Operation
The unique architecture of AirCleaner
®
allows for
multiple user modes consisting of one or two screeners,
multiple trigger options and the ability to have two
completely independent delay paths through the system
with independent control of audio and video delay.
Although AirCleaner
®
was designed primarily as a device
to screen out visual and aural obscenities and profanities,
it also features an adjustable delay to offset audio relative
to video and therefore may also find uses as an
audio-to-video synchronization device.
Realizing that every broadcast facility is designed for a
unique work-flow, AirCleaner
®
in turn is designed with
maximum flexibility in mind. AirCleaner
®
provides the
flexibility required to meet a multitude of needs.
AirCleaner
®
can be quickly and easily configured by the
user to provide either one-screener or two-screener
operation. With two-screener operation, the internal delay
can be split between the two screeners in any proportion
desired; each of these screeners also has their own
parameters for reaction time, individually adjustable for
both audio and video. AirCleaner
®
also offers a simple
way to offset the audio and video delay to compensate
for timing or synchronization errors in the incoming
audio/video feed.
Theory of Operation
The basic operation of AirCleaner
®
is described below.
Only the video pathway is described, and the basic
increment of time is one second (with up to 30 frames
included in each second, depending on the video format).
In this example, AirCleaner
®
is programmed with the
following parameters:
•
Screeners = One
•
Total PGM Delay = 40:00
•
Video Reaction 1 = 2:00
•
On Video Trigger = Defocus
•
Defocus Ramp = 0:00
This example begins at an arbitrary time zero (00:00) as
shown by the stop watch timer. As this example
progresses, the stop watch timer advances as the violation
segment of video shifts rightward through the video
pipeline.
The real-time defocus engine is positioned at the end of
the video pipeline in AirCleaner
®
, and is normally
switched out of the video pathway. As you will see, when
the first video frame that is marked as the start of
violation reaches the end of the delay pipeline,
AirCleaner
®
then automatically switches the video output
to the processed output of the real-time defocus engine
Time 00:00
The current video that the screener is looking at is safe,
with no violations. There are violations coming (marker
with an
X
) in the next 5 seconds. Each box in the figures
below represent 1 second. The
0
frame will also advance
through the delay.
Time 05:00
Five seconds have elapsed and the first frame of the
violation appears on the screener’s video monitor as it
enters the AirCleaner
®
. The screener must now react and
press the panic button.
Time 06:00
After another second the screener recognizes the violation
and pushes the panic button and holds it. Since the
Reaction Time for this screener is set for 2:00 seconds,
the button trigger is advanced forward in time, and is
marked in the video one second before the violation.
Time 10:00
After four more seconds the screener is still seeing a
violation on their monitor and is still pressing the panic
button.
8
• Operation — Abekas AirCleaner User Manual (v3.5)