Pinnacle and Sony host MXF seminar for leading UK broadcasters

Pinnacle Systems and Sony hosted their latest MXF (Material eXchange Format) in Action seminar on June 8 2004 for more than 80 key UK broadcasters, including the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and five.
The London event formed part of the two companies' ongoing strategy to support industry professionals as they deploy MXF.
Pinnacle Systems' CTO Al Kovalick took the helm to give detailed insight into the MXF open file exchange mechanism, revealing how MXF is delivering smarter, faster and cheaper solutions to broadcast workflows.
Richard Scott, VP EMEA, Pinnacle Systems, and Sony's European product expert, Peter Sykes, advised attendees on the role of MXF across compliant product solutions.
As one of the industry's foremost experts on MXF, a member of SMPTE and Pro MPEG Forum, Kovalick told attendees: "We have now reached a stage where MXF is having an impact on nearly all aspects of broadcast technology. However, it is crucial that its rollout is not viewed in isolation. Like building blocks, MXF forms part of a bigger construct, effectively just one of numerous interoperable domains that make up standard broadcast platforms."
Pinnacle MediaStream servers, Pinnacle Liquid editors and Sony's XDCAM were among the products at a hands-on workshop, which provided live demonstrations of how industry professionals can transform their media-sharing across the entire broadcast environment.
Phil Wilton, senior manager market development, Sony said: "Almost all broadcasters are affected by MXF and it is critical they understand where it fits in their operations to benefit their businesses. Pinnacle significantly adds to Sony's expertise and firmly places us at the forefront of helping broadcasters meet the challenges."
MXF is the hot industry topic as broadcasters realise the potential of deploying a single file exchange standard to AV media. Kovalick also addressed the immediate challenges of rollout: "MXF compliance isn't necessarily the precursor to success that many expect. Formed out of a complex set of standards and engineering guidelines, MXF functionality is too often open to interpretation. At Pinnacle, company-wide product standards and a commitment to native MXF support across our entire product range allows us to head off many of the industry's compliance issues."
The event was the second MXF in Action seminar to be held in Europe, and the two companies plan to bring its unique format to other locations. The presentation delivered by Al Kovalick is available on request.
(GB)