Encompass Digital Media has selected Grass Valley as one of its technology partners for a new playout centre in its London facility, servicing Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The company plans to migrate all of its clients’ channels onto future-proofed, secure platforms. “Being able to provide quality and innovative services for our clients is of paramount importance to us, as is being able to work with technology partners who are leaders in their field,” said Ian Whitfield, managing director of Encompass Europe, Middle East and Africa “As a service provider, we must have total faith that our core technology will deliver day in and day out. Grass Valley and its integrated playout solution gives us that confidence.” The project includes an end-to-end playout solution for select Encompass applications from Grass Valley, including consultancy support in systems design through workflow development, commissioning and training. The installation will use a total of 52 Grass Valley K2 Edge integrated servers (pictured) and include subtitling, and dedicated graphics. Grass Valley’s K2 Edge integrated playout system is a Linux-based, software-centric, multi-platform playout solution that includes built-in graphics and subtitling capabilities, eliminating the need for further external hardware within the facility. The installation at Encompass provides full redundancy for 26 channels scheduled to go on-air with the new system, with capacity for unlimited expansion. The entire system will be under the control of Grass Valley Cobalt automation and Grass Valley K2 TX/MAM asset management software. “Together with Encompass, we are building a premiere playout capability,” said Alan Wright, Senior Vice President of Europe, Middle East, Africa for Grass Valley. “We are delighted that Encompass has recognised our technology, our workflow expertise, and our professional services to make its playout centre more efficient, with better results in terms of reliability, scalability and return on investment.” The new Encompass facility aired its first channels on 1 May 2012. The completion date for the project, with all television channels on-air, is July 2012. www.grassvalley.com
