e.tv, South Africa Continues With Omneon

Omneon, Inc. announced that e.tv, South Africa’s only privately owned, free-to-air terrestrial television channel, has purchased two Omneon Spectrum media server systems, one to add capacity to the existing Spectrum server in e.tv’s 24-hour news production operation, and one to provide on-air ingest and playout.

"As a longtime Omneon customer, we elected to use Spectrum servers for our expanding operations because of their signature reliability and resilience in mission-critical environments," said Dave Stewart, e.tv chief engineer. "Additionally, Omneon offers outstanding installation and technical support."

e.tv, South Africa’s only privately owned, free-to-air terrestrial television channel, has purchased two Omneon Spectrum media server systems, one to add capacity to the existing Spectrum server in e.tv’s 24-hour news production operation, and one to provide on-air ingest and playout.

At e.tv, the Spectrum playout server is under the direction of Harris automation while the Spectrum news production server interfaces with Apple Final Cut Pro for editing, and a Dalet newsroom computer system (NRCS). Adaptable to playout, production, and archive applications, the Spectrum system is the media industry’s most scalable, reliable, and cost-effective video server and storage infrastructure.

Launched in 1998, e.tv by 2001 had become the largest English-language station in South Africa and second-largest broadcaster in the country, a position it retains with current viewership at about 11.9 million. Its best-known programs include local series such as Scandal, Rhythm City, The Showbiz Report, and Biggest Loser SA. eNews, the broadcaster’s flagship news program, is the most viewed English-language news in South Africa.

"e.tv was a visionary when it adapted file-based workflows for news production with Final Cut Pro and Spectrum servers," said Geoff Stedman, senior vice president of products and markets at Omneon. "Clearly it has proven to be a good choice, as the channel continues to expand its Spectrum system as its business grows."