Recent events have raised the profile of EAS alerts and that of the broadcaster. The FCC has used this opportunity to enforce strict adherence to the regulations and threaten the licenses of a small number of Broadcasters. While all television and radio broadcasters are concerned about notifying the public during emergency situations, religious broadcasters in particular have a unique opportunity to use their federally-mandated alerting equipment for more than emergency purposes. Small and large religious broadcasters can meet the regulations set forth by the FCC and exceed the expectations of the viewing public. Solutions exist which provide broadcasters with the same performance as with a full-time staff, without having an engineer or technician on site 24/7.
The current FCC requirements can be met with automatic EAS alerting equipment.
All EAS Encoder/Decoders can be set to automatically retransmit alerts that come in. This keeps all broadcasters compliant, but viewers may be inconvenienced if the programming that they have been waiting a week to see is interrupted. Trilithic’s EASy system provides broadcasters with the opportunity to review alerts and resend them in a format which interferes less with the viewers’ experience. By delaying the message or providing a text crawl that does not interrupt the programming, Trilithic EAS solutions provide a better level of service to your viewers.
Have you wanted to provide more information to your viewers than what you are required to? Have you wanted to explain planned service interruptions or programming changes? Do you want to brand messages with your station identification? Trilithic has solutions available for broadcasters that not only meet the FCC requirements, but the equipment will provide additional benefits that will help you to win viewers during critical times.
The same equipment that is used to perform text crawls which are received from the National Weather Service can also be used to perform message crawls of any type, at any time. The Visionary™ HD/SD-SDI from Trilithic is a digital overlay device that will perform text crawls in high-definition or standard-definition, and features AES audio to provide quality digital audio messages. Crawls can be placed anywhere on the screen and can be customized for your unique needs. This capability will help to prevent your viewers from mistaking your programming or special messages with FCC EAS alerts. Best of all, your unique message can be set up from anywhere in your network and sent to the EAS encoder/decoder. This provides flexibility and real-time program control from virtually anywhere, any time.
The Visionary can also provide logos and station bugs with a settable level of transparency that will allow you to mark your programming. The same PC-based program that allows editing and distribution of text crawls is also used to upload station logos, religious emblems, or common computer pictures to the viewers’ screen. This enhanced crawl and graphic capability allows you to notify your viewers of upcoming special programs. With the Visionary and the supporting Visionary Editor™ software, your EAS equipment can keep your viewers informed of more than just EAS alerts.
With digital storage and remote programming, overlay capabilities and automated compliance software, Trilithic’s IP-based EAS systems give you enhanced efficiency, improved control, and worry-free alert distribution and reporting. No more manual log entries, logbook storage, or last-minute runs into the studio to program alerts. Trilithic offers flexible, comprehensive EAS solutions that can be configured for your needs and your budget. Trilithic also offers consulting, applications engineering, and technical support.
The EASyCAST and Visionary – along with Trilithic’s full complement of EAS solutions – will be available for demonstration at the NRB Convention and Exposition in Nashville, Tennessee, on February 27 through March 2, 2010 and at NAB in Las Vegas, on April 12 through 15, 2010. For additional information please visit us at www.trilithicEAS.com.
