TAG’s monitoring visualization resources enriched with increased UMD capabilities, expanded tally functions, and advanced timer features

TAG Video Systems, has opened a new world of information for its users by dramatically increasing visualization resources on its flagship Multi-Channel Monitoring (MCM) system. TAG, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end monitoring, deep probing, and logging solutions, has enriched its Under Monitor Display (UMD) capabilities with expanded UMD and Tally functions, internal timers, and tight integration with a third-party series of production timing devices. The infusion of live data pulled from multiple sources and visualized in one place provides operators with a clear and quick timeline of the content’s health and lifecycle. The upgrades will be demonstrated at IBC 2022 in TAG’s Stand # 1.C30 along with TAG’s recently released and award-winning Monitoring Control System (MCS), and the Company’s new Bridge Technology.

“People think of TAG as a monitoring company, but in reality, we offer our customers confidence and peace-of-mind by providing them with a painless short-cut to the critical information they need to successfully complete their operations and prepare for future growth,” explained Kevin Joyce, TAG’s Zer0 Friction Officer. “The information required for complete analysis of a stream comes from a multitude of places such as automation/playout systems, human input and control panels. TAG’s MCM pulls it all together and drops it in one place on a tile on the multiviewer, simplifying an incredibly complex process. So, what’s on air, when it started, what’s coming next and when it’s coming is all obvious – at a glance. Having all that rich data coming together in one place, enables operators to achieve the highest quality and best use of their own workflow.”

TAG has expanded UMD capability to 8 UMDs per tile element with each UMD taking on roles that extend beyond the simple display of text. In addition to static or external (via API or TSL-5 protocol) text, internally derived metadata and other data can be displayed, including stream information such as service name, TSID, bitrate, resolution, colors pace, HDR format, timecode, codec, stream type, and VCHIP rating, to name a few. In addition to the usual ‘tally light’ indicators, many display attributes such as border, font, background, etc. can be customized for tally use as well. Operators can custom configure all Tallies and UMDs to reflect their preference for font attributes and display appearance, colors are specified as 24-bit, and user-provided JPG still images can be displayed as well.

The UMDs can now also deliver on-screen timers for production and playout timing applications along with their other display capabilities. Source data for UMDs, tallies and timers from different external sources can be integrated with related information to present operators with a ‘big picture” of the content’s journey. For example, tapping the UMD’s enhanced capabilities playout automation can deliver clip filenames and start / duration times from playout automation, with static text providing context. A playout-driven MCM timer has been added that counts down to the next event along with live stream-derived V-Chip rating and Closed Caption presence. Together, these offer a simple and effective visualization for channel behavior. All UMD, timer and tally functionality that is supported by the TSL-5 protocol is offered over that service, and all available functionality, including timers and metadata-driven display, is available through TAG’s rich JSON API.

TAG has also introduced integration with the popular Plura series of MTD production timing devices, offering on-screen visualization of local desk timer displays.

“Having everything on the screen exactly as the operators need and want it simplifies their lives dramatically,” added Joyce. “Even something as simple as having visual access to a third-party timer reduces the complexity of their tasks by slashing the time it takes to identify a timeline, freeing them to work on creative or growth initiatives. We welcome the opportunity to show all these improvements to visitors at IBC along with our ground-breaking MCS that is transforming how users extract and utilize data, and our new TAG Bridge technology that delivers optimized streams to multiple locations.” Streaming Media