I’ve worked with some pretty rotten software, but management software is easily the most user unfriendly, so my vote goes to HPSM.

  • @TrueStoryBob
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    610 months ago

    No NDA and no problem!

    When I last used Overdrive, it was a fresh installation, but the system itself had been around for a few years. The UI was uncooperative, making changes required going into a script instead of just a quick fix in the on-air playlist or changing a few lines of typed coding (like with ELC and Ignite respectively). The program itself was crazy unstable… look, crashes happen with any computer program or system, but this was a daily occurrence (sometimes twice in an hour long show) which is completely unacceptable. Finally, compared to Sony and GrassValley, building new codes was a trial that often required access to the video switcher itself instead of just handling things through the code editor program.

    While I haven’t worked on an Overdrive system in years, one or our competitor stations in town just got one; they’ve been having a hell of a time with it and it shows on-air. Been working in broadcasting for almost twenty years and I’ve launched all three automation systems at one time or another. With Grassvalley and Sony’s automation there’s seldom a problem at launch… Ross seems to always be a beast that needs to get wrangled. I seriously want to go to that competitor and help them (also, their studio is lit for shit and I want to fix that as well).

    • @Passerby6497
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      English
      310 months ago

      What do you do when those crashes happen during a live broadcast? Is that something is viewers might notice at home?

      • @TrueStoryBob
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        510 months ago

        You drop up black and go to commercial. Hopefully, the system is back up when the break is over.