SABC takes graphics production on the road with Pixel Power Clarity

Pixel Power has delivered a further four Clarity graphics systems to South African national broadcaster SABC. The graphics workstations will be used in the broadcaster’s fleet of outside broadcast trucks, matching the capabilities to the studios in Johannesburg which already have eight Clarity systems.

Standardising on Pixel Power Clarity across the full range of SABC’s creative capabilities makes it easy for designers to create common looks and develop imaginative graphics without concerns about technical limitations. The common platform also allows staff to move freely between studios and remote operations, making operations more flexible and increasing opportunities for operators and artists to work on a wider range of programmes.

The contract, negotiated by Pixel Power’s South African distributor Zimele Broadcasting Solutions, includes integration, training and development services alongside the supply of hardware and software. The new Clarity units were installed in the outside broadcast trucks in time for coverage of the South African elections in May 2014, allowing the broadcaster to use common templates across the whole of the output.

“Clarity gives us creative freedom, but also simple and secure operation which is critical on a live outside broadcast,” said Mervin Buthelezi, technical manager for outside broadcasts at SABC. “We got fed up with borrowing a Clarity from the studios when we needed one, so we bought one for each of our big trucks. We know we can count on Pixel Power to keep us on air.”