A key tech trend sure to be addressed by virtually all exhibitors at NAB is a response to the tremendous growth in multi-platform content delivery, writes Adrian Pennington. It’s a hot topic at Snell, which refers to it as ‘TV Everywhere’. It will debut product that “is not only different than anything on the market – they are truly game changing,” claimed CEO Simon Derry. “Consumers are increasingly accessing news programming and other broadcast content on a variety of devices, such as tablets, mobile phones, computers, and the web,” he said. “Today’s technology solutions need to allow broadcasters to do more with less, while at the same time give them the ability to create, manage and deliver content across multiple platforms, allowing them to monetise their media assets. At NAB it will introduce ICE (Integrated Content Engine), a new playout platform, which, he explained, “incorporates more of the ‘channel’ into the ‘box’ to maximise both commercial and operational benefits.” He added: “It is the only system on the market that can scale from a single channel to 100+ channels while maintaining the same user interface. Unique to ICE is also a new content validation feature that analyses source material as soon as it is available to prevent invalid formats or impaired content from getting on air. This feature is critical for broadcast and media operations looking to avoid incompatibilities as their file-based workflows continue to change.” Gaining Momentum Momentum is Snell’s new Media Management and Workflow system being launched at NAB. This allows broadcasters to create and manage file-based workflows “more effectively than previously possible, paving the way for new efficiencies in both linear and nonlinear content delivery,” he explained. Vega is the firm’s new routing switcher that Derry believes “redefines its product category. The switcher allows operators to configure any combination of inputs and outputs, and in a mixed coax/fibre environment, offering twice the I/O density per rack than any other switcher available on the market.” Snell’s FormatFusion3 is “certainly having an impact on today’s live productions,” according to John Carter, Snell’s switcher product manager. “Studios and OB trucks are operating at a faster pace than ever before while simultaneously supporting a variety of production and format demands such as SD, HD, 1080p, and 3D,” he said. “Already providing operators with the ability to mix SD and HD sources into a production, the Kahuna 360 switcher (pictured) now features FormatFusion3 technology, enabling 1080p to be added to the mix as needed. FormatFusion3 has several key benefits, especially when it comes to giving broadcasters the ability to mix multiple formats into a production and then send them in any format to meet a client’s changing needs, such as in OB and live event staging applications, he explained. “In addition, when dealing with multiple outputs to varying audiences, FormatFusion3 removes the timing headaches of audio matching when there are several conversion processes required,” said Carter. “When broadcasting from a live event and under tight time constraints, FormatFusion3 makes this task simple.” www.snellgroup.com
