Omneon — Geoff Stedman

(click thumbnail)Geoff StedmanQ. What broad technology trends do you think will be front-and-centre at IBC2008?

We will see a continuation of the move to file-based workflows, not just for production, but increasingly for distribution as well. There is a growing need to be able to repurpose content across multiple distribution platforms, requiring tools that not only allow for the preparation of content packages suitable for different platforms, but also provide the ability to quickly reformat content into the myriad of media types needed on a wide range of viewing devices.

Q. What’s new that you will show at IBC2008 and that broadcasters should look for there?

Omneon will be showing a range of workflows all built around a common infrastructure. Central to these workflows is our MediaGrid active storage system, which delivers the performance and functionality needed to streamline file-based applications. At IBC2008, we will be showing the latest version of our ProXchange media processing engine running across the multiple processors of MediaGrid.

This latest version significantly improves performance and quality of low bit-rate H.264 transcoding, as well as enables SD/HD conversion with support for up-, down- and cross-conversion. Omneon will also be showing the ProCast CDN system for accelerated, wide-area content distribution as part of a content repurposing and distribution workflow demonstration.

Q. How is your new product offering different from what’s available on the market?

MediaGrid continues to be the only media storage system that combines both storage capacity and bandwidth with grid-processing. With the complete integration of ProXchange and MediaGrid enabling ‘transcode-in-place’, users have a vastly streamlined workflow and gain the performance benefits associated with grid-processing.

At a company level, Omneon continues to be the only company that offers a complete range of systems designed for file-based media workflows, including our industry-leading video servers for real-time performance; MediaGrid for faster-than-real-time media file access; and a range of applications for media processing and management.

The recent introduction of our Media Services Framework helps to tie all of our products together into a cohesive whole, providing our developer partners with a common interface to manage content even in complex, multisystem environments.

Q. Where are you based, and how many employees do you have? Anything else we should know about your company?

Omneon is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., and has offices around the world. We currently have more than 300 employees. The company maintains two development centers in the U.S., located in Sunnyvale and Beaverton, Ore., and a third center in Nice, France, following the acquisition of Castify Networks in Dec. 2007.

Q. How many years have you been going to the IBC show and what’s your fondest memory? What’s your favourite restaurant or pub?

This will be my eighth IBC show, the last five of which have been with Omneon. Last year I had my first chance to enjoy a meal with colleagues at the Supperclub and the experience was memorable to say the least! I hope to go back there again this year.