Pro-Bel’s MCM Event Manager makes IBC debut
by | Sep 15, 2008 - 10:27:11 AM
Pro-Bel comes to IBC 2008 with a range of innovative enhancements to its
universal command and control system, Morpheus Control and Monitoring (MCM),
which is now being installed at several key customer sites, including ITN and
Red Bee Media.
MCM is an evolving set of technologies designed to deliver integrated
supervision and control of the complex infrastructures that are now the norm in
broadcasting. It is compatible not only with the full range of routing,
automation, master control and signal processing products from Pro-Bel, but
increasingly with third-party systems in both the broadcast and IT domains.
IBC will see the debut of the MCM Event Manager, a “rules engine” that allows
users to define precisely how their system will react to, and manage, complex
combinations of events in a variety of contexts. For example, a situation that
triggers an urgent alarm at prime time might be given a downgraded urgency
level in the middle of the night, with a pre-planned workaround being
automatically implemented and notifications sent out (perhaps by email or text message)
for resolution when staff come on shift.
“This capability for flexible response is one of MCM’s strongest features,”
says Kirsty Aldridge, Pro-Bel’s Product Manager for Control and Monitoring.
“The Event Manager allows the system to, in effect, “heal” itself within known
parameters, according to its programmed instructions, and only call for help
when human judgment is required. Moreover it gives users the ability to define
and implement the instructions themselves without having to come back to us.”
IBC will also see the debut of a powerful new System Architecture and
Configuration Tool. This provides an interactive graphical view of the entire
infrastructure that users can control with a click-and-drop interface. MCM
provides guidance and lists alternatives based on device availability, and then
actually implements any desired changes.
“The big goal for MCM is to simplify both decision-making and operational
actions for people working with increasingly complex technology
infrastructures,” says Aldridge. “We want to free them from having to worry
about things that are routine and predictable, while giving them the ability to
react very quickly and flexibly to unexpected events. We are working very
closely with customers such as Red Bee and ITN to make sure that MCM meets all
the evolving requirements of today’s broadcasters. We are also making sure that
there is an effortless migration path to MCM from
Aurora and Procion, our existing control
systems.”
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