Azzurro HD has opened an all-digital, HD-enabled aggregation and switching facility for video content in the metro New York area. The opening follows the issuance of uncompressed HD local loop service by Verizon, a leading provider of fiber-based video transmission in the New York metro area.
Azzurro HD’s new facility, located in downtown Manhattan, serves broadcast and cable networks, sports leagues and TV channels by providing seamless digital transport from origination to termination point. The firm’s president and CEO, Francis Luperella, hopes to tap into demand for an all-digital switch that points the way to full-scale rollout of HD services. Currently, he said, most video switching hubs must convert digital to analog, often with heavy compression, to move video through legacy routers and analog video transport paths.
In addition to all digital switching from ASI up to uncompressed HD video, Azzurro HD can provide first and last-mile connectivity and hand off to long-haul transmission providers.
Azzurro HD uses a digital switch from NVISION, for which users will pay a monthly port charge for the ability to execute an unlimited number of switches. In addition, Azzurro HD will use digital fiber, connecting the customer's facility to the switch, and provide 24/7 quality control monitoring of the video moving through its switch, using both manned systems and SNMP monitoring from Evertz.
For more information, contact Mark Lowden at mlowden@azzurrohd.com.
