InBroadcast - June 2023 - 38

38
www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 13 - Issue 6 | June 2023
InMedia
ASTRA Master Control Room -
playout on-premises, in the cloud,
or hybrid operations
F
or many manufacturers, cloud
playout is something new. For
Aveco, we already have experience
working on providing cloud playout
for our customers... it's just one of
the things you'll see at stand 2.B49
at IBC2023.
Depending on the organization and
their business models and goals, our
ASTRA Master Control Room solution
includes playout on-premises, in the
cloud, or hybrid operations, all in the
same unified Master Control Playout
Automation user interface, keeping
playout simple.
Organization size should
not
be the immediate deciding factor
on whether or not to incorporate
the cloud in your payout solution.
Whether needing a large advanced
system, or a simple system, the
cloud could provide you with the
toolset you need - whether handling
your complete multi-channel playout
operation or as a disaster recovery
system.
But it's your needs that matter. The
cloud is not for everyone. If you've
recently
invested
heavily
in
onpremises
playout, utilizing the cloud
in a major way doesn't make financial
sense. Conversely, if you're building
a new facility or contemplating major
upgrades to your playout operations,
the cloud may be exactly what you
need.
That's why we invite you to talk with
us at IBC. It's not often that you'll
hear a manufacturer or supplier say
" no, using the cloud that way for
playout is not a good fit for you, "
but you'll get honesty - and you'll
probably get an alternative " but have
you considered using the cloud this
way for playout? "
Playout shouldn't be hard, but it
is mission critical. Over the years,
the industry has seen softwarebased
playout offerings that have
been customized for each and every
customer. We're not talking number
of
playout
channels, we mean
specific code in the playout software
that makes maintaining a
vast
number of on-prem software systems
almost impossible.
Since that time, the code used for
playout on-prem has become more
dynamic and agile. But with the
cloud, the management of totally
distinct playout
systems is much
easier, because that's the way the
cloud works. If you're told that a
cloud playout solution has to work
a certain way, you may want to walk
away.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of
cloud-based playout is the ability to
" spin up " channels as needed for
special events. This puts much less
strain on your traditional playout
operations, but with the flexibility
to delivery
programming to an
audience, whether it be a special
entertainment
event, sporting
event, news event, or emergency
information.
Here's an example: A national news
organization is covering a national
election. But that election is also for
regional and local offices. There's not
a single news organization on the
planet that could cover all of those
elections with one channel. That's
where the cloud comes in. Spin up
regional channels that would cover a
specific region.
You still
Aveco ASTRA MCR Automation
have control
of
the
advertising on those channels
and while it may draw part of your
audience from your national channel,
it just moves them to one of your
other channels, not a competitor's
channel. And
national
should
election news
hit,
breaking
your
regional channel can cover that news
quickly, then move back to covering
their region. Of course, this requires
more resources: cameras, control
room, graphics, staff,
talent, and
more, but these channels don't need
to be just like your national channel.
They can be mini versions. Of course,
this is just a thought experiment, but
what other ways can you think of for
using the cloud for playout? And, of
course, the cloud can assist in those
mini version productions as well.
At Aveco, we want you to think
about the cloud for playout. But it
shouldn't be the goal - it should
be the tool to get you to your goal,
whatever that happens to be.
https://www.aveco.com
We love to play!
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://www.aveco.com/en/ https://www.aveco.com/en/ https://www.aveco.com https://www.aveco.com/en/
InBroadcast - June 2023

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