Harmonic’s new ProMedia Capture video ingest engine promises to streamline content acquisition and save time in workflows that require realtime ingest from multiple sources such as video mastering, repurposing, archiving, and VoD, writes David Fox.
It will be available later this month and enables realtime ingest of live and tape-based HD or SD video for file-based production and multiscreen workflows, capturing files at the highest resolution directly into the formats needed for production or for distribution to multiple screens.
ProMedia Capture is the latest part of Harmonic’s ProMedia software suite and devices, introduced in August, which enable high-quality video creation and delivery to TV, PC, tablet, mobile phone, and other IP-connected devices.
It uses the ProMedia Carbon transcoding software, powered by Harmonic’s Rhozet technology, to offer the format flexibility to record directly upon ingest, without requiring intermediate transcoding.
“Whether ingesting content that’s headed to a non-linear editor as part of a news workflow, footage that’s going directly to connected storage, or programming that needs to be distributed to a TV and a smartphone simultaneously, this system saves valuable time and resources,” claimed Moore Macauley, Harmonic’s director of product management, multiscreen.
ProMedia Capture uses a web-based graphical user interface to control two independent ingest channels and VTRs, and allows users to monitor the process from anywhere.
Metadata and ancillary data are supported in several ways. The GUI provides a convenient application for handling CableLabs ADI package creation that can be automatically exported to VoD systems. An API provides a means for users to associate metadata with ingested files. For file formats that support ancillary data, ProMedia Capture preserves non-video or audio essence data such as VBI and VANC.
The system can be used as a standalone device, with 1.3TB of on-board storage, or fast turnaround editing and automated workflows can be further optimized through integration with Omneon MediaGrid shared storage and the Harmonic Workflow System.
