South African Broadcasting Corporation choose Pinnacle

Pinnacle Systems have announced that the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the public broadcaster for the Republic of South Africa, are to implement Pinnacle's Vortex solution at the corporation's studios in Johannesburg, creating the most modern newsroom facility ever deployed in Africa.
The deal, worth over $1 million, will provide SABC with the foundation from which they will produce seventeen different news bulletins per day in all eleven official South African languages. The project is being managed by Pinnacle Systems' integration partner in South Africa, Concilium Technologies, and is due for installation in February 2004.
The Vortex Newsroom Production System (NPS) will deliver both technical and cultural changes to news production at SABC. Thanks to the integrated proxy editors, journalists can edit stories directly on their desktop and deliver completed content direct to the timeline, giving them greater control over the editorial integrity of their stories while also delivering significant production efficiencies. Furthermore, the completely tapeless environment ensures that stories and timelines can be updated even during broadcast.
Sharoda Rapeti, Managing Director of Technology at SABC, said: "We are pleased to announce our decision to go with the Pinnacle Vortex news production system. Having carefully evaluated all suitable products on the market today against our content, technology and business imperatives, we believe that Vortex offers the best solution to meet our needs and also provides a solid platform for future development."
Vortex is essentially the central nervous system of SABC's news function, and through it all areas of the news process can be controlled, from ingest to playout, with everything from editing to graphics creation and timeline management being managed by Vortex.
(GB)