Swiss Radio and Television company uses Sony Sonaps as a networked platform for file-based workflows

AMSTERDAM (IBC Booth 12.A10), 9 September, 2011: At IBC this year, Sony Professional is announcing that SRG SSR, the Swiss public broadcasting organisation, is modernising its sports and news systems based on Sony’s network-based Sonaps production system. Sonaps will enable SRG SSR to work beyond company 'borders' via a network which extends across the entire production process for A/V-based content.

With the production of news and sports programmes being one of the central pillars of any public service television corporation and given the rise in digital services and the switch to HD, SRG SSR’s executive management team engaged in a multi-stage selection process to search for a strong technology partner and selected Sony Professional.

SRG SSR has set itself the target of getting its production workflows 'fit for the future' throughout its various divisions, and to make use of the performance capability of modern production systems in order to do so. Professional users in SRG SRR’s various editorial offices require simultaneous access at all times to raw material, enabling them to work more efficiently. This is particularly true in the case of international sporting events such as the Olympic Games or World Championships, where content is distributed to several regions.

"SRG SSR and Sony Professional are linked by many years of collaboration and we have great confidence in one another and furthermore Sonaps is one of the leading technology solutions on the market," explains Silvio Studer, CTO at SRG SSR.

Sonaps satisfies all requirements for modern tapeless workflows and covers the entire production process for A/V content, starting with the planning and delivery of production, through to the play out and back up of finished items. Sonaps is compatible with Sony’s XDCAM HD422 format which SRG SSR already uses. Furthermore, Sonaps can be integrated with third-party systems.

The Sonaps systems will be replacing a series of diverse systems within the following SRG SSR company units: the Technology and Production Centre Switzerland in Zurich, the Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha in Chur, the Radio Télévision Suisse in Geneva and the Radiotelevisione Svizzera in Lugano. The initial focus has been on starting the changeover to HD in early 2012, where Sony was responsible for hardware and software, for systems integration and commissioning, as well as for staff training.

A further milestone in this project will involve SRG SSR and Sony introducing a mobile Sonaps system for major sporting events, with its first planned use being the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The mobile on-site system will be connected to the system in Zurich and this will facilitate simultaneous access to material by colleagues in all regions of Switzerland. As a result, less content needs to be processed directly on location and SRG SSR can employ its resources in Switzerland in an efficient manner, making the entire production workflow substantially faster and more efficient.

"For us, this assignment for SRG SSR is a strong show of confidence in us," states Markus Gächter, Head of Broadcast & Media Solutions Switzerland and Austria, Sony Professional, and a member of the Project Board for the Sonaps project. “Through the order from SRG SSR, we are able once again to demonstrate that we are also able to offer powerful solutions within an IT environment."

Following the rollout of the first phase in Zurich, Chur, Genf and Lugano, and of the mobile system, SRG SSR is already planning to integrate other systems at RTS in Geneva (RTS-Sport), tpc in Zurich (SRF-News) and the Bundeshaus (Swiss central government) production centre in Bern. By about 2015, the company will be changing over the systems in all of its company units to Sony Sonaps.