Inlet Armada automates the digital media workflow process, from analysis to encode to post-encode. Announced at last year’s NAB for shipment in late 2008, the product is now available.

Armada has three processing nodes: Analysis ($6,500), Transcoding ($7,500), and Post Encoding ($12,000) controlled by the Management Server ($14,000). The system is modular, so you can buy a component at a time, and even integrate third-party encoding systems into the workflow.

During the Analysis phase, the system analyzes the file to optimize encoding parameters, for example determining if the file is interlaced, and if so, making sure to deinterlace during encoding. The system also extracts metadata to be used during publishing.

The Encode stage is template based, and users can prioritize jobs using numbered priorities, or specific job deadlines. During Post Encode, the system performs final quality control, adds DRM or encryption, and publishes the files locally or out to remote locations.

To a degree, the system is a compressionist’s early retirement system, since all the intelligence goes into the job setup, and then it’s just a question of dropping files into watch folders. That said, it’s clearly the wave of the future, and even at $40,000, Armada costs a fraction of the salary of a competent compression professional. Hmm.

The other major announcement for Inlet was the Spinnaker 80, a multi-channel live audio encoder that can input eight separate streams, and output 32 streams. The company marketing folks call this the “dense audio” product, and it sounds appropriate. Pricing starts at $7995 for the S-80A (8 analog inputs), with the the S-80D (4 digital AES inputs or 8 analog inputs) priced at $9995. If you’re in the internet radio business, they’re both worth checking out.