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Snell & Wilcox MPEG Mastering System Optimizes Content Management Efficiency

Mastering and repurposing system reduces operational costs for content owners with maximum storage efficiency

Las Vegas, Nevada, NAB 2003, Booth C2860 -- The ingest of material is the first stage of any new IT-based broadcast/video facility infrastructure. The ingest process offers a unique opportunity to optimize content and add metadata, transforming that content into a valuable asset.

At NAB 2003, Snell & Wilcox will introduce a high-end MPEG mastering and re-purposing system that enables content owners to generate maximum value from their audio-visual material. Designed for file-based content creation, storage, quality control and re-purposing, the system includes the company's "Ingest Station" mastering encoder, "Mosalina" quality control software and a "Smart File" transcoder.

Ingest Station incorporates the most advanced Snell & Wilcox developments in multi-standard SD/HD MPEG mastering, including SMPTE recoding data and two Emmy-award winning technologies: Prefix MPEG pre-processing and Ph.C motion compensation. Optimized for storage efficiency and image quality, Ingest Station operates on the principle: "master once - re-purpose many."

In operation it creates a file incorporating both content and technical metadata, including SMPTE UMID, which references the content to business and legal databases. Automated quality control devices and a simple control workstation guarantee faster turn-around by reducing the need for manual intervention.

According to Francois Abbé, Snell & Wilcox Product Manager, MPEG: "Content managers are in need of a complete content mastering and re-purposing system that not only uses the latest MPEG technology, but provides a variety of other useful functions. The open interface of the Ingest Station, with storage, playout and post-production systems, makes it a Media Asset Management (MAM) friendly solution. Importantly, the Ingest Station is also MXF-ready."

The "Smart File" transcoder is a software solution designed to port any MPEG-2 master to a different format. It is qualified as "smart" because it uses Snell & Wilcox MOLE™ technology to ensure optimum quality of the output file and increase processing speed by re-using MPEG-2 coding data.

The MPEG Mastering System works with a variety of video, audio and file formats in standard and high definition. It is well suited for all ingest applications, including play-out from servers and archival for long-term storage.

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