(click thumbnail)Geoff StedmanQ. What kind of products or services does your company offer for broadcasters?
A. Omneon is really about media servers and active storage systems that address workflow productivity for broadcasters and anyone involved in digital media, from the production side to distribution and management. Specifically, we developed the first totally modular and expandable video server with our Spectrum product line. And with MediaGrid we developed an active storage system for centralized content storage that is scalable in capacity, bandwidth, and media-processing power.
Q. What’s new that you will you show at NAB2007 and that broadcasters should look for there?
A. A couple of things that are quite significant. The first really illustrates nicely what I just pointed out about the Omneon Spectrum media server’s modularity and expandability. We are introducing new HD encoder modules for the Spectrum HD. These new MediaPort 5000 modules enable end-to-end SD or HD ingest and play-out from the Spectrum – initially available as an MPEG-2 HD encoder supporting both I-Frame and Long GOP formats in bit rates ranging from 20 to 80 megabits per second. And of course, the new modules can easily be connected to any existing Spectrum media server to add new HD functionality, and can be mixed with other Omneon MediaPorts for SD within the same system.
And the other big new thing is a brand new server line that is smaller, more compact and completely integrated. The Omneon MediaDeck is based on technology from the Spectrum and packaged as an integrated unit that is designed for smaller stations and other users requiring a standalone server that is affordable, reliable and compatible with existing automation systems and workflows.
Q. How is your new product offering different from what’s available on the market?
A. MediaDeck is a real breakthrough in price performance for media server technology. It integrates media storage, system management, Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and SD or HD video I/O modules in one convenient package only two rack units high. The storage is eight 500 GB STATA drives with dual-parity RAID for 3 TB of useable storage with protection even in the unlikely event of two drive failures. It has modular I/O components, so users can mix and match as needed. SD modules for ingest and play-out (up to six channels per unit) and HD ingest modules (up to two channels per unit) will be the first modules available at NAB2007. Additional modules will follow to add further ingest and play-out channels and formats.
Q. Where are you based, and how many employees do you have? Anything else we should know about your company?
A. The company is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., with offices in Oregon, the U.K., Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Russia and France. We have about 250 employees, and we’re growing so we have a number of positions open.
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