Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA), part of the Ministry of Media in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is replacing the playout technology for its main channels with an integrated solution from Imagine Communications. SBA, one of the most prestigious broadcasters in the Gulf region, is seeking to boost daily operational efficiency and eliminate human error for reliable and professional broadcasting.

To meet the requirements of SBA, Imagine Communications was able to propose a coherent end-to-end system covering network infrastructure, routing, monitoring, ingest, asset management and playout under ADC™ automation control, to replace the current system based on hardware from multiple vendors. The Imagine Communications proposal is largely based on software solutions running on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, using industry-standard workstations from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). It includes a Platinum™ IP3 router to switch SD, HD and 3G signals, with the capability of adding real-time IP switching to support SBA’s development plans. Additionally, the IP3 router provides integrated multiviewer functionality to ensure all monitoring is handled in a space-saving frame.

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that Guangdong Radio and Television (GRT) is the first province-level broadcaster in China to deploy UHD channels, thanks to a playout solution from Harmonic. Supporting a range of formats, including SD, HD and UHD, Harmonic's playout solution enables GRT to create pristine UHD broadcasts.

MX1, a global solution provider of media services, announced today that the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corp. (IPBC) will use a 4K High Dynamic Range (HDR) playout solution designed by the company to deliver live soccer coverage from stadiums in Russia. Fully redundant and automated, MX1’s solution encompasses playout, advanced graphics, encoding, and channel delivery services in 4K HDR, and will be fully managed 24/7 by MX1 to ensure that IPBC viewers don’t miss a single second of the action.

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in video delivery technology and services, today announced that QVC Japan has deployed a UHD playout solution from Harmonic for its live and file-based production workflows. Harmonic’s Spectrum™ X advanced media server simplifies the broadcaster’s workflow by handling a wide range of ingest, playout and distribution operations, along with providing rock-solid reliability and exceptional video quality. The system, which features 14 ingest channels and 45 playout channels, supports all of QVC Japan’s requirements for production, rehearsals, playout and replay, enabling all UHD workflows from end to end, including support for HDR pass-through.

Imagine Communications, empowering the media and entertainment industry through transformative innovation, has provided playout and storage technology critical to Al Aan TVs expansion of its current operations. Following the installation, the free-to-air broadcaster, based in Dubai and serving a female-skewed audience with news and entertainment in Arabic, has enhanced its playout chain to provide full redundancy and much greater production and delivery capabilities.

Imagine Communications, empowering the media and entertainment industry through transformative innovation, today announced the installation of a new server and storage playout network for TV 2, a national broadcaster based in Odense, Denmark. TV 2 is using Nexio+® (Advanced Media Platform) and Imagine Communications shared storage solution to upgrade an existing Imagine installation, adding more capacity, resilience and performance. The installation is designed to fortify TV 2 with the ability to quickly and seamlessly grow its storage capacity to accommodate future technology enhancements, including Ultra High Definition (UHD) and other bandwidth-consuming services.

ENCO will use IBC2016 as the launch pad for its intuitive and versatile ClipFire instant media playout solution. Available immediately, ClipFire combines the robust, high-quality video and audio playout engine from the companys award-winning MOM (Media Operations Manager) automation system, introduced at the 2016 NAB Show, with a streamlined user interface. The result is an affordable, all-in-one appliance to support a wide range of playback applications in studio and mobile environments.