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News Release from: Rockwell Automation | Subject: Standards in the broadcast industry
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 23 September 2005
Open standards for the broadcast
industry
Using industrial automation techniques, a supplier of broadcast hardware has redesigned the equipment it supplies - offering a level of openness and flexibility far ahead of alternatives
Using industrial automation techniques, a supplier of broadcast hardware has redesigned the equipment it supplies - offering a level of openness and flexibility far ahead of alternatives Like any specialist market sector, the broadcast industry has its own collection of niche suppliers, offering highly tailored solutions
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 13 Aug 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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Although they may well be fit for purpose, their bespoke nature ties customers in, leaving them little free reign to be flexible, creative and - a vital capability for the modern environment - agile.
"Bitten by bespoke," exclaims Martin Coleman of Dorset-based Colem Communications (CCL).
"That is the best way to sum up how our market currently operates.
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There are countless suppliers all with equipment that does exactly what it says on the tin, however, it won't talk to the others - each supplier has its own language, standards and communication protocols.
With some forethought andusing the Rockwell Automation eagerness to help us address this market, we are developing some solutions to add to our product range that we believe is going to revolutionise the broadcast industry".
The solution offered by Colem takes advantage of the flexibility and power offered by Rockwell Software RSView Supervisory Edition HMI software.
CCL supplies control architecture and software for satellite communication systems - static or mobile.
Like many suppliers in its field it develops tightly defined control systems that address the specific needs of an application.
"As well as controlling the actual dataflow itself, we also offer monitoring functions for basic maintenance and fault finding.
Indeed, in some applications we even control the air conditioning and generators! This is where the commonality between the broadcast industry and an industrial environment is derived.
"Where an industrial engineer would see drives, motors, conveyors and robots, we see modulators, transmitters and antenna systems.
What to some is a PLC, is an antenna controller to us - it is the same hardware, but it has been pre-configured for a defined purpose".
While considering this commonality, Coleman realised that the industrial market had already addressed one of the primary problems faced by the broadcast industry - a lack of open standards.
"There has never been a real standard in our industry," explains Coleman, "all manufacturers have their own way of doing things".
Indeed, the industrial market itself was almost completely vendor specific as recently as ten years ago.
However, with the introduction of open-source Fieldbus and OPC (OLE for Process Control) compliant devices, this is no longer the case - a fact not lost on Coleman as he looked to evolve CCL's offering.
There was another stimulus for this evolution to take place.
"We found that one of our existing solutions was being let down by its supplier (the subject of a recent takeover), we were already seeing a few creaks and groans in the way it operated.
It was then that we realised that we had to look elsewhere for certain elements and this push also gave us the impetus to think outside the box.
"We realised that an approach based on OPC was as open as we were going to get and that there was already a host of hardware out there that would 'talk' to whatever we created.
It was at this stage that we investigated companies that could help us, and Rockwell Automation stood head and shoulders above all the others.
Not only did it recognise the potential that this hardware had, but it also demonstrated a genuine eagerness to help us while committing itself to the broadcast industry".
Another primary fact that helped Coleman make his decision was that Rockwell Automation could offer a significant array of off-the-shelf packages that would do exactly what CCL wanted.
Just as importantly, it also offered software 'keys' rather than hardware 'dongles', which were not always the best approach - especially when you consider the mobile nature of some outside broadcast situations.
CCL completely redeveloped its driver packs (the interface between the hardware and the host controller), basing its software on OPC2.
"We can now write software for each of our modules that will enable them to interface with anything else within the systems thanks to this open standard" explains Coleman.
"Rockwell Automation offered us a total solution.
It can supply everything we need - all the hardware, software, bells and whistles.
In addition, our customers can take advantage of the Rockwell support infrastructure, which is available 24/7".
The Rockwell Automation contribution to this new open control system is its RSView Supervisory Edition HMI software.
Running on Windows CE, XP or 2000, RSView SE is an HMI for supervisory level monitoring and control applications.
It has a distributed and scalable architecture that supports distributed-server/multi-user applications giving maximum control over information everywhere you want it.
"OEMs now only need to install and configure a single computer for all control, information and monitoring functions, reducing installation time and cost," explains John Gooday, Rockwell Automation software commercial manager; "End users then have just one set of software and hardware to licence and maintain, cutting complexity and operating costs".
Part of the Rockwell Automation ViewAnyWare strategy, applications for RSView are developed using RSView Studio and can be shared across a range of other platforms, including RSView Supervisory Edition SCADA systems and Allen-Bradley PanelView Plus intelligent operator terminals.
With communications based on OPC, RSView offers multi-vendor connectivity to a wide variety of other OPC data servers.
"Rockwell Automation is very positive," concludes Coleman:Using industrial automation techniques, a supplier of broadcast hardware has redesigned the equipment it supplies - offering a level of openness and flexibility far ahead of alternatives "It wants to put people in to help us.
I see real commitment here. Request a free brochure from Rockwell Automation ...
Its pricing structure is also much better suited to the needs of our industry.".
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