The BBC opts for Omneon MediaGrid, EVS XTAccess and Avid ISIS for London 2012

BBC Sport, the sports division of the BBC, will use Harmonic's Omneon MediaGrid active storage system together with EVS servers and Avid solutions for the live broadcast of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

BBC Sport is to install an Omneon MediaGrid storage system from Harmonic at the International Broadcast Center (IBC) as part of the rapid delivery workflow of sports content in support of the networks broadcasting the London 2012 Olympic Games. Hyperactive and Dega Broadcast Systems are already working to install the MediaGrid, which will provide 3,500 hours of active storage.

Installed in Stratford, London, as part of an integrated live production solution incorporating servers EVSThe MediaGrid storage system will provide efficient, highly available storage optimized for media.

During the Games, sports competitions will be recorded on EVS servers for basic recording, playback and editing. The content will also be transmitted by the MediaGrid through EVS XTAccess, with high resolution and proxy files stored on the MediaGrid. In addition to allowing numerous simultaneous ingests, the system will allow production staff to search and view a proxy version of images using EVS IP scanning clients.

The MediaGrid system will work in conjunction with a Avid ISIS and a Media Composer editing solution to produce chronicles, highlight summaries and newsletters. The EVS and Avid plugins will make it easy to find, import and export functions, ensuring that the final content is delivered to the appropriate destination or EVS playout server.

Geoff Stedman, Managing Director of Harmonic's Storage Solutions Division, said: "BBC Sport needed the bandwidth that the MediaGrid storage system offers to support the production of a fast workflow that will play a significant role in the broadcast of the 2012 Summer Olympics. We have worked closely with the BBC to ensure we are meeting their short and long-term needs and have brought on board other key players such as Hyperactive. Broadcast and Dega Broadcast Systems, who will contribute to the success of this historic event.”