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Snell & Wilcox’s MediaX at the Heart of Vector3’s “Evolution” Broadcast Playout Server

Vector3 announces the release of flagship server “Evolution” aimed at multichannel broadcast playout, newsroom and production environments

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Amsterdam (IBC), September 10, 2004 — Vector3, manufacturer of the VectorBox family of servers for television broadcast production and transmission, announced today that it has released to market its flagship product “V-Server Evolution” based on the Snell & Wilcox MediaX high-bandwidth PCI platform, IBM servers and GPFS (General Parallel File System).

V-Server Evolution is designed to be more robust, better quality and more scaleable than any other solution that could have been built in the past on a PCI platform. Built using IBM’s X345 server solutions and the GPFS file system, it offers the best in IT technology, including scalability and redundancy that can meet the needs of any broadcast environment regardless of size. 

MediaX, a high-bandwidth dual-channel PCI card, allows equipment manufacturers to work with off-the-shelf generic PC components—resulting in lower hardware costs for end users. Its advanced features include dual simultaneous encoding and/or decoding of the most-widely used formats of MPEG-2, including D-10; up to eight channels of 24-bit, 48-kHz audio; high-speed, multiple graphic frame buffers for CG/Logo support; real-time MXF encoding, decoding and legacy file format-ready SDK; professional SDI, SDTI-CP and ASI/DVB digital I/O; and instantaneous CODEC response.

“For Vector3, it is a dream to work hand-to-hand with a company such as Snell & Wilcox,” says Roman Ceano, Vector3 general manager. “Once we knew the company was developing new computer-based broadcast technology, we got on board enthusiastically. I am happy to say that MediaX has fulfilled our expectations — it is a natural offspring when Snell & Wilcox’s vast knowledge of broadcast is embodied in one of the industry’s most advanced technology trends.”
 
Joe Zaller, Snell & Wilcox Vice President of Marketing and Product Management, noted that there are lots of changes going on in the professional broadcast and production industries: “The jump to digital, HD and network-centric environments makes it very difficult for any broadcaster or production house to stay on top of technology, especially when trying to merge IT and professional broadcast. When companies like Vector3, IBM and Snell & Wilcox can focus on delivering the solution and taking away the uncertainty and guesswork, customers come out on top with a solution they know they can trust,” he said.

IBC visitors can see VectorBox Evolution running on the MediaX platform in the Snell & Wilcox booth, the Vector3 booth and in IBM’s GPFS/MXF interoperability demonstration.

ENDS

Vector3 is a leading producer of playout systems and offers a range of broadcast quality products installed and supported in over 400 TV channels worldwide. Vector3 has been working in broadcast since 1984 and the first VectorBox was produced in 1995. Visit www.vectorbox.com for more information.

Press Contact : Andrew J. Hawker, Vector3, Corsega 302 Atic, 08008 Barcelona (Spain) Phone : +34 93 415 12 85 Email: andrew.h@vector3.es.

Snell & Wilcox, the leader in its field, delivers technologies and products that enable television and satellite broadcasters, post production facilities, film makers, and communications professionals to move content seamlessly between analog, digital, high definition and file-based systems and to bridge the world’s multiplicity of line/field and color standards. The company provides switchers and keyers, standards conversion systems, networked infrastructure components, and products for noise reduction, image enhancement and restoration. In business since 1973, Snell & Wilcox maintains its U.S. headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif. and European headquarters in Hampshire, United Kingdom. Additional offices are located in New York, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, and Russia. Visit www.snellwilcox.com for more information.

Americas Press Contact: Laura Schoeggl, Wall Street Communications, Phone: 253-404-0020. Email: laura@wallstreetcom.tv.

EMEA Press Contact: Karen David, Wall Street Communications Europe, Phone: +44 (0) 1865 310422. Email: karen@wallstreetcom.tv.

Snell & Wilcox, Engineering with Vision, Alchemist, Ph.C, Kudos, Magic Dave, IQ Modular, RollCall, RollTrack, Mosalina and Kahuna are all Trade Marks of the Snell & Wilcox Group.