SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Nov. 5, 2008 — Omneon, Inc. today announced that CCTV6 is relying on the company's Spectrum™ media server system to perform ingest and playout of five SD channels and one HD channel at its new Beijing facility. CCTV6 is a regional affiliate of CCTV, the major Mandarin-language network, and broadcasts internationally and locally produced movies and movie-related news and programs to more than 852 million viewers. After a rigorous process pitting systems from four name-brand media server vendors against one another, CCTV6 chose the Spectrum system because its stability and reliability ensure uninterrupted operation.
"We needed a stable system from a company with conscientious customer support," said Yu Qing, director of broadcast at CCTV6. "We also sought open-file and transcoding formats to enable seamless interoperability with the other components in our broadcast infrastructure. The Spectrum media server system from Omneon has met these specifications, integrating smoothly into our facility and providing the ease of use and low-maintenance operation we expected. The Omneon server's modular design also is an advantage for CCTV6, as it supports easy and cost-effective expansion with no downtime."
At CCTV6, four Spectrum media server systems provide redundant support for five SD channels, and three additional Spectrum systems support ingest and playout for one HD channel. The Omneon systems at CCTV6 interface with a Dayang media asset management system, which enables the FTP transfer of film clips to the server. Playout for five SD channels is managed by Founder's Wuyou Automation Software, and playout for one HD channel is managed by Dayang D3-Air Automation Software, both used widely by provincial TV stations across China and installed along with Omneon Spectrum server systems for several of the country's other leading broadcasters.
"Broadcasters in China, and in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole, continue to implement systems that show they recognize the value of reliable, digital workflows," said Andrew Thornton, Omneon vice president of sales for the Asia-Pacific region. "At Omneon, we are committed not only to providing outstanding and reliable equipment, but also to understanding the specific needs of the regional market."
# # #
About CCTV6
China Central Television (CCTV) is the largest television broadcaster in Mainland China and the world's largest network in terms of viewer numbers. Organizationally, it is a sub-ministry of the People's Republic of China's central government within the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television. Officially launched on Jan. 1, 1996, CCTV6 broadcasts to the whole country 24 hours a day, educating its audience on film and film culture. In 2004, CCTV6 launched the pay-TV Channel Home Cinema (CHC), as well as China Movie Channel (CMC) for viewers in North America. In 2005, CMC arrived in Hong Kong. The CHC HD movie channel and the CHC action movie channel both launched in 2006.
About Omneon
Omneon, Inc., is a leading provider of scalable media server and active storage systems that optimize workflow productivity and on-air reliability for the production, distribution, and management of digital media. Omneon is a pioneer in the use of advanced IT technologies and open systems for broadcast applications, producing a modular and expandable video server architecture in the Omneon Spectrum. The company's MediaGrid active storage system delivers centralized content storage that is scalable in capacity, bandwidth, and media-processing power. The company has an extensive global presence with customers in more than 50 countries on six continents. Omneon is on the Web at www.omneon.com.
