to be flexible with channels," he said. "For example, using the ACM digital EAS solution in a large satellite broadcast system, we can be very specific about the geographic region that will receive any emergency alerts. For some of our customers, that will be a very key selling point."
The initial EAS requirements for cable TV being considered by the FCC are directly related to the size of an operator's system. Systems with over 10,000 subscribers are required to provide a single video channel (EmfoChannel), with audio and video alerting on all channels, and comply by July 1 of this year. Systems over 5,000 subscribers may be allowed additional time to comply, although these requirements are to be further defined in the FCC's Second Report & Order.
An FCC ruling in December of 1994 replaced the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) with the new EAS. While most cable operators were never affected by EBS, the levels of penetration achieved by cable TV in most communities made it only logical that cable should participate in the new national emergency system.
Up until now, what has troubled cable operators considering such systems is that viewers would be dissatisfied with an EAS that breaks into their programming without necessity. But, is an emergency message interruption not relating to your specific location really that big of a deal? Robertson says it can be. "If you're watching a pay-per-view program," he explains, "and it's interrupted by a weather warning that has nothing to do with you. That can be upsetting."
Thus, good customer service is another reason Robertson thinks cable television providers will like the FrontLine EAS. "The system offers more than just EAS capabilities," he says, "you can put multiple messages on different channels at different times."
For example, if the Disney Channel is moving down the dial, you can put a crawl on just that channel to warn viewers. Or, you can tell Sci-Fi channel fans of a similar interest program coming up on another channel. "You can also warn viewers that you'll be switching programming on a specific channel for a portion of the day (e.g., substituting the Inspirational channel overnight with the Playboy channel) or warn them that a specific channel will be interrupted for service."
Digital cable and wireless broadcasters already have the capability to run crawls, but it's expensive to transmit several different messages simultaneously on several different channels. With FrontLine's EAS, broadcasters don't have to give up valuable commercial time to run a public service announcement.
The cost of the FrontLine ACM system is between $6,000 and $50,000. You get an IBM-compatible personal computer, off-line editing and scheduling software, and from 1-to-32 four channel character generator/switcher chassis. And Robertson promises, the FrontLine system has room to grow. He envisions someday the FrontLine EAS will be able to send messages to specific neighborhoods or streets to warn viewers of a traffic problem or a fire. But as the system stands now, Robertson notes, "Everyone who's seen it loves it."
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