June 6, 2011 -- Sydney, Australia: Digital Rapids -- the leading provider of tools and solutions for bringing television, movie and Web content to wider audiences -- announced today that Stellar Inflight, the world's longest running in-flight entertainment company, is using the Digital Rapids Transcode Manager automated transcoding software to transform high volumes of video and audio for both new and traditional in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems and viewing platforms.
A Transcode Manager Server and multiple Transcode Engines are deployed at each of Stellar Inflight's technical facilities in Sydney, Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. High volumes of source files are transformed by Transcode Manager into multiple outputs in the formats required by varying in-flight entertainment systems. Transcode Manager is also used to transcode content for viewing on portable media players and tablets -- such as the Apple(r) iPad(r) -- now available to passengers on select airlines.
"Our video facilities were almost overwhelmed with the volume of content we were processing, so we needed an automated solution that could handle the heavy workload while outputting consistent video and audio to multiple, exacting specifications," said Joel Joslin, Digital Media Manager at Stellar Inflight. "Digital Rapids Transcode Manager has delivered on all of our requirements, and transcoding video with it has proven significantly quicker than the other solutions we've used, enabling us to take on more business."
"The advances in in-flight entertainment are yet another example of the continuing explosive growth of multi-screen content consumption, we're excited that Stellar Inflight has selected Transcode Manager to power their high-throughput media processing workflows," said Nick Fitzgerald, VP, Asia Pacific at Digital Rapids. "The performance, quality, scalability and flexibility of Transcode Manager are ideal for supporting media organisations' growing needs and expanding content volumes both today and in the future."
Established in 1974, Stellar Inflight -- part of the Stellar Group of companies -- provides in-flight entertainment services for many of the world's leading airlines. In addition, Stellar is in partnership with Sky Victory Technologies in Beijing, which provides in-flight entertainment to many major Chinese airlines.
Digital Rapids Transcode Manager combines outstanding quality, intelligent automation and exceptional performance for transforming high volumes of media between dozens of acquisition, production, archive and multi-screen distribution formats. Scalable from small transcoding farms to global operations with hundreds of transcoding nodes, Transcode Manager is ideal for both dedicated transcoding applications and as part of complete ingest-through-delivery media workflows.
For more information about Digital Rapids Transcode Manager, please visit www.digitalrapids.com.
About Digital Rapids Corporation -- Digital Rapids provides the leading hardware and software solutions for transforming and delivering media, enabling the multi-platform experiences that are changing how audiences view content. Scaling from standalone appliances to global workflows, Digital Rapids solutions enable media professionals to maximize their productivity, quality, and the value of their content. Recipient of a coveted IBC Innovation Award and four prestigious Frost & Sullivan honors for encoding and transcoding leadership, Digital Rapids combines innovative technology with proven expertise to help our customers to expand their audiences, increase their media revenues and reduce their costs. Digital Rapids Corporation (www.digitalrapids.com) is headquartered in Ontario, Canada with offices in the United States, the UK, Australia, Argentina and Hong Kong.
