Omneon, Inc. today announced that Chello Multicanal, headquartered in Madrid, has deployed Omneon Spectrum™ media servers for ingest and playout of nine channels, each focused on theme programming ranging from food to biography. The network, owned by cable giant Liberty Global, reaches 13 million viewers in Spain and Portugal via cable, satellite, and IPTV.
 
“The Spectrum systems fit perfectly into our workflow, interoperating seamlessly with our legacy Harris automation system,” said Luis Polo, Chello Multicanal technical manager. “Besides that, we like the modular design and open architecture of the Spectrum system, which will allow us to expand our operation and add functionality as business requires it — all without broadcast disruption.”

At Chello Multicanal, a file-based workflow relies on two mirrored Spectrum systems for two channels of SD ingest and 10 channels of playout, and the Omneon MirrorTool™ to ensure full, real-time redundancy. A new Omneon customer, Chello Multicanal implemented the Spectrum solution to replace aging equipment from another vendor, meeting its goals of improving reliability and broadcast quality, as well as enabling the addition of a new programming channel, and supporting the eventual transition to HD.

Spectrum servers are uniquely flexible and HD-ready because they offer a single file structure for both SD and HD content — saving a broadcaster the time, trouble, and complexity of setting up and maintaining individual storage for each format.

“Industry leaders like Chello Multicanal are looking to improve workflow efficiencies today while also having an eye on future expansion and future offerings for their customers,” said Geoff Stedman, Omneon senior vice president of products and markets. “The modularity and flexibility of the Spectrum server has proven itself again and again for these demanding operations.”

The Spectrum systems were installed at Chello Multicanal earlier this year by local SI and Omneon partner, XELTEC, and went on the air in May.

About Omneon
Omneon is a leading provider of flexible media server and active storage systems that optimize workflow productivity and on-air reliability for the production, distribution, and management of digital media. Omneon is a pioneer in the use of advanced IT technologies and open systems for broadcast applications, producing a modular and expandable video server architecture in the Omneon Spectrum. The company's MediaGrid active storage system delivers centralized content storage that is scalable in capacity, bandwidth, and media-processing power. The company has an extensive global presence with customers in 45 countries on six continents. Omneon is on the Web at www.Omneon.com.

About Chello Multicanal
Chello Multicanal is the leading distributor of theme-content channels to Spain and Portugal, with an estimated 13 million viewers reached via cable, satellite, and IPTV. Its nine channels are Hollywood, History, Kitchen, Odisea, Sol Musica, Biography, Panda, Decasa, and Extreme Sports. The owner of Chello Multicanal is Chellomedia, the content division of cable group Liberty Global. More information is available at www.chellomulticanal.com.

About XELTEC Video
XELTEC Video was founded in 1993, after many years of experience in the professional video field. XELTEC is focused primarily on the needs of clients, helping them select the most trustworthy and advanced technology to meet those needs. XELTEC strongly believes that the future rests in gaining the trust and confidence of the customers who depend on advanced technology to achieve their business goals. Under this basic premise, XELTEC has been growing over the years, adapting its structures to be able to incorporate complex systems, staying on the forefront to select the best equipment in the market, and presenting to manufacturers and customers a matrix capable of meeting their operational needs and sustained growth. XELTEC offers customers a highly specialized technical team with knowledge in a wide range of products and equipment brands selected from among the best in the market and individuals they can trust. (www.Xeltec.net)

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