SES Taps AmberFin iCR Platform for Munich-based Broadcast Playout Centre

AmberFin, a developer of file-based media ingest, transcoding and quality control solutions for content owners, broadcasters, sports organizations and post-production houses, has announced the completion of a project that sees its iCR software platform integrated within the workflow at SES Platform Services’ broadcast playout centre in Munich, Germany. AmberFin worked closely with its German channel partner, Wiesbaden-based Netorium.

At this modern HD capable playout facility, AmberFin iCR is being used to provide a single unified platform capable of supporting all media ingest, file transcoding and quality control management operations. In order to support large numbers of ingest feeds, iCR has been integrated alongside the customer’s existing Harris D-Series automation system.

Within Germany’s first dedicated playout centre, SES Platform Services provides technical support for broadcasters and production companies and offers a range of services for the preparation and transmission of content for over 300 TV and radio channels. These include both digital archiving and playout, as well as preparation and transmission of content via satellite, over the internet and to mobile devices.

A major incentive for SES Platform Services in its selection of AmberFin iCR is the system’s integrated architecture where all ingest, transcode and quality control functions are performed by a single workstation. SES Platform Services reports that the ability to combine multiple core processes on a single workstation has saved significant time and capital expenditure.

“Already, iCR has proved itself to be a sophisticated high level content management all-rounder,” says Roger Greβer, VP Playout & MAM at SES Platform Services. “It can cope with all our system ingest needs whether that is to our standard XDCAM format or to a less common standard that one of our customers has requested. Thanks to the focused development that AmberFin implements, we can rest assured that iCR is always abreast of the latest advances in digital file-based workflow technology.”

Alongside its media ingest and file transcoding operations, AmberFin iCR is performing a third critical role for SES Platform Services in terms of its advanced media quality control capabilities. Thanks to the integrated nature of AmberFin Unified Quality Control (UQC) within the iCR platform, SES Platform Services is able to perform QC checks on baseband video during the ingest process, helping to ensure that only best quality media enters the workflow.

“Not just during ingest, but at various points in our workflow iCR offers unique content quality management which is not only important to us, but it is becoming more important to our customers,” says Kristin Pӧschel, System Engineer Playout at SES Platform Services. “We can identify that iCR’s advanced QC capabilities are helping us to increase satisfaction amongst our customers since their customers are making fewer complaints.”

A key element of AmberFin iCR in this project is its ability to support SES Platform Service’s enterprise operations in a very dynamic environment. “Our business is challenging and changing every day and we are pleased to have AmberFin and Netorium on board our team to help support our business growth,” concluded Roger Greβer. “Already, we have expanded our UQC platform to include Interra’s Baton quality control software. With this extension, we can offer even higher quality standards to our customers without time consuming restructuring and changes to the existing workflows for our operators“