Mediatec Broadcast of Oslo has integrated Snell’s Morpheus automation system with EVS’ production and playout servers to achieve rapid turnaround and playout of live and near-live sports coverage on Norway's Viasat Sport and Viasat Football channels, as well as the recently relaunched Rikstoto Direkte, a 24-hour channel for the Norwegian horseracing federation. With its flexible control features and its ability to play out directly from EVS XT[2] servers, Morpheus enables Mediatec staff to make a clip, turn it around and play it to air in seconds. Oslo-based broadcast systems supplier Video 4 provided the Snell systems for both installations.
"Many broadcast facilities use Snell's Morpheus automation system, but no one uses it the way we do, integrated with EVS production and playout servers to enable an extremely fast workflow," said Arne Stenstadvold, technical operations manager at Mediatec Broadcast. "Our primary goal as we built this transmission system was to achieve a much higher degree of automation for Viasat channel playout. We had seen the Snell automation system in use for other premium sports channels, and we knew from additional research that it provided the type of operation we wanted. Though it had never before been integrated with EVS servers in this application, it worked just as we intended, providing a fast, flexible and cost-effective transmission system."
Working closely with Snell, EVS and Video 4, Mediatec created a platform tailored to the demands of fast-turnaround productions. Built specifically to support transmission of Norway's two Viasat sports channels, the Mediatec transmission platform incorporates Morpheus automation along with EVS production and playout servers and Final Cut Server. Morpheus incorporates a raft of powerful capabilities, supporting changes to the schedule seconds before air and even allowing direct, manual intervention live on-air, including events that are also being recorded.
Connected to a 20TB Apple Xsan system with Final Cut Server, EVS’ XT[2] servers handle all ingest and playout requirements for both Viasat channels. Ingest control, metadata management and production content management for 10 recording inputs are executed through EVS IPDirector software integrated with Snell's Morpheus applications. All material cleared for transmission is managed by Morpheus, which controls 24/7 playout under the control of just one operator. For more complex live broadcasts, Mediatec simply adds a second technician.
