EAS is the Emergency Alarm System that is mandatory for all TV stations broadcasting in the USA. EASController is a software that enables the integration of your EAS System with OnTheAir Node and OnTheAir CG to display and hear the messages broadcasted byt the EAS system.

The way EASController works is that when the EAS system encoder receives an alert it triggers an RS-232 communication to EASController via a Keyspan Serial Adapter. The alert itself is composed of a text message and optionally an audio message.

When EASController receives the message, it mutes the audio playout out from the Node or Nodes and sets them to audio pass-through mode. It simultaneously generates a text file with a decoded message that it places into an OnTheAir CG ticker folder. This in turn triggers OnTheAir CG to display the ticker with the EAS message, overlaying the message onto the video that is played out out from OnTheAir Node.

When the encoder has finished playing the audio message, it sends an "EOM" (end of message) RS232 message to Softron's EASController. When EASController receives this EOM message, it un-mutes the Nodes and cancels the pass-through mode. It then removes the text file from the CG ticker folder, so the ticker will stop outputting the EAS message. 

Then, if nothing is received again after the length of time that is set in the EASControllers preferences, the Node or Nodes will automatically be un-muted and the ticker file deleted. Every operation and message are logged in the log files and on-screen.