Sky Sports opts for Quantel's Enterprise sQ production system

Seven multi-resolution sQ servers with 1,500 hours of storage and eighty-four sQ journalist editors will be the heart of the new Harlequin 1 facility from which Sky Sports News will be produced. The newsroom will also integrate Final Cut Pro editors operating under the same workflow.

The English broadcaster Sky has chosen Quantel to integrate its technology into the new Harlequin 1 megacomplex from where Sky Sports News will be produced. The heart of the workflow will be seven multi-resolution sQ servers, eighty-four sQ Cut journalist editing stations and three sQ Edit Plus advanced level editors. The newsroom will also integrate two Final Cut Pro systems operating together with Quantel in the same workflow.

The system allows any input, from simple viewing quality video to HD, providing broadcast outputs in SD and HD, in addition to new distribution formats for mobile phones and PDAs. Enterprise sQ incluso puede mezclar SD y HD en un mismo clip y reproducirlo inmediatamente en cualquier formato.

Darren Long, head of operations at Sky Sports, commented that "with the demand for up-to-the-second updates as happens in sporting events, in which several events often take place at the same time, sports writing is a real challenge for both journalists and editors and, logically, for the systems they use. We chose the Quantel solution, as it is the fastest and most efficient system in order to add value to the real-time production of constantly updated information. Equally important, it is also very easy to learn and use, a fundamental issue for our staff in such a fast-paced environment.”

Por su parte, Martin Mulligan, director de ventas y marketing en Quantel ha añadido que “Sky Sports News establece un nivel alto en su exigencia de respuesta muy rápido en las imágenes de alta calidad, y también en su necesidad de que el sistema sea capaz de apoyar la futura evolución y crecimiento que Sky Sports News demandará en su innovación continua. Nuestros sistemas de producción basados en servidor se han diseñado para satisfacer tales exigencias, y la decisión de Sky Sports News optando por Quantel demuestra que, evidentemente, lo hemos logrado”.