TBS, Turner Broadcasting’s U.S. comedy channel, is now being played out using Pro-Bel’s Morpheus automation system. The April switchover added approximately 100 million U.S. homes, which are subscribing to TBS East, TBS West and TBS in HD, to the number receiving their service via Morpheus. They join an already extensive list of Turner channels running on Morpheus including TNT East/West/HD, WPCH-Peachtree TV, TCM, TCM Canada, Boomerang and, most recently, the Cartoon Network.
One new benefit of Morpheus that Turner is making extensive use of is its ability to work seamlessly with Omneon’s audio track tagging functionality. This means assets can be archived with properly tagged audio tracks, and it allows multiple audio streams (different languages, for example) to be associated with a single video asset. Audio tagging allows Turner to eliminate downstream audio routing gear use the same asset for both domestic and international networks and have Morpheus control the primary language being broadcast at the time of decode, based on the network. The multiple languages are archived using the MXF format, a recommended practice driven by the network’s need to streamline multilingual operations across its global sites.
The broadcaster is also making extensive use of Media Ball, the secondary events management technology that sits at the heart of Morpheus. This allows the creation of complicated and compounded secondary events for indefinite reuse. Turner was limited to four secondary events with its legacy automation; Morpheus is essentially unlimited.
Fourteen channels are now on the air with Morpheus in Atlanta. Meanwhile, there are 26 Turner channels on the air with Morpheus in Buenos Aires, and in London, Turner is broadcasting some 24 channels.
For more information, visit www.pro-bel.com.
