feature automation & asset management
As the complexity of programme delivery rises
Feature sponsored by
inexorably, broadcast automation systems are
Harris.
evolving from dogmatic robots to flexible
assistants. And not before time as
Neil Maycock, CMO at Pro-Bel, reports.
Is automation
under control?
B
roadcast automation whatever the system could deliver, or most of these capabilities started out
began as a way of worse still a frantic hunt for that filler with us listening to what customers
streamlining what programme tape I could swear I saw want. For instance, we recently
humans do. It then only the other day. developed an IT-based system called
evolved into ever more Now it’s turned full circle with Panoplay to offer the ultimate in
sophisticated systems systems that go out of their way to broadcast automation resilience
with no direct human equivalent. If assist humans instead of doggedly without breaking the bank. Putting
you’re thinking this all sounds like a trudging along a pre-determined aside the fact that some of them
blueprint for constructing HAL, the path, although in the interests of seem to be broken already, Panoplay
nightmare computer of Stanley
Neil Maycock, CMO
precision I should of course say Pro- works by maintaining synchronisation
Kubrick’s iconic late Sixties movie
at Pro-Bel.
Bel systems. between two Morpheus play-out
‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ with his But surely all systems are like that channels.
menacing ‘I’m afraid I can’t do that now, I hear you cry (forgive me if Unlike other redundancy models,
Dave’, you wouldn’t be a million others are close to tears). It’s Panoplay maintains playlist integrity
miles from the truth. undoubtedly true that all even if limited or inconsistent
Early systems did indeed stumble manufacturers have a better bandwidth is experienced in the WAN
into ‘computer says no’ territory with understanding today of how (wide area network) linking the two
flawed logic, false assumptions and - schedules have to be changed from Morpheus systems. This makes it the
albeit well-intentioned - human lock- time to time. ideal weapon of choice for surviving
outs. Escape routes were barely The trick is to be able to do this not the nightmare scenario of ‘disaster
considered, with late changes
Pro-Bel’s Morpheus
ICE - launched at
only regularly but rapidly across recovery’.
requiring a clumsy switchover to last year’s NAB. scores of channels, each with their The beauty of Panoplay is that, in
own regional ads, store operator the event of a total failure, the
moves to create what amounts to a systems runs independently. When a
high-wire juggling act from a single connection is re-established the
press of a button, automatically synchronisation starts again, and
retrieve content from the archive, because Panoplay assumes it is
match missing files and ripple down starting anew, it doesn’t matter how
running lists, while all the time long it was since it was last
g
e
2
6
.
maintaining a backup channel in connected and how different the two
perfect sync. lists have become.
The great thing about this industry At a simplistic level, Panoplay’s
is that it ultimately uses content robustness is achieved by two
n
t
i
n
u
e
d
o
n
P
a
created and consumed by humans, so Morpheus systems continually
C
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24 l ibe l march/april 2009 l
www.ibeweb.com
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