TVBI Brings Programming Worldwide from Hong Kong with Digital Rapids Encoding and Delivery Solutions

HONG KONG, Aug. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Rapids announced today that TVBI Company Limited (TVBI) – the worldwide operating arm of Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), one of the world's largest producers and distributors of Chinese-language programming – is using a complete range of Digital Rapids solutions to power sophisticated media processing and delivery workflows for bringing TVB content to viewers and distribution partners on four continents. The systems span the critical points in TVBI's workflows including encoding, transcoding, live streaming and business-to-business content delivery.

The Digital Rapids solutions enable TVBI's workflow to provide content from three of TVB's live broadcast channels to a major IPTV provider in Singapore for VOD distribution, with the original Hong Kong advertising and copyright content removed. Five Digital Rapids solutions – StreamZ™ studio encoding systems, the Digital Rapids Broadcast Manager® multi-encoder management software, the Digital Rapids Transcode Manager® automated transcoding software, the MediaMesh™ content delivery system and the Digital Rapids C2® media delivery software – enable a powerful end-to-end workflow from ingest through delivery. Automated captures of the live feeds are encoded into a mezzanine format. The encoded files are reviewed for quality assurance, and existing advertisements and copyright content are marked for removal. The resulting edited playlists are then transcoded into final deliverable files and transferred over an IP network to the distribution partner in Singapore.

In a separate initiative, the Digital Rapids C2 delivery software is used to transfer media files between locations in Hong Kong, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore, with a goal of minimizing the usage of previous delivery methods which ship tapes or transfer via satellite.

TVBI also leverages Digital Rapids' live streaming capabilities. Additional StreamZ encoders are used to stream live programming including Hong Kong stock market coverage for viewing in the United Kingdom and the United States.

"We're pleased that TVBI has chosen our solutions to power the workflows for some of their most important new initiatives," said Clive Vickery, Managing Director, EMEA and Asia at Digital Rapids. "Our comprehensive solutions for transforming and delivering media provide powerful benefits both individually and when integrated together to form sophisticated workflows with unparalleled efficiency. TVBI's projects are a great example of how our systems help customers capitalize on new opportunities, streamline their operations and reduce their costs."

StreamZ encoding systems provide superior quality, flexibility and performance for transforming media for applications from post production and archive to multi-screen live and on-demand distribution. The Digital Rapids Broadcast Manager software provides enterprise-class automation, scheduling, monitoring and fault tolerance for managing multiple encoders. Digital Rapids Transcode Manager combines outstanding quality, intelligent automation and exceptional performance for transcoding high volumes of media between dozens of formats. Digital Rapids C2 transfers media and data files securely and reliably to multiple destinations with a tremendous speed advantage over standard protocols like FTP. The MediaMesh content delivery system combines C2 transfer technology with flexible, full-featured receiving appliances, providing faster and easier exchange of media files between content providers, contributors, aggregators and distribution partners with significant cost savings.

The complete range of Digital Rapids solutions for transforming and delivering media will be showcased in booth number 7.G41 at the IBC 2011 exhibition, September 9-13 in Amsterdam. For more information about Digital Rapids, please visit www.digitalrapids.com.

About Digital Rapids Corporation – Digital Rapids provides the leading hardware and software solutions for transforming and delivering media, enabling the multi-platform experiences that are changing how audiences view content. Scaling from standalone appliances to global workflows, Digital Rapids solutions enable media professionals to maximize their productivity, quality, and the value of their content. Recipient of a coveted IBC Innovation Award and four prestigious Frost & Sullivan honors for encoding and transcoding leadership, Digital Rapids combines innovative technology with proven expertise to help our customers expand their audiences, increase their media revenues and reduce their costs. Digital Rapids Corporation (www.digitalrapids.com) is headquartered in Ontario, Canada with offices in the United States, the UK, Australia, Argentina and Hong Kong.

Copyright 2011 Digital Rapids Corporation. All rights reserved. Digital Rapids, the Digital Rapids logo, StreamZ, Digital Rapids Broadcast Manager, Digital Rapids Transcode Manager, Digital Rapids C2 and MediaMesh are trademarks or registered trademarks of Digital Rapids Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.

SOURCE Digital Rapids Corporation