Leading Broadcaster saves space and costs using Selenio for multiple signal compression, networking and processing tasks, including loudness control for CALM compliance

U.S. broadcaster Gray Television, Inc. has standardized on the Harris Broadcast Selenio™ media convergence platform to incorporate new efficiencies across its stations’ infrastructure and transmission operations. To date, Gray Television has installed Selenio at 10 of its stations, with many more sites to follow into 2014.

Gray Television benefits today by using Selenio for multiple signal compression, distribution and processing tasks, using a single fully-integrated, space- and energy-efficient platform instead of several standalone components. The company began using Selenio for bandwidth-efficient over-the-air encoding in 2011, and soon discovered its benefits for video and audio processing in the plant.

“Gray Television is a leader in maximizing its spectrum through HD, multicasting, and mobile television. Selenio is the best product on the market to encode HD, SD and mobile signals at high quality within a station’s over-the-air spectrum allotment,” said Jim Ocon, vice president of technology for Gray Television. “Selenio also allows us to economize on our hardware investments for CALM compliance and other processing needs. We previously would have needed 15 or 20 rack units for these and other necessary applications, and now we’re down to one shelf.”

Ocon notes that his typical over-the-air Selenio configuration accommodates one or two HD channels, one or two SD channels, and a mobile DTV channel “without starving bits from one program to the other.” He notes that Gray Television stations using Selenio are impressed at its ability to produce quality 720p and 1080i HD channels at the same time, an important benefit as several of the stations require support for both resolutions.

Elsewhere, Gray Television uses Selenio to process and deliver video feeds to cable and satellite operators, and it relies on Selenio for loudness control and management — fulfilling viewer satisfaction and CALM Act compliance at once.

“Selenio is a critical piece of gear for us as it is the last component to touch our signal on its way out the door,” said Ocon. “It helps us keep everything legal while ensuring that our viewers see quality programming coming out of Gray Television. That’s what is most important to me.”

The Selenio installations represent the latest phase in the Gray Television-Harris Broadcast relationship as the broadcaster works toward its final “Gray Model” upgrades. Instituted at more than 30 of its stations, the Gray Model uses Harris Broadcast automation and servers at its core to re-envision media workflow efficiencies and priorities. The Gray Model essentially eliminates traditional master control operations and re-allocates resources to news and other production tasks to create more content. Ocon relies on Harris Broadcast NEXIO® (servers and storage) and ADC™ (automated content management and distribution) products to “handle the heavy lifting” behind the scenes, efficiently managing ingest and playout tasks.

“Gray Television has long been a visionary in the exploration and institution of cutting-edge technologies and workflows,” said Harris Morris, CEO, Harris Broadcast. “The Gray Model is a proven formula, and Gray Television’s recognition of Selenio to multitask across infrastructure and transmission operations — reducing costs, rack space and energy use in the process — is a significant milestone for Harris Broadcast.”

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About Harris Broadcast
Harris Broadcast is an industry leader in delivering the most advanced, content-rich media experiences available for a wide spectrum of radio, television and private media networks around the globe. With more than 25 leading brands including Versio™, Selenio™ and Maxiva™, the company enables media organizations to tap into one of the broadest, integrated product and solution portfolios in the industry. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the company is widely recognized for its product quality and reliability, engineering excellence and customer service, and has earned nearly 100 technological firsts and more than 50 awards for technical innovation. For more information, please visit harrisbroadcast.com.