wTVision launches a fully hosted cloud playout system with the support of Ateme

Based on Amazon Web Services Infrastructure, ChannelMaker-in-the-Cloud will open up a complete new range of possibilities for broadcasters worldwide.

wTVision, in partnership with Ateme, has just demonstrated a fully hosted cloud playout system, based on Amazon Web Services Infrastructure. ChannelMaker-in-the-Cloud is based on the latest version of wTVision’s playout automation solution and will open up a complete new range of possibilities for broadcasters worldwide.

This setup takes a live contribution from local facilities, encodes it with Ateme’s Kyrion CM5000 and streams the content, as a live input source, to ChannelMaker-in-the-Cloud, which is entirely hosted in Amazon Web Services. ChannelMaker sequences and plays out clips previously uploaded to Amazon Simple Storage Service, mixing them with state of the art 3D graphics overlays and encoding everything to an output stream that is sent to a channel distribution center and decoded via the Kyrion DR5000 where it follows a traditional path towards distribution. DR5000 can receive feeds from two IP sources (besides 4xRF inputs and 2xASI inputs), allowing the system to automatically switch to the backup in case of failure of the data transmission.

The successful tests showcased the power of wTVision’s mixed environment tools where local station media can be automatically detected by wTVision’s Media Agent and uploaded to Amazon without user intervention, making it immediately available for sequencing.

A cloud version of wTVision Media Manager, that allows the sequencing of media that may still not be available in the cloud but is present at a local facility, is also part of the setup. When this happens, ChannelMaker-in-the-Cloud automatically requests missing media and locally installed media agents will transfer the required clips in time for playout. wTVision is focused on transitioning traditional workflows to the cloud in a painless process.

Reliable infrastructure

“This cloud based solution is the next step in the broadcasters’ ability to offload technical complexity. They can now do away with high investment architectures and shift to a proven platform, that is hosted in a highly available and highly reliable infrastructure, creating a cloud extension to existing business or start off on the right foot with a focus on content”, states Alex Fraser, CTO and founding partner of wTVision.

The innovative system was successfully tested for the first time in December and will be presented to the public at NAB Show, to take place in Las Vegas, from the 22nd to the 27th of April. The flexibility of ChannelMaker, that allows broadcasters to easily create, optimize or expand a TV channel, will now enter a new phase in which portability will be key.

“Ateme has always been committed to offering best-in-class encoding solutions to many broadcasters for whom video quality matters. We have been looking for and have been available to innovative partners and projects. wTVision playout in the cloud solution is part of an innovative partnership strategy to propose broadcasters a disruptive, flexible and efficient solution while keeping the best video quality possible”, commented Vincent Pedregno, sales manager for southern Europe at Ateme.

ChannelMaker can be delivered either as a channel-in-a-box, a multi-system solution or an advertising insertion tool and can be fully customized to any specific requirements. As an automation system for scheduling and video & graphics playout, ChannelMaker stands side by side with other operational processes and wTVision has a suite of support solutions that assure a flawless workflow of any TV channel for ingest, traffic and storage, media asset management, and much more.