PlayBox Technology has supplied HD playout equipment for the 24/7 BravaHDTV channel in the Netherlands. The initial launch is on cable with a satellite service due to start late this summer.
The content is supplied on HDCAM tapes in 1080/50i. A CaptureBox HD ingests the 1080/50i material and stores it in MPEG-2 format. An AirBox HD provides playout facilities; a TitleBox HD adds graphics and captions; and SubtitleBox HD provides live subtitles. The HD-SDI output from the AirBox HD is coded by a TANDBERG 8090 HD MPEG-4 encoder to ASI for distribution to the digital transmission platform.
BravaHDTV is a 24/7 cultural broadcaster with offerings including opera, operetta, ballet, choral works, concerts and documentaries all shown in HD with Dolby Surround audio. The station debuted on July 2 on the CAIW HD cable network in the Netherlands and can be received with a DVB-C HD set-top box. At the end of Q3 2007, the channel will also transmit via satellite from CanalDigitaal.
For more information, visit www.playbox.tv.
