In Broadcast - October 2019 - 32

32

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 9 - Issue 9 | October 2019

InForm

The Evolving Economics
of TV Media Playout
PlayBox Neo CEO Pavlin Rahnev looks
back over the transition to server-based
and cloud-based solutions, and the
effects on playout economics...

T

elevision in its early years
depended on three main sources:
live camera feeds, cine film, and video
tape. Relatively low cost video cassette
formats encouraged an increasing
reliance on manual delivery of video
content between production, post
and playout departments, hence the
term 'sneakernet'. Magnetic disk
servers backed by data tape robotics
eventually became commonplace for
network-linked archiving and asset
management. This made the entire
production workflow much easier,
not least by allowing two or more
operators to access the same content
rather than having to share or copy a
single asset. The whole process was
also safer as content could not get lost
unless intentionally deleted.
Server-based playout
Launched in 1981, the IBM PC
microcomputer platform soon became
powerful enough to support image
editing, audio editing and decisionlist-based video editing. When we
commenced operations two decades
ago, microcomputers in general
and the PC platform in particular
had achieved enough speed and
reliability that they could deliver all
the features needed for broadcast
channel branding and playout without
requiring plug-in boards to deliver
extra muscle.
We built on that maturity, designing
and delivering playout systems which
sold in their tens, their hundreds
and later their thousands. Key to
this success was the recognition
that 'enterprise platforms' ranged
in customers' minds from high-end
no-compromise desktops to lowend laptops in which performance
was sacrificed in favour of energy
efficiency. The solution was obvious:
we took care to integrate our products
into a proven platform so that we and
our customers really could speak the
same technical language. This concept
was soon refined to the point where
we also produced the PC itself to

ensure that it conformed fully to the
specification needed to allow efficient
and flexible graphics manipulation,
ingest and playout: the original
'Channel-in-a-Box'.
The PlayBox Neo Channel-in-aBox system today comes complete
with a dedicated server in a choice
of 3U and 1U sizes. The server can
be used completely standalone or in
combination with others to support
any desired number of channels. Each
installation can be configured from a
range of Neo-series software modules
and optional accessories. Content
scheduling, promos, commercials,
graphics preparation and subtitling
can all be handled under fully
automated control while retaining
the freedom to insert live content
after any currently airing file or, for a
big-breaking story, to switch instantly
to live pass-through. UHD, HD and
SD are all fully supported, enabling
channel managers to migrate from
one standard to another, or add
parallel channels to support more
than one standard. The system can
be pre-programmed to function
round-the-clock in fully-automated
mode. Operators retain the freedom
to make schedule alterations or insert
live content between prescheduled
content.
Optimising the playout
business model
The increasing demand for costefficiency over the years has made
server-based playout far more
accountant-friendly
than
either
manual or robotic tape playout
systems. Manually loaded and
operated
VTRs
were
expensive to maintain
and prone to mechanical
defects such as playback
head contamination and
tape dropout. Cassettes
reduced the problem of
dust ingress but introduced
the risk of tape tangling
during
loading
and

Fig. 1: An example
PlayBox Neo Cloud
2TV workflow

unloading. This is the reason why so
many broadcasters retain at least a
small team of experienced technicians
to
safeguard
against
sudden
unexpected machine failure. That is a
cost overhead which began to diminish
when server-based systems came in.
The mean-time-between-failure of
modern data servers is impressively
long but few management teams have
the confidence to operate with no inhouse technicians unless they have
chosen to outsource their playout to a
specialist service provider.
Cloud2TV,
our
most
recent
introduction (see Figure 1), enables
content owners to get round the
capital-expenditure
hurdle
they
face when starting new channels
or expanding their existing playout
activity. Available on a competitive
subscription basis, it is a coordinated
solution meeting every conceivable
playout challenge from a single-event
channel right up to a round-the-clock
global network. Scalability and ease
of operation are built in right from the
start. Cloud2TV comprises a range of
software modules which can be mixed
and matched to handle any desired
permutation of channels, languages
and time-zones. Fast and easy to

deploy, it gives network operators the
freedom to scale their activities with
unprecedented precision while sidestepping the cost of holding reserve
equipment on standby. Cloud2TV is
also the perfect platform on which
to deploy a disaster-recovery facility
without the rental and staffing costs
entailed in equipping and operating an
off-site studio.
Future-flexible
The future of TV channel branding
and playout shows greater signs of
stability than casual observers might
imagine. Internet-based transmission
to the home and to mobile viewing
devices will become increasingly
common given the ongoing global
investment in distribution nodes and
high-capacity optical deliver networks.
However, traditional terrestrial and
direct-to-home satellite broadcasting
will continue into the future for the
simple reasons of robustness and easy
access. PlayBox Neo Channel-in-a-Box
is delivery-channel-agnostic, as indeed
is Cloud2TV which can output to any
network or distribution channel the
customer chooses to address.
Whether hard disk drives remain
the preferred storage medium for
playout servers is more
open to discussion. Solidstate servers are an obvious
option though one that has
yet to prove itself in terms of
cost efficiency and workflow
flexibility. I hardly dare to
mention DNA!
NileSat broadcast playout
control-room
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