Craven Arms, UK – 16th March – Rascular, the leading supplier of PC-based multi-device master control technology, has today announced that its control and media management technologies – Helm, Mediant and Timebase – have been deployed by Russian broadcaster TV Zvezda for dynamic cross-channel promotion. This investment is part of a major facilities upgrade. The sale has been overseen by DNK Corporation.
The broadcaster, launched in 1998 and headquartered in Moscow, is a federal TV channel that broadcasts 24/7 across the country. It airs a variety of documentary and news programming as well as Russian films. TV Zvezda has recently carried out a major upgrade of its facilities. As an existing Rascular customer, the broadcaster turned to the software supplier for its market-leading control and media management technologies to create sophisticated channel promotion capabilities.
Specifying 12 channels of Mediant, Helm and Timebase, the broadcaster has created a channel promotion workflow with a high level of both automation and manual control. Channel promotion graphics – templates that can be used repeatedly – are created using Adobe tools. Those assets are then moved to the Miranda IS750 character generator using the Mediant media management tool.
In order to populate the data field within those templates, Timebase is fed by the ADC1000 automation system, taking the schedule data to automatically populate the now/next/later graphics. This means the same template – or series of templates – can be reused as often as the broadcaster wishes. Helm provides complete manual control of the branding devices as and when required, all from a user-defined, PC-based GUI.
Ephraim Barrett, Sales Director with Rascular, said, “Channel and cross-channel promotion of upcoming content is, of course, essential in today’s multi-platform environment. But the challenge is how to do this cost-effectively with the levels of both automation and manual control required. We’re very pleased that TV Zvezda has recognised the power and flexibility of our solutions.”
About Rascular:
Rascular is a broadcast software company based in the UK. It specialises in highly evolved device control and media management tools that provide operators with direct access to third-party hardware technologies. Flagship product Helm allows customers to pick best-of-breed systems – branding devices, routers, video servers, VTRs, multi-image display processors and modular gear – from a range of different manufactures and provides a single, integrated, user-defined control/monitoring surface for operators. Helm, along with Commander, Mediant and the ET Updater range, is deployed by broadcasters and playout providers globally.
Used by over 150 broadcasters globally including Discovery Communications Europe, BSkyB, Red Bee Media, M-Net, Sky Italia and ARD. For more information visitwww.rascular.com.