About VCI Solutions

Who?

VCI Solutions is a provider of sales, traffic and automation software systems designed exclusively for broadcast and cable station operations. Currently, there are two distinctive divisions that VCI Solutions is comprised of:

Business Systems Division

This division is responsible for the creation, support, installation, and training of the Orion® Business System software that includes sales, traffic, and accounting applications. The software is a “back office” revenue and inventory management system for television stations and cable networks, completing all program and commercial scheduling from point-of-sale to point-of-air® (time content is sold right on through reconciliation).

Automation Division

This division is responsible for the creation, support, installation, and training of the autoXe Automation Systems software. This mission-critical software system manages, monitors, and controls the distribution of content for a television station or cable networks based on a “playlist.” In other words, automation is the tool that ensures the right content gets to the right place at the right time.

As a steadfast contributor to the media market for over 24 years, VCI Solutions has become a trusted and reliable business partner for the future.  VCI Solutions is committed to the success of its clients by providing the tools, flexibility, and knowledge they need for growth.

VCI Solutions is a privately held company, whose executive staff are among some of the top professionals in the broadcast and cable industry. Along with its rapid growth, the VCI Solutions team provides years of experience and know-how with a comprehensive understanding of the media market’s needs and wants.

What?

VCI Solutions’ product portfolio is comprised of:

• Orion® business system (sales, traffic, and accounting)
• autoXe™ automation system (master control automation)
• Xe™ platform (Service-Oriented Architecture, SOA)

VCI Solutions’ products are designed to streamline multiple workflows from the content’s Point-of-Sale to Point-of-Air®. In addition, these products help facilitate future channel and revenue stream expansion, through utilizing a flexible system that matches the customer’s workflow and needs.

Why?

Broadcast television stations and cable networks are operating in a multi-platform world, so efficiently managing and streaming their valuable content from Point-of-Sale to Point-of-Air® has become a challenge. Stations are looking for new ways to more effectively manage their operation, while streamlining their multiple workflows to not only lower their operational costs, but generate an increased ROI. That being said, VCI Solutions is proud to provide their clients with real –sales, traffic, and automation solutions that do just that.

How?

VCI Solutions has a strong commitment to the industry and the success of their clients. VCI Solutions’ clients feel safe knowing they will benefit from VCI’s industry leadership and understanding, a history of continual innovation and development, and thoroughly tested and reliable technology. VCI Solutions continually enhances its software systems and services for the ever-changing market, enabling their clients to:

• Better anticipate change
• More efficiently manage their business in a rapidly evolving marketplace
• Stay ahead of the curve with a competitive advantage

Where?

VCI Solutions Corporate and Business Systems Division are located in Springfield, MA. VCI Solutions Automation Division is located in Austin, TX. Additionally, a handful of VCI Solutions’ expert staff work remotely throughout the country.

VCI Solutions
Corporate Offices & Business Systems Division
146 Chestnut Street
Springfield, Massachusetts 01103

VCI Solutions
Automation Division
2100 Kramer Lane - Suite 700
Austin TX 78758

Historical Timeline

Bill Putnam was the founder of Springfield Television – the corporation owned 3 TV stations, one being WWLP – the Springfield, MA NBC affiliate. In 1976, Lowell Putnam, Bill’s son, graduated from college and went to work for his father. Lowell was given the challenge of creating a software package to replace Springfield Television’s existing system. Lowell sat with each person in the operation and learned their workflow and interviewed them on the requirements of a new system. Lowell with a small programming team, successfully created what became STARS I, and replaced the BIAS system at all Springfield Television properties. Springfield Television was sold in 1984, and Lowell started his own company, VCI Solutions.

As the industry has evolved, so has VCI Solution’s product portfolio. Stars I, now in its fourth generation and called Orion, has continued to set the pace for technological advancement in the marketplace. For example, VCI Solutions was the first to deliver:

• Hubbing/centralcasting capabilities. Currently, Orion can support more channels operating within a single database than any other vendor.
• Full integration between traffic and sales proposal systems: OneDomain’s ClearView and InVision’s Dealmaker
• The ability to drag and drop spots
• Bookends and donuts
• Desktop-based analysis toolkits based on OLAP (online analytical processing) to provide real-time, multi-dimensional analysis without the need for a separate reporting service

In 2006 VCI Solutions acquired Digital Transaction Group (DTG), formerly Odetics Broadcast, located in Austin, TX. In 2003, a group Odetics Broadcast Engineers had acquired the assets of Odetics Broadcast to form DTG.  During the Odetics Broadcast ownership, the product known as SpotBank at the time, had transitioned from an automated commercial spot insertion system to a full automated master control system. The early version of the SpotBank system was first created in 1988 by American Broadcast Systems, before it was acquired by Odetics Broadcast in 1994. The evolution of what is now the autoXe, master control automation system, included:

• Spotbank was one of the first automation systems using the Microsoft Windows NT platform, taking advantage of client-server networking.
• In 1999, the product was renamed to Airo, and now featured a graphical timeline display and a user friendly interface so operators could make quick changes to the playlist – up to the last second. Configurable screen displays, drag and drop capability and multi-channel functionality expanded the system’s potential.
• In 2003, aggressive development plans formed for a new architecture, based on the latest technology. This new framework would enable scalability, frame accurate control, extensive resource management, comprehensive logging and independent device drivers shared across all channels.
• In 2005 the new autoXe system, named Xe at the time, emerged with a robust architecture and content lifecycle management software.
• In 2008, VCI Solutions introduced the new autoXe MC product that now affords television stations and cable operators to manage 1, 15, 50, or more channels in one screen with its Schedule Director application. In addition, the Xe architecture, as it is still called, stores and manages the mountains of metadata, whereby eliminating the need for dedicated workstations.