SeaChange Platform Supports Avid MediaStream Files

By Carrie Bowden

SeaChange International’s broadcast play-to-air platform offers native support of Avid MediaStream files, providing immediate relief for Avid customers who are on air with Avid MediaStream systems, which ceased production last year. Broadcasters using a SeaChange platform can automatically mass-transfer video clips faster than real time from the MediaStream system to SeaChange’s Broadcast MediaLibrary/MediaClient without the need for time-intensive transcoding – the only available platform that does not require a third-party interface.

File transfer historically has been a ‘one-at-a-time’ process, but broadcasters can now automatically batch-transfer files, saving tremendous amounts of time and computing resources without sacrificing any audio or video quality. This includes preservation of the full vertical blanking interval, which is critical in maintaining file integrity across platforms. Avid ceased accepting orders for MediaStream systems, components and spare parts in June 2008, and ended all MediaStream shipments on September 30, 2008. The company will continue to offer support for its MediaStream line through September of 2013.

“Many broadcasters have accumulated massive libraries of MediaStream content and are in need of an efficient and reliable means to convert that content into a playout format that will continue to be supported for the long term,” said Stephane Jauroyou, director of product marketing for broadcast solutions, SeaChange. “Our engineering team worked diligently to solve an enormous challenge to broadcasters by building a transcoder-free solution that can natively convert existing MediaStream files to the SeaChange format.”

SeaChange’s Broadcast MediaLibrary/MediaClient architecture comprises distinct capabilities that have made it the foundation for over 200 broadcasters worldwide, including CCTV, Mediaset, Globosat and more than 40 PBS affiliates: Broadcast MediaLibrary servers, which cost-efficiently provide fault-resilient storage of any type of Media file; and highly flexible SeaChange MediaClient codecs that easily fit with any device in a broadcast operation’s workflow and any video output, from SD and HD play-to-air to broadband streams.