Following an announcement by Australia’s Nine Network that it will bring in Qvest Media to oversee the relocation of its Sydney operations to North Sydney in mid-2020, the German company has confirmed it will establish an Australian branch to support the project, which will include on-air graphics, newsroom systems, post-production, network and infrastructure, and live studio elements.
Nine says it is taking the opportunity presented by the move from its Willoughby broadcast centre to 1 Denison Street, North Sydney, to overhaul its technological broadcast stack, moving to SMPTE 2110 Standard for Professional Video Delivery Over IP Networks.
According to Konstantin Knauf, Director Consulting, Qvest Media (pictured), “We are happy that Nine Network put their trust in us to be part of this innovative and ambitious project. This is a huge acknowledgment of our expertise as one of the leading consultants and system integrators for future media technologies and infrastructures in the media world.
“As a globally operating company, we are able to realise projects nearly anywhere in the world. Depending on the requirements, projects can be implemented with or without a local branch. In the case of Nine Network, we have decided to install a local branch.”
On the company’s experience with projects based on SMPTE 2110 standard technology, Knauf says, “It is true that we have already designed, installed, and realised numerous all-IP infrastructures for customers across Europe and the Middle East. We never solely rely on our experience, though. We incorporate state-of-the-art technical innovations, best-practice solutions for the creation of workflows, and aspects like change management for a high employee acceptance into our holistic approach. Considering market developments that are expedient and profitable for our customers is our focus at all times. Interoperability between providers and COTS-based networks are examples that still play an important role in designing All-IP system architectures.”
According to Konstantin Knauf, the company’s consulting is based on a “best-of-breed approach”.
“That means our first step in a project is performing a detailed requirements analysis with the customer. Subsequently, the best available products and solutions for the technological and commercial realisation will be determined within a market analysis. Our approach to this technology selection is global which can cover Australian companies, for example, too. As far as the project implementation and integration are concerned, we have made many positive experiences cooperating with local companies.”
With a mid-2020 delivery date for the new station, Knauf says, “A detailed project plan and schedule is currently being developed and adopted in tight cooperation with Nine Network’s project team.”