59.3.9.1 T-Workflow Action

A T-workflow comprises multiple steps sequentially interconnected according to specific criteria; steps are referred to within Etere as T-workflow actions, and they are nothing less than operations performed via T-workflow. T-Workflow actions are used for performing the most common operations involved in managing media content and files, for example, quality control, schedule checking, media transferring, media transcoding, etc.
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T-Workflow actions have different outcomes referred to as "states" taken depending on whether they have been successfully executed. Therefore, the sequence of T-workflow actions is determined by the "state" of the previous action. Inside the graphical T-Workflow Designer, T-workflow actions are represented as 'action blocks', which can be inserted within T-workflows under a graphical interface through a simple drag&drop operation.

NB: To analyse the T-workflow process in the T-workflow log file, the Add Log option in T-workflow must be set appropriately, e.g., to Ever to log all processes.

Unique identification

All T-workflow actions managed by Etere are identified by an automatically generated code that represents them within the database; this code permits the action to remain consistent even if a category name is changed. For example, if a T-workflow action named "Quality Check" is identified by the code "4 [af.1.qltchk.act]", the following information can be derived from the code:

4 - The action is the fourth one created in the system

af - The action type is "Asset Function."

1 - The action is the first one of the "Asset Function" group

Qltchk - The action is related to a "Quality Check" operation

act - The action's element identifier

Available types

T-workflow actions can be generally classified according to the nature of the task they are intended to accomplish; in Etere, T-workflow actions mainly fall into the following three generic categories (which at the time are divided into other different sub-categories):

Template actions - Mainly related to checks performed within the system (e.g. scheduling, asset management); the main characteristic of these actions is the possibility of creating them from function-specific templates through a simple wizard.

DataMover actions - Used by Etere Data Mover to perform data transfers and transcoding of the media files associated with Etere's asset forms; these actions can be freely created by defining the meta devices involved and the exact task.

Content Management actions - Concerning the execution of media tasks for specific EDL segments of the asset's linked media files. Supported actions include media retrieving, conforming, cutting and audio/video defects detection.