Press release from Well Above
S&T and its Australian partner Magna Systems and Engineering today announced that they have developed and installed a major system upgrade to the Freeview Australia EPG system, with Magna providing local support and systems testing for the installation and S&T providing new customised versions of software.
David Cutts Managing Director of S&T said, “The upgrade was commissioned by Freeview to improve the performance and user experience of the EPG with modifications to the MHEG receiver application and relocation of the schedule data processing to a single data centre. The TSBroadcaster2 carousel systems at all the broadcaster playout centres have also been upgraded to support new features. HWW, Australia's leading provider of TV Metadata, which collates the schedule data from all networks, have also assisted with consolidation of similar programme schedules for different markets.”
The Freeview EPG, which has been on-air since July 2010, provides eight-day listings for all Freeview channels as well as integrated PVR support with series links and accurate recording.
Andrew Robertson, Freeview’s consultant engineer said, “S&T and Magna Systems have successfully and promptly delivered this complex project resulting in a better user experience and significant performance efficiencies. The upgraded Freeview EPG is a solution that we are very pleased to have had implemented by S&T and Magna. We expect to see more Freeview EPG receiver products enter the market this year as a result.”
Freeview’s EPG system is the most complex MHEG application system delivered outside of the UK, managing schedule data presentation as well as integrated PVR booking, series links and accurate recording, for multiple broadcasters across multiple states and time zones.
David Bowers CEO of Magna Systems said, “We are delighted to have completed this major upgrade for Freeview Australia as it has addressed new requirements from the Freeview broadcasters for an increased number of unique markets, whilst also delivering an improved user experience with faster performance and improved operational reliability.”