FOX Broadcasting has launched a new digital broadcast system co-designed with IBM to transform HD production of the 2005 NFL on FOX season based on a transition of core broadcast infrastructures to standards based technology.

The new digital system will help FOX lower program production costs for its high-definition NFL broadcasts and will enable content from the games to be available on demand for re-purposing and further distribution.

The FOX digital archive solution combines traditional broadcast formats and encoding standards, such as ASI and MPEG, with industry standard technology to give FOX the ability to transmit digitally compressed HD NFL broadcasts easily and transparently from its stadium-based, on-site mobile production trucks directly into a production archive at its Los Angeles studio headquarters.

FOX worked with IBM and Sirius Computer Solutions to design and implement a digital video storage system that allows FOX to manage, store and retrieve broadcast content faster and easier than with conventional production systems and traditional broadcast videotape infrastructure. The FOX digital archive solution is one of the first to integrate with the high-definition Asynchronous Serial Interface (ASI) standard.

The solution features IBM TotalStorage linear tape open (LTO) Ultrium storage technology connected to IBM eServer xSeries systems running Linux.

For more information, visit www.ibm.com, www.siriuscom.com and www.newscorp.com.

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