Nautical Channel Expands with EdgeBox

PlayBox Technology has supplied and installed an EdgeBox remote playout system for the Nautical Channel. The equipment now operating at WRN Broadcast in London is providing playout for DISH in Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA.

The EdgeBox at WRN is a fully automated redundant playout solution that includes 1+1 AirBox playout servers along with other equipment. It is operated and supplied with all programme material, local channel branding, schedules, etc., via the internet, where programme contributions from around the world are accepted, edited and aggregated. The channel is relayed via fibre to New York and then onward to DISH in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The EdgeBox installation is a fundamental part of the Nautical Channel’s USA strategy of reaching over 70 million boating enthusiasts.

Laurence Hopper, Nautical Channel CEO, explains, “We were looking for the most cost-effective solution to meet the highest video standards and ensure that our U.S. viewers are delighted with the Nautical Channel. I’d read a lot about the success of PlayBox Technology and so I talked to them. They have a very flexible approach and were able to alter the system design to fit our needs and provide solutions for what we wanted to do.” Hopper adds, “I also liked the way the information was presented – in a clear up-front way. Other vendors started at a low price but they just got more and more expensive as we started to include all the bits and pieces that were needed to make the system work.”