Time Warner Cable has selected Volicon's Observer server platform to provide early detection of off-air channels.
As a desktop-based solution, the Observer RPM will monitor more than 500 channels at Time Warner Network operations and headend facilities. Time Warner Cable will use two Observer systems for a total of eight parallel scanners, which are equivalent to eight human operators constantly scanning channels, according to Volicon.
The Observer RPM automates the channel-scanning process, operating unattended as it scans channels continuously to verify the presence of video and audio and to detect problems such as frozen video and low-level audio. Volicon said each problem is recorded and reported to the operator via e-mail or cell phone alarm.
The Observer uses Volicon's video processing technology to give users simultaneous access to multiple channels of live and archived content from their desktops using a Microsoft Internet Explorer-compatible interface. The Observer RPM has the capacity to stream over the Internet, allowing an operator to view the video/audio on a standard MS Windows-based PC from any location.
"Time Warner Cable's hundreds of channels pass through more than 27 million U.S. homes, reaching 14.4 million customers in 33 states, so the effects of a channel going off-air can be quite dramatic," said Volicon CTO Gary Learner. "Compromised signals for the most popular channels will be brought to the operator's attention quickly, but it is critical to have a system in place to ensure that each and every channel is on-air."
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