Copyright © 2020-2026 Traco Systems a.s.

Traco MediaDistributor | Administrator Guide

This guide provides comprehensive information for administrators to configure the Traco MediaDistributor application. It covers all available configuration options, from general system settings to detailed profile and distribution target management.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. General Settings
  3. Profiles
  4. Distribution Targets
  5. Formulas
  6. Logos
  7. Media Files
  8. Traco Encoders
  9. Traco MediaRenderers
  10. Masters of Jobs
  11. Profile Manager
  12. Statistics

Introduction

The Traco MediaDistributor Settings page is the central hub for configuring the application's behavior, connectivity, and user permissions. It allows administrators to define how media is processed, where it is distributed, and who has access to specific features.

General Settings

The General section contains global configuration settings for the application.

  • PAM Web Services: These settings are only required when triggering Production Management Services such as Avid Transcode, STPEncode, Transfer, Restore, or Archive.
    • Host: The hostname or IP address of the Avid PAM Web Services.
    • Username: The username for authenticating with the PAM Web Services.
    • Password: The password for the PAM Web Services user.
    • Workgroup: The Avid Workgroup name.
  • Traco Storyteller: The URL for the Traco Storyteller service.
  • Submitting Jobs Allowed: A global switch to enable or disable job submission.
  • Media Distribution Overwrite Option: Enables the option to overwrite existing files during distribution.

Profiles

The Profiles section is used to define distribution profiles. A profile determines how a media asset is processed and where it is sent.

  • Profile Name: A descriptive name for the profile.
  • Type: The type of distribution profile.
    • PAM Video: For distributing video assets from Avid PAM.
    • GFX: For standalone graphics rendering and distribution.
      • Allows users to select a graphics template (e.g., full screen graphics like a table) and set a specific duration (e.g., 20 seconds).
      • The Viz Engine (integrated with Traco MediaRenderer) renders the graphic as a standalone video file.
      • This video can be distributed to any shared storage or 3rd party system.
      • Use Case: The rendered video can be re-ingested into Avid as a masterclip, allowing editors to use full-screen graphics on a regular video track instead of a graphics track.
  • Production Services Profile: (For PAM Video) Selects the Avid Production Services profile to use for transcoding/restoring/archiving.
  • STP Profile: (For PAM Video) Selects the Send To Playback (STP) profile used for exporting media from Avid. This setting is exclusively used to export and deliver media to Traco MediaRenderer for further processing (graphics burning, transcoding, etc.).
  • STP Profile Output Folder: The SMB path (relative to Traco MediaRenderer) where Avid outputs the exported files that Traco MediaRenderer will pick up for processing.
  • Overwrite: (For STP/GFX) Check to allow overwriting existing files.
  • Distribution Filename Pattern: Defines the naming convention for the distributed file.
    • Options include Video ID, Job ID, MOB ID, Display Name, or Custom.
    • Custom: If selected, a text field appears to define a custom PAM attribute.

Sidecar & Metadata

  • Sidecar File Distribution Location: The SMB path (relative to Traco ACS Windows service) where a sidecar XML file should be generated.
    • Sidecar File Signature: A static JSON constant defined for the profile. This content remains the same for all jobs using this profile and is included in the sidecar file.
    • Distribute Formula: Select a Formula to include its metadata in the sidecar.
    • Distribute PAM Metadata: Include Avid PAM metadata.
    • Distribute NM Metadata: Include Newsroom Management metadata.
    • Distribute GFX Metadata: Include Graphics metadata.

Media Processing

  • Burn GFX: (For STP profiles) Options to burn graphics based on MOS IDs.
    • Primary MOS ID: Burn graphics for the primary MOS ID.
    • Secondary MOS ID: Burn graphics for the secondary MOS ID.
  • GFX Variant Override: Enables users to override the Viz graphics variant when submitting jobs using this profile. When enabled, administrators can define a list of available variant values that users can select from. If a GFX element does not support the overridden variant, the system will use the actual variant without modifications. Note that overriding the variant does not change the Viz GFX element itself.
  • Traco Encoder: Select an encoding profile to transcode the media before distribution.
  • Burn Logo: Select a Logo profile to burn into the video.
  • Intro: Select a Media File to prepend to the video.
  • Outro: Select a Media File to append to the video.

Integrations

  • Traco Storyteller: Enable integration with Traco Storyteller.
  • Traco AI: Enable AI features like Face Recognition, Speech to Text, and Category Detection, Video Analysis.

Distribution Targets

  • Distribution Targets: Add one or more previously configured Distribution Targets to this profile. Each profile can send to as many distribution targets as configured. The media file will be uploaded sequentially to each target in the order they are listed.

Distribution Targets

Distribution Targets define the destinations where media can be published.

  • Distribution Target Name: A friendly name for the target.
  • Type: The platform or protocol for distribution. Supported types include:
    • Facebook: Requires FB Page ID.
    • Instagram: Requires Instagram Account ID, Instagram Username, and Facebook Page ID.
    • Twitter: Configuration for Twitter is handled in the Traco MediaRenderer service, not directly in this UI.
    • Youtube: Requires Privacy Settings (Public/Private).
    • SMB: Requires Path (UNC path).
    • FTP: Requires Hostname, Port, Username, Password, Mode (Active/Passive), Directory, and Type.
      • Type: Can be left blank or set to airspeed. Setting this to airspeed updates the asset name in Avid Command from Video ID to Display Name, which provides a better preview in gallery playout.

Formulas

Formulas allow you to define custom metadata fields that users must or can fill out when submitting a job. The values entered by users will be written to the sidecar file XML.

  • Formula Name: The name of the formula.
  • Fields: You can add multiple fields to a formula. Each field has:
    • Name: The label of the field.
    • Type: Text, Checkbox, Selectbox, or Date.
    • Required: Whether the field is mandatory.

Logos

The Logos section manages image files that can be used as overlays on video content.

  • Name: A name for the logo.
  • File Location: The SMB path to the logo file, relative to the Traco MediaRenderer.
  • Placement in Video: Where the logo should appear (Top/Left, Top/Right, Bottom/Left, Bottom/Right).
  • Relative Position: Fine-tune the position using X and Y coordinates relative to the chosen placement.

Media Files

Media Files are used to manage other media assets, such as intros, outros, or other overlays.

  • Name: A name for the media file.
  • File Location: The SMB path to the file, relative to the Traco MediaRenderer.

Traco Encoders

Traco Encoders configuration allows defining encoding profiles for audio and video.

  • Name: Name of the encoder profile.
  • Type: Video or Audio.
  • Settings: Depending on the type, you can configure codecs, containers, bitrates, dimensions, etc. Additionally, Direct Out mode can be enabled for video and/or audio individually as a pass-through option where the output from Traco MediaRenderer will be the same as the input from Avid without any transcoding, preserving the original media format.

Traco MediaRenderers

This section manages the Traco MediaRenderer nodes that perform the actual media processing.

Job Assignment Logic: Jobs are assigned to renderers sequentially based on their order in this list. The system always checks the first renderer first. If it is free, it will receive the new job. Only if the first renderer is currently processing a job will the system check the next renderer in the list. This ensures that the primary renderers are utilized first before offloading work to secondary nodes. The main reason for this sequential assignment is to allow administrators to configure the first node with more powerful hardware, ensuring it handles the majority of the workload efficiently.

  • Name: A name for the renderer node.
  • Active: Toggle to enable or disable the node.
  • Traco MediaRenderer Service URL: The URL of the MediaRenderer service.
  • Traco MediaDistributor Service URL: The URL of the MediaDistributor service.
  • Viz Engine: Check if this node is equipped with a Viz Engine for graphics rendering.

Masters of Jobs

Masters of Jobs allows you to designate specific LDAP groups as "Masters". Users in these groups are superusers who can see and manage all jobs in the system and have full access to all application features, regardless of who created the jobs or which profile groups they belong to.

  • Select the checkbox next to an LDAP group to grant them Master privileges.

Profile Manager

The Profile Manager is a powerful section for organizing profiles into groups and assigning permissions to LDAP groups.

  • Profile Group Name: Name of the group.
  • Available in:
    • Cloud UX: The profile group is visible in the Cloud UX interface.
    • Embedded Mode: The profile group is visible when the app is running in embedded mode (Avid MediaComposer, Adobe Premiere, ...).
  • Roles: For each LDAP group, you can assign specific permissions for this profile group:
    • Create: Users in this group can create new jobs using the profiles within this profile group, but cannot submit them. Jobs must be submitted by users with Master privileges.
    • Submit: Users in this group can submit jobs for processing.
    • Master: Users in this group have elevated privileges.
      • With Master Role: Can view and manage all jobs created by any user within this profile group.
      • Without Master Role: Can only view and manage their own jobs.
  • Profiles: Select which Profiles (defined in the Profiles section) belong to this group.

Note: If a user is part of multiple LDAP groups with overlapping profile privileges, the highest level of privileges will always apply. For example, if a user belongs to one group with Create permissions and another group with Submit permissions for the same profile group, that user will have Submit privileges.

Statistics

The Statistics page displays the total number of jobs processed globally. Note that this view shows aggregate data and does not break down statistics by individual profiles.