Overview
SL NEO Multi-Channel Playout is a high-performance, software-defined multi-channel playout platform for building and operating broadcast, linear TV, FAST, and OTT channels on a single server. It combines broadcast automation, live and file-based playback, dynamic graphics, subtitle processing, and real-time format conversion in one unified engine.
Built on the same robust core used in mission-critical broadcast environments, SL NEO can simultaneously play out up to 24 HD or 4 UHD channels per server, with fully independent playlists, graphics layers, caption workflows, and failover logic for each channel.
From master control rooms to FAST and OTT operations, SL NEO delivers television-grade reliability with the flexibility required for modern multi-channel playout. Optimized for 24/7 operation, it ensures predictable, synchronized, and visually consistent output across channels and workflows.
As part of the SL NEO Media Platform, Multi-Channel Playout integrates seamlessly with ingest, media management, graphics, QC, and automation modules, enabling unified workflows across a single server or distributed multi-server infrastructure.
Highlights
Up to 24 HD or 4 UHD channels per server
markers—frame-accurate and fully deterministic.
Key Features
- Channel & Output Capabilities
- ▸ Multi-channel playout from a single server
- ▸ Simultaneous SDI and IP outputs per channel
- ▸ Clean and dirty feed generation
- Content Ingest & Playback
- ▸ File-based, live, and growing-file playback
- ▸ Supports YouTube and other video platforms for live input and output. IP streams can be used as playlist items without consuming server inputs
- ▸ On-the-fly trimming, scrubbing, and cueing
- Playlist & Automation
- ▸ Manual, scheduled, and event-driven playlist execution
- ▸ Export AsRun logs and BXF Connector for integration with traffic systems
- ▸ SCTE-35/104, DTMF, GPI trigger support
- Graphics & Branding
- ▸ Built-in dynamic graphics: logos, tickers, crawls, banners, DVE
- ▸ External graphics integration (Chyron, VizRT)
- Subtitles & Accessibility
- ▸ Multilingual subtitles and captions: image-based DVB bitmap subtitles; text-based DVB-TTML, DVB Teletext, CEA-608/708; SRT, STL, and EBU-TT XML conversion; live and AI-powered captioning.
- Video & Audio Processing
- ▸ Real-time up/down/cross conversion
- ▸ HDR/SDR handling and audio normalization
- ▸ Up to 64 audio channels per service
- ▸Loudness control (EBU-R128)
- ▸Accepts audio from multiple sources (WDM, mics, Dante/AES67, IP streams) and mixes it into playout outputs, with up to 60 s A/V offset for precise synchronization
- Media Management
- ▸ Integrated media database and metadata with support for external storage systems
- Redundancy & Reliability
- ▸ N+1 / N+N failover with playlist and graphics sync
- Monitoring & Control
- ▸ Real-time visual control of Playout and Ingest channels in the Multiscreen module
- ▸ System status monitoring in Air Manager with SNMP support for external monitoring systems
- User Interfaces & Control
- ▸ Desktop client, Web UI, hardware panels and remote control
- ▸ Unified control of playout, graphics, and ingest channels, with flexible role-based access for different operators
- Integration & Ecosystem
- ▸ REST API and automation interfaces
- ▸ Router control for all major vendors
- Deployment
- ▸ On-prem, hybrid, and cloud deployment
Workflow
Each SL NEO server hosts multiple fully independent channels.
Every channel has its own:
▸ Playlist
▸ Live inputs
▸ Graphic layers
▸ Subtitle streams
▸ Output format and routing
Operators can manage all channels from a single interface while maintaining complete isolation between services.
Channels may combine:
▸ File-based content
▸ Growing files (near-live)
▸ Live SDI/IP feeds
Switching between sources is seamless and frame-accurate. Content can be trimmed, re-ordered, or replaced while on-air.
Playlists may be executed by:
▸ Time schedules
▸ Operator actions
▸ SCTE-35/104 markers
▸ DTMF tones
▸ GPI events
▸ Media-embedded cues
This enables regional ad insertion, live program overrides, and dynamic channel behavior
without external automation systems.
Air Manager is a multifunctional client application designed for centralized control of SkyLark recording and playout servers, graphics stations, and media storage. It provides a unified workspace for creating, editing, and executing recording and playout schedules — both for standalone servers and for fully automated broadcast, production, ingest, and archive facilities.
Air Manager is the primary operational tool for ingest and on-air operators in broadcast environments, enabling fast, accurate program preparation and real-time control of complex multi-channel workflows.
Broadcast List Web is part of the Web Access client interface and is used to display the playlist loaded in the Program module directly in a web browser, providing remote, read-only monitoring of on-air and upcoming events.
Integrated Ecosystem
SL NEO Multi-Channel Playout is fully integrated into the SL NEO Media Platform — a modular, software-defined environment where specialized modules operate together in real time.
Additional modules — including Ingest & Encoding, Media Database, Broadcast Graphics, and the SL NEO Base Module — can be combined to create a fully tailored workflow.
Use Cases
Technical Specifications
SYSTEM
| Chassis | 2U — 4U, dual hot-swap power supplies |
| CPU | 1 or 2 x Intel Xeon or AMD Epyc Series |
| Memory | 48 / 96 GB DDR4 |
| System Drive | SSD for OS |
| Network | 2 x onboard 1GbE |
| Storage | Built-in RAID-10, 4 or 8 x SAS 3.5″ RE drives (4 or 8 TB), useful capacity |
| OS | Windows Server |
Channels
| Mode | HD/SD | Ultra HD |
| Channels | 1 — 24 | 1 — 4 |
Video Formats & Color Spaces
| Formats | 625i/525i, 720p, 1080i/1080p, 2K 2048×1080p, 2160p |
| Frame Rates | 25 / 29.97 / 50 / 59.94 / 60 fps |
| Color Spaces | BT.601 / BT.709 / BT.2020, HDR: SMPTE ST 2084, ARIB STD-B67 |
I/O Streams: Interfaces, Protocols, Codecs
| SDI | SDI 1.5G to 12G, embedded audio |
| IP (Broadcast) | SMPTE ST 2110, SMPTE ST 2022−7 |
| IP (Streaming) | NDI, HLS, RTMP, UDP, RTP, SRT, Zixi, RIST, MPEG-DASH |
| DVB / ATSC IP | UDP / RTP, Unicast / Multicast, SPTS / MPTS |
| DVB / ATSC ASI | SPTS / MPTS |
| Video Codecs | MPEG-2, H.264, HEVC |
| Audio | 48 kHz / 16−24 bit PCM (SMPTE-302M), MPEG-1 L-I/II, AAC, AC3, AC3 and E-AC3 Pass-Through |
Input Ancillary & MPEG-TS Data
| Teletext / CC | DVB Teletext, CEA-608 / CEA-708 |
| Image-based Subtitles | DVB bitmap subtitles |
| Text-based Subtitles | DVB-TTML, SRT, STL, EBU-TT XML |
| Markers / EPG | SCTE-104 / SCTE-35 with metadata, EPG |
Protocols & Device Support
| Monitoring | SNMP (SL NEO Software) |
| Hardware Panels | X-KEYS XK-24 / 60 / 80 |
| Automation | REST API, Router & GPI Control, Schedule, SCTE-35/104, DTMF, BXF |
File Containers
| MXF | OP-1A, OP-1B, D10, Avid OP-Atom |
| Sony | XDCAM HD/422, XAVC (50…480, Long GOP) |
| Panasonic | P2 AVC-Ultra (50…480, Long GOP) |
| General | AVI, MPEG PS/TS, MOV, DV DIF, MP4, MPG, GXF |
| Still Graphics | JPG, BMP, With Alpha: PNG, TGA, TIFF, PSD |
Video with Alpha
| Codecs | Uncompressed, TGA, PNG, ProRes, QTRLE, SpeedHQ, Lagarith |
| Methods | Key from separate file, JPGA (AVI) |
| Containers | AVI, MOV, Still image sequences |
Video/Audio Codecs (Files Playout)
| SD / HD | DV25 DVCPRO25/50/HD100 HDV IMX 30/40/50 XDCAM EX SP/HQ XDCAM HD LP/SP/HQ/422 DNxHD 120/145/180/220 AVCHD XAVC 50/100/200 XAVC Long GOP AVC-Ultra 50/100/200 AVC-Ultra Long GOP ProRes HQ/SD/LT MPEG-2 I-Frame/Long GOP H.264 I-Frame/Long GOP |
| Ultra HD | H.264 8/10-bit XAVC 300/480 XAVC Long GOP AVC-Ultra 300/480 AVC-Ultra Long GOP ProRes SQ/HQ DNxHR SQ/HQ HEVC 8/10-bit |
| Audio | ADPCM, MPEG-1 L-I/II, AAC, AC3, E-AC3, WMA, FLAC, ALAC |
Playout Environments
| Graphics | Multiple real-time layers per channel |
| OS File System | File-based recording; normal or fragment-ed file mode (array of files with configurable fixed duration) |
| Failover | N+1 / N+N with live sync |
| Control Interfaces | Desktop client, Web UI, API |
| Audio Processing | EBU-R128 loudness normalization Audio level control |
| Synchronization | LTC, NTP, Black-Burst, Tri-Level |
Hardware & Software Options
| Hardware Options | LTC Input (incl. supported LTC reader and software license: Adrienne AEC-4I, Plura PLC, Miranda Little Red, Horita TCI-50) GPIO (incl. supported USB GPIO and software license, up to 8 I/O ports: Ontrak ADU200, ADU2X8) GPU Board Increase Internal RAID Array Capacity 2x SSD in RAID-1 for System |
| I/O Interfaces & Boards | SDI / ASI — DekTec DTA-2172 / 2174B / 2175 / 2178 / 2179 / 2195 ASI / IP — DekTec DTA-2160 / 2162 with FEC Network — Mellanox ConnectX Video I/O — Matrox DSX LE3 / LE4, DataPath VisionRGB Capture — Blackmagic DeckLink Playout — Blackmagic DeckLink Other — Standard Ethernet, IEEE-1394, DirectShow |
| Additional Hardware Ports | SD / HD / 3 / 6 / 12G SDI, HDMI, ASI I/O ports NVIDIA ConnectX 10 / 25 / 40 / 50 / 100 / 200G ports for SMPTE ST 2110 / 2022−7 1G Ethernet ports for UDP / RTP IP with SMPTE 2022−1 FEC Standard 1 / 10G Ethernet ports for IP streams, control, file transfer RS-232 / 422 / 485, i-Link / IEE-1394 hardware ports AES I/O for Matrox DSX boards |
| Software Options | Transfer Manager PRO NVENC Assistance (for file encoding or output stream encoding) Avid Unity / Interplay Support (for REC channels) Web Application Server |
| Client Applications | Air Manager, Rec Manager, NewsCut |
| Additional I/O & Channels | Capture Port (SDI / HDMI, ASI / IP with DeMux and stream decoding, all supported protocols) Output Port (SDI / HDMI, ASI / IP with stream encoding, all supported protocols) MultiScreen Processor (4, 8, 16 or 24 inputs — software license) REC Channel (Full Resolution + Proxy) |
| Device Server Software Licenses | VDCP for REC Automation (Slave mode for single REC channel) SDI Router for REC Automation (for single device) VTR for REC Automation (for single device) TSL 5 UMD (Master mode for single device) |
| SDI Routers Control Protocols | Grass Valley Triton BDS Grass Valley NVision / Native Protocol / Vega / M-2100 Nevion VikinX V128 / Thor Leitch Imagine LRC Kramer ProBel SW-P-02 / SW-P-08 ELPRO SD2 HD Series BMD Videohub Ethernet / RS-232 Snell Switcher / Remote Protocol Evertz Quartz / EQM-2 Sierra XV Utah SC-4 / RCP-1 Venux VM / SI / 300 ASCII Ross Video Proemaster / NK-SCP/A AJA KUMO |
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