Ascent Media Adds Digital Rapids StreamZHD In UK For HD/SD Encoding

UK Digital Rapids dealer ERA has completed an order from Ascent Media Group Limited for Digital Rapids’ StreamZHD format-flexible HD/SD media encoding system, which has been installed at Ascent Media’s Wardour Street premises situated in London’s Soho district.
StreamZHD is being used for a number of encoding applications ranging from low bit-rate proxy files up to D-Cinema in 1080 HD MPEG-2.
Additionally, StreamZHD is also used for large encoding projects such as Video on Demand (VOD) for major cable providers, back catalogue content for publication and PAL DV of film rolls for sound studios across Europe. Material that is urgently required in the U.S. can be encoded and sent within a short turn around time.
Ascent Media have an ongoing relationship with Digital Rapids through their existing installations of StreamZ encoders and were confident in the reliability and ability of the units to handle the demands on them. StreamZHD was primarily chosen to handle the large volume of VOD work, and the intention is to acquire further HD units to allow for future-proofing.
With interoperability a key StreamZHD attribute, it is also being used in conjunction with playback machines from VHS to HD, a third party muxing tool and external transcoding equipment to produce other files from the original capture along with internal transcoding and DVD authoring.
Says Ascent Media’s Technical Manager, Chris Watson: "Digital Rapids StreamZ is a reliable all-in-one encoding solution that is constantly evolving and upgrading. Since starting to work with Digital Rapids, there have been huge advances in codecs and obviously the introduction of HD has been a major change. Digital Rapids has kept ahead of the demand, providing new functions such as all the plug-in tabs (overlay, cropping, etc.) that are profile independent. Coupled with the excellent support and general attitude to customer input, which sometimes requires development and upgrades, the StreamZ range is the only choice."
“Ascent Media is a leader in media creation, management and distribution, and their continued commitment to StreamZ is a testament to the benefits of our encoding solutions,” said Clive Vickery, Managing Director of Digital Rapids. "We look forward to further extending our relationship with Ascent as both of our organizations continue to grow."
(SP)