Thai broadcaster upgrades core content services with file-based technology in existing SDI environment

HONG KONG, October 27, 2022 – Amarin TV 34HD has implemented a new HD playout system from Imagine Communications at its headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand. Built on the widely deployed ADC™ automation and Nexio+™ AMP media server, the installation enables Amarin TV to achieve real operational efficiency gains and high reliability, while integrating the new playout and asset management system with their current server and distribution architecture to respect existing capital investment.

Amarin TV 34HD, one of Thailand’s digital terrestrial television channels, has been on air since 2013. When its original playout system became obsolete, Amarin TV looked at the market for content management and delivery, and identified Imagine as offering solutions that could best meet their current and future needs. In particular, the Imagine proposal provided an end-to-end software-based solution that integrates seamlessly with the rest of Amarin TV’s SDI-based infrastructure.

“We had a clear idea of what we needed to achieve with our new playout automation network — both for our operations today, as we develop our workflows, and as a building block towards a more file-based future,” said Cheewapat Nathalang, CTO of Amarin TV.

Central to the new playout system is Imagine’s ADC automation — reliable and stable software used worldwide by media companies of all sizes. The ADC software tightly integrates with the Nexio+ AMP channel playout servers and Nexio® Motion™ asset management software. Motion provides a dynamic link between the Nexio on-air network and Amarin TV’s existing shared storage. The new workflow reconciles all incoming SDI feeds ingested using the ADC Media Client before being handled as files and transferred to the intermediate and long-term storage as appropriate.

The close integration of ADC, Nexio and Motion means that routine operations are highly automated. Transfers between Imagine’s IOX SAN storage pools are via watch folders, and ADC can interrogate the system for missing material based on playlists and purge content based on business rules. As all content is handled as files within the playout and asset management system, transfers are swift and secure and can be prioritized for urgent demands.

The new system was developed and implemented in cooperation with local systems integrator SWS Group Company Limited, whose GM, Pairoj Kittikulpaisal, commented, “Imagine Communications has always been a reliable brand, providing good support to our team for many years. We greatly trust Imagine’s products and solution, and this together with their ongoing help enables us to provide the best local support to all our customers.”

The complete system is fully redundant in a 1+1 configuration. ADC also manages the master control switcher, which supports graphics insertion, and Imagine’s Platinum™ VX SDI router for live feeds.

“Thailand is a very buoyant media market — and one where customers continue to build out facilities based on SDI infrastructure,” said Mathias Eckert, SVP & GM EMEA and APAC for Imagine Communications. “Amarin TV wanted a highly resilient, highly automated playout infrastructure that would seamlessly integrate into their existing SDI environment, and our well-established and proven ADC and Nexio products fitted the bill precisely. With strong local support from our Bangkok partners SWS Group Company Limited, we were able to tailor the system to Amarin TV’s precise requirements.”