Miranda Technologies will be highlighting a highly cost effective, multi-channel playout system, based on its new Xchannel playout and branding processor and Sundance Digital's Titan automation and will be at NAB in booth SU6811.

”This tightly integrated system requires less video hardware, and offers high performance, distributed channel playout with file-based content fed from central storage”, says Eugene Plawutsky, product manager - playout and graphics, at Miranda.

'The advanced graphics capabilities of Xchannel are important because broadcasters typically don't want to compromise their channel branding and promo capabilities when adopting lower cost, IT-based playout.'

A key strength of this integration is the use of standard automation industry control protocols, and this makes it well suited to extending existing playout facilities, as well as green field site installations.

”Sundance Digital's Titan Automation is fully scalable, and offers highly effective media management with the Xchannel”, says Rick Stora, Product Manager at Sundance Digital.

”Content is ingested externally and managed by Sundance within the normal broadcast workflow.  Individual media clips are pushed to the Xchannel playout and branding device intelligently as required by the playlist. The system knows where the media resides and moves into play as needed.”

The HD/SD Xchannel features a robust 3RU frame, and provides up to 400 hours of local playout for program content, commercials and interstitials.

Advanced graphics capabilities include a powerful character generator, which is ideal for complex branding and automated promos. Other graphics features include multi-level animation and still playout, and a dual channel DVE for picture-in-picture and squeeze-and-reveal type transitions.

Xchannel also provides A/B video switching with cuts, fades and wipe transitions, as well as four group audio support (16 embedded channels and up to 8 AES inputs).

Miranda's Xmedia Suites graphics and voice-over automation complements the Sundance Digital playout automation, and allows rapid preparation of channel branding and promo graphics templates, and it also simplifies data-interfacing and the playout of complex graphics sequences.