the
channel
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* Rights
– Mediaflex tracks the ownership of media items and relates
it to the appropriate contracts.
* Contacts
– a database of contacts is built for suppliers, clients,
rights owners etc.
Enhanced Application Services
An expanding number of Enhanced Application Modules are also
available to handle the management of such activities
as , Ingest, Storage and Archive , Facilities,
Accountability, Delivery, Financial and Airtime
Sales.
Delivering the goods
An increasing number of companies are recognising
that Media Asset Management is not simply a
database or library system by another name. It is a
sophisticated and all-encompassing solution which
is designed to better manage the content – and thus
the business.
The bottom line is that a Media Asset Management – or Total Media
Management - system must deliver better economics for media
organisations. It must be able to demonstrate better utilisation of
both human and physical resources. It must help to reduce operational
costs by accurately
identifying monies
associated
with
equipment, people and
tasks. It should
increase revenues by
ensuring that available
capacity is used to
maximum benefit.
To achieve these
economic targets, the
systemmust obviously
be
capable
of
managing not only the
media but also the
people and equipment
that are required to process and progress it through the enterprise.
And all these activities must be integrated throughout the entire
lifecycle of the media asset.
Any broadcast organisation is only as good as its media. This
most valuable of resources needs to be diligently and
scrupulously managed. After all, that’s its business. Media
management is the business.
Have you seen my assets?
The Mediaflex MetaServer
This is a repository for storing information about the media objects
and the enterprise. Based on an Oracle RDBMS, the MetaServer is
built with an understanding of the complex way in which entities
commonly used within the broadcast and media industries relate to
each other. It identifies and manages media objects from first concept
through every stage of the lifecycle. Several separate content layers
provide a logical structure for collecting and storing the data
associated with each of the individual objects. These
layers are:
• title – the highest level of management which
might be an individual programme, series or a
number of linked items under a common heading
• version – individual versions such as
distributor masters or TX masters
• content (essence) – components of the
versions such as video and audio, script text,
subtitle files etc
• physical – the actual physical media
containing the content including video tapes and audio
cassettes, paper scripts, film reels, etc.
Workflow layer
This component of Mediaflex provides an organisation with a
permanently updated view of all their operational processes
and business workflow. It has been designed to drive and
manage activities,
whether they relate
to objects, work,
resources, people or
time, through an
agreed workflow
process. The output
from one task will
drive the status of
the next, and if an
action is required as
part
of
the
w o r k f l o w ,
Mediaflex
will
either raise an
instruction for it to
be carried out or flag it as being necessary, or both. This will
be communicated to the relevant users.
Basic Application Services
Mediaflex includes a set of Basic Application Services (and
administrative functions) to provide support for common activities
within broadcast organisations.
* Library
– handles all logistical aspects of the physical storage of
media in all its formats (including videotapes, films, books, scripts,
audio tapes). It provides logging, indexing, categorizing, storage and
retrieval functionality.
* Resources
– Mediaflex keeps track of an enterprise’s resources
both physical and human, including edit suites and dubbing booths,
individual VTR machines, servers and incoming lines.
TMD is a privately held UK company that specialises in providing
business solutions and services to the broadcast and media
sectors. The company was founded in 1988 by a management
team with considerable experience in both the business and
operational aspects of the broadcast and media sectors.
Sorted workflow in Mediaflex
Mediaflex library logging
