SuperSport Host First Harris Platinum IP3 Installation
South African satellite broadcaster SuperSport has become the first to install the Platinum IP3 router, supplied by Harris Broadcast’s South African dealer, Concilium Technologies, as part of a complete package of Harris Broadcast infrastructure equipment.
The Harris Broadcast Platinum router was the first to offer genuine dual-path routing, allowing video and audio to be contained in the same device without losing signal paths. The Platinum IP3 takes that to the next level, incorporating data as well to offer triple-path routing. The internal architecture is designed to allow expansion at any time without taking the router out of service; cards can be added and additional chassis connected without affecting on-air performance.
The integrated Platinum IP3 router for SuperSport includes HView SX Pro multiviewers used extensively across displays in the facility. The complete installation also features Harris Broadcast Magellan router-control panels and the CCS Navigator network design, control, and monitoring system, along with Harris Broadcast signal-processing and interfacing equipment, including the Selenio media-convergence platform, 6800+ modular core-processing devices, OPTO+ fiber interfaces and X85 signal-processing units. The contract covers extensions to SuperSport’s existing Harris Broadcast D-Series playout-automation system.
“Our new playout center will initially operate 32 HD channels, but we have an eye on the future, which sees continuing growth and, consequently, a huge rise in the number of signals we need to monitor and route,” says Ian Peacock, systems architect specialist at SuperSport Media Solutions. “We chose the Harris Broadcast Platinum IP3 not just because it gives us the integrated routing and multiviewer functionality we need today but because it will be able to grow as our facility grows, without any interruption to the services our viewers expect. The Platinum IP3 is a unique development in routers, and we are delighted to be the first user because it absolutely meets our requirements.”
Says Harris Broadcast CEO Harris Morris, “We have been very pleased with the strong positive reaction that broadcasters are making to the availability of the new Platinum IP3 router, and I am delighted that SuperSport, a long-time customer of Harris Broadcast, is the first to use the remarkable Platinum IP3 router. Their new playout center is destined to become one of the most sophisticated in the world, and the Platinum IP3 will initially support hundreds of signals in the initial 32-HD-channel infrastructure, with the potential to support thousands of signals through future expansion. We are proud to be at the very heart of this facility, routing, monitoring, processing, and automating all the signals on which the broadcaster depends.”