Introduction to CATV – from IP Television Magazine.

Asset Management
by: Lawrence Harte

Asset management is the process of acquiring, maintaining, distributing and the elimination of assets. Assets for television systems are programs or media files. Assets are managed by workflow systems. Workflow management for television systems involves the content acquisition, metadata management, asset storage, playout scheduling, content processing, ad insertion and distribution control.

Content assets are acquired or created. Each asset is given an identification code and descriptive data (metadata) and the licensing usage terms and associated costs are associated with the asset. Assets are transferred into short term or long term storage systems that allow the programs to be retrieved when needed. Schedules (program bookings) are setup to retrieve the assets from storage shortly before they are to be broadcasted to viewers. When programs are broadcasted, they are converted (encoded) into forms that are suitable for transmission (such as on radio broadcast channels or to mobile telephones).

Figure 1.12 shows some of the common steps that occur in workflow management systems. This diagram shows that a workflow management system starts with gathering content and identifying its usage rights. The descriptive metadata for the programs is then managed and

This article is Part 3 of a 8 Part Series

CATV Series List Month

Introduction to CATV Dec 06

Contribution Network Jan 07

Headend Feb 07

Asset Management Mar 07

Distribution Network Apr 07

CATV Display Devices May 07

CATV Marketplace Jun 07

CATV Systems Jul 07

CATV Services Aug 07

the programs are stored in either online (direct), nearline (short delay) or offline (long term) storage systems. Channel and program playout schedules are created and setup. As programs are transferred from storage systems, they may be processed and converted into other formats. Advertising messages may be inserted into the programs. The performance of the system is continually monitored as programs are transmitted through the distribution systems.

Figure 1.12., Television Workflow Management Systems

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the programs are stored in either online (direct), nearline (short delay) or offline (long term) storage systems. Channel and program playout schedules are created and setup. As programs are transferred from storage systems, they may be processed and converted into other formats. Advertising messages may be inserted into the programs. The performance of the system is continually monitored as programs are transmitted through the distribution systems.

Content Acquisition

Content acquisition is the gathering content from networks, aggregators and other sources. After content is acquired (or during the content transfer), content is ingested (adapted and stored) into the asset management system.

Ingesting content is a process for which content is acquired (e.g. from a satellite downlink or a data connection) and loaded onto initial video servers (ingest servers). Once content is ingested it can be edited to add commercials, migrated to a playout server or played directly into the transmission chain.

Content acquisition commonly involves applying a complex set of content licensing requirements, restrictions and associated costs to the content. These licensing terms are included in content distribution agreements. Content licensing terms may define the specific type of systems (e.g. cable, Internet or mobile video), the geographic areas the content may be broadcasted (territories), the types of viewers (residential or commercial) and specific usage limitations (such as number of times a program can be broadcasted in a month). The content acquisition system is linked to a billing system to calculate the royalties and other costs for the media.

Metadata Management

Metadata management is the process of identifying, describing and applying rules to the descriptive portions (metadata) of content assets. Metadata descriptions and formats can vary so metadata may be normalized. Metadata normalization is the adjustment of metadata elements into standard terms and formats to allow for more reliable organization, selection and presentation of program descriptive elements.

Metadata may be used to create or supplement the electronic programming guide (EPG). An EPG is an interface (portal) that allows a customer to preview and select from a possible list of available content media. EPGs can vary from simple program selection to interactive filters that dynamically allow the user to filter through program guides by theme, time period, or other criteria.

Playout Scheduling

Playout scheduling is the process of setting up the event times to transfer media or programs to viewers or distributors of the media. A playout system is an equipment or application that can initiate, manage and terminate the gathering, transferring or streaming of media to users or distributors of the media at a predetermined time schedule or when specific criteria have been met.

Playout systems are used to select and assign programs (digital assets) to time slots on linear television channels. Playout systems are

used to setup playlists that can initiate automatic playout of media during scheduled interviews or alert operators to manually setup and start the playout of media programs (e.g. taps or DVDs).

Playout systems may be capable of selecting primary and secondary events. Primary events are the program that will be broadcasted and secondary events are media items that will be combined or used with the primary event. Examples of secondary events include logo insertion, text crawls (scrolling text), voice over (e.g. narrative audio clips) and special effects (such as a squeeze back).

Figure 1.13 shows the playout scheduling involves selecting programs and assigning playout times. This diagram shows a playout system that has multiple linear television channels and that events are setup to gather and playout media programs.
Because the number of channels and programs is increasing, broadcasters may use playout automation to reduce the effort (workload) to setup playout schedules. Playout automation is the process of using a system that has established rules or procedures that allows for the streaming or transferring media to a user or distributor of the media at a predetermined time, schedule or when specific criteria have been met (such as user registration and payment).

Asset Storage

Asset storage is maintaining of valuable and identifiable data or media (e.g. television program assets) in media storage devices and systems. Asset storage systems may use a combination of analog and digital storage media and these may be directly or indirectly accessible to the asset management system.

Asset management systems commonly use several types of storage devices that have varying access types, storage and transfer capabilities. Analog television storage systems may include tape cartridge (magnetic tape) storage. Digital storage systems include magnetic tape, removable and fixed disks and electronic memory.

Asset storage devices are commonly setup in a hierarchical structure to enable the coordination of storage media. Some of the different types of storage systems include cache storage (high speed immediate access), online storage, nearline storage, and offline storage.

Online storage is a device or system that stores data that is directly and immediately accessible by other devices or systems. Online storage types can vary from disk drives to electronic memory modules. Media may be moved from one type of online storage system to another type of online storage system (such as a disk drive) to another type of online storage (such as electronic memory) that would allow for rapid access and caching. Caching is a process by which information is moved to a temporary storage area to assist in the processing or future transfer of information to other parts of a processor or system.

Nearline storage is a device or system that stores data or information that is accessible with some connection setup processes and/or

20 Mar 2007 Definitions FREE at www.IPTVDictionary.com

Figure 1.13., Television Playout Scheduling < ag_TV_Playout_Scheduling###>

delays. The requirement to find and/or setup a connection to media or information on a nearline storage system is relatively small. Data or media that is scheduled to be transmitted (e.g. broadcasted) may be moved to nearline storage before it is moved to an online storage system.

Offline storage is a device or system that stores data or information that is not immediately accessible. Media in offline storage systems must be located and setup for connection or transfer to be obtained. Examples of offline storage systems include storage tapes and removable disks.

Content Processing

Content processing is adaptation, modification or merging of media into other formats. Content processing may include graphics processing, encoding and/or transcoding.
A graphics processor is an information-processing device that is dedicated for the acquisition, analysis and manipulation of graphics

images. Graphics processing may be required to integrate (merge or overlay) graphic images with the underlying programs.

Content encoding is the manipulation (coding) of information or data into another form. Content encoding may include media compression (reducing bandwidth), transmission coding (adapting for the transmission channel) and channel coding (adding control commands for specific channels).
Transcoding is the conversion of digital signals from one coding format to another. An example of transcoding is the conversion of MPEG-2 compressed signals into MPEG-4 AVC coded signals.

Ad Insertion

Ad insertion is the process of inserting an advertising message into a media stream such as a television program. For broadcasting systems,

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Ad inserts are typically inserted on a national or geographic basis that is determined by the distribution network. For IP television systems, Ad inserts can be directed to specific users based on the viewer's profile.

An advertising splicer is a device that selects from two or more media program inputs to produce one media output. Ad splicers receive cueing messages (get ready) and splice commands (switch now) to identify when and which media programs will be spliced.

Cue tones are signals that are embedded within media or sent along with the media that indicates an action or event is about to happen. Cue tones can be a simple event signal or they can contain additional information about the event that is about to occur. An example of a cue tone is a signal in a television program that indicates that a time period for a commercial will occur and how long the time period will last.

Analog cue tone is an audio sequence (such as DTMF tones) that indicates a time period that will be available ("avail") for the insertion of another media program (e.g. a commercial).
An 'avail' is the time slot within which an advertisement is placed.

Avail time periods usually are available in standard lengths of 10, 20, 30 or 40 seconds each. Through the use of addressable advertising, which may provide access to hundreds of thousands of ads with different time lengths, it is possible for many different advertisements, going to different audiences to share a single avail.

Digital program insertion is the process of splicing media segments or programs together. Because digital media is typically composed of key frames and difference pictures that compose a group of pictures (GOP), the splicing of digital media is more complex than the splicing of analog media that has picture information in each frame which allows direct frame to frame splicing.

Figure 1.14 shows how an ad insertion system works in a CATV network. This diagram shows that the program media is received and a cue tone indicates the beginning of an advertising spot. When the incoming media is received by the splicer/remultiplexer, it informs the ad server that an advertising media clip is required. The ad server provides this media to the splicer which splices (attaches) each ad to the appropriate media stream. The resulting media stream with the new ad is sent to the viewers in the distribution system.

Figure 1.14., Television Ad Splicer

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Distribution Control

Distribution control is the processes that are used to route products or service uses to get from the manufacturer or supplier to the customer or end user. Media broadcasters may have several types of distribution networks including radio broadcast systems, cable television distribution, mobile video and Internet streaming.

Distribution systems use a mix of media encoding formats that can include MPEG, VC-1 along with other compressed forms. The transmission of media to viewers ranges from broadcast (one to many), multicast (point to multipoint) and unicast (point to point).

Asset management systems use work orders to define, setup and manage assets. A work order is a record that contains information that defines and quantifies a process that is used in the production of media (e.g. television programs) or services. The development and management of assets is called workflow.
As the number of available programs and channels increases, it is desirable to automate the workflow process. Workflow automation is the process of using a system that has established rules or procedures that allows for the acquisition, creation, scheduling or transmission of content assets.

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Introduction to CATV, 2nd Edition
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