Election '08 coming home in HD like never before

hd studio posts

Hear this, Australians: we know you're pretty stoked about the forthcoming launch of Foxtel's high-def services, but a few more stations could be on the way shortly. Reportedly, post facility Omnilab Media has landed a long-term agreement with Movie Network Channels that will see an HD studio constructed for the channels. Currently, Omnilab handles all post-production work for MNC, which consists of Movie One, Movie Two, Movie Extra and Movie Greats -- all of which are seen on Foxtel. If all goes well, the facility will be completed in August, but what exactly it plans on using the sweet new equipment for remains to be seen.
Now that Hallmark Movie Channel HD has found a sufficient amount of carriers to air on, parent company Crown Media has inked a deal with Broadcast Facilities to "to provide full HD network playback" for the aforesaid channel. BFI owns and operates Andrita Media Center, the "largest independent High Definition (HD) digital media facility on the West Coast," and the deal requires that Andrita expand its HD network playback center "to support the origination of the Hallmark Movie Channel's extensive original and library movie content in HD on a 24 / 7 basis." Unfortunately, we haven't a clue if this is the puzzle piece we've been waiting for to swap out stretch-o-vision content with authentic high-def material, but surely it can't hurt matters.
France 2 isn't the only network gearing up to undergo an HD upgrade to its studios, as Saudi TV has just awarded Harris a contract to freshen up its Dammam facility. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture & Information has tapped Harris for a fourth time in order to construct a facility packing a pair of HD studio control rooms for news and production. Furthermore, the project "marks the first Middle East application of the Harris Intrinsic Mirroring SAN-based fault tolerance technology, the latest advance in NEXIO server storage protection." Sadly, there's no timeframe given for when residents of the area can look forward to seeing a difference from the upgrade, but rest assured, it's on the way.
Though quite a bit of broadcast news is flowing from the States right about now, Thomson is out boasting of its involvement with France 2's forthcoming HD upgrades. The "first public television broadcaster" in France has indeed chosen Thomson to construct a new high-definition facility (studio and control room) in Paris, which will set the network back a cool $3.1 million. Reportedly, the new France 2 HD project will include system design, installation, staff training and around the clock customer service. Among the new equipment is a pair of Kayak HD video production switchers and a Trinix HD router -- both of which should be well-oiled and ready to rock when the studio goes on-air by late August.







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