In Broadcast - July 2016 - 52

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 6 - Issue 7 | July 2016

InStudio

TMD - Astro Implements First
Phase Of Asset And Workflow
Management Infrastructure
Astro Malaysia Holdings required a fundamental shift in the approach to its
infrastructure as it sought to place broadcast workflows on a digital path...

stro Malaysia Holdings Bhd
(Astro) is one of Southeast
Asia's leading integrated media group
with key operations in pay-TV, radio,
content and digital.
Astro today has a 67% penetration of
TV homes in Malaysia (i.e. 4.8 million
customers). Astro broadcasts 183
channels including 54 HD channels,
delivered via DTH satellite TV via the
Measat satellite network, IPTV and OTT
platforms.
The organisation operates from two
centres. It is headquartered in the
Technology Park Malaysia in Kuala
Lumpur, with the second site, known
as CBC, 30 km away across the capital
in Cyberjaya.
The two sites split broadcast
functionality between them, each
broadcasting about half the channels.
In times of disruption, the channel
bouquet is adjusted so that all of
the most popular channels can be
delivered from a single site to provide
business continuity.
The Challenge
Like
many
highly
successful
broadcasters, Astro has seen its
channel portfolio expand dramatically
in recent years. Fuelled by its
success, it has added HD capabilities
to its existing SD bouquets while
simultaneously
embracing
the
demands of its OTT audience.
As a result, in 2013 the company's
management embarked on a plan to
upgrade, consolidate and streamline
their technology platforms, improve
processes, and eliminate tape-based
workflows in order to support further
significant growth.
Astro was keen to get all content
driven from a single set of workflows
and reap the full benefits of a
software-defined architecture, moving
all content as files under the command
of automated workflows. Astro
also recognised that its workflows
needed to be flexible, which meant
it needed to be able to design and

modify workflows simply
and reliably without
recourse to specialist
programming skills or
the resources from third
parties.
A fundamental shift
to a new architecture
was required, and that
this should be based on
automated
workflows
Master Control
directed by metadata. The
Room at Astro
The company looked at
the market, and concluded that the preparation
and
management
TMD Mediaflex-UMS platform, which platform, covering all broadcast
combines asset management with content (HD and SD) and online
automated workflows, was the right material in all its various formats and
solution to provide end-to-end life resolutions;
cycle control of the company's media
* remove all bottlenecks in content
assets.
flows, and provide reporting to give
staff insight into pinch points and
Design Requirements
inefficiencies;
During the contract negotiation and
* move to an IP-connected, filesystem design phases, a number of based architecture which eliminated
key deliverables were defined. Once tapes, manual content transport; and
fully implemented, the new platform
* provide seamless integration
should:
between systems from multiple
* improve operational productivity, vendors, creating a single entity with
through automating repetitive tasks a common control and management
and thereby releasing staff to perform layer.
creative work;
TMD worked closely with Astro to
* allow complete flexibility in develop a phased approach to the
workflows today and in the future, project that would achieve all of
through the ability for Astro staff to these objectives. The project had to
design and edit their own processes via be deployed within a working and
a simple intuitive drag & drop GUI;
busy broadcast environment causing
* support
software-defined minimal disruptions to the day-to-day
workflows
allowing
automated business, but equally had to move
decisions to be taken within workflows as quickly as possible to deliver the
based on metadata values, allowing various benefits.
workflows to branch as required and
only escalate issue to operators when Integration
absolutely required;
While TMD's Mediaflex would provide
* through the workflow flexibility, a new unified asset management and
provide the capability to deliver more metadata system, as well as workflow
channels and VoD content using the management, Astro had an existing
existing level of staffing for increased investment in a diverse range of
commercial effectiveness;
systems that were currently delivering
* ingest content once and repurpose the channels.
as necessary across the whole
Staff were familiar with their
organisation;
operations and so there was a need
* provide
a
single
content to maintain them during and after

the move to the new,
software-defined
operations. As these
assets become due for
renewal in the future,
so the Mediaflex-UMS
platform has to be
sufficiently flexible for
the replacement of subsystems without any
disruption to operations.
All content (linear
and non-linear) flowing
through the system is commissioned
by the existing broadcast management
technology scheduling system, so this
is the origination point for metadata.
Metadata is added by other systems
as required and tracked by Mediaflex.
Today ingest includes tapes, but
increasingly material is being delivered
as files, and at the point of ingest there
is a need to verify file integrity and, if
necessary, transcode or transwrap to
the house standard.
Long-term content storage is by
a central archive. This links to the
playout automation systems and
transfers content as required.
At the start of the project, SD and
HD playout chains were separate. For
standard definition channels Astro
used an automation system with ingest
and playout servers. As that platform
nears end of life, it will be redeveloped
during the course of the project.
The HD platform was initially driven
by a number of manual processes
using ingest servers, embedded
editing, and extended playout servers
and automation.
There is also a third broadcast
content control system that is chiefly
used for pass-through channels, which
only requires delayed censorship,
advertising insertion, and dynamic
content replacement. To achieve the
required operational productivity and
efficiency, Astro is using software
modules from the Mediaflex-UMS
suite to deliver the required playout
functionality.

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