SONY AND LEVEL 3 TRANSFER BROADCAST VIDEO SEGMENTS ACROSS ETHERNET NETWORK DIRECTLY FROM TAPE PLAYBACK
Ethernet File Transfer Offers Broadcast and Video Professionals a Cost-Effective Digital Alternative to Microwave and Satellite Transmissions
NEW YORK, September 18, 2003 -Sony Electronics Inc. and Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:LVLT) today announced that they have successfully transferred digital broadcast video and audio segments across Level 3's wide area Ethernet network using Sony's e-VTR technology.
Representing the merging of synchronous video/audio systems and asynchronous data networks, Sony's e-VTR involves an add-on option that enables Sony MPEG IMX VTRs to connect to Ethernet networks. With the e-VTR option, MPEG IMX VTRs can transfer video and audio segments as files over IP networks to or from other MPEG IMX VTRs, servers or nonlinear editing systems anywhere in the world. This asynchronous distribution introduces significant production and workflow advantages. In addition, the accompanying e-VTR Manager software enables remote control of VTRs, allowing, for instance, a technical director in New York to roll tape on a VTR in Moscow.
"With the e-VTR on Level 3's network, broadcasters can now enjoy the benefits that Ethernet networks can provide, which can include improved operational efficiencies and workflow management, and lower transmission costs," said Stephen Jacobs, senior vice president for Sony's Broadcast and Production Services Division. "Sony's industry leading e-VTR systems and Level 3's Ethernet data networking capabilities give broadcast and video professionals the opportunity to innovatively exploit these benefits today.
"In essence, it's like having a very long Ethernet cable that connects multiple video production facilities regardless of location: across town, across the country, around the globe."
In the recent testing phase of the e-VTR, the team of Sony and Level 3 engineers successfully transferred 50 and 30 Mbps broadcast 4:2:2 digital video segments across a local network. The team also successfully transferred the video segments across a wide area network from a Sony e-VTR between Denver and Washington, D.C. and between Denver and Dallas using Level 3's (3)Flex Ethernet service.
"(3)Flex Ethernet allows broadcast and video professionals to capitalize upon the low cost and simplicity of Ethernet technology in a secure, high-performance network environment," said Charles Meyers, president of IP and Data Services for Level 3. "Our Ethernet service can be accessed very easily from anywhere a conventional local loop can be ordered. And with our new local access capability, we can provide an end-to-end Ethernet service that also offers distance-agnostic, usage-based pricing that further reduces video transmission costs."
(3)Flex Ethernet, announced yesterday, enables customers to extend Ethernet's ease of use from the LAN to the WAN and supports growing needs for bandwidth through a cost effective, secure solution that offers high performance guarantees. The product is a Layer 2 based managed Ethernet wide area networking (WAN) service. Customers can purchase (3)Flex Ethernet service from Level 3 in more than 75 major markets in the U.S. and Europe.
About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 (Nasdaq:LVLT) is an international communications and information services company. The company operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world, is one of the largest providers of wholesale dial-up service to ISPs in North America and is the primary provider of Internet connectivity for millions of broadband subscribers, through its cable and DSL partners. The company offers a wide range of communications services over its 22,500 mile broadband fiber optic network including Internet Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport and infrastructure services, colocation services, and patented Softswitch managed modem and voice services. Its Web address is www.Level3.com.
The company offers information services through its subsidiaries, (i)Structure and Software Spectrum. For additional information, visit their respective web sites at www.softwarespectrum.com and www.i-structure.com.
