Thomson, Ideal Systems integration
May 23, 2014
Thomson Video Networks has announced the integration of its Sapphire MPEG stream server with SoftCast, a suite of software products from SoftCast Technologies that streamlines operation and management of broadcast TV channels. SoftCast Technologies is the new product department of Ideal Systems Group, Asia’s largest broadcast systems integrator and a longtime Thomson Video Networks global partner and value-added reseller in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The integration of SoftCast and the Sapphire ‘channel-in-a-box’ server will provide Thomson Video Networks and Ideal Systems customers with a powerful turnkey playout and ad insertion solution.
Sapphire is a unique channel-in-a-box solution that provides all the functions needed to ingest, process, brand, and generate TV channels ready for air, and offers advanced capture, playout, and ad insertion capabilities and frame-accurate operation for MPEG-2 and H.264 compressed content. The integration of Sapphire with the SoftCast Automation, Broadcast Schedule Planning (traffic), and Broadcast Ad Sales (ad scheduling) modules addresses broadcasters’ new-generation playout requirements with a hybrid solution for both MPEG and baseband video delivery.
“For more than a decade, Ideal Systems has worked closely with Thomson Video Networks, and together we have completed many head-end deployments throughout the Asia-Pacific region,” said Fintan McKiernan, CEO, Ideal Systems (Singapore). “The integration of the Sapphire MPEG server with our SoftCast suite addresses the growing requirements of APAC customers for a cost-effective hybrid baseband-IP solution to streamline digital ad insertion and MPEG playout. Sapphire’s long and successful track record in deployments all over the world makes it a perfect complement to SoftCast’s comprehensive broadcast ecosystem, and specifically its baseband channel-in-box capabilities.”