chellomedia’s Digital Media Centre Confirms Successful Launch of HDTV Channels for Nat Geo, Film1 and Sport1
Amsterdam, 5 July 2006 – chellomedia’s Digital Media Centre (DMC), one of Europe’s premier digital media facilities specifically dedicated to multi-lingual broadcasting, announced that it launched and flawlessly operates three High Definition (HD) channels for the Dutch cable market, following an intensive preparation period started in mid-February.
The three channels, National Geographic Channel HD, Film1 and Sport1 launched progressively early June, where the launch of Sport 1 HD coincided with the start of the World Cup coverage in HD. Since then National Geographic Channel HD has been running 24 hours per day showcasing HD documentaries and Film1 and Sport1 are broadcasting when content is available in HD.
The decision to launch HD channels in the Netherlands was taken in February 2006 and triggered the most aggressive build and upgrade programme in the DMC’s history. Almost every area of the operation was involved, with central signal routing, signal distribution, monitoring, automation, servers and post-production all requiring replacement or upgrade, while maintaining the normal Standard Definition (SD) output for the existing 30 plus channels.
Major elements of the work included the installation of three new nVision HD routers for transmission and post-production, installation of two Omneon servers systems for HD ingest and playout, a new Omnibus automation system and near-line archive from Suitcase TV.
All the internal signal processing is carried out in 1080i/50 and most material is delivered to the DMC in that format. Final processing converts the signal to 720p before MPEG4 compression using Thomson encoders. This standard was used after consultation with the cable operators in the Netherlands.
Jon Try, VP Broadcasting at the DMC commented: “ Although the timescale we were faced with was very tight to launch HD channels, we kept the channel operation as simple as possible and ensured we were not going beyond the proven capabilities of the equipment and systems we had chosen. Our existing operational workflows are already designed for a totally server based playout and only minor changes and cross-training were needed to introduce the new systems. All the DMC staff greeted the prospect of HD channels enthusiastically and their willingness and dedication to this project ensured we launched on time.”
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For more information please contact:
Bert Holtkamp, chellomedia communications
Tel: + 31 (0)20 778 9447
GSM: + 31 (0)6 5538 0594
E-mail: communications@lgi.com