Billerica, Massachusetts (June 2, 2009) Broadcast Pix™ Inc. today announced that Safeway—one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America —is the first customer of its shared router solution, designed to link the Broadcast Pix Slate™ 3032 with one or more Slate systems so they share the same inputs and outputs. 

Safeway’s shared router, which is a 32x32 Harris® Panacea™ HD/SD router, links its Broadcast Pix Slate™ 3032 and Slate 1000 integrated live production switchers, which are situated in two separate control rooms at its corporate headquarters in Pleasanton, CA. Safeway also uses Broadcast Pix Fluent workflow software to bring in HD/SD graphics, clips, and digital files and data—over a network from workstations into the switchers. 

“The shared router gives us the flexibility to use either Slate system to switch video productions taking place in our two studios or auditorium. The shared router greatly simplifies the routing process and wiring between our studios, control rooms, and auditorium,” said Brian Eikenberry, broadcast engineering manager for Safeway, Inc., Pleasanton, CA. “Either Slate is able to take the same 32 source inputs.” 

The switchers are used to produce 30 hours of corporate training and informational videos per week for the benefit of Safeway’s 200,000 employees at it 1800 stores nationwide. These long-form video programs—which are shot live and recorded onto servers—cover a wide range of topics, such as baking breads for the bakery, presenting salads in the deli, and providing world class customer service. They are distributed via satellite to each store where employees view them on TVs or at their desktops. 

“We chose these Broadcast Pix systems for their attractive price/performance. Because of the Slate’s integrated functionality—including a two-channel Harris® Inscriber™ CG, six keyers, DVE, still and clip stores, and multiviewer monitoring—we were able to build out our control rooms very cost-effectively. And one operator can manage the entire production from a single control panel,” said Eikenberry. 

For Safeway, these Slate systems also represent the first step in their migration from SD to HD production. With the planned purchase of HD cameras for the studios and auditorium, Safeway hopes that it will soon be producing its corporate videos in HD.

About Broadcast Pix Broadcast Pix is the leader in integrated live video production systems. Its Slate systems create compelling live video far more cost effectively than conventional control rooms. Slate includes a switcher, multi-view, CG, clip and graphic stores, Fluent workflow software, as well as aspect and format conversion. Slate is a fraction of the cost of a conventional control room, even a solo operator can create engaging video, and it is upgradeable to 3G 1080p, the emerging HD standard. Broadcast Pix is based in Massachusetts, with offices throughout North America and in Europe. Customers include over 1,000 leading broadcast, webcast, podcast, cable, entertainment, mobile, corporate, education, religious, and government studios in over 70 countries. For more information, go to www.broadcastpix.com.

Broadcast Pix, Fluent and Slate are trademarks of Broadcast Pix, Inc. Patented.

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Robin Hoffman
Pipeline Communications
277 Valley Way
Montclair, NJ 07042
(973) 746-6970
cell: (917) 763-8069