Red Bee Media (formerly BBC Broadcast) has chosen ATG Broadcast and TSL as systems integrators to co-design, with Red Bee Media, new facilities for Flextech. These fully integrated facilities will be built at both Red Bee Media’s Broadcast Centre and at Flextech’s central London headquarters.
The project uses Red Bee Media expertise to manage a tapeless post production and playout solution for Flextech’s suite of channels — LivingTV, Bravo, Challenge, Trouble, FTN, LivingTV2 and four time shift channels.
The playout facility, built by TSL, at the Broadcast Centre in West London comprises a dedicated, flexible playout suite. The facilities include Omneon video servers with control from an Omnibus Systems Colossus automation platform.
Post production will take place in a brand new post ‘village’ currently under construction by ATG Broadcast at Flextech’s Central London headquarters on Great Portland Street. The desktop and craft editing solution includes Quantel systems and Avid Pro-tools for audio post facilities. The services are due to go live in the summer.
At the Broadcast Centre, programme material will be ingested from Sony Flexicarts into an SGI Central Storage array using Red Bee Media’s digital asset management system known as MOMS (Media Object Management System), with long-term archive storage from ADIC. The software solution behind MOMs is provided by Ardendo. Red Bee Media and Ardendo will provide the overall systems integration. Intelligent automated workflow processes will initiate file transfer across gigabit fibre links to the central London post village where programmes will be complied and promotional material created. Complied programmes and finished promos will be directly transferred as files to the Broadcast Centre for subsequent transmission.
In the Broadcast Centre, the new facility is based on equipment from the following manufacturers: Axon – interface products; Clarity – BayCat Video Monitoring; Colledia – System monitoring & Control solution; Foundry – IP network equipment; Lund Hasley – Technical Furniture; Miranda – display processing; Omneon Video Networks – video server technology for ingest and playout; Omnibus Systems- ingest, playout and media management; Pharos Communications – audio continuity servers; Pixel Power – presentation graphics; Pro-Bel – presentation mixers and routing; Raritan – KVM system management; Trilogy – talkback; TSL – Audio monitoring; Screen Subtitling – subtitling; Suitcase TV – compliance recording.
