Los Angeles, CA - Pacific Television Center (PacTV), a Los Angeles-based independent global transmission and production company, has recently completed major service upgrades for TV New Zealand (TVNZ), Special Broadcasting Service Australia (SBS) and TV Games Network (TVG) in Los Angeles. The enhanced service capabilities allow for increased international content to be delivered and disseminated through PacTV's extensive, global fiber network.
"As our aggregation capabilities continue to grow, we are making it easier for our clients to access global content eloquently," says Richard Neri, President, Pacific Television Center. "From a news program produced in England, then broadcast in Australia and New Zealand, to horse racing in Japan that is delivered to TVG Studios in Los Angeles, the PacTV fiber network also enables broadcasters from around the world to instantly share content in a cost-effective manner."
TVNZ upgraded its service from a shared line to a dedicated HD-capable line. While the network currently transports SD programming at 8Mb, the infrastructure is now in place to migrate over to HD in the future. The new pathway starts in TVNZ's Millbank bureau in London and connects to Auckland through Los Angeles then Sydney, with injection points at PacTV London and Los Angeles. The primary use will be for news and sports programming.
"PacTV has been extremely helpful in establishing our own dedicated circuit," says Matt Gyde, traffic manager, TVNZ Newsgathering, TV New Zealand. "The transition has been seamless and, having been a past broadcast service provider ourselves, it is impressive and assuring to still see this commitment to customer service. Operationally, the company is extremely dynamic in terms of meeting a client's needs and accessing media off the many different platforms offered today. Our working relationship with PacTV has been invaluable."
SBS is Australia's multicultural and multilingual broadcaster, delivering a wide range of programming from around the world to its diverse audience in Australia. SBS upgraded its service with PacTV to now include an HD 40-Mbps circuit from London to Los Angeles to Sydney. Local insertion at both PacTV London and Los Angeles is encoded at 38.8 Mbps using an Adtec EN-81 HD encoder. The service is capable of both SD-SDI and HD-SDI content, employing MPEG-2 data compression with full-time MCR monitoring of the circuit in all three locations. SBS can now receive a wide assortment of international HD programming such as Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. (RAI), ITN Late News and UEFA Champions League Football, among others.
TVG, a specialty content channel, is one of the largest horse racing networks in the United States, delivering programming and information from over 150 tracks worldwide via Dish Network, DirecTV and select cable companies. Additionally, TVG provides an off-track betting service. Through a new colocation presence and multiple cross connections, PacTV now provides TVG with the capability to access racing content more efficiently. Examples include Sky Racing programming from Australia and Japanese horse racing delivered via Nexion. Both Sky Racing and Nexion also have a presence at PacTV's colocation space in Los Angeles.
ABOUT PACIFIC TELEVISION CENTER
For more than 30 years, Los Angeles-based Pacific Television Center has been a leading transmission and live production provider to the global broadcast industry offering its clients around-the-clock support and services in fiber connectivity, satellite coordination, receive and records, multi-format tape play outs, live shots, satellite media tours and voiceovers. On a local level, its broadcast facility in Los Angeles connects to the ATT/PacBell Hollywood Hub and The Switch Los Angeles; in New York, it connects to Ascent Media Waterfront, The Switch New York and Azzurro; and in London, its facility has multiple circuits to and from BT Tower. Additional services include the PacTV Pools in Los Angeles and New York, remote location production via Western Pacific Mobile Microwave in Los Angeles, and a fiber network to several countries including the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and France. The company's solid reputation has led to successful relationships with major networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, ESPN, CNN, BSkyB and BBC in the UK, Network TEN in Australia and Sky in New Zealand as well as top carriers including Level 3/Vyvx, SingTel, Intelsat, SES World Skies, BT, Nexion and XO Communications. For more information regarding Pacific Television Center, visit www.pactv.com.
