Author: Tanya Rai

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Pebble announces new configurations and a new brand for their remote monitoring and control tool

Posted on | by Tanya Rai

Remote monitoring and control tool reconfigured to incorporate enhanced feature set in the light of increased demand for remote access.

Weybridge, Surrey, UK, 8th September 2021: Pebble, the leading automation, content management, and integrated channel specialist, has announced new configurations and a new brand for its powerful Pebble Remote tool, the remote management, monitoring and control tool for Pebble Automation and Integrated Channel deployments.

It is more important than ever for broadcasters and service providers to have secure, remote access to their playout environment, even more so when systems can comprise multiple channels across several playout sites and in cloud deployments. The Pebble Remote tool, formerly known as Lighthouse, enables users to securely monitor, manage and control their channels from inside or outside the normal transmission environment. Featuring fully configurable web-based dashboards, it can provide a mission-critical overview of any upcoming issues across the entire system, allowing users to react quickly and take action with ease and agility.

Recently shortlisted for an award for Best Networking and Monitoring tool, Pebble Remote is ideally suited to business continuity applications, with a single operator able to oversee automatic playlist synchronisation between geographically separate systems. Deployments deliver robust security featuring full HTTPS support with TLS encryption, protection against brute force password and username attacks as well as secure password hashing.

“With remote access a priority in new project planning and for expansions to existing systems, Pebble Remote meets a key need,” comments Mat Shell, Head of Sales at Pebble. “In recent months our user base has relied on Pebble Remote, to provide continuity of operation and to enable flexible working scenarios over a series of lockdowns and at times reduced physical access to their playout facilities. Over that period the benefits of secure remote management and control have been demonstrated time and again. So we’re delighted to be able to offer exceptional functionality in the new standard configuration of Pebble Remote. It is both secure and accessible anywhere at any time, is easy to use, and will drive operational efficiencies by consolidating control across multiple locations while providing mission-critical control of the playlist, including viewing and editing, beyond the normal boundaries of the playout facility.”

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How can the broadcast industry reduce burnout?

Posted on | by Tanya Rai

TVBEurope Article

Written by Jenny Priestley with contribution from Yucel Timur, Director of Operations

TVBEurope hears from industry stakeholders about whether the TV industry could move to a shorter working week, and how they’re working to reduce colleague burnout.

Over the past 18 months the broadcast industry has dealt with some of the most challenging times it has ever faced. The pandemic forced broadcasters, vendors, and technologists to think on their feet in order to keep content on air when staff were asked to work from home. Even when stay-at-home orders were lifted, broadcasters had to develop new ways of producing shows while dealing with social distancing etc. Add to that a busy summer following the postponement of major sporting events, and it’s not surprising that some industry colleagues are in need of a break!

The idea of a four-day working week has been gaining ground around the world in recent years. France is said to be considering a move to limit the working week to 32 hours, while a four-day week trial is currently underway in Scotland. A recent UK report suggested a decrease in working hours increased productivity by 700 per cent.

But would that work for the broadcast industry, and how are companies working to reduce burn out? During the pandemic companies introduced everything from quizzes to virtual coffee mornings, and even a weekly virtual pub to keep in touch with colleagues and industry contacts. And the idea of a reduced working week is starting to gain traction…

Click HERE to read the article in full.

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Pebble drives Asharq News to an IP Future

Posted on | by Tanya Rai

TVBEurope – leading broadcast magazine | Case Study – Double Page Spread

Asharq News broadcasts from a new all-IP facility and, with the support of Pebble’s playout solutions, recently launched as one of the first SMPTE ST 2110 NMOS-compliant broadcasters operating in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Asharq News is a 24/7, multi-platform Arabic economic and political news service. Content is delivered through a dedicated television channel and multiple digital platforms. Much of Asharq’s programming is driven through an exclusive content agreement with Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG) and Bloomberg Media, which powers a key component of the channel: “Asharq Business with Bloomberg.”

Production Flexibility

As a new broadcast platform, Asharq News’ main goal was incorporating as much flexibility as possible to accommodate future growth and expansion and keep its production workflows current. 

Establishing a fully IP environment has prepared Asharq News to handle any production requirements for any delivery platform. And being NMOS compliant allows the broadcaster to leverage interoperability, working with multiple vendors on several integrations.

Network connection and device management also becomes more manageable with IP, important for remote production and collaboration. While Asharq News is headquartered in Riyadh with central offices in Dubai, the network also manages key hubs and studios in Cairo, Abu Dhabi and Washington, D.C. in the United States, as well as regional offices and correspondents across key Arab countries and in major global cities.

Managing an operation of this scale using traditional SDI or coaxial connections becomes logistically burdensome and cost-prohibitive over the long-term. IP gives Asharq News the benefit of flexible system configurations without the constraints of SDI’s physical connections. The channel can set up as many inputs and outputs as needed, while adding more easily without requiring additional hardware…

Click HERE to read the case study in full

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Women’s equality in the media tech sector

Posted on | by Tanya Rai

Televisual – a leading broadcast magazine | Article

Written by Jon Creamer with contribution from Alison Pavitt, Director of Sales & Marketing at Pebble

Just over 100 years ago the certification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was adopted. This amendment prohibits denying citizens of the US the right to vote on the basis of gender. To commemorate this historic certification, Women’s Equality Day is observed annually on 26th August, both in the US and across the world, to promote awareness for gender inclusion, diversity and equity.

Despite this celebration and the fact that recent research from Mckinsey states that women are well represented in the media and entertainment sector, access to top roles remains elusive. Indeed, only 27% of C-suite roles are held by women. That said, the recent appointment by Sky of Prasanna Gopalakrishan to the position of Group Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is certainly a step towards instigating change and shifting the balance towards greater female representation at senior levels…

Click HERE to read the article in full.

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Andrew Hutchings joins Pebble as Engineering Manager

Posted on | by Tanya Rai

Appointment follows three recent hires in Brazil, France and the UK as Pebble continues to accelerate its global growth trajectory.

Weybridge, Surrey, UK, 23 August 2021: Pebble, the leading automation, content management, and integrated channel specialist, is delighted to announce the appointment of Andrew Hutchings to the role of Engineering Manager for the company’s research and development department.

Joining at a time that sees Pebble launching a number of new solutions and enhancements to support broadcasters to transition from traditional broadcast infrastructure to more flexible IP-based technologies, Andrew will work alongside the Development Technical Leads and Product Owners to leverage his depth of technical experience and expertise to drive innovation. This newly created role will focus on the people, processes and culture within the engineering team to drive delivery and retain the best talent in the sector.

A hands-on Chartered Engineering manager, Andrew brings over 35 years of experience in multiple segments of the UK electronics industry to the position, having fulfilled several senior roles prior to joining Pebble. He was Principal Engineering Manager for Sony over a decade, which saw him working at the other end of the Broadcast TV chain on the company’s flagship Digital TV products. Most recently, Andrew was Engineering Manager for Grass Valley’s Networking SDI Routing department for the past 10 years, where he was accountable for low volume, high value hardware/firmware/software products with multi-million revenue generation.

Hutchings said: “I’m excited to join the Pebble team and look forward to being actively involved in driving the company’s projects from concept to full production. Knowing that our products are adding value for our customers is really rewarding and is a great motivator to always strive for the most successful outcome.” 

“I am delighted that we have hired a highly skilled engineer in Andrew and have no doubt his breadth of experience in both the vendor and broadcast sector will prove to be invaluable in our R&D efforts,” commented Pebble CTO Miroslav Jeras. “Andrew joins us at an exciting phase as we continue to hire an incredible pool of talented experts in their field who will undoubtedly help to spearhead Pebble’s growth.”

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