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April 2017 MANAGEMENT 29 ware-defined forward
Ng Tze Ming , regional sales manager , Asia-Pacific , Pebble Beach Systems : Replacing SDI connections with IP connections in the playout chain may not necessarily be the most efficient way to move forward . The company ’ s strategy is to offer a multi-vendor solution in a pure software environment .
IP connections in the playout chain may not necessarily be the most effi cient way to move forward , he cautions . Instead , Pebble Beach advocates a ‘ pure software ’ approach that brings specalist third-party technologies and the focused skill sets of the companies behind them , to develop interfaces for plug-ins to best-of-breed solutions that are hosted within a single playout environment . This , Ng offers , avoids any limitations imposed by moving video over IP .
A recent agreement with Blue Lucy , for instance , sees Beluga , a new workflow engine , content management and video processing solution , integrated closely with Marina to offer targeted file delivery , media preparation and integrated QC workflows , without the need to deploy an enterprise media asset management ( MAM ) solution .
And while broadcasters may increasingly work in virtualised environments , adding a virtualised infrastructure into a broadcast facility adds an extra layer of complexity and specific new requirements into the mix . The onus , according to Ng , is on broadcasters not to underestimate the level of in-house expertise required to implement a full-scale virtualised platform .
This includes addressing issues such as selecting the correct hypervisor ( the software that creates , runs and monitors virtual machines ), accurately benchmarking the performance of the virtualised environment , and optimising the network infrastructure .
For Imagine Communications ’ Khodeir , he remains convinced that broadcasters in Asia-Pacific are “ clearly recognising ” the advantages of software-defined architectures and the virtualisation of broadcast processes . Describing such a move as a win-win situation , Khodeir sees this as a shift from an entire broadcast business model dependent upon large capital investments , to one that is agile , and where operational expenditure is directly linked to revenues .
The challenge , he notes , is the investment that broadcasters have committed into traditional architectures , which are not practical to be simply thrown away before they expire their shelf lives .
“ We are not demanding that broadcasters throw away current technology , and the working practices that go with it , for a wholesale replacement in IPconnected systems .
“ Everyone now recognises that media companies — both content producers and distributors — will need to gradually transition operations to ITbased and agile environments to meet customer expectations and compete in a rapidly evolving environment . Imagine Communications is committed to providing broadcasters with a step-by-step strategy for getting their current infrastructure to where they know they will need to be ,” Khodeir concludes .
New archive workflows for the multi-version world
by lee sheppard
The influx of over-the-top ( OTT ) services has been a game-changer . Now , media companies must deliver millions of different files in different formats to multiple destinations . Auto mated media asset management ( MAM ) workflows with seamless integration to archive technology are essential to allow the retrieval / archive of assets quickly . Configured to create a collaborative production environment , these technical solutions and associated workflows supply media organisations with all the tools necessary to plan , create , publish and archive their production .
To handle these demands , archiving options are developing quickly and storage environments are becoming more complex . Archive companies are developing new workflows and are integrating their solutions much further upstream in the broadcast chain .
A production company , for example , could shoot all their raw footage and send it directly to the cloud . At this point , the cloud solution can auto matically send a notification to the archive system to say that the material is there . The archive system does not need to move those assets to another location ; it simply logs the data . In this instance , the workflow starts in the cloud and the archive , and ends there .
Archive manufacturers are working closely with cloud solution providers to produce these new workflows and to create stronger tools . This not only ensures that assets are sent to the correct place but also provides a way for media companies to control their storage costs by working out the price to store and retrieve those assets to and from the cloud .
The archive also makes all the assets available , wherever they are stored , from a single point of reference , allowing operators to create low-resolution proxy files so that they can scan and select material to be restored . These new tools give content owners a far wider footprint of assets , which is crucial in the multi-version , multi-platform and multi-channel world .
IP and virtual environments are seeing workflows developing further . Media companies are exploring the possibilities of moving everything to a virtual environment so that all their tools are software-driven . This means they can edit content , create timelines , QC , monitor sound , do voiceovers , and then pass the content to the next person without ever downloading the assets to a local machine .
Although media companies still have concerns regarding the security of their intellectual property , prices are becoming a lot more competitive and they are starting to see the benefits .
Archive companies are thus working closely with technology manufacturers , cloud providers and content owners to deliver secure and sophisticated workflows for today ’ s online , multimedia environment .
Lee Sheppard is Director of Product Management , SGL .
MORE REVENUE LESS COSTS
Optimize content-centric scheduling over targeted VOD services and Linear channels
Eliminate inefficiencies in scheduling and material workflows
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The Broadcast Management System for the future www . mediagenix . sg - asia @ mediagenix . sg