FOX NE&O moves into HD with Quantel

FOX Networks Engineering & Operations, which provides technology and services to FOX Sports Media Group, has chosen Quantel Enterprise sQ technology to power its expansion. The new HD system will also enable FSMG to cover more events and offer new services, and includes the development of a new jog/shuttle controller.

The new HD system went live back on 11 September, when a total of 37 major sporting events were recorded and broadcast, including 15 NFL games, and a fairly astonishing 12,000+ HD clips were created and published.

The continued expansion into HD will ultimately allow FSMG to cover most of its sports production requirements from a single integrated Quantel platform whether broadcast in SD or HD. This includes the network’s coverage of Major League Baseball, College and NFL Football as well as FSN’s (FOX Sports Net) coverage of multiple sports year round.

The new Enterprise sQ HD equipment includes 50TB of on-line storage, six sQ View and three sQ Edit applications and a further 14 Media Viewers for Dixon loggers. Also, in a joint development with FOX, Quantel has supplied its new sQ Play ‘LiveTouch’ control with integrated jog/shuttle panel for EVS-style control. This provides FOX with the ability to mark, clip and re-play to air action from a game within seconds of it happening.