David Harbsmeier's dashboard

Thanks, John. I found the setting and changed it.

-DH

Thanks, John. I'll give that a try.

-DH

I should clarify that I'm actually looking for a batch export option; to export several bulletins at one time.

-DH

Which MPEG-2 format are the videos BEFORE you burn them to DVD? MPEG-2 Program Stream? MPEG-2 Transport Stream? MPEG-2 Elementary Stream with separate audio?

When you burn them to DVD, is it as a data file, or as DVD-Video?

If they're already in MPEG-2 Program Stream format, you should be able to add them to your CableCast server without going to DVD first.

-DH

We used to do it that way, but on long breaks, the DVD recorder would come out of pause mode anyway. The problem is that mosdt of the breaks are rather long. Typically 30 to 40 minutes.

I think what we'll end up doing is just airing the first time from DVD while letting the SX-2 encode (although we've had some issues with that method as well).

-DH

Our Pioneer DVD recorders do provide the option of combining multiple tracks into one, and the discs playback fine. But after converting a disc with DVD Import, the second (and subsequent) track's audio is always out of sync with the video.

-DH

Also note that devices like these will draw slightly more current during startup than during normal operation.

-DH

Just to clarify, here's a sample of what I get when generating an XML using Internet Explorer 7 or Oprea 9:

2009-04-29T00:00:00-05:00 2009-05-06T00:00:00-05:00 47 29:20:24 238 134:30:07 5 05:30:40 42 23:49:44 00:37:27 00:33:54 199 2009-0501-02 H1N1 Information PSA 1:43 HCH Head-end Metro 3 1976-05-01T00:00:00 00:01:43 37 103 PSA and Commercial Public Health H1N1 Informational PSA 197 2009-0430-01 Media Advisory - 2009 H1N1 Virus 26:22 HCH Head-end Metro 3 2009-04-30T00:00:00 00:26:22 22 1582 Mayor's Office Mayor's Office Delayed Coverage of News Conference concerning the H1N1 Virus from April 30, 2009 163 2009-0407-04 Bellevue Recycle PSA 1:19 HCH Head-end Metro 3 2009-04-07T00:00:00 00:01:19 17 79 PSA and Commercial Public Works Recycling has come to Bellevue 193 2009-0418-01 Cherry Blossom Festival 23:19 April 18, 2009 HCH Head-end Metro 3 2009-04-27T00:00:00 00:23:19 14 .......

As you can see, the data is useless in that format.

In Firefox I get this:

<reportdata>
<reportstartdate>2009-04-06T00:00:00-05:00</reportstartdate>
<reportenddate>2009-05-06T00:00:00-05:00</reportenddate>
<totalshows>101</totalshows>
<totalshowslength>100:49:59</totalshowslength>
<totalruns>821</totalruns>
<totalrunslength>539:51:39</totalrunslength>
<totalnewshows>45</totalnewshows>
<totalnewshowslength>80:45:04</totalnewshowslength>
<totaloldshows>56</totaloldshows> .......

So the good news is that I do get useable data when using Firefox, however, saving that data (right-click on data->choose This Frame->Save Frame As) still has issues on my Windows system. It seems to be a Firefox issue so I may have to reinstall.

Thanks for your help!
-DH</reportdata>

John,

I'm happy to learn about Andrew's blog - thanks for directing me to that. From reading it, it occurred to me that I hadn't tried using Firefox for this, and was pleased to find out that when generating an XML report via Firefox, the data appeared to be properly parsed (using Oprea and Internet Explorer resulted in unparsed data and was totally unusable).

However, when following Andrew's instructions, when I get to the part about opening the saved XML file in Excel, I receive an error message; "Missing File: [directory information here ] /CSS/Cablecast.css".

When I hit the OK button, what actually loads into Excel appears to be the web page prior to the report ... the page where you enter the date range, location, breakdown boxes, etc.

It did work properly one time; just one out of dozens. I re-checked my workflow several times to make sure I was following Andrew's advice to the letter and I was. I had a co-worker try the process using only Andrew’s instructions and he received the same results.

What we need from Tightrope is the ability to export the following data so it can be used in Excel, Access or other database program:

1. List of each program aired during a specified date range, including category and producer
2. Duration of each program
3. Number of times each program was run
4. Total minutes per program aired (number of runs x duration)
5. Total minutes per producer
6. Total minutes per category

This information is generated by the HTML report, and may be generated by the XML report (although Andrew’s blog claims that category and producer fields are not exported, they both were in the one successful Excel test I had), but I cannot say if this was a fluke or an intended result as that one test was the only success so far.

As basic as the need for accurate reporting is in the industry, why is there no direct export process built into Tightrope’s software other than webpage reports or through a rather convoluted process such as that outlined on Andrew’s blog??

-DH – David Harbsmeier, on May 05, 2009 18:37

Add the font to the Windows Font folder. If the font isn't corrupt, it should show up as an available font once you relaunch Front Door.

To add a font, go to Start->Settings->Control Panel and click on the FONTs control folder. In the File menu, select Add new font.

-DH

You can use Compressor versions 2 or 3 to create MPEG Program Streams that are compatible with the SX servers.

In Compressor 2, choose a DVD preset, duplicate it, then open it in the Inspector. Click on the Extras tab and check the box for "Multiplexed MPEG-1, Layer 2 Audio. This will create an MPEG-2 Transport Stream with MPEG-1 Layer II Audio. You'll need to change the resulting file's extension from .mts to .mpg and it should work on the SX-2 without issue.

In Compressor 3, open the MPEG-2 presets folder and choose the Program Stream preset.

-DH

You could connect a DVD recorder to one of the outputs of the SX-2 server and record in real time.

Other than that, MPEG Streamclip would be the way to go. If space is an issue, copy the MPEG-2 program stream file to another drive or computer on the network, and do the conversion there.

-DH

Install MPEG Streamclip (freeware) on your Mac. Use it to convert the MPEG-2 files into the QuickTime DV/DVCPro codec (NTSC or PAL depending on your location). Be sure to also set the quality slider to 100%, the audio to 48khz, 16 bit and the frame rate to 29.97. That will keep you from having to render in FCP as well as keeping the audio in sync with the video.

Do NOT use the 'Export to DV' option in MPEG Streamclip; that's the DV codec that iMovie uses and it will not function properly in FCP.

MPEG Streamclip can be downloaded here: http://www.squared5.com/

-DH