Primestream improves Xchange MAM solution with new ingest capabilities

Primestream has introduced new ingest access capabilities for its Xchange media asset management (MAM) platform. Now, Xchange is able to access and log “growing files” from live broadcast feeds as the content is being recorded, creating powerful new efficiencies for news and sports producers, directors, and editors.

Most broadcasters today have a tool for ingesting live feeds, while others might have a platform that can manage media. But there are few solutions that bridge file-based workflows and signal-based architecture.

“Our Xchange solution does exactly that, with a powerful automation engine that ties together software, hardware, people, and improved workflows,” says Felipe Gonzales, Primestream customer success manager. “This gives media professionals the flexibility to create and customize the solution with smart workflows and to do this as their needs evolve over time — effectively future-proofing the operation.”

As a web-based, enterprise-ready MAM platform, Xchange is ideally suited for the remote media workflows of today and tomorrow — giving teams universal access to critical content and the ability to collaborate and contribute from anywhere. While Xchange has always had the ability to ingest file-based content, producers previously had to wait until the entire program was ingested and encoded before they could access and log the content in Xchange.

In contrast, the new Xchange ingest access feature enables journalists, editors, assistant directors, and producers to start creating a rough-cut edit of the program in real time as the live content is being captured in SDI- or IP-based operations, and then deliver the sequence immediately to air. The operator can review a live clip and use the timeline tools in Xchange to mark beginning and ending points of interesting segments, and also add metadata with descriptive comments to facilitate easy search and retrieval of relevant content. For example, when an extraordinary moment happens during a sports broadcast, a producer can put together a sequence of relevant clips during the game that can be immediately played out to air.

In addition to bringing immediacy and adding color to a live event broadcast, the Xchange ingest access capability for growing files also brings new efficiencies to postproduction. Once the producer has marked up the rough-cut edit, it can be handed off to an editor for further enhancement and polishing, such as adding transitions and graphics, for inclusion in a later scheduled program. The edit previously stored by the producer for the rough cut is instantly available to editors working in the Xchange shared environment, removing editing silos and facilitating remote collaboration. Xchange offers seamless integration with popular NLE tools such as Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro.

Through integrations with content distribution networks and more than 100 other third-party providers, Xchange delivers maximum MAM flexibility. This gives media operations the ability to link in the maximum number of content providers and workflows and enable the secure, real-time distribution of content to popular OTT platforms.

As with the rest of the media industry, news and sports broadcasters have had to adopt remote production workflows in order to protect their crews and control the spread of the coronavirus. And yet, important news has not stopped breaking, and sports fans are craving up-to-the-minute live content as never before.

“By enabling universal collaboration and access, Xchange is perfect for remote media workflows,” says Gonzales. “And now, with the ability to access growing files, Xchange is even more ideally suited for live news and sports operations that need to deliver up-to-the-second content as rapidly as possible. With these latest enhancements, Xchange further demonstrates Primestream’s leadership in developing systems that optimize media creativity and create a world where working with media is as easy as speaking one’s native language. That means removing as much complexity and as many manual tasks as possible from creative workflows and making it easier than ever to create content, regardless of physical location or infrastructure.” Sports Video