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View Full Version : DIRECTV Expands Operations with $1 Million Installation of Avid MediaStream


Earl Bonovich
09-20-06, 09:14 AM
http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=66923

DIRECTV Expands Operations with $1 Million Installation of Avid MediaStream
Company Increases Standard-Definition Capabilities and Builds Foundation for Enhancing High-Definition Services


TEWKSBURY, Mass., BUSINESS WIRE -- Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID) today announced that DIRECTV, Inc., the leading satellite television service provider in the U.S., has installed approximately $1 million of Avid(R) MediaStream(TM) systems purchased in March 2006. The investment - which will enable DIRECTV to update and expand its standard-definition capabilities and build a foundation for future high-definition services - includes four MediaStream servers with a total of 64 decoder channels and more than 25 terabytes (TB) of dedicated RAID storage. The installation was completed in late August.

"MediaStream has been at the core of DIRECTV's playout operations for years and we knew we could count on its reliability and efficiency as we planned to expand our broadcast operations," said Donald L. Jones, vice president and general manager, Broadcast Operations, DIRECTV, Inc. "The HD enhancements that Avid has made to the system will also serve us well as we continue to expand our HD programming."

David Schleifer, vice president of Avid Broadcast and Workgroups, said, "For years, MediaStream has served as the playout backbone for hundreds of broadcasters, enabling them to deliver a greater number of error-free transmissions. DIRECTV's investment in MediaStream is a testament to the stability of the system, but equally important, it also provides an economical path for delivering HD content over satellite as demand continues to grow. We're pleased that DIRECTV continues to rely on MediaStream as the nucleus of its playout infrastructure, and we're looking forward to helping this leading service provider make the leap to HD when the time is right."

PetSounds66
09-20-06, 09:50 AM
So what does this actually mean for those of us on the MPEG-4 train?

Earl Bonovich
09-20-06, 09:58 AM
"Tighter" compression...
Meaning... better compression done that could result in smaller "file" size... but at the same time resulting in better Picture quality, and better results on our H20 and HR20's

What it means for SD... Increase PQ while not increasing the space it takes to transmit.

If you do any video editing on your home PC... it obvious to see optimized programs when it comes to compression results. One program may result in a file (all factors being the same), that is large and looks like junk. Another program may result in a file the same size, but the quality is much better...

JohnH
09-20-06, 01:00 PM
The effect will be noticed on the DVRs as well. Put more of the same programs on the drive. Recently erased all on my E* 721 and since some of the same movies came down the stream and noticed I now have more of them on the drive than I could get there before. Picture seams as good or better as well.

cookpr
09-20-06, 02:01 PM
And this is inplace now and we are seeing the results? Or will see it shortly?

Cant say I have seen a lot of pic quality improvements.

Jason Whiddon
09-20-06, 03:55 PM
And this is inplace now and we are seeing the results? Or will see it shortly?

Cant say I have seen a lot of pic quality improvements.


I'm am too curious when we'll see SD PQ increases since I won't have HD locals for awhile.

stuart628
09-21-06, 10:24 AM
And this is inplace now and we are seeing the results? Or will see it shortly?

Cant say I have seen a lot of pic quality improvements.

do we know a time frame of when this is happening or is it already done?