In the "Input File Format" section the input playlist format to be processed by Cinegy Traffic Gateway is defined. Currently only "Cinegy CSV" and "BXF Myers" are provided. The BXF module should work with any standard BXF list, although it has been tested specifically with Myers software. Custom developed plug-ins will also be detected and displayed in this list.

Configuration

Settings button

Press this button to set the selected vendor configuration.

Defaults

Vendor_cfg_audiomatrix

Here the default vendor configuration settings can be defined. The parameters presented on this tab are global, but can be set on a per channel basis individually.

Audiomatrix Profile

Audiomatrix profile configuration allows you to define the folder location where the audio matrix presets in XML format are stored.

To do this, click the "Path" field and select the required location; the profiles list by adding or removing the encoding profiles.

Note
This setting is topical only for BXF vendor plug-in.

Logo Template

Define the directory where Cinegy Titler templates are stored. When secondary events are detected for graphics insertion, this directory will be checked for matching templates to use for generating output.

Live

Live items may be marked up within an input playlist. No media is played in live items, a live input stream is passed through the playout engine instead. While no media identifiers would exist for live items, a key may still be provided to indicate what live source should be selected. This key is matched against a list of values assigned against the current TV channel, as well as against a global list of IP sources.

SDI routing commands for live items are defined on the "Channels" tab, and must be defined for each channel as SDI input ports have a strong relationship with a specific engine. IP sources have no such relationship so may be specified globally.

This global specification is carried out within an XML file, and the IP Crosspoints file path field shown below allows specification of the file to load IP sources from:

Vendor_cfg_live

The XML format of the IP Crosspoints file is a simple set of name / value pairs, as shown below:

<xml>
  <RouterSource>
      <Name>TEST</Name>
      <CrossPoint>rtp://@239.1.1.1:1234</CrossPoint>
  </RouterSource>
  <RouterSource>
    <Name>STREAMSWITCHED-HD01</Name>
    <CrossPoint>STREAMSWITCHED-HD01.SSX</CrossPoint>
  </RouterSource>
</xml>

Within the XML, the CrossPoint tag value must be either a valid Cinegy RTP / UDP URL, or the name of an existing Cinegy Stream Switcher settings profile (.SSX) file.

Asset Query

With SOAP services enabled, a specific BXF message may be submitted allowing a BXF Asset Query message to be sent to Cinegy Traffic Gateway.

This feature allows a very limited query, where a set of paths may be specified for searching files matching the inbound search query contained within the BXF message.

Since BXF messages are generally asynchronous, any reply to the query needs to be sent to a specific address. The BXF Traffic System Endpoint URL should be set to an accessible address that will accept BXF messages and route them to the appropriate destination. The provider of a system sending any BXF Asset Query messages should be able to provide a valid address for messages returned from the Cinegy Traffic Gateway service.

Vendor_cfg_asset_query

Inputs

Here you can define folder(s) that will be watched for new files appearing. The configured directories will be monitored and as soon as a new file is added, it will be queued for processing.

Vendor_cfg_watch
Note
The account that the Cinegy Traffic Gateway service is running under must have permission to access with read/write permissions any directory referenced here. Mapped network drives are not supported as a valid locations for watched folders, and any network areas must be referenced via UNC paths.

SOAP Services

SOAP services may be optionally enabled, which will allow BXF messages to be submitted to the Traffic Gateway service as a SOAP webservice message as an alternative to a watch-folder submission. SOAP services use the SMPTE specified TCP port (14544) and are accessible from the Traffic Gateway machine via the HTTP protocol.

Note
In order to access SOAP service via remote machines, please ensure the firewall permissions are configured to allow inbound traffic on this port.

Inbound BXF Messages

If SOAP services are enabled, storage of any inbound BXF messages may be specified. Any received messages will be saved in the same location as configured for general logging within Traffic Gateway. This is primarily useful for testing and debugging, and should not be needed during general operations.

inbound_bxf_messages
Note
SOAP services are only usable with BXF messages and are primarily used by Myers ProTrack systems.

BXF EventID in Activity Log

Cinegy Traffic Gateway uses the BXF EventID values as playlist item GUIDs by default on BXF playlist processing instead of generating a random one. If the "Include BXF EventID in Playout Activity log" option is enabled, the SubtitleID field of a playlist item will be populated with a corresponding BXF EventID in resulting MCRlist/MCRActive.approved playlist. As a result, this field will be displayed in Activity log in Cinegy Playout.

Important
Refer to the Activity logging paragraph within the Cinegy Playout Manual to learn about logging configuration.

Default Dummy Item Duration

The dummy item is a reserved "blank" item inserted into a playlist in case the item information in the original BXF/CSV playlist is missing. For instance, no IN/OUT timecode points, no specified duration and the corresponding media file could not be located on a specified media storage. Use the "Default dummy item duration" field to specify the default duration of these items in the hh:mm:ss format. Otherwise, the default value of 00:05:00 minutes will be applied if neither duration nor IN/OUT points are available for the item in CSV file.

Timecode Warning Tolerance

In case the duration calculated from In/Out points and specified in CSV/BXF files exceeds the actual duration of a media clip, Cinegy Traffic Gateway adds a corresponding warning message into comments for a resulting playlist item. "Timecode warning tolerance" is a threshold defined in frames exceeding which will invoke the warning message informing about out-of-bound timecode values.

Channels

Setting the channels parameters is obligatory. Create the TV format list using the plus_button button. The TV formats should correspond to the processed items format.

Vendor_cfg_channel

The basic CSV file format assumes that all inputs are for a single defined channel, but BXF files require specifically identified channels inside their data, as this allows Cinegy Traffic Gateway to maintain different settings for different channels within one service. For example, a single Traffic Gateway service may be defined to support two channels, named "Cinegy HD" and "Cinegy SD". These channels may have different TV formats defined in this configuration section.

Caution
When using BXF, the full value of the <pmcp:channel> tag representing the channel name in the BXF message must exactly match the channel name string defined in this configuration.
Note
Please note, Cinegy Traffic Gateway is licensed on a per-defined-channel basis, and enough licenses must be available for each defined channel for the Traffic Gateway service to operate correctly.

Within a specific channel, relationship of key words can be made to port numbers and device names. These key words will be used in the event of a live item being scheduled within the playlist. If a scheduled live item contains an ID that corresponds to an entry for that channel, Cinegy Traffic Gateway will configure an SDI routing event prior to the live item that will ensure the resulting playout is the expected source.

Traffic Gateway will try and match SDI sources defined against a specific channel first, before checking for matches in the live IP file. If it does not find any match, the live item will just use the default input configured.

Each configured channel should define the targeted SDI routing device and the default level on that router to use. To start configuring channel, press the plus_button button next to the required channel.

The following channel configuration window allows you configuring general settings as well as adding inputs you are intending to use:

add_channel_inputs
Note
Please note that the Audiomatrix profile, Logo templates path, IP crosspoints configuration file, Asset query file paths settings have priority over that ones defined via "Defaults" tab; it is possible to define these settings individually for each channel you are configuring.

For each input, define the expected output. To do this, press the plus_button The "Name" parameter for the output is just used descriptively in the metadata, the critical value is the PORT number:

Vendor_cfg_channel

An input can have multiple outputs, which is primarily for when running in cluster mode, since each playout engine will likely be independently routed. Pressing the plus_button button will add the desired number of inputs.

Records List

With SOAP services enabled, a specific BXF message may be submitted allowing a BXF Record List message to be sent to Cinegy Traffic Gateway.

This feature allows instructions to be sent to Cinegy Traffic Gateway describing recordings that shall be scheduled. Cinegy Traffic Gateway then converts these instructions into discreet recording tasks, which are passed onto the Cinegy Capture Planner service. Once registered within the Cinegy Capture Planner service, the recording tasks will be visible to operators inside the Cinegy Capture Planner interface and the allocated Cinegy Capture Engines will run at the appropriate times to record the specified incoming stream.

Recordings may include instructions to target specific placeholder items that already exist within the Cinegy Archive MAM, so when the relevant Cinegy Capture Engine runs the task, an item is registered and fulfills the asset.

To successfully configure this feature, the HTTP URL for the Cinegy Capture Planner service should be entered correctly. This allows the Cinegy Traffic Gateway service to interact with the Cinegy Capture Planner system. Please see the paragraph describing configuration of Cinegy Capture Planner for more information.

Recording tasks may optionally specify a routing source for the Cinegy Capture Engine to use when performing a recording job. If the task specifies a valid crosspoint routing name that is configured within the Cinegy Capture system, then the recording action will include the selection of the needed source.

Important
Refer to the Event Presets article in the Cinegy Capture Manager Manual to learn about events configuration.

The converted by Cinegy Capture Planner incoming router events will be applied five seconds before the recording session start. This default value can be changed in the respective field through the Scheduler.Host.exe.config XML configuration file found at the following location C:\Program Files (x86)\Cinegy\Cinegy Capture Planner\.

If the specified crosspoint does not exist, or if no crosspoint is specified in the task, a default value can be entered that will be used instead.

vendor_cfg_records_list

File Processing

Settings button

A playlist file may be manually submitted for processing using this icon. This does not require any watch folder configuration, although other settings for the channel must be configured. To add a new input file for processing, press the "Select file" button and define the necessary file in the common file selection dialog that will open. Record lists or query messages are not supported with this mechanism.

The file processing progress bar is displayed:

file_in_progress

The successful file processing completion:

file_finished

If the file processing fails, the corresponding status will be displayed:

file_in_progress_fail

Press the exclamation_sign icon to view the log:

Log

The "LogInfo" window provides the possibility to sort messages by importance and view the detailed information about each item. To export a full log to XML file, press the "Export" button.