The Harris® D-Series DSX™ playout automation system delivers reliable, frame-accurate control of complex media distribution environments. It is an enterprise level automation solution designed to meet the demands of any high-capacity and dynamic broadcast playout environment. D-Series automation is an extremely scalable system that provides world-class device control for linear playout channels and manages the movement of file-based media to multiple delivery platforms.
 
D-Series playout automation commands a single architecture that can easily grow to manage more than 1,000 channels. A powerful, configurable user interface maximizes efficiency, simplifies facility reconfiguration and enables control large numbers of channels. System integrity and practical security — including user access — are provided across the entire facility through station-defined security policies. System configuration can be managed from any authorized operator workstation.
 
The dual redundant configuration of D-Series provides extremely high levels of system availability for a large broadcast facility. In fact, we believe that no other automation system available today can offer the same or even come close to the level of system reliability provided by D-Series.
 
As a fundamental part of the Harris media software portfolio, D-Series can not only stand alone, but can also form part of a tightly integrated operational environment where automation combines with media asset management as well as with traffic and scheduling systems. This level of integration enables D-Series customers to increase revenue opportunities by more complete control of individual assets throughout the broadcast value chain. At the same time they are able to reduce expenses through the automation of cross-application processing – while being confident that they are working with an environment that provides immense proven scalability as well as the highest reliability.

D-Series is also extraordinarily flexible. Dynamic device allocation and management
processes mean that the system is able to support a broad range of ingest and playout devices. Open metadata exchange is supported via BXF, MXF, AAF and V-ISAN.
 
D-Series is an automation system reflecting the needs of today and tomorrow. The no single point of failure redundancy of the architecture ensures ongoing stability, while the adaptability of our modular approach means that D-Series is ideally suited to bridging the transition to tomorrow’s multichannel content management and delivery environment.
 

FEATURES

The D-Series DSX playout automation solution emphasizes reliability, efficiency and security. Essential system management and operation features include:

Scalability

D-Series DSX manages large numbers and a wide variety of channels, playout devices and material management facilities, operating efficiently with maximum operator productivity. It can scale to over
1,000 distribution channels within a single control architecture.

Redundant Components

When configured for dual redundancy, backup computers (either local or remote) continuously shadow the main so that they can take over instantly if necessary — without any effect on running schedules.

Real-Time Operations

D-Series™ Device Controllers run the real-time D-Series DSX software and communicate with video servers, routers, master control and graphics equipment via RS-422 or IP, as required.

Manual Override

With fully prepared schedules, D-Series operation can be completely hands-off; but during sports or other live events, your operators can take control and make confident decisions as action unfolds. Dedicated hardware control panels allow more efficient management of system processes than does a keyboard and / or mouse.

Comprehensive Alarms

D-Series provides clear information about any alarm that is triggered, allowing you to work toward fast error resolution. All system errors are logged for later analysis.

Configurable User Categories

Individual viewing, editing and maintenance rights are set up for each class of operator in a customizable configuration table to ensure system security at all times.

Business and Asset Management

Integration D-Series DSX supports content and schedule integration via the SMPTE-2021 Broadcast eXchange Format (BXF). This standard is used for integration with traffic systems for log and as-run information, programming systems for schedule information, and digital asset management systems for content preparation and distribution.

PRODUCT DETAILS

Content delivery is instrumental in your success or failure to gain audience share. Regardless of your market segment or your delivery targets, playout efficiency and quality can help to capture viewers — or push them away. D-Series DSX helps grab and hold your audience by assuring playout quality to all media environments.

Broadcast Television

D-Series DSX provides central control of local content insertion, with the ability for local program origination to integrate with network feeds. The system supports growth through the efficient management of digital operations, the ability to seamlessly add channels and increased operator productivity.

Satellite/Cable TV and Radio

Multiplatform media companies face a growing number of delivery challenges — broadband, VOD, IPTV and mobile, to name a few. The stakes are raised even higher when local content and advertising needs to be inserted into programming. The D-Series DSX solution’s flexible delivery capabilities and structural efficiency lay the groundwork on which to build any media delivery operation.

IP Distribution

With the ability to ingest, manage and play out digital file-based media content in a fully online operation, D-Series DSX offers substantial benefits for telecommunications organizations, Internet service providers and any company that delivers content to wired or wireless devices over IP networks. D-Series DSX simplifies the process of converting content to diverse formats by seamlessly integrating with Harris digital asset management systems to automate content repurposing and redistribution. The result is enterprise flexibility — a necessary trait for tackling new media revenue opportunities.

Ingest Operations

Comprehensive ingest capabilities — from single spot operation to large-scale batch ingest — with quality-control features allow D-Series DSX to function as a standalone automation solution or to be integrated with Harris Invenio or third-party digital asset management systems. Additional ingest capabilities include: 

Traffic System Interoperability

D-Series DSX performs ingest and material-management operations based on work orders — such as record lists, cache lists, copy lists, delete lists and purge lists — produced by supported traffic systems. For late-arriving or unscheduled ingest orders, manual entry is quick and easy.

Confidence Checking

If supported by the video server, a file can begin playout while recording is still in progress — a feature that can be used to verify the integrity of encoded material during ingest.

Quality Safeguards

During ingest, files are recorded with a temporary file name to prevent the material from going to air or being transferred to other locations before its integrity is verified. At the end of recording, you can review the file within the D-Series DSX system to clear it for use. On release, the file name is changed to the proper one; if rejected, the file is deleted to allow the operation to be repeated.

Point Trimming

During the review process, the start and end of a program can be trimmed. Point trimming is particularly useful when recording live feeds; the original material remains in the server so that it can be retrimmed again, if required. The system database holds the new timing information.