To add HD capability without substantially changing established operations, Thomson’s systems team installed a four-channel HD K2 Media Server alongside the existing SD system based on Grass Valley Profile servers. The new K2 server and supporting equipment were integrated with the existing automation system so that the additional channel could be operated without extra effort.
“To support ARD, we had to expand the existing Potsdam playout centre for HD transmission,” says ARD Technical Project Manager Boris Götze. “The two challenges were completing the expansion without disrupting ongoing standard-definition services and designing, installing and commissioning the HD system in only ten weeks.”
Götze says the integration included monitoring and quality-control systems. The automation system was also extended to incorporate the HDTV channel without interrupting existing services.
Patrick Montliaud, Senior Vice President of Thomson’s Integration and Networking Solutions business unit, says the project demonstrated that HDTV could be added to an existing playout workflow without disruption and within a tight deadline. ARD and ZDF had announced plans to begin HDTV programming in 2010.
The HDTV presentation was intended to show consumers HD productions during IFA in Berlin. Programming was transmitted through EinsFestival, ARD’s digital channel for cultural programmes, documentaries, music and films. It was the first public HDTV broadcast by a German public-service broadcaster and also tested the complete playout and transmission chain.
