HOT, one of Israel’s leading telecommunications and cable companies, has installed Front Porch Digital’s DIVArchive system and DIVAdirector at the core of its new transmission system. The new technology is a key enabler for bringing new channels to air for HOT, including HD in the future.
The HOT master head-end, based in Petach Tikva, supports a channel line-up that includes HOT’s house and community channels, each customised for five different zones of the country, as well as children’s programming and movie, science, student-oriented, cultural, music, and entertainment channels.
“With the 2003 merger of three different companies into one to create HOT, we took the opportunity to deploy a new transmission system, based on video server and digital archive technology, as part of our transition to digital broadcasting,” said Moti Schwartz, senior manager of the broadcasting division at HOT. “We chose DIVAdirector and DIVArchive from Front Porch Digital for its unrivalled combination of powerful features, scalability, and proven reliability, making it possible for us to integrate all the components of our system in the very shortest period of time. The Front Porch Digital technology is a key part of our platform for bringing new channels to air, which lays the foundations for future growth into HD broadcasting.”
Project goals for the new transmission system required that the digital systems should be based on a platform of mature technologies to provide a reliable and stable platform for programme playout. DIVArchive and DIVAdirector provide content storage management for HOT’s 20 channels, integrating with a Harris automation system and Omneon video servers. The new system was brought on-air without disrupting HOT’s 24/7 programme schedule of 20 original channels and 16 promo channels and is designed for future scaling up to HD broadcast.
“HOT has installed a system that provides them with state-of-the-art facilities for scalable content storage management,” said Front Porch Digital’s International Senior Vice President, Rino Petricola. “In Israel’s competitive broadcasting market, the foundation of technologies they have laid will allow them to grow with confidence.”
DIVArchive, the distributed intelligent versatile archive system from Front Porch Digital is the leading software middleware solution for preserving, managing, and accessing content by enabling interoperability between large digital media storage devices, video servers, editing systems, and digital media workflow applications. The system is currently in use at more than 160 installations worldwide.