AVECO TV Automation: Steady growth continues in new countries and with existing customers

Come to see us at booth No. SU8020

In the Americas, AVECO automation continues its global reach adding Brazil and Colombia and signing on more customers in Mexico. Both US customers add functionality. 

AVECO is now in Brazil with its Master Control Room automation in Portuguese at multiple-channel broadcasters TV Morena and TV Centro America. An ASTRA Light system is on-air at the Supreme Court of Brazil a new customer who, like the Supreme Court of Mexico, appreciates AVECO’s non-windows platform for both security and reliability. In Colombia TeleCafe and multiple-channel RTVC are on-air with AVECO.

Farther north in Beaumont Texas, AVECO’s customer KFDM is expanding their AVECO system to include satellite dish control, file-based workflow directly with the editors and a fully redundant AVECO platform. KFDM has been running on a single automation server without a failure since 2003. Adding automation redundancy with that track record makes it even easier to sleep at night. In Long Island City New York SoundView Broadcasting, who has been with AVECO since 2005, got their new graphics machine automated and will upgrade to the next generation of their videoserver. At CMC Barbados: no new requirements for the AVECO that went on-air in 2004. “The system is working well, as promised. I forget about that computer. Haven’t had a look at it in months. It just does its job.” Garcia Thornhill, CMC Barbados. At Televisa’s terrestrial hub in Mexico City, reconfiguring AVECO is the norm. Working as a strong team, Televisa and AVECO continuously add and improve the automation system without affecting the on-air signal. From enhancing the file-based workflow to bringing HD under the automation umbrella, Televisa’s AVECO system is a constantly changing tailor-fit-solution.

AVECO is dedicated to automation with simple to sophisticated solutions for the Master Control Room, for News Studio, and for Media Management.

AVECO’s Master Control Room automation comes in simple out-of-the-box configurations or can be tailor-fit to specified requirements, chosen devices and Traffic systems. With live MOS integration to ENPS, iNews or Octopus, AVECO’s News Studio automation solution can provide one operator manual-assist to control all devices in a production studio: from cameras and robotic pedestals to audio switchers, graphics and video sources. AVECO’s Media Management automation either comes with its other products or as a stand-alone solution to move media in file based or video workflows.

All AVECO Automation solutions are built on the same platform: core ASTRA software, industrial PCs, the QNX operating system, and the open Sybase SQL database. With QNX you can hot swap software and have software modules run in memory protected address spaces. It is safer to work on AVECO on-air systems. The PC’s core is the 4U server: device control (control cards with port configurable to RS232 or RS422), database, automation software and GUI (QNX native, Windows and Web). A mirrored system has a second 4U server that is identical frameby- frame with the main server. A serial switchover unit connects both automation servers to devices. Fail-over to backup is automatic within the vertical blanking period. Additional single or mirrored servers are added as Orbiters, an AVECO automation architecture for large multi-channel operations. ASTRA Light is the slimmest AVECO automation solution running on a 2U PC Server/Client.

AVECO has remained under the same ownership since founded in 1992 in Prague, Czech Republic.

In the fast changing world of TV, AVECO continues to be a steady partner whose proven solutions and support keep the company growing: adding customers and adding functionality at its customer’s facilities. Their footprint in the Americas grew again last year.