In Broadcast - October/November 2011 - 48

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011

InREPLY

Tedial’s MAM
Rafael Dubois, Sales and Marketing Director, Tedial answers InBroadcast’s questions about Media Asset Management
InBroadcast: How is MAM changing to meet new client demands? Rafael Dubois: The transition to IT platforms has dramatically changed the technology landscape of the broadcast industry in recent years. Many broadcasters are implementing file-based systems in their facilities and yet many continue to organise working practices according to the inherent limitations associated with old tape-based technology. Going tapeless is not the ultimate goal but rather the key that opens up the possibilities of significantly improving productivity by organising the way that people work in a logical and efficient manner. New MAM technology should be built on layered logic using three core components: HSM for the archive, the MAM itself and an EBS (Enterprise Business Service). The EBS is especially designed for the intricacies of the broadcast industry, providing a middleware platform that allows multiple heterogeneous systems to integrate and communicate among themselves. These three layers provide a fully functional tapeless system, which can then be used as a base for implementing a Business Process Manager (BPM) to organise workloads and workflows efficiently, which in turn provides an increase of production speed, reduces operational costs, preserves quality and improves the utilisation of available resources. This is what justifies the investment in a MAM system. InB: What criteria does the market use to make buying decisions for MAM? RD: This naturally depends on individual installations but in general terms customers are concerned about entering into unfamiliar IT territory. Some are nervous about stories of bad experiences from other broadcasters that have meant endless delays, writing code onsite and unfulfilled promises. Therefore one of the main things customers usually seek is a well-proven solution and a guarantee that they are not purchasing vapourware. The trend in large projects is to deploy a test system to be used as a proof-of-concept before placing the final formal purchase order, which is something we are happy to do at Tedial. The important constant for customers is that their new MAM solutions should be able to integrate well with the array of systems from different vendors, technologies and formats, both current and future, that together form a typical heterogeneous broadcast facility. The integration should enable the implementation of workflows spanning the entire to survive these tough times they need to capitalise on historical archives, be able to access content in a wide range of formats for different platforms, increase output and reduce operational costs. Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Spain are particularly active in Europe. There are many projects on going in Latin America and the Middle East and a few in South East Asia. The market that is about to grow exponentially is America, where there are dozens of large projects in their initial consulting stages.

Rafael Dubois

focus on developing software products that brings business processes together under common control. A key element of the new digital broadcast environment is the implementation of the BPM system. Efficiency and savings are achieved by automating as many tasks as possible while reducing the number of man-hours required and thereby the incidence of operational errors. InB: Give an example of your technology in action? RD: Two years ago Spain’s national broadcaster Radio y Televisión Española (RTVE) announced plans to digitise its entire tape archive spanning more than 50 years, dating back to the beginning of Spanish television transmission. This is one of the most ambitious digitisation projects in the broadcast sector and certainly the largest in the Spanish speaking world. This equates to more than one million videotapes containing 800,000 hours of content in various formats including Telecine (one/ two inches), Umatic and Betacam SP to be digitised over a four-year period. This material will then be repurposed for various mediums including digital TV and mobile internet. RTVE required a file-based workflow that could automatically digitise and restore material, control tasks, convert digitised material to a common file format and store the material to achieve a seamless solution from ingest and archiving to browsing and delivery. After a rigorous tender process the MAM contract was awarded to Tedial who met RTVE’s objectives by defining the digital workflow and associated business processes in conjunction with systems integrator Telefonica and RTVE. The system, which is in the final stages of acceptance, will enable the broadcaster to take full advantage of a file-based workflow with process-oriented tools that allow operators to define tasks according to business requirements rather than technical processes.

Tedial Ficus Business Process Manager

facility. Only then can customers increase productivity, work efficiently and reduce operational costs in a way that justifies the investment they are making when purchasing a MAM system. Therefore, the flexibility and capacity to integrate to third-party systems, current and future, is of paramount for most customers. InB: Which territories are showing particular activity? RD: The prospects for MAM vendors are currently good. There is consensus among broadcasters and media providers that in order

InB: What can you tell us about any innovations we might expect and what needs will they fulfil? RD: With 10 years experience Tedial’s innovative technology allows broadcasters to take full advantage of file-based workflows by optimising and automating operational processes. Tedial’s solutions are vendor-independent and hardware-independent, releasing customers from proprietary constraints and thereby significantly increasing productivity and RoI. Tedial will continue its

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In Broadcast - October/November 2011

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