Challenging The Cloud with Linear TV Workflows

Like many powerful technologies, the list of benefits from moving to the cloud is long and varied. It starts with the familiar cries of scalability, flexibility and cost reduction but continues with advantages that not all companies need such as moving to remote production workflows or reduced time to market. The total list may be more than 20 entries long and to newcomers can seem vague and overwhelming. As an open and honest partner, it’s our role at Techex to ensure everyone we work with understands exactly how they will benefit and, most importantly, the ways in which they won’t.

Relying on the cloud for revenue protection

As an industry, we talk a lot about “business continuity” or “disaster recovery.” But what we actually mean is “revenue protection.”

The data domino effect

When designing a storage system for a production or post facility, it is easy to concentrate on capacity and throughput, and think that is all you need. However, a very real issue is data safety and how to guard against it. That is a particular problem in our industry of media production. Once you start considering the issues around data loss, the potential problems start to escalate: a real domino effect.

Securing broadcast synchronization against malicious attack

Synchronization is a fundamental requirement in all content generation and broadcast; used extensively both in SDI / HDI formats and in IP packet based systems. Synchronization signals are typically generated from equipment including sync pulse generators, master sync references, and for the IP format, Precision Timing Protocol (PTP) grandmaster clock generators. Most sync generators encapsulate a very accurate internal clock which is synchronised to an external reference, which for the vast majority of manufacturers is a GPS & GNSS satellite timing signal. Consequently sync generators are connected to an outside GNSS antenna via coaxial cable or fibre optic cable, like those supplied by ViaLite Communications.

Protecting Media Assets – Risk and Resilience

The sudden shift to remote working within the media industry saw an incredible turnaround, with workflows being instated quickly to ensure that quality content creation could continue. Existing media tools were adapted to enable workers from around the globe to access content and contribute to production, all whilst the industry came to terms with wider logistical challenges. A quick rollout of infrastructure saw big changes in how the industry managed their assets; suddenly, data that would have been very difficult to access needed to be available to workers from their homes.

Content Protection – more things to consider

The recent IABM report on content security trends in conjunction with our good friends at Axinom made for some interesting reading. As Roger Thornton mentions in his summary article, perhaps the most surprising takeaway is the discrepancy between a stated intention to invest in content, and a far lower priority in investment in content security technology to safeguard against the theft of that content, especially given the financial, operational and potentially creative resources that will be required to produce or acquire it. As Roger summarises, this seems counterintuitive, but budgets are finite and it could be argued that prioritizing content over business processes is where dutiful media providers should concentrate their majority resource.

Challenging The Cloud with Linear TV Workflows