Usa Cable Selects Grass Valley Group Media Platform, Archive Technologies For Network Operations CenterToday's announcement occurs against a backdrop of an industry moving rapidly to standardize and streamline its content creation processes for multi-channel digital distribution—one making the transition from broadcasting to Digicasting. Whether on air or online, the goal of today's content creators and distributors is the same: to have infrastructures that offer the flexibility and speed necessary to delivery digital content wherever it needs to go. The Grass Valley Group provides the open, networked, scalable software and hardware solutions that Digicasters need to store, prepare, archive, distribute, and brand their content over multiple channels and any media, and to re-purpose that content at any time. For USA Cable, the selection of Profile technologies is a crucial step the conversion of its network operations center to an all-digital infrastructure. The Profile XP Media Platform will replace an existing tape-based system and automate the playout of broadcasts from both the USA Network and SCI FI channels. The Profile Network Archive will automate the transfer of materials between these new media platforms and the USA Cable's tape library systems. "We wanted technologies that could handle our needs both today and tomorrow," said Dick Ross, senior vice president, Network Operations, USA Cable. "For flexibility, scalability, and cost effectiveness, the Grass Valley Group's Profile media platform and media software solutions were the best choice." Systems integrator A.F. Associates has been chosen design and build the new USA Cable installation, and helped to lead the media company's exhaustive review of available solutions. "USA Cable and A.F. Associates undertook a rigorous technology evaluation process," said Tom Canavan, president of A. F. Associates. "The Profile XP demonstrated the critical combination of scalability, proven technology, and the ability to take USA Cable into the foreseeable future." "Flexibility and speed are the dominant needs of our customers in this new era of media without bounds—and they are primary focus in our product-development efforts," said Tim Thorsteinson, president and chief operating officer of the Grass Valley Group. "Any content. Any time. Any place. We are delighted that our Profile technologies will help USA Cable achieve these goals." A MEDIA PLATFORM FOR A NEW MEDIA AGEWhile traditional video servers typically offer only playback and storage capabilities, the Profile XP Media Platform, with its Microsoft® Windows NT® architecture and standard networking and storage technologies is extensible to new applications inside and outside a broadcast facility. The platform already hosts more content than any other broadcast server in the market today, and enjoys the support of more than 50 application development companies. It is also the industry's most open solution, with the ability to support MPEG, DVCPRO, HD, and MPEG Transport Streams (MTS) for application such as the Internet and SDTI. The Profile XP Media Platform is also easily upgradeable—it takes just a change of codec and I/O boards to move from standard- to high-definition signal processing. The Profile XP Media Platform is also a core component of the Grass Valley Group's WebAble™ tool suite that makes getting high-value content on the Web as easy as click, drag, and go. Using the WebAble suite, broadcasters and Web publishers can locate, access, view, and manipulate media assets; transfer those assets to Web servers and encode them for online viewing; and incorporate those assets into online page layouts using standards-based tools. In this way, WebAble relieves time crunches in the demanding Web publishing environment through its ability to simultaneously encode both high-resolution and low-resolution video. The Grass Valley Group's Profile Network Archive provides a high-speed, affordable, and scalable archiving solution—the only one to offer a networked connection between a tape library and a digital video platform. By combining its flexible architecture with support for the industry-standard Avalon Archive Management Applications, it enables users to select from a wide range of library technologies instead of being tied to the system of a single vendor. The Profile Network Archive also interfaces with the Grass Valley Group's ContentShare™ software platform for digital media asset access and management, further extending its capabilities. The Profile Network Archive connects multiple Profile digital video platforms to data tape archive/library devices via industry-leading Fibre Channel networking technology. Profile-created file attributes (metadata) are preserved during archive, allowing restored media to be perfectly re-integrated into a system. The scalable technology supports multiple Profile systems per library, multiple libraries per Profile system, and multiple transfers during operation. ABOUT THE COMPANIESUSA Cable, a division of USA Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:USAI), consists of both the USA Network and the SCI FI Channel. USA Network, cable television's leading provider of original series and feature movies, sports events, off-net television shows and blockbuster theatrical films, is available in 77% of all U.S. homes. SCI FI Channel is the future of cable and currently invades 61% of U.S. homes. Newly re-built for viewers with a sci-fi lifestyle, SCI FI features a continuous stream of cinematic hits, new and original series, and special events, as well as classic sci-fi, fantasy, and horror programming. A. F. Associates, Inc., known for "Engineering the future of television," designs, engineers, and builds advanced systems for the television and digital communications industries. Turnkey systems integration services include project management, engineering, documentation, pre-wiring and off-site assembly, on-site installation, test and training. Engineering consultation and solutions for emerging technologies include Internet broadcasting, storage area networks, and asset management. AFA is a Video Services Corporation Company (AMEX: VS). The Grass Valley Group knows more about high-quality video than anybody else—especially as video goes digital. Interactive television. Digital cinema. Data-enhanced broadcasting. Internet. It's a world of Digicasting—of Media Without Bounds™. Whether online or on the air, the Emmy® award-winning Grass Valley Group, a privately held digital media leader, has the hardware, software, and new media technologies necessary to get content wherever it needs to go. For the latest Grass Valley Group product information, see www.grassvalleygroup.com. # |
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