Introduction Moving a busy Broadcast Centre is not an easy task: choosing a new location and engaging an architect with a building design you like are only the first steps. The technical move alone requires years of detailed planning if you are to remain On Air throughout the process. So when e.tv made the decision to move from their Longkloof studios to a new purpose-built facility, they looked to their UK-based systems integration partner Megahertz Ltd. to help them plan and manage the relocation and undertake the technical fit-out. e.tv is the first free to air commercial TV station in South Africa and currently transmits 8 TV Channels via both terrestrial and satellite. It started life in 1998 broadcasting from its Longkloof studios in Cape Town where it remained until November 2015 when, in just over a single weekend, services were relocated to e.tv s new broadcast centre at Roeland Park, with Axon modular infrastructure and control and monitoring at its heart. The Solution Signal Processing Planning for the move began in 2013. The first task for Dave Stewart, e.tv s Group Chief Engineer and project leader and Don Wilson, Systems Engineering Manager from Megahertz was to examine the existing ingest, editing, graphics, newsroom and three production studios to identify what equipment should to be reutilized in the new facility and how moving this equipment could be achieved without causing disruption to operations. Another aim of the move was an upgrade to HD so any equipment that was not already HD-capable would need to be replaced or upgraded. Some equipment choices for the new build were straightforward, either because of the workflow already established at e.tv or because of existing relationships with manufacturers. However, the broadcaster was not satisfied with some areas of its existing workflow so the move to a green field site allowed Megahertz to take a fresh look at both practices and suppliers to explore what could be done to improve them. Following the review stage Megahertz had a couple of months to put together their suggestions and present them to e.tv. The outcome was a phased approach with migration of existing systems and the testing of new platforms. Certain systems, such as existing Omneon servers, could be moved in stages. By borrowing the standby servers, moving them into the new building and later migrating the main servers from the old building to become the standby servers for the new facility ensured that a smooth changeover could be achieved. Where new equipment such as routers were required, these were purchased early on to allow for onsite testing. With e.tv requiring a completely new core infrastructure in place to facilitate the move and build their new workflows upon, the choice of modular infrastructure was just as important as the big ticket items. Modular infrastructure manages many of the important processes within a facility so the chosen vendor had to offer all the key elements of video and audio processing needed to glue the entire system together plus offer easy installation and operation with a high degree of reliability. Axon Synapse frames in the C.A.R. May 2016 2
Taking control of live transmission with SynMC One of the key design challenges presented to Megahertz was to review and improve the environment and operation of the Final Control Centre (FCC). e.tv s preference for transmission of live events is to have an operator take control of the channel and manage it during the live portion. At the Longkloof studios, channel operators worked in lightly partitioned cubicles within the main FCC, however this was not felt to be an ideal working environment. Another consideration for the design of the transmission chains was e.tv s rate of growth. The broadcaster required a transmission system that could be quickly and easily expanded to provide additional channels as they came on stream. With this in mind Megahertz proposed a new design for the new Broadcast Centre whereby the main FCC desk would become the hub of operations surrounded by a group of six booths separated by glass walls. This layout provides a more suitable working environment for the operators to monitor and control live transmissions, away from the hustle and bustle of the main FCC, whilst allowing them visual contact with the Tx controllers. Our search for solutions to meet the needs of the new FCC began in earnest at IBC 2013, explains Don Wilson. SynMC Master Controller interface Being modular SynMC also takes up little space and it is possible to have up to 18 channels installed into a single Synapse frame. The hardware panel communicates with the channel cards, router and any automation via Ethernet. The system offers flexible license upgrades to enable DVE or V/O s functions and add on cards such as a Keyer or Logo can be included to expand the channels capabilities. The initial plan was to equip four of the six booths for operations, the remaining two booths being pre- wired ready to equip for service as channel count increased. SynMC s modular approach meant that Megahertz could plan for expansion by pre-installing a single frame that could later be populated with cards to bring a new channel online simply and easily without causing disruption to the existing services. FCC at e.tv showing router control panels and multiviewers Axon s Synapse infrastructure and SynMC Master Controller system immediately came to the fore. Its modular nature would make it easy for us to add new channels in the future and it includes a hardware master controller panel capable of accessing any of e.tv s channels on an ad hoc basis. Using a hardware or software panel SynMC allows the operator to take control and set transitions for the Vision, Programme Sound, Voiceover and graphics needed to run a live broadcast. One of the booths surrounding the FCC used for control of live events. One specific issue for e.tv is the number of logos required when broadcasting in South Africa. Not only is there a bug for the station ident but by law there are up to 12 potential logos for content rating, any of which might need to be displayed simultaneously. The combination of logos filled up the amount of presets in the image store. So in the space of a few weeks Axon increased the May 2016 3
amount of presets in the SynMC to accommodate this specific need. We were really encouraged by Axon s willingness to develop custom features that would provide e.tv with a system that precisely met their workflow requirements, says Don Wilson. Their product team s openness and collaborative approach was a deciding factor in choosing Synapse and SynMC for this project. Dave Stewart continues Axon s Synapse range of modular infrastructure is highly regarded worldwide and I was immediately impressed by the build quality and scope of the system. Loudness control was a particularly hot topic for Dave and the ability to buy a card populated with processing from his preferred supplier, Jünger Audio, and control the audio within the embedded domain was a big bonus as all audio in the new build would be transported embedded. Another feature of Synapse that found favour with the team was the SynCross router, a cardbased router system that can be co-located into the same frame as a Multi-viewer. This architecture offered the team considerable flexibility when designing the production studio galleries. Cerebrum delivers 360 view of operations Possibly one of the most important features that Megahertz wanted to bring to this build and a first for e.tv in Cape Town was the use of a powerful station-wide monitoring and control system from which the broadcaster could centrally manage its resources around the building. The systems integrator wanted a system that could automatically populate multi-viewers, UMD s and route signals as and when resources were allocated. It also needed to efficiently raise the alarm to e.tv s engineers should anything in the system present an error so that issues could be resolved quickly. With Cerebrum, Axon ticked every box, concludes Don Wilson. Cerebrum, Axon s monitoring and control software platform was an obvious candidate for this, not only because it could talk to all of the Axon infrastructure but more importantly because it is manufacturer agnostic, an aspect that was essential for the e.tv build as equipment would be used from a wide range of vendors. Cerebrum enables both monitoring and control of any equipment that supports a 3 rd party interface. This can be an API, a driver written by Axon or Simple Network Management Protocol as used by numerous vendors for monitoring and optionally control of equipment. Information is presented to the operator in a highly graphical manner for ease of use, for example an active display representing the racks in a CAR or as a graphical representation of the programme chain that uses colour to show status. Megahertz particularly liked Cerebrum s Routemaster feature, a sophisticated router control system. Routemaster directly controls the GV NVision routers chosen for the project meaning a route can be made from any control surface around the facility on either the Main or Transmission routers and the appropriate tally or UMD shown. Once in place the task of getting everything to talk began. The Pebble Beach automation needed to talk with Axon s SynMC Master Controllers as well as the GV NVision routers. As with all complex integration projects, there were some initial problems but all manufacturers worked together with Megahertz to resolve any issues and things were quickly up and running. The last stage of the build was to create a series of custom Cerebrum forms (panels) to monitor the station. Having gained a deep understanding of the broadcaster s workflow and daily operations over the course the project, Megahertz s Senior Engineer Chris Harwood was able to research and review the visual templates that Cerebrum offers to find the best approach for e.tv. May 2016 4
Monitoring screen showing a representation of e.tv s Tx chain. Working closely with Axon s Product Manager for Cerebrum, he selected forms that visually represent the e.tv system as racks of equipment. These are displayed on two 55 inch monitors in the Workshop and provide a central monitoring point where the duty engineer can switch between forms and monitor anything on the system. They can inspect transmission and in the event of an alarm drill down using the graphic displays to locate and resolve a fault. The faulty equipment is highlighted by a red surround that flashes and by clicking on the graphic (for example a server, a video player or a piece of equipment showing a temperature warning) the operator can bring up the equipment s direct control screen and effect any changes necessary. The system can also be shown as a complete broadcast chain, again using colour to indicate its status (Green = Good, Amber = Warning, Red = Alarm). A formula for success: Technology & People After years of detailed planning, e.tv relocated to its new facilities in the course of just a single weekend and has now been on-air 24 hours a day, seven days a week without technical problems. This impressively smooth transition to both a new facility and HD operations was the result of expert systems integration and project management by e.tv and Megahertz with intense cooperation between all parties involved. e.tv had to have absolute confidence in their systems integrator and Megahertz, in turn, had to have implicit trust in the manufacturers they chose to work with to respond and deliver - particularly in building the core infrastructure. Axon is renowned for the quality and scalability of its infrastructure and control and monitoring solutions but it s the team s ability and willingness to work closely with Systems Integrators and broadcasters that sets it apart. From day-to-day technical support to the development of custom features to build bridges in workflows, Axon is a powerful and reliable ally when it comes to successfully integrating complex systems and projects. Over the course of e.tv s relocation we have a developed a close working relationship with Axon, unlike those we have with other manufacturers, says Don Wilson. It s been a true partnership of support and collaboration. The team s responsiveness, their technical expertise and ability to get the job done has been crucial to this project s success. Synapse frames at etv s new Broadcast Centre Dave Stewart concludes, I am impressed with both Axon s technology, its approach and its people. They understood our requirements and have delivered without exception. With Axon providing our standardised de facto infrastructure, I have confidence in e.tv s operations and our ability to expand in the future. May 2016 5