RadiantGrid and PBS Select Elemental Server Technology to Support Broadcast Video Distribution
Elemental Server to provide faster-than-real-time video encoding for file-based delivery of PBS broadcast content via the RadiantGrid Platform
Portland, Oregon(29 Mar 2011)
Elemental Technologies, the leading provider of video processing solutions that enable multi-screen content delivery, and RadiantGrid, the developer of leading-edge transcoding, transformation, and new media automation service platforms, today announced that PBS will use Elemental Server video processing technology with RadiantGrid's media delivery platform to support PBS' Next Generation Interconnection System (NGIS) non-real-time (NRT) broadcast video file delivery project.
PBS stations currently receive broadcast transmissions in real time via satellite. Elemental Server features faster-than-real-time video processing that RadiantGrid will leverage within the RadiantGrid TrueGrid transcoding solution component of the PBS NGIS Stations Services Platform to convert and deliver file-based broadcast content to 180 PBS licensees. This combination of technology is one of the aspects that make it feasible for PBS to shift transmission of broadcast content to non-real-time.
"As PBS moves to a file-based delivery system, it is critical we maximize the efficiency of our distribution of broadcast content, ensure flexibility in our file formats and have sufficient processing power to make content available for our member stations," said Jerry Butler, senior director of PBS Interconnection Replacement Office. "By adding Elemental's accelerated video compression to its media delivery platform, RadiantGrid provides transcoded content reliably and efficiently in a package universally accessible across our network."
Integrating Elemental Server technology with RadiantGrid in PBS' edge servers will also provide a platform for the conversion of H.264 content to an MPEG-2 file format. Elemental Server uses graphics processors to perform the heavy lifting during the video encoding process, dramatically accelerating video conversion, reducing costs, and generating a higher return on investment from the broadcast delivery infrastructure.
"We are excited to work with RadiantGrid to implement our video compression engine in PBS stations across the country," said Sam Blackman, CEO and chairman of Elemental Technologies. "By transcoding source content in a parallel fashion using off-the-shelf hardware, Elemental Server software dramatically reduces the time and cost to generate the content PBS supplies its member stations."
"RadiantGrid strives to harness the most powerful, efficient and reliable transcoding resources in our media delivery solutions," said Kirk Marple, president and chief software architect of RadiantGrid Technologies. "With the incorporation of Elemental's GPU-accelerated transcoding technology into RadiantGrid's TrueGrid transcoding architecture, customers will experience the joint benefits of faster-than-real-time performance by parallelizing the transcoding process across the GPU as well as across the cores of PBS NGIS Filestore."
About Elemental
Elemental Technologies is the leading provider of video processing solutions that enable multi-screen content delivery. The company's award-winning products help content programmers, service providers and broadcasters bring video to any screen, at any time - all at once. Seven of the top ten media companies in the United States, including CBS, Disney and PBS, rely on unmatched solutions from Elemental. Founded in 2006, Elemental is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. To learn more, visit www.elementaltechnologies.com and follow us on Twitter @elementaltech.