SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Sept. 11, 2008 — Omneon Inc. today announced a new family of MPEG-2 MediaPorts for its Spectrum™ and MediaDeck™ video servers that will be showcased at IBC2008. These MPEG-2 encode/decode MediaPorts are based on the same codec technology in the popular MediaPort 5200 and 5300 series, but now offer double the ingest density — increased from two to four channels — to provide enhanced price/performance while also using less power. In addition, Omneon has added the ability of the MediaPort 5320 and 5220 series to generate 1-Mbps MPEG-1 proxies in real time, enabling fast access to proxy material for low-res previewing, browsing, and editing.
“With all four channels now available for either record or play in any combination, we offer our customers a more economical ingest server solution,” said Geoff Stedman, Omneon senior vice president for products and markets. “And for our customers who need rapid access to content — especially those in live production environments — the new MediaPort proxy functionality enables them to realize a complete desktop workflow: Anyone in an organization can access and edit content from the desktop without overburdening the networking infrastructure. This not only increases productivity for our customers, but also helps them get their product to air more quickly.”
The Omneon MediaPort 5320 series offers up to four channels of HD/SD record and play, in any combination, in a compact 1-RU package. Using proven MPEG-2 codec technology, the units deliver unmatched flexibility for deployment in HD and SD ingest applications, playout servers, or hybrid environments. Recorded material can be stored in MXF or QuickTime® files, assuring interoperability with leading edit solutions, storage, and other broadcast and production equipment. Full support for HD bit rates from 18 Mbps to 100 Mbps (4:2:0 or 4:2:2 chroma sampling), including all XDCAM HD operating points, enables an optimal balance of video quality, storage required, and resource use.
The Omneon MediaPort 5220 series shares the SD functionality and compact 1-RU design of the 5320 series, supporting SD MPEG-2 encoding and decoding at rates from 3 Mbps to 50 Mbps. The MediaPort 5220 may be upgraded to an HD-capable model through a simple software upgrade, serving as a smart near- and long-term solution. Both MediaPort components may be used as Omneon MediaDeck modules, allowing the MediaDeck system to serve as an HD and SD ingest server, HD and SD delay server, edit platform, edge server, or other media server requiring moderate storage in a convenient integrated package.
The Omneon MediaPort 5320 and 5220 series will be available in October 2008 and can be previewed at the IBC2008 Show in Amsterdam at the Omneon stand 8.B60.
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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.
