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[Monday at NAB]
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BT Showcases New Options for Media Management
U.S. Market Gets Glimpse of New BT Solutions
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by Susan Ashworth,
~ April 14, 2008
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TV TECHNOLOGY
Coming on the heels of successful installations in Europe and Asia, BT Media & Broadcast is in Las Vegas to introduce its digital media collaboration platform and MPLS-enabled IP media transport network to the U.S. broadcast market.
These management and distribution systems — which include the Global Media Network IP network and the BT Mosaic digital media management platform — are designed to enable end-to-end integrated connectivity between far-flung locations and to handle the management of media, including ingest, transcoding and rough editing, regardless of format.
These solutions were “built specifically for the media industry,” said Mark Wilson-Dunn, executive vice president of sales and marketing for BT Media & Broadcast. “We looked at workflows and supply chains [at all different types of organizations] … and we went to scratch to create a software services platform [with] the ability to truly distribute an organization’s media.”
SECURE CONNECTIVITY
BT’s video-enabled Global Media Network is designed to offer secure, seamless connectivity by linking different segments of the media system, from production through distribution, with the ability to connect a customer to multiple platforms regardless of location.
That was a priority for the Hong Kong-based STAR Group, which is using the IP network to carry eight channels of broadcast traffic from Hong Kong to Los Angeles for U.S. satellite and cable subscribers.
“BT’s service has provided us with a giant technology leap, particularly in assisting us to expand the distribution of our channels in North America,” said Guo Xiao Yong, chief technology officer for STAR.
The Global Media Network has also been put to the test by Technicolor Creative Services, which plans to use the Global Media Network to link its headquarters in Los Angeles to locations in Canada, Europe and India. “The Global Media Network will enable them to ship material to other locations for all types of post and production work,” Wilson-Dunn said.
Likewise, BT Media & Broadcast announced plans to build a video on-demand (VOD) download service for British broadcaster Channel Five.
BT Media & Broadcast also announced that its BT Mosaic service was successfully put to the test in Europe when ITV, the largest commercial broadcaster in the United Kingdom, began using BT Mosaic to deliver on-demand material to clients, including Internet users and other broadcasters. Using the asset management features within BT Mosaic, for example, users can search and find content, perform rough edits and process material for external clients, said Neville Chamberlain, chief technical consultant for BT Media & Broadcast. Other features include transcoding capabilities, quality control features and advanced security functions.
“BT Mosaic will enable ITV to reinvent its channels … to reflect the way consumers — and other broadcasters — interact with content both in the U.K. and globally,” said Richard Cross, technology director for ITV.
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