Harris Corporation wins strategic Kuwait Television archive project

The Kuwait Television archive project will be the first facility of its kind in the region.

Harris Broadcast communications will provide products from across its high-definition (HD) product portfolio, including Harris® NEXIO XS™ servers, the Velocity NX™ editing solution, the award-winning CENTRIO™ broadcast multiviewer, a Platinum™ router, Videotek® TVM-950 test and measurement instruments, the 6800+™ SD/HD video/audio processing and distribution modules, and the CCS Navigator™ control and monitoring application. The company also will provide three members of the H-Class™ media software suite: the ADC™ playout automation application, Invenio® digital asset management system and Intelligent Media Mover™ (IMM) workflow management solution. Gulf Media Company also selected many products from the Harris routing and distribution portfolio for this project.

This agreement marks the first installation of the Harris® Invenio® digital asset management tool in the Middle East. Invenio® provides a suite of software applications for the ingest and management of rich media assets. The system acts as the front end to the workflow engine by providing consolidated metadata that makes it easy to find, utilize, manage and distribute ingested content.

"We went through a rigorous evaluation with a number of key international manufacturers over several years and chose the Harris solution because the company was able to provide an integrated solution to meet our clients' needs," said Ali Al-Elayyan, CEO of Gulf Media Company. "Harris understood the workflow requirements at Kuwait Television, and their ONE approach highlights the company's integrated product offering — a one-stop shop if you will, where we can cherry-pick the best-in-class products to meet the demanding needs of our applications at this facility.

"Another principal reason for selecting Harris is that the company has a locally based, Arabic-speaking engineering team on hand to support our requirements in the region," he added.

Kuwait TV operates three networks and one satellite channel — significant in a country in which satellite dishes are widely used to enable viewers to watch popular pan-Arab broadcasts. The broadcaster offers a variety of locally originated programmes and is well-respected in the region for its coverage of politics, news and current affairs.

This sale was completed through Gulf Media Company, a spin off from Enhanced Engineering & Multi Technologies (EEMC). The new company has expanded its coverage into the broadcast arena, having secured an excellent reputation in the region for providing first-rate turnkey solutions to the IT industry. Gulf Media Company's growth into the broadcast arena has also proved successful with the implementation of a number of key projects for the Ministry of Information at Kuwait Television, including the build-out of a 10-camera Outside Broadcast truck.

Harris Broadcast Communications offers products, systems and services that provide interoperable workflow solutions that span the entire broadcast delivery chain. The Harris ONE approach brings together highly integrated and cost-effective products that are ideal for emerging media business models and for customers upgrading media operations to digital and high-definition services.