PSI Broadcasting selects PlayBox Neo playout systems for new HD channels

Thai television broadcaster and playout service provider PSI Broadcasting has expanded its investment in PlayBox Neo equipment with the purchase of latest-generation Channel-in-a-Box servers for integration into its Bangkok headquarters. Each CIAB server includes a complete suite of AirBox Neo-20 playout software plus TitleBox Neo-20 graphics and Capture Suite ingest management.

“We operate a large playout system for our own 1080i high definition television channel and in a hosting role on behalf of third-party channels,” says Rattana Taipong, PSI Broadcasting’s technical manager. “It is based on PlayBox Neo servers which have proved highly reliable over the years. They give our operators all the facilities they need to perform their duties efficiently and effectively, from ingest, program prescheduling and commercials insertion right through to transmission. The whole process can be performed on a fully automated basis while retaining the ability to go live whenever needed. We also subscribe to PlayBox Neo’s Annual Service Maintenance offering which gives us 24/7 support if needed – fortunately very rare. We also get access to the latest software updates across the entire product range; that is certainly useful as it ensures we are able to react quickly to new interface protocols and file formats.”

“PSI Broadcasting has proved an excellent customer over the years, both with its own television channel and as a highly experienced provider of turnkey playout services for its various customers,” adds Nut Deesamer, director of PlayBox Neo’s Thailand branch. “We worked directly with them during the installation phase of this latest system expansion and provided training on the recently introduced Capture Suite which is designed to make ingest fast and easy.”

Centered on a scalable multi-format parallel output playout/streaming engine, AirBox Neo-20 allows media files of various kinds to be combined into a single transmission playlist. Simultaneous multiple SDI/IP streaming UHD/HD/SD outputs are supported. Files can be trimmed, edited or repositioned at any time prior to being aired, without losing the freedom to transmit live. Playlists can be scheduled weeks in advance for automated transmission. Gaps and time overlaps are automatically corrected to ensure continuous operation even when events with conflicting times are present. Special protection is provided to ensure uninterrupted operation if content files or schedules are missing or misplaced.

TitleBox Neo-20 provides total control of titling, graphics generation and text management in advance of transmission and live on-air. The feature set includes horizontal crawling text, vertically rolling credits and messages, still and animated logo graphics, analogue and digital clocks, banner slideshows and chat text with automated horizontal or vertical scrolling. Among the additional creative facilities are preconstructed graphic components, video resizing (from live source or file), window-style display and website content ingest.

PlayBox Neo’s Capture Suite enables television station management staff to control multiple ingest channels across multiple servers via a single graphic interface. Functions such as input selection, ingest presets, file naming, file assignment and auto-transfer can be performed with a single click. Capture Suite integrates closely with AirBox Neo-20 or can be used standalone to support the production workflow at any media publishing house, post-production facility or playout service provider. External control can be performed directly from AirBox Neo-20 automation, including the ability to assign time zones to each ingest instance for scheduled playout across specific regions. Creative Cow