Using the Remote Media Browser to import content from another station and map remote categories & attributes to the local equivalent.

In this article, we will explore how you can use the Remote Media Browser tool to import audio content from a remote Myriad 6 Playout database, and map the remote Categories and Attributes you local Categories and Attributes.

Lets start with an example.

We have an original station which has been setup to use decades as the primary categorisation method. The Categories are set to early or late decades from the 60's to the 2020s.

The Type attribute is then used to set genre on this station.

The programme controller has set the station up this way as the time period the music comes from is the most important aspect of the station sound.

But now they want to launch another radio station that imports the audio content from the original station, but in this case, the Categories have been setup to reflect genre.

And the time period has been moved to the Era attribute.

It will be very useful to copy the Media Items from the original station to the new station, but if you copied them without applying a mapping to the Categories and Attributes, the categorisation will be incorrect in the new station.

Luckily, the Remote Media Browser tool introduced in Myriad v6.7.1 allows you to do just that.

Connect Stations

The first step is the connect the two stations so you can map the Categories & Attributes from the original station to the new station, ahead of the import of the audio.

To connect stations, follow these steps:

1. In Myriad Playout for the new station, click on Settings Menu > Database Settings > Database Connections Tab.
   
   
   
   
2. The top section shows any existing Database Connections.
3. Tick the top two options to enable replication.
   
   
   
   
4. There are two ways you can connect to the remote station:
   1. Connect via Remote Edit Server (RES) - Used if the remote station is not connected to the same physical network.
   2. Connect via Local Profile - Used if the remote station is on the same physical network but setup to use different data locations via Profiles (see Working with Multiple Profiles).
      
      
      
      
5. If you want to connect via RES: 
   1. Select the Connect to a remote database via Remote Edit Server option
   2. Add the IP Address or location of the Remote Edit Server.
      
      
   3. Set the Port to 6947. You can use the drop down option to automatically set the port based on whether you are connecting to RES or Myriad Cloud instance.
      
      
   4. Add your Username & Password to gain access (the same as you use to login to Myriad on that system).
   5. Select the appropriate Connection Options.
      
      
      
      
   6. Click on OK to save and close.
      
      
6. If you want to connect via Local Profile:
   1. Select the Open a database configured in an existing Local Profile option.
   2. Select the Profile Name from the drop down list.
   3. Select the Remote Database Name from the drop down list. Please note you may have to click the refresh button to populate this list.
      
      
      
      
   4. Add your Username & Password to gain access (the same as you use to login to Myriad on that system).
   5. Select the appropriate Connection Options.
      
      
   6. Click on OK to save and close.
      
      

Mapping Categories & Attributes

Now that the original and new stations are connected, we can map the Categories & Attributes and decide what content to import.

1. In Myriad Playout for the new station, click on Station Menu > Browse/Download media from a remote station option.
   
   
   
2. Select the remote station you want to connect to.
   
   
   
   
3. This will open the Browse Media in remote database window which allows you to browse and select content on the remote database, setup the Category & Attribute mappings, choose where content will be imported into in the Media Wall in your new station, and see the Category & Attributes that will be used to import the content.
   
   
   Each area of this window is outlined below.
   1. This section is used to build a list of content that will be replicated from the original station to the new station. You can search for individual items or use the Media Browser button to open the Media Browser and select multiple items.
   2. The Category & Attributes mapping panel show a list of Categories & Attributes in the original station and what they will be mapped to when imported into the Media Wall on the new station.
   3. You can select where the imported content should be placed on the Media Wall on your new station, using the drop down options.
   4. The Local Media Items panel shows the Media Items what will be imported and what their Categories& Attributes will be set to once the mappings are applied.
   5. You can use this section to add additional Categories and Attributes that are not directly mapped from the original station.
   6. Once you are happy, you can start the import process.
      
      
4. To select the Content you want import from the original station, click on the Media Browser button and browse to the content you want to import.
   
   
   
5. You can use <Ctrl>+left click to select individual items or <Ctrl>+<A> to select everything in the selected Categories. Let's start by selecting the 2020's Late Category. The content of the Category is displayed in the results area.
   
   
   Press <Ctrl>+<A> on your keyboard to select all the items.
   
   
   Then click OK.
6. The top section will now display the list of content to import and the lower section shows how it will be imported.
   
   
   You can see from the screen shot that in the remote (original station) then Primary Category is set to 2020's Late and the Type is set to an appropriate genre for each Song.
   
   But in the lower section (Local Media), both the Primary Category & Type fields are blank. This is because there is no matching Category or Type in the local setup.
   
   So we need to add a couple of mappings to this import to correct that.
   
   
7. Click on the Add Attribute Mapping button in the top right hand corner.
   
   
   
   
8. First, select the Category or Attribute you want to map from in the remote (original) database. In this case we want to select the 2020s Late category, so select Songs > Category > 2020s Late.
   
   
   
   
9. Next, select the Category or Attribute you want to map to in the local (new) station. In this example, we want to map to the Era attribute instead of a Category, so select Song > Era > Late 2020s.
   
   
   
10. The mapping will be listed in the mappings panel.
    
    
    
    
11. This will map the Category from the remote station to the Era in the local station, but we also need to add a second mapping to take the Type from the original station and map it to the a selected Category in the new station. In the example below, we have added a mapping from the Type>Pop in the original station, to the Category>Pop in the new station.
    
    
    
12. You need to repeat this for all Categories and Attributes you want to import via mapping.
13. Tip: You can ask Myriad to try to automatically establish mappings by clicking on the Auto Mapping button.
    
    
    
    
14. The system will do it's best to match Categories& Attributs for you.
    
    
    You should check these carefully before applying.
    
    
15. You can remove any incorrect mappings using the delete button.
    
    
    
16. You can also Save your mappings using the Save button. This will allow you to use them in future imports without needing to set them up each time.
    
    
17. When you are happy with the Category & Attribute mappings, you can select the Destination Media ID using the drop down list option.
    
    
    The options are:
    1. Next available in Range - will place the Media Items in the correct range for their Media Type (ie Song range).
    2. Match by Media ID - will use the Media ID from the original Media Wall to select destination (replicating the original Media Wall).
    3. Match by External Reference -this will us the External Reference to locate the Media ID on the local Media Wall (usually used for updates, not initial import).
    4. Match by Unique ID (GUID) - this uses the internal GUID to match Media Items (usually used for updates, not initial import).
    5. There is also the option to Force re-download of existing items tick box which will force the local Media to be replaced with the incoming Media from the remote system.
       
       
18. The bottom right section allows you to add any additional Category or Attributes to the imported items. For example, you could create a Tag called 'Import from original station' and then apply that Tag to all imported content. Then if you needed to see a list of all content imported from the original station, you could.
    
    
    
    As with the mapping list, you can Save the Add Category / Attribute list to avoid setting it up each time.
    
    
19. Finally, when you are happy with your Category and Attribute mappings, click on the Start Replication button.
    
    
    
    You will be asked to confirm your actions, click on Yes if you want to proceed.
    
    
    
    The system will now download all the selected items from the remote to the local database, applying the Category & Attribute mappings as it goes.
    
    
    You will be notified once the process is complete.
    
    
    
    
20. Repeat this process for all content you want to import.