Sky Deutschland records and stores recordings of its broadcasts with Mediaproxy

Mediaproxy has supplied its LogServer logging platform to Sky Germany to replace a previous recording setup for its sports channels located at its production center in Unterföhring, near Munich.

Sky Deutschland broadcasts 22 sports channels in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, including a sports news service and dedicated coverage of the German and Austrian Bundesliga, as well as European and international events. In all of this you have the legal responsibility to record your production for the purposes of compliance with regulations.

Since the system being used for this had reached the end of its useful life and was no longer receiving support, the chain began looking not only for a replacement, but also for something to improve what was used before. After seeing what was available on the market, Sky Deutschland chose LogServer because it offers the improved functionality and the new features that were needed, as well as fitting into the strategy of IP based architecture by Sky.

As a new user of Mediaproxy's technology, Sky Deutschland worked with the platform provider to ensure that it would be possible to use its existing mezzanine distribution flows for inputs into LogServer. For this purpose, a plug-in was developed that allowed Sky to use its As-Run records to log recordings made to LogServer. This was done to make it easier for system users to search, record and extract recordings of the events they are looking for.

Gerd Riedel, head of graphics development at Sky Sport Deutschland, notes that "the ability to set up enterprise-wide single sign-on also helped us register users and connect them to the system securely. Overall we found LogServer extremely easy to use, with a simple interface and the ability to search and view auxiliary data such as subtitles and SCTE messages. Additionally, the licensing model allows us to have an unlimited number of users with 'Active Directory' for login. From the point of view From a technical point of view, the system offers good encoding quality at low bit rates.”

For its part, Erik Otto, CEO of Mediaproxy, adds, "We are delighted to have Sky Deutschland as a new LogServer customer. They had very specific recording and logging requirements, and we were pleased to work with them to ensure all their technical and compliance needs were met."