SPRINGFIELD, VA.: The Public Broadcasting Service has selected Sencore to provide it with an advanced message data encapsulator to meet the requirements of its Warning, Alert and Response Network Act compliance project. The WARN Act provides funding to public television stations to install digital equipment for emergency alerts. The data encapsulator is designed to work in tandem with other Sencore technology already in place.
The message encapsulator works in coordination with the Sencore-provided Modular Receiver Decoder 3187B and Sencore’s Transport Data Injector 3000—both designed to create a redundant data network leveraging the existing PBS broadcast infrastructure. The WARN backup data network connects the Federal Emergency Management Agency to commercial mobile service providers for the delivery of geo-targeted emergency warning text messages to cellular telephones across the United States.
The encapsulator will perform message processing and handling, Web server hosting, message formatting and encapsulation and heartbeat/test message generation, Sencore says. The encapsulator will transmit identical copies of the data stream through its asynchronous serial interface and redundant Internet protocol outputs. Full control of unit settings will be available through a hosted Web-graphical user interface, and network management system integration is possible via full support of a simple network management protocol-based remote monitoring and control, the vendor said.
