Porta

Porta is a software production control platform for triggering templated content in Disguise Designer and Unreal Engine. Porta is an on-premise application with a web interface, and it can also be hosted in the Cloud.

What does Porta do?

Porta simplifies control of visual experiences across a number of use cases:

• On Air Graphics
• Studios
• Stadiums
• Venues

Porta has the following key features:

• Workflows for Disguise and Unreal Engine specialists to expose templated content to operations staff
• Enables update of text, graphics, media and more without direct interaction with Designer or Unreal Engine UIs
• Playlist style control via browser based UI or link to external systems for triggers
• Integration with RossTalk, Chyron CII and GPI protocols
• Schedule rules for playback by date and time

Porta Workflow

Porta simplifies production control by enabling different roles and stages of the production lifecyle to concentrate on their own specialities:

1. Content Creation: This is typically done by an Unreal Engine artist or d3 Programmer, designing the scenes in Unreal Engine or programming the d3 project, and in both cases then exposing the paramters and content to be adjusted at show time by external systems.
2. Pre-production Set Up: The technical production operator uses Porta to create templates, playlists and pages in line with the show requirements.
3. Production Control: During the show, the templated content is triggered by the approproate show control system. In news broadcast, this is typically a News Room Computer System; for a live event or stadium environment this is typically a production switcher or show control panel. Alternatively, triggers can be configured according to date and time rules, or triggered manually using the Porta web interface.

Porta Concepts

These are the key structures in Porta which enable simplified production control:

• Templates - define the elements to be controlled at runtime.
• Pages - contain text data, media and configurations. When triggered, the page payload is sent to any connected Unreal Engine or Disguise system.
• Playlists - a playlist is a container for one or more pages, which play out in sequence when triggered.
• Channels - define the connection to the Unreal Engine(s) and / or Disguise instance(s).
• Porta Bridge - maps external system triggers to Porta playlists, and translates external protocols to triggers which are understood by Disguise Designer and Unreal Engine.

Deployment

Porta is normally deployed on-premise. It can also be run in a Cloud or hybrid Cloud and on-premise environment.