Jun 05, 2008

Volicon Observer® RPM Improves Quality of Service at Panama’s Cable Onda

BURLINGTON, Mass. — June 4, 2008 — Cable Onda, Panama’s largest provider of cable television and broadband services, has installed two Observer® RPM-200 (Remote Program Monitor) systems to automatically scan and troubleshoot the company’s complete lineup of more than 200 digital and 100 analog channels. Manufactured by Volicon, a leading provider of media monitoring, recording, archiving, and streaming solutions, the Observer RPM systems enable Cable Onda to monitor its transmission proactively from its central NOC for more efficient operations and a better quality of service.

“Previously, we were having to check the lineup manually at least six times in every 24-hour period, a task that was tying up two to four engineers for 20 to 40 minutes each time,” said Harold Brady, Cable Onda’s headend manager. “Now, those engineers are free to concentrate on verifying other equipment, and since the Observers are constantly scanning, we have a much more consistent and reliable method for identifying and correcting failures before they become customer complaints.”

Cable Onda has installed the two Observer RPM systems (one each for the analog and digital lineup) at the company’s headend in Panama City, with plans to deploy the system to remote hub sites located throughout Panama. The RPM systems cycle through the entire channel lineup 24 hours a day, briefly scanning each channel to detect faults, such as low or missing audio, black or static screen video, or missing video.

When a problem is detected, the system automatically generates and sends a text message to the responsible operator’s cell phone and an e-mail with a direct link to the problematic content, enabling the operator to actively diagnose the problem. At the same time, the Observer RPM creates a video log and a clip to provide a visual reference of the fault. When the faulty channel recovers, the RPM sends another text notification to the operator. The Observer RPM system’s intuitive Web-based interface gives operators total video control with the ability to search, retrieve, view, analyze, annotate, share, and export video from the desktop.

“With the Observer RPMs, we have seen massive improvements in the overall quality of our reception and our up-time percentages, as well as our response time to outages. We have also seen a marked decrease in the number of inbound calls to our call center, a real indicator of improved customer satisfaction,” said Brady. “Satisfied customers and more efficient operations translate to real competitive advantages.”

“The Observer RPM systems have helped position Cable Onda to maintain its market dominance and reinforce its customers’ loyalty at a time when they are given more choices by a growing number of emerging Panamanian cable providers,” said Julius Perl, Volicon’s vice president of marketing. “Cable Onda has made very effective use of its Observer RPM systems, proactively ensuring the quality and integrity of services delivered to viewers.”

More information about the Observer RPM and other Volicon products is available at http://www.volicon.com.
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About Cable Onda
In 26 years of operation, Cable Onda has grown from one of Panama’s first pay-television companies to the country’s premier provider of cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services. In 1999, Cable Onda was the first in Panama to deliver broadband Internet services via cable modem. Today, Cable Onda operates a fiber optic network delivering services to thousands of homes and businesses throughout the country. More information about Cable Onda is available at http://www.cableonda.com.

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HDWorld Booth 1157 October 15-16 2008

Volicon’s Observer HD is the industry’s premier High Definition content monitoring solution for Broadcasters.

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Volicon Observer wins TV Technology STAR Award @ IBC 2006

Volicon, a leading provider of advanced solutions for monitoring broadcasts, logging, archiving, and streaming of digital video, …

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Volicon is the leading supplier of broadcast monitoring systems used by broadcasters and cable …

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