Grass Valley HD Technology and Engineering Support Helps Launch Ghana’s New TV Channel

This new multi-faceted project (“Phase II”) will expand the existing radio studio production and news editing room facilities with two additional TV studios that will feature Grass Valley LDK 3000 HD cameras, a Kayak™ HD switcher, Acappella™ router, and a variety of Grass Valley GeckoFlex™ signal processing modules. For its collaborative news editing and production activities, Multi TV has installed 10 Grass Valley EDIUS® workstations connected to existing K2 media servers—installed last year and now configured in a shared storage network.

“We have had a lot of success with the Grass Valley servers we have been using for the past year and wanted to expand our capabilities to include producing our own shows,” said Mr. Kwasi Twum, CEO, Multimedia Group Ltd. “Our new TV channels have received great response from our viewers and we give credit to Grass Valley for their equipment and technical support that helps make it all possible.”

“Broadcasters of all sizes need a cost-effective way to launch new services in the shortest amount of time, and we're helping them do that with our flexible technology, affordable products, and a full range of locally-based engineering and system integration services,” said Jeff Rosica, Senior Vice President of Grass Valley. “Multimedia Group is proving to be very successful at attracting a new audience with quality programming. Grass Valley is pleased to be helping them achieve their goals.”

Once completely installed this month, the new Grass Valley technologies and systems will help Multi TV improve the quality of its programming in and consequently increase its audience in Ghana.

The significant new contract, which was signed at the recent NAB Show in Las Vegas, also includes system design and integration by Grass Valley engineers — as well as supplying local system support going forward.

FitzRoy Brown, Managing Director of Broadcast Solutions Africa Ltd., and local representatives of Grass Valley stated: “Working with Grass Valley on this project has been phenomenal and using Grass Valley’s technology, skills and tools have resulted in a professional system that compares to standards at CNN and Al Jazeera. We hope to bring our experience and expertise to bear in similar projects for the Nation’s broadcaster GBC and other private broadcasters.”

Multimedia Group Ltd. owns and operates Joy 99.7 FM and five other radio stations in Ghana and obtained a TV broadcast license in 2008, going on-air with an automated playout system based on Grass Valley K2 media servers in the summer of 2009.

The Grass Valley LDK 3000 Value-Priced High-Definition (HD) camera is a multi-format system combining flexibility and high picture quality at a reasonable cost. Meeting a range of production requirements worldwide, the LDK 3000 camera supports 1080i50/60 and 720p50/60. The camera was built using three 2/3-inch, 2.4 million pixel Xensium CMOS imagers, specially developed for demanding broadcast applications.

About Multimedia Group Ltd.

Multimedia Group Limited (Multimedia) is a Ghanaian media and entertainment company established in 1995. It is the largest private commercial radio Group in Ghana. Multimedia currently owns and manages six of Ghana’s leading radio stations, six on-line media sites, a multi-channel digital television service and a marketing and events management division.

About Broadcast Solutions Africa Ltd.

Broadcast Solutions is a systems integrator with over 16 years operational success working in Africa, and have been behind the procurement of broadcast equipment and or establishment of most of the major Radio and TV stations in Ghana including Joy FM, Peace FM, TV 3, and GTV.

About Grass Valley

With a rich history serving the broadcast and professional video industries, the Grass Valley name is synonymous with innovation, leadership, and performance. With a full range of products and services supporting many of the world's most high-profile television events, Grass Valley offers the most comprehensive portfolio of flexible and cost-effective digital technologies and systems available. Customers deploying Grass Valley solutions include most of the world's leading broadcast and teleproduction facilities, independent video professionals, as well as emerging content creators and distributors providing broadband, telecommunications, and transmission services. When you’re watching news, sports, or entertainment programming, whether on a TV, the Web, or a mobile phone, you’re watching Grass Valley at work.