NAB 2014: Grass Valley’s cloud-based GV Stratus Playout for regionalised playout has debuted in Las Vegas.

The playout software service handles playlist preparation, distribution, control and comprehensive monitoring of playout devices in the cloud.

The broadcaster retains full control of the location and movement of their broadcast media and ingest, content preparation and asset management remain on premises.

Designed for national broadcasters, specialty channel providers and playout service providers, GV Stratus Playout runs on Microsoft’s Azure cloud service.

All system metadata is stored three times in each data centre and then replicated in real-time replication between data centres, making it highly redundant, Grass Valley said.

The Software as a Service (SaaS) technology is enabled by the SSP-3801 solid-state playout module for the Densité modular platform.

This uses solid-state high-grade media storage and integrates with GV Stratus Playout using secure web service protocols.

The standalone card has an embedded Linux OS.

The company said the card could be easily installed at the edge of any network and provides frame accurate playback, displays still and animated logos and high quality pre-rendered graphics.

Grass Valley’s president Marco Lopez said: “GV Stratus Playout genuinely delivers powerful, tangible benefits to the industry, foremost being the ability to install a single, solid-state card, establish an internet connection and start playing out a new channel, in minutes.

“It’s fast, breathtakingly simple for the user and provides unprecedented flexibility.”

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