Televisa’s Mexico City master control room
MEXICO CITY—Televisa Canales manages Televisa's flagship TV channels, providing network feeds to more than 200 TV stations throughout Mexico, as well as stations in the United States and around the world.
The dynamic nature of our business and rapid growth in revenue requires a technology partner with the resources to respond rapidly to our changing needs for advanced automation and media asset management technologies.
Our search for such a technology partner led us to Aveco and their Astra content management system. This proved to be the correct choice for operation, as the company is a proven provider of the sort of technology that we needed to grow and improve our network's operational efficiency.
Every day, Televisa Canales imports more than 400 commercials and more than 40 new programs, all of which have to be ingested from several locations. These all have to catalogued, quality checked, and then readied for play to air. This is a complicated content management task that's now handled by Aveco's Astra content management system. It performs all of the necessary metadata management and, in addition, provides a corporate centralized traffic and media asset management system. Astra's MCR master control playout module is responsible for the on-air broadcast and provides multiple redundancies throughout the broadcast chain.
MOVING INTO TAPELESS HD WORLD
As is the case with many broadcasters these days, Televisa has undergone a period of continuous change during the past few years, and we're currently using Aveco's services and products in connection with two major plant upgrades.
Right now, our Astra system manages an intertwined standard- and high-definition ingest and playout workflow. Aveco is converting our hybrid master control room systems for 100 percent high-definition. This upgrade will provide a seamless transition to a tapeless and all-HD plant that's controlled by the Astra system. This streamlined workflow will ensure performance and, at the same time, reduce network operational errors.
We've also been working in concert with Aveco to develop a comprehensive and cost-effective plan for a backup site to provide operational redundancy protection.
The Aveco Astra MCR automation system is now being installed at a secondary location providing a simultaneous frame-by-frame mirrored off-site broadcast stream. This backup includes playlist synchronization so that changes on one side are automatically reflected on the other and vice versa. The Astra system will also keep the video content mirrored at each site, regardless of where it happens to be ingested.
At a moment's notice, an operator at either location can take operational control of the on-air broadcast. This sort of backup provides Televisa' s on-air signal with complete long-term protection.
TRANSITION WITHOUT DOWNTIME
The partnership between Televisa and Aveco has been very beneficial in allowing us to implement new playout and media management solutions without interruption. This has ranged from configuring Astra to control and manage media for two fully equipped master control rooms, to controlling a Prime Image Time Tailor system and improving management of our on-schedule broadcast. Astra has proven to be a reliable platform for playout and media management, and one that has not limited our ability to adapt to demanding changes.
Edgar Gallegos is automation manager at Televisa Canales and has held this position since 2004. He may be contacted at egalleg1@televisa.com.mx.
For additional information, contact Aveco at 503-616-0923 or visit aveco.com.
