Automated playout system upgrade

For Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) we upgraded the automated program playout system that we had originally installed back in 2012. This time the task was to replace all of the hardware while keeping the existing software and the Morpheus licences owned by the client, delivered turnkey and without interrupting daily broadcasting.

We supplied and integrated a new video server subsystem with central storage for the playout of six television channels. Every program output has a frame accurate mirror on a physically separate backup server, with dedicated servers for ingest and content review. The central storage was built in a redundant architecture with no single point of failure and a capacity of over 240 TB.

The Grass Valley Morpheus automation itself was renewed across its client, server, and control layers with full N+N redundancy. The control layer can keep broadcasting autonomously from the last playlist for up to five hours if the network is lost entirely. It drives the existing Grass Valley Trinix router, master mixers, and a range of broadcast devices, and connects to the existing Partis scheduling system.

We installed around 30 workstations with dual monitors across the daily program control rooms, master control, and content preparation areas, all housed in three new equipment racks in the master control room. The work was carried out with production running 24/7 throughout, followed by technical testing, a trial period, and a first year of warranty and maintenance.