San Diego, CA, February, 2013 – San Diego Zoo Global is a conservation organization dedicated to the science of saving endangered species worldwide. Working with technology consultant, Integrated Media Technologies, Inc. (IMT), San Diego Zoo Global recently launched San Diego Zoo Kids – a television channel that features programming about unique and endangered animal species.
IMT selected a combination of professional broadcast tools from manufacturers Harmonic and Haivision to deliver live and prerecorded content to this wide distribution network. By using streaming and file delivery over the World Wide Web, it is now possible for San Diego Zoo Kids Channel to reach hundreds of receive sites and deliver a compelling broadcast quality viewing experience. With very high quality content being produced at 2K and 4K resolutions by the San Diego Zoo Kids Channel production team, priority one was to maintain and deliver a high-end viewing experience.
Two well-known San Diego organizations announced this unique partnership designed to entertain and educate patients and their families about wildlife around the world and serve as a model for children’s hospitals nationwide. Funded by a generous gift by businessman and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford, Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego and San Diego Zoo Global created San Diego Zoo Kids.
“Caring for sick and injured children goes beyond providing excellent medical care,” said Dr. Donald B. Kearns, acting president of Rady Children’s Hospital. “With programming that is both entertaining and educational, San Diego Zoo Kids enhances our patients’ experience and contributes to an environment that promotes healing. Rady Children’s is thrilled to be the first children’s hospital in the nation to launch the new channel, which will soon be made available to other children’s hospitals across the country.”
Integrated Media Technologies designed the new system using a hybrid set-top box from Haivision that is file-based and has built-in storage that can play high quality HD content and at the same time also deliver professional decoding for live IP streaming of H.264 HD programming. When the on site set-top unit connects to the network, it automatically connects to the zoo’s channel origination data center.
Media is then downloaded and played out based on a dynamically updated playlist. Because the system is addressable, it can push updates, graphics, tickers, lower thirds and other elements that can be customized to further localize the network. The significance of this solution is that the channel can be customized for each hospital, including the addition of the hospital’s logo and other media content, creating a closer partnership between the San Diego Zoo Kids Channel and its hospital affiliates.
The channel features fun and educational programs about a variety of animals, up-close encounters of popular animals, along with highlights from the Zoo’s famous live Panda Cam. The first hospital to broadcast the channel is Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, where it is available in every patient room and waiting area.
San Diego Zoo Partners With Rady’s Children Hospital video:
“We have always believed in the importance of putting people in touch with animals as a way to conserve species,” said Doug Myers, president and CEO of San Diego Zoo Global. “What we have heard from medical care professionals is that animal interaction and animal stories can also help promote well-being. San Diego Zoo Global has a wealth of animal stories and, through the generosity of Denny Sanford, we are able to make these stories available to the families at Rady Children’s Hospital.”
“When San Diego Zoo Kids channel asked IMT to get involved and develop an advanced technical plan, we knew they had the ability to create very compelling high quality content so our main focus was to develop an infrastructure that would maintain this quality through distribution,” said Chan Mahon, EVP Broadcast Systems at IMT. “We also developed a distribution plan that could be customized for each new hospital, providing the benefit of tailoring the content for each hospital, so that they can easily create unique channel experiences for their audiences.”
ABOUT RADY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, SAN DIEGO
Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego is a 475-bed pediatric care facility providing the largest source of comprehensive pediatric medical services in San Diego, Southern Riverside and Imperial counties. In June 2013, U.S. News & World Report ranked Rady Children’s among the best children’s hospitals in the nation in all ten pediatric specialties the magazine surveyed.
For more information, visit http://www.rchsd.org
ABOUT HAIVISION
Haivision delivers end-to-end solutions for streaming, encoding, recording, managing, and distributing secure video and interactive media within the enterprise, education, medical/healthcare, and federal/military industries. With a global sales and support organization, Haivision distributes its products through value-added resellers, system integrators, distributors, and OEMs worldwide. More information is available at http://www.haivision.com
ABOUT HARMONIC
Harmonic is the worldwide leader in video delivery infrastructure for emerging television and video services. The company’s production-ready innovation enables content and service providers to efficiently create, prepare, and deliver differentiated services for television and new media video platforms.
More information is available at http://www.harmonicinc.com.
ABOUT INTEGRATED MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (IMT)
Integrated Media Technologies Inc. is a leading consulting and systems integrator for digital media, and information technology. The company offers scalable solutions to manage complex technology projects from end-to-end, including research, system analysis and design, technology selection and supply, testing, installation, training and support.
For more information, visit www.imtglobalinc.com