Omneon Video Networks today announced the release of an intelligent track management and routing capability that greatly improves the operational workflow for multi-language broadcasters. The new capabilities enable an Omneon Spectrum™ media server to playback multiple languages across multiple channels from a single clip while automatically detecting and routing the correct language audio track to the correct audio output channel. A first for the video server market, the new capabilities allow operators to easily add multiple audio tracks to a single clip and specify which audio tracks play out on which outputs. The new capabilities provide a tremendous workflow improvement and cost savings over traditional solutions.

Omneon's intelligent track support consists of two elements: the TrackTool software utility and a system enhancement to the Omneon Spectrum™ server called "Automatic Track Routing." With TrackTool, users can add, modify and delete audio tracks within a clip and also add identification tags (such as a language identifier) to those audio tracks. The Automatic Track Routing feature enables the Omneon Spectrum™ server to read the identification tags within individual audio tracks and route them only to designated outputs. In this way, broadcasters need only configure their Omneon Spectrum™ system once for specific language outputs while using a single video file to provide all the necessary audio language versions of a program for different language channels. The Omneon Spectrum™ system will automatically ensure that "tagged" language tracks are always played out of the correspondingly "tagged" audio output ports, regardless of the order in which the tracks are positioned within a clip.

"Until now multichannel broadcasters with channels airing in more than one language have been faced with a tedious workflow that involved tracking and playing out different dubs of the same video on their different channels," said Geoff Stedman, vice president of worldwide marketing at Omneon Video Networks. "Now with intelligent multi-language support, our customers can maintain a single copy of a clip for use on all their various language channels and at the same time increase the accuracy of their multi-language broadcasting operations."

Omneon's TrackTool and Automatic Track Routing eliminate the expense of dubbing and the potential for playback error, while removing the problems of archival duplication. There only ever needs to be one copy of a clip and it can contain all required languages. The Omneon Spectrum™ server is configured with specific identifiers for specific outputs. Once set up, there is no possibility for operator error - the server will detect the correct language tracks and route them automatically to the correct audio outputs.

Intelligent track support is the latest advanced capability to be added to the Omneon Spectrum™ media server, a system designed to be cost-effective and extremely flexible while providing a reliable and scalable infrastructure for broadcast playout and storage applications.

Omneon's media server system is built on an open architecture that allows it to support a broad variety of third-party applications for control and transmission, media management, archiving, and collaborative production. As a result, stored media can be shared among many users and applications. The scalable, modular architecture of the Omneon Spectrum™ server system also offers users maximum flexibility in scaling system components and capacity in small or large increments as desired. The system is available in a broad range of configurations to meet the specific needs of each installation.

About Omneon
Omneon is a leading provider of flexible media server and active storage systems that optimize workflow productivity and on-air reliability for the production, distribution, and management of digital media. Omneon is a pioneer in the use of advanced IT technologies and open systems for broadcast applications, producing a modular and expandable video server architecture in the Omneon Spectrum. The company's MediaGrid active storage system delivers centralized content storage that is scalable in capacity, bandwidth, and media-processing power. The company has an extensive global presence with customers in 45 countries on six continents. Omneon is on the Web at www.Omneon.com.

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