TV Globo is using Omneon Spectrum media servers for playout of both national and international programming from its main transmission center at the Jardim Botânico facility located in Rio de Janeiro.
"Our application requires that we have the most reliable server platform available to support our critical transmission needs and to provide us with the flexibility to operate in either SD or HD," said Paulo Santos, director of playout operations for TV Globo. "The Omneon systems met those requirements, and they were easy to install, allowing us to bring our operators up to speed in a short amount of time."
As the primary distribution center for the network's worldwide programming, TV Globo Jardim Botânico required servers with exceptional reliability, ease of expansion and a proven track record. To this end, the broadcaster initially installed two six-channel servers, main and backup, plus a third two-channel server for added redundancy and to enable future expansion. All three systems are SD/HD capable with built-in up/downconversion.
TV Globo later leveraged the Spectrum systems' modular design to convert these media servers, along with additional Omneon MediaDirector and MediaPort components, into main and backup systems to provide more storage and support a higher channel count. Omneon systems are built on an open architecture based on industry standards, and the company's platform enabled TV Globo engineers to develop their own automation and media management software for the server systems.
Within TV Globo's current Spectrum server-based workflow, material is ingested and transferred via FTP to a main central storage system, then prepared for playout and transferred via FTP to the Omneon playout servers, all under the control of TV Globo's in-house automation and media management system. TV Globo relies on the Omneon servers to transmit SD and HD programming to its national affiliates, a local channel for the city and state of Rio de Janeiro, Globo International for satellite distribution throughout the Americas, and Globo Europe for satellite distribution throughout Europe. Full mirroring of the main and backup playout systems also is managed by TV Globo's custom control software.
