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April 2, 2008
The BBC has commissioned Siemens IT Solutions and Services to design,
build, deliver and manage the technology solution
for its Digital Media Initiative (DMI). The project
is one of the first and largest of its kind in
broadcasting.
Siemens IT Solutions and Services, as the BBC’s
technology partner, has been working with the
Corporation to architect the solution for DMI and select
the key technology vendors. Siemens will now act as the
prime integrator on the project, leading the
service-oriented integration of these components to
deliver a solution that meets the needs of the
Corporation.
DMI is a pan-BBC project, designed to prepare the
Corporation for an on-demand, multiplatform digital
environment and provide a reusable foundation for the
cost-effective delivery of new and emerging
audience-facing services. The solution will support any
asset that the Corporation creates or broadcasts via any
medium, including web, broadband, analogue or digital
terrestrial TV and mobile phone. All content will be
captured, edited, finished and archived using file-based
systems and made available to operators at their desktop
PC.
Key benefits of the initiative will include improved
opportunities for collaborative working and a reduction
in total production costs through the introduction of
end-to-end tapeless workflows. The move from tape to
file-based working will reduce the time and costs
associated with tape-handling activities and give
authorised users access to work-in-progress content from
the point of its inception, regardless of the platform.
The DMI solution will also enable high quality
information about assets to be captured and enhanced
throughout the production process, facilitating the
effective exploitation of that content over the asset’s
lifetime.
The DMI solution is a flexible, component-based
architecture, incorporating:
Digital library - provides core management of all video,
audio and images created by the Corporation and its
suppliers, together with its associated information
(including rights).
Work-in-progress production system - allows producers to
search, view, sort, storyboard and store
work-in-progress content.
Craft edit integration - enables the tapeless transfer
of browse and broadcast quality content and its
associated metadata from the work-in-progress
environment to a mix of Avid and Apple non-linear
editing systems for finishing.
Portal solution - custom-designed user interface
providing users with secure access to the functionality
provided by the underlying solutions.
Enterprise services - to manage the effective movement
of media essence across the network and allow content to
be transformed into the required formats.
Bundle and package - to support the sharing of essence
and metadata across platforms and with any requesting
system e.g. web publishing/playout.
The solution utilizes Siemens’ expertise in Digital
Production and Digital Libraries, bringing together a
combination of industry-standard solutions from Artesia,
Cinegy, Marquis, Rhozet and Signiant. This flexible,
best-of-breed approach means that loosely coupled
components can be added or updated as required, without
disrupting the overall solution or workflows. The
architecture will therefore be able to evolve and take
advantage of new technologies as they emerge.
Clark MacFarlane, Managing Director at Siemens IT
Solutions and Services, said: “The technology and
services we are providing for DMI represent another
example of the innovation that we are bringing to the
broadcasting industry. We are pleased to be supporting
one of the major UK players in their plans for tapeless
production.”
Elisabetta Castiglioni, EVP of the Global Media Business
within Siemens, commented: “This is a highly complex
ground breaking project that we believe will set the
standard fo collaborative
digital production and content management.
Siemens IT Solutions and Services is an
internationally leading provider of IT solutions and
services. It covers the entire IT service chain from a
single source, from consulting to system integration,
right through to the management of IT infrastructures.
In addition, Siemens IT Solutions and Services extends
the range of offerings of the Siemens sectors to include
software developments and IT solutions. With its
comprehensive know-how and industry-specific knowledge,
Siemens IT Solutions and Services provides measurable
added value for its customers. The Siemens division
employs around 43,000 people and posted annual sales of
about 5.4 billion euros in fiscal year 2007, of which
some 70 percent are generated outside of Siemens. More
information at:
www.siemens.com/it-solutions.
For more information contact:
Gabrielle Williamson 01276 696454
Alistair Appleton 01276 690221 |
