BBC Technology has expanded its monitoring software agreement with DirecTV, the multichannel direct-to-home satellite (DTH) service.
According to the terms of the agreement, BBC Technology will provide its Colledia Control monitoring software to remotely manage the broadcast infrastructure that will span DirecTV’s two new remote uplink facilities being built in Oakdale, Minn. and Winchester, Va.
The upgrade will expand DirecTV’s local channel distribution from 61 cities in the U.S. to more than 100 by year end. The project is due for completion by the end of 2003. The new deal extends the scale of the installation to one of the most complex and comprehensive monitoring and control systems yet implemented by any broadcaster.
The two new uplink facilities will be an extension of DirecTV’s existing up-link infrastructure, currently co-located at broadcast facilities in Castle Rock, Colo. and Los Angeles, Calif. While the two new facilities will be managed remotely from the Castle Rock broadcast facility, the Minnesota-based and Virginia-based uplink facilities will enable the service provider to reach cities such as Rochester, N.Y.; Santa Barbara, Calif.; Tulsa, Okla. and Wilmington, N.C.
Colledia Control will enable DirecTV to monitor the remotely located facilities as well as the quality of the signals being received and transmitted across the service’s more widely distributed coverage areas.
Colledia Control was first implemented to enable DirecTV to remotely monitor a capacity of almost 400 channels from point-of-acquisition to uplink, while continuing to monitor the quality of the downlink. It’s a software-based product that enables an individual operator to manage equipment across an entire broadcast operation, bringing total management from a single, touch-screen interface. The product is designed to manage a variety of both contemporary and legacy broadcast equipment, irrespective of manufacturer. Running on standard PCs, it allows an operator to take charge of operations, from content acquisition to distribution, controlling and monitoring a complete routing process from a single desktop.
For more information, visit www.bbctechnology.com.