Innovators in microservices-based production environments nxtedition will showcase its fresh approach to storytelling at IBC2023. Visitors will see how nxtedition presents a completely integrated approach to live production and delivery, while allowing users to access third-party functionality like craft editing, and adding AI tools where appropriate.

Sharing the nxtedition stand at IBC2023 is sister company BST Devices, a leader in advanced camera robotics. Adding studio automation into the solution makes the offering even more powerful for news and production.

nxtedition software solutions, running on COTS hardware or in the cloud, are widely used in newsrooms, where the challenge is to react quickly and accurately to stories as they develop. The technology provides all the support journalists and editors need, giving them powerful authoring and archive research tools, and automating repetitive tasks.

The platform offers a robust and user-friendly environment for production and delivery. However, recognising the necessity of incorporating specialised third-party software for specific needs, nxtedition presents an open framework for seamless integration through APIs. This encompasses an integration to industry-standard craft editing software Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve, where rough cuts built inside nxt|edit can be sent as timelines to the editing platform.

Now nxtedition has extended this capability by embedding the OpenAI environment into the core software. Users are free to bring in artificial intelligence tools where appropriate, boosting productivity and creativity without compromising editorial integrity. This includes Whisper, which can automatically transcribe all the speech to text in 180 languages for archives or rushes with no ongoing “cost per words” fee, the transcription is done on the nxt|engine GPU infrastructure. This feature also includes translation for not just subtitles but to create searchable metadata, making the resource much more valuable.

Like all external integrations, nxtedition provides an elegant and simple experience by hiding the complications of APIs from the user, seamlessly presenting searches and operations within the familiar interface. The virtual assets architecture means integrations with third-party software is secure, rugged and fast, boosting productivity and creativity.

“What we do is make the storyteller’s life as simple and productive as possible,” said Adam Leah, creative director at nxtedition. “Every newsroom and production will have its own preferred ways of working, its own editorial practices and guidelines. Our software enables them, whatever they are.

“Being able to bring in GPT technology, for example, does not mean getting AI to write the stories,” he added. “But it does mean that it could challenge incorrect assumptions, suggest further lines of enquiry or simply generate the titles and descriptions of social posts. We want our users to tell their stories in their best possible voice.”