Pebble Beach Systems is launching Marlin, an automated render solution to reduce dependence on dedicated 3D playout graphics hardware and minimise processing overheads for channel in a box solutions.
Demonstrated at IBC in conjunction with a plug-in for Adobe After Effects CC, Marlin (Marina Advanced Render List Integration) is a tightly integrated pre-render workflow tool. It’s available for both the Marina automation solution and for Pebble Beach Systems’ Stingray channel in a box product. The company claimed that Marlin frees up playout graphics equipment by managing the generation of 3D graphics in advance and then reinserting them into the playlist as a clip.
Marlin works by interrogating the Marina or Stingray playlist for events that need complex graphics promos and generates render requests where the graphic has not already been created. This information is sent to the render engine along with the appropriate graphics project, and the new graphic is generated. Marlin automatically moves the finished files, which can be generated in a format compatible with an existing video server or with channel in a box devices, to the chosen playout device. They are then played out at the appropriate time as standard video files.
The company claimed a series of unique features for Marlin, including the ability to determine how far ahead the playlist is interrogated, in order to optimise when jobs are processed relative to the likelihood of late changes. Render jobs are prioritised by earliest on-air time and are dynamically updated across all channels.
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