18 BBC local radio stations spent some or all of yesterday looking for old turntables and tape-players, only to be frustrated by the central failure of their VILOR (Virtual Local Radio) system, which controls all playout to transmitters via 290 computer racks in two data centres in London.
The economics of VILOR looked sound enough. Introduced first in 2014, the idea is that the old, multifarious computer systems in all stations, set to grow to 800, could be replaced by services delivered down a pipe, with lower capital and maintenance costs.
Expect those costs to double, as stations demand a back up THEY can operate when London fails.
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https://radiotoday.co.uk/2017/09/eighteen-bbc-local-radio-stations-fall-silent/
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember that the last time BBC TV went off the air it was due to Main and Reserve digital feeds being routed through the same bay of equipment, which lost power.
Come on Bill, you old curmudgeon, that was luddite, even for you. Even VCS - now rock solid stalwart of BBC national radio playout - had its moments during roll out. No excuses for problems - two minutes system outage this time - but ViLoR is still new technology. As an ex member of the BBC change brigade yourself, you sound awfully like the ones 20!years ago who said computers would never work.
ReplyDeleteBut why let perspective get in the way of clickbait.
;-)