In Broadcast - July 2013 - 59


ISSUE 21 - JULY 2013 | WWW.INBROADCAST.COM

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

N E W S

InMEDIA
IT Workﬂow In Broadcast Cont.
content with much greater speed
and flexibility.”
TGN has installed Harmonic
Spectrum MediaCenter media
servers, the Harmonic MediaGrid
3000 shared storage system, the
Media Application Server (MAS)
asset management platform with
ProXplore, and the ProDrive media
server controller software. Used as
an ingest server, the MediaCenter
records VTR feeds under the control
of ProDrive, which allows operators
to capture content automatically
according to a schedule or
instantly specify a channel with the
application’s crash-record feature.
As feeds are recorded, the
Harmonic ProXplore launches
the transfer of growing ﬁles in the
MediaCenter server system over
to the MediaGrid 3000 shared
storage system, which supports
TGN staff working on Avid nonlinear
edit systems. MXFserver enables
file sharing and project sharing
across multiple Avid editors. The
FilmPartners system makes it
easy for editors, graphic artists,
producers, and other users to ﬁnd
the materials they need for both
private and collaborative projects.

Finished projects are exported, at
which point ProXplore automatically
transfers files to a second
MediaCenter server dedicated to
playout. ProDrive software allows
TGN staff to create scheduled
playlists and to control the server’s
playout operations.
“The Harmonic media storage,
asset management, and server
systems installed by TGN enable
a very efﬁcient ﬁle-based workﬂow,
with the beneﬁt of optimised ﬁle
transfers over a gigabit Ethernet
network,” said Andrew Thornton,
Vice President of Asia-Pacific
Sales at Harmonic. “Bringing
speed, reliability, and flexibility
to TGN’s operations, Harmonic
transforms the broadcaster’s ability
to create and deliver timely and
compelling content.”
Since 2001, Aberdeen Broadcast
Services has delivered programming
content services to broadcast
networks and stations globally,
specialising in digital ﬁle delivery,
captioning and language translation,
subtitling and voice overs. Operating
in an industry where the quick
exchange of large media files
is crucial, Aberdeen routinely

receives full resolution video ﬁles
from producers around the world for
post-production. After processing
and transcoding video ﬁles to the
required station formats, Aberdeen
digitally delivers the completed ﬁles
to receiving stations, completing
the workflow.
Originally using FTP to transfer
ﬁles to and from clients, Aberdeen
experienced many of the common
pitfalls of FTP technology - slow
delivery of video files, delivery
failures and corrupt files.
Furthermore Aberdeen found a
steady growth in ﬁle sizes due to
the increasing adoption of HD video
formats causing a substantial slow
down with FTP-based ﬁle transfers.
Also, the geographic dispersion of
many clients. further slowing ﬁle
transfers, made it time to change
to a faster, more reliable alternative.
To optimise Aberdeen’s file
transfer workﬂow, FileCatalyst Direct
was deployed to accelerate its core
ﬁle transfers, as well as FileCatalyst
Webmail to provide easy to use web
access and email notiﬁcations. The
installation provided Aberdeen
with accelerated and reliable ﬁle
transfer to recipients, requiring no

software installation for Aberdeen
customers. Email notifications
were also enabled to inform
Aberdeen and their clients when
transcoded videos were delivered
to the receiving stations. Lastly the
FileCatalyst HotFolder application
was installed to automate a
portion of ﬁle deliveries, enabling
Aberdeen to schedule selected
transfers in advance.
The set-up and configuration
of FileCatalyst software into
Aberdeen’s infrastructure was
quick and non-disruptive, allowing
the company to quickly provide a
higher level of customer service
when delivering client files.
Cloud-based services have
the ability to greatly speed
production workflows, increase
storage and computing capacity,
foster collaboration and reduce
infrastructure costs. Manufacturers
and developers are far from unaware
of this. And the subject is much
debated, especially at international
broadcast industry events such as
Broadcast Asia where a power panel
discussed “Is cloud broadcasting
the future?” It will certainly play a
leading role.
59

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In Broadcast - July 2013

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