PPT Webcasting choose ATG encoder

ATG Broadcast has supplied a web streaming system to PPT Webcasting Services, as the communications core of an OB webcasting unit built by Barracuda.
The encoder is integrated with other equipment in a mobile control console, which is trolley-mounted for easy transportation.
Occupying just 2U, the ATG Broadcast encoder incorporates a 3GHz PC processor with 1Gbyte RAM and 160Gbyte hard disk drive plus Osprey 230 PAL/NSTC and MPEG-4 capture cards. The encoder sources from three Sony cameras on remote pan-tilt-zoom heads. Signal processing in the console is at full bandwidth, ensuring optimal picture quality whether the audience is viewing via a local television feed, broadband stream or slow-speed dial-up modem.
The cameras are controlled via custom-built software, which enables the relevant feed to be selected for transmission. Captioning and indexing metadata are captured simultaneously. The streaming feed can be connected direct to a local communications interface or stored on the ATG encoder's internal magnetic disk drive for subsequent upload to a media server. Video and audio can also be recorded direct to DVD.
Central to the ATG Broadcast encoder is an Osprey-230 half-slot low profile PCI bus card capable of capturing full-motion video and audio from a standard PAL or NTSC analogue source. It has logo overlay and watermark capabilities, plus a dedicated audio gain control, and can handle 32/44/48 kHz audio sampling rates.
Jayne Mairlot, PPT Webcasting Services Managing Director, said: "The web streaming system has proved highly reliable and very easy to use. All control surfaces on the console are configured to allow an operator to become familiar with the system quickly and intuitively. This is an important factor as in some cases our clients will be using the system themselves. The unit also allows the operator to control the quality of video output, specifically enhancing it for viewers on the web."
Brian Moriarty, ATG Broadcast's Streaming Systems Sales Manager, added: "The rapid increase in broadband internet availability worldwide has made video streaming a very efficient communications medium. PPT is an excellent example of the practical application of internet-based television broadcasting."
(GB)