Tapeless Reception: An Extension For Automated Transfers

08 July 2016

Etere Tapeless Reception takes full advantage of a tapeless environment to eliminate the need of creating physical copies, entrusting valuable material to private couriers, risking of excessive waiting times; thus by enabling contents to be sent digitally (i.e. without using magnetic tapes) via internet, bringing a shorter delivery time than this required by a common consignment of magnetic tapes.

For more information, please refer to the attachment.

Introduction
Etere Tapeless Reception is the efficient and secure solution provided by Etere for all those companies which receives digital contents from external sources (e.g. production companies, advertising agencies, etc.); it allows them to implement a web service-based portal framework for remote content reception, where digital files and metadata can be received under a fully monitored system integrated with post-delivery workflows.

Etere Tapeless Reception allows the integration of NLE systems (e.g. FCP, Avid, Edius, etc.) and other file-based sources within the station’s archive, this web-based solution is based on the latest streaming technologies for video distribution and it supports all major browsers including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari; thus ensuring the reliability and quality of the service.

Etere Tapeless Reception takes full advantage of a tapeless environment to eliminate the need of creating physical copies, entrusting valuable material to private couriers, risking of excessive waiting times; thus by enabling contents to be sent digitally (i.e. without using magnetic tapes) via internet, bringing a shorter delivery time than this required by a common consignment of magnetic tapes.

Currently, remote users access the Etere Tapeless Reception after authenticating their credentials into the system database, then, they will be allowed to view the assets that the station has requested for delivery as well as compiling the asset’s metadata and uploading the requested file into a server selected by the user among a list of available servers. Once uploaded, a workflow defined by the station is automatically triggered to, for example, check files for viruses, transcode files, generate a proxy version, etc.

This paper describes a required extension for the Etere Tapeless Reception consisting in the implementation of the capability of automatically assigning upload servers with a temporary validity to web users authenticated into Microsoft ® Exchange ActiveSync® domain of the station. Moreover, there will be also explained how this extension will permit to increase the security and quality of the web service and the overall system.

Overall Solution
The web service must be an extension of the existing Etere Tapeless Reception, it should allow to automatically provide authenticated users (e.g. editing, producers, agencies, etc.) with all the information necessary for transferring a file to the station, including also all its related metadata. As shown in the figure below, once a web user has been authenticated into the Active Directory domain of the station, the user will be allowed to quickly and safely perform any of the following operations:

2.1 New Delivery
This section will allow users to request the information necessary to upload files into the web server. Once requested, the web server will automatically provide the following information:

2.2 Send media
Once the user has requested and received the information required for sending the file, it will be possible to deliver the file according to what is specified by the station.

It is important to note that in case the time validity of the provided information has expired, the user will have to request it again.

2.3 Add metadata
Once a file is delivered to the station, a dedicated section will allow the user to compile all the metadata related to the sent asset, this metadata must meet the standards defined by the station
(e.g. EGTA/EBU format).

2.4 View history
Finally, a history section will allow users checking the status of their delivery operations as well as consulting a historical report of all the assets delivered within a certain period.

3. KEY BENEFITS
This paper has described the extension of the Etere Tapeless Reception service to automate the assignment of upload servers and introduce active directory as the service authentication method, these improvements will result in a large number of operational benefits and advantages condensed in the following points:
■ Integration, Non-linear editing systems as well as any file-based system can transfer content to the station’s digital archive through a highly secure and friendly web service
■ Reliability, workflow-based operations performed before and after the upload process permit to increase not only the system security but also its overall productivity
■ Flexibility, authentication credentials can be periodically changed by the station for security reasons
■ Scalability: upload servers can be added to the web service without altering the system design or its functioning
■ Distribution: the station can rely its content acquisition on any user worldwide with internet access; the tapeless reception will turn them into secure content deliverers
■ Accuracy: received content and metadata are checked with the maximum of accuracy to reduce the risk of mistakes, whether after the delivery and in a periodical basis
■ Security, all web users will be required to authenticate them into the station’s active directory domain, thus reinforcing and reassuring the service security