France Télévisions Enhances Channel Playout

France Télévisions has enhanced its channel playout, courtesy of integrated technology from Harmonic and LORA Solutions. The comprehensive scheduling and playout system enables automated preparation and delivery of the broadcast channel Nouvelle Calédonie 1ère.

Installed at France Télévisions facilities in New Caledonia, the solution brings together Harmonic's Spectrum ChannelPort integrated playout system and Polaris Play channel-in-a-box (CIAB) automation system, with LORA Solutions' traffic system to simplify and streamline branded channel playout, driven primarily from France Télévisions facilities in Malakoff, near Paris.

The LORA Solutions traffic system manages contribution of video between France Télévisions' New Caledonia and Malakoff sites, but also creates lists of clips to be recorded from the broadcaster's SDI-contribution or VTR feeds and subsequently sent to Harmonic's Polaris Play automation system. Providing automated ingest, media preparation and playout workflow capabilities, Polaris Play runs as an embedded automation solution directly on Harmonic's Spectrum MediaDeck media server which feature the ChannelPort system for branded channel playout.

Erwan Roth, deputy managing director in charge of production and technologies at France Télévisions, said: "The robust traffic and playout systems offered by LORA Solutions and Harmonic, as well as the companies' expertise and their experience in developing tightly integrated solutions, have made it easier and more affordable for us to deliver a rich broadcast product on Nouvelle Calédonie 1ère. The companies worked in partnership to meet our requirements and deliver all the functionality our operations demand."

"Clear communication between France Télévisions, Harmonic and LORA Solutions at every step of the project made it possible to design and integrate a simple, efficient solution that's an exact match for the needs of Nouvelle Calédonie 1ère," added Eric Aubry, product manager, LORA Solutions.

"Harmonic's Polaris suite is designed to aid broadcasters in consolidating and simplifying their playout workflows," commented Ian Graham, vice president of EMEA sales, Harmonic. "Working in tandem with LORA Solutions' traffic system, Polaris Play provides France Télévisions with an efficient and cost-effective solution for branded playout."

Image: Harmonic's Spectrum ChannelPort Integrated Playout System.

www.harmonicinc.com

www.lora-solutions.com

(JP/LM)