Autocue has made the first European sale of its new IP-based, networked prompting system, QMaster to TV5, based in Latvia. The sale was carried out by Autocue’s Baltic partner, Hannu-Pro.
QMaster, part of the QNxt product suite, provides TV5’s newsroom studio with a software application on the control PC that communicates via an Ethernet link (amongst other connection options) with a highly compact QBox unit to scroll the script. QMaster enables TV5’s news presenters to individually control their own scripts using a discreet local hand or foot control attached to the QBox. The Ethernet link means that the QBox can be located with the prompter.
The QBox provides a fall back for the PC, automatically storing a copy of the current script or running order. In the event of a PC failure, prompting continues via the QBox, with the TV5 presenter (or operator with a preview screen) taking local control of the prompter. This means the presenter can continue to retain eye contact with the camera even if the system in the central location has failed.
Arnis Seibe, technical director, TV5 commented: “We have been using Autocue’s prompting systems for a number of years and have always been extremely happy with both the products and the level of service received from Autocue. QMaster is a revolutionary system that provides our presenters with greater flexibility and our operators with increased resilience in the event of a system failure.”
Frank Hyman, Autocue’s CEO added: “We are delighted to announce this sale to TV5. Since launching QMaster commercially at NAB 2007, we have been inundated with interest from broadcasters worldwide and will announce further sales in the coming weeks.”
