Abu Dhabi Media upgrades facilities with IP roadmap planned

January 19, 2018

1 minute read

Ahmed Al-Menhali, director of projects at Abu Dhabi Media, pointed out that the direction of technology is moving away from hardware to software-defined solutions, and the concept of software-defined technology will benefit the industry.

New installation supports end-to-end broadcast chain, with support for IP connectivity to meet next wave of technology change

Abu Dhabi Media, a media company operating in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, has been relying on Imagine Communications’ technology for the playout of 15 HD channels at its central technical facilities.

As part of its facility upgrade, Abu Dhabi Media has again selected Imagine to design a technology platform that has the flexibility to update to meet changing market demands.

The system currently supports baseband/SDI, but is future-proofed to incorporate IP connectivity, as well as the support for 4K/Ultra HD (UHD), high dynamic range (HDR), and other potential technical developments. The hybrid architecture supports a mix of on-premises and cloud-ready solutions, including Imagine’s Broadcast Master and xG Schedule for traffic and programme scheduling.

Last year, both companies worked together and implemented a proof-of-concept cloud playout system for disaster recovery in cooperation with du Media Cloud.

Declaring that the direction of technology is moving towards software-defined solutions and away from hardware, Ahmed Al-Menhali, director of projects at Abu Dhabi Media, stressed that the concept of software-defined technology benefits everyone in the industry.

Abu Dhabi Media has elected to make a managed transition to IP, primarily to protect its investment in legacy equipment. Al-Menhali elaborated: “We have the HD-SDI infrastructure in place, and we intend to continue with this infrastructure for routing until we decide to move on, perhaps to some form of 4K/UHD.

“The important thing is that what we are building now will survive the coming four or five years, but is capable of shifting the underlying routing from SDI to IP without changing anything else.”