SeaChange Deploys Australia’s Largest High-Definition Broadcast TV Platform at Macquarie Southern Cross Media

Versatility, Reliability Play Key Roles in Massive HD Project

ACTON, Mass. - SeaChange International (NASDAQ: SEAC), a leading global supplier of high-definition and standard-definition broadcast playout and workflow solutions, announced that Macquarie Southern Cross Media (MCSM) has deployed a 140 HD-channel SeaChange play-to-air platform - one of the largest HD platforms in Australia. Based in Canberra, MCSM delivers a wide range of programming to audiences in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

MCSM is using SeaChange’s Broadcast MediaLibrary/MediaClient (BML/MCL) play-to-air platform, consisting of BML transmission storage severs and MCL software codecs, which combined are providing the broadcaster with 60 ingest and playout channels for programming and 80 ingest and playout channels for commercials. The system is also supporting turnaround delay at MCSM.

The BML/MCL’s ability to play back MCSM’s legacy SD Pinnacle Mediastream files was a critical factor in the broadcaster’s decision to choose the SeaChange platform. According to Craig Armsworth, group manager for systems & digital media at Magna Systems, which is serving as integrator on the project, “The SeaChange servers are the only ones on the market that can take an SD Pinnacle file directly and replay it back out as HD, thereby upconverting it. This was a particular advantage when we took part in the server ‘shoot out.’”

Just as important in MCSM’s decision was the reliability afforded by the BML servers. “The servers had to be fault resilient,” said Raoul Prideaux, director of engineering & technology, MCSM. “We are very happy that this requirement is well-covered SeaChange’s RAID Squared architecture.”

“MCSM’s selection of the SeaChange play-to-air platform for such a massive HD project is a true testament to the inherent flexibility that SeaChange engineers into our digital video systems,” said Chris West, vice president of worldwide broadcast sales, SeaChange. “Our software-based codecs provide unmatched levels of versatility, allowing us to offer MCSM key features such as native Mediastream file support without the need for a third-party interface, Teletext caption data integrity in SD and HD, and real-time adjustment of time delay.”

SeaChange’s range of proven content storage, streaming and management solutions, including the FML200 flash memory-based ingest and play-to-air server, and its latest Broadcast MediaLibrary/Broadcast MediaClient play-to-air storage system and SD/HD software codecs, will be on display during NAB2009, April 20-23 in Las Vegas in SeaChange’s booth SU12009. Demonstrations will underscore why broadcasters of all sizes around the world continue to make the BML/MCL their digital video foundation.

About SeaChange in Asia Pacific
Throughout Asia Pacific, the SeaChange sales and service organization has bases in Sydney, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Mumbai, Manila and Tokyo, each providing localized integration, deployment and ongoing support for the region’s growing media industry.

SeaChange International is a leading provider of software applications, services and integrated solutions for video-on-demand (VOD), digital advertising, and content acquisition monetization and management. Its powerful open VOD and advertising software and scaleable hardware enable cable and telco operators, as well as broadcasters, to provide new on-demand services and to gain greater efficiencies in advertising and content delivery. With its Emmy Award-winning and patented technology, thousands of SeaChange deployments are helping broadband, broadcast and satellite television companies to streamline operations, expand services and increase revenues. Headquartered in Acton, Massachusetts, SeaChange has product development, support and sales offices around the world. Visit www.schange.com.