Network solutions of company Avid for broadcasting and video production

By Victor Shpil’

Review contents:

Network solutions in TV production Network solutions of company Avid for broadcasting and video production Automation of broadcasting: DIP solutions Networking for live television production Solutions of the JC System Integration Company VSN — all in one Network disk arrays of company Maxtronic Network file-based broadcasting with On-Air Central Video server The tvSuite as the output module of system for organization of the off-the-air broadcasting built with application of network technologies Network solutions for program-making on the basis of Pinnacle Liquid systems Network production from Sony Network solutions Vectorbox

At conversion of broadcasting companies to nonlinear technologies in video production and broadcasting sooner or later there is a question of network integration. All the beginning the machines are connected by means of standard office network Ethernet, but a bit later there comes the understanding of this approach inefficiency.

The technology based on copying of video data on a network from one editing station to another, has a lot of essential disadvantages:

• Within group video tape editing of large project the videomaterial constantly should be copied from one computer to another computer;
• Disk space of editing stations is used inefficiently;
• Working hours of editors is distributed inefficiently;
• Video material digitization and editing should be made at the same editing station (in the case when the original material occupies tens of hours, it becomes especially critical);
• For realization of scheduled preventive maintenance of one of editing stations it is necessary to stop operation over the part of the project placed at this station.

In a case when all video data are on a uniform network disk array, all these lacks are eliminated. At first sight, the modern information technologies give a wide range of means for the company of an editing-broadcasting complex on the basis of a uniform disk array, however, before to make a final choice, it is necessary to define the most important points which should be taken into account at the solution of this problem. First of all, at a choice of the company-manufacturer for realization of the given task, it is necessary to think of protection of the investments. That is it should be the large stable company, recommending itself in the market for a long time. Undoubtedly such company in the field of professional nonlinear broadcast and edition equipment is Avid Company. Editing complexes Avid became some kind of the standard in the world of nonlinear technologies. In 1999 Avid Technology has put the first editing complex on the basis of uniform disk array Unity. To present day more than 2,000 of these systems have installed all over the world. Such wide experience of installations is not present from any integrators in this area. The knowledge received at realization of projects, allow to keep the strong leadership of the company.

Secret of success Avid is in initially competent statement of a problem under development of new systems. During acquaintance even with the simplest editing system Avid Xpress DV it becomes visible at once, that the problem was put by professionals of film-video-tape editing. The user interface is externally laconic and strict, but at the same time is thought over up to particulars. The database assumes at once an opportunity of collective work over the project. In one project there may be an unlimited number of sequences (edit assemblings). One sequence may be inserted into another. It is interesting that the database for systems of different price level and complexity has an uniform structure and is completely compatible from below upwards. Video fragments can not only be conveniently catalogued on different folders but also to attach them to sections of the text of the script of the future film. New editor, starting to work over the project already in working stage, it is not necessary to penetrate into structure of the input data at all. It is simply enough to open a window of the script, to find the necessary section of the text, to look and mark the fragments associated with it. It is possible to tell a long time about advantages of job with Avid systems, but within the margins of this article we should concentrate at operation with uniform disk arrays.

So, editing complexes Avid under operation with uniform disk arrays provide the following:

• Uniform user interface of the editing systems used in a broadcasting company, and full compatibility of the projects made at editing stations of different level;
• Operation of video editors in group over one project on a uniform disk array of projects in real time;
• Opportunity of insertion of one project on the time scale of another project;
• guaranteed data streams to the networks completely excluding an opportunity of the frame missing and de-synchronization of sound and picture;
• Database of scenes and the projects stored in the uniform disk array with convenient system of search and cataloguing;
• Opportunity of viewing of the information on scenes and their preliminary sectoring on office computers over common network 100 Mbit/sec;
• Opportunity to start the videomaterial editing, not waiting the finishing of digitization of the appropriate scene;
• Protection of the data of the project and mediafiles, reservation of video data from separate projects;
• Automatic monitoring of system status. Recording of events in system (loging);
• Opportunity of installation of various levels of access to the videomaterials and projects stored on the server;
• Simple and clear interface of the system administration, allowing in real time to redistribute the disk space between the projects which are taking place at present in work. The administration interface should be designed for the chief of editors group, instead of on the system programmer;
• Storage of media materials, not used at present for editing, on a server of operative archive. Transmission to operative archive and extraction of mediadata from it should occur by general mouse “dragging” of the appropriate icon from one window to another;
• Integration with broadcast video servers;
• Media data exchange with other networks of the broadcasting company;
• Opportunity of background code of media data in various media formats, integration with Internet applications.

For today the company delivers of the uniform disk arrays of two levels: Unity Lanshare EX and Unity Media Network.

Compact low-budget solution Unity Lanshare EX now allows to store up to 400 hours of video in DV25 format and provides simultaneous operation over this material by up to 20 single stream editing stations or up to 10 dual stream stations. Connection of disk array with users is realized over Gigabit Ethernet network. In case of need it is possible to connect up to six users with the system over Fiber Channel network. Lanshare EX is provided for operation with compressed signal. For operation without compression and/or with low compression it is more preferable to use Unity Media Network.

Unity Media Network is intended for use in great broadcasting companies. The system provides storage up to 1700 hours in DV25 format and an opportunity to operate with these media data from 60 editing stations (200 video streams DV25 simultaneously) in real time. In case of uncompressed SD-video files the operation of 14 dual-stream editing stations and accordingly 24 stations in case of 2:1 compression is provided.

Disk arrays of Avid system are provided by standard network and computer equipment. High efficiency and guaranteed streams of video data are provided due to the special software protected by several patents, and to the systems of correct configuration in each concrete case. New Disk arrays Avid Media Array ZX allow to replace the failed disk without stopping the whole system.

Nucleus of uniform Disk arrays is the system Avid File Manager. In the system of initial level Avid Lanshare EX it is installed directly on the disk array, and in systems Avid Unity Media Network — as a separate server. Open Media File System (OMFS) is used as the file system: this system have designed by Avid specially for video applications. It is compatible with platforms Windows, Mac and SGI and provides a protection against accidental or deliberate data failure, non-authorized access to the data, and also automatic four-fold redundancy reservation of database metadata of system File Manager. All operations are carried out in a mode of real time.

When the equipment is put into operation, its administration can be carried out by general PC user. All administrative functions are carried out through the interface Administration Tools. Here it is possible to install the different level of access to video materials and projects, dynamically redistribute the disk space between projects and users. Also the system is carried out the recording (logging) of all events (connection of the user, change of disk space).

Module Avid Media Manager is the server of database of the scenes and projects stored at uniform disc array, with convenient system of search and cataloguing. With the help of option Media Manager Select it is possible to carry out the viewing, preliminary sectoring of the videomaterial which is taking place on the uniform disc array, and even to create sequences at usual office computers. MediaManager also provides an opportunity to start the video material editing in 10 seconds after the beginning of digitization. It is can be realized due to fragmentation of digitizing video materials to the small files. Conformity of these files to any scene is provided with the database of system Media Manager. The editor of editing station or the assistant of user computer of Media Select system are operating not with files, but with a video scene in database, quietly move over it, place edit points, and at this time the scene duration is increased due to new files, to the given moment have been digitized to the system.

Module Avid Transfer Manager provides background moving of media data between different Unity and other Avid systems, and also systems of other companies. For example, the system allows to transfer the data from editing stations to broadcast video servers Avid AirSpase, Grass Valley Group Profile or Omneon with four-fold speed.

Module Avid Nearchive is the server of operative archiving. It is executed on the basis of the hardware of disk system Unity Lanshare EX. The system may store up to 400 hours of videomaterial of IMX format (or up to 800 hours in DV25 format). With help of Avid Transfer Manager the user may move the data from Unity and backwards by simple mouse dragging from one window to another. Moving of the data is took place over Fiber Channel network in background mode.

Module Avid Unity Pro EncodZH allows to carry out background transcoding of mediadata, stored on Unity, in formats Windows Media, Real Networks, QuickTime, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MP3, DV (25 and 50 Mbit/sec, Video for Windows (AVI), AIFF/AIFC, WAV, and also the line of other formats.

Option Avid Port Server allows to carry out the media data exchange over Gigabit Ethernet network with the editing and graphic stations which are not demanding the operation with the data on Unity in real time. Also it is possible to connect up to five new broadcast servers Avid AirSpeed.

Avid Company is the combination of the equipment manufacturer and the system integrator. During goal-setting of the task for new products the company is guided by opinion and life experience of tens of thousands of their users worldwide.

Uniform Disk arrays on the basis of Unity technology successfully operate at some Russian companies: “1 channel”, “Russia”, NTV, “Ren-TV”, TNT, “TV the Centre”, STO (Saint Petersburg), “Mosfilm”, Oren-TV, TC “Civilization”, “ProCinema”, “SMAK”, NTN (VGTRC, Novosibirsk), TC “Angara” (Irkutsk).

Material provided by Elogar Company