Mediaset news service TG6 implements Dalet during production upgrade

TG5, the news service of Canale 5 – which is the leading network operated by Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset – was recently upgraded to a fully digital production infrastructure. At the foundation of the new set-up is the Dalet Galaxy media asset management platform, which has already been in use for some months by the Sport Mediaset team.

TG5 implements the latest version of Dalet Galaxy that has new elements compared to the previous release, 3.5, as already integrated by News Mediaset. Notable innovations include: a shift to shared 64-bit technology; integration of an engine dedicated to graphics; and a new and complete solution dedicated to editing and voiceover that makes it easier for the editor to finish a more ‘complete’ story. In addition, enhanced handling is available during the search, retrieve and filing of assets.

With these latest integrated modules, the Dalet Galaxy system makes it possible to manage the entire news production cycle via the MAM up to playout without resorting to third-party applications. The system was developed and integrated by Dalet Italy.

Inside the workflow

TG5 counts as many as 200 ‘activated’ clients, but this total rises to 800 when licenses activated for other news services in production are included. And the number is expected to grow beyond 1,000 during 2017.

In total, the company uses about 100 channels between the various playouts, newsrooms and so on. The core workflow involves 30 channels of ingest and an Evertz EQX16-FRQT-XLINK routing and distribution solution, with a half 16RU frame supporting expansion to 288×288 – although at present it is configured 144 in / 144 out. Some 27 XLINK modules have also been provided.

IP technology and fiber connectivity make it possible to have a highly redundant and flexible solution, offering the opportunity for easy change of the configuration and type of inputs and outputs.

Once acquired, the materials are made available using DDN Storage’s Data Direct Media Power S2A9000. Also integral to the new infrastructure is the Quantum LTO drive, which is devoted primarily to archive material.

Flexible operations

As previously mentioned, Galaxy makes it possible to manage the entire production of news without having to resort to external solutions. For example, the integration module for graphics, Cube, allows operators to insert titles and graphics, automatically, in accordance with templates; the reporter need only insert the text.

Another important element concerns the efficient control of the rights of the various contributions requested from the archive. Every single staff member may use one of the 200 clients, which includes modules dedicated to the various phases of acquisition and management of materials, both editing and graphics, to achieve complete autonomy in its stories. Once available they become available for hierarchical verification, and for airing.

The playout server, Brio, is integrated with Dalet worldwide to handle ingestion, metadata and playout, along with Cube for graphics.