In Broadcast - July 2016 - 46


46

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 6 - Issue 7 | July 2016

InStudio

Looking Beyond Cable

T

he underlying infrastructure of TV
is a dark horse. Often overlooked
in favour of more visually appealing
broadcast technologies, cabling, racks
and metalwork keep entire operations
running and enable such achievements
as end-to-end 4K delivery at live
sporting events.
Nowadays however, success in this
market segment goes far beyond the
timely delivery of a box of connectors
and cables, a fact that has been
driving the revitalisation of TV studio
materials distributor Argosy.
Founded in 1984, Argosy spent the
best part of three decades making
and delivering the highest quality
products for systems integrators and
broadcast companies in the media
and entertainment sector. Now
part of the successful Broadcast &
Communications Division of IEWC,
Argosy is rapidly changing shape to
meet pressing industry trends such
as the rise of 4k and 8k and the move
towards an IP-based infrastructure.
Broadening Remit
Chris Smeeton, Business Unit
Director at Argosy, says that the
company was historically aimed at
fixed installation video distribution
in the TV broadcast market: "Our
products were very traditional signal
distribution products - metalwork,
some patching but predominantly
cables and connectors. They were
technically passive products."
Since the acquisition of Argosy
by IEWC last year, the company has
broadened its remit from TV studios
and outside broadcast (OB) facilities
to pro audio recording and commercial
proAV applications. "Our strategy
has broadened globally. In the EMEA
market we are very focused on the
needs of our regional broadcast
customers while widening our reach
to adjacent markets where we have
experience," said Smeeton.

Chris Smeeton,
Business Unit Director, Argosy

New Markets
The backing of IEWC is allowing
Argosy to delve into exciting new
vertical markets, create new revenue
streams, increase the volume of
purchases to achieve better pricing for
its customers and to increase the value
of orders they can deliver.
Tackling the proAV market, for
example, is a major new focus for
Argosy. The company is currently
in the process of adding resources
from the AV industry and recently
announced it would be exhibiting a
suite of AV products at Integrated
Systems Europe 2017, currently
pegged as the world's largest AV
and systems integration exhibition.
Back in the broadcast market,
Argosy is also expanding its remit
to address a number of industry
trends, including the convergence
between broadcast and IP
technology, multiplatform and
file-based delivery and the rise of
4k and 8k.
"We are seeing lots of demand
for CAT 6 structural cabling, maybe
slightly less coaxial cable and a move
to fibre which brings much greater
transmission distances," said Smeeton.
"A lot of file-based content is now
retained within the broadcast network,
with content moving across networks
and virtual servers. High data rates
for transmission are putting pressure
on broadcasters who need to squeeze
as much down the pipe as possible,
prompting a natural move from copper
and indeed highlighting questions
about the benefits of the use of coaxial
cables versus fibre."
To meet these demands, Argosy
has built a fibre termination facility
in the UK, with a clean room, fibre
connectivity and a splicing and
polishing machine to enable the
termination of multi-way fibres.
"That's allowing us to be competitive
in OB applications, where we're
sending multiple signals over very long
distances," he added.
Argosy also predicts that the
traditional
storage
broadcast
environment will start to mirror the
IT data centre, built around servers
and storage with intelligent mains
distribution units for environmental
monitoring.
"This changes how the cabling
infrastructure is maintained within the
rack environment and has an effect

on companies like ourselves," he
continued. "This obviously impacts the
sales of our traditional products, but it
also offers huge opportunities to sell
new types of product."
Finished Product
Argosy has noticed the effect
of these changes on its Systems
Integrator (SI) clients and has
added services to its product supply
relationships. "We can cut and
terminate cables based on a schedule,"
added Smeeton. "This ensures their
wiremen receive a finished product
and don't waste time at the jobsite."
Partnerships with manufacturers
have also emerged as part of Argosy's
reinvention, based on the company's
historical cabling expertise and
extensive piece part stock levels. To
support the broadcaster at major
sporting events such as Olympics
and European Championships for
example, Argosy is working alongside
the manufacturer to provide a finished
product, fully tested and dropped
to the customer's facility.
The
company also manufactures racks,
pre-built for vendors with active
components built-in. This helps to
strengthen the company's dialogue
with the broadcaster's technical and
engineering team and ensure a more
complete solution offering.
It also has strategic distribution

agreements in place with
manufacturers
such
as
Commscope, whereby Argosy
can supply a range of its
ADC products direct to the
EMEA region. This allows
Argosy's stock profile of ADC
products to accurately reflect
its own insightful forecasts
for that marketplace, which
consequently improves Argosy's
overall customer experience
with shorter lead times and
better response rates.
Overall, Argosy is now forging itself a
name on bigger projects, well outside
its existing cable expertise, through
both SIs and manufacturers eager to
get their hands on complementary
products that the company is now
supplying from partners such as
Panasonic, Teradek, Datavideo and
Blackmagic.
Pre-Tested Bundles
And, with the provision of pre-tested
product bundles, Argosy is involved
in helping engineers overcome the
eternal challenge of taking laboratory
test data into the field by reporting
real life test transmission distances
for various product combinations in 4k
and 8k.
"In the past we were limited by
a narrow focus. We are taking our
expertise into other areas," concluded
Smeeton. "It's not a difficult leap
but the next logical step on the road
to expansion and success. We are
modernising our activities by providing
new services and support that SIs and
broadcasters need. It may not be the
most glamorous aspect of broadcast,
but it's mission critical and Argosy's
ability to exercise agility now with its
product offerings and services, will
ensure that we remain a key player in
that field as the industry evolves."
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPP3tgYehko https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPP3tgYehko https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPP3tgYehko
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - July 2016
