News Express, the New Delhi, India, based national broadcaster and a division of the Sai Prasad Group of companies, has purchased a Quantel Enterprise sQ production system to power its new all-HD national news broadcasting operation, which is slated to go on-air in July 2011.
News Express selected the Quantel solution based on its speed to air and low cost of ownership. News Express plans to produce 12 30-minute news bulletins a day with the system. Stories will be contributed from 25 bureaus around the sub-continent. The system also will be used to produce other channel output, including regular 20-minute documentaries.
The Enterprise sQ system is configured with 350 hours of DVCPRO 100 storage and 10 sQ View and sQ Cut journalist viewing and desktop editing applications. These will run as Active-X applications within an ENPS newsroom computer system. Craft editing will be handled by 10 Final Cut Pro editors, fully integrated into the Quantel workflow. Ingest will be done with Quantel sQ Load (files) and sQ Record (video) applications, and playout will run under OmniBus Colossus automation.
“The key competitive advantage in news is getting to air first, and the Quantel solution has by far the fastest flight time in the industry, so they are the natural choice for our new channel,” said Balasaheb Bhakpar, chairman and managing director of Sai Prasad Group.
The Enterprise sQ system is being supplied through Shaf Broadcast, Quantel’s Indian reseller.
