July 2013
www.tvbeurope.com
“It doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as a ‘Channel in a Box’” —James Gilbert
Is CiaB only about saving money (usually by cutting out certain jobs)?
Ash: Yes and no. Yes, CiaB provides a major cost saving per channel. There is also a key advantage for content owners who are now able to launch many more channels that would not have been financially viable without CiaB — and creating many more jobs in the process. No, it is not about saving money per se, the same job functions that were there before CiaB are still there. As with all things in life, the more you
Flávio Maurício: “With broadcasters trying to offer a diversity of content to specific targets, the Channel in a Box simplicity and cost will continue to be appealing drivers”
set-up based on a file-based workflow. Gilbert: No, it’s not just
about saving money. It’s also about increasing efficiency and flexibility and reducing time-to-launch. If you’re a playout provider, it’s far easier to launch new channels by
Why is it that different manufacturers have different ‘do well’ functions? Is it not feasible for all to have ‘good’ graphics/scheduling/MAM?
Errington: Here again is one of the confusions around definitions. Why do you need your CiaB to be a MAM or a scheduling system at all? If it is the end playout device then it is effectively an event preparation and playout process. Good graphics is a must and, I
would venture, so is good subtitling, and also good multiformat playout. MAM doesn’t need to be part of a CiaB, but it can be part of an overall workflow solution. Providing there is integration between a MAM and a CiaB, then not locking yourself in to one end-to- end solution may be a good thing. Gilbert: It’s not feasible because all of these things require expert knowledge and are specialist subjects in their own right. For example, broadcast graphics, with which we have over 25 years’ experience, are very complex. Manufacturers who have never worked in this field can’t suddenly have that experience. Gittins: CiaB manufacturers have largely entered the market
Karl Mehring: “Our technology is well proven and can provide greater flexibility for the broadcaster than traditional infrastructure”
put into something, the more you get out of it. The channels that spend more money on staff to create a superior on-air look will attract extra viewers and get a better return on their investment from larger revenues. Cameron: CiaB is about
many things, among them increasing efficiency, real estate and power savings. Simply stated, the best CiaB solutions allow users to save money by doing more for less, in a smaller space, with lower power requirements. Errington: No, CiaB is not
about cutting out certain jobs. It is about efficiency of equipment, collapsing function into a smaller form, and truly transitioning from a set-up that was derived from tape replacement to a
James Gilbert: “Development will be evolutionary, as the things that users want to achieve aren’t going to change radically”
replicating an existing CiaB solution than by creating another bespoke playout chain. CiaB features can simply be switched on or off depending on the requirements of a new channel. Gittins: No. There are also space and power savings to be made, as well as the advantage of ease of installation. Also, a single vendor solution is likely to bring benefits by delivering diverse functionalities (graphics, effects etc) via a ‘joined up’ user interface, minimising the need for training. Weigner: Yes, definitely in the end that is the goal. Do more with less. It is also about less complex solutions, the ability to deploy new channels quicker and lower operational expenses.
Jan Weigner: “By the end of the year 2013 we will have most likely 100+ private cloud-based channels playing out in the UK alone”
TVBEurope 37 Forum Channel in a Box
Mark Errington: “I believe that there is a great future for Channel in a Box in its present form”
from a specific background and with a specific core competency. It is definitely possible for all to have ‘good’ graphics, scheduling and MAM functionality, but the key is to identify which is the functionality which needs to be ‘great’, in order to meet the needs of the specific channel and the operation as a whole.
Stryme-ORS playout farm boosts DAF TV relaunch
By Fergal Ringrose
FOLLOWING A tight project period of less than four months, Stryme and ORS put their playout farm to the test on 1 March when their first joint customer, German Investors Television (DAF — Deutsches Anleger Fernsehen) successfully went live with a brand new 24-hour programme, including revamped graphic overlays and outsourced playout. While the private German
TV station still takes care of planning, post production, ingest and live studio broadcasts in Kulmbach, Germany, the Austrian partners have set up the entire
playout system for this outsourcing project. Stryme provides the central storage via its Genesix advanced MAM server and uses a dedicated line to upload clips and video content via FTP. Clips and video content are then transferred via the internet and integrated into the ORS broadcast. A VPN connection is used for steering and planning. The Genesix playout system comprises two redundant systems for 24/7 operation, ensuring both uninterrupted playout and the graphics workflow. ORS guarantees an around-the-clock broadcasting connection via satellite and ASTRA
Ofir Benovici: “One of the strongest values of CiaB solutions is cost-effectiveness”
Weigner:Yes, if you have good
programmers — and there lies the problem. Some ‘vendors’ just cobble together various SDKs or Open Source stuff and call it a product, when it is more or less just an integration job with a custom front-end. Very few ‘manufacturers’ have their own codecs, media libraries, playout engines, graphics engines etc.
between Kulmbach and Vienna. ORS also monitors the infrastructure day and night, and provides required maintenance and support. Having chosen the
outsourcing solution, DAF no longer incurs high costs for technical equipment, maintenance and monitoring. Due to the fact that the playout system supports all industry standard codecs and formats (DV, DVCPRO, MPEG-2, D10, Sony XDCAM, P2, Apple ProRes, Avid DNxHD, etc) it could be easily integrated with DAF’s existing infrastructure and workflows. As part of the project, the
picture quality was significantly improved and the video format was converted to 16:9 aspect ratio. New live streams (available via the DAF website at
www.daf.fm) also enhance DAF’s online video portal — the largest in Germany.
www.stryme.com
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