Point.360 Deploys First Commercially Available Global HD Satellite Transmission Service for Spot and Syndicated Program Distribution

Point.360, a leading provider of integrated media management services, announced the successful deployment and availability of the industry’s first commercially available SD (Standard Definition) and HD (High Definition) global satellite transmission service for spot distribution, syndicated program distribution and events. Point.360’s newest submission service is currently being used to deliver this season’s hottest shows in HD to CTV, Canada's most watched broadcaster.

“Our new HD satellite transmission service, based on GlobeCast’s worldwide satellite and fiber network, will help to usher in a new cost-performance paradigm for the distribution of HD content while eliminating the time, distance and capacity barriers that have plagued previous delivery methods,” said Haig Bagerdjian, Point.360’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “HD playout is a growing trend of the network’s primetime and syndicated programming fare. Our submission service, located in our Highland Hollywood facility, will give 24 hour access to the major production studios and advertising agencies to have their newest HD product delivered to broadcast clients through a single turnkey service without having to dedicate capital intensive resources and manpower to HD on their own.”

GlobeCast worked closely with its hardware suppliers, its customers and end-users to integrate the necessary HD equipment to ensure complete interoperability and signal integrity from source to destination.

“With this new ‘one-stop shop’ service, we’re making it much easier for Hollywood to securely deliver HD content in 1080i and 720p HD, with Dolby 5.1 sound and close-captioning to North America via satellite on a recurring or occasional basis,” noted Dan Freyer, Director of Marketing at GlobeCast.

Point.360’s customers can purchase delivery service either by show or in 15-minute increments thanks to GlobeCast’s dedicated 270 Mb/s SDI facility-to-facility circuits, satellite facilities, round-the-clock video network monitoring, and secure signal transmission capacity, according to Freyer.

Acknowledging the timely necessity for Point.360’s newest HD service offering, Bagerdjian added, “The timing was perfect for us since we have the technological and operational background to develop a seamless HD workflow and delivery process that would guarantee a 24/7 submission capability, secure transmission of content and limitless transponder capacity for our customers. We delivered on all three points to our Hollywood customer and we are now delivering to CTV some of the season’s hottest shows, all in real-time and in HD.”

Point.360’s HD satellite transmission service is a strong enabling tool to quicken the transition to HD for Canadian broadcasters as well as service providers outside of North America. The company is now able to send real-time clean feeds for its Hollywood studio, corporate and agency clients that are timely and secure, allowing the customer to complement a broadcaster’s HD programming with value-added content of the highest quality—a win-win scenario for both their audience and advertisers. Concluded Bagerdjian, “Our new Highland facility HD satellite transmission service eliminates the time and distance barriers of the past, freeing our customers to focus more on the production of content while greatly improving workflow and delivery efficiencies. It validates our commitment to being the leading provider of integrated media management services and will expand our breadth of services and allow Point.360 to build on its proven multi-network services platform.”