IBC 2007 (Stand 1.435)
SeaChange has completed its build-out of Soldiers Media Center’s broadcast platform, a three-site installation that delivers television programming from “home” to U.S. armed forces personnel stationed around the world. SeaChange managed the entire project and worked in conjunction with American Forces Network (AFN) engineering to integrate, install and commission the hardware and operational software systems while concurrently training Soldiers Media Center technical and operational staff based in California, Germany, Korea and Italy. SeaChange is also providing follow-up training and 24-hour technical support from its locations in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Formerly known as the Army Broadcasting Service, the Soldiers Media Center is the parent headquarters for AFN Europe, AFN South, AFN Korea, AFN Honduras and AFN Kwajalein (Marshall Islands). Its international networks and stations broadcast American radio and television to United States Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Department of Defense civilians, and their families, serving across the globe.
SeaChange Broadcast MediaCluster (BMC) video server technology is at the center of each of the three broadcast sites in Riverside, Calif., Manheim, Germany, and Vicenza, Italy. The highly scalable MediaClusters can encode, store and decode MPEG video while providing the highest levels of fault resilience and reliability thanks to SeaChange’s patented RAID(2) (raid squared) technology.
“For the first time in military broadcasting history, Army programming can be sent instantaneously from one point to a central hub enabling the Army and the Department of Defense to inform our internal audiences faster than ever before,” said Col. Richard H. Breen, Jr., the first Commander of Soldiers Media Center.
“Strategically, the Soldiers Media Center can pass information from forward broadcasting organizations overseas in a timely manner, enabling the Army Public Affairs leadership to communicate more effectively and efficiently to Army senior commanders on stories and issues impacting their Soldiers and families stationed around the world. It is a fantastic communications capability for the Army.”
“This is a very exciting development for SeaChange and we are proud of the continued confidence of the government sector in our solutions and services,” said Phil Tillotson, SeaChange’s director of government services. “We are also honored to play an integral role in keeping the troops who are defending our country and their families connected to home through Soldiers Media’s programming of stateside news, sports and entertainment. The project underscores SeaChange’s ability to service all aspects of a television operation, from planning and integration to training and support.”
The expansive project came to completion with the commissioning of AFN’s Riverside-based broadcast facility, which serves troops stationed in the Pacific Rim and the European Theater of Operations.
With deployments such as Soldiers Media, the Pentagon’s media review system and others, SeaChange Government Services is meeting the unique television operations needs of government agencies. Its ability to specify, install, integrate and commission equipment coupled with training and 24/7 support make SeaChange an ideal partner for digital video systems and services.