PlayBox Technology has supplied and installed new playout systems for three Christian Television Network (CTN) stations in the U.S. This was delivered as a turnkey project that also included on-site training.
Two of the new playout channels are running at CTN’s stations WRXY in Fort Myers, FL, and WHTN in Nashville, TN. A further new system is located at CTN’s corporate headquarters at Clearwater, FL. In Clearwater, installed in the new HD master control room, the PlayBox Technology equipment replaces the old SD system, running two television channels as well as controlling a UTAH 64 x 64 routing system.
The PlayBox Technology systems include AirBox playout and automation channels, TitleBox on-air graphics and TitleBox Prep, NAS storage, SafeBox content management, CaptureBox ingest, QCBox quality control, ListBox offline scheduler and list editor.
Christian Television has 15 television channels and three satellite networks.
PlayBox Technology has also supplied and installed playout facilities for all three of Cambridge Community Television’s (CCTV) channels. These three local cable channels — 8, 9 and 96 — feature programming produced by Cambridge, MA, residents, arts and cultural organizations and city agencies. The channels are currently running at SD but can be switched to HD when the channels migrate to the format later this year. The equipment includes three sets of playout and graphics servers together with a two-channel ingest system and a preparation server.
The workflow starts with CCTV acquiring content from a wide range of sources, including live studios, satellite feeds, traffic cameras, digital media files and DVDs. Playlists are prepared in advance and delivered to the AirBox playout systems for the unattended 24/7 broadcast. The on-air graphics are automated and presented live via the AirBox/TitleBox combination.
CCTV cites the integration of TitleBox on-air graphics with AirBox automation and playout servers that allows the unattended, automated running of on-air for graphics, bumpers, ads and promos, as well as program material.
During installation, PlayBox Technology’s technical support worked with CCTV to develop custom workflows and special-case uses for the playout system. CCTV is pleased with the features ,including independent broadcast servers, network-attached storage, a library able to store rich metadata and the ability to prepare schedules in the library itself. Overall, this investment has increased the capacity of a small station to deliver rich media to the community.
