Omneon Video Networks today announced that Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has deployed the Omneon Spectrum™ media server system for broadcasts of its educational and instructional television channels. FCPS currently transmits six channels — three of which are available to Cox Communications subscribers in Fairfax, Va., and three other “closed” channels serving more than 200 Fairfax County Public Schools. Additionally, as many as 24,146 schools and administrative facilities across North America are served via satellite. The Omneon system is housed in the Sprague Technology Center, a new all-digital, state-of-the-art master control head end built as part of the FCPS Division of Instructional Technology.

“What really attracted us to the Omneon Spectrum™ is its modular design,” said Todd Blakeman, manager of multimedia engineering for the Department of Information Technology at Fairfax County Public Schools. “We’re a growing operation, and our needs are always changing. With Omneon’s server system, we were able to configure it as initially required, knowing that we can easily reconfigure the system as our needs change.”

FCPS’ Omneon Spectrum™ system is a 12-channel system configured with four channels of video in, eight channels of video out and approximately 200 hours of storage capacity. Broadcast to the Fairfax area are Red Apple 21, providing public information to the community; Community Classroom 25, which provides programming for children and adults; and Teacher Channel 11, offering programming by, for, and about teachers. The other channels, channels 13, 39, and 42, are “closed” channels offering FCPS high-quality programming to schools and administrative facilities throughout the county.

“The Omneon Spectrum™ system allows us to record multiple events concurrently and also to playout the same piece of media simultaneously on different channels. These functions are key to our ability to provide services to other schools,” added Blakeman. “And of course, because it is a disk-based system, we no longer risk degradation of media through repetitive playout.”

An exceptionally cost-effective and flexible media server designed for the professional television industry, the Omneon Spectrum™ media server provides a reliable and scalable infrastructure for broadcast playout and storage applications. Omneon’s 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, distributed architecture of the modular 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.

Learn more about Omneon’s server solutions at www.omneon.com.

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.

About the Fairfax Network, Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia
Fairfax Network, a division of Fairfax County Public Schools, has been providing outstanding, commercial-free distance learning programming since 1990. The programming is provided free-of-charge and reaches 24,146 schools and over 14 million students throughout North America. The Fairfax Network team is composed of innovative multimedia designers and television producers, and other creative professionals. The programs provide compelling visual imagery through the use of state-of-the-art communications technologies. More than 100 educators serve on its advisory board, and students participate in field testing the programs in the classroom. Because of these painstaking development efforts, Fairfax Network has won nineteen Telly Awards over the last four years. The programs are distributed via cable, satellite, and the Internet, and are designed to support a variety of critical curriculum areas, to support staff development, and to strengthen the connection between school and home.

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