80 TVBEurope The Workflow
Automation helps Amedia to multiple channel launch
Philip Stevens examines how a Russian producer has moved into the channels business in a big way
FOUNDED IN 2002 by producer Alexander Akopov, Moscow-based production company Amedia is now one of the biggest creators of television films, series and programmes in Russia. Currently, the company’s annual production output is over 200 hours of content in various genres — drama, mystery, thrillers, romantic comedy and sitcom. To handle that volume, Amedia operates a 42,000sqm production facility on a former factory site in the centre of the Russian capital. This building houses 16 studios ranging in size from 84sqm to 1,210sqm offering full production and post production services. Beyond that, Amedia has just completed building and equipping of a new broadcasting centre to accommodate an expansion programme that includes operating its own pay-per-view channel, a new free-to-air channel and simulcasting in HD and SD.
Launched in May, Amedia
Premium is a pay channel that not only shows Amedia’s own productions, but also broadcasts programmes from producers such as HBO, Showtime Networks, CBS Broadcasting, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox Film Corporation and Starz. The first season of new Amedia channels includes 40 TV series premieres totalling around 30 hours a week. Amedia 1 is a new free channel that will show legendary programmes that have not previously been seen by Russian viewers. The existing Amedia channel has been rebranded Amedia 2 and will broadcast the best of domestic Russian productions. All these outlets are distributed nationally through cable, satellite and IPTV operators to around 12 million viewers.
provide full redundancy for four channels plus one extra channel that supports preview functions throughout the new broadcast production centre. Other Harris units comprise a Selenio platform for up/down conversion, encoding, IP encapsulation, advanced audio processing, ADC-1000 automation for controlling the Versio units and to provide a List Redundancy mechanism, a Platinum MX router with HView SX Pro multiviewer for SDI monitoring, a MSA-100 multi stream analyser for full testing of compressed video conformance, audio level, data services and ETR-290, and series 6800+ signal processing equipment. In addition, Invenio Motion
Igor Vernovsky: “Playout becomes an easy function in the hands of a transmission controller”
was installed as a content resource management platform. This provides intelligent media movement by creating a unified workflow that maintains an
“Invenio Motion moves the files from NAS to Versio units based on special dub lists from Broadview or upon request from TX lists or manually” Igor Vernovsky, Amedia
Harris equipment being set up during the installation at Amedia’s new Master Control Room
In addition, the company has launched
amediateka.ru, an internet platform, which will show all of the content from the various Amedia channels. As well as the online broadcast channels, its users will be able to choose to view any movies, TV series and TV programmes from the archive, including the original with Russian subtitles.
Tight schedule “We had to set up the new broadcasting channels in just three months — with a further one month for the installation of all the equipment,” reports Igor Vernovsky, Amedia’s chief technology officer. “Key to meeting that timeframe — and to handling the quality requirements of the channels — was the equipping of the
Master Control area. And for that we, along with systems integrator RTV RTC, chose a variety of Harris file-based systems. In fact, it was RTV RTC who provided the engineering design of the system, equipment delivery, installation and commissioning.” That equipment includes nine Versio integrated playout units that
ingested asset in the digital domain for the life of the media. It also allows material to be accessed, managed and moved across storage devices including multilevel storage systems. For quality control purposes, the Harris QuiC Pro was selected. Here, reports from the system are generated in XML and HTML formats while the content is being analysed.
www.tvbeurope.com September 2013
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