The expanded system was installed by JMC’s engineering team and commissioned jointly with Imagine Communications during Q2 of 2020.
Imagine Communications has upgraded its proven playout facilities at Jordan Media City (JMC) in Amman. JMC is a production and transmission centre in the Middle East, providing services to multiple broadcasters and service providers.
Imagine installed its first servers at JMC in 2004 and began the migration to high-definition (HD) channels in 2016. The latest expansion provides capabilities for 18 premium, full-functionality SD and HD channels.
Content delivery from ingest to on-air branding and playout is achieved using software-centric tools running on cost-efficient COTS hardware. The flexible, robust and readily scalable solution enables JMC to switch the 18 premium channels freely between SD and HD to meet demand.
The capacity was scaled through the deployment of five additional Nexio+ AMP playout servers, providing 30 bidirectional ports. In addition, JMC’s Nexio online shared storage, Platinum VX router and Selenio 6800+ modular processing were expanded to meet the additional demands.
The expansion project doubled the JMC facility’s existing 32TB of shared storage including intrinsic mirroring, with the additional disk space being integrated into the single server environment without interruption to operations. The result is high-performance, high-bandwidth core storage with the highest levels of digital asset protection.
The expanded system was installed by JMC’s engineering team and commissioned jointly with Imagine Communications during Q2 of 2020.
Commenting on the development, Radi Alkhas, CEO of JMC, said: “Imagine Communications has been a key technology partner for as long as JMC has been in business and has developed a close understanding of our operations, so can proactively develop solutions with us as we grow. When we needed to get our new HD services on air quickly, Imagine was able to agree on the specification, deliver and commission the facility to our timescales ― even under the difficult conditions of the global pandemic.”
Alkhas added: “The open architecture and interoperability of Imagine Communications’ solutions ensure future expansions can be completed with minimal disruptions to our operation.”
Anas Hantash, head of Middle East, South Asia and North Africa for Imagine Communications remarked: “JMC is a world-class facility, and we are proud to continue our association with them. Imagine is dedicated to the media industry and has a long-term, proven commitment to the Middle East. That allows us to build strong partnerships, like our relationship with JMC, which has provided them with high-performance playout infrastructure for close to two decades.”
Hantash added: “We are particularly delighted to have designed and delivered yet another major Middle East project in the current challenging environment. Broadcasting and content delivery have been more critical than ever during the recent lockdowns, and we recognise that our customers like JMC must be able to rely on us unequivocally to deliver on time and meet deadlines.”
