Weybridge, UK and Broomfield, CO., USA, March 7th, 2017 – Leading automation and integrated playout specialist Pebble Beach Systems today announced that it has partnered with innovative media asset management software developers Blue Lucy to offer Beluga, a new workflow engine, content management and video processing solution. Beluga integrates closely with Pebble’s Marina automation system to offer targeted file delivery, content preparation, and integrated QC workflows without the need to deploy an enterprise MAM solution.
Beluga’s content management approach focuses on the tasks of preparing content for playout and distribution. Checking segmentation, program content, allowing for conformance editing, performing comprehensive QC and generating reports are all essential steps along the playout pipeline. Beluga also adds transcoding and proxy creation to Marina’s existing toolset. As the number of users grows, Beluga’s simple web-based interface enables teams to interact with the media dynamically without having to install dedicated client software.
Pebble CEO Tom Gittins explains: “Our Marina automation system currently delivers a level of content management which suits many deployments, but the addition of Beluga to the range opens up the possibility of more advanced functionality where it’s needed, without the customer having to implement a complex and potentially expensive enterprise level solution. We’re excited to integrate it into our range of playout solutions and delighted to be working with Blue Lucy on its development.”
Beluga will be previewed at the CABSAT exhibition in Dubai this month before being launched at NAB. It is available from Pebble Beach Systems in a number of pre-defined configurations to cater for different workflows, use cases and system sizes, making it flexible and fast to deploy. Designed to quickly and simply handle complex and otherwise time-consuming tasks, it complements the functionality of Marina systems controlling Dolphin and Orca integrated playout devices, or best-of-breed video servers, to deliver a suite of workflow orchestration features including:
File Ingest with transcoding and proxy creation
- Advanced traffic / schedule workflows
- Simple drag and drop workflow builder
- Media versioning and replacement
- Fast cuts-only editing of MXF files
- Vidchecker integrated automatic or manual QC and editorial review
- Automated or manual file delivery to playout servers, with archive support
- Metadata synchronization to and from Marina
- Integration with post editing systems such as Adobe Premiere Pro
A complete content management system, Beluga bridges the gap between content preparation, linear playout, and the creation of fast-turnaround VOD-ready media. Its drag and drop workflow builder makes it easy for operators to create and edit workflows on the fly.
Operation is via an HTML5 web user interface, and the solution can coexist alongside an existing MAM. Users can configure workflows to suit their requirements, and Beluga can support multiple users. Furthermore, a single Beluga system can link to multiple Marina systems, so that media can be restored by Beluga based on the earliest usage time of media across all systems.
Julian Wright, Founder and CEO of Blue Lucy adds: “We’re proud to be partnering with Pebble Beach Systems to introduce Beluga, powered by Blue Lucy. Beluga has been designed to deliver content supply chain management in a targeted way to enhance Marina’s strong feature set, via a cost-effective workflow engine and an easy to use asset management system which can scale from small systems (4 channels) to enterprise MAM.”
