Ross Video Introduces Carbonite Black at NAB 2015

Today, Ross Video announces that NAB 2015 will see the introduction of Carbonite Black, the latest addition to Ross Video’s best selling production switcher family.

Carbonite Black brings expanded I/O and ME count to the Carbonite series, with a beautiful new control panel, 3 full MEs, 36 Inputs and 22 outputs – plus all of the superior features found in other Carbonite models such as MiniMEs, MultiScreen, 3G and UHD (4K) format support.

Carbonite Black

“When we introduced Carbonite, it became an instant hit as it completely changed the price and performance model for 1 and 2 ME production switchers. Carbonite Black is designed to do the same thing, but for productions that require larger I/O or 3 MEs,” stated Nigel Spratling, Marketing Product Manager. “Carbonite Black not only looks fantastic, but has more production features and performance than any other product available at this price point. We know that customers will really like this product – and it’s what many of them have been asking us for.”

The 2RU Carbonite Black frame will be available with 2 or 3 MEs, and will accept all current signal formats as standard – including 3G/1080P 50/59.94 and UHD quad link with no reduction of resources whatsoever when processing these higher data rates.

“With 3 MEs and 4 MiniMEs, this switcher effectively has 7 fully available MEs and a total of 23 keyers,” continued Nigel. “Until now, there has been nothing available that can offer this much production power at a mid-size price point, and Carbonite Black is yet another game changer from Ross.”

About Ross Video

Passionate about live production, Ross Video designs, manufactures and delivers dependable technology and services that power exceptional live video productions seen by billions of viewers around the world every day. Ross Video’s goal is to make it easy for customers to create compelling news, weather and sports broadcasts, engaging material for sports stadium screens, legislative assemblies, entertainment shows and rock concerts, and inspiring content for houses of worship.

Relentlessly innovating, Ross Video delivers the world’s widest range of products and services for augmented reality and virtual sets, mobile live-event solutions, real-time motion graphics, robotic camera systems, social-media management, production switchers, routers, infrastructure products, video servers, newsroom systems, terminal equipment and more.
Ross products and services are designed to offer the best system integration and unmatched customer choice by both working together seamlessly and integrating tightly with third-party solutions.

Ross Video has offices around the world, and provides outstanding, free-for-life telephone support staffed by technical experts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year—even for products bought on eBay. Ross employees are authorized to rent helicopters when necessary.

Harmonic Extends Playout Control Capabilities of VOS™ Virtualised Media Processing Platform

Industry Adopts Open API for Harmonic’s Electra™ XVM and Electra X Media Processors, Unlocking New Workflows and Cloud Applications

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in video delivery infrastructure, today announced the Harmonic Virtual Media API (VMA), an open application control interface for broadcast automation control of its VOS™ virtualized media processing platform. The VMA, supported by the Electra XVM virtualized media processor and the Electra X family of advanced media processors, has been adopted by service providers and broadcast automation vendors, including Pebble Beach Systems, Dayang Technology Development Inc. and VJU. This VOS platform ecosystem creates a fully integrated, cloud-based playout, graphics and encoding solution that can be used by video content and service providers to create and deliver live linear channels to any device faster, with a lower TCO and amazing video quality.

“The integrated functionalities offered by Electra XVM and Electra X media processors have already been deployed globally by numerous Harmonic customers,” said Bart Spriester, senior vice president, video products, Harmonic. “With the announcement of our open VMA for intelligent control, Harmonic increases operational efficiencies and cost savings for video content and service providers, while enabling them to realize the full capabilities of virtualization, unlocking new workflows such as OTT delivery and IP-based playout solutions for linear integrated channel/channel-in-a-box, cloud and edge applications.”

Harmonic’s Polaris™ Advance channel playout automation system, originally integrated with its market-leading Spectrum™ media server family, will support Electra XVM and Electra X media processors. With the open VMA, video content and service providers can now choose between deploying a fully integrated and virtualizable solution for playout, graphics and encoding from Harmonic with Polaris Advance software or can select third-party automation solutions to control those capabilities.

“The Marina platform from Pebble Beach Systems provides operators with a powerful centralized ingest, content management and multichannel automation solution, offering support from one to hundreds of channels,” said Peter Hajittofi, managing director at Pebble Beach Systems. “By implementing support for Harmonic Electra XVM and Electra X media processors, we’re enabling a new class of IP-based playout and encoding solutions that include centralized and edge playout.”

Dayang Technology Development Inc., a world-leading manufacturer and developer of broadcast-quality digital solutions, is adding support for the Harmonic VMA in its D3-Playout automation system. With D3-Playout control of Electra X and Electra XVM media processors, Dayang can bring to the market in China the next-generation channel-in-a-box solutions that integrate playout and graphics with industry-leading broadcast and multiscreen encoding powered by Harmonic’s PURE Compression Engine™ technology.

VJU’s CEO Josef Anderl commented, “VJU’s Channel as a Service leverages the power of the cloud to help video content and service providers set up and launch new television channels in minutes rather than months. Being able to integrate with Harmonic’s Electra XVM media processor, we can now fully virtualize our broadcast playout offering. Furthermore, we are now able to start and scale TV channels without shipping hardware around the world.”

With playout, graphics and encoding functions collapsed into software on a single server blade, Harmonic’s VMA enables cloud-executed creation and delivery of variable format, variable encoding rate channels, where the type of content determines the type of delivery. For example, operators can seamlessly process UHD for sports and HD for talk shows.

Electra XVM and Electra X media processors uniquely unify industry-leading playout and graphics functionality with Harmonic’s PURE Compression Engine, which is designed to boost video compression efficiency across an extensive range of codecs and formats — including MPEG-2, AVC and HEVC — over CBR, VBR and ABR encoding schemes to support a broad array of devices from handhelds to UHD TVs.

At booth SU1210 during the 2015 NAB Show in Las Vegas, Harmonic will showcase its comprehensive line of market-leading solutions that optimize the production and delivery of high-value video services in the broadcast, pay-TV and new media environments. Further information about Harmonic and the company’s products is available at www.harmonicinc.com.

AP ENPS to Debut New Open API at NAB Show

The Associated Press will showcase a new Open API for AP ENPS, the world’s most popular multiplatform news production system, at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 13-16.

For almost two decades AP ENPS has led the broadcast industry with MOS-based integration to dozens of audio, automation, graphics and video systems. The Open API extends the power and reach of AP ENPS to support myriad use cases where traditional MOS-based integration may not be the best solution.

For example, early adopters are already integrating traffic systems with AP ENPS rundowns and pulling data to produce FCC reports. The API could also be used to graphically show the elements and costs associated with production of one or more newscasts.

The two-way Open API communication could also be used to integrate AP ENPS with content management systems, unifying all of a newsroom's news operations.

The basic version of the Open API, including two-way read/write capability is available to all AP ENPS customers using version 7 at no additional cost as part of the AP ENPS license.

AP ENPS will demonstrate the Open API and its capabilities during NAB in the South Lower Hall, booth SL7606, during these times:

Monday, April 13: 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 14: 11:00 a.m. - noon
Wednesday, April 15: 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 16: 11:00 a.m. - noon

AP ENPS is used by more than 64,000 news professionals in more than 900 newsrooms across the globe.

For more information about the AP ENPS Open API, contact us at: info@enps.com. 
About AP
The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world's population sees news from AP. On the Web: www.ap.org.
Contact
Erin Madigan White
Senior Media Relations Manager
The Associated Press
T: +1 212 621 7005
E: emadigan@ap.org

Telstra to make a statement at their Sydney headquarters with a 7 x 3.5 metre LED video screen, installed and supported by Techtel

Telstra set out to make a statement with their 400 George Street address in Sydney to show the industry that they truly are a powerhouse in digital media. The site has long been home to the Telstra Experience Centre but their plan was to rebirth the facility with mind-blowing technology to showcase their strengths in a way that no other company can. Techtel was invited to provide a large 7 x 3.5 metre LED video screen for the immediate entry to the facility and the solution was accepted following a rigorous review by Telstra and the building owners, Lend Lease. Download full Case Study.

Fox International Channels selects Harmonic MediaGrid™ for scalable media workflow solution

Sydney, Australia, 16th January 2015 – Harmonic in Australia announced today that FOX International Channels has added to its existing Harmonic infrastructure with the installation of a MediaGrid™ shared storage system for their integrated production environment. The MediaGrid solution has replaced multiple existing storage systems at Fox International’s Sydney facility, offering a single-platform, cost-effective solution with exceptional performance capacity to accelerate media workflows.

If required to, Fox International’s 90 TB MediaGrid system can seamlessly expand to multiple petabytes of capacity without impacting users or applications, providing an exceptional level of investment protection through the ability to simply add additional storage nodes when there is a demand for more performance or capacity.

Stephen Lloyd, Director of Technical Operations at Fox International Channels, said “FIC is committed to consistently evolving our operations while looking for efficiency. The Harmonic MediaGrid solution made it possible to edit-in-place over existing infrastructure allowing greater flexibility for our creative team”.

Harmonic MediaGrid is designed specifically for video workflows, providing the performance of a SAN with the simplicity of NAS. Proven in many of the world’s most demanding video environments, MediaGrid provides Fox International with shared, real-time storage, such as edit-in-place, collaborative editing, transcoding, video on demand and over-the-top (OTT) adaptive bitrate streaming.

TVLogic wins NEP Australia (Global TV) super truck deal

Sydney, Australia, 16th January 2015 – NEP Australia (formerly Global Television) has selected TVLogic’s Multi-Format LCD monitors for the fit-out in particular areas of its highly-anticipated OB fleet additions – HD11 and HD12. The monitors will be supplied by Techtel in early 2015 when the first “super truck”, HD11, is expected to be delivered and ready for technical fit-out, commissioning and testing by NEP’s systems integration team. TVLogic’s reputation for quality and performance has positioned them as the preferred choice for NEP Australia and other key players in the industry.

A factor for NEP Australia was the recent release of TVLogic’s free wall monitor management software, “Observer”. The Windows application is ideal in an OB environment as it provides comprehensive control of multiple monitors via network connection, allowing operators to control the monitors’ power, inputs, UMD and other features from their PCs.

The monitors purchased include several from TVLogic’s new RKM range of rack mount monitors as well as a number of their 7” LVM-074W HD Multi-Format LCD Monitors. Jim Tinker, NEP Australia’s General Manager Engineering Services, said “The quality and reliability of TVLogic monitors we have experienced over the years was one of the key drivers in our selection process aside from the other benefits of built in waveform monitoring and audio level metering which is useful in applications of confidence monitoring”.

HD11 will surpass the size, technical capabilities and work environment of every other mobile production facility in Australia, with the truck’s enhanced technical power specifically designed to meet the ever-expanding needs of diverse clients. HD12 – the second in the company’s new series of control units – will be the sister vehicle to HD11 and will undergo a technical fit-out immediately after HD11 is deployed.

Global TV selects Net Insight for G20 Summit video transport solution

Sydney, Australia – Global Television (now part of the NEP worldwide network) has selected the Net Insight Nimbra™ Platform to transport video services at this year’s G20 Leaders Summit held in Brisbane to GlobeCast headquarters in Sydney for distribution. The transport solution will be commissioned and supported throughout the event by local distributor and Net Insight Premium Partner, Techtel.

During the two day event beginning on November 15, six HD/SD-SDI video services will be transported via an IP link provided by AAPT. The Net Insight Nimbra™ 680 nodes will be commissioned at both the Brisbane Convention Centre and GlobeCast in Sydney, equipped with redundant PSUs, node controllers and switch modules. Each Nimbra™ 680 node will also be fitted with two 10Gbps IP trunk interfaces to obtain IP trunk module redundancy.

Net Insight's video transport solution over the Nimbra™ MSR network features visually lossless JPEG2000 compression, enabling live video delivery of the G20 members’ forum with very low latency and zero data loss.

Marc Segar, G20 Project Director for Global Television said “We are delighted to be partnering with Net Insight and Techtel for this event, we were looking for a robust and fully redundant solution and the Nimbra 680 was a perfect fit”.

Techtel will begin installation and testing of the Nimbra™ transmission solution between the two sites at the beginning of November 2014.

About Techtel

Techtel is a leading independent broadcast technology systems specialist, providing dedicated hardware and software to the Asia Pacific broadcast and telecommunications industries. Techtel’s expertise extends from consulting and systems integration through to the supply, installation and support of solutions from an elite class of worldwide partners. The Techtel Group has regional offices in Sydney and Singapore with branches in Auckland and Melbourne. Visit www.techtel.tv.

About Net Insight

Net Insight delivers the world's most efficient and scalable transport solution for Broadcast and IP Media, Digital Terrestrial TV and IPTV/CATV networks. Net Insight products truly deliver 100 percent Quality of Service with three times improvement in utilisation of bandwidth for a converged transport infrastructure. Net Insight's Nimbra™ platform is the industry solution for video, voice and data, reducing operational costs by 50 percent and enhancing competitiveness in delivery of existing and new media services. More than 200 world class customers run mission critical video services over Net Insight products in over 60 countries. Net Insight is quoted on the NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm.

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For more information on this press release please contact Jenna Clark at Techtel.

IBC 2014 News: Techtel awarded Net Insight Fastest Grower of the Year Award

The award reads...

Techtel has been Net Insight’s premium partner covering Australia and New Zealand since 2005.

Techtel has persistently continued to invest time and effort in promoting Net Insight solutions and has built its own technical competence and pool of demo equipment to a world-class level.

Techtel is a strong systems integrator, very innovative, in terms of finding new segments and matching them with Net Insight’s solutions for remote production, live sports and others.

Techtel has driven the introduction of the Nimbra 640 and JPEG2000 solutions in New Zealand to leading telcos and producers.

In Australia, Techtel is one of the early adopters in promoting our Nimbra 390. In addition to that, they have also sold a creative combination of Nimbra 140 and Nimbra 680 for major international sporting coverage and to networks for 10G CWDM contribution and remote production.

Based on Techtel’s successes, Net Insight hereby recognises Techtel’s outstanding work by becoming the Fastest Growing partner of the Year and we look forward to many more successful years together.

Techtel and Spectra Logic expand FOX SPORTS’ archive system at new facility

Sydney, Australia – FOX SPORTS has added to its existing Spectra Logic archive by purchasing a second T950 tape archive system which has been installed at their Artarmon facility. The country’s leading sports broadcaster had been using their initial T950 Spectra Logic tape archive for 5 years prior to the new addition. The latest 6-frame T950 tape library was supplied and installed by local distributor Techtel as a part of FOX SPORTS’ expansion plans, ensuring total security of their archive content as their operations continue to expand.

The Spectra T950 library is designed and built to meet the stringent content storage requirements of the media and entertainment industry for data integrity, data security and high reliability. It reduces staff involvement significantly, affordably scales in throughput and capacity, and supports multiple generations of current and future tape formats. The T950 library deployed at FOX SPORTS was originally deployed as LTO-5 but with the option to replace drives and upgrade to LTO-6. This upgrade was successfully undertaken late in 2013 and the sportscaster now enjoys the added benefits of LTO-6 including the first Spectra Certified Barrium Ferrite (BaFE) LTO-6 media, capable of storing more than 2.5TB native per tape and supporting data transfer speeds of up to 160MB/ps.

“The archival data of any broadcaster is invaluable so it is important to be heading into the future with a solution that is secure, reliable, and can expand above and beyond storage requirements for years to come,” commented Mal Chandler, Head of Sales at Techtel. “In relation to the Spectra and LTO-based data assets, Techtel provided assistance throughout the relocation project of FOX SPORTS who are now well into their second year of operation in the new facility.”

Spectra Logic will be exhibiting at NAB 2014 on booth SL11816, 7-10 April. See their latest storage solution; the Spectra BlackPearl™ Deep Storage Appliance. BlackPearl delivers the most scalable and cost-effective long-term storage on the market, and meets the present and future demands of extreme data growth and long-term retention. BlackPearl enables users to deploy a tier of deep storage that is not only the lowest cost storage available but also easy to manage and scalable to Exabytes of data and beyond.

Harmonic to feature innovative, flexible broadcast and multiscreen solutions at 2014 NAB Show

Highlights Include a Groundbreaking Technology Demonstration With Potential to Redefine the Broadcast Video Delivery Ecosystem

At booth SU1210 at the 2014 NAB Show, Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in video delivery infrastructure, will demonstrate a series of solutions that optimize the production and delivery of high-value video services in the broadcast, pay-TV and new media environments. Building on its position as the No. 1 provider of pay-TV encoders, broadcast playout servers, IPTV headends, and multiscreen transcoding solutions, Harmonic will unveil innovative new solutions and feature sets that enable further efficiencies in the preparation and delivery of high-quality video content to any viewing device.

“During the 2014 NAB Show, the products and solutions demonstrated at our booth will highlight the operational efficiencies, cost savings, and amazing video quality that operators can achieve by leveraging an integrated solution from Harmonic,” said Peter Alexander, chief marketing officer at Harmonic. “In addition to the acclaimed products that have made Harmonic a leading solutions provider to video service providers, we will feature an innovative new solution with the power to change the nature of video delivery as we know it.”

Highlights at the Harmonic booth will include:

Encoding and Stream Processing

Harmonic will unveil and demonstrate a groundbreaking software technology that has the potential to redefine the broadcast video delivery ecosystem. The company also will feature a unique, live 4K Ultra HD 2160p60 demonstration.

The market-leading ATSC 3.0-ready Electra™ universal multifunction, multiformat encoding platform, which features the industry’s highest density audio encoding capabilities, will be on display, as will a powerful primary distribution solution built on the Harmonic DMS™ video distribution management system and a new ProView™ IRD (integrated receiver-decoder).

Harmonic also will show its advanced multiscreen ad insertion solution, which leverages the ProMedia® family and ProStream® with ACE® broadcast and multiscreen transcoder and integrates with advertising ecosystem partners to enable the monetization of multiscreen services. By facilitating commercial insertion along with program substitution and blackout on the client side, the Harmonic solution gives operators a straightforward and cost-effective way to generate a return on their multiscreen investment.

Storage and Playout

Harmonic will feature enhancements to the market-leading Spectrum™ media server product line, including the Spectrum ChannelPort™ integrated channel playout system, which augment ingest, storage, and playout broadcast workflows. ChannelPort’s impressive performance includes high-density playout of four SD/HD channels per RU, dual DVE capabilities, and compatibility with the industry’s leading automation systems. In a demonstration of its high-performance storage solutions, Harmonic also will showcase collaborative editing and 4K editing on the Harmonic MediaGrid shared storage system.

In addition to the demonstrations and Ultra HD theater presentations at the Harmonic booth, Thierry Fautier, vice president of solutions marketing at Harmonic, will present his paper, “Ultra HD in 2014: A Real World Analysis,” at the NAB Broadcast Engineering Conference, April 9, from 10:30 to 11 a.m. in room S228 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.