DIRECTV Latin America Goes Big With Aspera To Go Small On Tapes

Aspera, creators of next-generation software technologies that move the world's digital assets at maximum speed, has announced that DIRECTV Latin America (DTVLA), a leading satellite television provider in Latin America and the Caribbean servicing more than nine million customers, has selected Aspera to streamline editing, post-production and distribution of content, spanning six broadcast facilities on two continents.
Since installing Aspera's technology, efficiency and productivity has increased five-fold, and the broadcaster has reduced HD tape usage by 35-40 percent.
DTVLA acquires produces and broadcasts content for nine million Latin American customers across Latin America and the Caribbean. The company receives and edits content from providers across the globe, and distributes to broadcast facilities in the United States, Mexico and South America.
Before using Aspera, the post-production and distribution process involved receiving, editing, dubbing and shipping physical tapes - a resource and time-intensive process. Furthermore, as HD content became the new standard in broadcast, the cost of tape skyrocketed. DTVLA needed to move to a file-based workflow, to create a faster, more efficient and cheaper collaboration and post-production process. In turn, they also needed to work with a technology provider that would enable them to make that transition.
To shift to this file-based workflow, DTVLA selected Aspera's technology because of its security and reliability, and because Aspera's underlying protocol, fasp, proved best-suited to manage the often 65-85 gigabyte files that needed to be shared.
Content providers from across the globe can easily upload content to DTVLA's Aspera servers at maximum speed. From there, the video editor at DTVLA's central facility in El Segundo, California, can download the files directly into the Final Cut programme to edit and finalise for distribution and promo-production. The editor then simply sends the file up to the Aspera server, allowing each production centre to download the file and push the content onto their playout servers. The need for dubs is entirely eliminated - every facility can get the same file via Aspera's servers.
Robbie Mitriani, Senior Manager of On-Air Operations at DIRECTV Latin Americam said: "Aspera's technology has been instrumental in helping us achieve our goal of moving to a file-based workflow. Since using Aspera, efficiency and productivity has easily increased five-fold by freeing up my staff's time. We trust Aspera as a secure, reliable and irreplaceable tool in our collaboration infrastructure."
As satellite operators and broadcast professionals have shifted to file-based workflows, as a way to reduce operational costs and increase efficiency, they've also been coping with increasing pressure on their infrastructure because of the massive files needed to be shared and edited. Aspera has become the de facto choice for broadcast and satellite operators who need to adapt to increasingly file-based workflows.
Kip Schauer, Vice President of Sales at Aspera, said: "The transition from physical to digital media has allowed companies like DTVLA to expedite production cycles and reduce costs. Moving to a file-based workflow presents new technical hurdles, however, particularly in dealing with large files over large distances. Aspera is helping many groups like DTVLA transition to file-based workflows, making them not only a reality, but also a clear improvement over legacy workflows."
(KMcA)