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Overseas Media Selects Snell & Wilcox IQ Modular Infrastructure Solutions and Networked Management for Expansive New Facility

Russian language network, RTVI, installs IQ Modular systems with integrated standards converters and RollCall infrastructure management

New York, February 28, 2003 -- Snell & Wilcox today announced that Overseas Media and its television network RTVI has purchased a wide range of Snell & Wilcox distribution equipment, standards converters and production switchers for its expansive new broadcast and production facility in New York City. An abundance of Snell & Wilcox IQ Modular intelligent infrastructure solutions housing a variety of IQ modules for distribution, analogue to digital and digital to analogue conversion, encoding, decoding and audio embedding and de-embedding, will be installed at the site.

The majority of the facility's 12 Kudos Plus CVR series standards converters are integrated into the IQ Modular systems for PAL to NTSC conversion and vice versa, and a Snell & Wilcox RollCall Infrastructure Management system establishes a networked control and monitoring system throughout the facility.

RTVI broadcasts five channels of programming in Russian via cable, satellite and ATM to viewers in North America, Europe, North Africa, Australia and Israel. In operation since 1997, Overseas Media recently relocated to a much larger facility in the SoHo section of New York City to keep pace with the company's growth. The new facility's infrastructure is entirely SDI. RTVI still broadcasts analogue signals to North America and other regions, but its output to Europe is exclusively digital via ATM fibre circuits.

The network also installed a Snell & Wilcox Magic DaVE production switcher/DVE in its production control room and a SwitchPack4 standard definition switcher in one of its three production edit suites to assist in the production of RTVI's eight daily world-wide newscasts.

According to Julius Feinstein, Director of Broadcast Operations and Engineering for Overseas Media, the company selected Snell & Wilcox due to the high quality of its products, space requirements and centralised operation. "The Snell & Wilcox IQ Modular systems provide a very compact solution for a variety of applications," said Feinstein. "The IQ systems are loaded with features integral to RTVI broadcasts. By tying in the RollCall management system, we have a single point of management that allows us to fine-tune and adjust settings with ease."

Feinstein added, "In our discussions with our systems integrator, AF Associates, we made it clear that we would not trust anyone other than Snell & Wilcox for standards conversions. The integration of the CVR standards converters into the IQ Modular system allows us to do conversions on the fly, and even when transported back and forth between this facility and overseas, the signals are unbelievably clean."

More than 20 IQ Modular Enclosures, the frames that house the separate modules, are installed throughout RTVI's Manhattan-based facility. Each enclosure is equipped to accept additional modules as Overseas Media continues to expand. The company is in the process of installing a Snell & Wilcox RollMap Schematic Viewer to expand its RollCall Infrastructure Management network. RollMap is a PC-based software application that provides for real-time control and monitoring via a Graphical User Interface, customised to the end-user's requirements.

David Cunningham, Press Relations Manager, Snell & Wilcox, Southleigh Park, Southleigh Park House, Havant, Hampshire, UK PO9 2PE, UK
Tel: +44 23 9248 9144
Email: david.cunningham@snellwilcox.com