Harris Corporation Deploys ONE Broadcast Communications System for the American Forces Network

Harris Corporation Deploys ONE Broadcast Communications System for the American Forces Network

New System Prepares AFN for Move to High-Definition Programming

CINCINNATI, July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS), an international communications and information technology company, has installed a comprehensive high-definition (HD) broadcast communications system for the American Forces Network Broadcast Center (AFN-BC) at the Defense Media Center in Riverside, Calif. Comprising broadcast routing, automation, video server, core processing and asset management products, the Harris ONE system at AFN brings together highly integrated, cost-effective solutions that are ideal for organizations upgrading to HD services.

AFN delivers news, information and entertainment to almost one million troops worldwide outside of the United States. "AFN has been utilizing video server technology since 1995," said Jerry Shorter, chief of broadcast engineering for AFN. "We wanted to improve our legacy ingest and on-air video server capability, backup redundancy, and move toward receipt and delivery of all programming in digital format. Additionally, we wanted to advance from just receiving HD to providing a technical path of broadcasting it to troops globally."

Designed by systems integrator Snader and Associates, the Harris system at the AFN Broadcast Center employs 18 NEXIO AMP(TM) servers, which enable AFN to prepare for air and play out up to 12 standard-definition programs daily. Two Harris/Isilon Systems NXIQ(TM) clustered storage silos provide robust, reliable near-line storage for AFN content. To maximize speed and consistency in the quality assurance process, the Videotek QuiC(TM) media analysis server analyzes compressed digital content during ingest and enables problems to be corrected on the fly with no operator intervention. Invenio digital asset management oversees concurrent, mission-critical tasks taking place throughout the broadcast workflow and enables AFN to maximize the value of its digital assets.

CCS Navigator(TM) software enables AFN to streamline its day-to-day operational workflow by providing centralized, real-time control and monitoring of the entire broadcast system - including third-party products such as Dell Power Edge servers. With Navigator, operators can take control of any SNMP-enabled device on the network using a familiar, intuitive application, and drag and drop parameters and alarms from multiple devices to easily build virtual device control and monitoring surfaces.

In response to AFN-BC Engineering's performance work statement, hundreds of new custom user interface pages were designed to meet the specific requirements of the AFN workflow, improve control efficiency and effectively monitor hardware failures across the network.

"Because maintaining full operational control of a network is critical to today's multichannel broadcasters, this aspect of the new AFN system was key in terms of size and scope and the overall work that was put into this project," said Lucius Stone, director, Government Solutions, Harris Broadcast Communications. "Harris customized operator screens for audio and video processing, software routing control panels and more than 300 user interface pages for the AFN installation, which now represents one of our largest, single-site custom user interface implementations."

About American Forces Network

The Department of Defense operates AFN American Forces Network . AFN, a worldwide radio and television broadcast network, serves nearly one million American service men and women, Department of Defense civilians and their families overseas, stationed at bases in 175 countries as well as 140 U.S. Navy ships at sea. AFN broadcasts the most popular American radio and television programs from all the major networks. AFN is a service of the American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS), a component of the Defense Media Activity (DMA). For more information about AFN's programming, please visit www.myafn.net.

About Harris Corporation

Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $5 billion of annual revenue and 15,000 employees -- including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications products, systems, and services. Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at www.harris.com.

Source: Harris Corporation

CONTACT: Susan Sheppard, Government Solutions Unit, Harris Broadcast
Communications, +1-585-624-7969, susan.sheppard@harris.com

Web Site: http://www.harris.com/

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