Playout Equipment

One of Antenna TV's Continuity/Playout Suites in Athens

The playout/continuity area of a TV station or TV Programme Provider is a fundamental part of the system. Its main role is to determine what programme material is seen by the viewer and it is here that the programme is enriched by the addition of channel branding, graphics, and other information.

The traditional playout system comprises of a signal router for the various sources, a video/audio mixer, a logo/graphics generator and a suitable server for long- and short-form content, plus interstitial material such as clips, promos and advertising. In some cases live commentary is also added here. Newer systems are becoming file-based and multi-channel and we have substantial experience in this area.

The output signals from the continuity area then pass through various signal processing depending on the ultimate destination(s) of the programme, be it for analogue or digital transmission, WebTV or Mobile TV.

Telmaco has many years’ experience in providing the equipment for playout systems and also supplying the total system to many local and international TV stations. Some of these have been basic single-channel installations, others have been multi-channel systems together with automation and station management systems.

One large recent multi-channel installation is at Forthnet/Nova in Athens.

Our partners in this area include Aveco (Automation), Provys (TV station management), Miranda Technologies (Routers, Channel Branding and Processing) plus we work with all major Video Server manufacturers.