Discovery streamlines worldwide media file distribution with Signiant
Feb 3, 2009 11:44 AM
Discovery Communications has selected Signiant’s Content Distribution Management software to orchestrate collaboration between its origination and post-production facilities and to accelerate and manage file transfer workflow worldwide.
Discovery is using Signiant's CDM to make its post-production process more efficient and cost-effective for popular existing series and upcoming premiere programming, including “Jockeys” on Animal Planet, “Treasure Quest” on Discovery Channel and “Count Down to the Crown” on TLC.
As Discovery moves more toward file-based workflows, a reliable management and distribution system capable of high throughput has became important. The Signiant deployment involved two areas: support of heavy asset transfer of SD and HD content and support of Discovery's low-res proxy solution, referred to as the digital media center.
Signiant's CDM integrates with Discovery's extensive library to make its assets viewable worldwide across the entire company and to outside partners. The deployment for the DMC supports 8000 users, with an estimated 250 on the site concurrently uploading and downloading files at any given time. The DMC stores digital assets, such as videos and stills, related to Discovery productions, enabling users to search for and retrieve digital assets while collaborating on productions and repurposing content.
Through open APIs, Discovery integrated Signiant with its current media management solution to simplify various workflow processes. The solution streamlines the management, automation and security of digital assets requiring transfer to Discovery's various distribution facilities in Sterling, VA; Miami, FL; London; and Singapore.
To move low-resolution assets, Discovery previously used an in-house file transfer solution that was similar to Signiant's offering. However, the company ultimately deferred to Signiant's domain expertise in WAN software, automation of workflow and bandwidth throttling, enabling a more efficient process to transfer both SD and HD assets. Discovery estimates that it has seen a 700 to 800 percent improvement in file transfer rate over 1GB LAN since implementing Signiant’s solution.
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