Crossings TV Selects Etere for Cloud Playout Expansion

Asian American television network, Crossings TV, makes the transition to Cloud Playout with Etere. The software-based solution proposed by Etere is able to meet dynamic workflow and channel requirements as the business evolves.

US-based Asian American television network, Crossings TV, has selected Etere to support the expansion of its playout network and transition to the cloud. The deployment will be based on the software-defined Etere Ecosystem platform. Etere provides an end-to-end Channel-in-a-Box and Ad Insertion solution with full IP/NDI/SDI (in and out) for multiple frames rates. It can be deployed on-premise or in the cloud, providing users with the best flexibility to pick the setup that works best for their business.

Headquartered in Sacramento, California, Crossings TV provides in-language news, information and entertainment programming for 7 Asian language groups in 7 Asian concentrated metropolitan areas across the United States. Etere provides the TV network with the flexibility to move to a cloud playout and add additional streams as needed. Not only that, the integrative framework of Etere Ecosystem ensures a seamless exchange of information and a real-time connectivity of all workflows. With Etere's customizable and automatic workflows, users like Crossings TV are empowered with the software tools to fulfil complex workflow requirements with fewer manual interventions.

Through a series of market analysis and evaluations, Crossings TV selected Etere Ecosystem for the range of advantages it brings. The integrated playout system ensures a seamless workflow across playout, scheduling, data movement, ad insertion and commercials planning modules. The project includes:

Etere ETX is a complete Channel-in-the-Box solution that integrates all the functionalities needed to launch a channel on-air, including cloud playout, subtitle management, ingest, automation, master control and interactive graphics. Etere ETX brings greater efficiencies with its easy deployment, operation and upgrades. With its benefits of greater flexibility, smaller footprint and fewer manual interventions needed, Etere has become a market-proven playout platform for broadcasters worldwide.

In addition, Etere ETX Time Delay allows operators to perform a delayed transmission while simultaneously ingesting media files. With its customizable transition time and duration of recordings, Etere ensures error-free live streams.

The projects includes the implementation of Etere Automation which provides Crossings TV with database-independent playout automation capabilities with the option to manage multiple levels of fault tolerance including Backup Mode, Master/Clone Mode and Disaster Recovery Mode, for a truly fault-resilient operation.

As a multi-channel network, Crossings TV will be equipped with Etere Ad Insertion for an easy management of its advertising insertions. Etere is designed to manage dynamic and targeted ad insertion requirements in any fast-moving environment. Running on either automatic or manual mode, it is able to handle real-time insertion of video clips, logos, CG graphics, graphics overlays and scrolling text in stored content and live content for an unlimited number of channels. Etere supports multiple platforms including satellite, terrestrial, cable and IP television.

Crossings TV is also equipped with Etere Airsales for an integrated management of all traffic, accounting and sales management-related operations. Etere Airsales manages the full spectrum of advertising sales activities including pre and post-sales activities, sales campaigns, customer relationship proposals, commercial planning, invoicing, account executive and agencies commissions. The integrative properties of Etere Ecosystem ensures that the information is seamlessly updated across all modules in the system.

Crossings TV users can access Etere Web for all core functionalities of the system, allowing them to drive their workflows from wherever they are, even while on the move. The mobile-optimized platform is ready to be used with smart devices including tablets, laptops and mobile phones.

A core module in the solution is Etere Media Asset Management (MAM). Etere MAM streamlines the complete processes of ingestion, metadata indexing, transcoding, storage and retrieval of media assets for the distribution and re-purposing of content. Etere MAM is accessible on both the PC application and web interface. It integrates seamlessly across all system processes and devices to provide a real-time control and visibility. In addition, the easy search and retrieve features makes it perfectly accessible for all your content creation and distribution needs. The integrated Etere Transcoder also provides a flexible workflow action that able to decode, encode, transcode, mux, demux and filter almost any media used in the broadcast industry. Etere users can also tap on Etere Active Sync to create or update links between video files and assets present within the database, through an automated process.

Etere T-Workflow provides a perfect orchestration of tasks, procedures and action items across the end-to-end workflow. Completely customizable to match media needs, Etere T-Workflow offers redundant engines and paths to provide 24/7 reliability, auto-failover, configurable high-priority processing and distributed control to ensure no single point of failure. From the T-Workflow designer tool, users can created unlimited automated workflows with custom rules. With the integrated workflow monitor and real-time notifications, T-Workflow enables users to manage complex broadcasting procedures with lower costs and fewer manual interventions. Based on customizable workflows, Etere Media Manager manages the transfer, duplication and movement of digital content across systems. In addition, for the import and export of data between SQL databases, Etere F90 enables automatic and manual processes that ensures data integrity and accuracy.

Etere Resource Management empowers broadcasters with real-time agenda and task manager for an enhanced collaboration across cross-functional departments. With Etere, Crossings TV users can track, log, approve tasks and appointments from a centralized console with real-time updates, paving the way for greater operational efficiencies.

To manage programming, Etere Executive Scheduling provides a fast and easy tool for the strategic pre-planning of schedules and accurate synchronizations of last-minutes changes. Operators can plan and schedule their TV programming on a daily, weekly or long-term basis. Not only that, the integrated enterprise framework automatically synchronizes planned schedules with the associated licensed content, contractual commercials, imported materials and regional ad insertions.

For the management, update and monitoring of schedules across multiple channels, Etere Multichannel Editor provides fast access for the insertion, edit, update and monitoring of secondary events in the playlist. The operator can manage the daily schedule, insert events, move events, delete events, publish changes to the automation schedule and preview the events instantly directly from the Executive Editor interface. Subsequently, Etere Proxy Browsing enables the browsing, selection and editing of any clip with secondary events. For professional video and audio monitoring, browsing and playback, Broadcast Quality Player provides up to 4K resolution and dual monitor capabilities on the same interface, all without switching of screens.

Etere SNMP Console also provides Crossings TV with an easy monitoring and management of all processes, infrastructure performance and devices from a single dashboard. In addition, Etere SNMP Console is able to receive SNMP messages sent by other non-Etere applications or devices such as network switches, routers, and firewalls. The software tool detects missing heartbeats and sends both a visual-alarm and a real-time e-mail notification to the operations department. Etere makes it easy to monitor and optimize the infrastructure performance and availability of a system.

Whether you’re planning an infrastructure refresh or making the transition from SDI to IP or the cloud, Etere is ready to empower you for the future of broadcast.