How ABS Broadcast moved to a software-based playout system with help from Cinegy.
By Contributor
Published: December 3, 2020
How ABS Broadcast moved to a software-based playout system with help from Cinegy.
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> How ABS Broadcast moved to a software-based playout system with help from Cinegy.
https://www.tvbeurope.com/media-management/case-study-abs-broadcast-realises-its-vision-with-cinegy title=Share via Email class=share-email>
Playout providers today have to be flexible in delivering huge amounts of content in multiple formats to various broadcast platforms, to online and mobile streaming and to catch-up and VoD services. These modern demands are completely unsuited to the traditional playout architecture of hardware devices from one set of vendors, controlled by software from another.
One of the first playout providers to recognise that the solution lay in radically different thinking was ABS Broadcast. It is one of Europe's largest independently owned television services facilities, based in West London, UK.
ABS set about creating the ABSolute platform. Developed in-house, this comprehensive broadcast management system covers everything from scheduling to EPG, metadata to asset management, linear playout and online services.
Central to the development of the ABSolute system was the realisation that it needed a completely new architecture to underpin it. This latest design had to be completely flexible, capable of reacting instantly to new workflows and content flows determined from the management layer. Traditional technology could not do this: it had to be a suite of software modules which could be connected to meet each changing need.
While a number of vendors were looking at software-defined architectures, the idea of linking each module using computer connectivity - IP - was very much in its infancy. Luckily, ABS Broadcast discovered Cinegy.
Cinegy adopted and exploited IP long before it was fashionable, says Mukund Patel, ABS's head of technology. In my view, everyone else is still playing catch-up.
The Challenge ABS's business was growing rapidly, and continues to do so. Conventional architectures were hitting the limits: there was no physical space to add more hardware, no more power to drive it, no more air conditioning to cool it. Extending capabilities with traditional devices often involved developing and testing new interfaces between products from different vendors, which was also a drain on resources.
In a nutshell, ABS Broadcast had a lot of boxes that it no longer needed, and needed a lot of different boxes that it really did not want. The solution was obvious: create the functionality in software, running on standardised hardware that could change roles in the click of a mouse.
The Cinegy Solution The modular nature of the Cinegy playout solution allowed ABS to realise their new approach to content delivery. In discussion with Cinegy, they found that it could do everything they wanted, and much more.
As part of ABS Braodcast's facility wide upgrade known as GEN5 (ABS's fifth generation Playout facility), ABS installed the Cinegy Air Pro software modules. This provides all the key functionality the facility needed:
Playout - Cinegy Air Pro controls multiple channels, from scheduling and traffic to final delivery. Working with the asset management elements of the system it automatically tracks media, metadata, placeholders and graphics elements.
In the original implementation Cinegy Air Pro played out 10 channels. In three years, this grew to 70 channels, and there is still scope for almost unlimited expansion.
Asset Management - Cinegy Archive provides comprehensive asset management, tracking and connecting material across multiple storage platforms. One of the advantages of the Cinegy approach is that users are free to choose the storage devices, provided they meet the recommended performance criteria. ABS currently manages close to a petabyte of video material through Cinegy Archive.
ABS has installed five Cinegy Desktop clients for asset management and conversion control. Most of the actions on the content store, though, are automated through the scheduling and playout applications, which locate, verify and transfer media as it is needed.
File Conversion - one of the biggest operational challenges for the modern playout centre is conversion between the multiple file formats in use today. Cinegy Convert automates ingest and export formatting, including metadata management, audio shuffling and other tasks, based on templates developed by ABS. This allows operators to largely forget about file formats, confident that the material in the archive will be accessible, and deliveries to other service providers will be in the right format, accompanied by the right soundtracks, subtitle files, and EPG and database metadata.
Graphics - Cinegy Titler provides real-time graphics and branding within Cinegy Air Pro. It enables ABS to programme multiple layers of titles, logos and animated graphics, drawing information through the integration with ABSolute BMS where appropriate, and ensuring a premium experience for the viewer.
Multiviewer - one of the unexpected benefits discovered by ABS was the ability to integrate multiviewers into the software-defined environment. As a content delivery facility, ABS needs to be certain that all media is correct and of the expected quality. For this reason, individual channels may appear twice on multiviewer screens: once as leaving the facility, and again as an off-air return feed to provide a comparison. With redundant feeds also monitored, there are now well over 100 tiles in the master control multiviewers.
Allied to the quality issue is the ability for Cinegy Multiviewer to alert client companies to any errors or failures that sho
Most recent headlines
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
09/05/2025
Wooden Camera, a leading innovator in camera accessories, is proud to announce the launch of a new line of products for the Blackmagic URSA Cine Cameras. These ...
09/05/2025
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions is expanding its popular Series 5000 platform with three new 12G-SDI cards. The new cards provide ...
09/05/2025
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, has completed a project to migrate ON TV, the major independent broadcaste...
09/05/2025
NUGEN Audio launches its new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck. A mono, stereo and multichannel dialog clarity meter, the software provides an objecti...
09/05/2025
Disguise the technology platform and solutions provider that powered MDL Beast Soundstorm 2024, Dubai Expo's Al Wasl Dome and visual displays at the Burj ...
09/05/2025
CVP has announced it will demonstrate its cutting-edge broadcast, live production and studio solutions at MPTS 2025. Taking place at Olympia London from 14th - ...
09/05/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, and White Peaks Solutions, the prominent e...
09/05/2025
SportsEngine Play, the first-of-its-kind streaming service for youth sports, has agreed to a multi-year extension with AI-automated sports content leader, Pixel...
09/05/2025
Friend MTS, a leading global provider of content protection services, today announced that TOD, the premier sports and entertainment OTT subscription service fo...
09/05/2025
ZEISS announces that it is in development on a new virtual lens technology that will allow visual effects and compositing artists to apply an authentic lens loo...
09/05/2025
At the 2025 Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), Cerberus Tech will showcase the latest major enhancement to its Livelink IP video delivery platform the...
09/05/2025
Capitol Broadcasting Company welcomed Warren Thomas as the new Vice President an...
09/05/2025
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Studio Technologies said the Harvard University athletics department has integrated Dante-enabled equipment from the vendor into its broadcast ...
09/05/2025
NEW YORK ITN, a provider of a local linear supply side platform, and Magnite, a independent sell-side advertising company, have announced that they working toge...
09/05/2025
LEEDS, U.K. Nugen Audio has launched a new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck and offered up quotes from technologists working at places like Netflix p...
09/05/2025
AJA I/O Gear: The Heart of Broadcast Solutions' VEGO Mobile Editing Solution
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
When working remotely on broadcas...
09/05/2025
What do they teach in an Advanced Adobe After Effects Course?
Roland Kahlenberg May 8, 2025
0 Comments
There aren't many advanced After Effects co...
09/05/2025
Larry Jordan Sits with Trevor Morgan of OpenDrives at NAB 2025
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
Trevor Morgan, COO of OpenDrives, shares how the co...
09/05/2025
Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates For the first time, BPMI will bring Berklee-affiliated artists and students to the ...
09/05/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
In the season finale of The Late Late Show, ...
09/05/2025
My Eurovision Party 2025 - join in on the fun with RT Kids!
Eurovision launche...
08/05/2025
A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother's Skin, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo co...
08/05/2025
As expected, continued weak demand from key sales markets and declining economic...
08/05/2025
A new three-part series is coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One
(Image: The Christie Archive Trust)
The BBC has announced Agatha Christie's Endless Night, a...
08/05/2025
For skyward-bound operators, training focuses on the unique aspects of flying ISR missions, including the management of onboard surveillance equipment and the e...
08/05/2025
The cable industry has told the Federal Communications Commission it supports the National Association of Broadcasters' proposal to allow broadcasters to us...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Consumer Technology Association has continued its opposition to mandates requiring that NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 tuners be included in new TV sets, sa...
08/05/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real time visualization, has named Paul Maroni as Vice Pres...
08/05/2025
This year's UK Pavilion in hall 5, once again managed by Tradefair, will provide visitors with the unique opportunity to discuss and be involved in cutting ...
08/05/2025
Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its latest energy-efficient transmitters and 5G Broadcast technologies, designed to support network operators and content provider...
08/05/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group has tapped Bill Nardi as vice president of station operations, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day broadcast operations ...
08/05/2025
SEATTLE LumaTouch is partnering with CNN Academy to improve mobile storytelling techniques and support training across all of CNN Academy's training simulat...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Society of Broadcast Engineers has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission that support a proposal by the National Association ...
08/05/2025
Senior adviser to the United States Agency for Global Media Kari Lake has announced that One America News Network (OAN) will provide newsfeed services for fre...
08/05/2025
EdMon Expands as AI-Driven Post Production Workflows Gains Traction in Sweden an...
08/05/2025
Using Luma Mattes in Adobe Premiere Pro
Graham Quince May 7, 2025
0 Comments
This very quick tutorial shows you how to take an RGB clip and apply its ...
08/05/2025
OpenDrives Unveils Free Your Data' Initiative with New Astraeus Cloud-Nativ...
08/05/2025
Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan The Armenian composer, who was named Boston Conservatory at Berklees 2025 student commencement speaker, talks about his ...
08/05/2025
08 May 2025
VEON Shareholders Re-elect Board at 2025 AGM, Founder Augie Fabela ...
08/05/2025
Comedy and entertainment channel U&Dave bring back their #1 ranked programme of ...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils New Premieres Spanning Film and Music
Slick Rick's Victory with Idris Elba a...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Announces Lineup for Inaugural Storytelling Summit
11-Day Industry Event Launches with Tal...
08/05/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Vizrt's Nicholas Jameson on AI in Workflows, Pushing Boundarie...
08/05/2025
Creating Alternative Brand Experiences: Live Sports in the Age of Fortnite, Meta...
08/05/2025
PGA TOUR's David Piccolo: Advanced Graphics and Virtual Production Tools are...
08/05/2025
Tech Focus: Advancing Immersion in Sports Broadcasting with AR and Virtual Produ...
08/05/2025
Expect even more chaos this July with Harriet Webb leading the returning cast, p...
08/05/2025
Back to All News
Now in Production: Comedy Action Film Husbands in Action'...
How ABS Broadcast moved to a software-based playout system with help from Cinegy.
