ON has used Pebble automation for many years. It has now grown to offer five channels, and the playout system has grown under the control of the original Pebble Neptune platform. To provide continuing resilience, flexibility and scalability, the broadcaster moved to the latest enterprise automation software from Pebble.

The challenge in the project was maintaining uninterrupted broadcasting, from the same server network and switchers, while the Pebble control level and the Pebble content management database were upgraded. Pebble and Cairo-based integrator Systems Design, developed a migration plan to commission and prove the software on the backup hardware, allowing the channels to be switched over one by one, with no interruptions or disturbances whatsoever.

Currently, ON broadcasts five channels, which are delivered from a fully redundant 5+5 configuration with main and backup servers, master control switchers and graphics engines. There is a single router providing switching, and pebble content management between all channels and storage, which during the transition the router had to be controlled by both the old and new automation platforms, adding to the complexity of the migration plan.

The nature of the ON channels means that there is a mixture of fully automated playout with live events on any of the channels. The broadcaster relies on the Pebble Auto Resume feature, which allows operators to skip out of the current on-air event to take a live feed, or a pre-programmed series of events, dropping back into the schedule either at the point where the operator opted out, or at the current time.

Live events are also recorded on the same server network, again under the control of the Pebble automation. While many events are pre-planned, the system also supports crash record from any operator console.