SUMMER TRAINING REPORT SUBMITTED TOWARDS THE PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT OF BACHOLERS OF TECHNOLOGY (ECE)

“Broadcasting & Network Automation”

SUBMITTED BY:
Divya Bassi
B.TECH (ECE) 2008-2012
Roll No: 80906108087

Industry Guide Faculty Guide

Mr. Arunava Konar Er. Anurag Sharma
Senior Manager

SWAMI VIVEKANAND INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY,

BANUR, DIST. – PATIALA, PUNJAB
 “SWAMI VIVEKANAND INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY”,
BANUR, DIST. – PATIALA, PUNJAB

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Mr. Divya Bassi, a student of B.Tech. (ECE),
Swami Vivekanand Institute of Engineering & Technology, Banur, Patiala
has worked on the “Broadcasting & Network Automation”, under the able
designation trainee, Company DISHTV India Limited.
The period for which he was on training for 6 weeks, starting from 28th
June’10 to 09th August’10. This Summer Training report has the requisite
standard for the partial fulfillment the Bachelor in Electronics &
Communication Engineering. To the best of our knowledge no part of this
report has been reproduced from any other report and the contents are based
on original research.
I wish him all success in his life.

Date: 09 AUGUST 2010

(Signature of the Internal Guide) (Signature of Student)

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The satisfaction of completion of any successful task is incomplete

without mentioning the name of people who made it possible and whose
constant guidance and encouragement crowned our efforts with success.

I have a pleasure in submitting the project report and I take this opportunity
to express my sincere gratitude to all those who have helped me in this
organization.

I express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Arunava Konar Senior Manager, who

gave the vital inputs and necessary information regarding the project and
organization. I would also like to thank my project guide for giving me the
opportunity constant encouragement, support and guidance and for imparting
their views regarding the project. I wish to place on record my sincere thanks
to people of DISH TV India Limited team for their contribution and
cooperation.

I am grateful to Mr. Ravi Bhushan Puri (C.T.O DISH TV), This project
report could not have been completed without his guidance.

I also wish to express my gratitude to Er. Anurag Sharma and all those who
have directly or indirectly given assistance in making this project easier and
possible.

Signature

(DIVYA BASSI)
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CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION OF THE TOPIC 2-3
1.1 Broadcasting 2
1.2 Television 2
1.2.1 Analogue television systems 2
1.3 Basic Understanding Under Analogous Television System 3
1.3.1 Frames 3
1.3.2 Viewing technology 3
1.3.3 Over scan 3

2. RELAIVE WORK DONE & BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE REPORT 5 - 10

2.1 Device Controller 5
2.2 Time Code Reader Card 6
2.3 GPI Card 7
2.4 RS422 Serial Card 8
2.5 Housekeeper 8
2.6 Browse Server 9
2.7 Browse System 10

3. LABORATORY REQUIREMENTS 12 – 16
3.1 Devices 12
3.2 Device Drivers 12
3.3 Device Status 13
3.4 Resource Manager 13
3.5 Serial Devices 14
3.6 Video Servers 15
3.7 Logomotion & Iconmaster) 16

4. TRANSMISSION 18 - 29
4.1 Introduction 18
4.2 Navigating the List 18
4.3 Transmission 19
4.3.1 Populating the list 19
4.3.2 Using drag and drop 19

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4.3.3 List controls 20

4.3.4 List control bar buttons 20
4.3.5 Running a playlist 21
4.3.6 List toolbar 21
4.3.7 Edit Mode 21
4.3.8 List menu options 21
4.3.9 Event fields 22
4.3.10 Editing layout 22
4.3.11 Event start types 23
4.3.12 Start type summary 24
4.3.13 Event end types 24
4.3.14 Fixed events 24
4.3.15 Understanding +/- 25
4.3.16 +/- Fields 25
4.3.17 Danger of small gaps 25
4.4 Controlling Secondary’s 26
4.5 GPIs 26
4.6 Search and Replace 26
4.7 Timers 27
4.8 List Properties 28
4.9 List Media Usage 29
4.10 Periscope Timeline 23

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Introduction of
The Topic

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1.0 Introduction of The Topic:

1.1 Broadcasting:
• Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals which
transmit programs to an audience. The audience may be the general public
or a relatively large sub-audience, such as children or young adults.

• The original term "broadcast" referred to the literal 'sowing of seeds' on

farms, by scattering them over a wide field. Broadcasting forms a very
large segment of the mass media. Broadcasting to a very narrow range of
audience is called narrowcasting.

1.2 Television:
• Television (TV) is a widely used telecommunication medium for
transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic ("black
and white") or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also
refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television
transmission. The word is derived from mixed Latin and Greek roots,
meaning "far sight": Greek tele far, and Latin visio, sight (from video, vis-
to see, or to view in the first person).

1.2.1 Analogue television systems:

• All but one analogue television system began life in monochrome. Each
country, faced with local political, technical, and economic issues, adopted
a color system which was effectively grafted onto an existing monochrome
system, using gaps in
• Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals which
transmit programs to an audience. The audience may be the general public
or a relatively large sub-audience, such as children or young adults.
• The original term "broadcast" referred to the literal 'sowing of seeds' on
farms, by scattering them over a wide field. Broadcasting forms a very

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large segment of the mass media. Broadcasting to a very narrow range of

audience is called narrowcasting.
• the video spectrum (explained below) to allow the color information to fit in
the channels allotted. In theory, any color system could be used with any
monochrome video system, but in practice some of the original
monochrome systems proved impractical to adapt to color and were
abandoned when the switch to color broadcasting was made. All countries
use one of three color systems: NTSC, PAL, or SECAM.

1.3 Basic Understanding Under Analogous Television System:

• Frames
• Viewing technology
• Over scan
• Audio
• Modulation

1.3.1 Frames:
Ignoring color, all television systems work in essentially the same manner.
The monochrome image seen by a camera (now, the luminance component of a
color image) is divided into horizontal scan lines, some number of which make up
a single image or frame.

1.3.2 Viewing technology:

Analog television signal standards are designed to be displayed on a

cathode ray tube (CRT), and so the physics of these devices necessarily controls
the format of the video signal.

1.3.3 Over scan:

Television images are unique in that they must incorporate regions of the
picture with reasonable-quality content, that will never be seen by some viewers.

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Relative Work Done &

Brief Description of The
Report

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2.0 Relative Work Done & Brief Description of The Report:

2.1 Device Controller:
 The controller communicates with and controls broadcast devices via
RS422 serial connections and, in some cases, via network connections.
GPI contacts can also be issued for the more simple devices.

Controller features
• Easy case access (two thumb screws to remove the lid)
• Single or dual PSU options
• Support for up to four 8 port RS422 cards, allowing control of 32 serial
devices
• Supports multiple 8 relay, 8 input GPI cards
• Control of up to 20 different devices
• Support for up to 16 playlists

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Inside the controller chassis:-

2.2 Time Code Reader Card:

• Reads and generates both LTC and VITC
• Will continue outputting time code in the absence or loss of either LTC or
VITC
• The board has one LTC input, one Video input, one LTC output and one
video output.

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Checking the card status

• The card status can be checked from within windows Device Manager.
• Can be useful if you think you have problems with your time code feeds

2.3 GPI Card:

• The GPI card is an Advantech PCI-1760
• The automation will accept as many GPI cards as there are available PCI
slots

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2.4 RS422 Serial Card:

• The device controller uses PCI RS422 serial cards to control devices
• Each board has eight serial ports
• Each port is selectable as a master (controller) or slave (device)
• For a device controller all switches on the card should be set to the on
position

2.5 Housekeeper:
• The Housekeeper is responsible for the non-real time functions of the
system, such as
• As-run logging

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• User action and system logging

• Managing the system database.
• It also acts as a file server from which playlists can be saved or
loaded.
• It‟s primary function is as a database server, holding records of all content
and
• associated metadata know to the automation

2.6 Browse Server:

A browse encoder device is employed to take an input SDI stream and

generate a low resolution version of broadcast content. This content is
stored on the browse server.
• Browse content will contain VITC information.
• Browse versions of content can be used as enablers for things like desktop
editing.

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2.7 Browse System:

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Laboratory
Requirements

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3.0 laboratory Requirements:

3.1 Devices:
Neptune has the capability to interface and control a variety of devices. Devices
can be controlled by serial, GPI or network communication.
• When a system is installed, the devices are configured for control by
automation and are shown in the Neptune explorer tree.
• In this example, there is a video server, two standalone VTRs, a cart
machine with two internal VTRs, browse server, Clarity, Subtitle and GPI
secondary devices, and a Router.
Secondary devices are represented by the yellow dot

3.2 Device Drivers:

• Each device that Pebble Beach controls may use a custom driver or
standard protocol to communicate
• Pebble Beach use the following drivers with standard protocols:
• VDCP
• GVGM2100
• CII2

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3.3 Device Status:

 All devices which are controlled via serial or network are shown in the
device status of the client (shortcut F3).
• The device status shows how each device is connected and if it is
communicating with the automation.
• For non-secondary devices it also shows status information, for example,
whether in play, cued etc.
• For secondary devices, a separate UI is provided for status information by
double-clicking on the device in the explorer tree.
• This is a very useful tool to check if you are having trouble with your
devices.

Device Status display

3.4 Resource Manager:

• To view which resources are allocated where, we can use the Resource
Manager.
• The resource manager is primarily an engineering tool. It provides a view
of which devices are available to the system and how they are being used.
• Resources can be acquired or released at any time.
• Be careful! You do not want to acquire a stream used by the list.

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3.5 Serial Devices:

• Each serial device will have a COM port associated with it.
• Devices are usually connected to an RS422 serial card within the controller.
• Each serial card has 8 COM ports.
• The first COM port available on the first serial card will be numbered 3. This
is because there are two RS232 COM ports board.
Network Devices
• Devices that are controlled via network communication, may have a
storage collection in which Pebble Beach can access by specifying a
directory path within the configuration.
• Such devices are:
• character generators
• subtitlers
• servers
• Network controlled devices can be either a main or slave device.
GPI Devices
• Such devices require only a simple on/off command
• For example, these are:

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• aspect ratio converter

• audio processors
• logo generators
• regional opt-outs.
• GPI inputs can be used to trigger playlist functions such as Play, Next, Play
Next, Cue Next and Recue.
With each GPI card, there are 8 outputs and 8 inputs
Manual Control
• GPI outputs can be controlled manually by using the GPI interface. This can
be accessed by double-clicking on the GPI symbol in the Neptune
explorer tree.

3.6 Video Servers:

• A video server is controlled by serial communication and uses VDCP (Video
Disk Control Protocol).
• Using VDCP allows Pebble Beach to have direct communication with the
device.

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• A video server may contain ports that are capable of either playout or
ingest, and in some cases both. All server ports whether an encoder or
decoder are denoted by the icons shown to the right. Each server port
connects to one serial communication port.

3.7 Logomotion & Iconmaster:

• The logoMotion is controlled using RS422 serial communication.
• The IconMaster is connected to the automation via serial control and uses
the GVGM2100 protocol.
Both devices are set up as secondary devices and can be scheduled in list
as a secondary event.

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Transmission

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4.0 Transmission Of PBS (Pebble Beach Systems):

4.1 Introduction:
• The transmission client provides a user interface to enable the transmission
operator to control the playback of material using playlists.
• Transmission clients share the same software as Ingest clients, though
functionality of the client may differ depending on the system
configuration.

4.2 Navigating the List:

• To open a transmission list, click on the + sign next to the Transmission
folder to expand the branch in the Neptune explorer tree.

Playlist:

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4.3 Transmission:
• Each channel a broadcaster transmits that is under automation control will
have associated with it a playlist.
• A playlist is a schedule of events run by Neptune. An event in a list is
represented by either a media event, such as a program or a commercial, a
live event or an event comment.
• Both media events and live events may have secondary events associated
with it. For example, logos, Keyers, GPI triggers, subtitles etc. Comments
are editable data fields that allow the operator to make notes, enable list
looping or add markers in the list.

4.3.1 Populating the list

• Transmission lists are populated by loading a pre-scheduled playlist or by
manually creating and modifying events.
• When loading a playlist the operator can choose between the following
options:
• Open a List. This will create a new playlist and overwrite an existing
playlist.
• Append a List. This will add a new playlist to the end of the existing
playlist.
• Insert a List. The operator may specify where in the transmission list,
the playlist is to be inserted.

4.3.2 Using drag and drop

• Events can be moved or copied by drag and drop from one position to
another in the same transmission list or from one transmission channel to
another
• Events can also be copied from a content window to a transmission list. For
example, storage device or database content.

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4.3.3 List controls

• Starting a List – the list can be started by selecting the CUE button and
then pressing the PLAY button
• Stopping a List – the list can be stopped by selecting either the UNCUE or
RECUE button
• Selecting RECUE will stop the list running, recue the event that had
been playing to air and keep the list cued.
• Selecting UNCUE will stop the list and take it out of the cued state
Skipping the event – If you need to skip to the next event immediately select the
NEXT button.

4.3.4 List control bar buttons

• Control bar can be edited to remove, add or rearrange different control
buttons. Note, CUE and UNCUE cannot be edited.
• The table below summarises those available:

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4.3.5 Running a playlist

• Once a playlist is running, the events may be coloured to show four
different statuses:
• Green – event is On Air
• Yellow – event is cued or in preroll
• Red – media is unavailable
• Dark Green – event is in postroll

4.3.6 List toolbar

• The list toolbar has a number of shortcuts to event property windows
within the list.
• The table below shows a summary of the shortcuts available:

4.3.7 Edit Mode

• Before any changes can be made to the list, whether editing an event or
opening a playlist „edit mode‟ must be enabled.
• Selecting F4, double-clicking in the control bar using the toolbar shortcut
will place the list in edit mode.
• Edit mode has a timeout. By default, this is set to 1 minute.
• When in „edit mode‟, the control bar will be highlighted red

4.3.8 List menu options

• The list dropdown menu provides the user with a variety of useful
functions. It can be accessed by right-clicking over the playlist area.

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4.3.9 Event fields

• You will notice that associated with each event in a list are quite a large
number of fields.
• Because so many fields are available they cannot all be displayed on the
screen at the same time.
• Those that are out of view can be accessed by using the horizontal scroll
bar located at the bottom of the list.

4.3.10 Editing layout

• This function is accessible by right clicking on a list and from the right-click
menu and selecting the Layout option. This will display the layout
configuration tool.

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4.3.11 Event start types

• Start types that are available are:

• Sequential
• Fixed
• Manual
• Each start type is shown in a different background colour so that operators
can be alerted when their input or attention is needed.
• A sequential start will not need any operator input so has a white
background colour. The fixed start type is shown with an orange
background colour and the manual start type a red background colour to
indicate operator input is required.

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4.3.12 Start type summary

• The table is a summary of the event start types available for the list.

4.3.13 Event end types

• The live event source is selected from a dropdown menu of configured
sources, available in “SRC” column of the event.
• Live events can be configured with either a known (“Normal”) duration “N”
or an unknown duration “U”. Live events with an unknown duration will
play until a user manually exits the event by clicking the list “Next” button.

4.3.14 Fixed events

• When selecting a fixed event, the operator must consider the Time and
Date fields in a list. If a fixed start type is selected the Time and Date fields
are automatically populated with data. By default, this data is shown as if
the event was a sequential start i.e the time and date follows from the
previous event.

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4.3.15 Understanding +/-

• The +/- field in a playlist will indicate to the operator if the playlist is
running as scheduled.
• The Time and Date fields can be used to keep track of how the list is
running. These fields will allow the operator to see if a playlist is running
early or late, or if there is a gap or an overlap between events.

4.3.16 +/- Fields

• The various states are described as follows:
• Early. If a time is entered in the Time field, Early will be displayed
only on a sequential event, when the estimated start time for the
event is earlier than the scheduled time.
• Late. If a time is entered in the Time field, Late will be displayed only
on a sequential event, when the estimated start time for the event is
later than the scheduled time.
• Gap. This will be displayed only on fixed events, where the end of the
previous event will finish before the start time of the fixed event. The
size of a gap can be from 1 frame to 99 hours.
• Overlap. This will be created only on fixed events, where the start
time of the fixed event is due to begin before the end of any previous
event.

4.3.17 Danger of small gaps

• Small gaps can appear in a playlist when using fixed start events.
Ordinarily, a fixed start event should be used so that an event can play at a
fixed start time, and replace whatever the current clip on air is.
• The danger of using fixed starts is that you have a gap between the playing
segment, and the time of the fixed start.
• If the gap is a large gap, you will see black, or the first frame of the next
clip.

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• If this gap before the fixed event is very small (less than 3 seconds) the
consequences become a lot more serious. If we assume a gap of 10
frames, the video server will drop its playbit. When this is done, the video
server will not have time to cue the event, and the event will be dropped,
with the dev aborted message.

4.4 Controlling Secondary’s:

• Neptune supports many types of secondary event. A secondary event can
occur at the same time or at an offset from the primary event to which it is
associated. Some examples of slave events include CG, DVE, GPI, Logo
inserters etc.
• Secondary events are managed by the Secondary Event Properties panel in
the list. The properties panel can be toggled on/off using the relevant
shortcut icon in the toolbar.

Secondary Event Properites

Secondary Event List

4.5 GPIs:
• GPIs can be triggered by entering a pre-defined macro set for each list.
• Each GPI macro is pre-configured in the controller registry
• A GPI is scheduled as a secondary event or as a macro within the playlist

4.6 Search and Replace:

• The search and replace tool enables the user to search through the playlist
for events and choose to replace them individually or all at once.

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• The tool can be opened by right-clicking within the list and selecting Search
and Replace or by selecting the icon in the toolbar.

4.7 Timers:

• Timers monitor any event in a transmission list including media, live or

marker events.
• Timers will show a dynamic count from the current on air event to any
event in the playlist that is tagged with a timer or to the first of any event
type.
• The timers are updated each frame and take into account any user actions,
such as a skip or schedule changes.

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4.8 List Properties:

• For each list, there are some configurable properties. Right-clicking on the
list from the explorer tree will reveal this property window

4.9 List Media Usage:

• List Media Usage is a table which lists all media currently in use by all the
transmission lists in the system.
• It is dynamically updated as the media changes status i.e. cued, on-air etc
and is listed in the order of „most needed‟ first.

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4.10 Periscope Timeline:

• The timeline displays multiple lists across one screen in a pictorial fashion

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