Forecasting the Future
Posted on Aug 19, 2024 by FEED Staff
Powered by XPression, Raiden combines data gathering, processing and visualisation tools to transform how broadcasters create dynamic weather and climate content
Sponsored editorial
If there’s one thing the Covid-19 pandemic taught the world of broadcast, it’s that virtual tools are more ready than many in the industry had realised.
Despite the critical need for remote workflows diminishing as the pandemic’s effect wore off, the demand for virtual solutions has been ever on the up – thanks to the heightened efficiency they offer. “The reasons for the demand have changed,” expands Mike Paquin, senior product manager of Ross Video’s virtual solutions. “When Covid-19 happened, it was a case of separating people into different spaces – and from home. It opened people’s eyes to say, ‘hey, this is possible’, and they can do a virtual production with a shoestring budget. Now, with a proper focus and project, it’s become much more serious.”
“One of those key areas of focus is weather segments,” adds Ryan Fulton, product manager for virtual solutions. “We’ve heard from customers that there’s strong desire to create more visually compelling content to help meteorologists or weather presenters provide context to their viewers. Virtual production presents that opportunity to bring weather into their world.”
Today’s technology is capable of producing hyperrealistic virtual environments which enhance the quality of production and improve the viewing experience. To obtain the best results, a compelling 3D design with precision camera tracking and calibration is essential. Ross Video’s end-to-end virtual solution provides the highest level of quality with an easy-to-use workflow and consistent results, ensuring seamless execution for professionals.
Endless opportunities
Consistent results in the virtual space are part and parcel of what Ross Video does. It’s in the company’s DNA to innovate, and so with that it announced the launch of Raiden – a data-driven weather graphics software that’s designed to empower newsrooms to elevate their storytelling with more immersive real-time weather content.
“The idea behind Raiden,” Paquin continues, “is so it can aid presenters – whether they have a background in meteorology or not – to tell a story. It allows them to bring all the weather data into a familiar interface and make it something which is easy to use every day.”
Raiden’s powerful toolset enables meteorologists and content creators to produce captivating weather narratives. Here’s a breakdown of how it works:
- Powerful data aggregation: Raiden seamlessly acquires, processes and visualises preferred weather data from a wide range of sources, integrating the XPression graphics engine.
- An intuitive story creation tool: A user-friendly web-based interface enables users to quickly build or update a weather story and rundown from anywhere for live production.
- Integrated graphics system: An XPression Plugin with Datalinq enables broadcasters to both design and operate news and weather content from a single graphics engine.
“You can use the data we collect, build timelines and tie it into existing weather graphics. Plus, you can use it for an event – for example, if there was a football game that night and you wanted to include the weather’s impact during the sports segment, that is now easily done,” adds Paquin.
Head of production at Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, Gisli Berg, was an early user of the new Raiden technology. He comments: “Raiden has transformed our approach to weather storytelling by removing the limitations of our old system. Our news and weather teams now collaborate much more effectively to produce higher-quality content. The ability to access and prepare content from anywhere has made the team’s job easier.”
Other key features include:
- Data agnostic: Seamless integration with various data sources ensures compatibility with various forecasting models. Forecast editing capabilities allow meteorologists to fine-tune predictions as needed.
- Forecast animations: Dynamic 3D maps and customisable annotations for enhanced visual presentation at forecasts.
- Flexible hosting options: Different hosting options are available – including on-premises, virtual, hybrid and cloud-hosting to support different organisational preferences, security requirements and scalability needs.
“Our biggest goal is to make virtual solutions more accessible to everyone, building tools which allow users to create content quickly,” surmises Paquin. “We aim to provide an experience where someone can sit down and decide they want to build something today, then be able to easily turn it around.”
To learn more about Ross Video’s portfolio of virtual solutions, head to rossvideo.com
This feature was first published in the Summer 2024 issue of FEED.
