Volicon, a provider of media monitoring, recording, archiving, and streaming solutions, has implemented the Volicon Observer enterprise video monitoring solution for compliance recording and fault detection at SKY Italia. The 52-channel Observer system, purchased through Rome-based systems integrator Allyn, has replaced SKY Italia's previous tape-based model to simplify the broadcaster's monitoring workflow.

"We put the Observer system through a rigorous evaluation process, and it was the only solution that stood up to the test and met all of our requirements," said Ben Leenders, engineering manager at Sky Italia. "With the Observer installed in our Milan broadcast facility, we streamlined our monitoring processes and are experiencing much greater flexibility in identifying and accessing recorded clips."

The Observer system is built on a powerful streaming video engine and player developed by Volicon. Through a Microsoft Internet Explorer Web interface, Observer users across the SKY Italia facility are able to access multiple channels of live and archived content simultaneously from their desktops. Users can log broadcasts, as well as search, retrieve, analyze, and export video clips with metadata, locally or remotely as required to demonstrate proof of compliance with broadcasting regulations. The export functionality of the Observer makes it easy for operators to share assets internally.

The system being installed at SKY Italia archives, instantly makes content accessible from 52- channels for up to 90 days via RAID-5 storage hardware, with four spare recording channels at the ready. The move to server-based monitoring eliminates the need to change out videotapes manually and saves space, occupying a smaller footprint than the facility's old VCR systems and requiring no external storage area, as the broadcaster's tape archives once required. The system can easily be scaled to accommodate additional channels, and SKY Italia's plans include future expansion to monitor as many as 120 channels. 

In addition to compliance recording and archiving, the Observer provides 24/7 monitoring and fault detection to enable SKY Italia to maintain its quality-of-service standards for aired content. When the Observer detects an audio or video fault based on predefined thresholds, it automatically generates a video clip of the fault and sends it via email alert to the technician on duty. 

"The installation of the Observer at SKY Italia represents more than just our largest deployment; it also demonstrates the significant trust that broadcasters worldwide are willing to invest in the Observer system," said Julius Perl, vice president of marketing at Volicon. "By providing reliable monitoring around the clock and making recorded clips immediately available to multiple operators, the Observer allows broadcasters to maintain highly efficient compliance monitoring and fault detection."