Release notes 2021/4
1. VSNExplorer
1.1 What’s new?
1.1.1 Assets
- New Recycle Bin interface to search, restore or permanently delete assets
1.1.2 Metadata
- Remember the shown/hidden status of the sections in the metadata tables
- Add characters counter in all “Long Text” metadata fields
- Option to configure any “Short Text” metadata field with the auto-complete suggestions taken from other assets with the same metadata field
- To show suggestions from other assets when typing text into the “Short Text” metadata fields, if they are already configured to be auto-complete with suggestions
- Automatic actions when one specific metadata field has changed
- Automatic actions when one specific metadata field has changed from several assets at the same time using the bulk replacement option in the Advanced Searches
1.1.3 Searches
- New Solr version 8.9
- Activation of SSL and Authentication in Solr
- To save the order of the columns in the Table view by user (not by browser)
1.1.4 Player
- Migration of DashJS library from version 2.9.3 to 4.1.0
- Support of new video standards (MOV ProRes 1080×1920; 1080×1080)
1.1.5 Wedit
- Show PAM table view in Wedit
- Make the width of the category tree adjustable from Wedit
- To visualize the current frame when resizing cuts from the timeline
- Consolidate Wedit using Adobe Media Encoder render farm
1.1.6 PAM
- Make the width of the category tree adjustable from PAM
1.1.7 Dashboards
- Option to add or delete widgets inside an existing Dashboard
- To be able to edit the configuration of a widget in a Dashboard
- New column selector for the generic Search Table widget configurator
- To be able to configure the “Download” button field to be used to download one specific file business use from the Search Table widget
- Activate or deactivate the Reset and Save Dashboard depending on whether there are pending changes
- When editing a widget, load current settings
- To be able to load the previous configuration in Search Table widget
- If there are pending changes to save in a dashboard, notify the user before closing it
1.1.8 Agents
- New agent to generate a new thumbnail from the proxy adding dynamic watermarks using several metadata of the asset
1.1.9 Storages
- Mejoras UI almacenamiento RIO Broker (BlackPearl).
- Mejoras en la configuración de storage DIVA
1.1.10 Others
- Cache of multiple services to enhance performance
- UI/UX improvements to enhance user experience
- For more information about these and the rest of VSN Explorer features, visit the VSN Explorer User’s Guide, accessible from the same VSNExplorer web interface
1.2 Fixed issues
- Multifield metadata change event in bulk replacement
- Remove “Segments Metadata” option from the class configuration
- Asset refresh problem when changing the asset class
- If an asset has no video and there is segmentation of more than one hour, only the minutes and seconds are displayed
- When a dashboard is saved for the first time, it’s possible to reopen it in another tab
- Bulk replacement is not allowed for the User type
- When not all the subtitles associated with an asset are loaded, the player goes black
- The Vegas renderer generates a video with one extra frame for each cut
- The search returns an incorrect field type for metadata fields that contain the string “duration” in the description
- Multiple multifield changes are sent even though there are no changes
- When there is an error when importing metadata, nothing is displayed to the user
- Failure in Daily view when an asset has no image
- Player crash when a user without permissions to create a wedit tries to create one
- When recording a voiceover track, the message Buffering appears continuously in the sequence player
- The player buttons “1” (forward 15 seconds) and “2” (backward 15 seconds) do not work
- Dash HTML Player – a different frame when paused
- PAM does not show Production Stages in Kanban vie
2. VSNCrea
2.1 What’s new?
2.1.1 Linear Scheduling
- New Service Order scheduling mode: “Promotions”
- Do not allow to select productions without selecting the Scheduling mode
- To be able to create/edit scheduling positions for any content type from the Administration menu
- To be able to order positions with drag and drop from the Administration menu
- To be able to define positions when scheduling “Promos” Service Orders
2.1.2 Linear Broadcast
- Automatically import promotions into a playlist
- To show an alert when moving an event that comes from a Service Order and has an specific scheduling position
- To show the position name and colour in the playlists
- If a production that has only one segmentation when adding an event to the playlist, the system automatically selects their segments
2.1.3 Commercials
- To be able to define positions when scheduling “Commercials” Service Orders
- Price calculations for CPM and CRP Ad Rates
2.1.4 Non-linear
- To be able to configure the time in advance in which the media will be uploaded to the platforms per tenant
- Calendar View in Non-linear scheduling
- Sequential/episodic scheduling for non-linear platforms
- To be able to edit “Publishing Date” field when a record is marked as “Scheduled with errors”
2.1.5 Reports
- Option to import/export Advanced reports from the UI
- Option to print Advanced Reports
2.1.6 Core
- New metadata field to upload files
- Remove Content Types option from the Administration menu
- Custom integration with SAP
For more information about these and the rest of VSNCrea features, visit the VSN Crea User’s Guide.
2.2 Fixed issues
- When logging in, the name, surname and GUID of the tenant owner is always being displayed in the session, and not the user with whom we have logged in.
- Problems with Migrator
- Error when creating new decimal fields
- Retry button is not appearing in the Non-linear list
- Related fields creation is not working
3. VSNNewsconnect
3.1 What’s new?
- Integration with Avid iNews
- Control of the rundown loaded in each studio so only the same MOS rundown can be loaded in one and only studio of a cluster
3.2 Fixed Issues
- Crash of VSNLivecom floating massively several stories
- Error in loop/chain in Livecom
- Problems with wrong status in Ross Inception
- Double update of MOS objects in Octopus
4. VSN Livecom
4.1 What’s new?
- Automatic play when the next line is in loop mode
4.2 Fixed Issues
- Crash of VSNLivecom floating massively several stories
- Error in loop/chain in Livecom
5. VSN BP Editor
5.1 What’s new?
- Enlarge the control to enter long texts
- Increasing the size of the displayed help fragment
- Insert expressions at the cursor position
6. Workflows & Integrations
6.1 What’s new?
- New VSN Adobe panel with options for remote lowres editing
- Consolidate Wedit using Adobe Media Encoder
- Render Farm of Adobe Media Encoder (AME)
- Support of new video standards (MOV ProRes 1080×1920; 1080×1080)
7. VSNOne TV
7.1 What’s new?
7.1.1 General Features
- Improved pixel-by-pixel positioning and cropping of “picture-in-picture” objects when editing and displaying graphic compositions
- Added HLS output stream encoding mode in Playout for Ethernet module:
- Multi Bitrate encoding
- Support for h264 and hevc codecs
- Ability to issue video segments and HLS playlists to the file system for subsequent issuance by a third-party web server
- Ability to upload video segments and HLS playlists to remote web servers using HTTP PUT or POST requests
- Support for issuing SCTE-35 markers in HLS playlists
- In the program channel, the command “Extend Item Duration” has been added, to which the AirMgr Action1-Action8 buttons can be inserted and used as a command to add / shorten the duration of the playlist line
- Added support for ASS subtitles
- In the program channel for the parameterization of graphics, variables have been added that expand as the time before the start or end of the event in the hh: mm: ss format (such data, for example, can be output to a multiscreen).
- Added UHD and 1080P modes in neovid setup wizard
- Added support for redundancy (SMPTE-2022-7) when issuing and capturing SMPTE-2110
- In the MPEGTS capture and output modules, the possible number of audio streams has been increased to 32x
- Added support for SMPTE-2022-7 redundancy when issuing SMPTE-2110
- Added support for radio streams in MPEGTS capture module
- Added support for LISTEN mode in RTMP capture and playback modules
- NDI library updated to version 5
- Mellanox Rivermax library updated to version 11.1.7.18
- Added a GPI module that allows switching devices using the Ember + protocol (an open control protocol developed by Lawo and LSB Broadcast Technologies)
- Fixed switch management via LRC, NVision, SWP02 and SWP08 protocols
- Switch Management Module adds JVC protocol support for Roland mixers
- When playing open subtitles from TTML files, support for translucency of background and text has been added
7.1.2 Transfer Manager
- Added the ability to run transcoding threads on remote servers in Transfer Manager. Thus, it is possible to have a central Transfer Manager server as well as a farm of task servers that will perform individual transcoding tasks
- The “Parallel recording” setting has been added for the rules, which allows skipping copying in “Overwrite Different” modes, with durations differing by no more than 2 seconds. This can be used for parallel recording on Main / Backup servers with subsequent synchronization by transfer
7.1.3 Air Manager
- Reworked the menu command on the right button in the “Missing Media List” playlist. Now it is called “Media report” and allows you to show the statuses and times of the expected start of the playlist media, the media assets for which meet some search criteria, such as the media status and the name of the media asset
- In artwork, vertical offset of PIP objects by an odd number of pixels now works the same for positive and negative offsets.
- In AirMgr, in the Missing Media List window, a column for the estimated start time of the missing material has been added to the list of missing materials. Also, it is possible to sort by the time of the proposed airing
- In AirManager, the ServiceMonitor window is now automatically reconnected to the video stream after losing connection
- In AirMgr, when loading playlists, it is now possible to automatically correct the duration not for all items, but only for items with an unspecified duration
7.1.4 Recording Manager
- Docking mode — On the general page of configuration there is a checkbox that will switch to docking mode on restart of the client
- Docking mode — On the general page of configuration there is a checkbox that will switch to docking mode on restart of the client
- Configurable columns for the lists– Additional pages have been added to the configuration dialog allowing columns to be selected or deselected, as well as their names changed
- Colours in the list–these are present automatically and will show up right away.
- Delete has been added to the right click list
- A default value of 7 has been added for Days to Live on job description
- Tasks are added to the list as soon as they have been scheduled.
- Added the “Upcoming” window, which displays all the tasks for the next 24 hours.
- Multiple job selections are now possible, as well as multiple jobs deleted at the same time.
- Filters by recording device are now found in recording jobs, completed jobs, and schedule windows.
- Added weekly calendar viewing, which shows the next 7 days from the current time.
- Added the option to delete when right-clicking on the schedule tab.
- The file name and folder fields must be visible before the job is created.
- Recorders used for recording are now saved and loaded into an xml file, unlike only description writer pools.
- Recorders are also listed in the schedule, a more detailed description of the conflicts.
- Sorting by columns by pressing the sort buttons
- Based on the recorder profile selected, the folder list will be populated, and the default value for the folder list is configured in neovid
- Right clicking on the various schedule windows now has a “Force Start” option, which will start the job manually, and advance the scheduled time for the job to the next time, if it is not already advanced
- Double clicking the recorder log no longer opens an edit window
As always, in order to install new versions, customers need a license with the “upgrade expire date” field that allows installing builds with the corresponding build date
7.2 Fixed Issues
- A bug has been fixed in Transfer Manager, as a result of which, in some cases, when the source clip is changed, the copy task is not reinitialized and the transfer may fail
- Fixed file handling in Transfer Manager if the file was moved at the source before it was processed
- Fixed handling of IN / OUT markers in transfermgr and using copying in HIRES Only mode
- Fixed AirManager when setting up more than 16 recorders
- When you close AirMgr, MaConnect, and Newscut, you are now prompted for user confirmation if there are active transcoding tasks in MediaBrowser
- Matrix Switch Management Module fixed for switches with more than 128 inputs and outputs
- Fixed detection of audio tracks in some streams when captured by Webcast module
- Fixed interlace handling when saving files to some containers
- Made changes and corrections in the media database search dialog
- Program Channel Fixes Playback of Audio Clips (Without Video) That Use Entry and Exit Points
- Graphic compositions fixed TextFeed elements using AutoFit
- In the program channel fixed switching and disabling of open subtitles
- Fixed Dektec boards in UHD modes
8. VSN Broadrec
8.1 What ‘s New?
- Visualization interface support through the use of HTML5 without the need to continue using Flash player.
- Support for new protocols: NDI, SRT (caller and listener), RTMP (caller and listener), HLS, RTSP.
- Social media recording support: Instagram Live and Youtube.
- New export filters including buttons for direct access to the filter set: Blur, crop, logos, graphic, start segments, end segments.
- Live display up to 16 simultaneous channels.
- New High Performance Multiviewer Features
- Advanced media handling including MAM functions.
- ADDED INPUT FORMATS: NDI Full, NDI HX, RTMP, HLS, SRT, Youtube, Facebook Live, IP cameras by RTSP
- NEW LIVE MULTIPLE VIEW: Display grid settings. Full screen view. VU meters on the fly. Mute command. Audio channels. Loudness.
- SYNCHRONIZED FILE PLAYBACK: Comparative rating on multiple channels. Adjustable time zone per channel.
- BUTTONS WITH SUMMARIZED EXPORT FLOWS: User-configurable buttons to post on social media with specific templates. User-configurable buttons to trigger transcoding and publishing streams. Possibility to add specific tags, video covers and descriptions. Export of metadata in .xml along with media content.
- EXPORT FLOWS AND REPROPOSITION: Export templates: blurred, logo and crop, graphic, start segments and end segments. Burning of subtitles in the export stage. Export of subtitles or closed caption as SRT. OCR bitmap subtitles to SRT. Export with rendering by GPU under export time. Double export queue for short and long clips.
- AUTOCLIPPING IMPROVEMENTS: Clip generation from As Run Log, EPG or Reportv.
9. VSN AI
9.1 What ‘s New?
- Automatic bilingual live subtitling in English, Spanish and Portugese
- Scene recognition
- For each of the video shots we make a deep analysis of the scene and we are able to classify, within almost 400 possible labels, which category is the one that best represents the given video.
- To make the understanding of the scene, it is segmented into different areas, so that the algorithm understands which objects appear in it, in what position and how they interact with each other. This segmentation, in conjunction with the original image, serves to make a prediction of which category is the one that best represents it.
- Tunes recognition. Given an input audio, the VSN tuning module initially identifies different fragments in it that are acoustically homogeneous and detects, for each of them, whether it is silence, voice, music, or noise.
- For those who carry music, VSN extracts an audio footprint that represents the most relevant and representative frequency content of the audio. This footprint is compared with all of those tunings that the client wants to detect and that will be stored in the database. When a tune is found that is in the database, its start and end position in the audio is indicated. This is very useful for certain content that divides the different sections of your program by tunes, since it automatically allows us to segment them. It is also possible to use it as a rights server, as it allows us to identify which tunes and when they are being played.
- In addition to the algorithm itself, VSN is also working on the optimization of tuning searches in large databases (with thousands or millions of tunings), streamlining the processes of extraction and comparison of fingerprints to offer the best user experience of the system.
9.2 Under development
- Video quality improvement
- Generative adversarial network
- In the field of video, VSN is working with the new and striking GAN (Generative adversarial network) neural networks, characterized by their “creative” capacity.
- In this line, we are working on two techniques to, given a video in low quality or old, improve its quality:
- On the one hand, work is being done to improve the resolution of the frames that make up the video. Traditional methods of increasing resolution are based on interpolations of adjacent pixels. However, with GAN networks new pixels are created, significantly improving the quality before the human eye.
- Similarly, the ability to increase the framerate of a video by creating new frames instead of interpolating adjacent ones is being developed. Again, in the human eye, this means a higher visual quality.
- Detection of scenes with violent content and nudity
- In the field of Machine Vision, VSN is developing an algorithm for detecting violent and nudity scenes in videos.
- Given a video, this module is able to detect violentor nudity scenes thanks to the detection of objects and, in particular, to the optimization in terms of detection of critical body parts, such as genitals, based on visual characteristics such as the detection of skin areas or the location in the human body.
- In this way, it is possible to automatically signal the start and end times in a video that include certain sensitive content. It is also possible to automatically censor genitals or other parts of the body by blurring them into the scene.
10. Technical Aspects
- The recommended browsers for both VSNExplorer and VSNCrea are Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. (The certification process for these Release versions has been passed using Firefox 91.0.2)
- Old versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer are not supported.
- Latest full compatible and certified OSX version: 10.13 High Sierra
- Run Explorer Client 1.39.103.0 software in all workstations to be sure the users have all recommended software versions for VSNExplorer
- Latest VSNDesktopAgent Plus Installer 4.15.500.0 version should be updated in all needed workstations. To work with this DA version, it is needed to verify if the HTTPS certificate is properly installed and the Operating System should be Windows 64 bits.
- If you have VSNCrea with the integration with VSNExplorer MAM, it is mandatory to update both systems to these latest versions.
- It is recommended to execute a Full Reindexation in VSNExplorer after the update.
- It is recommended to clean the cache of your web browser after the update.
11. Getting Help
- Access to the latest Product Release videos and to many more media content in one place:
- VSN Explorer and VSN Crea User Online Guides can be accessed from the same web interface.
- If you need technical assistance please contact our Support Service at any time by sending an email to support@vsn.es
- Support is available at the VSN customer support helpdesk