ENCODA HELP NETWORK TEN
GET SERIOUSLY DIGITAL

For the last five years a move to digital was clear to Network Ten. The Network Ten infrastructure consisted of five capital city sites, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth all running analogue presentations using a variety of automation systems. Each city received a clean feed signal from Sydney and then locally inserted news, commercials and certain sports events. Realising the replication of staff and technology at each city Ten decided to act. Compounding this decision by Ten was the move to digital TV which, at the time was scheduled for 1 January 2001, and bought with it new issues such as 16:9 high quality pictures transmitted in both standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) formats. Ten also had to bear in mind the business challenge of investigating solutions for Disaster Recovery (DR).

OPTIONS AND DECISIONS

The business case for the move to digital was relatively straightforward; the exact option to take was not. To avoid a potentially expensive "knee jerk" reaction Network Ten management were determined to explore thoroughly the paths of change open to them and the subsequent impact each direction would have on the existing Ten infrastructure and operations.

The chosen option was to be fully centralized which would require an automation platform of some complexity and power to effectively amalgamate the content of all cities. With Ten winning the AFL broadcast rights, the centralisation option became the most logical and attractive option. The complexities of AFL could be handled through break-away suites linked into the centralised automation system and all run from Sydney, equipment savings were readily available with one single system infrastructure. Network Ten followed a strict selection process visiting several potential suppliers throughout 2000 and evaluating some of the well established Encoda installations such as BskyB and Meridian amongst others. Ten also required potential suppliers to prove their concepts and products through a series of test-bed experiments. The second half of 2000 brought Network Ten to consider seriously the Encoda Automation solution, implemented with local partner Amtech, as being the most suitable.

TECHNICAL OVERVIEW

Ten's strict selection process included requirements that the final system be capable of the following:

1. Transitioning to the new digital platform would in no way compromise Ten's high level of presentation quality
2. In order to cope with the needs of running live in each capital market the system had to be flexible enough to allow seamless break-away and handback to central presentation control.
3. Upgradeable and 'HD ready' (Network Ten had already been putting HD programs to air even though the legislation moved from 1st Jan 2002 to 1st Jan 2003 and now July 2003 for implementation)
4. 5.1 audio
5. Back-up redundancy in the system needed to include emergency routing, mirrored servers and support of a SAN architecture for library/archive.
6. Time shifted concepts: Four time zones for service from Sydney meant that each of five markets must be played in local market time. This would allow Ten the ability to sell air space very close to current time.
7. Disaster Recovery: A disaster at the centralised site would result in the loss of all markets, so a suitable DR system had to be provided. As Melbourne ATV-10 was the production centre for programmes and News this was seen as the logical location for the back-up DR system. As a result the installed Encoda system in Melbourne can duplicate all 5 S.D. markets.
8. A high end Multiple Ingest system was required as the level of commonality between spots is less than 10 percent across all markets. All material had to be quality controlled through the Ingest process. To fulfil this requirement Encoda installed its A8800 Ingest Automation System comprising three ingest suites with full 'jog shuttle' control panels and confidence replay during recording.
9. The system had to allow full live sports co-ordinated control, market by market. This was achieved by Encoda installing fully equipped break-away suites, which linked directly into the central automation system.
10. With the news infrastructure as follows: The Sydney operation is responsible for local Sydney news, Perth news and network news. News for Melbourne and Adelaide is produced in Melbourne. News for Brisbane is produced in Brisbane. A remote cueing system needed to be employed, so that, for example, in Melbourne the news studio could trigger the break back in Sydney.
11. Synchronicity of event start times: At certain times in the daily schedule all markets may be needed to take same source at the same time. The Encoda automation solution employed its unique features in triggering, monitoring, editing and viewing synchronous channels allowing operators to fully meet this requirement.
12. In order to maximise sales possibilities the system had to be of a very versatile architecture to permit very late insertions and modifications to the schedules.

CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY

The installation of the Encoda automation system was complete with all five markets and clean feeds going live by March 2003. By July 1 2003 these channels will be doubled with the inclusion of HD transmission. Going digital through the Encoda system has opened business opportunities for Network Ten including: - The capability to move towards a deep archiving operation through the Encoda Ingest system. - The ability to expand to add other channels. - The ability to add other digital services such as Interactive. Glenn Carrick of Network Ten, who was responsible for the project management, was asked what major lessons had been learnt from the entire change-over. He commented " It is most important to make sure that all suppliers of peripheral equipment have a good communications path with the Automation vendor (Encoda) and that the exchange of information between all parties is free and open. It is this sort of culture that allowed Network Ten to react quickly when it was necessary to change our requirements during the time line of the project. Encoda Systems played a vital role in ensuring the smooth and successful completion of this major project".

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