evertz MetaCast 2 User manual

MetaCast 2
Instruction Manual
© Copyright 2000, 2001, 2002
EVERTZ MICROSYSTEMS LTD.
5288 John Lucas Drive, Burlington, Ontario, Canada, L7L 5Z9
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Internet: Sales: [email protected]
Tech Support: [email protected]om
Web Page: http://www.evertz.com
Version 2.0 March 2002
The material contained in this manual consists of information that is the property of Evertz Microsystems and is
intended solely for the use of purchasers of MetaCast 2. Evertz Microsystems expressly prohibits the use of this
manual for any purpose other than the operation of the device.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of
Evertz Microsystems Ltd. Copies of this guide can be ordered from your Evertz products dealer or from Evertz
Microsystems.

MetaCast II Instruction Manual
Revision 2.0
REVISION HISTORY
REVISION DESCRIPTION DATE
1.0 Metacast 1 Version Feb 00
2.0 MetaCast 2 Version Mar 02

MetaCast II Instruction Manual
Revision 2.0
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MetaCast II Instruction Manual
Revision 2.0 i
Table of Contents
1. GETTING STARTED...........................................................................................................1-1
1.1. CHOOSING A CONFIGURATION........................................................................................ 1-1
1.1.1. Loading/Creating a Playlists................................................................................... 1-1
1.1.2. Connecting to an Encoder...................................................................................... 1-2
1.1.3. Connecting to a Logo Inserter ................................................................................ 1-2
1.1.4. Sending Data.......................................................................................................... 1-3
1.1.5. Automation ............................................................................................................. 1-3
1.2. LOGO RULES ...................................................................................................................... 1-4
1.3. PLAYLIST PROPERTIES..................................................................................................... 1-4
1.3.1. File Name ............................................................................................................... 1-4
1.3.2. Version ................................................................................................................... 1-4
1.3.3. Rating System ........................................................................................................ 1-4
1.3.4. Airdate .................................................................................................................... 1-4
1.3.5. Optional Properties................................................................................................. 1-5
1.4. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EVENTS ............................................................................. 1-6
1.5. PRIMARY LOG..................................................................................................................... 1-6
1.6. PRIMARY LOGO .................................................................................................................. 1-7
1.7. PRIMARY PROGRAM.......................................................................................................... 1-7
1.8. SECONDARY LOGO............................................................................................................ 1-9
1.9. SECONDARY PROGRAM ................................................................................................... 1-9
1.10. SECONDARY V-CHIP LOGO .............................................................................................. 1-9
1.11. PLAYLIST RIPPLING.........................................................................................................1-10
1.11.1. No Ripple.............................................................................................................. 1-10
1.11.2. Soft Ripple............................................................................................................ 1-11
1.11.3. Hard Ripple .......................................................................................................... 1-11
1.12. STATION PAGE ................................................................................................................. 1-11
1.12.1. Lights.................................................................................................................... 1-12
1.13. STATUS BAR ..................................................................................................................... 1-12
1.13.1. Hardware Status................................................................................................... 1-12
1.13.1.1. Encoder Status..................................................................................................1-13
1.13.1.2. Logo Inserter Status ..........................................................................................1-13
1.13.1.3. Logging Status ..................................................................................................1-13
1.13.2. Misc. Status.......................................................................................................... 1-13
1.14. RATING SYSTEMS ............................................................................................................1-14
1.14.1. TVPG RATINGS................................................................................................... 1-14
1.14.1.1. TV Parental Guidance Rating Categories .........................................................1-14
1.14.1.2. TVPG Flags.......................................................................................................1-15
1.14.2. MPAA Ratings ...................................................................................................... 1-15
1.14.2.1. MPAA Rating Categories ..................................................................................1-16

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ii Revision 2.0
1.14.3. Canadian English Ratings .................................................................................... 1-17
1.14.3.1. Canadian English Rating Categories ................................................................1-17
1.14.4. Canadian French Ratings..................................................................................... 1-18
1.14.4.1. Canadian French Rating Categories.................................................................1-18
2. PLAYLISTS ........................................................................................................................ 2-1
2.1. CREATING A PLAYLIST USING THE BUILT-IN EDITOR .................................................. 2-1
2.1.1. Overview ................................................................................................................ 2-1
2.1.2. New Playlist............................................................................................................ 2-1
2.1.3. Editing the Playlist .................................................................................................. 2-2
2.2. START TIME, DURATION.................................................................................................... 2-2
2.3. DAY....................................................................................................................................... 2-2
2.4. NAME.................................................................................................................................... 2-3
2.5. RATING ................................................................................................................................ 2-3
2.6. TYPE..................................................................................................................................... 2-3
2.7. URL, WEB DESCRIPTION, WEB TYPE AND WEB EXPIRY.............................................. 2-3
2.8. UPSTREAM BLOCKING...................................................................................................... 2-3
2.9. SAVING THE PLAYLIST...................................................................................................... 2-4
3. IMPORTING ENTERPRISE LOGS..................................................................................... 3-1
3.1. STRETCH PRIMARY PROGRAM EVENTS TO BE CONTINUOUS ................................... 3-2
3.1.1. Enable T2 for Events with 'U' Flag.......................................................................... 3-2
3.2. PLAYLIST FILE SPECIFICATIONS..................................................................................... 3-2
3.2.1. Overview ................................................................................................................ 3-2
3.2.2. File Naming ............................................................................................................ 3-2
3.2.3. File Format ............................................................................................................. 3-3
3.2.4. File Header............................................................................................................. 3-3
3.2.5. Playlist Columns..................................................................................................... 3-6
3.2.6. Playlist Body........................................................................................................... 3-7
3.2.6.1. EventType ...........................................................................................................3-7
3.2.6.2. Start.....................................................................................................................3-8
3.2.6.3. Name...................................................................................................................3-8
3.2.6.4. Duration...............................................................................................................3-8
3.2.6.5. Rating..................................................................................................................3-8
3.2.6.6. Type ....................................................................................................................3-8
3.2.6.7. Day ......................................................................................................................3-8
3.2.6.8. URL .....................................................................................................................3-9
3.2.6.9. WebDesc.............................................................................................................3-9
3.2.6.10. WebType.............................................................................................................3-9
3.2.6.11. WebDate .............................................................................................................3-9
3.2.6.12. Block....................................................................................................................3-9
3.2.6.13. Pass ....................................................................................................................3-9
3.3. EXAMPLE............................................................................................................................. 3-9
3.4. AIRING THE PLAYLIST ..................................................................................................... 3-10

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Revision 2.0 iii
4. PAGES................................................................................................................................4-1
4.1. AUTOMATION PAGE........................................................................................................... 4-1
4.1.1. Toolbar ................................................................................................................... 4-2
4.1.2. Context Menu ......................................................................................................... 4-2
4.1.2.1. Add Row..............................................................................................................4-2
4.1.2.2. Delete Row..........................................................................................................4-2
4.1.2.3. Play from Here ....................................................................................................4-2
4.1.2.4. Skip to Next Row.................................................................................................4-3
4.1.2.5. Stop Automation..................................................................................................4-3
4.1.2.6. Toggle Load by Date ...........................................................................................4-3
4.1.2.7. Open/Load ..........................................................................................................4-3
4.1.2.8. Update List ..........................................................................................................4-3
4.1.3. Lights...................................................................................................................... 4-3
4.2. CLOCKS PAGE.................................................................................................................... 4-4
4.2.1. Toolbar ................................................................................................................... 4-5
4.2.2. Lights...................................................................................................................... 4-5
4.3. ENCODER STATUS PAGE.................................................................................................. 4-5
4.3.1. Toolbar ................................................................................................................... 4-7
4.3.2. Lights...................................................................................................................... 4-7
4.4. LOGGING PAGE .................................................................................................................. 4-8
4.4.1. Toolbar ................................................................................................................... 4-8
4.4.2. Lights...................................................................................................................... 4-9
4.5. LOGO INSERTER STATUS PAGE...................................................................................... 4-9
4.5.1. Columns ............................................................................................................... 4-10
4.5.2. ToolBar................................................................................................................. 4-11
4.5.3. Lights.................................................................................................................... 4-12
4.6. MESSAGE PAGE ...............................................................................................................4-12
4.6.1. Lights.................................................................................................................... 4-13
4.7. PROGRAM OVERRIDE PAGE .......................................................................................... 4-13
4.7.1. Toolbar ................................................................................................................. 4-15
4.7.2. Lights.................................................................................................................... 4-15
5. FORMS ...............................................................................................................................5-1
5.1. CHANNEL STATUS .............................................................................................................5-1
5.2. CREATING CUSTOM FILENAMES ..................................................................................... 5-2
5.3. NEW PLAYLIST OPTIONS .................................................................................................. 5-3
5.3.1. New Playlists .......................................................................................................... 5-4
5.3.1.1. Recurring Playlist ................................................................................................5-4
5.3.1.2. Unique Playlist.....................................................................................................5-4
5.3.1.3. MetaCast Playlist Wizard ....................................................................................5-5
5.4. PROGRAM TYPE ................................................................................................................. 5-7
5.5. PROGRAM TYPE MAPPING ............................................................................................... 5-8
5.6. SAVE OPTIONS ................................................................................................................... 5-9
5.7. WEB LINKS .......................................................................................................................... 5-9

MetaCast II Instruction Manual
iv Revision 2.0
6. OPTIONS............................................................................................................................ 6-1
6.1. ENCODER STATUS OPTIONS............................................................................................ 6-1
6.1.1. Warning Colours..................................................................................................... 6-2
6.2. OPTIONAL PROPERTIES OPTIONS .................................................................................. 6-2
6.3. PLAYLIST COLOURS.......................................................................................................... 6-3
6.4. PLAYLIST COLUMNS.......................................................................................................... 6-4
6.4.1. Showing / Hiding Columns ..................................................................................... 6-5
6.4.2. Formatting Columns ............................................................................................... 6-5
6.5. V-CHIP LOGO MAPPING..................................................................................................... 6-6
7. AUTOMATING METACAST............................................................................................... 7-1
7.1. METACAST AUTOMATION................................................................................................. 7-1
7.2. BROADCAST TIME.............................................................................................................. 7-2
7.3. CLOCKS ............................................................................................................................... 7-2
7.3.1. Time Source ........................................................................................................... 7-3
7.3.2. Setting the Time ..................................................................................................... 7-3
7.3.2.1. PC Clock .............................................................................................................7-4
7.3.2.2. Encoder...............................................................................................................7-5
7.3.2.3. Manual.................................................................................................................7-5
7.3.3. Daylight Saving Time ............................................................................................. 7-5
7.3.3.1. PC Clock .............................................................................................................7-6
7.3.3.2. Encoder or Manual..............................................................................................7-6
7.3.4. Synchronizing Clocks ............................................................................................. 7-6
8. FILE SPECIFICATIONS ..................................................................................................... 8-1
8.1. LEGACY PLAYLIST FILE FORMATS ................................................................................. 8-1
8.2. PLAYLIST FILE SPECIFICATIONS V. 2.01 ........................................................................ 8-1
8.2.1. Header.................................................................................................................... 8-1
8.2.2. Air Date .................................................................................................................. 8-1
8.2.3. Rating System ........................................................................................................ 8-1
8.2.4. Column Headers .................................................................................................... 8-2
8.2.5. Body ....................................................................................................................... 8-2
8.2.6. Example ................................................................................................................. 8-3
8.3. LOGO MAP FILES ............................................................................................................... 8-3
8.3.1. File Specifications .................................................................................................. 8-3
8.3.2. Example ................................................................................................................. 8-4
9. CREATING A PLAYLIST USING ENTERPRISE'S BMS TRAFFIC SYSTEM ................... 9-1
9.1. OVERVIEW........................................................................................................................... 9-1
9.2. REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................................. 9-1
9.3. ASSUMPTION: ..................................................................................................................... 9-1

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Revision 2.0 v
9.4. SEPARATION OF LOGO BUG EVENTS AND EVERTZ RATING EVENTS: ..................... 9-2
9.4.1. Building The V-Chip Encoding Events in BMS....................................................... 9-2
9.4.2. File to be sent to Evertz.......................................................................................... 9-4
9.4.3. How Evertz and Louth detect a V-Chip Rating event in Enterprise files:................ 9-4
9.4.4. Rules for Extracting V-Chip Rating Data From Enterprise File .............................. 9-6
9.5. DEFAULT PROGRAMS ....................................................................................................... 9-7
9.5.1. Default Program Fields........................................................................................... 9-8
9.5.1.1. Name...................................................................................................................9-8
9.5.1.2. Type.....................................................................................................................9-8
9.5.1.3. Rating ..................................................................................................................9-8
9.5.1.4. Web .....................................................................................................................9-9
9.5.1.5. Upstream Blocking ..............................................................................................9-9
9.5.2. Buttons ................................................................................................................... 9-9
9.5.2.1. Playlist Properties................................................................................................9-9
9.5.2.2. Reset ...................................................................................................................9-9
10. TROUBLESHOOTING ......................................................................................................10-1
10.1. TROUBLESHOOTING ENCODER COMMUNICATIONS.................................................. 10-1
10.1.1. Cannot Detect Encoder ........................................................................................ 10-1
10.1.2. Errors Sending / Removing Packets .................................................................... 10-1
10.2. TROUBLESHOOTING LOGO INSERTER COMMUNICATIONS ...................................... 10-2
11. CONTACT INFORMATION...............................................................................................11-1
12. INDEX ...............................................................................................................................12-1