Mexico's official television channel for Culture and the Arts, Televisión Metropolitana Canal 22, transformed its operations by adopting a tapeless workflow based on the Omneon Spectrum server system.
Canal 22 has the mission of showing the rest of the world the enormous diversity offered by Mexican art and culture. For this purpose, the network broadcasts programming that has been worthy of awards, both within the country and for an international television audience. International broadcasting added to domestic broadcasting required channel 22's migration from its old VTR and cartridge-based broadcast system
to low digital file-based operations. the control of an advanced automation system.Channel 22 required its server system to be secure, reliable, and offer flexibility in configuring inputs and outputs. The chain also needed a system that could grow without causing interference to its current operations and transmissions. The Omenon Spectrum media server system
proved to be the best to meet the needs of the channel and was installed in its facilities in Mexico City, from there it supports the broadcast of programs, commercials, promotions and projection of the Corporate image of the chain for the transmission of two simultaneous channels, while interfacing with the master control to simplify access to the media from the editing stations of the headquarters.Oscar Franco, head of engineering for Channel 22's master control, said of the Omneon server system: "It satisfies key channel requirements including redundancy, system stability, simple expandability and easy integration with our editing systems." And he adds "we also find that the operation of the system is easy and user-friendly."
With the assistance of AMTEC's system integrator, who has played a very important role in the specification, installation and integration of the complete solution, Channel 22 integrated the Omneon Spectrum server with NVerzion automation software to handle its two current over-the-air channels: Channel 22 Nacional with coverage throughout the country and Channel 22 International that broadcasts to the United States via satellite. A four-terminal Nversion automated system controls the distribution of Channel 22 benefits for its domestic and international channels.
The Omneon server system installed on Channel 22 has a storage capacity of 1.8 terabytes, or about 100 hours of DV 25 to 25 Mbps broadcast. Two of the server's eight channels are dedicated to ingestion
and the other six are used for programming broadcasting. Within the latter, two channels are used for the advance review of materials and to ensure redundancy and continuity of on-air broadcasts, two other channels are used for the main transmission and two more for backup transmissions of the national and international programming of Channel 22. The server system is configured with two audio channels for each broadcast channel.Channel 22 Nacional broadcasts 20 hours each day, from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. During the first eight hours of transmission,
the programs come from microwave feeds with interstitials broadcast from the Omneon media server under the control of the NVerzion automation system. Later in the day, from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., content is streamed directly from omneon's media server also under the control of Nverzion automation. Canal 22 Internacional broadcasts 24 hours a day – 12 hours, twice a day – taking much of the programming from the national channel's playlist. Various commercials are inserted into the international list and software Nverzion supports the synchronization of national and international playlists to ensure a correct broadcast of both channels from the Omneon server system.The Omeon server system is built on an open architecture that allows it to support a wide variety of third-party applications for streaming and control, media management, archiving, and collaborative production. This way stored media can be shared with many users and applications.
In addition to the proven operation with Nverzion automation, the server system supports a solid integration of video formats with the market-leading editing systems selected by Channel 22: Apple Final Cut Pro and Leitch VelocityQ. Flexibility in media editing and management is given in two ways. Publishers can transfer finished commercials and promotions from their editing stations to the Omneon Spectrum system over Gigabit Ethernet using industry-standard archiving protocols. Or the editing system can make the Omneon file system a network drive using the SMB or AFP file protocols. This way the editor will only need to open a folder on its workstation or a window in its directory and then drag and drop finished segment files to the Omneon media server for playback.
The Omneon team provided AMTEC and Channel 22 with the necessary consulting to ensure that the Final Cut Pro and Leitch VelocityQ files and platforms could be used at the same time as the server system. Both Apple Final Cut Pro and Leitch VelocityQ can
export *.mov self-contained files (VelocityQ transcodes from DPS to QuickTime before export). Quick Time's native support, within the Omneon media server, allows users to broadcast terminated segments immediately. As soon as the file arrives at the media server system, the Nverzion automation system receives notification that the new content is available for broadcast.The solid integration between server and publisher operations, in a smooth workflow, weighed on Channel 22 to decide on an Omneon server system. For example, the transfer of material directly from production to the server system meant an economy in time and money for Channel 22 by eliminating the slow and expensive transfer from media to tape. In the same way, the promotions department benefited from the possibility to make quick changes with ease, thanks to the greater flexibility. Another important condition for Channel 22 engineers was the stability of the system to maintain uninterrupted transmissions.
"We integrated Omneon Spectrum technology into our facility because its RAID storage module ensures high reliability and allows the drive to recover while the system is online, with minimal risk of information loss," said Channel 22 broadcast director Enrique Hidalgo. "Omneon's server system ensures a high level of file security and stability for every component of the system. Its flexibility will allow us to expand or change our configuration at any time, according to the specific needs of Channel 22, without an interruption of operations or the need to restart the system."
As Channel 22 continues to explore the possibilities provided by digital broadcast operations, the network will continue to work closely with Omneon and its technical consultant AMTEC. Expanding Channel 22's tapeless operations is straightforward due to the scalable design of the Omneon server system. If the network decides to launch another channel for European viewers it would simply require the addition of another broadcast port. Given its modular architecture the system can remain online through all improvement processes, the addition of ports or increased storage capacity, and during maintenance work.
Among the many immediate benefits of migrating from Channel 22 to digital transmission infrastructure are greater agility in production flows, better image quality, better use of personnel, reduction in materials and equipment maintenance costs, and increased efficiency.
"The configuration and installation processes for the Omneon server were very easy and clear from start to finish, as well as the tuning with the automation system that was carried out smoothly filling all our requirements," added Franco. "We are very happy and we are comfortable with the system."
The integration of Omneon's server system into Channel 22 prepares the chain for further improvements in its workflows. The company is now ready to implement solutions for digital files and centralized storage. Channel 22 also has the bases to incorporate its news, studio, central warehouse, administrative advantages of the medium, traffic, mobile production unit, etc., within its new workflow without tapes.
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