Arte, the Franco-German cultural network, has moved to a file-based workflow based on MXF-wrapped AVC-Intra HD content. To manage the ingest, asset movements and playout preparation it has asked EVS OpenCube to build the technology. Arte is based in Strasbourg, with facilities in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris and Baden-Baden in Germany. Programmes are largely ingested in Paris, with some in Baden-Baden, and played out from Strasbourg. Content is moved between centres as files, so maintaining consistency in file format is critical. The solution uses 100Mb/s AVC-Intra in an MXF Op 1a wrapper for ingest and exchange between centres, and an MXF Op 1b wrapper for playout. This allows multiple channel audio to be supported, as programmes are produced in both French and German, and often broadcast to other countries too. The OpenCube HD ingest server provides the right functionality for this workflow, as well as supporting AVI MPEG-2 for Arte’s SD output, which will be retained through the transition to HD. The ingest servers are directly connected to EMC Isilon production storage. New content, usually from tape, are added directly to the network, and are checked by “vérificateurs” (QC) on the fly, using the OpenCube XF Reader. “EVS-OpenCube has come up with the perfect solution for mastering our transition to HD production,” said Denis Grison, digitisation centre project manager at ARTE in Paris. “The company has provided us with high performance, easy–to–use MXF technology and the flexibility needed so that it adapts to our requirements. We are all delighted with the new HD ingest and quality control solution, in particular our team of vérificateurs.”
