Playout System

Reading time ~3 minutes

Cinegy Air application provides an interface for convenient creation of playlists, editing and broadcasting.

To perform direct playout, Cinegy Playout should be connected. This application is a software-based engine that sends playlists on air.

Important
 Refer to the Cinegy Playout Manual for detailed description of configuring and operating of Cinegy Playout application.

The preparation of playlists is performed via Cinegy Air Playlist Editor.

Cinegy Air control application itself can be used for on-air playlist management.

Note
 Refer to the Configuring Cinegy Air article for more details on the application setup.

Any PC connected to the network on which the Cinegy Air application has been installed can be used to prepare and edit playlists. A playlist can be composed of any clips in commonly supported file formats and/or with clips prepared in Cinegy Desktop. Using Cinegy Desktop is optional and is not required for work with Cinegy Air.

Important
 Refer to the Cinegy Desktop Manual for more details concerning this product.

Once a playlist is ready for broadcast, it is loaded into Cinegy Air running in single-channel or multi-channel mode and is sent to the playout server.

Cinegy Air provides the following features:

  • media material instant playback: any clip or Sequence prepared in Cinegy Desktop and added to a playlist can be sent on air immediately in single/multi-channel mode;

  • video files instant playback: file of any Cinegy Air supported format (mpg, avi, dv, wmv, etc.) added to a playlist can be broadcast immediately in single/multi-channel mode;

  • a playlist composed in Cinegy Air can be played back on two Cinegy playout servers simultaneously for fail-safety reasons. In case of on-the-fly changes in the playlist, the playout servers merge the altered playlist with the one being played, providing a smooth and swift change of the playout;

  • reliable security system preventing unauthorized access to media material prepared for broadcasting;

  • simultaneous broadcasting of different playlists in various TV formats to multiple channels;

  • simultaneous broadcasting from one channel to multiple output devices;

  • simultaneous broadcasting of the same playlist to several channels with different TV formats;

  • the playout software is implemented as an SQL-independent service to provide the most robust on-air playback;

  • horizontal timeline view provides a clear overview for easy operations;

  • secondary events for external device control;

  • local or remote control operation via LAN or WAN;

  • GPI events processing for automatic commercial insertion;

  • as-run log generation;

  • uninterrupted broadcasting even in case of server disconnection from the local network or from Cinegy Archive (if there are proxied items in the list). If the current item is not proxied, emergency footage is broadcast instead.

The proxy storage holds pre-fetched playlist items in a defined compressed format for the following reasons:

  • so that even the most difficult playout session can be prepared easily;

  • to avoid rendering on-the-fly whenever possible.

Items are proxied in chunks. Once proxied, the item is stored in a proxy folder (defined in the Cinegy Playout Configurator). In case of repeated usage it will not be proxied for the second time, but will be played back directly from the proxy folder.

Items are proxied in the order they are played back. Only the most recently inserted items can be played directly from the media server. The playout server takes material for playback according to the playlist from essence storage as shown below:

cinegy_essence