How to latakoo: editors and producers
Vital features for internal teams receiving content on deadline
Welcome to the Flock!
If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you’re new to the latakoo system. Welcome. If you need additional assistance getting to know latakoo, please reach out to us.
We’ve collected a few of the most common tasks for news editors or producers using latakoo.
Finding Content on Pilot
Locating content on latakoo.com starts with Pilot. You’ll need to log in to view your custom content feed. Networks are listed on the left. Clicking on the name of the network, reveals the content contained in each one, similar to a folder system. The active network will be highlighted in purple.
Files are uploaded by network, so typically, you will have a main inbound network for your station used by crews sending files from the field, an outbound network used to share files with field crews, shared networks that can be accessed by multiple stations, and perhaps networks for sports or weather coverage. You may have a network that syncs with another cloud provider, such as a CMS website provider or a network that automates closed captioning.
Pro Tip:
If you have a long list of networks, use the filter box to isolate the file simply by typing a key word, like “Share” into the box at the top of the page. Any network containing that word will come up.
Search for Files
Locate files on Pilot using the top navigation bar. You can isolate by network, by date range, or using any keyword that is associated with the file.
Keywords can be the uploader’s name, file name or any words associated with metadata attached to the file. For example, if your station uploads scripts as part of the metadata, you could search for a file by putting in a phrase that might be in the script, such as “fire death” or “congressional district.” Click Go to start your search.
Download Files in Pilot
When you’ve located the file you want, you can download the file to a local drive, edit system or shared MAM. Select the drop down menu under “Download” to see your options.
Pro Tip:
If the video has been uploaded to latakoo.com using one of our compression settings, then the default download will be an H264 .mp4. If it was uploaded with “No compression,” the file will be whatever format the original file was.
Pro Tip II:
If you see [6.4+] next to a file type, that means you must be on the Flight app 6.4 and above to transcode to that format.
Default Download
Selecting the top option, .mp4 (Web) downloads the default file using your browser. We recommend you use Google Chrome, Firefox or Safari for best results.
Flight App Download
All other options use the latakoo Flight app to download and, in most cases, transcode the video to a different format. If you select one of these formats, your browser will ask you if you want to use the Flight application.
The file will be placed in the latakoo Flight app. You must select “Start” to start the download/transcode process. Read more about downloading files.
latakoo HUB
If your station has latakoo HUB, you can bypass all of these manual downloads and opt for automation.
latakoo HUB automatically downloads and transcodes files of networks it’s watching.
For example, HUB may be attached to your inbound News network. It will download any/all files that are uploaded or copied into that network.
Often, HUB also ingests that file into your asset manager, which may be an Avid, Dalet, Grass Valley or bitcentral system. Within a short time of uploading, the file is in your asset manager, ready for the broadcast.
Check with your engineering team to see if you have latakoo HUB at your station.
Copying Files
Many stations will use the copy function to add files to networks. For example, files could be copied from a shared network to a station’s news network to make the file available to users at that station — or to trigger an automatic HUB download.
To copy a file, select the checkbox next to the file. In the menu at the top of the page, select “copy to” and choose the destination network. Click Go.
Pro Tip:
“Move” should be used with caution. “Copy” creates a copy the file in the destination network. “Move” removes the file from the original network and places it in the destination network.
Copy Request
You may have access to networks where you are not allowed to download the files until an admin approves. To request a file, choose the destination and then click “Request.” Read more about the copy request workflow.
Notifications
Do you need to be alerted anytime a file arrives from the field? You can turn on (and off) those emails in your personal profile.
Select “Manage” from the top menu on latakoo.com, then select Personal Profile. Your account details will be listed. Make sure you click “Edit” in the box under your account details.
Pro Tip:
This is where you can add a photo to your profile.
Locate Notification Settings and click on the “+” to expand the list of your networks.
Pro Tip:
If you don’t see your networks listed, make sure you’ve clicked on “Edit.”
Then add a checkmark by the networks you want to receive notifications for and click “Save.” You will then receive an email for every file that is uploaded to that network. You can stop notifications at any time by unchecking the box.
Mobile app
Many editors and producers find it helpful to manage notifications from their latakoo Flight mobile app. Besides monitoring inbound files, you can also upload files from your phone, such as weather shots and photos. Once you’ve downloaded latakoo Flight Mobile from the Apple or Google Play store, log in with the same credentials as you do with latakoo.com.
Check out our Welcome guide for field users.
