In Broadcast - February 2014 - 44

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 28 - FEBRUARY 2014

N E W S

InSTUDIO

Broadcast Systems Integration - Part I
By Adrian Pennington
Contributing Editor

InBroadcast asked leading systems integrators to
assess prevailing market dynamics and to consider
the impact of the expansion of Over-The-Top
provision on client infrastructure needs...

Media Group International

MBC Cairo's broadcast control room

44

MBC Cairo's news facility

The broadcast studio at MBC Cairo

"Demand for solutions has picked
up signiﬁ cantly in the past few
months, not only in the Middle East
but across Africa," reports Sales
Director Paul Wallis. "This should
mean that lots of key technology
decisions will be made in 2014. In
our opinion there will be a strong
focus on ﬁle-based workﬂow and
OTT technology as broadcasters
seek to manage, monetise and
monitor delivery of content to
any connected device, including
legacy phones."
MGI are being increasingly asked
to provide advice on broadcast
IT workﬂows, which has led it to
recruit a number of specialists. It
has nine Cisco-certiﬁed members
of staff, something that would
have been unheard of years ago
in the broadcast industry. Another
major change is that MGI now
provides customers with both
managed service and OPEX
models. "These key changes mean
that our customers are able to stay
ahead with the latest technology
without impacting on high CAPEX
investments," explains Wallis.
"Education in OTT is what is really
needed because everyone wants
to be part of the new multiscreen
world, but very few people really
understand how to implement these
changes or what they want to show
to their clients," he says. "This also
has a big impact on the digitisation
of archived materials for playout on
VOD platforms. Customers need

MBC Cairo's broadcast gallery

help understanding how to prioritise
this. Another relevant factor is the
integration of social media onto
broadcast transmissions, which
is becoming more important to
our customers. As a result they
are seeking help and advice on
how to implement it and what
technology to use."

In Action - MBC Cairo

In 2013, the MBC Group, which
has ten TV channels and a number
of online platforms, engaged MGI
to provide MBC Cairo with an
entire news facility consisting of
a broadcast control room/gallery,
a central apparatus room, an
audio studio, a broadcast studio,
a MCR, a newsroom and various
editing and production facilities.
The company was also responsible
for the entire IT infrastructure
and the installation of all power
requirements.
The project included Grass Valley
LDX-80 studio cameras that adopt
CMOS technology as opposed to
traditional CCD. At the heart of the
system is a full Avid Newsvision
production system, complemented
by Vizrt on-air graphics. Other
technical highlights include a Ross
live production switcher, a Trilogy
Broadcast communications system,
a state of the art video wall and a
Studer All-In-One Vista audio mixing
console, the ﬁrst of its kind to be
installed in Egypt.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

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