Pixel Power NAB 2013 Preview

NEW FILE-BASED GRAPHICS COMPOSITING SOLUTION FOR NON-LINEAR TV SERVICES
Anticipating the need for greater deployment flexibility to support new services and delivery modes, Pixel Power will unveil a new file-based rendering solution that delivers the power of the Pixel Power world-class graphics engine in a software-only version that runs on standard IT hardware. The new solution will render audio and video files using the same template-based system as Clarity hardware systems. The software can render and composite graphics over video clips. Asset management and file delivery  features offer schedule-driven work order processing with flexible prioritisation to automatically manage multiple, distributed instances of the renderer to optimize processing resources. The new solution has a wide variety of applications including IPTV and nonlinear television services, VoD and other content repackaging, and news production.

NEW CORE GRAPHICS ENGINE ENHANCES LIVE PRODUCTION
A new version of the Pixel Power core graphics engine introduces powerful enhancements for live and other time-critical production scenarios. This software drives all Pixel Power integrated graphics systems: Clarity™ graphics production systems, BrandMaster™ master control switchers, LogoVision™ channel branding systems and ChannelMaster™ integrated playout systems.

Highlights of the new graphics engine include:
·    The new Smart Stacks feature greatly simplifies the delivery of complex graphics in studio shows, outside broadcast and other live productions by creating graphics rundowns that can easily be triggered by any operator.
·    TextFX provides accessible advanced control of text elements in 3D space, including HTML driven styles and an extensible library of pre-programmed move effects which eliminates much of the labour typically associated with keyframe animation of text in 3D space. TextFX enables any operator to deliver high profile 3D text animations for the most demanding applications.

INCREASED FLEXIBILITY WITH CHANNELMASTER INTEGRATED PLAYOUT SYSTEMS
ChannelMaster™ is the highly integrated, sophisticated, scalable channel playout system from Pixel Power. The ChannelMaster family provides a cost-effective, reliable approach to deploying new channels, without compromise, allowing channels with graphical requirements of all levels to be aired. ChannelMaster integrates storage, graphics, DVE, audio, subtitling, master control, live feed and long-form video playout within a single dedicated hardware platform. ChannelMaster also integrates with any automation and MAM system, or can be controlled with Pixel Power Gallium.

ChannelMaster gains a number of new features for NAB 2013 including support for built-in open subtitling from standard file formats. Built-in aspect ratio conversion at the point of playout enables broadcasters to apply horizontal and vertical resizing or pillar boxes to play 4:3 content on 16:9 channels, or to format HD content for playout on SD channels. It is now also possible to mix HD and SD content on a channel, converting material at playout as needed. The optimized use of FPGA-based filter processing in Pixel Power graphics cards provides a visually distinct advantage over standard IT-style systems.

LATEST VERSION OF GALLIUM
Pixel Power continues to satisfy channels’ need to place graphics at the centre of their playout requirements with the latest version of its Gallium™ integrated scheduling, asset management and automation system. Gallium provides automated control of Pixel Power’s transmission devices for graphics or complete channel playout, including ChannelMaster™. Gallium goes beyond what many expect from channel-in-a-box automation, providing enterprise-standard, scalable automated transmission. With the ability to manage multi-format content delivery, Gallium maximizes sharing across multiple channels, reducing workload and resource requirements while enhancing delivery and consistency with a single operator.