Seamless compressed-domain switching
Switches between non-identical AVC/HEVC transport streams in the TS domain, with no decode and no re-encode.
Playout Protection
tx darwin
Seamless protection of your critical content
Software-defined stream switching that protects quality and latency for playout and mezzanine sources, keeping the most demanding channels on air.
Why playout protection matters
In broadcast, an unprotected channel is never acceptable. Redundancy is critical, yet when a primary feed drops, manual failover means dead air and lost viewers before anyone reacts.
In cloud and software workflows, failovers happen constantly, not just for hardware failure, but for redeploys and configuration changes too. Legacy SDI-style switching doesn't scale into the cloud, and a full decode, baseband-switch, re-encode approach adds cost, latency and degrades quality every time it's repeated.
Playout Protection gives broadcasters the freedom to destroy and rebuild their systems for security and upgrade reasons, and to architect across cloud and on-premise, without disturbing downstream viewing or compromising latency and quality.
Key Capabilities
Platform, monitoring and control
Best-in-class monitoring with third-party integration and logic-block triggers for deep customisation.
Software and cloud-native
Deploys in the cloud or on bare metal, running tens of services per server.
Complements SMPTE 2022-7
2022-7 protects identical duplicated streams at the network level; Playout Protection switches between genuinely different streams, and the two work together.
Built Around Your Workflow
Playout Protection composes six core functions, all in software: a compressed-domain PES switch for seamless switching between non-identical AVC/HEVC transport streams, with no decode, extended to JPEG XS and AVC-I this year.
DEMUX and MUX handle transport stream de-multiplexing and re-multiplexing cloud-natively in the same solution, with ETR 290 monitoring for best-in-class transport stream compliance built in.
Seamless fault concealment uses a definable content buffer to mask even sudden input loss with an instant switch away from a failed source, while N:1 switching and file playout source DR content, blackout slates and looping holding assets.
Every Channel. Every Rebuild. Always On.
Compressed-domain switching protects quality and latency, while cutting the cost and disruption of traditional playout protection.
Compressed-domain processing plus full automation delivers broadcast-grade quality at cloud scale.
Why choose Playout Protection
Broadcasters
Creating and delivering linear channels to other broadcasters, replacing SDI-style switches with compressed-domain protection.
Playout MSPs
Cloud playout at scale needing seamless operational switching during scheduled teardown and rebuild.
Content rights holders
Premium channels onboarding to major distribution platforms, needing broadcast-grade playout resilience.
Automation-first operators
Investing in heavy platform automation and integration to cut per-channel cost of ownership at scale.
Powered by tx darwin
Playout Protection is a tx darwin reference solution, built from the same modular building blocks that power Techex's broadcast-grade transformation platform.
The compressed-domain PES switch, DEMUX/MUX and ETR 290 monitoring modules combine to keep channels on air, without the cost or latency of a decode and re-encode cycle.
Logic blocks trigger switching automatically on quality issues, not just full loss of signal, so protection responds to objective data rather than waiting on manual judgement.
Every capability is exposed through API, so Playout Protection integrates with the control, monitoring and orchestration platforms you already run.
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Ready to protect your most demanding channels?
Move beyond legacy SDI-style switches with protection that runs natively in the cloud or on bare metal, without the cost and latency of decode and re-encode. Whether you're rebuilding infrastructure mid-schedule or protecting SLA-critical channels at scale, our specialists can help you deploy it right.