Broadcast automation is a crucial part of any modern radio or TV studio. A playout software is an application whose main function is to allow you to schedule and transmit media from your studio to your audience. For TV and radio studios this is a major component of the overall broadcast system and needs to be chosen very carefully. Typically, playout softwares are located in the master control room of a studio where all the feeds available are directed to it. These may include audio and video feeds from other sources such as live content from video switchers, media files located locally in the computer or a networked storage, incoming OB content e.t.c.
One needs to understand what a particular brand of playout software offers to avoid certain mistakes and to meet your particular requirements.
Radio and TV Automation
While it might be a simple assumption that the only difference in automation for radio and TV is the type of media used, audio and video, there are a great deal of practical differences. The complexities of their automation are also increased by the fact that radio and TV are first and foremost businesses and require a smart, reliable way of tracking the ads and sponsored contents they get paid to do.
A complete radio automation system may involve the following:
- Song scheduler/playlist editor
- Crossover editor
- Live-assist module
- Spots/commercials programmer (different commercials for different regions and commercials going to multiple stations)
- Integrated RDS (radio data system)
- Playout to defined formats
Other possible features are a clock system, rules and programming commands for your music in their respective categories, practical templates, rotation and an audit feature that checks the users and their activities.
In television, a playout software will include other features in addition to some mentioned above (especially the scheduler and the spots programmer), to support the video content going on air. The features of a TV automation system are such as:
- Output in multiple formats i.e. SD (576i), HD (720p and 1080i/p) and some up to 4K! (2160p)
- Output in physical SDI or network stream as H.264 or MPEG-2
- Electronic program guide (EPG) generation
- Graphic insertion for logos , animations, scrolls and other elements
- Multiple client configuration for traffic, program and admin control
- Simultaneous outputs in different formats (SD, HD, 4K)
- Support of most popular and used codecs
- Real time graphics control and updating
Other possible features include a teleprompter, a simple video editor and GPIO control.
To a novice, the above information may sound cryptic but with good understanding of your requirements, you can apply the following five factors in choosing one for your studio:
- Reliability and stability of the system – Running a TV or radio studio requires 24 hour non-stop coverage every single day. It is one of the ways to ensure audience retention. Therefore, the playout software should be stable enough to be active throughout the lifetime of the studio, which is years. This means also providing the right hardware and operating system and conditions (ALWAYS disable Windows updates!), these are usually recommended by the creator.
- Technical Support – So much might go wrong during operation of the system. Ensuring the product you are purchasing guarantees technical support, either from the software creators or the contracted engineers you hired (such as the company I work for), might come in handy especially during the early stages of deployment. The technical support team may also offer training to the users within your station.
- Level of automation – While shopping for the software to pic, you would want to pic the one with the highest level of automation at your price point. This is to increase the overall efficiency of the system, reduce manual steps as well as labor costs. A high level of automation reduces the potential for errors in the system, especially when sponsored contents and advertisements are involved.
- Ease of usability and user experience – Ultimately, the main users of the system may never be users with technical backgrounds. This is important to consider as I have witnessed how complicated software becomes a pain to the point users reject going through a steep learning curve and most features of the software ends up unused. A friendly layout, comprehensive manual and easy-to-reach points are essential for such an important piece of your studio.
- Price and budget – This now depends on the studio’s ability to get the best product in the market or compromise for a cheaper solution and lose some above mention features or consideration factors. Whatever you decide on, keep your requirements at the top of your mind and let some of these factors guide your decision.
While this is a simplification of sorts, other factors may come in to place depending on your unique situation but I hope I’ve shed some light on the aspects I consider important. I have personally worked with several playout systems including Cinegy AIR, AVRA, VPlay and Imedia, involving installation and configuration at a client site.