First Commercial Deployment of MAXedit by MaxT Systems

MaxT Systems, Inc., developer of server-based media applications and high-performance storage solution, announced the first commercial deployments of its MAXedit Server Edition in the United States. The HD/SD multi-user, browser-based craft editing solution was bundled by Bitcentral as part of two recent sales of its Precis 4.0 News Production System. The systems will be deployed at KBAK in Bakersfield, California and KBCI in Boise, Idaho—two CBS affiliates owned by Fisher Communications.

Bitcentral, Inc., manufacturer of news production and distribution systems, based in Irvine, California, recently endorsed MaxT’s MAXedit Server Edition as a complementary editing solution to its Precis system workflow. Having certified and integrated MAXedit with Precis, Bitcentral offers the combination as part of a turnkey news production system.

“Both KBCI and KBAK immediately recognized the benefits that MAXedit’s browser-based editing functionality brings to their workflow,” said Diane Severns, senior account manager for Bitcentral. “Prior to adding MAXedit, the stations were performing all editing in dedicated non-linear edit bays, which can be very limiting especially in the hectic hours leading up to the newscast. MAXedit gives the news team the freedom to edit from any desktop across the station, anytime, and to work collaboratively to produce a deadline-driven, high-quality news product.”

With its unique server-based design, MAXedit enables customers to set up a scalable multi-seat editing environment without the need for specialized workstations or dedicated network infrastructure. MAXedit expands newsroom productivity without increasing capital budgets, while reducing engineering and maintenance costs. MAXedit supports virtually any broadcast video formats. It complements Precis — which manages the tapeless HD/SD news production workflow from ingest to air-spanning media management, editing, and archiving. Precis’ support for file transfer to a station’s server combined with MAXedit’s distance editing capabilities enable reporters to begin crafting their stories from the field while the news team in the station can share and edit the same file-based media for the fastest, most streamlined path to air.

"These new systems are a quantum leap from tape-based production to a highly efficient, file-based news workflow," said Lee Wood, Regional Director of Engineering, Fisher Communications. "While migration to tapeless and HD production is an expensive, daunting challenge, Bitcentral is making the transition easy and cost-effective. As the broadcast news business becomes more competitive, these two systems work in tandem to help us streamline costs, increase productivity, and attract and retain a loyal audience."

Also included in Bitcentral’s turnkey news production system sales to KBAK and KBCI was MaxT’s Sledgehammer, a high-performance network storage device that provides a centralized online raw media repository with maximum sustained real-time streams. Sledgehammer can be accessed by any editing system. Designed for demanding applications, such as broadcast news, Sledgehammer is already in use by many Precis customers as part of their tapeless news workflow.