Customer Stories

Challenging media environment

TV Center (TVC) is a state-run television station and one of the largest broadcasters in Russia. Launched in 1997, it airs across Russian territory and has over 2,500 employees. From its Moscow base, it offers four regional channels and also covers two broadcasting zones under the TVCI (TVCenter International) brand.

“We create news with live broadcasts, in-house full-length material, and short sports digests,” explains Andrei Sukhanov, head of development at TVC Moscow. “We’re also the main broadcaster for events held by Moscow Mayor’s Office, events like Moscow City Days, some federal events and other local events.”

Such a wide range of coverage generates a lot of content. The broadcaster’s archive and retrieval system were in need of a significant upgrade to cope with the volume and efficient management of its assets. Working with Moscow-based systems integrator Vidau Systems, TVC Moscow choose to embrace Avid Everywhere and Avid MediaCentral, incorporating an asset management solution from the Avid Media Suite.

Integrating Avid Interplay | MAM

Sukhanov revealed that the main challenges facing the TV station were primarily due to unsupported legacy hardware, and a lack of interconnectivity. “We had tools with no support. And no vendor who could develop, expand, or add the functions that we needed in order to be more productive. The tools we were using, both software and hardware, became obsolete in 2010. Therefore it was time to upgrade our archive environment and we carried out a very intense analysis in preparation.”

After in-depth research, TVC Moscow decided to adopt  Interplay | MAM. Speed, scalability, and customization were key requirements.

“We were looking for a solution that would allow us to seamlessly customize the user interface and expand functionality in terms of storage capacity and processing power," says Sukhanov. “We sought a product that supported an unlimited number of connected devices, as we had a lot of content in the old system that needed to be migrated. Deploying a new system, on a modern platform that supports high-speed scaling, allows us to move forward. To expand, and to add more capacity in the future,” he adds.

Another important requirement was the chosen vendor’ reliability and quality of its technology, as well as comprehensive support options, “Ten years ago we implemented a solution by another vendor which is no longer supported and we would like to avoid such problems in the future,” he explains. “Therefore we chose to invest in a global brand with a rich history and solid development plans—Avid’s technology and company ethos, Avid Everywhere, fits perfectly.”

Interplay | MAM decreased the time it takes TVC Moscow to access, repurpose, and distribute its assets. “Our search process is dramatically streamlined. Previously we could search using only two or three fields. Now, we have more fields," Sukhanov continues. "So, it’s easier to search and filter results. Additionally, we can now store in-house assets, including full-length material—not just sections of news programs, like we used to.”

“The amount of content we’re keeping in the archive has drastically increased, but through efficient metadata tagging we’re able to find, access and monetize it more efficiently.” Sukhanov concludes, “Avid had a very clear answer for all the challenges we identified. The Interplay architecture is the most powerful and comprehensive, providing us with all the features needed. No other vendor could offer us the same functionality, flexibility, customizable, modifiable, and scalable features.”