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Scalable automation

Oct 1, 2007 12:00 PM, BY DAN HELLMAN

Opening doors to new distribution opportunities

The ability to reach a more segmented market through the delivery of specific media has driven broadcasters to increase the number of distribution channels they operate in search of new sources of revenue. Digital content management technology makes media delivery and consumption possible through an expanding variety of channels, which reach a larger number of diverse audiences or market segments.

According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers' “Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2006-2010,” world advertising revenue grows 6 percent each year. Internet-based content distribution companies outpace that, with ad revenues increasing 18 percent annually. Television is maintaining its advertising market share, but must develop loyalty across alternative delivery channels to sustain revenue levels. The competition to increase revenues is a race to reach the more diversified and discriminating audiences.

As media distribution expands to multiple content delivery formats, more granular market segments and an increasingly diverse set of delivery devices, playout automation must deliver greater reliability, expandability and application interoperability. Media distribution suppliers must provide solutions that address both business and technical operations. This would enable broadcasters to manage growth, support expansion with new advertising and subscriptions sales, and deliver content streams in a manner that provides the perfect audience experience across every channel.

Broadcasters and other media distributors demand that playout automation solutions enhance their reputation and brand image. In addition, they expect resulting workflow environments to reduce labor requirements and constrain costs.

Manufacturers are responding with solutions that enable expanding media distributors to reliably scale their automation environment and seamlessly incorporate automation with traffic, asset management and other applications. This generates flawless content presentation across an increasing number of playout channels, while providing true economies of scale in media delivery operations.

The way forward

Media distributors require an environment characterized by guaranteed frame-accurate switching, reliability in the software and hardware solution elements, historically high system availability statistics and the ability to manage large numbers of channels across a single architecture. There is a further need to combine playout automation into a seamless application environment that enables dramatic expansion of revenue generation capacity, while improving productivity through the automation of information transfers across traffic, asset management, playout automation and other applications.

In a digital world, it is much easier to acquire, archive, schedule, manage and repurpose content for specific audiences than it was when everything was tape-based. Success in the digital world requires building workflows that optimize the flow of file-based rich media.

Despite the clear benefits, transitioning to a digital environment often presents a considerable challenge. Broadcasters moving to a tapeless environment typically have an extensive, valuable tape library and an installed process that supports linear media distribution. This requires them to continue supporting analog operations during their transition to the digital environment. Applications must support the continued ingest, management and playout of tape-based content, as well as the transcoding of linear media to digital formats for future use. They must also provide the capability to ingest, manage and play out digital, file-based content.

System availability: The first principle

Playout automation systems are created with software and hardware elements that must ensure channel playout continuity without degradation. The optimal playout automation system incorporates the following features and functionalities:

1. Application-specific software core

   The starting point for system assurance is the use of a real-time OS combined with total control of the mission-critical operating environment. Linux 2.6 has a preemptable kernel that provides real-time performance suitable for broadcast applications and delivers the scalability needed for even the largest multichannel applications. These characteristics drive the use of Linux in 80 percent of the world's top 500 supercomputer installations, according to TOP500 stats (www.top500.org).

   Because it is an open source OS, a distribution can be provided that incorporates only the resources necessary for the specific application. Any issues that affect the automation system can be fixed by the application development team without relying on a third-party supplier. As a modern operating system, Linux provides full support for current and future hardware devices, software architectures and development tools.

2. Redundancy
   

   Figure 1. Device and LAN Redundant Playout Automation System Scalable automation. Click on image to enlarge.

   Dual-redundant component architectures enable quick recovery from failure. Device controllers must be configured to run in a fully mirrored configuration with comprehensive proprietary mirroring techniques used to ensure real-time synchronization and auto-failover. This should be reinforced by a multiple redundant LAN configuration, with automatic switching between LANs in the event of failure. The switching should be handled by the application, not the OS.

   Figure 1 presents a playout automation environment that exhibits the device redundancy and the LAN duplication required for assured continuity of playout operations on every channel.

3. Instantaneous operational visibility

   Protection against automation failures is just one requirement. The system must also provide tools to prevent and recover from operational and other equipment failures. To ensure that malfunctions are recognized and corrected quickly, a comprehensive error reporting capability is essential. Reporting should provide sufficient time for resolution before playout operations are affected. System-wide alarms and individual errors must be reported whether they are technical or within schedules. The best automation applications will present these and other system faults on an operator screen, associated control panels and external tracking systems.

   An excellent reporting system will provide the following:

   • Warnings on the live schedule status and schedule fault conditions for all attached devices.

   • Polling of device status, whether devices are included in active schedules or not. This maximizes response time in case of issues.

   • Conflict checking through advance operator notification of pending conflicts between resources.

   • Logging facilities for observation and analysis of both system and operator activity.

4. System backup

   The system should provide multiple backup equipment options in the broadcast chain to fit varying budget constraints:

   • Failover can be automatic (based on device status) or manual.

   • All or part of the broadcast chain can be run fully mirrored for instant failover and protection.

   • Devices can be run in an N+1 or N+M backup configuration for less demanding applications.

   • Individual events can have backup resources scheduled for occasional backup.

5. Online upgrade and maintenance

   On-air (live) software upgrade capabilities are important to ensure that channels are available during system expansion, upgrade or maintenance. Using a manual transfer option, operational control can be switched between the main and standby systems to accommodate offline enhancements. Transfer between the two systems should be transparent to channel audiences. The capability eliminates the potential for disruptions that could take the system offline.

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