Imagine helps Fiji TV upgrade for news
Details
Rebecca Hawkes
| 11 April 2018

Fiji Television has upgraded its news operations during a studio switch, with Imagine Communications video servers and storage, and Apple editing tools.

The transition had to be achieved without Fiji TV’s newsgathering, transmission and on-air broadcasts being interrupted.

“Our requirements were for a new, contemporary platform that would enable Fiji One to grow and enhance the premium news services we provide to our viewers, but without compromising the key operational workflows that our news and technical teams rely on today,” said Karen Lobendahn, CEO, Fiji TV.

“We needed a technology partner capable of assisting with this transition within extremely tight deadlines, as well as implementing a new platform that we could use immediately, with no downtime, and with minimal training overhead.”

Imagine Communications provided four Nexio+ AMP HD video servers and Versio IOX SAN high-performance online shared storage, running as software instances on standard Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) servers. Imagine also provided Fibre Channel switches and a Platinum VX router for baseband switching. The new network also includes a Nexio NLE Gateway server to allow full integration of Apple Final Cut Pro editing tools.

Joe Khodeir, Imagine Communication’s vice president of sales for Australia, said: “Our solution runs on industry-standard IT hardware, which delivers real cost savings and forms the basis for future migration to next-generation playout systems like Versio Platform.

“It is also ready for other future enhancements like IP connectivity, yet looks and feels familiar to Fiji One’s operational staff. Using industry-standard equipment helped us to build the new facility ahead of time – despite seasonally inclement weather and construction delays.”

Fiji One broadcasts major live bulletins at midday and 6pm every day, along with regular news updates throughout the day.