Fission HDCore Management Module

The Management Module is Fission HDCore’s logical and administrative backbone. It provides the necessary tools to create, administrate, and audit the media and metadata profiles which constitute the basis for any broadcaster’s workflow.

There are specific profiles for each version of promotional material, advertisement content and programs, such as the corresponding episodes of a TV series or even different versions of a movie. Preceding media files availability, profiles can be created manually or automatically from a traffic system’s log. Metadata which is unlinked to media files create content retrieval tasks that can be executed from the Ingest Module and progressively a daily log becomes a fully playable playlist.

In order to ensure the least human intervention while on air, the Management Module provides detailed media validation functionality, plus all the off-the-air tools found in the Playout Module so that the resulting playlist is as automated as possible.

Finally, the ingest and playout operations can be monitored realtime using the Management Module customizable reporting tools, linking the users to each one of the executed tasks.

Media management

A channel is the main logical entity within Fission, and it defines the output format for the Fission HDCore Playout Module. There is no restriction around the number of channels a Fission HDCore System manages, so it is tailored to each broadcaster unique needs.

Media is divided into different profiles depending on their use such as commercials, promos, graphics, audiovisual overlays, and programs with their respective episodes. Their format is based on the channel output configuration and cross-scaling settings. This allows the different modules within the system to process just the required media and data.

Program management

Programs represent media such as movies and TV series that can be easily managed. A set of episodes or movie versions, based on length or censorship restrictions, are grouped as Program Profiles. Each of these versions can be virtually broken down to represent the segments that will be aired by Fission’s Playout Module. Fission Templates can be assigned to specific Program Profiles in order to simplify external device automation routines.

Log editing

The Management Module serves as the interface between traffic and a Fission HDCore system. All the profiles and the playlist are generated from this interaction. In order to modify these playlists, the Management Module has all the editing functionality available in the Playout Module to prepare complex compositing layouts, set external device events, rearrange audiovisual elements, and even trim edit media while off the air. In order to prevent last minute missing or inconsistent media problems, the playlist can be thoroughly validated using built-in media verification tools.

Storage management

Unlike typical automation solutions Fission HDCore is designed to provide a wide range of functionality depending on the storage configuration. File distribution may impact those which require last minute content availability. For these particular cases, Fission HDCore can be configured using a centralized storage solution. The media is streamed from it even in extreme cases, such as the playback of time-differed live recording sessions. In these scenarios there is no time for file distribution processes inherent to limited local-cached storage configurations, especially if the recording is still in progress. For these cases the local storage could be used as a daily or weekly backup using the mirroring tools available in the Management Module. By selecting a log and defining the target disk share, all the related media is copied to this local cache, including the audiovisual media, graphic and audio files.

For broadcast operations where planning ahead of time is possible, a locally stored cache model can be implemented, storing hundreds of hours of content. In this case, ingest servers or near-online centralized storage serve as near online repositories. The same tools are used to progressively cache the content to the local storage of the servers for immediate playback.

This distributed network structure allows the back to back playback of media files from different storage locations, defined by a global sequential list of networked or local sources that can be edited at any time from the Management Module.

Media which is not linked to a profile can be easily identified, allowing its incorporation or removal from the system, using bulk processing tools. This simplifies media purging and storage maintenance without jeopardizing the playout operations.

User Administration

Due to the sensitive nature of tasks involved in broadcaster’s operations, there is a need for user profiles within the system. This approach defines responsibilities and system access, which are the basis for detailed ingest and playout activity reports.