SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- June 15, 2010 -- Omneon Inc. today announced that Electronic Media Network Limited (M-Net), South Africa's first private subscription television service, is expanding its Omneon installation to include two Spectrum(TM) media server systems and a MediaGrid(TM) active storage system. Integrated into M-Net's Johannesburg facility by Omneon's local partner and systems integrator Inala Broadcast, the resulting Omneon media storage and processing platform will support playout of M-Net's short-form content, which is broadcast to 3.6 million subscribers in 41 countries across Africa.
"The highly scalable architecture of Omneon systems has allowed us to expand our operations smoothly while improving the overall efficiency of our file-based workflow," said Manny Coelho, head of media services at M-Net. "With the Omneon platform underpinning our operations, we're poised to realize even greater flexibility in our management and delivery of content to M-Net customers."
Content is ingested onto M-Net's existing Omneon Spectrum media server systems and stored onto a 216-TB Omneon MediaGrid system, the first such system installed in South Africa. Harris(R) D-Series(TM) automation moves content for M-Net's originated channels to the new Spectrum server for playout as required.
"When M-Net first created its digital archives, the broadcaster used the Omneon Spectrum media server to enable reliable ingest of more than 200,000 hours of content," said Geoff Stedman, senior vice president, marketing and business development at Omneon. "That groundbreaking project represented the largest such installation in Africa. Now, as M-Net extends our digital media workflow to accommodate playout, it has raised the bar once again, taking online an Omneon platform that supports the entire broadcast chain."
More information about Omneon products and solutions is available at www.omneon.com.
# # #
About M-Net
Electronic Media Network Limited (M-Net) was founded in 1985 as South Africa's first private subscription television service. The first broadcast, comprising one 12-hour channel, launched in October 1986. M-Net now provides an array of channels to several digital platforms across Africa and its adjacent islands. More information is available at www.mnet.co.za.
About Inala Broadcast
Inala Broadcast division of Inala Technologies Propriety Limited has represented Omneon in Southern Africa since 2000. Inala Broadcast is a system integrator providing integrated turnkey solutions to the broadcast television industry with full post-sale support backed up by local spares.
About Omneon Inc.
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 media server. The Omneon 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.
ENDS
