A&E Television Networks selected Front Porch Digital to provide its DIVArchive system to manage A&E Television Networks’ high definition video archive. In addition, Front Porch Digital will provide BitScream transcoding, as well as customized development and on-going professional services in future phases of this initiative.

A&E Television Networks (AETN), a joint venture of the Hearst Corporation, ABC, Inc., and NBC, is an award-winning, international media company offering consumers a diverse communications environment. AETN is comprised of A&E Network®, The History Channel®, The History Channel International®, The Biography Channel®, The Military History Channel®, The History Channel en espanol, Crime & Investigation Network®, AETN International®, and AETN Consumer Products®.

Testimonial

Bill Harris
Senior Vice President of Broadcast Operations

"Given the complexity of our requirements, and the long-term scaling needs of our library, DIVArchive was clearly the superior choice for A&E,” said Bill Harris, A↦E’s Senior Vice President of Broadcast Operations. Front Porch Digital was also the only archive management provider that could deliver two best-of-breed transcoding software platforms (FPD BitScream and Telestream Flip Factory) integrated into my workflow. This is a unique combination, and proved very important to our decision-making."

Discovery Communications, Inc. (DCI) has established a strategic technological alliance with Front Porch Digital as a partner for developing new technologies and products for Discovery's network origination centers around the world.

Discovery Communications, Inc. is a leading global provider of television content, with 60 networks of distinctive programming worldwide. The Discovery Channel alone reaches over 450 million homes in over 160 countries. With such a vast array of programming and network distribution, Discovery has built several mission critical network origination centers around the world to support its existing and growing business. Partners such as Front Porch will be relied upon for advanced technology development and systems implementation to assist Discovery Communications, Inc. in the advancement of its broadcast operations globally.

Testimonial

Marcos Obadia
Executive Vice President of Discovery Media Services

"As the world's leading real-world media and entertainment company, our sophisticated network origination centers must have the highest levels of reliability and efficiency," says Marcos Obadia, Executive Vice President of Discovery Media Services. "Front Porch has the most robust solution set for digital workflow interoperability and has proven interconnection with multiple components of the digital content supply chain. Front Porch has demonstrated a strong track record of successful implementations around the globe with world-class service and support."

Canadian broadcast giant, CHUM Limited, has signed an exclusive three-year contract to purchase its BitScream and DIVArchive products for CHUM Television. The contract also includes purchase of Front Porch Professional Services to develop customized functionality to meet CHUM broadcast workflow needs.

Front Porch Digital's DIVArchive fits CHUM's unique requirements in its ability to manage a diverse and complex storage environment that includes a combination of disk, jukebox and robotic tape libraries. The company's BitScream transcoder satisfies CHUM's stringent interoperability needs to share content among video servers and edit systems. Existing tight integration of these products with CHUM's choice of asset management software will resolve difficult systems issues.

Testimonial

Bruce Cowan
Director of Broadcast Technology

"Our contract with Front Porch Digital represents the first time we have signed a multi-year technology agreement with anyone. That's a strong indication of our regard for Front Porch Digital and their best-of-breed products and services. Its role is central to major strategic initiatives within CHUM and we are confident that its solutions will meet our needs. We are excited about working with such a great team."

Corus Networks Entertainment leading broadcaster in Toronto, Canada , has purchased DIVArchive to manage its new digital video archive. The win represents the second Canadian broadcast account for Front Porch, and is further evidence of the Company's expanding share of the North American market.

Corus Entertainment operates many of Canada 's leading specialty and pay television networks , and reaches nearly 30 million subscriber households . Corus will initially deploy 40 Terabytes of content in a central repository, which will then be repurposed, resold, and re-used across several internal business units and external customers.

John Heij
Vice President Television Operations and Corporate Information Technology of Corus Entertainment

"After a disciplined review of competitive products and references, we felt that Front Porch was the best provider in the market for our needs. I have been very impressed by the professionalism and responsiveness of their team throughout the implementation phase of this important project."

Rainbow Network Communications, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation, has been at the forefront of innovation in cable programming for more than 20 years. RNC and FPDI formed five-year technology alliance and purchase agreement. During the term of the alliance, RNC will work exclusively with FPDI as its technology provider for all activities in the transcoder and archive space. Under the terms of this agreement, RNC has purchased DIVArchive and BitScream technology for its Asset Management system installation.

Rainbow will also work exclusively with FPDI in jointly developing new technology and enhancements of current FPDI products. This strategic alliance has already been instrumental in designing, producing and implementing the Windows® Media 9 playout server.

Testimonial

Steven Pontillo
Senior Vice President and General Manager

"Front Porch Digital is one of the foremost developers of communication technology in the industry today. RNC's alliance with Front Porch Digital reflects our commitment to being on the leading edge of the new technologies. Further, this relationship enables us to capitalize on BitScream and DIVArchive, which are exceptional pieces of engineering, and powerful demonstrations of two of the core competencies of FPDI. We are confident that our two businesses will benefit significantly from shared learnings and increased opportunities for communications technology development."

Thought Equity Management, Inc. is headquartered in Denver, Colorado and is a leading supplier of stock footage, production-ready commercials and video licensing and management solutions. Large media, cable and broadcast companies leverage the company’s solutions to reduce production costs, increase gross margins, enhance localized ad quality and distribute branded content on a local level. For more information about Thought Equity, visit www.thoughtequity.com.

Testimonial

Mark Lemmons
CTO of Thought Equity

"Storage management is a mission critical component to ensure world-class service to our clients. Front Porch Digital’s stability, reliability and expertise, proven by their track record, gave us the confidence we needed to make our decision. Even with a limited budget, DIVArchive was the solution that was scalable and robust enough to meet and exceed our needs while still providing us with features and functionalities above and beyond the other vendors in this area. It was also clear to us that Front Porch Digital’s strong partnership with industry leaders like StorageTek will give us the tight integration and cooperation necessary for a smooth implementation."

TV Azteca is one of two major producers of Spanish television content in the world and the second largest television broadcaster in Mexico.

TV Azteca tapped Front Porch Digital and StorageTek to provide a DIVArchive (Distributed Intelligent Versatile Archive) solution for its near-line storage strategy. The DIVArchive system will feed TV Azteca existing networks with over 15,000 hours of programming. As a result, more than 300 locally owned and operated stations will receive content from DIVArchive across Mexico.

Testimonial

Alejandro Magos
Chief Information Officer

"We made extensive evaluations and testing of near-line storage products, and for storage management, DIVArchive and StorageTek´s L5500 best met all our needs for reliability, flexibility and accessibility. DIVArchive integrates seamlessly with our on-line systems, and provides cost-effective means for upgrading storage for on-air playout."

NOB Cross Media Facilities assists to the best of its ability the broadcasting companies and other providers of moving images and sound in the Netherlands in the broadcasting process: arranging connections, storing, encoding and transporting audio-visual material and suchlike. To be able to offer 'the best of the latest', we are also continuously involved in the development of new techniques and standards. For example, together with other parties, we are working on the construction of a digital 'broadcasting platform'. This will be used to distribute programmes via both radio and TV and over Internet (including broadband) and other digital networks, mobile and otherwise.

Testimonial

Rob ten Siethoff
Chief technology officer at NOB

"NOB implemented a pilot program using DIVArchive two years ago, and Front Porch has continuously improved the products functionality, performance, and interoperability across devices and applications during that time. Front Porch shares our vision of innovative digital migration, and they have proven their development capabilities. After deployment, the video content repository will increase very quickly and we are confident that DIVArchive will scale to meet our evolving needs over the long-term."

With more than 30 bureaus and dozens of correspondents covering the four corners of the world Al Jazeera has given millions of people a new perspective on global events. Al Jazeera has chosen DIVArchive to streamline video content from a StorageTek tape library to Grass Valley video servers, and will provide integration to Blue Order Media Asset Management, Harris/Louth Automation.

Steve Jedowski
Director of Technology for Al Jazeera International

"Switching operations to four international broadcast centers in sequence presents us with unique challenges. Deciding to go HD added an extra list of requirements to our specifications. Only Front Porch Digital with their DIVArchive product could offer a proven solution that could handle the complexity of this project, our HD requirements, and our need to connect four archives separated by great distances. They have already proven their capabilities with a number of global media brands that operate multiple sites all running on DIVArchive. No other archive management company has this kind of successful track record."

Antena 3, one of the main television companies in Spain , is a full-scale national broadcaster of news, entertainment and sports programmes. It is one of two private TV-broadcasters in Spain . Antena 3 holds stakes in eight thematic channels on Via Digital, in Canal Satellite Digital and in an internet division (Servicom), and is also engaged in TVI Portugal and in Latin American thematic channels with around 5 million subscribers.

At Antena 3, Front Porch has deployed a DIVArchive solution providing interoperability between a near-line tape storage from Sun and Grass Valley video servers.

Bayerischer Rundfunk, one of the largest state broadcasters in Germany , chose DIVArchive to manage their digital video archive. DIVArchive is used to manage a large digital video archive into a new transmission and production environment. The digital video archive is the cornerstone of many of their other systems, which include transmission servers, production systems, automation and media asset management.

Testimonial

Herbert Gerstmayr
Project Leader

"The innovative FPDI team is very receptive to our requests and has developed a close professional relationship with our staff since we met them at the 2001 National Association of Broadcasters' convention. We believe that Front Porch Digital is the Must See Company for implementing digital archives."

In February of 2004, Front Porch Digital's DIVArchive was selected to manage the centralized archive for BBC Television Center . DIVArchive will be integrated to a server-based infrastructure, automation system and data tape library. Initially managing 8,000 hours of broadcast content it will support multi-channel playout and production systems for multiple clients. DIVArchive was chosen based on Front Porch's ability to provide a highly fault tolerant and fully scalable solution at a cost-effective price.

One of Europe 's largest broadcasting organizations is now using DIVArchive to streamline delivery of digital video content to its internal and external broadcasting customers. Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), a company of Europe 's RTL Group, provides centralized broadcast services to several RTL channels (RTL 4 & 5, RTL-TVi & Club RTL, RTL 7, RTL 9) as well as to external customers, totaling 16 channels. The company is using DIVArchive to archive and access nearly 300 terabytes of digital content that feeds the on-air operations of its clients' TV stations. The integration of the Front Porch Digital solution, which went “live” in September 2000, effectively heralds a new age of digital broadcast content management in Europe.

Gusty Feinen
Manager of special Projects for BCE

"Our commitment was to implement an all digital solution at the RTL Televizija facility, and the DIVArchive solution offered unique flexibility and functions such us Export/Import and scalability that will allow us to expand operations easily and in the most flexible and open way. The DIVArchive system has been operating in our Luxembourg facility since 2000. We’ve been very pleased with how stable the system has proved to be and our engineering and system administration teams have great familiarity and confidence in the system."

Canal+ France: Canal+ is Canal+ Group's French premium channel. It features recent movies and exclusive sporting events, and had more than 4.8 million subscriptions in December 2003. Canal+ Group, a 100% Vivendi Universal subsidiary, is a major European player in the production and distribution of pay-TV channels and interactive services, the production and distribution of film and television programs and the marketing of sports rights. At the end of 2003, Canal+ Group had a total of 8 million individual and collective subscriptions in France (premium channel, satellite and cable) and, through CanalSatellite, Canal+ Group has the leading French satellite platform.

Canal+ has made the critical transition to a digital video archive for its new state-of-the-art master control room with the acquisition of a DIVArchive solution from Front Porch Digital. The DIVArchive solution will be integrated into a server-based infrastructure and will be installed at the broadcaster's national facility in Paris , thereby streamlining the management and distribution of all program and commercial material.

Testimonial

Francis Bodson
Head of Engineering

"Front Porch Digital was selected because their DIVArchive product has a leading reputation in the market, with more installations and better references from leading broadcasters throughout Europe . Also no other vendor could show real openness and flexibility in their products which were key to us for integrating with our legacy systems and for accommodating our current and future needs. The Front Porch implementation has not only confirmed the superiority of DIVArchive but also their superior professional services and support. Based on our experience with Front Porch, we are totally confident in expanding the existing system in the near future."

Canal+ Belgium: Managing more than 10,000 active hours of programming, the DIVArchive solution is integrated to two server-based infrastructures, one located in Brussels and the other in Charleroi . Powered by DIVArchive, one digital video archive streamlines all programs to these two locations. The overall integrated solution provides Canal+ with the most advanced video server-based storage environment and is capable of feeding the 37 channels operated by Canal+ Belgium.

Testimonial

Olivier Hermen
Broadcast TV Technical Director

"We are building a totally new master control operation facility and have decided to take advantage of digital-server technologies by automating the storage and retrieval of digital video content. This implementation will improve the organization of the current and upcoming content, and is also the first step of a bigger project for the elimination of video tapes.

We selected Front Porch not only for DIVArchive's superior functionality, but specifically because no other competitor could demonstrate the same level of technical expertise, and prompt reaction to our last minute demands. Also, Front Porch was the only vendor who was able to show and bring us to real operational sites in the local area. The reference sites we visited clearly demonstrated that Front Porch deserves its best-in-class reputation."

Canal+ Spain: Spain 's largest Pay-TV group, Sogecable, has deployed DIVArchive as the core storage management layer in one of the world's most advanced archive systems. DIVArchive will provide the critical interface between automation applications and storage devices across the Sogecable digital workflow and will manage more than 200,000 hours of video content. Sogecable, an affiliate of Canal+ Group, has more than two and a half million subscribers, and is Europe 's third largest supplier of paid television.

Testimonial

Adolfo Remacha
Deputy Technical Director

"Sogecable achieves competitive advantage through its technology leadership, and our selection of Front Porch is consistent with that long-term vision. DIVArchive provides superior functionality, interoperability, and scalability. It has proven reliable in the most demanding operational environments, and is recognized worldwide as the leading broadcast archive management solution. DIVArchive allows us to dramatically improve the way we produce our television content, and results in cost savings delivered to our bottom line."

Cognacq-Jay Image has made the transition from video tape-based operations to streamlined digital operations by implementing an integrated digital video playout and archive using DIVArchive from Front Porch Digital. The total solution is capable of holding over 5500 hours of digital video for broadcast at a rate of 8Mb/second over more than 10 channels.

Cognacq-Jay, TDF's Broadcast Services Subsidiary, runs three networks from this cost-effective platform including Fashion TV with four different channels, Cinfos, and Motors TV, and more soon to follow.

A second DIVArchive solution, serviced by Cognacq-Jay, is used to produce and broadcast content for the entertainment channel of a global media brand.

Spanish Basque broadcaster, EUSKAL TELEBISTA (ETB), has selected the DIVArchive for managing and storing its extensive video content. The DIVArchive solution empowers ETB with the most powerful, flexible, and cost-efficient method to handle its legacy video content. With DIVArchive, ETB can now ingest instantly all its new material and in parallel migrate its legacy tape archive to a fully automated digital video archive.

Testimonial

Mikel Frutos
New Media Chief

"The decision to incorporate DIVArchive was entirely based on Front Porch's ability to provide a fully scalable solution at a cost-effective price, with very responsive professional services. We evaluated several vendors and Front Porch Digital was the clear choice for us. Considering specifically our strong requirements for scalability, and flexibility in architecture, we believe that DIVArchive is the best product for our implementation. It definitely delivers more value for the money than other solutions on the market. Front Porch also did a great job meeting our flexible requirements, something we need in a vendor."

Using the DIVArchive solution, the France 3 network is modernizing their master control operation and centralizing their archiving operations. In the network's national facility in Paris , DIVArchive is combining with a server-based infrastructure from Thomson to streamline the handling of all program and commercial material.

France 3 selected Front Porch because of the seamless integration of the DIVArchive into France 3's production environment, without any disruption to on-air programming. The France 3 master control room is able to access files through DIVArchive from anywhere inside the facility, resulting in greater transfer speeds and improved workflow.

Testimonial

Jean-Marc Philibert
Director of New Technologies

"We chose Front Porch products because they provided a best of breed and innovative archive solution that can accommodate our advanced requirements, and that can grow with our needs. We have complete confidence in the Front Porch team's expertise in seamlessly integrating their cost-effective archive solution with our third-party video systems, automation and robotics systems."

Inmedia is an independent global communications company, using a combination of satellite and terrestrial infrastructure to deliver services to the broadcast, enterprise and international carrier markets. A diverse range of international customers trust Inmedia to develop and deliver high quality and flexible solutions that include permanent and occasional broadcast services and IP, voice and data networks. For more information visit www.inmedia.co.uk

Testimonial

Mark Cronin
Technology and Development Director of Inmedia

"We chose to partner with Front Porch because they are the leading provider of archive management solutions worldwide. The technology behind deploying a digital video archive can be complex, but Front Porch’s DIVArchive solution provides everything to meet our requirements for proven functionality and scalability. With the Front Porch team’s expertise and experience behind us we can be confident that our archive implementation will be smooth, leaving us to concentrate on managing the operational side of our business."

International broadcast giant MTV Networks Europe (MTVNE) has managed its content library using DIVArchive for over three years. DIVArchive efficiently and economically archives and distributes MTVNE's extensive collection of broadcast video clips, allowing them to migrate and archive content with ease. MTVNE can migrate their content from first generation tapes to the latest tape technologies. For MTV, the process is mission critical.

Nickelodeon UK, a joint venture of Viacom and BSkyB, is the leading kid’s TV network in the UK, transmitting on digital satellite and all major cable networks from its London playout centre.

Testimonial

Steve O’Neill
Chief Engineer

"Front Porch has successfully implemented DIVArchive installations, and it is the well-established leader throughout the European broadcast market. The company has also proven its integration with Pinnacle, Harris, and other components of our digital operation. No other competitor could make such a compelling case."

Paris Première, the second most watched broadcast cable and satellite channel in France, is in full production with Front Porch Digital's DIVArchive. Paris Première chose DIVArchive for its ability to cost-effectively archive and streamline their television operations.

The DIVArchive solution allows Paris Première to make last minute changes to their broadcast material. As their central repository, DIVArchive now allows Paris Première to record directly to their broadcast video server, then off-load to DIVArchive to store and retrieve all their program material. The time and physical space saving benefits are tremendous and Paris Première are also enjoying significantly reduced costs and far fewer human errors.

Testimonial

Ludovic Defives
Technical Director

"The timely delivery of program material is critical to Paris-Première. Front Porch Digital's DIVArchive solution allows us to make last minute changes to our broadcast material. Previously, in our tape-based environment, we manually handled hundreds of tapes for program acquisitions from different sources. As our central repository, DIVArchive now allows us to record directly to our broadcast video server then, off-load to DIVArchive to store and retrieve all our program material. We no longer have to label, load or record onto tapes to capture programs from multiple feeds. The time and physical space saving benefits are tremendous and we are also enjoying significantly reduced costs and far fewer human errors."

Réseau France Outre-mer (RFO) is operating several TV channels for the French Antilles and other territories such as Saint Pierre et Miquelon, Mayotte, Wallis & Futuna, etc. Those channels include programs from the French National TV channels and RFO's own production. One of the challenges for RFO is to broadcast the same program at different times due to the time different between the different locations. The archive system based on DIVArchive allows RFO to record programs from the French TV channels and to archive material in a near-line archive. Until 3 or 4 weeks after recording, material may be restored from the archive for broadcasting on one of the RFO channels.

Christian Augereau
Technical Director of RFO

"Regardless of the type of video clip -- commercials, news clips, standby programs, features, etc., DIVArchive provides data access quickly and efficiently, with operations being managed as a simple extension of the broadcast servers. DIVArchive has always worked extremely well for us, but on the rare occasion we need help, we can always rely on an immediate response. Front Porch Digital provides excellent customer service."

Belgian private broadcaster, RTL-TVI has implemented Front Porch Digital's digital content management software solution, DIVArchive for managing and storing its extensive broadcast news content. With DIVArchive, RTL-TVI can now fulfill the last-minute deadlines of journalists and management by immediately accessing and using news media stored in their archive systems. Front Porch Digital's DIVArchive software and architecture stores RTL-TVI's news programs on fast-access disks for immediate use, and on low-cost archive tapes for all other uses. The DIVArchive software manages the transfer of digital content from the video servers to storage and archive resources while lowering operating costs through the elimination of manual tape handling.

Testimonial

Thierry Piette
Head of Technical and Computing Department

"We chose DIVArchive because it definitely delivers more value for the money than other solutions in the market. Front Porch Digital also did a great job meeting our flexible requirements, something we need in a vendor. Front Porch Digital has delivered great versatility in its product and service, while saving us money and time. This solution, gives us a clear competitive edge in the market."

RTL II was founded in 1992 with a commitment to the interests of young television viewers. Unconventional concepts, ground-breaking ideas and programming including movies, cartoons, music or docu-soaps, all highlight RTL II's role as one of the leading channels in its target-segment of the 14-29 year and 14-49 year olds.

Testimonial

Reinhard Goertner
Head of IT & Services

"DIVArchive has a worldwide reputation of reliability, scalability, performance and success in video transmission and archive environments."

SmartJog, a spin-off of France Telecom GlobeCast, is using Front Porch Digital's DIVArchive to manage the central video content repository for its new Television Programs Intermediation Service.

Early 2002, SmartJog began offering promotion, marketing and distribution services of television content to the broadcast industry. SmartJog is now using DIVArchive to manage their growing archive of broadcast quality content and associated audition material. Using DIVArchive's open foundation and distributed architecture, SmartJog can scale their content repository and share it between different sites to take advantage of marketing opportunities in the international content syndication market.

Testimonial

Julien Seligmann
Chief Executive Officer

"There are several critical factors for the successful launch of our Television Programs Intermediation Service. One of them is the reliability and upgradeability of the storage foundation -- it has to be proven, open, scalable and capable of migrating content as the underlying technologies and architecture evolve. With DIVArchive as a foundation for our content repository, these factors are achieved. In addition, the Front Porch Digital team proved to be very responsive to our demands and tight deployment deadlines."

Taj Television in Dubai is in full production with DIVArchive. The broadcaster selected DIVArchive to build a digital video archiving system that could manage and feed the video content of Ten Sports, South Asia's premier sports entertainment channel, currently reaching more than 25 million homes across the subcontinent.

Testimonial

Colin Sherriff
Vice President of Engineering and MIS

"After looking at a variety of solutions, DIVArchive proved to be the perfect fit in our production environment. DIVArchive provides faster access to footage, and we have better targeted clips and more opportunities for repurposing content. Moving forward, DIVArchive is allowing us to expand our information and content offerings to our viewers. In fact, we are already seeing increased revenue potential."

Regional Spanish television, TV Catalunya has implemented a multi-purpose, multi-format repository and provides a suite of services to the rich media including content management. DIVArchive is the cornerstone of the rich media repository and manages different type of contents including video content for the Spanish community.

Xavier Ferrandiz
Engineering Manager at TVC

"DIVArchive is the cornerstone of our digital library. Its ability to scale was one of the key reasons we selected Front Porch Digital three years ago. No other provider could match Front Porch on this critical variable. Front Porch is a trusted partner that has earned our continuing brand loyalty."

Telecinco, Spain's largest television broadcaster has built a digital video archive for holding more than 75,000 hours of video content and for addressing their storage needs for the next 20 years. This video archive is based on the DIVArchive open architecture and product interfacing with a newsroom asset management application. With DIVArchive, Telecinco can now fulfill the last-minute deadlines of journalists by immediately accessing and using news media stored in their archive systems.

Teleclub, Switzerland 's first German-speaking pay-TV broadcaster, has implemented a DIVArchive (Distributed Intelligent Versatile Archive) solution. DIVArchive better enables Teleclub to manage their main video content repository, resulting in streamlined operations and improved quality of programming services on their advanced digital network.

Teleclub uses DIVArchive to manage hundreds of movies and TV spots for its 85,000 subscribers' movie selections. DIVArchive tightly couples video servers and management software with the entire digital play-to-air system. Teleclub's DIVArchive implementation is running on redundant NT and UNIX platforms. DIVArchive manages tape resources on StorageTek equipment, connects to Leitch video servers, and interfaces with an automation system via the VACP protocol from Harris Automation Solutions.

Testimonial

Andy Heiniger
Technical Manager

"Teleclub has established its leadership in the pay-TV market and provides its viewers throughout Switzerland with the highest quality television services. We have been using DIVArchive since 2001 and we are extremely pleased with the performance and the scalability of the solution. We believe that the Telestream and Front Porch integration greatly enhances the workflow within our digital broadcast facility."