Media Links MD8000 Equipment @ UEFA EURO 2012

Fibre links are provided by Telecom Polska and UkrTelecom

2012 is a major year for sports competitions, and one of the largest in terms of television viewers kicks off in June - the UEFA EURO2012™ Poland and the Ukraine are the host countries this year and will be welcoming matches at stadia as far apart as Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, and Gdansk on the Baltic shores of Poland. All the 8 stadia will be linked to the International Broadcasting Centre in Warsaw using Media Links MD8000 equipment.

The links are fibre based, and are being provided by UEFA National Telecommunications Partners Telecom Polska and UkrTelecom. 8 stadia plus the IBC will be linked, with the host broadcaster UEFA providing pictures and sound from each venue, routed via the IBC for onward transmission to the many millions around the world who will watch the tournament.

The selection of Media Links to supply the codecs for all the contribution links for EURO 2012™ can be attributed to the extremely high quality and reliability of the Media Links equipment, and to the excellent support offered by Media Links Systems in the design, installation and support of the system from the earliest planning throughout the whole live event. The MD8000 is particularly suited to this type of application as it offers high levels of redundancy to deal with external problems such as loss of fibre link, as well as very low latency to allow operators and talent to work in a live situation with the delays of many compression systems.

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Daniel Marion, Head of ICT for UEFA, said, "This is the second time that UEFA has used Media Links technology , and our previous experience was so good that there was little doubt that we would use them again for 2012. The quality of the signals passed is second to none, and the use of the MD8000 gives us added flexibility in the overall design. When we also take into consideration the excellent support Media Links provide, there really isn't any alternative for our application."

For Media Links Systems GmbH, Robert Oszvald, Senior Manager Events commented, "Yet another prestigious live event is placing it's trust in the quality and reliability of Media Links products. The global experience of the company, and it's excellent European team centrally based in Darmstadt, Germany, means that broadcasting organizations globally can rely on getting their precious pictures and sound across long distances with zero artifacts."

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About Media Links
Media Links is a leading developer and manufacturer of broadcast network infrastructure solutions. Its mission is to offer broadcasters and network providers throughout the world leading edge technology, enabling them to economically convert and move the complete suite of broadcast signals - whether video, audio or data - onto their multi-service networks. Operating as a pioneer at the forefront of technological innovations and advancements, Media Links provides the only standards based product suite in the market that enables the adoption of media signal types to Telecommunication standards like Ethernet, IP, SDH and SONET.

Media Links solutions have proven themselves in the field and in the studio. Leading broadcasters and network service providers throughout the globe depend on Media Links technology. Media Links solutions and services have also been used in the most watched major sporting events throughout the world, like Super Bowl, Euro Cup and World Cup. Media Global Links is the parent company of Media Links.

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About UEFA
UEFA (Union des Associations Européennes de Football) is the governing body of European football.  UEFA's political structure is a representative democracy based on 53 member associations, which is supported by 19 specialised committees that shape UEFA policies on issues such as national team competitions, refereeing and club licensing. As a non-profit organisation, it redistributes income into football development, supporting its mission to promote and protect European football at every level of the game.