ACTON, Mass. and MILAN (March 29, 2007) – SeaChange International's (NASDAQ: SEAC) groundbreaking TV Platform was named Best IPTV Innovation at the Convergence World Awards ceremony during the IEC C5 World Forum in Milan this week. In presenting the award, judges recognized SeaChange as “an innovative company,” and noted several customer testimonials that demonstrate the Company's high level of market acceptance.“Working with one organization to build our IPTV and video-on-demand platform allows us to rapidly and effectively deploy these services with the minimum execution risk,” said Dominic Reed, CEO, Corvette Telecom, in discussing his broadband company's launch of IPTV services in Moscow.
SeaChange's comprehensive TV Platform solution
The SeaChange TV Platform was developed to get broadband operators into the IPTV business fast. It is a complete IPTV system that enables customers like Corvette Telecom to easily launch and expand a wealth of subscriber services such as on-demand movies, electronic program guides and convergence services. It is the industry's first service delivery platform, based upon a modular solution born from SeaChange's extensive experience in middleware and on-demand solutions.
The SeaChange IPTV advantage
SeaChange has the proven ability to leverage IP, – whether telco, cable, DTT, satellite or hybrid operations – and accelerate even the most sophisticated IPTV deployments with a market proven and extremely scalable platform backed by SeaChange's turnkey content services for on-demand movies, gaming and other applications.
The SeaChange TV Platform consists of three primary tiers: client, back office and network. The next-generation TV Navigator Four client middleware platform has the largest collection of rich APIs that help operators rapidly and cost-effectively deploy a range of interactive services. SeaChange TV Business system is a complete back-office solution supporting business operations of on-demand and other value-added television services. It enables IPTV service providers to promote, price and bundle their products, and to manage the presentation and sale of product offerings according to a flexible set of business rules. SeaChange Axiom is a proven and feature-rich solution that powers the majority of on-demand services worldwide. It enables service providers to offer the broadest array of services, such as broadcast, advanced EPGs and real-time encoding.
ACTON, Mass., and GENEVA (March 27, 2007) – SeaChange International’s (NASDAQ: SEAC) breakthrough MediaLibrary/MediaClient architecture is radically transforming production and post-production workflow at European broadcaster Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR). Through the advantages of open and extremely scalable Network Attached Storage (NAS) and patented single-copy storage, TSR is establishing universal shared storage for any device and any media file type in the capture, edit and playout chain.
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, TSR is the dominant multichannel broadcaster serving French-speaking Swiss viewers. For its extensive production requirements, it has rolled out three SeaChange Broadcast MediaLibrary (BML) 24000ex systems to initially make more than 2,500 hours @IMX50-MXF of online storage available to EVS XT2 disk recorders (for live content acquisition), Avid NewsCutter XP NLEs (for post-production) and five SeaChange MediaClient codecs. SeaChange’s inherent support of common IT standards will allow TSR to push EVS’s non-proprietary IMX50-MXF XFile assets into more cost-efficient and centralized storage without transcoding.
Today, a five-node BML 24000ex cluster can provide more than 800 hours of storage in IMX50 format and support hundreds of IP-connected devices throughout a broadcast operation. A single media asset (program, graphic, audio, etc.) stored on a BML can be accessed concurrently by any number of editors and producers. Attached to MediaClients, the BML even supports simultaneous on-air delivery of Standard Definition and High Definition streams from a single media asset.
“The MediaLibrary/ MediaClient architecture is the core of our new tapeless environment and delivers tremendous workflow gains by increasing interoperability between broadcast applications,” said Mr. Claude Mex, associate director of production, TSR. “We have been able to ensure that the exceptional performance of the storage server is extended to the overall solution through the high bandwidth transfer rates possible between the BML and EVS servers. We’re finally capturing efficiencies and new capabilities that were unimaginable working with tape, while gaining a fully HD-ready infrastructure.”
“Production, sports in particular, is probably broadcast’s most challenging environment, and your workflow clearly determines how well you perform on-air in front of viewers,” said Chris West, vice president of broadcast sales, SeaChange. “Using an open architecture to link content capture, production and on-air delivery, TSR will achieve optimal efficiency. We believe they have set up a breakthrough workflow that will be adopted by other broadcasters.”
The SeaChange Scalable NAS architecture eliminates the need for proprietary software on client workstations. There is no need for costly and time intensive integration – just qualification. This also eliminates performance bottlenecks created by metadata servers and NAS gateways. There is no single point of failure, a vulnerability that’s inherent in legacy storage arrays. By distributing file system processing evenly to each node in the cluster, SeaChange’s patented technology eliminates the usual pitfalls of the alternative file system controller approach. And, unlike any competing architectures, the SeaChange BML’s patented MediaCluster ‘single-copy’ technology guarantees fault-resilience without costly mirroring.
Integrated software-based MediaClient codecs separately perform the real-time encoding or decoding operations. MediaClients support the wide range of compression formats and file wrappers used in transmission, editing and production, including MPEG-2 long GOP format in SD and HD; frame-based formats such as IMX, DVCPro, DVCam; as well as MXF and QuickTime. Any format will play back-to-back frames accurately from the same decoder output. Now, completed material from production servers no longer needs to be transcoded or dubbed back to tape for ingest before playout from the on-air server, reducing operator intervention and significantly cutting the time from production to broadcast.
The range of proven content storage, streaming and management solutions on show at NAB2007 (April 16-19 in Las Vegas) will highlight SeaChange’s ability to put broadcasters on a cost-effective path to high-definition delivery and help them secure new distribution opportunities.
Télévision Suisse Romande is a subsidiary of SRG SSR idée suisse, known in English as the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, and serves Switzerland’s French-speaking population from its broadcast center in Geneva. TSR has been part of western Switzerland since 1954 and today encompasses two channels, TSR 1 and TSR 2. Like its Swiss Broadcasting Corporation counterparts around the country, TSR is supported by licence fees that help it carry out its public service mandate throughout all aspects of programming. Part of this mandates is the provision of news and information programming, which accounts for more than a quarter of TSR 1’s total programming hours. Overall in French-speaking Switzerland, TSR 1 enjoys a 33% market share - a figure more than double its next nearest competitor.
Dubai’s Aghani TV Goes To Air With SeaChange Broadcast Mediacluster
LAS VEGAS (April 17, 2007)
Continuing to add television operations worldwide to its growing base of broadcast installations, SeaChange International (NASDAQ: SEAC) today announced that Aghani TV, a Dubai-based direct-to-home broadcaster serving the United Arab Emirates, is on air using the company's Broadcast MediaCluster (BMC) 60000 play-to-air system.
“We are very pleased that Aghani TV has chosen the BMC platform to provide the highest quality service to its viewers, while enjoying the peace of mind that comes with the reliability of our RAID Squared technology,” said Marcello Dellepiane, vice president of sales, SeaChange EMEA. “Thanks to the BMC's ease of scalability, Aghani can expand its operations affordably and without disruption, whether with additional channels for standard- or high-definition transmission.”
The SeaChange BMC 60000 broadcast video server supports up to eight 60Mb/s I/O channels per chassis and can encode, store and decode MPEG video at rates as high as 50Mb/s. SeaChange's patented RAID 2 (raid squared) technology ensures high fault resilience and performance while only requiring the storage of a single copy of each video file. Systems integration was supported by SeaChange's regional partner, Salam Media Cast (www.salammediacast.com), which specified the BMC system as part of the project. Salam Media Cast is headquartered in Doha , Qatar , and also maintains operations in Dubai.
SeaChange's MediaLibrary/MediaClient takes the spotlight at NAB2007 (booth SU10812), April 16-19 in Las Vegas . The range of proven content storage, streaming and management solutions will highlight SeaChange's ability to put broadcasters on a cost-effective path to high-definition delivery and help them secure new distribution opportunities.
About SeaChange EMEA
With bases in Genoa , Italy and Valbonne , France , SeaChange serves Europe and the Middle East 's television community through its regional customer support and sales staff and its network of television systems integrators and distributors. Contact SeaChange EMEA at +39 010 553 0177 and +39 335 626 9422, or mdellep@schange.com.
Sarajevo’s Open Broadcast Network Rolls Out Seachange On-Air Television Solution
ACTON, Mass. (April 17, 2007) – Sarajevo’s Open Broadcast Network (OBN) is now running on a play-to-air television solution from SeaChange International (NASDAQ: SEAC). The Bosnia and Herzegovina-wide broadcaster has switched its on-air operations to SeaChange’s Broadcast MediaCluster digital video server system.
“OBN has deployed the Broadcast MediaCluster 15001, which is the perfect solution for a smaller operation looking for an economical digital video foundation that does not compromise on fault resilience and scalability,” said Marcello Dellepiane, vice president of sales, SeaChange EMEA. “Regardless of the size or complexity of a television operation, SeaChange’s MediaCluster technology continues to give Europe’s broadcasters reliability and growth path that can’t be matched by the competition.”
The BMC 15000 series of video servers offer a reliable, cost-effective solution for moderate bit-rate MPEG video applications such as SD play to air for single- and multi-channel operations. Based on SeaChange’s patented RAID2 (raid squared) technology, the BMC provides fault resilience and performance in an architecture that requires storage of only a single copy of each video asset. Throughout Europe, SeaChange has leveraged the expertise of an extensive network of local distribution and technology partners. OBN’s rollout was supported by broadcast systems integrator Manor Informati of Zagreb, Croatia.
The range of proven content storage, streaming and management solutions on show at NAB2007 (April 16-19 in Las Vegas) will highlight SeaChange’s ability to put broadcasters on a cost-effective path to high-definition delivery and help them secure new distribution opportunities.
About SeaChange EMEA
With bases in Genoa, Italy and Valbonne, France, SeaChange serves Europe and the Middle East’s television community through its regional customer support and sales staff and its network of television systems integrators and distributors. Contact SeaChange EMEA at +39 010 553 0177 and +39 335 626 9422, or mdellep@schange.com.
Spain’s TV Extremadura Selects SeaChange Broadcast Solution
LAS VEGAS (April 17, 2007) – TV Extremadura has deployed SeaChange International’s (NASDAQ: SEAC) MediaLibrary/MediaClient digital video platform to broadcast its independent and regionally-focused television programming throughout the Extremadura region in western Spain. Based in the city of Mérida, TV Extremadura productions include local news, entertainment and sports.
“TV Extremadura plays a vital role in its community and SeaChange is very proud it has chosen to build its foundation with us,” said Marcello Dellepiane, vice president of sales, SeaChange EMEA. “Our extremely flexible combination of software and storage easily fulfills all of TV Extremadura’s current transmission requirements and ensures that fault-resilient reliability and economy will always be part of the picture as its operations inevitably expand.”
Deployed in over 100 television operations worldwide, SeaChange’s MediaLibrary/MediaClient architecture has revolutionized broadcast operations economics and performance. The platform consists of MediaLibrary servers; MediaClient software codecs; and best-of-breed third-party content prep tools, all of which enable television operators to store and distribute video more flexibly and cost-effectively than ever before. Based on the Common Internet File System (CIFS), the MediaClient family is a series of standards-based client/server products optimized to support workflow throughout the television enterprise, regardless of video file type or compression scheme. Systems integration was supported by SeaChange’s regional partner, Ibercom (www.ibercom.net), which maintains offices in Madrid and Barcelona.
SeaChange’s MediaLibrary/MediaClient takes the spotlight at NAB2007 (booth SU10812), April 16-19 in Las Vegas. The range of proven content storage, streaming and management solutions will highlight SeaChange’s ability to put broadcasters on a cost-effective path to high-definition delivery and help them secure new distribution opportunities.
About SeaChange EMEA
With bases in Genoa, Italy and Valbonne, France, SeaChange serves Europe and the Middle East’s
television community through its regional customer support and sales staff and its network of television systems integrators and distributors. Contact SeaChange EMEA at +39 010 553 0177 and +39 335 626 9422, or at mdellep@schange.com.
