Pebble Beach Systems takes the view that graphics can be problematic to integrate with virtual, cloud-based channels. The company's Orca playout system is a virtualised platform that is both IP and defined by software. It is derived from Pebble Beach Systems' Dophin integrated channel product and, like that system, works with playlists from Marina automation.

Orca has been designed to work with a variety of graphics systems, allowing users to select something that best suits their workflow requirements. These include Singular.Live, which is based on HTML5 authoring tools to enable broadcast standard graphics to be designed, controlled and triggered from a web browser.

Singular.Live is wholly a cloud technology and therefore does need to operate with specific software or hardware. The package was conceived by graphics designers with experience in the broadcast market. The accompanying library offers more than 70 image packages and 'widgets', with new packages being added at regular intervals.

By using the two systems together, a number of HTML5 render events can be activated in the same channel configuration, which benefits a multitude of different uses. In this way different branding can be used for an operator's linear and OTT services while being originated from the Martina automation system using the same triggers and information.

Commenting on the collaboration between the two companies, "Stuart Wood, technical product specialist with Pebble Beach Systems, said, "This new integration enables us to demonstrate the benefits of using a cloud-based graphics solution alongside an Orca software-defined channel. Overlaying real-time HTML5 graphics with content derived from Pebble's Marina automation playlist or from moderated social media feeds and other online data sources become easy. With Marina controlling the timing of the graphics these can be scheduled from traffic or the manual control interface can be used by a studio during a live event."