Efficiency in Education: MCAST's Experience with Metus Ingest, Player and Media Cube

The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), established in 2001, stands as the leading vocational education and training institution in the country. With an extensive offering of over 190 full-time courses and more than 300 part-time vocational courses, ranging from certificates to Doctoral level, MCAST consistently attracts a record number of students. To enhance their educational content delivery and management, MCAST partnered with Metus, a collaboration that proved highly beneficial.

Challenges Addressed: Recording and Live Signal Stability: The previous method of recording and capturing live signals was unstable, prone to errors, and led to content loss.

Content Accessibility: Students required an efficient means to access, review, and stream recorded materials from any location on the campus, rather than being restricted to a dedicated machine.

Content Organization: As the library of educational content grew, manual management became increasingly complex and inefficient.

Implemented Solution: To overcome these challenges, MCAST adopted Metus solutions, including 2 Metus INGEST Stations with 2 channels each, 1 Metus PLAYER Station with 2 channels, and METUS Media Cube PRO.

Metus INGEST: Automated the capture and streaming of live content, recording 2 live feeds in 4k ProRes p50 with GPU-based Proxy as H.264. The recordings are on-demand and directly saved on QNAP – NAS Storage. Monitoring and control are facilitated remotely through the METUS Web Controller from any machine on the campus.

Metus Player: Assists students, lecturers, and administrators in accessing recorded materials, creating playlists, and sending them for preview as SDI signals. Both Player instances are remotely controlled from the studio.

Metus Media Cube: Functions as MCST’s content management hub, incorporating 2 Projects Library and Archive. Files recorded with the Ingests are automatically listed in the library project using the Watch folder engine. After editing and custom metadata information addition, the files are moved to the archive, directly attached to the NAS - QNAP storage. Accessible through a web client from any device and web browser.

Impact: The adoption of Metus Ingest, Metus Player, and Metus MAM has revolutionized MCAST's educational content delivery and management. The institution is now better equipped to provide an enriched learning experience for its students while efficiently managing its ever-expanding library of educational materials.

Client Testimonial: The Creative Arts Institute at MCAST enhanced its TV Studio, a crucial resource for the Media department, by integrating Metus's Media Asset Management (MAM) system, specifically the Metus Media Cube. Metus Ingest and Metus Playout components were also adopted, contributing to an improved learning environment. The user-friendly interface and compatibility with various editing tools were highlighted as crucial for an educational institution, especially for students new to broadcast technology. Metus's software flexibility and compatibility, combined with expert installation and valuable training provided by Metus Engineers, have significantly enriched MCAST's learning environment. The system's dedication to user-friendliness, compatibility, and comprehensive support makes it highly recommended not only for broadcast companies but also for educational institutions focused on media and broadcasting.