We have been dedicated to the development and deployment of control, management, monitoring and automation systems in the broadcasting industry for over a decade, accumulating extensive product and project experience. Our products are highly adaptable and widely applied to system management and control in studios, playout, transmission, Master Control Room (MCR), earth stations, OB Vans (outside broadcast vans), satellite uplink vehicles / DSNG vehicles, flyaway stations, equipment rooms / machine rooms, and more. We also provide comprehensive solutions for building large-scale broadcast command & dispatch centers.
Video Recording and Streaming System
I. Overview
The Video Recording and Streaming System is our next-generation audio/video encoding software. In line with mainstream broadcasting technology trends, the software currently operates on SDI signal formats and can smoothly transition to full IP-based processing with outstanding compatibility. It controls hardware encoding cards and IO cards to encode and ingest incoming audio/video signals. Signals can be packaged as video files or encapsulated via the RTMP protocol for push streaming, addressing the demand for higher-quality, higher-density audio/video stream processing and delivering an intelligent, integrated encoding and control system.
1. SDI signals enter through IO card signal channels.
2. The encoding card encodes incoming video and audio in supported mainstream codec formats.
3. Encoded signals are then output, either packaged as video files or encapsulated via protocols for multi-channel HD streaming.
Figure 1: Data Flow Diagram
II. System Architecture
The product is built on an encoding and ingest framework. The system controls hardware encoding cards and IO cards for encoding and ingest. IO cards handle signal acquisition and channel transport; encoding cards handle signal encoding and output. While controlling the cards, the software also logs and displays working status, organized into eight main modules: device status, real-time panel, task management, channel status, channel utilization display, operation logs, data management, and storage management. A management center is also provided for unified monitoring and management of multiple ingest workstations.
The system consists of:
1. Capture, Recording and Streaming Application. One instance is deployed per ingest workstation. This application does not depend on a database but requires XMIO3 and M264 cards for encoding. The cards use PCI-E slots. Tasks are created via task orders to control the cards for processing input signals and multi-channel output. Input signals can be packaged as video files saved to local disks or encapsulated via the RTMP protocol to push video streams to the backend.
2. Management Center. Unlike ingest workstations, this software is deployed on a management server and depends on a MySQL database. It has a one-to-many relationship with the Capture, Recording and Streaming Application. Through API access, it provides real-time monitoring and querying of task order execution across multiple ingest workstations, including device status, real-time panels, and task details. Historical data is stored in the database for unified management.
3. Supervisor Agent. One supervisor agent is deployed per machine. It can start/stop software on that machine and monitor application health. It automatically restarts processes that crash or terminate unexpectedly, minimizing data loss.
Figure 2: System Architecture Diagram
III. Advantages
1. Microservice architecture that rapidly adapts to customized business workflows.
2. Highly automated workflow on an integrated platform with capture, recording, streaming, resolution conversion, de-interlacing, CG, audio processing, delayed playout, recording segmentation, real-time frame extraction during encoding, and metadata/keyframe extraction from recorded files.
3. Smooth transition to a full IP-based audio/video processing solution, compatible with full-IP infrastructure products.
Figure 3: System Task Execution Log
IV. Features and Functions
1. Independent software encoding and hardware encoding, supporting HD H264 video codec and AAC audio codec formats.
2. Real-time signal recording stored as files, with each segment assigned an independent label.
3. Real-time signal streaming via the RTMP protocol to the backend, enabling high-density, high-quality, highly reliable live streaming workflows.
4. Real-time frame extraction during encoding, displayed as thumbnails on the page.
5. Automated task orders can be configured for daily/weekly recurring execution, requiring no manual intervention within the scheduled period. Tasks are automatically created with pre-configured parameters.
6. Task orders support encoding resolution settings, converting the input signal resolution before output.
7. Task orders support de-interlacing settings, de-interlacing the input signal before output.
8. Task orders support CG parameter settings, adding CG overlays to the input signal before output.
9. Video file recording with segmentation.
Figure 4: System Task Parameter Editor
V. Application Cases
Tencent Video Ingest Project: 8-Channel HD Recording and Streaming
1. After a variety show finishes recording, the signal source is provided. The software's recording function is used to select 2 to 3 signal channels to create a task order for encoding and recording to video files. Files are then migrated to central storage for subsequent editing and other post-production to generate the final playout source.
2. Live broadcasting and recording of NBA and related sporting events. After obtaining the playout source, the software assigns designated signal channels to create streaming task orders that push streams to cloud editing for processing and live broadcasting. Simultaneously, other channels are assigned to create recording task orders for event recording, enabling post-event replay.
