NBC recently outfitted its centralcasting development, the "Hub Project," with a customized Marconi broadband network.
The Hub Project centralcasting strategy will consolidate the master controls of NBC's 14 owned-and-operated stations and help deliver on-air video content from regional distribution hubs to these stations. The new backbone network will provide NBC with the wide-area video transport capabilities necessary to deliver the content. NBC hopes to use the new strategy to improve revenues and reduce costs within its TV Station Group business.
Marconi designed and installed a multiservice network infrastructure that will help NBC drive the Hub Project. Marconi's Digital Centralcasting Solution was customized to provide multiple channels of bidirectional, high bit-rate, broadcast-grade compressed video transport and IP-over-Ethernet data services between the regional broadcast centers and the O&O stations. The network also provides NBC with cost-reduction opportunities by offering options for converging corporate voice and data traffic onto the network.
The Digital Centralcasting Solution uses multiservice ASX-1000 and ASX-200BX broadband switches. Both switches use Marconi's Forethought software for traffic management, traffic engineering and monitoring. For the NBC contract, Marconi fitted the ASX-1000s and ASX-200BXs with DS3E and ETH-TXB Network Modules, allowing the broadcaster to deliver multiple real-time, broadcast-quality video feeds and use IP connectivity for station automation processes.
