Red Bee Media is the largest playout and channel management business in the UK. Red Bee Media's expertise comes from the long standing provision of these services to the BBC and UKTV. Its clients now also include other broadcasters such as Virgin Media TV, ESPN, Discovery and STAR as well as telecommunications companies such as Orange.

PubliTronic has had its Nexus playout servers and Cobalt automation software deployed at the Red Bee Media Broadcast Centre for the automated playout of BBC HD across Europe.

PubliTronic's solution is integrated with BBC Worldwide Channels' scheduling system Zeus, from Phoenix 7. As well as providing the flexibility to drive graphics and logos externally from the scheduling system, PubliTronic's playout servers also prove particularly efficient for handling secondary broadcasting events, with support for DVB subtitling in the ASI Stream (in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish), Dolby E, MXF content for automated near line storage and content asset management. PubliTronic provided bespoke development during deployment to ensure playlist files and clip placeholders were supplied in the correct format.

David Popper, head of solutions build at Red Bee Media added: "We've been impressed by the level of PubliTronic's commitment to delivering effective, reliable HD services to our client, BBC Worldwide Channels. PubliTronic's playout servers provide a great blend of resilience, notably when operating in an N+N mode. It's clear that installing integrated playout automation is simpler, more cost-effective and timely."

Harold Vermeulen, founder and managing director of PubliTronic commented: "With the rapid growth in demand for HDTV services, competition to win the Red Bee/BBC HD channel contract was fierce so we were delighted to be selected. This installation showcases the intrinsic flexibility and scalability of our playout automation offering. It also proves to broadcasters that the future is in integrated playout - a more reliable, capable infrastructure for delivering a simpler broadcast workflow when compared to conventional playout methods."

More information: http://tvbeurope.com/