SARAJEVO, BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA—Telecommunication service-provider BH Telecom has invested in PlayBox Technology channel-in-a-box systems for incorporation into its data center in Sarajevo. The contract was won on an open-tender basis by systems integration company BCH, which is itself based in Sarajevo.
PlayBox fits with BH Telecom’s mostly tapeless operation of two new channels for its cable television network, according to BH Telecom Technical Director Admir Šabić. The configuration consists of two AirBox channel-in-a-box servers, one for each of two high-definition program 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,” he said.
The PlayBox Technology AirBox is an SD/HD content playout and streaming system designed for 24/7 unattended operation. It can be connected to third-party devices, and 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 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, e.g., four backups for 12 on-air channels. 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.
