MANAGEMENT
Ddecember 2018
VSNCrea is an HTML5, cloud-based
software designed for TV, radio and
second-screen traffic and scheduling.
thus companies can be more com-
petitive in the market and stand
out. This is without a doubt what
we are giving more importance to
in terms of software development
— to make the content supply
and creation chain as efficient as
possible.”
One VSN technology user is
Imagen Television, a Mexican TV
network owned by Grupo Imagen.
The project saw the implementa-
tion of a complete master control
room (MCR) automation work-
flow, integrated with third-party
equipment, to provide Imagen
Television with “reliable trans-
mission”. To this end, VSN and
Teletec launched two VSNMulti-
com systems that are responsible
for ensuring an “uninterrupted”
broadcast daily, through the instal-
lation of an automation solution
with redundancy configuration
in parallel.
In order to establish an end-
to-end automation workflow, VSN
developed a complete integra-
tion of both VSNMulticom and
VSNExplorer MAM to manage
files. This was deployed along
with Harmonic’s Spectrum video
servers, the Icon Master mixer
from Imagine Communications,
and Orad graphic systems from
Avid. The end-result of this project
has enabled Imagen Television to
have an MCR automation
workflow to export files
and video clips to broad-
cast servers, allowing
the system to alert video
servers when a clip or
scheduled programme in
the rundown is not ready
to be aired. This process,
according to VSN, grants
the network of both safety
and efficiency within its
processes.
Corral explains: “Media com-
panies are delivering content
across multiple platforms to dif-
ferent audiences at different times.
Ideally, a unified message across all
platforms could support the main
channel branding.
“However, TV stations are
already moving towards targeted
programming and advertising
as well as content segmentation,
which responses to the interests
of different audiences, their con-
sumption habits, and of course,
their preferred platform for con-
tent fruition.
“In the case of Imagen Televi-
sion, we have enabled the network’s
programming and broadcast-
ing signals to be segmented and
targeted per region during certain
time slots of the day for electoral
purposes. This is an area with a lot
of potential and needed develop-
ment. Content can be specifically
created and adapted for multiple
screens. Targeted programming
and advertising can be even more
segmented and reach out to groups
and individuals.”
She further reveals that the
company has been investing even
more resources into AI, which,
together with IP, is poised to
improve the management and
delivery of content. Stressing that
AI is a “fundamental tool” in the
development of media manage-
ment, Corral adds that VSN has
integrated its MAM system with
several AI services such as IBM
Watson, Google Cloud, Microsoft
Azure, and Etiqmedia, to enable
users to automatically extract and
detect metadata, both for quick
cataloguing and advanced search
purposes.
For instance, users of VSN
Explorer MAM are able to per-
form searches of specific content,
such as all the red cards shown
during a football match, or the
recent public appearances of
personalities, all in a matter of
seconds, she says. “We are deter-
mined to make AI gain a greater
relevance in our platform,
enabling, for example,
the self-segmentation of
content or chapters of a
programme, and the au-
tomatic creation of video
editing with ready-to-
use graphics for promos
and advertising, or even
recommending the user
about including ad cuts in
the programming for
a greater ROI.”
In addition
to VSNE xplorer
MAM, VSN has also been working
on VSNCrea, another tool which
Corral labels as critical for channel
branding. Designed for TV, radio
and second-screen traffic and
scheduling, VSNCrea enables the
management of a network’s con-
tent production catalogue, either
owned or acquired from third
parties, as well as its advertising,
production workflows, program-
ming and broadcast planning —
all from a single user interface.
The HTML5-based software can
also be operated in the cloud to
enhance the ability of users and
departments to work together on
a collaborative basis.
Other features of VSNCrea
include the ability to change lan-
guage within the user interface,
the consolidation of the final
broadcast, and the analysis of the
programming and content ROI
through analytical reports.
Corral concludes: “Overall,
13
❝ Ultimately, the challenge
for broadcasters and content
providers is to deliver an
experience that consumers
find exciting, compelling
and relevant — branding is
just one part of this overall
strategy. ❞
— Karl Mehring,
Director Product Management - Playout, Grass Valley
Grass Valley’s iTX integrated playout
platform features real-time rending
using Vertigo XG graphics processor,
and HD/SD character generator that
allow the playout of layers of animated
and dynamically updated text.
VSNCrea is being designed to im-
prove the efficiency and flexibility
of broadcast professionals, allow-
ing them to organise and control
their channel’s programming at
all times, regardless of the device
or screen with which the content
is broadcasted. That is why VSN-
Crea can play a key role in channel
branding, when it comes to deliv-
ering a unified message across all
TV channels and online platforms,
or social feeds.”
For Grass Valley, its play-
out solutions provide channel
branding support to suit a range
of user needs — from smaller
automated playout operations to
large, cloud-based multi-channel
environments. For instance, its
iTX integrated playout platform
delivers graphics rendering
while supporting the playout
of “virtually unlimited” layers
of animated and dynamically
updated text. Other features of
iTX include automated ingest,
quality control and transcoding,
as well as support for 4K/HD/
SD multi-format performance.
Grass Valley’s automat-
ed playout portfolio also
include Morpheus and
ICE, which provide users
access to advanced 3D graphics
capability for channel branding.
GV Flex, the company’s cloud
orchestrated playout solution, also
enables users to import graphics
from third-party graphics engines,
layer graphics and manage pre-
rendered graphics sequences to
provide “high quality” branding.
Grass Valley’s Mehring con-
cludes: “Regardless of the resolu-
tion, audiences still expect the
brands they engage with to be rel-
evant to them. AI has the potential
to take this to the next level with
tools such as hyper personalisa-
tion, using machine learning to
create content experiences that
are highly tailored to individual
viewers.
“Ultimately, the challenge for
broadcasters and content providers
is to deliver an experience that con-
sumers find exciting, compelling
and relevant — branding is just one
part of this overall strategy.”
Pebble Beach Systems supports Pro TV’s playout upgrade
Based in Bucharest, Romanian
broadcaster Pro TV operates seven
channels including a main chan-
nel, five thematic offerings, and
one international feed. Already
a user of Pebble Beach Systems’
Neptune automation system, the
broadcaster decided to reaffirm its
relationship with Pebble Beach Sys-
tems by employing the company’s
solutions for the upgrade of its
entire playout operations.
Bodgan Andreescu, CTO of Pro
TV, explained: “We found [Pebble
Beach Systems] to be flexible and
responsive to our needs, and we
have trust in their ability to solve
problems. Our new system brings
Pro TV’s playout infrastructure up
to date, making our facility 4K/
Ultra HD (UHD)-ready.”
The project will see the installa-
tion of the Marina playout automa-
tion, Dolphin integrated channel
devices, and Lighthouse browser-
based, remote management, con-
trol and monitoring product. The
system is to be commissioned this
December, with a planned on-air
date during Q1 2019.
Configured in a fully redundant
architecture with mirrored playout
chains, the system features Marina
controlling multiple Dolphin inte-
grated channel solutions. These
replicate, in a software-defined
playout chain, much of the func-
tionality conventionally man-
aged by discrete playout devices.
Dolphin also allows for flexible
Tamas Vass, senior vice-president of
global sales, Pebble Beach Systems,
explained that the primary objective
was to upgrade Pro TV to the new
technology, and the partnership
with the Romanian broadcaster
demonstrated a “true partnership”
between vendor and customer, where
challenges were embraced and solved
together.
hybrid pipeline designs when best-
of-breed devices are mandated
and need to be architected into
the playout chain. This includes a
graphics workflow, where multiple
Dolphin devices will share access
to Vizrt graphics engines.
In addition to utilising Dolphin’s
internal storage, Pro TV will also
employ EditShare’s shared storage
solution, giving the broadcaster
the flexibility to manage access
both central and local storage for
enhanced availability.
The incorporation of Light-
house within the system also
enables operators to load playlists,
edit and delete events, and moni-
tor playout as needed from any
location.
Tamas Vass, senior vice-pres-
ident of global sales at Pebble
Beach Systems, concluded: “Our
primary objective was to upgrade
Pro TV to the new technology with
minimal disruption. We are proud
of how both our pre-sales and
projects teams have helped us to
turn around this extensive project
in a very short timescale.
“Pro TV’s technical team have
been exceptionally agile and re-
sponsive throughout, and very
engaged with the process. This is a
fine example of a true partnership
between vendor and customer,
where challenges were embraced
and solved together.”