PlayBox Technology has supplied a two-channel redundant remote delivery and broadcasting solution to Fox International Channels. The turnkey 'FoxBox' project enables the boradcaster to deliver reliable, fully automated cost-effective playout solutions for smaller uplink, TV and IPTV markets.
The first location to benefit from FoxBox is On Telecoms in Athens, Greece, where it has been delivering two channels, Fox Life and Fox Life +1 since 1 December 2008. The project allows the cost-effective delivery of programme content into what have traditionally been commercially non-viable markets; due to the cost of fibre or satellite content delivery links.
The Athens 'FoxBox' includes PlayBox AirBox playout servers, with TitleBox for graphics and branding and SubtitleBox for subtitling of programmes.
Among the requirements set down by Fox were full integration with existing playout operations in Rome and the use of public internet for the delivery of all content, playlists and monitoring. The integration means that PlayBox accepts schedules from Fox's traffic system, seeks the content files and automatically transcodes them to the delivery format ready for transfer via the internet for local transmission anywhere in the world.
Julio Sobral, Senior Vice President, Head of Technical Services and Business Operations Fox International Channels said: "We have been looking for a way to reach new remote markets in an economic way and FoxBox does just that. This is a model we can repeat anywhere around the world that has an internet connection.
The system is fully redundant with main and backup AirBox playout servers in Athens for both TV channels. Media files separately to each, ensuring that playout will still continue in the event of an undetected problem in the transfer of one of the files. The remote site includes on-site monitoring and reporting and, if necessary, can be controlled and viewed from Rome or at Fox's disaster recovery centre in Los Angeles.
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