SEVILLE, Spain—Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble’s resilient, software-defined Integrated Channel playout engines, refreshing an existing best-of-breed Pebble automation system running since 2011.

Canal Sur is responsible for delivering a portfolio of regional channels across multiple platforms, as well as for managing local opt-outs for seven cities in the community.With its existing Pebble playout automation platform nearing the end of life for both software and hardware, the Canal Sur team took a fresh look at the station’s requirements. Working with Pebble’s partner in Spain, systems integrator Datos Media, the broadcaster defined the requirements that would sustain it into the future, Pebble said.

Canal Sur selected an architecture based on Pebble Integrated Channel playout engines. Integrated Channel is highly resilient and supports multiple outputs per device, allowing Canal Sur to build a high-performing system in a compact footprint, it said.

The broadcaster deployed the latest version of Pebble’s Automation software to orchestrate playout and asset management. The software also manages ingest, automated quality control file transfers and graphics and handles outputs to new media platforms such as Movistar and YouTube, the company said.

“The nature of broadcast has changed completely since we first installed Pebble automation, 14 years ago,” said Pedro Espina, chief technology officer at Canal Sur. “We wanted to build much greater operational flexibility now and into the future to cover multiple channels and regional opt-outs, and of course, we expect absolute reliability.

“Our close relationship with Pebble over an extended period gave us a great deal of confidence, and they were able to demonstrate to us how they could meet all our expectations in a compact and efficient implementation,” Espina said. More information is available on the company’s website.

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Harmonic has announced that Weigel Broadcasting has deployed Harmonic's VOS Media Software, which offers playout-to-delivery capabilities, including ATSC 1.0 centralcasting, that are producing significant cost savings and greater efficiency for Weigel.

"As we continue to grow the number of stations we own and operate, we wanted a scalable, software-driven approach — not more racks of hardware," said Kyle Walker, vice president of technology at Weigel Broadcasting. "With Harmonic's end-to-end playout-to-delivery solution, we can easily add new stations by scaling compute power rather than piecing together stand-alone appliances. This has streamlined our workflows, increased efficiency and given us the flexibility for expansion without the complexities of a traditional broadcast infrastructure."

Harmonic's VOS Media Software improves cost efficiencies for Weigel with a fully software-based, end-to-end workflow for ingest, centralcasting, advanced playout and branding, encoding, transcoding, statistical multiplexing and distribution, the companies reported.

A built-in user interface enables seamless playlist monitoring and automated channel delivery via the web without requiring a complex automation system. Designed to scale, VOS Media Software empowers Weigel to expand its station lineup at any time, depending on data center capacity. Weigel can also enhance its broadcast channels by leveraging advanced capabilities on VOS Media Software, such as delay-line, PSIP fetch, Nielsen watermarking, Dolby upmix and AI captioning integration, they reported.

"By adopting our cloud-native VOS Media Software, Weigel is at the forefront of innovation as one of the first broadcasters utilizing a next-generation playout-to-delivery solution," said Gil Rudge, senior vice president, products and Americas sales, video business at Harmonic. "With advanced capabilities and support for ATSC, OTT and split signal all on one platform, Weigel is leveraging VOS Media Software to streamline operations and future-proof its video delivery."

Harmonic will demonstrate its innovative cloud solutions at the 2025 NAB Show, April 6-9, in Las Vegas at booth W2821. Further information about Harmonic and the company's solutions is available at www.harmonicinc.com.

LONDON—Veset has announced that its cloud playout solutions will provide support for the AWS Cloud Digital Interface (AWS CDI). 

The move to support AWS CDI will enable users of Veset’s playout solutions to distribute high quality uncompressed linear video content, drastically reducing latency, and improving the user experience for viewers, Veset said. 

“As the demand for high quality content shows no sign of slowing down, broadcasters are continually looking for ways to reliably transport live videos between applications, without compromising on quality,” explained David Thompson, chief product officer, Veset. “By supporting AWS CDI, Veset customers can use much higher quality uncompressed video on their linear channel with Veset's playout solutions.”

AWS Cloud Digital Interface (AWS CDI) is a network technology that allows users to transport high-quality uncompressed video inside the AWS Cloud, with high reliability and network latency as low as 8 milliseconds. Video providers can use AWS CDI to build live video workflows that connect select AWS Media Services, products from AWS Partners, and offerings from Independent Software Vendors (ISVs).

With AWS CDI, users can build similar workloads across compute instances and services in the AWS Cloud by providing a reliable, high-performance, and interoperable way of transporting uncompressed video, the companies reported. 

WEYBRIDGE, Surrey—Pebble, a provider of automation, content management, and integrated channel technologies, has appointed Besco as its channel partner in Korea and announced that Pebble and announced it is working with Besco to implement an advanced playout system at CJP, now known as CJ OliveNetworks.Co., Ltd – a subsidiary of CJ E&M Group.

The deployment combines Pebble’s Automation, Integrated Channel and Pebble Remote (web-based monitoring) solutions. As part of that, Besco has been leading a complete installation of a series of Pebble solutions including Pebble Automation, Integrated Channel and Pebble Remote, to bring 11 channels to air in the first phase of the deployment. 

“The Korean market is one of the most technically advanced in APAC,” said Samir Isbaih, Pebble’s vice president of sales, Middle East and APAC. “Pebble has market leading solutions that are both flexible and technically demanding, providing a combination of different I/O (SDI,NDI,IP compressed and uncompressed), extensive redundancy schemes (1+1+1), multiple graphic plugins, on-premises/remote operations and much more, all in one system. Combined with Besco’s local expertise and support, Pebble is confident we can offer the Korean market the most technically compelling solutions in broadcast playout automation and IP broadcasting. I’m delighted that we have managed to deliver our first setup in Korea with the region’s biggest broadcaster.”

Besco, the leading equipment and services provider in the Korean film and broadcast market has supported Pebble in translating its user manuals into Korean, and provides first line support on the company’s behalf. 

Besco has also been instrumental in supporting successful Pebble test systems prior to the implementation of the large scale 11+11+11 channels system for CJ OliveNetworks.Co., Ltd., the companies said. 

“We are thrilled to have become a trusted channel partner for Pebble in Korea and are excited to become an integral part of the company’s expansion,” explained Besco CEO, Young Bae Kim. “We’re looking forward to growing this partnership and providing ongoing support to Pebble by offering its world class solutions to the broadcast community in the APAC region and what better way to start than with CJ OliveNetworks.Co., Ltd.”

SINGAPORE—The leading independent Philippine broadcaster TV5, which is part of the MediaQuest Group, has implemented a comprehensive playout system built on Imagine Communications’ Versio integrated playout platform and ADC automation system. 

The fully integrated and automated architecture helps TV5 to streamline their master control workflows, improve operational efficiencies and easily expand as their business evolves, the companies said. 

“We chose Imagine Communications’ solution because of its flexibility and scalability and because it readily integrated with our existing technology,” said Ronaldo A. Hernandez, office-in-charge (OIC), network engineering at TV5. “Additionally, the graphical user interface is completely intuitive, bringing simplicity of operations and allowing our teams to be up and running very quickly. The new system provides increased efficiency and reliability that enables us to build on our existing workflows without impacting our daily operations and ensures that we deliver the engaging content our viewers demand.”

Hernandez added that “we are pleased with Versio Graphics, which simplifies the graphics creation process and enables us to support logo, real-time animation, video or audio clip, text crawler, dynamic branding (now, next and later), and DVEs. The two SDI inputs allow the playout to switch the two live feeds back-to-back seamlessly. Additionally, the multiple outputs can be configured on Versio to serve different purposes, whether the output is for the main branded program, clean, pre-set, branded+ or simulcast.”

The new system provides a scalable and flexible playout solution for the two flagship channels, TV5 and One News, as well as support for other channels and comprehensive media management. The master control system includes shared storage built on Imagine’s Versio IOX platform, which in turn integrates with the broadcaster’s legacy NAS storage and archive network, ensuring easy access to all stored content, the companies reported. 

Playout uses Imagine’s software-defined Versio solution configured as full 2+2 redundancy for the main channels and as a 3+1 playout network to support the broadcaster’s other operations, including separate feeds for the ISDB digital terrestrial output. Imagine’s ADC automation provides system level control, managing asset movements as well as precision playout. An intuitive graphical user interface makes it even easier to use, while offering a high level of channel security with alarms and logs to the system, Imagine said. 

The MCR installation is completed with Imagine’s Platinum IP3 router. As well as switching all the facility’s signals, under both automatic and manual control, the router includes integrated multiviewer functionality, which allows operators to create monitoring setups to meet their precise requirements. Because the multiviewers are integral to the router, it enabled TV5 to simplify the installation, reduce cabling and rack requirements, and minimize power consumption.

“TV5 is typical of a broadcaster needing to bridge legacy technology with a software-centric future,” said Mathias Eckert, senior vice president and general manager of APAC and EMEA at Imagine Communications.  “The powerful combination of Versio and ADC provides TV5 with a secure, flexible, dynamic playout solution that can address their needs today and into the future ― and we look forward to supporting TV5 as it continues its ongoing growth and development.”

The system design was developed by Imagine Communications and TV5 and was installed in the Mandaluyong broadcast center by Imagine’s partner and system integrator Composite Technology, Inc.

More information about Imagine Communications is available here. 

DENVER—Imagine Communications has enhanced ADC playout automation with the ADC Flex remote-ready control solution that enables media companies to access and control their broadcast chain from anywhere, the company announced today.

ADC Flex enhances media workflows, makes operations more efficient and supports new operational models, including hub-and-spoke deployments and unified broadcast operations from a broadcast center, the company said.

An intuitive, flexible solution, ADC Flex enables media companies to use existing infrastructure and minimize operational training to reduce total cost of ownership. It can be added to existing ADC deployments or used as the basis for new facilities and new channel launches, it said.

With ADC Flex, operators monitor and control channels, schedule content ingest and manage content from anywhere via internet access. With an HTML5 web user interface, ADC Flex is tailored to broadcasters’ specific operational needs. It offers an identical look and feel whether the operator is in the machine room, at a remote location or working from home. All that is needed to communicate is a secure data connection, the company said.

“Customers today want highly resilient playout control that is intuitive, fast, configurable and reliable,” said Andy Warman, senior VP playout at Imagine Communications. “ADC Flex provides that flexibility and agility, whether it is for an existing system or at a new ADC installation.”

“The user interface features a thoroughly modern look and feel that is easy to use and easy to customize," he continued. "It allows media companies to connect over their local network or over a secure internet connection ― without the need for any additional cumbersome hardware or interfaces.”

ADC automation can be tightly integrated with Imagine Communications’ Nexio video servers and Versio integrated playout platform and can provide an easy upgrade path as and when needed. ADC Flex leverages these capabilities and will adapt to changing technologies and workflow requirements, Imagine Communications said.

Screens can be customized to suit workflow requirements and user preferences. Permissions can be assigned to users and groups, and favorites can be assigned for commonly used layouts. Since ADC Flex is built using HTML5, ADC Flex can run on Windows, MacOS or Linux. Control panels and supervisory screens can also be created for tablets where mobility is required, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website. 

ALBANY, N.Y.—A new report from Transparency Market Research forecasts that the global playout solutions market is expected to see a substantial growth over the next eight years, with its value estimated to reach $1.2B by 2027, which would mark an 8% CAGR.

Transparency attributes its estimates to the growing demand for emerging technologies with broadcast and media companies around the globe. The Asia Pacific region is expected to see the largest growth over the forecasted period of 9% CAGR, though North America is still expected to have the largest revenue share, followed by Europe.

One of the reasons for this growth among broadcasters cited by Transparency is how it assists with the fulfillment of advertising insertion demands and ability to deliver reliable results without complexity or high costs. Transparency also forecasts that companies are likely to move toward content marketing, which will further increase the demand for playout solutions.

The report also highlights companies that it believes will be key players during the forecasted period, which includes Amagi Media Labs, Harmonic, SES, Grass Valley, Evertz, BroadStream Solutions, Imagine Communications and more.

The full report is available here.