Harris Corporation today announced that ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, the German commercial television conglomerate, is the first broadcaster in Europe to take delivery of the new Harris PlatinumT router. The sale, for the company’s Berlin facility, was made by Teracue AG, the distributor of Harris broadcast products in Germany.
“We are excited to be the first company in Europe to install the new Harris PlatinumT router, as it is the most superior, compact, large-sized router on the market today,” said Jiri Srb, head of broadcast technology of ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion, which operates as a general contractor for all of ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s production needs. “With so many signals to manage in our facility, space efficiency was just as important as performance in our choice of routers. Harris PlatinumT has enabled us to get all our input/output (I/O) points into a 28-rack unit chassis – replacing an existing routing configuration that was housed in a 66-rack unit chassis.”
The high-capacity, small-footprint Harris PlatinumT routing switchers provide high-quality signal routing up to 256×256 in 15RU and 512×512 in 28RU and support a mix of any signal – video and audio, from analogue to HD
– all in the same frame. Built for maximum reliability in even the most harsh, 24/7 operation, Harris PlatinumT is ideal for network, local broadcaster, mobile production, cable, telco, military, government and corporate applications – any environment that requires routing of a large number of signals.
“The Harris PlatinumT router also was easy to integrate into our existing infrastructure,” Srb continued. “The construction of the router allows for easy access to all active devices, controllers and units. We can also hot-swap boards while the router is on air, which is a major advantage for an operation like ours.”
ProSiebenSat.1 Group has two main facilities: one in Berlin and the other in Munich. The Berlin facility houses the main studios for live recording of television programs and production, and is where news and TV programming is produced for the complete broadcast chain. Most content is created for entertainment channel Sat.1 and news channel N24. The Harris PlatinumT router serves as the backbone of the Berlin facility and is also used for live signals being routed to the Munich facility for playout.
“We are delighted that ProSiebenSat.1 has chosen our new Harris PlatinumT router for its broadcast facility in Berlin, as this purchase is a testament to the solid reputation our router technology enjoys across the industry,” said Dave Dougall, vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa sales for the Harris Broadcast Communications Division. “The Harris PlatinumT router is equipped to meet all the complex requirements of today’s large routing applications, delivering superior control and unprecedented reliability within a future-proofed architecture that is designed to incorporate additional features that do not exist on the market today.”