Media Links Joins Sports Video Group

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Aug. 22, 2013 - PRLog -- Media Links Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Global Links, has joined the Sports Video Group, the leading association that supports the professional sports community.

 

The Media Links solutions are particularly suited for the sports industry, empowering network and service providers to distribute and transmit all types of content, between venues, to central content hubs, and all the way to the last mile / edge.Regardless of the type of content, whether it’s video, audio and / or data, the Media Links solutions support a wide variety of core network infrastructures. They are also highly scalable and modular, which means the configuration of the system can be matched to the demands of individual applications. Robust redundancy with a hitless operation supports its strength as platform that guarantees quality of service all the way to the edge and the end viewer.

 

The Host Broadcast Services (HBS) recently tapped Media Links, via systems integrator partner, VIDI to provide the Media Links MD8000 HD-SDI over IP transmission technology and solutions to serve all contribution links for the FIFA Confederations Cup.

 

David Herfert, Director of Sales, Media Links Inc. comments: “The Sports Video Group provides us with the ideal platform to work closer with the entire sports industry. It’s a way for us all to share information, work on best practices, and build on standards that will best suite the industry currently and moving forward. We provide a comprehensive suite of solutions that are being used in a number of global high profile sporting events that enable content and network providers to transmit sports content between venues, to broadcasters, mobile OB vans, as well as to the edge.”

 

The newest product in Media Links transport solutions portfolio is the new MD8400, which is targeted at last mile applications and is designed to leverage and further enhance a worldwide installed base of MD8000 series platforms. The MD8000 solutions are known worldwide for driving technological change, and are used globally for the distribution and transmission of content of major events including The World Cup, Super Bowl and the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

 

The MD8400 platform minimizes the costs and challenges experienced when providing high-bandwidth, high availability services, enabling service providers to efficiently deliver content to the end user. The MD8400 is designed to serve smaller locations where only a handful of services are required, allowing service providers to increase their overall return on investment in short order.

 

The MD8400 is a modular, multi-media IP based transport platform designed to interoperate seamlessly with legacy MD8000 core networks.  It offers service providers and broadcasters a reduced level of cost-of-entry based on their specific required functionality and price per circuit installation. Media Links’ proven ‘hitless switching’ technology, standards based SMPTE 2022 Forward Error Correction and current and future compression technologies are offered on an ‘as needed’ basis, resulting in a truly evolutionary solution. The MD8400 offers an ‘a la carte’ based feature set – buy what you need now, buy what you need later.

 

This competitive and cost-effective platform delivers Ethernet data traffic, 3G-SDI, HD-SDI, SD-SDI and DVB-ASI video signals natively or with JPEG2000 and H.264 compression. Built around a 60 Gigabit non-blocking IP switch fabric and packaged in a space and power savings 1RU footprint, the MD8400 is positioned to maximize edge and last mile network connectivity.  

 

The ingenuity surrounding the MD8400 expansion modules creates a future proof design capable of supporting broadcast technologies, offering broad expansion and integration possibilities for current and future requirements. 

 

The platform offers remote software upgrades, built-in self-test functions, performance information and monitoring for ease of service.

 

All MD8400 and MD8000 platforms are intelligently managed and controlled by the Media Links NMS network management software for unified network management.

 

"The Sports Video Group is proud to have Media Links Inc. join our association as their transport solutions are a key component to successful sports contribution applications,“ says Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG and SVG Europe, executive director, editorial services. "We look forward to working with them in 2013 and beyond."