SKY Italia Selects Volicon Observer to monitor worklfow

Volicon, a
provider of media monitoring, recording, archiving, and streaming solutions, has
implemented the Volicon Observer enterprise video monitoring solution for
compliance recording and fault detection at SKY Italia. The 52-channel Observer
system, purchased through Rome-based systems integrator Allyn, has replaced SKY
Italia’s previous tape-based model to simplify the broadcaster’s monitoring
workflow.
“We
put the Observer system through a rigorous evaluation process, and it was the
only solution that stood up to the test and met all of our requirements,”
said Ben Leenders, engineering manager at Sky Italia. “With the Observer
installed in our Milan
broadcast facility, we streamlined our monitoring processes and are
experiencing much greater flexibility in identifying and accessing recorded
clips.”
The
Observer system is built on a powerful streaming video engine and player
developed by Volicon. Through a Microsoft Internet Explorer Web interface,
Observer users across the SKY Italia facility are able to access multiple
channels of live and archived content simultaneously from their desktops. Users
can log broadcasts, as well as search, retrieve, analyze, and export video
clips with metadata, locally or remotely as required to demonstrate proof of
compliance with broadcasting regulations. The export functionality of the
Observer makes it easy for operators to share assets internally.
The system
being installed at SKY Italia archives, instantly makes content accessible from
52- channels for up to 90 days via RAID-5 storage hardware, with four spare
recording channels at the ready. The move to server-based monitoring eliminates
the need to change out videotapes manually and saves space, occupying a smaller
footprint than the facility’s old VCR systems and requiring no external storage
area, as the broadcaster’s tape archives once required. The system can easily
be scaled to accommodate additional channels, and SKY Italia’s plans include
future expansion to monitor as many as 120 channels.
In
addition to compliance recording and archiving, the Observer provides 24/7
monitoring and fault detection to enable SKY Italia to maintain its
quality-of-service standards for aired content. When the Observer detects an
audio or video fault based on predefined thresholds, it automatically generates
a video clip of the fault and sends it via email alert to the technician on
duty.
“The
installation of the Observer at SKY Italia represents more than just our
largest deployment; it also demonstrates the significant trust that
broadcasters worldwide are willing to invest in the Observer system,” said
Julius Perl, vice president of marketing at Volicon. “By providing
reliable monitoring around the clock and making recorded clips immediately
available to multiple operators, the Observer allows broadcasters to maintain highly
efficient compliance monitoring and fault detection.”