Omneon Spectrum server system supports leading Middle Eastern music channels Mazzika and Zoom TV

"We opted to expand our existing Omneon Spectrum system because we wanted to protect the integrity of Mazzika and Zoom playout, and improve the handling and storage of our media," said Maged S. Habib, broadcast manager at Mazzika and Zoom TV. "We were able to add onto our existing system without shutting down our server or interrupting valuable on-air
programming. The ability to expand the system so easily and integrate it with third-party applications will simplify any future expansion of the system to accommodate additional playout channels."

The Spectrum system at Mazzika and Zoom now handles ingest of clips and playout of Zoom. Once content for Mazzika is ingested from the facility's legacy server system, the Omneon server system will take on playout for both channels. Newly added Omneon modules provide redundancy, guaranteeing nonstop broadcasts even during upgrades or in the unlikely event that the main systems fail. An e-mail-based alerting system built into the Spectrum server system has allowed engineers to isolate and address any problems at an early stage before it can cause an off-air situation.

The Omneon Spectrum architecture allows Mazzika and Zoom to ingest material once and play it out on multiple channels simultaneously. Previously, the broadcaster worked with multiple versions of media on its capture, playout, and backup servers, so the ability to maintain all media on a single storage platform has saved significant space on the facility's shared storage system. In addition to more efficient storage capability, the expanded system has given Mazzika and Zoom the ability to shift from analog audio broadcasting to higher-quality digital audio broadcasts.

"The Spectrum media server is designed to provide the simple scalability and efficiency broadcasters require for effective and stable playout operations," said Geoff Stedman, vice president of worldwide marketing for Omneon. "The expansion of the Spectrum server system at Mazzika and Zoom demonstrates how easily Omneon systems can accommodate the incremental growth typical of successful broadcast facilities."