City of Rochester Fire Department: Emergency Training and Information Network

The City of Rochester Fire Department in the state of New York, in ongoing partnerships with public TV station WXXI, Triveni Digital and the Department of Homeland Security, is deploying a new generation, region wide, Public Safety Communications Network called the Emergency Training and Information Network (ETIN). The ETIN is based on Triveni Digital’s SkyScraper™ Emergency Services Network (ESN) solution. This end-to-end solution utilizes WXXI’s digital television broadcast to provide a secure wireless wideband data path to deliver training, operational and emergency alert information to targeted first responder sites.

The first network deployments included over 100 first responder sites throughout Monroe County including the Rochester Fire Department, Monroe County Fire, Rochester Police Department, Monroe County Police, Monroe County EMS, Monroe County Health Department, and six area hospitals. Using the Triveni Digital SkyScraper solution to deliver information via data broadcasting allows fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, hospitals, emergency management and emergency communications to benefit from an on-demand network of information that is up to date and available 24/7.

“Our ETIN project is streamlining the delivery of training and information. It’s establishing a secure communication network that can disseminate training and real-time critical information to more emergency response agencies, in a timely and cost effective fashion, then any existing method,” said Captain John Kearney at the City of Rochester Fire Department. “Triveni Digital team members have worked closely with us throughout the development process and continue to provide excellent support as we move into the launch phase. This project would have had difficulty attaining functional reality without the cooperation of Triveni Digital.”

Agency sites equipped with an integrated broadband receiver within a seventy-five mile radius of WXXI will have access to continuously updated vital information. This information includes emergency alerts, information bulletins, weather reports and forecasts, radar and satellite maps, Homeland Security threat information, an event and shift assignment calendar, and a library containing training materials, equipment manuals, administrative manuals and forms, and many other types of information.

Click here for more information about how the SkyScraper Emergency Services Network (ESN) Solution is used in this project.
Click here for the ETIN project’s home site.
Government Video Article about the project

Top

Mississippi Public Broadcasting: Datacasting Educational Information

Triveni Digital and Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) are collaborating to use data broadcasting technologies and applications to address key challenges faced by Mississippi’s education system in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Donated for indefinite use by Triveni Digital, the SkyScraper™ content distribution system, along with various software components including the SkyScraper Application Constructor content publishing system, is expected to enable the deployment of critical communication systems.

“Since Hurricane Katrina, we have strengthened partnerships to assist our students,” said Dr. Hank M. Bounds, State Superintendent of Education. “This collaboration among the Mississippi Department of Education, Mississippi Public Broadcasting and Triveni Digital will help us provide rigorous curriculum and assessment materials as well as excellent professional development opportunities for teachers across the state.”

The project Digital is aimed at helping schools use technology to accelerate student learning for all students. Using this digital system, MPB and Triveni will distribute curriculum to students and teachers that can be used in both permanent and temporary classroom settings, in shelters, in homes and other facilities where Internet connection is unavailable. The system is based on Triveni Digital’s SkyScraper content distribution system.

“Mississippi Public Broadcasting turned to Triveni Digital immediately after Hurricane Katrina for help in reaching Mississippians with educational programs. We knew that traditional technology would not be enough,” said MPB executive director Marie Antoon. “We hope that these technologies will be able to bring education programs to the students on the Gulf Coast.”

Click here for more information about this project.

Top

ABC Owned Television Stations: Monitoring and Validating ATSC Streams

The ABC Owned Television Stations Group selected Triveni Digital’s StreamScope™ ATSC transport stream analyzers to monitor and validate on-air signals while providing remote troubleshooting features. Each station uses a rack-mounted system to ensure compliance to FCC mandated standards by monitoring and validating its on-air signals. Using the system's remote monitoring capabilities, ABC engineers can simultaneously observe multiple ATSC signals as they are broadcast from various stations and verify FCC compliance for the entire group of stations from a single central point.

The ABC Owned Television Stations are one of America’s leading television groups, with ten stations covering 24% of U.S. TV Households. Each of the stations is a leader in local news, information and syndicated programming, in addition to offering ABC Television Network programming in primetime and other dayparts. A current customer of Triveni Digital's metadata management systems, the group continues to use its PSIP transmission to enhance market branding and protect channel identities in on-screen Electronic Program Guides (EPGs).

The remote monitoring capabilities of StreamScope enable ABC engineers to observe and analyze feeds from multiple stations concurrently. To achieve this, a client interface is loaded onto individual PCs and using broadband connections, authorized engineers can view all the inputs into a single system or multiple systems simultaneously. Triveni Digital provides a native StreamScope client instead of limiting engineers to an HTML interface. Consequently VSB/QAM characteristics, stream makeup including virtual channels, PIDs and bandwidth, PSI and PSIP tables, PCR characteristics and buffer usage, as well as a host of other items can be monitored remotely.

Click here for more information.

Top

KLCS: Datacasting Educational Information

KLCS selected Triveni Digital’s datacasting system for its project to provide nearly one million teachers and students in the Los Angeles County School District (LAUSD) with rich instructional digital media content. The project places the educational materials directly in each classroom or at library computers via video/data streaming, thereby allowing individualized, tailored learning to occur.

Using Triveni Digital’s SkyScraper™ system, the content for the schools is inserted into the digital broadcast stream. The technique, also known as datacasting, increases the resources available to the schools by delivering them where they are needed - on site. The SkyScraper system provides various methods for packaging, distribution and accessing of the content. Age and audience appropriate user interfaces can easily be designed and implemented.

"The team at Triveni Digital has done a fantastic job ensuring their product was integrated with our asset management database," said Alan Popkin, Director of Engineering at KLCS. "SkyScraper has proven to be a solid product. It provides us with the tools and flexible architecture that we need for our ever-expanding project."

KLCS transmits four streaming channels at 1 Mbps directly to school sites from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. during school days while also broadcasting their regularly scheduled programming. These channels, a replication of KLCS’ main channel, a Primary School Channel, a Secondary School Channel, and a Professional Development Channel are coordinated with the curriculum calendar, providing teachers with an easy means to access rich media without leaving the classroom.

Click here for more information about this project and how the SkyScraper system is used within it.
Click here for an article about this project from Broadcast Engineering Magazine.

Top

CHUM Television’s Citytv Toronto: PSIP Management and Stream Monitoring

When Citytv Toronto began broadcasting Canada’s first digital over-the-air signal, Triveni Digital's GuideBuilder™ system helped the station comply with the ATSC PSIP standard, retain their market branding, and protect their channel identities in on-screen Electronic Program Guides (EPGs). Furthermore, Triveni Digital has enhanced GuideBuilder, the leading PSIP management solution in the US, with Canadian specific features such as use of the Canadian Rating System.

Additionally, CHUM Television uses Triveni Digital’s StreamScope ATSC stream analyzer to measure and monitor its DTV signals and transport streams throughout its geographic coverage area, while ensuring that their transport streams are standards-compliant.

"The Triveni Digital systems provide us powerful tools that are leaders in their respective technologies but also have Canadian DTV focus. Additionally, they are remarkably simple to use and were easily integrated into our DTV system," said Bruce Cowan, Director Broadcast Technology at CHUM Television. "We’ve been very impressed with the company's engineering expertise and the overall support during and after the delivery."

Click here for more information.

Top

Clear Channel Television: PSIP Insertion and ATSC Stream Monitoring

Clear Channel Television selected Triveni Digital to provide PSIP implementation and ATSC transport stream measurement solutions for its group of 18 television stations.

"After significant thought, we decided to implement the full ATSC standard from day one, creating the best consumer experience possible," said Brian Coombs, Director of DTV Engineering for Clear Channel Television. "After speaking with all known vendors, I selected Triveni Digital. Their willingness to customize GuideBuilder for multichannel support and interface it with our existing program database system were key factors in their selection."

In situations where Clear Channel operates duopolies and a triopoly, the GuideBuilder™ system was modified to allow a single PSIP system to send out different PSIP data for each individual station for a seamless and integrated solution.

GuideBuilder systems allow broadcasters to collect, translate, manage, and generate PSIP data compliant with the ATSC/A65 standard, with features for centralcasting support with multiple outputs carrying localized PSIP data. The StreamScope™ system records, monitors, measures, and analyzes digital television station's streams and signals to ensure they are free of problems and comply with ATSC standards.

Click here for more information.

Top

Sinclair Broadcast Group: PSIP Generation and ATSC Stream Monitoring

In 2002, Sinclair Broadcast Group deployed Triveni Digital’s industry-leading PSIP generation product GuideBuilder™ and StreamScope™ ATSC transport stream monitor and analyzers as part of their conversion to digital TV.

Today, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country. Sinclair owns and operates, programs, or provides sales services to 58 television stations in 36 markets.The company continues to use Triveni Digital’s systems.

"Triveni Digital provides us with a very flexible PSIP solution. They are the industry leader and we are pleased to have them on our team," said Del Parks, Sinclair's Vice President of Engineering and Operations.

According to Harvey Arnold, Director of Engineering for Sinclair Broadcast Group, "Our choice of Triveni Digital was driven by the need to have a solid, dependable supplier that could provide a product that will meet our needs today and accommodate our future requirements. We believe Triveni is the leader in this arena."

Click here for more information.

Top

New Jersey Network: Datacasting Educational Information

In 2000, Triveni Digital and New Jersey Network, New Jersey’s PBS affiliate, successfully launched the data broadcasting (datacasting) of PBS’s The Whole Child web site (www.pbs.org/wholechild/) contents on NJN’s digital television spectrum using Triveni Digital’s SkyScraper™ data broadcasting system.

The Whole Child is a multimedia service produced by Detroit Public Television that includes a broadcast component, CD ROM, audio cassette, software and an extensive online component focusing on the development of children.

"As NJN continues to prepare for its conversion to digital broadcasting," said NJN Executive Director Elizabeth Christopherson, "we are eager to develop new partnerships and projects that help us expand our educational programs and services using multiple delivery platforms. NJN’s partnership with Triveni to datacast The Whole Child web site reflects NJN’s commitment to use digital technology for the public good, providing access to more information and more educational opportunities that can enhance and enrich people’s lives."

Click here for more information.