New RTE system allows instant global transmission

RTÉ's Chief News Correspondent, Charlie Bird, who is currently reporting on the arrival of Irish troops in Liberia, has used state of the art technology to get the story back to Ireland.
With the availability of new technology of satellite data/telephone services, it is now possible to transfer data files from almost anywhere on Earth. Building on this technology, RTÉ recently introduced a 'store and forward' system that allowed their news crews to gather the latest video information from anywhere in the world and transmit it directly to the RTÉ Newsroom in Dublin.
RTÉ News had been using the 'Inmarsat' systems to deliver the satellite component of the familiar videophone to bring low-resolution live contributions from field reporters. However, the latest equipment, Clipmail from Telestream, allows higher quality edited packages to be delivered over the portable satellite link so that news crews can be independent of larger and more costly up-linking methods.
It also means that Charlie Bird and cameraman Michael Cassidy can report from a country like Liberia that has no broadcast up-link facilities.
(GB)