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TV3 Barcelona

Nov 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By David Austerberry

The DAM pioneer describes its successful eight-year file-based production project.

Much of TV3’s broadcast systems were designed to run on commodity PC hardware.

A complete solution

The end result, Digition, is a complete solution encompassing ingest, editing, asset management, archiving and playout. Just as TV3 engineers envisioned, it is suitable for all types of programming.

The system uses standard IT hardware with all functions available though a Web browser. The original designs ran on Matrox Digisuite, but the station now uses Matrox X.mio cards. Nobody likes a single source, so all the low-level card driver software is componentized, making it easy to write a new driver if someone needs to migrate to a new card.

All processes are automated, including recording, copying, archive, restore and playout. The system provides proxy browsing of media to any workstation, which has access to the office network. The original system relied on MPEG-1 proxies but now uses Windows Media. The ingest application records in 10-second intervals, giving almost real-time viewing of incoming material with the ability to edit while still recording.

Ingest can be from satellite links, VTR, live studio feed or as a file via FireWire from DVCAM or DVCPO. At ingest, the browse copy is created, along with thumbnail keyframes with automatic scene change detection. Satellite feeds can be automated against a record schedule.

Playout

For playout automation, TV3 uses many components from VSN integrated with the Digition DAM. A MOS protocol interface integrates playout with the MAM, which enables preloading of material and status checks for the playlists, along with channel and media monitoring.

A vsnmulticom automation system controls six channels (two analog and four digital), including a 24-hours news channel. Its predecessor, Autocon, had run playout for TV3 since 1989, so the station felt comfortable in choosing the new system. Each channel uses redundant servers to play to air with independent control of the advertising server for all channels. The vsnmulticom system also controls Sony Flexicarts and the MCR switchers.

The automation also interfaces to Active Multimedia Automatic TV, an application TV3 uses for SMS interactivity and automatic publishing of banners and tickers. Automatic TV provides logo insertion, tickers and automatic graphics playlist control. Secondary events like crawls can be programmed in the home-brewed traffic and planning system GREC.

Vsnmulticom functions also as a data source for several external processes, including EPG generation for present and future event information and Web-hosted TV guides. The automation controls both the analog and digital Teletext, as well as the multiple language subtitles. Custom software manages the simultaneous record and archive of live programs for repeat airing.

Audio is processed as two stereo circuits, containing Catalan and source language, with support being added for 5.1 for the planned HD service.

Summary

Although today's TV station upgrades are often file-based, in the year 2000 when TV3 started the project, it was not possible to go out and buy such systems. Through a combination of vision and the drive to carry it forward, TV3 pioneered many of the tapeless processes that other broadcasters are only just embarking on.

Was it worth it? The staff savings enable the station to run a 24-hour news channel, plus an additional DTT channel to complement its analog channel. Current affairs program producers now have access to all the news footage, which was not feasible with tape operations. And, file-based news is much easier to repurpose to feed new media outlets like the TV3 Web site, www.tv3.cat. Overall, the station's move to a file-based newsroom has been successful.