Avid Technology MOS Gateway User manual

Avid Technology, Inc.
MOS Gateway
Installation & Operations Manual
Version 2.0

Copyright and Disclaimer
© 2003, Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. All Avid products are covered by U.S. and foreign patents,
issued and pending. Information in this publication supersedes that in all previo1usly published material.
Specifications and price change privileges reserved.
The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement and is protected under the
copyright laws of the United States and other countries.
U.S. GOVERNMENT USERS RESTRICTED RIGHTS: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S.
Government is subject to restriction as set forth in subparagraph (b)(2) of the Technical Data and Computer
Software-Commercial items clause at DFARS 252.211-7015, or in subparagraph (c)(2) of the Commercial
Computer Software-Restricted Rights clause at FAR 52.227-19, as applicable.
Avid is a registered trademark of Avid Technology, Inc. Media Browse, ControlAir, iNEWS ControlAir, and
iNEWS are trademarks of iNews, LLC. Microsoft, the Microsoft logo, MS, MS-DOS, Win 32, Windows,
Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows NT Server, and the Windows operating system logo are registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States of America and other countries. UNIX is a
registered trademark of X/Open Company, Ltd. All other trademarks and registered trademarks used herein
are the property of their respective owners.
Avid
6400 Enterprise Lane
Madison, Wisconsin 53719 USA
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Avid
Intec 1
Wade Road
Basingstoke Hants RG24 8NE UK
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Avid
315 Alexandra Road
#03-01 Performance Centre
159944 Singapore
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Avid
Tegel Forum
Breitenbachstraße 10
Berlin 13509 GERMANY
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
MOS Gateway Installation & Operations Manual Version 2.0
0130-05811-01 Rev C
July 10, 2003
Printed in the United States of America
(bbl)

3
Contents
Preface
Who Should Use This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
About This Manual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Cross References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Keyboard Conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
If You Need Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Related Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
If You Have Documentation Comments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
How To Order Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 1 Introduction to MOS Gateway
Overview of MOS Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
MOS Control Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Loading a Show to the MOS Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Monitor Mode - ON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Monitor Mode - LOAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Chapter 2 Preparing for Installation
Before You Begin the Installation Procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Hardware Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Supported MOS Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Chapter 3 Installing MOS Gateway Program Files
Overview of the Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Adding IP Addresses on MOS Gateway Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Installing MOS Gateway Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Upgrading MOS Gateway Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Chapter 4 Setting up the iNEWS Server
Configuring iNEWS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

4
Configuration Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Configuration Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Reconfigure the System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Assigning the Mailbox to the Rundown Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Using the list Command to View Assigned Mailboxes . . . . . . . . 43
Calculating Duration in Time Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Editing the /site/dict/mcs Dictionary File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Chapter 5 Configuring MOS Gateway
MOS Gateway Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Editing the Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Stopping and Starting MOS Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Configuration File Components Explained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
The <logging> Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
The <tcpPorts> Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
The <ncs> Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
The <names> Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
The <roSlugMaps> Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
The <handlesEmptyStories> Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
The <handlesRoStoryMoveMultiple> Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
The <handlesRoItemLevelCommands> Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
The <prependPageNumber> Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
The <prependSeparator> Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
The <prependStringForEmptyPageNumber> Group . . . . . . . . . 86
The <statusTranslations> Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
The <mosObjReplication> Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Prog IDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Using the MosAdmin Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
The <roChannels> Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Adding MOS Devices to the SYSTEM.MOS-MAP Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Moving the Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Chapter 6 Troubleshooting
MOS Gateway Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Where to Look For Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Error Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

5
Appendix A Error Messages
Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Appendix B System Reference Files
Sample Configuration File on MOS Gateway Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Sample Configuration File on iNEWS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Sample /etc/hosts File on iNEWS Servers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Sample System Stories in iNEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
MOSREPLICATION Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Glossary
Index
Reader’s Comments

6

Preface
Congratulations on your purchase of iNEWS MOS Gateway, the system
that removes barriers between newsroom computing and broadcasting.
MOS Gateway uses the MOS protocol as a standard for communications
between newsroom computer systems and Media Object Servers (MOS),
such as video servers, audio servers, still stores, and character generators.
Who Should Use This Guide
This manual is written for journalists, producers, directors, writers, and
various technical personnel responsible for using the iNEWS MOS
Gateway in a broadcast newsroom. Portions of the manual provide
installation data for technicians. Other chapters provide configuration and
maintenance information for system administrators who are managing the
system.
nIt is strongly recommended that system administrators have prior
experience in or classroom knowledge of the Windows-basedoperating
systems, such as Windows XP®.
About This Manual
This guide will lead you through even the most complex procedures with
task-oriented instructions, illustrated for a more realistic presentation of
the actual icons and images you will encounter. The information provided

8
here builds on basic user procedures, while adding a complete explanation
of all the tools and techniques required to create, apply, and adjust various
settings, including useful tips, shortcuts, and custom options.
The Table of Contents that precedes this preface lists all topics included in
the book. They are presented with the following overall structure:
•The Introduction helps you get oriented with beginning concepts and
general work flow and provides valuable pointers to keep in the back
of your mind as you proceed.
•The main body of the guide follows the natural flow of your work,
with clear and comprehensive step-by-step procedures.
•At the back of the book is a comprehensive Glossary, providing cross-
industry terms and definitions.
•Finally, a detailed Index helps you quickly locate specific topics.
This manual provides requirements and specifications for your system in
the following areas:
•Minimum hardware and software components
•Installation procedures
•System configuration and maintenance
•Troubleshooting
Use this manual to prepare for and set up your system on the network, after
you have purchased the MOS Gateway components according to iNews
requirements and specifications. Before installing any equipment, the site
must already have a configured network.
Symbols and Conventions
The MOS Gateway documentation uses the following special symbols and
conventions:
1. Numbered lists, when the order of the primary items is important.
a. Alphabetical lists, when the order of secondary items is important.

Symbols and Conventions
9
•Bulleted lists, when the order of primary items is unimportant.
-Indented dashed lists, when the order of secondary items is
unimportant.
tA single-step procedure or as a list of optional procedures.
Look here in the
margin for tips and
environment-specific
information.
In the margin you will find tips that help you perform tasks more easily and
efficiently. You will also find information specific to a particular operating
environment.
nA note provides important related information, reminders,
recommendations, and strong suggestions.
cA caution means that a specific action you take could harm your
computer or cause you to lose data.
Cross References
Cross references are provided throughout this manual to give readers
locations where additional—sometimes more detailed—information on a
certain topic can be found. In some cases, the chapter name and number is
provided. In others, a heading, table number of figure number is used. In
cases when the information in a chapter other than the one in which the
cross reference is located, page numbers are given along with the heading.
nSee “About This Manual” on page 7 for more information on what
chapters are in which sections of this manual.
Keyboard Conventions
•Ctrl+x means to press and hold down the Control key and then press
another key on the keyboard, represented here byx. This is also used
for other key-combinations such as Alt+x or Shift+x.
•“Type” in a command procedure means to type the command on the
command line and then “press” the Enter key.
•“Select” means to choose an operation on a drop-down or pop-up
menu.

10
•“Click” means to click the left mouse button, usually in response to a
dialog box. “Right-click” means to click the right mouse button.
If You Need Help
If you are having trouble using MOS Gateway, you should:
1. Repeat the procedure, carefully following the instructions provided for
the task in this guide.
2. Refer to the documentation included with your hardware to review the
maintenance procedures or the hardware-related issues.
3. Check the Support section of Avid Web site at
http://www.avid.com for online technical publications and
additional telephone support phone numbers.
4. Maintenance Agreement contract customers can contact Avid
Broadcast Customer Support personnel at any of these 24-hour global
telephone numbers:
•1 800 869 7009 in the Americas (All products, except Newsview)
•44 1256 814222 in Europe, Africa, and Mid-East
•61 2 9963 2895 in Asia/Pacific
Or online:
•e-mail inews-[email protected]
•http://www.avid.com/support/contact.html
For general information, call your local Avid reseller or in North America
call the Avid Broadcast Customer Relations desk at 1-800-869-7009.
Related Information
Contact your Avid Sales representative for documentation and information
on other Avid®products, such as the iNEWS™ newsroom computer
system, Media Browse™, EditStar™, LeaderPlus™, MOS Gateway, and so
forth.

If You Have Documentation Comments
11
If You Have Documentation Comments
The Avid Broadcast Technical Publications department continually seeks
to improve its documentation. We value your comments about this manual
or other Avid-supplied documentation.
Send your documentation comments by e-mail to:
[email protected]
Include the title of the document, its part number, revision, and the specific
section that you are commenting on in all correspondence.
How To Order Documentation
To order additional copies of this documentation from within the United
States, call the Avid Sales department at 1-608-274-8686. If you are
placing an order from outside the United States, contact your local Avid
Sales representative.

12

Chapter 1
Introduction to MOS
Gateway
This chapter contains the following major sections:
•Overview of MOS Gateway
-MOS Control Workflow

Chapter 1
14
Overview of MOS Gateway
The iNEWS MOS Gateway is an application that does the following:
•receives information from the iNEWS newsroom computer system as
machine control events are entered in production cues in scripts
•converts the information into commands in version 2.8 of the MOS
Protocol and directs it to specified MOS-compliant devices
•routes the status of each media object in a rundown on a MOS device
back to the iNEWS Workstation
MOS Gateway can handle multiple shows simultaneously.
MOS Control Workflow
MOS Gateway is designed to work with multiple vendors’ MOS devices.
Each MOS device can be accompanied by an ActiveX control that is
hosted by the iNEWS Workstation, or MOS item replication can be used
for devices that do not have ActiveX controls.
Replication also
provides users with the
capability to search the
MOS inventory using
iNEWS search tools.
Replication means that MOS Gateway v2.0 supports the Media Object
Metadata (MOM) connection with a MOS device as well as the
Rundown/Running Order (RO) connection. Each MOS device can send
MOM to a single device-specific queue, allowing iNEWS to host a copy of
a MOS device’s inventory. Each story in the device-specific queue
contains information about a different MOS item. The
MOSREPLICATION form in iNEWS determines how MOS items are
replicated to a device-specific queue—that is, whether the MOS item
appears in the story form, as a production cue in the story body, or
both—and what metadata is displayed as normal text in the story body.
MOS replication requires an iNEWS user account with write access to all
device-specific queues that will store replicated MOS items. See
“Configure iNEWS for MOS Replication (Optional)” on page 68 for more
information. Replication options are configured using the MOS
Administration tool. See “Using the MosAdmin Application” on page 91
for more information.

Overview of MOS Gateway
15
An ActiveX control provides a live view of the media inventory on the
MOS device. The news staff can use an ActiveX control (also known as a
plugin) or replicated metadata to browse a MOS device’s inventory and
insert the appropriate information into a machine control event in the
script. SeeFigure1for a visual diagram of the two paths by which a MOS
device’s media inventory may be viewed at an iNEWS Workstation.
For instance, users can copy a MOS item’s production cue marker—shown
at left—from a MOS device’s replication queue and paste it directly into
the body of an iNEWS story. For MOS items that appear in the story form,
an entire story may be duplicated from the device-specific queue into an
iNEWS rundown and then its title and body edited accordingly, such as
changing the existing title to the story’s name (slug) and replacing any text
with the story’s script.
After the news staff has entered the machine control events in the scripts,
the producer can download rundowns to the MOS device using the monitor
server in iNEWS and MOS Gateway. The downloaded rundown can be
controlled using the MOS device’s interface.
Figure 1 MOS Control Workflow Diagram
nMonitor server is a utility program that checks a show’s event requests for
errors, creates composite and event lists, and sends playlists to MOS
Gateway. For more information on creating monitor servers, see “Creating
a Monitor Server for Each Show” on page 37.
Windows XP /
2000
SCO UNIX / SGI IRIX / Linux
Replication
Windows XP /
2000 / NT iNEWS
Server
MOS
Gateway
Vendor OS
Vendor
MOS
Device
vendor
-
specific communication
MOS Protocol
iNEWS
Client hosts
Vendor
ActiveX
Control
Monitor
Server

Chapter 1
16
Loading a Show to the MOS Gateway
When your newsroom staff builds a show, they insert special keywords into
scripts, referred to as machine control events. These items include at least a
word to identify the specific machine or a machine type, such as CG or SS,
and some information to indicate that they want that machine to display. If
the machine is a MOS device, these machine control events are created
using the ActiveX control that came with the MOS device.
Monitor Mode - ON
When the monitor server is turned on—usually by the producer, from the
iNEWS Workstation´s Tool menu—it will read all the machine control
events in the rundown and build playlists, also known as event lists, for
each device. The monitor server performs as much error checking as it can
without communicating with any broadcast equipment.
After the monitor server is turned on, it continues to monitor the rundown,
examining every story saved for new, deleted, or updated events in the
playlist.
MOS Gateway is not yet involved. Playlists can be printed and distributed
to equipment operators. The devices can be controlled using traditional
methods.

Overview of MOS Gateway
17
Figure 2 Monitor Mode - ON Diagram
Monitor Mode - LOAD
As air time nears and the newsroom staff completes the rundown,
someone—usually the producer or equipment operator—will instruct the
monitor server to load the playlist into MOS devices. As the rundown is
loaded in MOS Gateway, MOS Gateway loads individual playlists to the
appropriate MOS device. The MOS device begins its assigned task, such as
inserting CG text, checking for availability of video clips, and so forth.
Each MOS device sends MOS Gateway the status of the playlist, called a
running order in the MOS Protocol. Each MOS device also sends the
status of individual running order items, each one corresponding to a
machine control event.
iNEWS monitor
servers
ON:Watch for added,
deleted, or Modified Events
(Machine Instructions)
LOAD:send playlists and
updatestoMOSGateway
iNEWS DB
Rundown & Event List queues
System Map & Resource queues
Messages
(progress, errors, warnings)
ON: Get system info, Parse Rundown,
Build Playlist, Write Event List queues
Monitor Commands
(ON, LOAD, UNLOAD, OFF)
MOS Gateway
Retains all loaded playlists,
playlist & event status.
Distributes commands,
updated status, event
changes & messages.
iNEWS
Clients
MOS
Devices
CreateRundowns,
EnterEvents

Chapter 1
18
MOS Gateway then forwards these status messages to the monitor server.
Error messages are returned to the iNEWS Workstation used to load the
rundown. The monitor server also inserts status for video clips, such as
whether the clip is available, into stories in the rundown and event lists
located in the iNEWS database.
The MOS device operator can now take control of the MOS device and
take the show to air.
Figure3depicts communication paths after the monitor server is instructed
to load playlists, status, and user messages.
Figure 3 Monitor Mode - LOAD Diagram
iNEWS monitor
servers
ON:Watch for added,
deleted, or Modified Events
(MachineInstructions)
LOAD: send playlists and
updates to MOS Gateway
Messages (progress, errors, warnings) Event Status
iNEWS DB
Rundown & Event List queues
System Map & Resource queues
Messages
(progress, errors, warnings)
ON: Get system info, Parse Rundown,
Build Playlist, Write Event List queues
Monitor Commands
(ON, LOAD, UNLOAD, OFF)
⇐Device & Event Status ⇐
MOS Gateway
Retains all loaded playlists,
playlist & event status.
Distributes commands,
updated status, event
changes & messages.
iNEWS
Clients
MOS
Devices
After LOAD: Event Status (Available, Cued, etc.)
⇒Playlist, Event Updates ⇒
CreateRundowns,
Enter Events
Playlist, Event Updates

Chapter 2
Preparing for Installation
This chapter describes the preliminary steps you must take before
installing the MOS Gateway software, including:
•Familiarizing yourself with this manual, release notes, and other
iNEWS documentation.
•Verifying required hardware and software components
This chapter contains the following major sections:
•Before You Begin the Installation Procedure
•Hardware Requirements
•Software Requirements
-Supported MOS Devices

Chapter 2
20
Before You Begin the Installation Procedure
Setting up MOS Gateway involves doing tasks in three places:
•iNEWS Servers (at the console)
•MOS Gateway
•MOS devices to connect to
nYou should consult the iNEWS Newsroom Computer System Operations
Manual for specific information on iNEWS Servers, the console, or various
related system operations.
Before you begin installing the MOS Gateway software, do the following:
•Read the iNEWS MOS Gateway Release Notes for the most up-to-date
product and installation information.
•Familiarize yourself with the entire installation procedure described in
this manual.
•Ensure the installation CD is available.
Hardware Requirements
To install and run MOS Gateway, your system must have the minimum
base equipment described in Table1. For a list of qualified PCs, contact
Avid Broadcast Customer Support.
nMinimum requirements are subject to change. For immediate updates on
hardware and software requirements, pertaining to this and all Avid
products, visit Avid’s Web site at: www.avid.com/products. MOS
Gateway information is provided as part of specifications for the iNEWS
newsroom computer system.