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Fast Channel Routes Spots With Thomson Grass Valley
by Robin Shahid, August 11, 2006
Chief Engineer and Broadcast Product Specialist, Fast Channel Network
NEEDHAM, MASS.
Robin Shahid with some of the Grass Valley Concerto routers used by the Fast Channel Network
Fast Channel Network has served the broadcast and cable industry for the past 10 years. We were one of the first organizations to help media companies deliver radio commercials over the Internet.
We now distribute video commercials as well, but our mission hasn't changed. The goal is to deliver the correct spot to the right station on time.
As we've grown, so has the need to manage operations in disparate locations throughout North America. Fast Channel has constructed a sophisticated spot-delivery and audience/competitive measurement service that is highly flexible and unlike anything else in the industry.
We have implemented a remotely monitored system that includes Grass Valley Concerto multiformat routing switchers and NetCentral remote monitoring software in four separate network operations center locations - Chicago, Los Angeles, Memphis, Tenn., and New York. NetCentral allows us to diagnose and monitor all of the servers and the network as a whole.
CONCERTO ROUTERS USED
The Grass Valley Concerto routers at each NOC receive, process and distribute commercials as audio and video files. With this new delivery system, Fast Channel is now able to log into any of the locations, from anywhere in the world. Using NetCentral, we can track any individual file, and make changes if necessary.
Commercials go from a post house or production company to a TV station, anywhere in the country, via our main server locations. We work with all networks and hundreds of affiliates.
Most often, a videotape is delivered to a Fast Channel location and encoded onto our proprietary servers and software with TeleStream's ClipMail system. This file is then passed through a Concerto router, which automatically sends it to a server at each station subscribing to the delivery service.
In this, quality is key. Using an IPTV infrastructure, Fast Channel sends files at 18 Mbps, which is better quality than what goes out over the air to viewers.
At the heart of this system are the Concerto routers, controlled by Grass Valley Encore software at each site. The Encore software, which controls the router at each location, is tightly integrated with our PC-based video servers and other custom equipment.
The Grass Valley routers are very cost-effective to operate and maintain, while also allowing us to deliver spots a lot faster than ever before. Our guarantee is delivery within one hour, but we can actually have a 30-second spot at a TV station in 15 minutes.
FASTER THAN THE COMPETITION
Other digital delivery services use satellite send/receive technology, but tend to take more time in delivering a spot, as several phone calls have to be made before the event is carried out.
Fast Channel's system uses metadata associated with each commercial to send it as soon as it is approved for distribution. Participating stations are just a mouse click away from any file. The selected clip goes through the router at one of our NOCs and is at the specific destination within minutes.
We provide a service that never fails and chose Grass Valley for the same reason. The Concerto routers can be populated with different formats - SD, HD, analog and digital audio - in the same frame. Also, an analog audio file can be converted to AES without external equipment, thus saving money, time and space.
This technology allows us to grow and change our business models as needed. Although competition is fierce, Fast Channel has emerged as a leader in digital spot delivery because it has evolved with the times and implemented next-generation IT technologies. In a business where that 30-second spot absolutely, positively has to be there on time, Fast Channel uses Grass Valley technology to make sure it is.
Robin Shahid is chief engineer and broadcast product specialist for the Fast Channel Network. He may be contacted at pchdnet@hotmail.com.
