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CNN small text
How does CNN and other news channels get the scrolling small text at the bootom to look so sharp? I need to take text that looks good on a computer monitor and send it through a scan converter and have it look good on the air.
Thanks in advance, you all have been very helpful in the past.
Murray
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2 Replies
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[Steamer18] “How does CNN and other news channels get the scrolling small text at the bootom to look so sharp? I need to take text that looks good on a computer monitor and send it through a scan converter and have it look good on the air.”
They don’t use a “scan converter” to do this.
Its actually a “Character Generator” unit.
CG’s can be configured as a video unit (“black box”) that connects to a standard computer (with proper software) and that actually generates video text (does not “convert” a computer image) with the proper format to key correctly and legibly over other video.
Or it can be a self-contained, stand-alone CG unit with its own keyboard and other input devices that generates the entire text and background and keys it over the running video.
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There are some pretty good character generators out there. One that is software only is Inscriber CG with TitleMotion. It has been bundled with a few non-linear edit systems. It is clunkier than a stand-alone but also less expensive. They now have a dedicated unit as well. Pixel Power Ltd. makes Clarity which is very powerful. Fox in LA uses them as do we. Pinnacle sells TypeDeko and various iterations and this might be what CNN uses, although they have 3 up at a time if I recall correctly. Finally there is Chyron, which has been through some rough times. They have a couple model lines and are trying to rebound.
Taking text through a scan converter is pretty much a no win situation. I’d look at something like the Inscriber to help you out.
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