End-to-end Vector 3 playout solution powers content delivery for nine LIVE TV channels
Barcelona, Spain –Vector 3™, the leading developer of IT-based graphics and playout solutions, announced today that LIVE TV, a Thai-based cable television operator, has placed an order for nine Vector MultiPlay systems to facilitate playout automation of their new tapeless facility. The Vector MultiPlay workflow features ingest, master control room, effects creation, channel branding, and playout automation integrated into one IT-based solution. Backed by a dynamic, failsafe playout architecture, Vector MultiPlay eliminates the costly mirroring of servers without sacrificing channel protection. “We are looking to build a modern broadcast infrastructure, one that leverages the benefits of IT-based technology with full capabilities for managing live and pre-recorded programming. Vector MultiPlay was right in line with our vision and will serve us well as we adapt our content distribution to meet new business and revenue models,” remarks Vuthichai Wiwattanaseri, the Technical Director of LIVE TV.
Overseeing LIVE TV’s digital transformation is KIT digital, our business partner and the leading global provider of Video Asset Management (VAM) solutions and broadcast systems integration.
Vincent Kow, Sales Manager at KIT digital, notes, “For the LIVE TV installation, we put the Vector MultiPlay system through an extensive test period. The system outperformed the competition, delivering end-to-end workflow capabilities built on highly scalable hardware that will serve LIVE TV well as they expand their programming options.”
Vector MultiPlay – IT-based Playout Automation
Vector MultiPlay incorporates over twenty years of Vector 3 playout technology, including the full range of master control room capabilities, effects engine integration, and dynamic channel branding with an integrated universal file format player that supports all SD/HD formats simultaneously. Designed to optimize redundancy management for multi-channel broadcasters, the innovative distributed MultiPlay architecture enables engineers to precisely target redundancy and backup priorities, reducing the need for costly server mirroring and improving the performance of multi-channel playout. Modular in design, the advanced MultiPlay product line supports IT-based facilities, ensuring scalability and flexibility for future channel and program expansion. “Vector MultiPlay provides all the conveniences and capabilities of the VectorBox solution . . . master control room, playout server, channel branding . . . with the agility of IT hardware. Immense scalability, configurability, and lower costs make Vector MultiPlay very attractive for multi-channel broadcasters transitioning to modern playout systems,” states Roman Ceano, General Manager of Vector 3.
ABOUT LIVE TV
The LIVE TV Co., Ltd. is a part of the Live Incorporation Public Company Limited, which was established on November 12, 1987. LIVE TV produces and provides entertainment programs for cable TV under the name “LIVE TV” by providing complete program packages for cable-TV operators nationwide in Thailand’s metropolitan and provincial areas. Programs produced by LIVE TV are broadcast 24/7 via a satellite system equipped with signal encryption to restrict unauthorized viewing of the programs. Only those cable‐TV operators who have contracted to purchase programs from LIVE TV can receive these programs and concurrently broadcast them to their subscribers nationwide. Additionally, LIVE TV has several business units: LIVE Magazine, a monthly magazine for LIVE TV viewers; LIVE Digital, a digital content service that will be incorporated into some programs for value addition; and the Future LIVE Television Co., Ltd. (“FLTV”), a joint venture with the Future Marketing Communications Group Co., Ltd.
About KIT digital, Inc.
KIT digital, Inc. (NASDAQ: KITD) is a leading global provider of Video Asset Management solutions (VAMs) and broadcast systems integration services for multi-screen IP-based delivery. KIT digital’s Integration Services team has over 20 years of experience in bridging the gap between traditional broadcast and software-based new media systems; and has been one of the pioneers in introducing a host of technological advancements, such as non-linear editing, web-browser based newsroom automation, Storage Area Networks (SAN), to the broadcast industry. KIT VX-one, the company's family of end-to-end software platform solutions, enables enterprise clients to acquire, manage and distribute video assets across the three screens of today's world: the personal computer, mobile device, and IPTV-enabled television set. The application of VX ranges from commercial video distribution to internal corporate deployments, including corporate communications, human resources, training, security and surveillance. KIT digital's client base includes more than 1,000 customers across 40+ countries, including The Associated Press, Best Buy, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Disney-ABC, ESPN Star, ETV, FedEx, General Motors, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Home Depot, IMG Worldwide, Intel, MediaCorp, NDTV, News Corp, Telefonica, the U.S. Department of Defense, Verizon, Vodafone and ZeeTV.
KIT digital is headquartered in Prague and maintains principal offices in Atlanta, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Chennai, Cologne, Delhi, Dubai, Kolkata, London, Melbourne (Australia), Mumbai, New York, Singapore, Stockholm and Toronto. For additional information, visit www.kitd.com or follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/KITdigital.
Vector 3 – A History of IT-based Broadcast
Thanks to its long experience working with both conventional broadcast playout solutions and IT-based technologies, Vector 3 was one of the first in the industry to correctly predict the inevitable technology revolution that would occur inside master control rooms. As a result, Vector 3 leads the market in the development of cutting-edge IT-based solutions for the master control room. With 1000 installations and a large number of channels controlled by their systems worldwide, Vector has also helped lead this change by educating the market regarding the reliability and benefits of IT-based solutions.
Vector 3 launched the first PC-based frame-accurate automated playout system on the market in 1988, going head to head with the proprietary systems prevalent at the time. After successes in Denmark, India, and Spain, Vector 3 continued to develop its IT-based solutions for the master control room and, in 1994, launched the first-ever video server with integrated graphics and transition capabilities.
In 2001, Vector 3 launched the first codec-agnostic player on the market — a video server capable of playing video files in any compression format, even in the same playlist. In 2003, after a long discussion amongst vendors about standards in video file “wrappers” or “containers,” Vector 3 once again led the market, being the first to offer a wrapper-agnostic video server capable of playing any file type available. Today, even SD files can be played in HD playlists and vice versa.
As Vector 3 expanded into Russia, Sweden, Holland, and Asian markets, broadcasters became aware of the multiple advantages of having a fully networked solution offering full connectivity over Ethernet or Fibre Channel, along with support for the SMB protocol. The large amounts of data required for branding can be easily received in real time and from a variety of different data sources, and operators also have full visibility of all devices on the network, unlike with proprietary systems.
Vector 3 customers were also quick to realize the significant benefits, in terms of redundancy options, of the IT-based master control room. The flexibility of the LAN, the modularity of the components, and the solution’s distributed architecture enable any piece of equipment to operate as a backup for another of its kind. With only two main types — video server and automation system — redundancy becomes both simple and affordable. With a range of options available, broadcasters can adopt the configuration that best suits their requirements.
The distributed philosophy of Vector 3’s MultiPlay product line enables the additional backup of automation processes with the added advantage of easy connectivity via the Internet for control and monitoring from remote locations.
In 2006, Vector 3’s sale to TSA (Europe’s largest communications provider) of a distributed multi-channel solution represented an important milestone — the consolidation of 24 different channels into three straightforward file-based workflows. This installation demonstrated the acceptance and maturity of Vector 3’s solutions, providing master control room, production, graphics, channel branding, and universal file format workflow capabilities within a distributed IT-based platform.
For more information about Vector 3, please visit: http://www.vector3.tv.
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