Delivering content to broadcast outlets is a critical final step in Aberdeen Broadcast Services' AberFast Transcoding & Station Delivery service. However, this process is more than just a digital file delivery service; it encompasses a comprehensive preparation of digital files before their final delivery.
On September 15, 2022, Matt Cook, the President of Aberdeen Broadcast Services, hosted an informative 30-minute webinar. This event provided an exclusive look into the AberFast service, offering a detailed walkthrough of the entire process, from the initial upload of content to its final broadcast. Matt Cook delved deep into various aspects of the service, including meticulous audio and video quality control, correction methods, and the intricacies of inserting graphics. He also explained the complexities involved in standards and resolution conversions, the nuances of transcoding, and the various methods of delivery.
Furthermore, the webinar introduced attendees to the station and client portals that Aberdeen offers. These portals are designed to give clients and stations real-time updates on their projects, ensuring transparency and efficiency in the process.
In 2021 alone, AberFast successfully delivered over 61,000 digital files, establishing itself as a reliable provider of broadcast-ready video files to broadcasting outlets globally. This webinar revealed the intricate processes and attention to detail that enable Aberdeen to deliver such high-quality, broadcast-ready content consistently.
In the fall of 2020, Aberdeen’s AberFast engineers were presented with a challenge: find an alternative for broadcasters who utilize satellite feeds to distribute their programming. The spectrum auction sanctioned by the FCC had cut the number of available satellite transponders in half, leaving broadcasters who use satellite feeds to be hit with premiums, overcharges, and even losing their feeds altogether.
The answer has been in front of us for a while: terrestrial IP-based file delivery.
Since 2010, our AberFast Station Delivery service has successfully delivered over half a million broadcast-ready files all over the world. We have been proving that IP-based program delivery is practical and the future of broadcast delivery which is why we heavily invested our time and money in this technology, allowing us to spin up a new service for satellite replacement:AberFast Lite.
Aberdeen recorded a video interview with the client to discuss the workflow and experience after a successful launch. Throughout the article, quotes and reference points are linked in blue and will take you to that part of the discussion in the video interview. The full video is available in the player at the end.
Client Profile: In Touch Ministries
In Touch Ministries is the outreach ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley, pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta, Georgia. After success with a half-hour religious program called The Chapel Hour, which began broadcasting in 1972, Stanley founded In Touch Ministries and began televising the In Touch program on The Christian Broadcasting Network in 1978. His program remains one of the longest-running religious broadcasts in the US, reaching more than 800 outlets through television and radio.
Awards and honors:
1988: National Religious Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame
1989: Named Clergyman of the Year by Religious Heritage of America
1989: NRB named In Touch with Television Producer of the Year
1999: In Touch named Radio Program of the Year
2017: Thomas Nelson Publishing recognizes Stanley for selling more than 3.5 million copies of his books
As one of Aberdeen’s long-time partners, In Touch Ministries began using Aberdeen’s services as a supplement to their in-house captioning & distribution workflow in 2010. After 11 years, our partnership continues to grow and Aberdeen now handles all of In Touch’s captioning and distribution for the television program.
Over the past 30 years, a significant amount of In Touch’s broadcast outlets have received the program via satellite delivery. For In Touch, the decision to use satellite for so long was heavily based on two factors: price and quality control. The ministry was always concerned about what would happen to the quality of the program when it was distributed through multiple mediums: tape, DVD, file, sat signal, etc. Satellite allowed them to “standardize” their broadcast – they knew that each station receiving the signal was receiving the same quality. However, the desire to standardize to a file-only option had been a hot topic with the ministry for years but nothing existed at the price point they needed and it was just still cheaper to deliver via satellite. Until now.
Because of the changing satellite service business and the FCC Spectrum sale cutting the number of available satellite feeds, In Touch was forced to change satellite providers five times over the last six years. Deadlines were becoming more of an issue when last-minute changes to a program forced their team to frantically resend a feed to hundreds of stations. It was at this time that McKinnon and his team turned to Aberdeen to find a solution.
The Solution
Since 2011, Aberdeen has been in the file-based, terrestrial delivery, space with their AberFast File Delivery service and has delivered over a half-million programs around the world. AberFast was introduced to provide significant financial savings for producers by eliminating tape and delivery costs associated with program delivery. It also allows producers to reach more broadcast outlets in high definition. Beyond financial savings, the AberFast service included a broadcast QC and correction of audio and video levels on all programs before delivery. Each station also received a broadcast-ready file transcoded to their preferred file specifications through a hand’s-off automated point-to-point upload to their servers along with email notifications.
So in the case of In Touch and a broadcast that reaches nearly 300 outlets weekly, how could they scale a terrestrial-based delivery to function similarly to a satellite signal that pushes the program out to all stations at once? Aberdeen now offers a more “lite” version of the full-service AberFast where most of the white-glove treatment is removed, but there is no sacrifice to the program's overall quality.
After surveying hundreds of stations, AberFast Lite settled on the five most commonly accepted file formats that will work in their automated ingest workflows. Each station will choose one format and receive the program through the same automated upload utilized for the full-service AberFast delivery. Stations will also have access to download the files from our online portal if they happen to move or delete the program. No more worries about “missing a feed” as the file will remain available well after the airdate.
The Results
In Touch Ministries has been off satellite since May of 2021 and is currently handling all of the distribution of their 30 & 60-minute weekly programs through Aberfast – station-specific versions are still running through the flagship AberFast service and where a single version is going to 50+ stations, AberFast Lite picks up the baton.
The launch of this service has proven to be such a successful alternative, that we’re thrilled to announce that the AberFast Lite service is available to all programmers who meet certain criteria and are sending a single-version program to 50+ TV stations. Want to see if your program qualifies? Contact us to have one of our engineers go through your workflows and present the appropriate solution. Learn more about the AberFast Lite setup process here.
The discussion between Matt Cook, President of Aberdeen Broadcast Services, and John McKinnon, Executive Director of Programming for In Touch Ministries referenced throughout this article can be viewed in its entirety below.
Aberdeen creates a successful workflow for the transfer of
long-form HD programs over the internet even at connection speeds under 1 Mb/s.
Background
Transferring files over the internet is hardly a new endeavor; however, many parts of the country still have limited access to high-speed bandwidth. One such client, Power Walk Ministries in Houston, TX had such a dilemma. Needing to have a weekly HD program go through post-production, get captioned and then delivered to a regional Fox affiliate in a three-day window left little hope for shipping and even less room for HD tape costs.
Solution and Execution
Quite a few hurdles needed to be overcome to ensure the Power Walk’s long-form (28:30) program could be transferred to Aberdeen for captioning and still make it to the station on time. A large part of the burden would be placed on Aberdeen’s AberFast file delivery service.
AberFast operates on the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) which maintains consistent transfer speeds well above what FTP or HTTP offers. This automated delivery mechanism is a managed file transfer solution that has bit-for-bit verification (MD5) and e-mail notification to ensure late-night deliveries arrive successfully well past the hours where shipping is even an option. Compounding the delivery difficulties was the outdated infrastructure of the neighborhood where the client’s studio was located. Upload speeds averaged less than 1Mb/s at their location. Even an SD-DV file at this speed could take over 15 hours to transfer. Significant compression was going to be needed to transfer a file in the necessary amount of time. Aberdeen’s broadcast solutions team designed a custom compression template for the client to ensure that every export would be as compressed as possible without sacrificing the visual or audio quality of the program.
Results
The final compressed file has a size under 2GB and transfers from the client’s studio to Aberdeen’s data center in under five hours. This allows Aberdeen’s AberCap division to complete the closed captioning in time for AberFast to transcode and deliver a custom file back to the FOX station in Texas in less time than a tape could have made half the journey. AberFast’s ability to leverage the most advanced technological applications and workflows in the industry enables them to deliver high-quality content at unparalleled speeds, meeting airdates around the globe.
Aberdeen provides live captioning of a church service at Idlewild Church, allowing members of the congregation who are hard of hearing to be able to understand the message being preached.
Background
Senior Pastor Ken Whitten of Idlewild Church realized that members of his congregation were sitting in silence. Although his message was being interpreted by a sign language interpreter, this service was only helpful to church members who actually knew sign language. There were newly deaf (adult-onset) and hard-of-hearing members in his church that had no way of understanding his sermon.
Solution and Execution
Idlewild Church set up large screen projectors with the live captioning streaming from an Aberdeen live captioner so the deaf and hard-of-hearing members could follow the message live.
Results
The live captioning was a success and for the first time completed seamlessly; every member of the congregation had a clear understanding of the message being preached.
"Thanks Team for making yesterday memorable for so many. It’s just the beginning, but it would have never launched without you and your heart and hard work. You’re a blessing to labor with. I could have also talked about a lady who cried at 9:30 too. They are out there. One lady came to see me at the Pastor’s reception and told me she’s telling all her friends. Get ready. It’s meeting a need.”
Pastor Whitten
Aberdeen successfully translated, subtitled, and provided DVD authoring for the documentary God of Wonders, produced by Eternal Productions.
Background
Jim Tetlow, the Executive Producer of God of Wonders, approached Aberdeen with a complex task to translate, subtitle, and create a DVD with 22 subtitled languages and 8 audio languages.
Solution and Execution
Aberdeen has taken on basic DVD authoring projects throughout years, but this was the first of this magnitude. Our very own Austin Bringard used Apple’s DVD Studio Pro to assemble moving menus and was successful in authoring a DVD with (we have to brag again) 22 subtitled languages and 8 audio languages!
Results
Aberdeen rose to meet this challenge and proved to be a success. The final multi-language version includes these selectable languages:
