Omneon Video Networks, a recognized leader in cost-effective and flexible networked media servers, today announced that Hungary’s state satellite broadcaster, Budapest-based Duna Television, is using the Omneon SPECTRUM media server as its platform for transmission of Hungarian programming to viewers in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. In addition to excellent reliability and fully redundant video server hardware, the Omneon SPECTRUM provides Duna Television with a cost-effective and uniquely scalable solution that ensures a simple and affordable expansion of broadcast channels and storage capacity.

“The Omneon SPECTRUM media server has helped our public service broadcast facility to offer a simple, effective, and efficient means to establish a ‘celestial umbilical cord’ that links Hungarians living outside Hungary's borders with their homeland,” said Janos Bodi, technical and production director for Duna Television. “The system not only allows us to repurpose ingested material for future broadcasts, but also offers a streamlined, scalable architecture that will enable our facility to minimize operating expenses as we continue to extend our broadcast capabilities.”

Duna Television began 24-hour per day broadcasts on December 24, 2002, which marked the broadcaster’s 10th anniversary. In addition to Hungarian-language news, cultural, and other programming targeted to viewers of Hungarian origin living abroad, the new Omneon system will be used for special productions including the Hungarian version of Champions League football highlights.

Omneon SPECTRUM media server systems are designed to support the entire digital media workflow, including acquire, store, manage, edit, and play-to-air functionalities for facilities ranging from a single channel broadcast facility to broadcast networks with hundreds of channels. The smart, multidimensional scalability of the Omneon solution will allow Duna Television to add or expand I/O ports, bandwidth, capacity, and redundancy in granular increments, either simultaneously or independently, without interrupting system operation. As a result, the facility will be able to maximize functionality and productivity and thereby reduce current and future operating and expansion costs. The Omneon SPECTRUM redundant architecture ensures that there is no single point of failure, so Duna Television engineers can be confident of continuous playout.

“The demand for culturally specific programming such as that provided by Duna Television has grown significantly in recent years,” said Alan Hoggarth, vice president of EMEA operations for Omneon Video Networks. “With its modular design, flexibility, and unsurpassed price/performance, the Omneon SPECTRUM is very well suited for this application. It provides an immediate foundation from which the small or midsized broadcaster can bring channels to air, and it allows for future growth through the selective, cost-effective addition of functionality, storage, and other key options.”

The contract to supply and install the system was awarded to Omneon’s Hungarian channel partner Future Trading Limited.

About Duna Television
The Hung ária Television Foundation, which controls Duna Television’s ownership rights, was created via government resolution no. 1057 dated October 7, 1992, with Sándor Csoóri as the first president of the board. Duna Television began its regular broadcasting on December 24, 1992, becoming Hungary’s first satellite television provider. The media law of December 21, 1995, made Duna Television a public service channel and the Hungária Television Foundation a public foundation. Programming from the 24-hour broadcast service includes news and magazine programs related to the Carpathian Basin. The most significant of the many prestigious awards the station has received include the Hungarian Heritage Award and – from the Camera Society, which operates within the framework of UNESCO – the 1999 award for the world's best cultural television station. Duna Television is on the Web at www.dunatv.hu.

About Omneon
Omneon Video Networks is the leading provider of cost-effective and flexible networked media servers for the broadcast and video industry. The company's unique strategy integrates a strong foundation in broadcast with the best practices of information technology - giving its customers the best of both worlds. Because Omneon SPECTRUM media server systems are based on an open and advanced architecture, broadcast and video professionals are able to minimize both upfront and ongoing expenses, while gaining the flexibility to capitalize on emerging opportunities. Omneon pioneered the use of open systems in broadcast and, as a result, receives wide support from the application developer community. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Omneon has a strong global presence with customers in 22 countries on five continents. Visit Omneon on the Web at www.Omneon.com.

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