Cairo-based Arab News Agency (ANA) has purchased more than 55 new and upgraded IP video equipment such as TVU One mobile IP transmitters and TVU Transceivers for its newsgathering operations. ANA will use TVU Networks equipment exclusively for all its cellular uplink and video delivery needs, including IP streaming.
ANA is a media production provider in the Middle East that provides media services, including newsgathering and distribution, to broadcasters in the Middle East and North Africa. TVU Networks’ equipment reseller in the Middle East, Broadcast & Studio Solutions (BSS), coordinated the sale.
“As a service provider, we need to provide our clients with the latest technology and cost efficiencies,” said Ahmed Sonbol, Deputy General Manager, ANA. “It’s our business to stay on top of the best-performing, most cost-effective technology for our customers. And when you’re shooting and transmitting breaking news 24/7 for those clients, the speed and reliability of your equipment is critical. With that in mind, we knew we needed TVU.”
ANA reportedly conducted a competitive evaluation before switching from its previous cellular uplink providers to exclusively TVU Networks. With TVU Grid-enabled transceivers, ANA will reportedly reduce costs over its previous SNG set up, which required an on-site engineer, technician, camera crew, large amounts of equipment and the procurement of satellite time. With TVU Grid, a broadcaster can take a live video transmission from one location and share it with any number of Grid enabled stations in the world, the company claims. TVU’s Transceivers power TVU Grid.
“With the abilities of our new TVU Grid, we can distribute signals cost effectively, which gives us a real competitive advantage,” said Sonbol. “With our previous system, we had to book time and send a crew, which is expensive. Now, if I have a press conference we’re covering for example, I just need one person with a TVU One unit at the site, send the signal to our TVU Grid, and we distribute it. And we can share that transmission with other clients.”
The TVU One mobile transmitters will be used in the field, delivering video content mainly for ANA’s breaking news and sports coverage. Sonbol points to the units’ HEVC-compatibility as another reason for their selection: “We’ll be upgrading our TVU One’s to HEVC when Egypt completes its network switchover from 3G to 4G. When the 4G switchover is complete, this will be fantastic for us.”
With TVU Grid, a broadcaster can take a live video transmission from one location and share it with any number of Grid enabled stations in the world. TVU Grid reportedly enables stations to take any video source, whether it be a SDI feed, IP video camera, Internet video, or a TVU transmitter and distribute the live video stream to any number of other Grid enabled locations with sub-second latency.
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