PBS Moves Ahead With Triveni Digital Solution
Princeton Junction, NJ - September 7, 2001
Triveni Digital, the leading provider of high performance, open standards digital television (DTV) solutions for data enhanced broadcasting, announced today the successful installation of a complete datacasting/interactive television (iTV) and PSIP metadata management systems in the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Technology Operations Center (TOC). The system, comprised of Triveni Digital's GuideBuilder, SkyScraper, and SkyScraper Interactive products will be used for expanded ATVEF technology deployments on a nationwide scale, through various delivery methods.
PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, VA, based its purchase decision on the successful results of their trials using Triveni Digital's technology to air interactive TV enhancements of its "Scientific American Frontiers" series this past spring. PBS enhanced selected episodes of "Scientific American Frontiers" with Advanced Television Enhancement Forum (ATVEF) content using Triveni Digital's SkyScraper system. Seven PBS stations participated in the first ever digital terrestrial broadcasts using the ATVEF Transport B specification, which embeds the enhancements directly into the program stream for more efficient bandwidth use and more rapid response time in the receiver. Triveni Digital's GuideBuilder was used in conjunction with SkyScraper to insert metadata enabling standards-based receivers to discover the data services in the DTV signal.
GuideBuilder interfaces with PBS's internal system - NOLA (Network Operations Logging Application) - through which PBS is now able to automate the entire PSIP data generation and management process along with its traffic, automation, and program listing control.
"The Triveni Digital system allows PBS to centralize our program information and enhanced data applications," said Jerry Butler, Senior Director, PBS DTV Strategic Services Group. Using the NOLA interface, PBS is now able to automate the creation of the Electronic Program Guide [EPG], including last minute updates for our DTV program services. This is a very cost effective solution to what had been a manual entry task. In DTV we not only have to manage bandwidth but information within the bandwidth. These tools help us do that in a more efficient manner."
Triveni Digital's GuideBuilder interfaces with the Program Database (PDB) and NOLA. PDB and NOLA are centralized systems for storing, querying, and reporting information on PBS programs. PBS's Program Offer Data Service (PODS) provides a daily distribution of tab-delimited database files, drawn from the PDB and NOLA containing most of the information currently available in Program Offer PBS Express messages as well as general traffic information related to non-PBS programs.
NOLA is the exclusive encoder/multiplexor interface for feeding program/automation information into the national PBS ATSC-encoded feed that is sent to PBS member stations across the country. With GuideBuilder, PBS can easily make quick updates to timetable, program events, and ratings along with other information, and/or accommodate program overruns and other last-minute changes.
"As PBS continues their iTV trials, they now have the ability to manage their bandwidth and the data they insert into their bandwidth more efficiently," said Mark Simpson, President and CEO of Triveni Digital. "With PBS moving towards regular iTV program enhancements, they are already far ahead of the data and bandwidth management learning curve to better serve their viewers and accomplish their mission. SkyScraper provides the lowest operational overhead among interactive programming products."
With SkyScraper, PBS now has the ability to provide new services with its digital bandwidth by enabling different types of data services to be carried simultaneously in their digital signal. SkyScraper Interactive allows PBS to focus on enabling compelling and educational iTV programming. The SkyScraper DataFab and DataHub components perform two critical functions for PBS's data broadcasting operations. SkyScraper DataFab provides tools for collecting and organizing data such as streaming video, Web content, documents, multimedia promotional materials, etc. DataFab is used to schedule, prioritize, target, categorize, and manage the data ensuring that the PBS content reaches appropriate groups of viewers quickly, affordably, and securely.
DataHub, manages, processes, and inserts data from multiple DataFab feeds, tracking bandwidth usage, which allows PBS to manage their terrestrial digital bandwidth, while recording usage and generating bandwidth usage reports for each data account.
SkyScraper enables both pure data broadcasting and interactive data broadcasting. With the correct receivers, and SkyScraper systems, local PBS stations will be capable of nationwide, local, or mixed data broadcasting operations.
Note To Editors:
When referring to Triveni Digital, please use the complete company name "Triveni Digital" and not just the word "Triveni."
About Triveni Digital:
Triveni Digital, Inc., a subsidiary of LG Electronics, develops Digital Television systems, focusing on equipment for management of enhanced data and metadata in digital broadcast streams. Triveni Digital's products for ATSC PSIP, data broadcasting, stream analysis, and monitoring are renowned for their ease of use and innovative features. Triveni Digital's Custom Solutions business enables the rapid deployment of solutions for data broadcast application. Working with leading industry partners, Triveni Digital employs an open and standards-compliant approach to the digital television market. For more Information, please contact us.
About PBS:
PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 347 public television stations. Serving nearly 100 million people each week, PBS enriches the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services on noncommercial television, the Internet and other media. More information about PBS is available at PBS.org.
