Turner Entertainment Standardizes on Snell & Wilcox MEMPHIS Encoders for HD Content Mastering and Archiving

Advanced MPEG-2 Compression Technology Enables Cost-Effective SD and HD Network Distribution with High Picture Quality and Seamless Server Integration
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Turner Entertainment Networks has standardized on the Snell & Wilcox MEMPHIS as the mastering encoder for all content played out on its HD networks. Turner has purchased 22 MEMPHIS systems, which are being used in its Atlanta facility to provide high-quality, MPEG-2 encoding of HD content prior to playout and archiving.

Turner uses MEMPHIS to ingest HD content in a format compatible with its Pinnacle MediaStream servers and online storage infrastructure. By using the MEMPHIS variable bit rate option, Turner is able to maintain exceptionally robust and clean video pictures while optimizing the bit rate for its distribution and transmission requirements. The MEMPHIS systems installed at Turner also process CIE-708 closed captions and carry Dolby-E audio.

Turner’s Atlanta facility currently supports more than 30 SD and HD network feeds. As channel count increases and new HD channels are launched, MEMPHIS will enable Turner to expand its programming bouquet while maintaining the highest quality of video pictures. The flexible compression options provided by the MEMPHIS encoder also prepare Turner for delivery of the network’s immense store of content via other platforms, often in applications for which low bit rates are critical.

About MEMPHIS
Widely recognized as the industry’s finest MPEG-2 mastering encoder, MEMPHIS incorporates two Emmy® Award-winning technologies from Snell & Wilcox — Ph.C phase correlation motion estimation and Prefix compression pre-processing — to deliver superior results at a given bit rate or smaller files when compared to the equivalent quality of any competing system available today.

MEMPHIS accepts inputs in both SD and HD (1080/720) formats, uncompressed PCM, MP1L2, Dolby E, and AC-3 audio. It can encode at any MPEG-2 profile including 4:2:0 and 4:2:2, CBR/VBR, and I-Frame/Long GOP up to 175 Mbps. Using the SMPTE 302M standard for audio encoding, MEMPHIS can embed both compressed and uncompressed audio streams into the MPEG-2 output. These streams then can be captured, stored, and automatically routed at playout by the playout server. Additional MEMPHIS features include support for EIA-608 and EIA-708 closed caption extraction as per SMPTE 334M and for the SMPTE 328M GOP timecode standard.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment products around the world and a leading provider of programming to the basic cable industry.

Snell & Wilcox, the leader in its field, delivers technologies and products that enable television and satellite broadcasters, post-production facilities, filmmakers, and communications professionals to move content seamlessly between analog, digital, high definition, and file-based systems and to bridge the world’s multiplicity of line/field and color standards. The company provides switchers and keyers, standards conversion systems, networked infrastructure components, and products for noise reduction, image enhancement, and restoration. In business since 1973, Snell & Wilcox maintains its U.S. headquarters in Burbank, Calif., and European headquarters in Hampshire, U.K. Additional offices are located in New York, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, and Russia. Visit www.snellwilcox.com for more information.

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Contact Information

Laura Schoeggl

Wall Street Communications

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