Harmonic Provides MediaGrid Shared Storage Systems and Spectrum MediaDeck Media Servers to NBC Olympics

NBC Olympics, a division of NBC Sports Group, has selected Harmonic, Inc. to provide MediaGrid shared storage systems and Spectrum MediaDeck integrated media servers for its production of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, which take place in PyeongChang, South Korea, from February 9 to February 25.

The announcement was made by Jim Miles, director, digital workflow systems, NBC Olympics, and Tim Warren, SVP, video business, Harmonic.

NBC Olympics will use Harmonic solutions for production applications, including broadcast, on-demand, digital, news operations and long-term archive. Spectrum MediaDeck media servers deployed by NBC Olympics in PyeongChang will enable on-the-fly capture and proxy generation for all incoming materials. MediaGrid shared storage systems located inside NBC’s studios at the International Broadcast Center in PyeongChang, as well as at NBC Olympics’ headquarters in Stamford, CT, will provide centralized shared storage with bandwidth and capacity.

“For over a decade, Harmonic’s media servers and shared torage systems have been a cornerstoneof our content acquisition and production workflow during the Olympics,” said Miles. “During NBC Olympics’ coverage of the PyeongChang Games, Harmonic equipment will enable us to deliver more content from the host city to multiple linear television channels than any previous Winter Games.“

“With Harmonic infrastructure at the heart of its Olympics production workflow, NBC can deliver content faster, more cost-effectively and to multiple viewing platforms,” said Warren. “As a trusted partner of NBC Olympics, Harmonic is excited to play a role in bringing the Games to viewers across the United States.“

For the production workflow at NBC Olympics, MediaDeck media servers will simultaneously record 60 incoming venue feeds, giving NBC personnel at the Stamford facility independent control over 60 additional channels of ingest for locally produced Olympic content. Each recording’s proxy will be replicated in real time on a MediaGrid storage system connected via two 10GbE circuits to a second MediaGrid installed at the Stamford facility. In less than a minute, high-resolution content created on the PyeongChang MediaGrid system can be replicated on the Stamford MediaGrid system for immediate use in streaming, VOD and traditional broadcast editing.