which leverages AI to make the best of channel operations. All these have coalesced into the Sony Media Cloud Services suite, designed around the real-world requirements of customers. CLOUD INNOVATION Sony Media Cloud Services is a unified, cloud-native platform designed to streamline media workflows. The company has been laser- focused on solving real-world industry pain points, leveraging the latest software technologies to manage assets and workflows in a variety of environments – from shooting to delivery. The result is a vast array of available functionalities, coupled with Sony’s integration capabilities with both internal and third-party software. As a result, Media Cloud Services is a full suite intended for live and recorded productions, from capture to playout and edit to archive – to streamline your workflows. A critically important step in any media workflow is to efficiently manage teams scattered around the globe, receiving their footage as soon as possible to stay ahead of the competition. CH Media in Switzerland has been experiencing those benefits using Sony’s C3 Portal. “What I like most is that you can pull and edit the files even when the
THEY WERE SO HAPPY TO REMOVE THE BURDEN OF ADMIN TASKS, DOING DUPLICATION, MANAGING METADATA – AND FREE UP THE CREATIVITY OF THEIR TEAMS
journalist hasn’t fully finished filming,” says Silja Hänggi, head of video unit at CH Media. “Of course, this makes my work even more efficient.” Using other cloud-based products like Ci, companies can collect, transcode and index files to help creative teams produce and share quickly and flexibly. Core Ci tools include accelerated file transfer, transcoding, collaborative review, asset management and archiving. Ci has seen huge adoption over the past two years, as lockdowns have revealed the benefits of remote working. And the simplicity of the platform has made it easy to bring into workflows under pressure. “Since being built for its original purpose,” says Odza, “there have been many iterations of how Ci is used – always developed in collaboration with customers and adapting to them.” The benefits of cloud-based endeavours, combined with Sony Professional’s broadcast expertise, led to the Ci platform being embraced in multiple media sectors. ITN was an early adopter in the broadcast news space, using it as a way to create a mobile, agile organisation, before the run on cloud-based working caused by the pandemic. “They were so happy to remove the burden of administrative tasks, doing duplication, managing metadata – and free up the creativity of their teams.” Ci is becoming a valuable resource, in a world where managing content for delivery across multiple platforms is now the norm. New tools like the C3 Portal make it easy to integrate hardware in the field, with a central cloud-based hub. Production is just one part of the media workflow. Sooner or later, the great quantity of content being created starts piling up, with more complicated tasks to execute. The next step in the evolution of media company operations is to automate as many processes as possible.
As a result, Sony offers not only media management but workflow management, designed to handle hundreds of users and millions of assets concurrently. The Media Solutions Toolkit, based on microservices, offers maximum flexibility, with users free to build a full cloud deployment, on-premises infrastructure or hybrid environment. Managing the data and metadata behind the thousands of media assets produced every day becomes manageable, thanks to automation backed by AI. SOLUTIONS Sony Media Cloud Services, combined with the power of Nevion to create efficient remote and distributed productions, are being deployed by major broadcasters and content providers. Most recently, in Discovery’s coverage of the Winter Games, Nevion helped transform the way resources were connected and scheduled. ViacomCBS also uses cloud production software from Sony, with start and stop instances based in AWS, to create a nimble, opex-based production system. And, at the end of last year, Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR modernised its news and sports production across all broadcasting centres with Sony’s Media Backbone Hive, which allows journalists to easily share content between locations. “Sony is changing,” says Odza. “The pandemic has upended the way the media industry works, so we need to move forward, and help our customers do the same. You can’t trust a partner who won’t evolve.” Felstead reiterates his belief that connection and collaboration is the most important thing. “We have fantastic technological gizmos, but in some ways that doesn’t matter. What’s important is partnership – and how Sony can champion these opportunities for people.” Find out more at pro.sony.eu
IN TANDEM Sony is putting focus on working in partnership with clients
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