Grass Valley iTX System v.2.6 - Manual (Page 344)

Using Missing Materials Manager
Using Missing Materials Manager
About Missing Materials Manager
Missing Materials Manager is an optional iTX service for helping to ensure content is on an iTX
Media Store when it is needed for playout. It may use one or more Media Watchers to perform
media management tasks that the Media Watchers by themselves do not perform. It has two
main roles:
• For live schedules running in playout channels and stored schedules due to start in the
near future (usually the next few days), it helps operators to manually ingest media
that has not been ingested.
• For stored schedules that are due to start in the near future, it uses one or more
Media Watchers to copy archived media files to Media Stores; there, the files are
available for playout. Doing this before the schedules are loaded in playout channels
reduces the workload on Media Watchers close to playout time.
In general, a media file is missing from the iTX system if it is not on a Media Store from which it
can be directly transferred to an Output Server. It may be missing for one of three reasons:
• The media file is registered in the iTX system, but the media has not been ingested.
• The media file is registered in the iTX system, but the media is on an archive (e.g.
DIVArchive).
• The media file is not registered in the iTX system.
Missing Materials Manager checks the stored back-up copies of schedules that are running in
all, or just selected, playout channels (iTX routinely updates the back-up schedules as the live
schedules change). It also checks specified schedules that are stored in the System Database
but are not yet loaded in any playout channel. It uses selected Media Watchers to find out
whether or not media files required by these schedules are on accessible Media Stores.
From these checks, Missing Materials Manager makes a list of events requiring media files that
are missing. It processes the list in a special channel, the Missing Materials channel. By
connecting a Schedule Grid on a layout to this channel, you can view the missing-materials list.
Action may be taken to make missing material available:
• An operator can control the manual ingest of registered media files by using an ingest
layout.
• Unregistered media files may be manually ingested (and registered in the process) in
the normal way, through a Media Store Inbox.
• Where required media files are on an archive, Missing Materials Manager
automatically restores them: it requests the Media Watcher that has access to the
archive to copy the files to a specified Media Store.
Missing Materials Manager can clear disk space on Media Stores by deleting media files that
are no longer needed. It does this according to rules you set in configuring it.
March 2015 System Administrator Guide Page 344 of 404