includes tasks like transcoding, auto QC, file movement, archive and store, and much more. That level of detail is impor
OTT
DO YOU HAVE A MAM SOLUTION? ONE OF THE TOP QUESTIONS I GET ASKED AT TRADE SHOWS IS, “DO YOU HAVE A MAM SOLUTION?”
Paul Wilkins Director Solutions & Marketing, TMD.
Well, yes. Of course. It’s what we do; but thank you for asking. What you should be asking is, “What differentiates your MAM solution from the rest of the MAM pack?” NOW WE HAVE SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT.
For a lot of MAM solutions out there, workflows are designed – and defined – by writing scripts. There are various ways of trying to make that scriptwriting process easier, but basically you need someone who is skilled enough at programming to write something genuinely useful for your business.
have an in- house programmer available to write a new script. It’s time consuming, potentially costly, and the MAM supplier is often unable to respond within the required timeframe. SO THAT’S WHERE YOUR DIFFERENTIATOR COMES IN?
Yes. Within our Mediaflex® range of products we offer a graphical user interface that enables an authorised user to simply build workflows by dragging tasks blocks from an extensive task library and arranging them in the required sequence. Once designed, workflows are saved as presets and can be launched either manually or automatically. There are no limitations on the number of workflow presets supported by the system. IT MUST BE A PRETTY COMPREHENSIVE LIBRARY.
THAT SEEMS PRETTY STANDARD, BUT IS THERE A DOWNSIDE?
There’s a big downside, and it’s one that we regularly see throughout the industry. Whenever anyone wants to make a change to their workflow, as they often do as working practices evolve, they have to return to their MAM manufacturer, unless they
Our library has been built up as a result of providing service to major media clients over more than 15 years and includes more than 40 tasks that cover all of the major operations that typically take place within a media-centric workflow. That includes tasks like transcoding, auto QC, file movement, archive and store, and much more. That level of detail is important to the user. For example, there’s a task to move tapes from A to B if you want to move a tape from your library to your ingest area; there’s a task for ingest; a task for assessment; a task for editing, and much more. A whole sequence of tasks to address specific workflow requirements can be built because there’s nothing missing, which in turn means that you don’t have to go back to a manufacturer and ask for new scripts to achieve what you want to do.
DOES THAT, IN EFFECT, DIMINISH THE NEED FOR IN-HOUSE PROGRAMMING EXPERTISE, OR THE NEED TO HIRE IT IN?
Yes, and that’s an important message. Anyone with half a day’s training can build workflows by dragging the required tasks into the Mediaflex workflow designer. You right click on the task and an edit screen pops up that enables you set up the preferred parameters for that task. It’s that simple, and it’s a huge time and money saver. SURELY, AS BUSINESS MODELS AND ASSOCIATED WORKFLOW REQUIREMENTS EVOLVE, THERE MUST BE A NEED FOR SOME HIGHLY SPECIALISED TASKS. DO YOU ACCOUNT FOR THOSE?
Yes. There are specialist tasks that enable the user to make their own decisions within the workflow. We call it “content intelligence”, which lets us branch the workflow depending on the value of the selected metadata fields. The user can make those decisions based on any metadata field in the system. A typical example would be if a file format was HD, it could be branched one way, if it was SD, it could be branched another depending on the needs of the user. It would be the same, for example, in QC. A “pass” goes one way, a “fail” triggers an alarm to an operator. IS THAT FUNCTIONALITY DIFFERENT FROM OTHER OFFERINGS ON THE MARKET?
Being objective, most manufactures would offer roughly similar functionality in those terms but, again, it boils down to the script. If a user wants to add decision criteria, as end users often do, someone has to edit the script.
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