Integrated IT Playout, By George Jarrett (Pt. 1)

Open the box: As SDI starts to look inadequate and fade away, and we think in terms of IP and IT, the term Channel-in-a-Box has surely had its time. George Jarrett talks to Pebble Beach, Grass Valley, PlayBox, Snell, Imagine and Pixel Power, and asks which story do you trust?

Clearly defined as a booming market sector that has attracted extra heavyweights like Evertz and Miranda, we are talking about another battleground between hardware and software mentalities, and about 'Integrated IT based Playout'.
To paint a picture of where we are with this channel of innovation, on a card or in a contained unit, and perhaps armed with a stack of bolted-on third party muscle, we talked to six vendors about their CIAB options, their takes on the market and the move away from traditional automation.
Quiz probable adopters of CIAB technology and two main things come up – the urge to automate, and the need to savage operational costs in terms of kit and staff, without damaging content quality too badly.

Specialist vendors flourish for a reason
Defining what users want from a CIAB system, and what it is in reality, Pebble Beach Systems’ sales director Tom Gittins said: “In general, a CIAB is a single vendor solution which replaces all the discrete devices in the output chain.
"Typically, customers consider a CIAB because they hope to make cost, space and power savings from a self-contained solution.
A single vendor solution is likely to bring benefits by delivering diverse functionalities via a 'joined up' UI, and minimising the need for training," he added. "However, so much depends on the exact channel requirements, the amount of control flexibility required, the level of graphics, audio processing, etc. We offer both CIAB and automation based solutions, and it is interesting to see how often what starts as a perceived CIAB requirement quickly becomes more complicated."
Very few vendors claim to do everything required. Does teaming up with other vendors introduce higher operational costs around the area of integration?
"Both standpoints are valid and depend on functional as well as project-based issues. If it’s a green field site CIAB may make more sense, but where legacy equipment and third party systems exist integration is a clear benefit rather than creating a standalone technology island," said Gittins.
"CIAB vendors have generally entered this market from a specific background with a core competency such as video server, graphics and automation. The key is to identify what functionality is vital. Specialist vendors flourish for a reason – because there is demand for the complex functionality and specialised capabilities they offer. It is true that integrating different systems can be more expensive and challenging than implementing a single self-contained solution, but if the channel’s needs dictate that these systems are required, then discrete systems are the best solution for that customer," he added. "Users need to select the technology that most closely fits the current specific channel requirements, plus any foreseeable future requirements."
CIAB often means locking your play out future to a single vendor’s product roadmap – something that is even more risky because the control layer can only control the specific vendor’s technology.
"CIAB is allowing more channels to be launched at lower cost. It allows broadcasters to experiment with more niche channels and to offer up more channel variants – especially IPTV. Large Telco companies are becoming CIAB customers but often by buying the broadcast companies rather than CIAB specifically," he continued.
Is the term channel-in-a-box a dated and restrictive tag?
"It’s certainly an emotive one," said Gittins. "One has to ask whether it was ever important to squeeze all channel functionality into a single host. More important was functionality and reliability while delivering lower cost, less power and close integration. What is happening now is that CIAB is being overtaken by a desire to use IP in place of SDI, and to exploit VM and Blade technology."
What then has Pebble Beach developed specifically to serve this market sector?
"We are committed to automation and bring that specialist experience and expertise to new products across the automation, integrated channel and CIAB space," said Gittins.
"For broadcasters looking for a self-contained solution, the Stingray CIAB incorporates the unmatched flexibility of Marina enterprise automation, and the power and robustness of our Dolphin integrated channel device. This means that, in addition to hosting simple clip-based channels, Stingray is designed to handle complex reactive channels featuring late-breaking changes and dynamic schedules. The client-server based architecture allows a single operator to control up to six channels, and the exceptionally intuitive UI, coupled with powerful graphics and DVE functionality, combine to deliver a best of breed feature set at an affordable price."
What about broadcasters or service providers who need automation but wish to adopt CIAB technology for some of their channels?
"Possibly the most integrated approach is to deploy the Dolphin solution, which shares the same Marina automation control layer as more complex channels within the system. This means that the broadcaster can choose the optimum technology for the budgetary and technical needs of each channel, even in the same system," said Gittins. "Crucially, operators are presented with the same UI, whatever the underlying channel technology across the entire system. A single system-wide database avoids creating operational silos and simplifies channel control.
"One benefit of our CIAB solutions is the adoption of software codecs allowing us to keep pace with the never-ending development of new compression systems and wrappers. Allowing multiple formats to be played back-to-back on the same output enables customers to migrate to new formats while their legacy media remains compliant without having to change workflows and include new transcoding processes," added Gittins. "Being able to exchange files together with associated metadata (DPP for instance) can bring real benefits, especially where production of content is separated from play out. But open system APIs that allow play out operators to be aware of upstream media preparation through close integration with MAM system brings many advantages."
Targeted R&D is required to ensure the development of solutions that remain relevant in this quickly changing area of the market.
"Sometimes smart partnering with ingenious specialist companies can accelerate progress and deliver solutions more quickly," said Gittins. "We have launched new configurations for Stingray, which is now scalable for systems from one up to six channels."
Pebble Beach also has the 'Lighthouse' monitoring by exception tool, which is designed to alert operators clearly and unambiguously to upcoming events that demand their QC attention.

George's article is also available in BFV online.