Weybridge, UK, May 24, 2018 – Pebble Beach Systems, a leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, today announced that TV Cultura, Brazil’s award-winning public television broadcaster, is migrating its playout operations to Pebble Beach Systems’ Marina Lite automation solution.
TV Cultura has four main channels featuring national and regional news, cultural programming, music, children’s programs and documentaries. It also delivers web-based channels, and broadcasts educational content from São Paulo State Virtual University. All channels are accessible by over 126 million viewers across Brazil.
Upholding its reputation for excellence and continuous innovation, TV Cultura recently invested in the modernization of the equipment and infrastructure of its broadcast operations. Having initially deployed a Pebble Beach Systems Neptune playout automation solution over 10 years ago, TV Cultura is working with São Paolo based systems integrator Videodata to ensure the successful migration to a modern Marina Lite 4R automation system with a Lighthouse web-based remote management and monitoring dashboard.
Videodata put in place a flexible but intelligent migration strategy to Marina which is designed to cause little or no disruption to the TV Cultura’s operations, with the broadcaster’s existing Neptune database being seamlessly migrated onto the new platform. Furthermore, because Neptune playlists can be natively opened in Marina, and both Neptune and Marina can talk to the same Archive and NLS in parallel, operators are able to carry on working as usual with no disruption and minimal training throughout the migration process.
The facility has two master control rooms, each operating two channels and four GV Maestro Master Switchers, GV K2 Video Servers and a Jupiter Router. Marina will also control the ingest workflow for TV Cultura, and the system is designed with full redundancy for automation, playout, and the database. In addition to delivering improved integration with the traffic system, this migration will streamline their approvals workflows and media management, as well as their closed caption and web workflows. In addition, Marina will deliver greater flexibility for the operators in terms of layout creation and provide detailed reporting and logging for every device and user.
“TV Cultura has long had a reputation for being a broadcast pioneer and we are constantly looking for ways to improve our facilities and workflows in ways that make sense for the long term,” explained Gilvani Moletta, engineering and technology director at TV Cultura. “Our Neptune automation system has served us very well over the last decade, so upgrading to the more modern Marina was a no-brainer. Not only is the transition seamless but we are also confident that the technology is the right one to help us grow and help us face the challenges of the next decade and beyond.”
With Lighthouse, TV Cultura will extend Marina’s functionality to business users, operational staff and engineers both inside and outside the facility. The web-based interface will give them monitoring, media management, and system configuration tools so that status information and corrective actions are just seconds away, even when they are outside the control room.
“TV Cultura was one of our first Pebble customers in Latin America,” said Marcelo Blum, Systems and Technology Manager at Videodata. It’s always a rewarding experience to work with a such a forward-thinking customer over a long period of time and help them evolve and upgrade their technology without any major disruption to their workflow.”
“Our Marina Lite system is proving to be popular in Latin America where it is being used to provide playout automation and master control for customers who are upgrading or replacing their first-generation platforms. It offers an affordable solution for customers who are looking for a robust, resilient and sophisticated playlist control system that can grow with their operational needs and budgets. We are delighted that TV Cultura has once again chosen to place their trust in Pebble and we look forward to supporting their continued growth for years to come,” added Tom Gittins, Chief Commercial Officer at Pebble Beach Systems.
