Playbox Technology Selected By Sarajevo Service Provider

Telecommunication service-provider in Bosnia and Herzegovina, BH Telecom, has invested in PlayBox Technology's channel-in-a-box systems for its data centre in Sarajevo.

"The PlayBox Technology system fits in very well with BH Telecom's essentially tapeless operation of two new channels for its cable television network," comments BH Telecom Technical Director Admir Šabić. "It consists of two AirBox channel-in-a-box servers, one for each of two high-definition programme channels, plus Multi-Backup Manager which provides failsafe automatic switchover to a third AirBox if a primary server goes down. The AirBox servers feed a digital video broadcast multiplexer and UDP switch.

"The new servers give BH Telecom the ability to work with a live input stream, adding graphics when needed. AirBox was chosen because it is inherently easy to use, and also easy to expand if additional channels are required in the future. Training was completed in just two days.

AirBox is a content playout and streaming system that can operate both in standard-definition and high-definition. It is built for 24/7 unattended operation and can be connected to third-party devices. AirBox supports MPEG1/2/H.264, HDV and DV streams from practically any production platform capable of providing AVI, MPEG, MXF, QuickTime or WMV content. Files from third-party broadcast content servers are natively supported.

Multi-Backup Manager (MBM) is designed for backing up multiple playout channels simultaneously, also known as n+m redundancy. MBM allows the user to choose the number of backup systems (for example four backups for 12 on-air channels) reducing overall system cost while maintaining system integrity. It monitors user-defined lists with AirBox master and slave applications. If a master is non-responsive for two seconds, it will be automatically replaced by a slave AirBox. Thus, in case of failure, MBM will replace any non-responsive master AirBox.

www.bhtelecom.ba

www.playbox.tv

(IT/JP)