Eurosport To Launch HD With Thomson

Thomson has announced that it is contributing to Eurosport's launch of its leading pan-European sports TV channel in high definition.
Available in May, it will be aired from its main all-digital broadcast centre in Issey-les-Moulineaux (near Paris, France).
A large Thomson Grass Valley K2 storage area network (SAN) based around multiple K2 Media Server systems will support the operation.
The overall project is one of the largest HD SAN ever installed by Thomson and is valued at more than £3 million.
Eurosport, a leading sports multimedia platform in Europe, is owned by the TF1 group, and broadcasts in 20 languages to 112 million homes across 59 countries in Europe, as well as 10 countries in Asia.
Thomson has been contracted to provide a full range of services to the new Eurosport HD project; including system design, installation and 24/7 customer service.
Vincent Gerard-Hirne, Technical Director of Eurosport, said: "We have used the Thomson Grass Valley servers for a very long time and have come to appreciate their reliability and flexibility in allowing us to launch new channels very cost effectively.
"When we decided to move to HD broadcasting, it was a natural choice for us to stay with Thomson and the new K2 media server. We also are pleased with the speed at which Thomson was able to get us up and running with our new HD channel."
Patrick Montilaud, Senior Vice President of Thomson's Integration and Network Solutions, within the Systems division, said: "Eurosport's new high-definition channels are just one of the ways that Thomson helps its customers deliver more value to their customers.
"By working closely with our customers, we help them leverage our extensive systems know-how and technology to improve their business."
Operating on a very short timeframe, the Thomson system engineers began the installation in March of the equipment ordered in February.
The HD channel will be on air in time for the French Open Tennis Tournament of Roland Garros on May 25.
The new K2 HD SAN will be used to handle incoming satellite and fibre feeds and playout sports content to air.
It will accomplish this using 44 Thomson Grass Valley video server channels, in both SD and HD, complete with 1,000 hours of on-line storage (@100 Mbps HD), six standalone K2 servers, and an archive system.
A long time customer of Thomson, Eurosport already owns and operates many Thomson Grass Valley standard definition video servers within its playout facility, which have been in operation for several years.
Thomson provides technology, services and systems to help its Media, Entertainment & Communications clients - content creators, content distributors and users of its technology - realise their business goals and optimise their performance in a rapidly changing technology environment.
Further information is available at: www.thomson.net.
(KMcA/JM)