Quantel and Snell at NAB: transforming workflows, protecting investments

Neil Maycock: Future-proof pathway to IP routing and 4K, intelligent media monitoring and a raft of new creative tools on show

Quantel and Snell were out in force at NAB 2015 on a brand new booth in the South Hall. “NAB 2015 is the first opportunity for Quantel and Snell to demonstrate the breadth and depth of our complete product range,” said Neil Maycock, VP Marketing. “The raft of new products and developments on show will simplify, streamline and even transform workflows - enabling our industry to transition to its IP and 4K future.”

Together we’re squaring up to deliver future-proof answers for three key customer issues:

Transitioning to interoperable IP workflows
Production infrastructures today need to transition from SDI to IP and be built from commodity hardware and media aware software to take advantage of the IT industry’s huge R&D investment. At NAB Quantel and Snell are demonstrating a complete IP system including routing, production switching, processing and playout. We’re also showing how it is possible to transition painlessly from today’s SDI world into the IP future with plug-in modules for Sirius 800 routers and Kahuna switchers and a hybrid SDI/IP control system, with industry-standard interoperability guaranteed. This evolutionary approach enables current products to work across both worlds – eliminating the cost and disruption of a complete refit.

There is also a raft of new developments across routers, switchers, channel in a box and news production that ensure customers can get the best out of their existing infrastructure while they transition to the IP future.

Increasing efficiency and output
With audiences fragmenting and the number of media channels continuing to multiply, content creators and distributors need to deliver more with less to make the economics add up. The answer is more intelligence and automation in the pipeline.

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Media aware monitoring has the potential to dramatically improve output quality while simultaneously lowering costs. The revolutionary Snell Media Biometrics technology makes media aware monitoring a practical proposition – new Media Biometrics modules for lip-sync, channel mapping and logo assurance are being introduced, as well as a Media Biometrics signal generator.

At NAB Morpheus and ICE enhancements deliver a sophisticated on-screen presence more efficiently, with Media Biometrics capability also enabled in ICE. Adaptive Cadence technology is introduced for Alchemist OD, further streamlining file-based conversion workflows.

Telling compelling stories
However efficient the operation is, it is great content that attracts and retains audiences. Quantel and Snell are showing a host of new developments at NAB that enable content creators to tell compelling stories in new ways.

Developments on show include: Pablo Rio handling 8K 60p in realtime; advances in 4K; enhanced teamworking with the new Go! cross-platform browser - enabling the right people to work together on a story, wherever they are in the world; and the new LiveTouch sports highlighting system with integrated editing, enabling more sophisticated and engaging sports coverage, more quickly and easily.

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“There is an ever-increasing demand for more channels and services for increasingly fragmented audiences, and broadcasters need solutions that enable them to achieve this without increasing either capex or opex costs,” said Tim Thorsteinson, Quantel and Snell CEO. “Our whole philosophy is based on future-proofing our customers’ investments, helping them to transition to the full benefits of the IP and 4K future without the cost and disruption of complete infrastructure replacement.”

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About Quantel and Snell
Quantel and Snell are world leaders in enabling broadcasters, media organizations and post production facilities to create, process, manage and deliver their valuable media content. The Snell and Quantel product range encompasses the whole production chain across Live TV, News, Sports, Post and TV Everywhere. Our systems enable the productive and flexible workflows needed to stay ahead in today’s competitive global media market, empowering customers to achieve greater efficiencies and increase revenue while delivering high quality content to multiple platforms.