Etere: scalable and modular solutions for playout, advertising management and MAM

For the complete management of the advertising life cycle, playout automation, multimedia asset management and master control, Etere will present at Broadcast IT 2011 its scalable and modular proposals for all types of installations.

Among the solutions of Ether which we will see at Broadcast IT 2011 (stand 3B07) highlights Air Sales for traffic management, accounting and the entire management of sales operations. It is a completely scalable solution that adapts to specific sizes and needs, its wide range of modules is capable of helping, from the smallest television station to the largest multimedia corporation. With Etere Air Sales, the full spectrum of activities inherent to advertising sales will be supported, including pre- and post-sales activities, advertising campaigns, client proposals, commercial planning, advertising billing, agent and agency commissions, and much more.

Etere Air Sales offers complete visibility and detailed inventory control that will maximize the revenue and profitability of your advertising space. The integrated nature of Etere Air Sales ensures that information is always available in real time to allow high inventory management and optimal decision making. In addition, the close integration with Etere Web will offer a complete view, from anywhere, of the most common operations of the advertising chain.
Completely based on Windows, it has a graphical user interface, provided with “drag-and-drop” programming functions, and a report generation system available in real time.

Playout automation

Another solution that Etere will bring to Broadcast 2011 is Etere Automation, a modular playout system capable of increasing the potential of television broadcasting in terms of functionality and workflows. Its approach combines real-time device control and multimedia asset management in a single product, thus offering a wide range of solutions and possibilities.
Etere Automation is a system created to adapt to the needs of any broadcast station, thanks to an exclusive distributed architecture it allows subsequent expansions and changes to satisfy possible new requirements. Etere Automation is compatible with Windows platforms to ensure control of all devices used in the playout environment.

Etere Automation accesses the Etere database of Etere multimedia assets to integrate all activities in a single environment, this allows recovering any asset stored in the station without size limits, as well as scheduling its use through last minute changes.

This solution has all the advantages inherent to a system integrated into a single package and provided with a coherent interface, allowing, for example, to use Ethereum MAM, a system commonly used in conjunction with capture systems (Etere Ingest) and transmission (Etere Automation), helping to mark the start and end points of a video and store them in the system database; This Ethereum approach makes terms like “single segment,” “multiple segment,” and “multiple points” obsolete since they are all mixed up and conveniently managed internally in the database.

Etere offers full integration for barcode printing and tape cataloging, offering the ability to playback the video even during a recording. Ethereum Ingest allows data capture tasks to be regrouped to minimize the operator's work. In addition, live video capture is also supported, offering important functionalities such as executing operations both manually and automatically (through scheduled tasks).

Multi-channel control

The integration of various multi-channel control stations makes scheduling management much easier with Etere Playout IT. Each of the several managed stations can be distinguished through its own logo, all programs can be previewed showing their actual duration. The programming grid is represented horizontally, and thanks to a simple visualization that includes the use of associated colors, the programs can be located and even highlighted quickly and easily through the various channels.

Each status and message is displayed using personalized colors, evidencing on the screen all those programs that present anomalies that need to be resolved before transmission. In case of a large number of warnings, Etere customer service will take care of the problem, carrying out a detailed verification of the problem through an SNMP workstation.

It should be noted, on the other hand, that this Etere proposal is a television programming system based on Microsoft SQL technology; in this environment, the Etere Executive Editor application becomes the preferred multifunctional editor for the creation of sophisticated television programming.

Thus, it offers freedom for program planning, providing simulations, analysis and previews in high and low quality. This programming editor is a tool provided with really useful frame precision, which will prevent operators from having to continue “filling” or “cutting” television segments. In addition, the editor allows any operation to be decided directly from the programming office, thanks to control of the advertising crowd and secondary events (such as logos, crawl and others), characteristics that make this tool not only the best for programming management but a necessary solution for a successful transmission.

The fully distributed environment of the system makes the playout system completely independent of other system operations such as caching or manual registration, so that if one of these operations fails, the playout system will continue to function properly as well as all other parts of the system. This fault tolerance capability allows operators to identify defective elements and temporarily isolate them for repair or replacement without disrupting other television activities and operations.

Media asset management

Etere MAM offers digital content management, specifically designed to improve the process of capturing, indexing, storing and retrieving digital assets. A centralized solution for the management of digital content and its respective metadata; Its effective implementation not only increases operational efficiency but also maximizes the monetization of investments made in digital assets. In a rich multimedia archive, Etere MAM simplifies the content management process by making the workflow more efficient and allowing multimedia content to be brought to market faster and in multiple formats, ensuring that all new media platforms are served with content of exceptional frame accuracy.

Etere Asset Management ensures that all data associated with an asset (multimedia, EPG, EDL, secondary event, etc.) is managed within a centralized form, thus allowing the integration of all assets from different systems and applications.

All multimedia versions referring to a particular asset are detailed in the asset “multimedia booth”, where the operator can efficiently and centrally manage the files present on video servers, tape libraries, proxy files, internet versions, etc. ETERE MAM includes an advanced and complete association of a series of metadata for each multimedia file, thus allowing comprehensive management of digital content.

Metadata can be related to an entire video or a specific frame, all in compliance with the SMPTE standard for metadata management. The flexibility of Ethereum MAM allows all the most important data to be constantly updated even after the original file has been created, also allowing the management of intellectual property rights related to each asset.
Complete access to multimedia content from local and remote locations is possible thanks to ETERE Web, the solution that allows search, retrieval, preview and manipulation of content in real time. The integration of Non-Linear Editors (NLE) favors the accessibility of multimedia content even from within the editing station.

Etere Web supports full tracking of all file and NLE movements made in the system, allowing the definition of user rights to allow or deny access to certain content and/or multimedia operations such as file downloading, video preview, multimedia browsing, data copying, asset creation, etc.

Etere MAM includes an essential and integrated application for managing workflows, thus facilitating the management of the system thanks also to a clear definition of each complex step of the broadcasting process. Usage rules are configured through processes to ensure that each step is carried out correctly following predefined authorization and notification procedures.

Master Control

Finally, Ethereum has improved MTX with the aim of achieving a completely IT-based playout, also integrating Master Control functions

With MTX you only need one playback server for mixer, crossfade, logo insertion and character generation functions. The Etere system transforms a simple machine into a multifunction integrated solution For customers already using MTX, the implementation of an IT-based playout solution with Control Master functions would consist of a simple software update on an existing license, without the need for additional hardware.