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- First Indian TV Guidance channel turns to automated playout specialist -

London, January 2010 - OASYS, the IT automated playout systems developer, has played a major role in the launch of India’s first and only consumer TV guidance channel, WHAT’S ON INDIA. .

OASYS was approached to create a unique channel solution for WHAT’S ON INDIA, which is owned by India’s largest consumer TV guidance and Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) company WHAT’S-ON-INDIA MEDIA. The two companies worked closely together to create the dynamic information updates and channel branding using OASYS automated playout, graphics and scheduling software combined with Gen21 scheduling and XML data extracted from WHAT’S ON INDIA’s EPG and Recommendation databases.

WHAT’S ON INDIA initially created a short video example of how they wanted the channel to look and specified that the TV listings information and viewer recommendations were to be updated dynamically and automatically based on the time of day.  OASYS took the video template and replicated the functionality of a post production example in its software by creating a unique EPG graphic plug-in that is timed to appear with the other channel content.  

As the project was further defined OASYS created an additional enhancement to the product, allowing operators to receive the national feed while overlaying a different EPG graphic showing only the channels relevant to each operator and the operators can also insert their own local commercial content and add their own branding.

All of the control for the systems, both at National feed level and at local operator level, come from WHAT’S ON INDIA, including the automatic cutting over to the local content and the customised provision of EPG information.
 
“While our technical team had expertise in EPG and Real Time Recommendations, we brought in OASYS to customize its software based on our unique requirements for the presentation layer for the channel. It’s only due to the two highly motivated teams – theirs and ours - putting their heads together that the channel has gone live in record time in spite of the obvious complexities of the project,” said Atul Phadnis, Chief Executive, WHAT’S ON INDIA.

“The work of the OASYS team has been to turn the design concept into broadcast reality and, whilst often challenging, the project has demonstrated the unique flexibility of the OASYS automated playout software and the strength of the integrated graphics module,” said Mark Errington, CEO, OASYS. “We have created a commercially focused downstream insertion solution where the national and local systems will operate in harmony, allowing the channel carriers to provide a very targeted service to their customers with all the benefits of the WHAT’S ON INDIA TV Guidance Channel.”

WHAT’S ON INDIA went live in December 2009 on Hathway Cable, India’s largest cable service and is the first channel that Hathway users see when switching on their televisions in India’s multiple regions. The company is aiming to reach 20 million homes by the first quarter of 2010 across Cable and DTH carriers.

WHAT’S-ON-INDIA Media is India’s largest Consumer TV Guidance and EPG company. Set up in 2005 by Atul Phadnis, at the inflection point of the Analog Indian TV industry turning Digital, the company was VC funded by Sequoia Capital and Nexus Venture Partners to deliver a series of consumer focused TV Guidance media including India’s first TV Guide Channel. Clients include all major TV networks and Cable/DTH/IPTV operators in India such as Hathway, Airtel Digital, STAR TV, Discovery Networks, UTV Entertainment, Reliance BIG TV, Digicable, DEN, etc. WHAT’S ON INDIA channel, India’s first and only TV guidance channel, was launched in December 2009.

In London on 1 December 2009, a full day event including case studies will be held with a high profile audience.

Full details may be found at http://www.broadcastworkflow.com/

As a guest of OASYS you receive a special discount of 20% on the event, so if you would like to attend please visit http://www.broadcastworkflow.com/register and enter ITWFSR when prompted

SPECTRAtech the OASYS partner in Greece has opened its doors to the broadcasting community to showcase some leading edge technologies including the OASYS "Player", winner of the "Pick Hit" award at IBC2009.

Other exhibitors at the open house include Panasonic, Matrox, ten-telekom, Rorke Data, Brainstorm Multimedia and For-A

For more information contact OASYS at www.oasys.com or SPECTRAtech at www.spectratch.gr

Visit OASYS on Stand E44 at SATIS2009

If you weren't able to visit us at IBC now there is another chance to see our Award winning"Player" application at SATIS2009 on Stand E44 alongside our partner ISOVISION.

OASYS will be partnering with ISOVISION, their distributor for France and Francophone territories. ISOVISION will be representing the OASYS complete range of PC-based automated playout systems, announcing the launch of its latest version of the world renound range of automated playout solutions. This latest software release brings with it new features such as Global Media Library (GML), N+1 Synchronisation, Up and Down Scaling, assignable inputs and outputs and a whole list of other features and performance enhancements.

In OASYS Player the Global Media Library (GML) gives our users greater flexibility to manage and move media around their entire network. Whilst Linking all Local Media Libraries (LML) together, the GML allows searches by file name, single and multiple instance searches, multiple files with the same name as well as renaming and deleting file actions.

With the continuing move towards HD output and the transitions that channels have to make OASYS have continued to work with its customers to give them a cost effective migration path. With Up and Down Conversion capabilities users have no only the facility to play multiple file formats in the same playlist but also multiple standards. This allows them to use new and legacy programming in the same playlist. This couple with the new feature of definable outputs allows an HD feed on one output and an SD feed of the same playlist on another output. Further outputs can be assigned to previewing, editing, clean feeds and black and white key outputs.

There are also other innovations such as offline scheduling enhancements, retrieving linear playlist in HTML and Flip and Vanish graphic transitions with more to come.

In OASYS Maker, there is now the facility that the second output will automatically deliver the same output that is on the first output. This was developed in response to a specific customer requirement allowing the same output to be used for different uses without the need to purchase further equipment. The logging functionality has also been greatly enhanced and gives a comprehensive overview and searchable detail into the sessions that have been carried out. This enhanced logging capability has also been implemented in OASYS Manager.

OASYS, the leading developer of PC-based automated playout systems (formerly known as ON-AIR Systems), is pleased to announce that it has appointed Isovision as its distributor in France and other French-speaking territories. The Paris-based systems integrator is the latest to join the growing global network of distribution partners representing OASYS’ end-to-end range of automated playout solutions.

“This agreement represents a major boost to our capabilities to support our customers in this key market,” said Glyn Bartlett, Head of Business Development, OASYS. “We chose Isovision for its track record in delivering high quality solutions to its customers. Like OASYS, Isovision is committed to providing the highest levels of service that our customers have come to expect, and the combination of Isovision and our 24/7 support means that our customers will have the best that the industry can offer.”

Isovision has already completed its first OASYS installation for Sahara Medias, the first private TV station in Mauritania, northwest Africa. The project was led by Sahara Medias Group, a Mauritanian enterprise that specialises in audiovisual productions. Isovision won the contract to install the broadcast workflow, including the OASYS Player solution as the backbone of its playout operation.

“We at Isovision are always trying to choose products and solutions that add significant value to our customers. This is what we found with OASYS all in one product, mixing high level of integration and functionality,” said Olivier Jolly,CEO, Isovision.

Sahara Medias started broadcasting in July 2009 covering the national elections, and will later be available on satellite.

Broadcast Engineering has announced the winners of its Pick Hits Awards for IBC2009.

The prestigious Pick Hits Awards, which have honored on companies and their technology for more than 25 years, are selected by a panel of independent judges who tour the convention floor looking for innovative products and technology. The judges then met to make their selections based on several criteria, including the technical and financial improvements the product can bring to a facility’s operation. Broadcast Engineering’s editors and publishers have no vote in the selection process, ensuring the winners truly represent outstanding achievement in the eyes of a group of people who are representative of those making TV happen.

London, UK – 11 September 2009 – ON-AIR Systems will rename itself OASYS from IBC 2009. As the leading developer of PC-based automated playout systems looks to expand its product offering, the new name and corporate identity lend themselves to the company’s ethos of quality, simplicity and reliability. 

“As the original developers of the ‘channel in a box’ solution, we understand the value of making things easy. We also believe in giving our customers simple and honest information about our systems, rather than wrapping it up in marketing speak and meaningless jargon,” said Mark Errington, CEO, OASYS. “Thus ON-AIR Systems becomes OASYS, and the names of our products have also changed to better reflect their role in the workflow. This will help our partners, dealers and customers as we expand our capabilities with new products and functionality.”

The core of the OASYS product line remains unchanged, as does the world class customer support and proven reliability of the solutions. The new product names are:-

Maker                         [replaces Kapture]

Manager                     [replaces transKoder]

Media Library            [replaces Kopy]

Schedule Importer     [replaces Skedule Importer]

Scheduler                   [replaces Skedule Mode]

Player                         [replaces playKast]

Logger                        [replaces log Konsolidation]

Recorder                    [replaces reKorder]

About OASYS, formerly ON-AIR Systems

OASYS, formerly ON-AIR Systems, is a leading international supplier of channel in a box computer-based automated playout solutions for all types of television channels. With over a decade’s experience in the development of playout systems, it has an unrivalled knowledge and understanding of a channel’s needs.  Based in London and with a worldwide distribution network, OASYS provides proven, cost-effective channel in a box solutions for broadcasters around the world - including the BBC (UK), The Concentra Group and RTV (Belgium), Levira (Estonia), INX (India), TBN (South Africa and Spain), Telesud (France), TVN (Poland), YLE (Finland), ImaginasianTV (USA),A-Pressen (Norway), Stimme der Hoffnung (Germany), Anadolu University (Turkey) and Ajman TV (UAE). For more information, please visit www.on-air-systems.com. 

IBC 2009, Amsterdam – 11 September 2009 – OASYS, formerly known as ON-AIR Systems, and Comprompter today announce the signing of a marketing agreement under which OASYS will promote the Comprompter range of products around the world, including NRCS and News Automation software. The agreement further enhances the partnership with Video Technics, which has already developed a fully integrated News Playout solution with Comprompter.  

Mark Errington, CEO, OASYS, said, “We are pleased to add more world class products into our portfolio, as this provides a wider range of solutions to our systems integrator partners. The Comprompter software has been developed over many years, utilising the skills and experience of developers who have practical experience of working in live broadcast environments.  The software is therefore intuitive, making it easy to use; it is based on solid IT standards, making it reliable; and it can be delivered on low energy PCs, making it efficient. We share the common business practices of focused customer support and customer led development and believe this is an exciting opportunity to introduce these products to a wider audience.”

Ralph King, CEO, Comprompter, said, “We are very excited by this partnership, which represents our first introduction to the European and Asian broadcast market. Combining the strengths of OASYS and Comprompter solutions will provide a simple and compelling workflow to broadcasters who wish to mix live news production with other content and secondary events.”

About Comprompter News and Automation

Comprompter is a La Crosse, Wisconsin based company specializing in news and automation software for the broadcast and cable industry and services clients throughout the broadcast industry with newsroom and automation systems along with auxiliary newsroom software for elections, school closings, Internet newscast publishing, and voice activated close captioning. For more information, please visit www.comprompter.com

About OASYS, formerly ON-AIR Systems

OASYS, formerly ON-AIR Systems, is a leading international supplier of channel in a box computer-based automated playout solutions for all types of television channels. With over a decade’s experience in the development of playout systems, it has an unrivalled knowledge and understanding of a channel’s needs.  Based in London and with a worldwide distribution network, ON-AIR provides proven, cost-effective channel in a box solutions for broadcasters around the world - including the BBC (UK), The Concentra Group and RTV (Belgium), Levira (Estonia), INX (India), TBN (South Africa and Spain), Telesud (France), TVN (Poland), YLE (Finland), ImaginasianTV (USA),A-Pressen (Norway), Stimme der Hoffnung (Germany), Anadolu University (Turkey) and Ajman TV (UAE). For more information, please visit www.on-air-systems.com.

IBC 2009, Amsterdam – 11 September 2009 – OASYS, formerly known as ON-AIR Systems, announced today that 24sata, a leading Croatian daily newspaper, has created the first 24/7 TV news channel with OASYS automation, scheduling and graphics software. The system was designed and installed by RoBaGo, the Croatian broadcast solution provider.

24sata, a well-established newspaper and online news provider, wanted to expand its information delivery portfolio to include television. The organisation faced the challenge of starting a new TV channel that was fully integrated with its existing print newsroom, plus a new online edition with rich multimedia capabilities. All the usual requirements for a 24/7 dynamic news TV channel were to be met with the additional need for integrating the channel with an existing advanced content management system (CMS) used for online news production.

RoBaGo, a Croatian broadcast solution provider, together with OASYS, responded to the challenge and 24sataTV was launched within a month of the project’s inception, thanks to the tight cooperation between all companies.

“The simplicity of the OASYS software solution made it possible to create this channel in a very short timeframe, and because it is PC based it was straightforward to integrate it with 24sata’s existing system,” said Goran Omrcen-Ceko, CTO, RoBaGo.

OASYS’ Player software (formerly known as playKast) is used for automated playout and its advanced scheduling and graphics capabilities are exploited for integration with the existing CMS used in 24sata’s newsroom. The CMS was modified to enable journalists to automatically publish and update content both on the Internet and on the TV channel. RoBaGo and 24sata used functions including RSS and XML feed retrieval and automatic schedule updates as an interface to fully integrate playout control, media management and content update.

24sataTV is also utilising RoBaGo’s expertise in launching and managing a TV channel by broadcasting from RoBaGo’s playout facility in Zagreb. All updates, such as content, media files and playlists are done over the Internet.

24sataTV is now a unique channel that broadcasts the latest local and international news, show biz news and coverage of key sporting events. News bulletins are fast, short and focused with a maximum total duration of 10 minutes and are updated 24 hours a day. The channel went live on 30 June 2009. 

About 24sata

24sata is the leading Croatian daily newspaper according to sold circulation, with a daily average of 180,000 sold copies in 2008 (plus another 80,000 copies of the free afternoon edition in Zagreb), and with more than 1,200,000 daily readers (source: MEDIApuls). 24sata is part of Styria Media International AG, owner of 6 daily newspapers, 3 weekly newspapers, magazines in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia as well as the leading online portals.

24sataTV is broadcasting exclusively on MaxTV, the T-Com Croatia interactive IPTV platform. 24sataTV is also available on the www.24sata.tv in quality suitable for the Internet. On this site latest news are broadcast on user’s demand. For more information about 24sata please visit www.24sata.hr or www.24sata.tv

About RoBaGo

RoBaGo is a Croatian based company founded in 1994 and from the beginning it is tightly interconnected with the professional TV industry. Today, RoBaGo is a company with expertise in turnkey services for TV channel playout with fully customizable systems and individual approach, services for real-time gathering, processing and presenting statistical and other TV related content during live sports coverage or game shows  and bespoke software development for TV industry. For more information about RoBaGo please visit www.robago.hr

About OASYS, formerly ON-AIR Systems

OASYS, formerly ON-AIR Systems, is a leading international supplier of channel in a box computer-based automated playout solutions for all types of television channels. With over a decade’s experience in the development of playout systems, it has an unrivalled knowledge and understanding of a channel’s needs.  Based in London and with a worldwide distribution network, ON-AIR provides proven, cost-effective channel in a box solutions for broadcasters around the world - including the BBC (UK), The Concentra Group and RTV (Belgium), Levira (Estonia), INX (India), TBN (South Africa and Spain), Telesud (France), TVN (Poland), YLE (Finland), ImaginasianTV (USA),A-Pressen (Norway), Stimme der Hoffnung (Germany), Anadolu University (Turkey) and Ajman TV (UAE). For more information, please visit www.on-air-systems.com. 

IBC 2009, Amsterdam – 11 September 2009 – OASYS, formerly known as ON-AIR Systems, announced today that Euro1080, the first HDTV company in Europe, has purchased an end-to-end OASYS automated playout solution to service a new Egyptian sports channel, Wadi Degla Sports TV (WDS TV). The PC-based system was installed by Diginet, the Belgian systems integrator, and the station went live in July, just four days after the system was commissioned.

Euro1080 required a system that was compact, standalone and ready to use immediately. Diginet recommended the OASYS solution, an all-in-one system that can be set up and commissioned within days and configured with bespoke functions within minutes. Since the OASYS solution is based on standard PCs, it requires minimal training and maintenance, and takes up very little room.

“We wanted an end-to-end system which would be available immediately, and OASYS was able to offer all the functionality we required with a very fast turnaround,” said Ferry Verheul, Chief Technical Officer, Euro1080. “The simplicity of the system meant that installation was very smooth, plus it is easy to manage and operate and we are able to adapt it as our requirements change.”

The installation is an end-to-end OASYS solution, including file creation, file management, playout and a time delayed playout, based on 6 PCs. Diginet installed the system in Euro1080’s Belgian facility, which links to scheduling and information feeds from Egypt, and the local team can create schedules in Egypt for the Belgian playout of those schedules. Diginet also integrated the Euro1080’s existing storage system with the OASYS solution.

“The OASYS solution is simple and reliable, enabling Euro1080 to set up and operate WDS TV quickly and with minimum fuss,” said Bruno van Hileghem, Project Manager, Diginet. “We have worked with Euro1080 for several years, and are delighted that this latest project is a further success for them.”

WDS TV offers a wide variety of sports programming, including the Jupiler League (first division Belgian soccer), rugby and general sports news. The channel went live on 30 July 2009.

About Euro1080

Euro1080 was launched in 2004 as the very first High Definition Television Company in Europe. Euro1080 was initiated, co-ordinated and promoted by Alfacam, a Belgium based company providing TV facilities and services to broadcasters and production houses all over the world. Before 2004 there was no platform available in Europe to broadcast the HD images recorded by Alfacam. At that time, none of the European commercial and public broadcasters had the intention to start with HD within the near future. That is exactly why Alfacam took on that challenge via Euro1080.  Euro1080 broadcasts high quality programmes exclusively in High Definition across a wide range of High Definition Channels - HD1, EXQI Culture and EXQI Sport.

About OASYS, formerly ON-AIR Systems

OASYS, formerly ON-AIR Systems, is a leading international supplier of channel in a box computer-based automated playout solutions for all types of television channels. With over a decade’s experience in the development of playout systems, it has an unrivalled knowledge and understanding of a channel’s needs.  Based in London and with a worldwide distribution network, ON-AIR provides proven, cost-effective channel in a box solutions for broadcasters around the world - including the BBC (UK), The Concentra Group and RTV (Belgium), Levira (Estonia), INX (India), TBN (South Africa and Spain), Telesud (France), TVN (Poland), YLE (Finland), ImaginasianTV (USA),A-Pressen (Norway), Stimme der Hoffnung (Germany), Anadolu University (Turkey) and Ajman TV (UAE). For more information, please visit www.on-air-systems.com. 

London September 11th, 2009

OASYS (formerly ON-AIR Systems) from London, England and  Video Technics, based in Atlanta, Georgia, today announce the undertaking of a joint marketing and development arrangement, under which each company will promote and support the other’s product line around the world.

OASYS and Video Technics are also committed to a full integration of their respective software and systems, strengthening the talent of both organizations. The venture will mean that a product portfolio consisting of ingest, asset management, editing, shared storage, archive, news and master control playout will be available from both companies, providing the global dealer network with a complete end-to-end workflow of automation products.

The terms of the arrangement include an investment in Video Technics by Brennington Investments, the owner of OASYS. Mark Errington CEO of OASYS and Brennington Investments said, “We spent some time evaluating potential partners and found the team at Video Technics to have the same development and support philosophies as our own. Combined with their excellent complimentary product portfolio and knowledgeable sales team, the partnership made good business sense. We firmly believe that this collaboration is the future of the broadcast industry, bringing together best of breed products that truly accomplish simple, reliable, and efficient workflows, enabling channels to take advantage of all the advances in PC technology and software.”

Products from both companies are already highly compatible in that they run on the same unified hardware platform and use the same native codecs and file formats. “We are working closely to tightly integrate VT’s automated ingest processes, shared storage designs, and asset management capability with the comprehensive “channel in a box” playout solution from OASYS”, stated Mark Rivers, President and CEO of Video Technics.

The underlying philosophy of the union is to consolidate collaborative production and playout systems for news and master control so that they intelligently share core functionality. This economy of scale is ideal for a time when the broadcast industry is demanding better solutions to the serious economic challenges they face today.

Rivers continued, “Video Technics is very excited about working with OASYS to develop and sell products that offer a simple and affordable solution to upgrade any facility to a fully digital and collaborative production environment.”

Video Technics and OASYS will be shown working together at IBC 2009 on Stand 7.A08a at the RAI Convention Center in Amsterdam.

As the final touches are made to all the new product information, press releases and the equipment is loaded to be shipped to Amsterdam, all attention is on the week ahead.

OASYS will be showing its new identity and a new software release in Version 5 so there will be a great deal to discover on Stand 7.A08a

Over 200 broadcasting industry leaders from over 20 countries around the Europe shall gather to Tallinn, Estonia, where Levira’s 3rd Digital Broadcasting Conference “Dream-on-Demand” is to take place later this week.

Two days event in Tallinn TV-Tower Conference Centre shall give a broad coverage of all important aspects in Digital Broadcasting with a particular attention on today’s hot topics: Analogue Switch-Off, Digitalization, Archiving & Tapeless Production, On-Demand Services, Mobile-TV and much more.