Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Canadas Knowledge Network on Air with Imagine Playout Automation System

27/04/2021

Knowledge Network, the public educational broadcaster in British Columbia, Canada, has upgraded its playout facility near Vancouver with a future-proof, software-based channel creation solution based on Imagine Communications' widely deployed Versio integrated playout platform and ADC automation.

Publicly funded and commercial free, Knowledge Network broadcasts and streams local and international content 24/7, offering a mix of documentaries, arts and culture, prime-time dramas, and children's programming watched by over a million viewers each week. When the broadcaster's existing automation system reached end of life, Knowledge Network seized the opportunity to update its playout operations to a flexible, software-based solution that could meet current workflow requirements and easily add new functionality as their business evolves.

Knowledge Network surveyed the market and ran proof-of-concept trials for three systems before choosing Imagine's Versio solution, an integrated playout platform that can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud or in a hybrid environment. By implementing the latest software-based playout solutions, Knowledge Network was able to replace 22 pieces of hardware with nine at a fraction of the cost of the legacy build.

We were looking to replace our aging playout system with a reliable solution that had a roadmap for continued development and a responsive support network, said Oliver Eichel, director of broadcast technology and IT at Knowledge Network. Imagine's in-depth understanding of broadcast workflows and continuous development of their product lines, including special features that we requested, gave us confidence to make this transition. The Imagine team provided exceptional support throughout the entire implementation process from planning to commissioning, to go live.

An important factor in the choice of the Imagine solution was the ability to easily integrate Versio and ADC with existing and newly implemented technologies, including Knowledge Network's BroadView traffic software. Integrating with more devices and business systems than any other automation product, the widely used ADC system helped ensure a seamless workflow environment.

Moving to a streamlined, integrated playout architecture has enabled us to handle complex workflows with fewer manual interventions, Eichel said. For example, we typically have to invest extra hours and manpower to transition during biannual time changes. But with the Imagine system, this year's move to Daylight Savings Time was seamless.

Because Knowledge Network uses interstitial programming such as promos and snipes to fill the gaps between most shows, dynamic graphics capabilities were another key consideration in the choice of a new playout system. Versio Graphics provides web-based tools to embed complex instructions into a graphics file, allowing operators to easily maintain the network's strong identity through dynamic branding with no need for specialist staff and technology.

The new system needed to be fully redundant and incorporate local storage for up to seven days of programming content, graphics creation and channel branding. Again, Imagine solutions met the requirements, with Nexio Motion asset management software ensuring the correct content is loaded onto the Versio instances in plenty of time for scheduled playout.

We are excited to welcome Knowledge Network to the worldwide family of broadcasters who rely on the proven combination of Versio and ADC for secure, flexible, dynamic playout, said Glodina Lostanlen, chief sales officer at Imagine Communications. Versio has become the industry's playout platform of choice by delivering tiered solutions to fit any budget and all channel creation needs whether you're planning an infrastructure refresh or making the transition from SDI to IP or the cloud.

As one of only two English language provincial broadcast networks in Canada, Knowledge Network is delivered by satellite and direct connect fibre to British Columbia cable systems as a basic, must-carry service. It is also available in Canada for free via apps designed for iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku and Samsung, and video on demand via its knowledge.ca website. The station's ratings are consistently in the top three by market share.

The installation was completed through Imagine's channel partner, Applied Electronics.

For more information about Imagine Communications' products and solutions, please visit https://www.imaginecommunications.com
LINK: https://www.kitplus.com/news/Canadas_Knowledge_Network_on_Air_with_Ima...
See more stories from tvbay

Most recent headlines

19/11/2025

Sphere Sound Kicks Up Its Heels at Radio City Music Hall

Sphere Sound Kicks Up Its Heels at Radio City Music HallUltra-immersive system from the singular Las Vegas venue is also ready for sportsBy Dan Daley, Audio Edi...

19/11/2025

The Future of Stadium and Arena Video Control Rooms: Tech Leaders Talk 4K, IP, and More

The Future of Stadium and Arena Video Control Rooms: Tech Leaders Talk 4K, IP, a...

19/11/2025

One Year at Intuit Dome: Walking Through the Stunning Arena's Advanced Video Production Layout with the LA Clippers

One Year at Intuit Dome: Walking Through the Stunning Arena's Advanced Video...

19/11/2025

SVG Sit-Down: IMG's Francois Westcombe Goes Inside IMG's Annual Digital Trends Report

SVG Sit-Down: IMG's Francois Westcombe Goes Inside IMG's Annual Digital ...

19/11/2025

Inside Brighton & Hove Albion's Fan-First Media Machine

Inside Brighton & Hove Albion's fan-first media machine By George Bevir Tuesday, November 18, 2025 - 10:10 Print This Story Brighton & Hove Albion'...

19/11/2025

Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 1: Kansas Athletics Brings New Production Power to Rebuilt David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium

Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 1: Kansas Athletics Brings New Production Power to Rebu...

19/11/2025

Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 2: A Pro's Guide to Kansas Athletics' New Video-Production Infrastructure

Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 2: A Pro's Guide to Kansas Athletics' New Video...

19/11/2025

MLB Media Rights Shakeup: NBC Inks Three-Year Deal for Sunday Night Baseball, Peacock Exclusive Game, and More

MLB Media Rights Shakeup: NBC Inks Three-Year Deal for Sunday Night Baseball, Pe...

19/11/2025

Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) Takes a Tender View on Queer Relationships

Rohan Parashuram Kanawade attends the premiere of Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Egyptian Theatre on January 26, 2025, in Pa...

19/11/2025

Sundance Institute-Supported Seeds, Apocalypse in the Tropics, Selena y Los Dinos, and More Earn IDA Documentary Awards Nominations

Awards season is heating up, and the International Documentary Association just ...

19/11/2025

L3Harris Breaks Ground on Arkansas Advanced Propulsion Facilities

Aerojet Rocketdyne President Ken Bedingfield and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders were joined by state and local officials to celebrate the groundbreaking o...

19/11/2025

L3Harris and PentenAmio Team to Advance Sovereign Cryptographic Capability and Innovation in the UK, Australia and Canada

L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...

19/11/2025

Multi-year partnership for Calrec and Phoenix Broadcast Solutions

Calrec gives Phoenix Broadcast Solutions its full support in strategic multi-year enterprise partnership New Singapore OB company invests in Calrec technology f...

19/11/2025

The Gauge: Poland | October 2025

October brings a larger audience in front of TV screens. The cooler autumn weather and the continuation of new programming schedules brought increases in both t...

19/11/2025

Nexstar Urges FCC to Waive Ownership Rules, Quickly Approve Tegna Acquisition

IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...

19/11/2025

Vitec Buys Datapath, Expanding Product Portfolio, Engineering, Support

Vitec has acquired Datapath, a developer of real-time video processing for large-scale video walls, AVoIP content distribution and KVM control in mission-critic...

19/11/2025

Telestream Unveils ARGUS V2.3 With Live Look Stream Validation

NEVADA CITY, Calif. Telestream has introduced ARGUS Version 2.3, which introduces Live Look, a feature that lets operators inspect live and on-demand streams vi...

19/11/2025

Charter Taps AWS for Generative AI Solutions

STAMFORD, Conn. and NEW YORK Charter Communications, Inc. has announced a major deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) that establishes AWS as one of Charters stra...

19/11/2025

Atomos Adds New Camera Control Features to Ninja TX

TOKYO Atomos has announced a major firmware update that brings integrated camera control to the Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX its new CFexpress-based monitor-recor...

19/11/2025

Berklee's Signature Series Reimagines the Musical and Visual Artistry of Coldplay

Berklee's Signature Series Reimagines the Musical and Visual Artistry of Col...

19/11/2025

PlayBox Neo Wraps NAB Show New York 2025 with Big Energy...

PlayBox Neo departed the NAB Show New York 2025 on a high note. The company's all-new PlayBox Neo Suite made a splash on the show floor, drawing strong inte...

19/11/2025

AAVBR Boosts Event Production Efficiency With Pliant Tech...

AAVBR (American Audio Visual Baton Rouge), a leading full-service event production company serving Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region, has enhanced its product...

19/11/2025

Calrec gives Phoenix Broadcast Solutions its full support...

In its mission to deliver live event services combining advanced engineering with a creative approach to captivating live sports and entertainment experiences, ...

19/11/2025

Popularity of Online Short-Form Content Moving Beyond Social Media

NEW YORK Short-form vertical video has exploded across platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, but a new survey commissioned by Media.net, a provider of c...

19/11/2025

YES Network, CAMB.AI Strike AI Translation Partnership

NEW YORK YES Network, the regional sports network home of the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets, and CAMB.AI have struck a partnership they said will leverage ...

19/11/2025

FCC Releases New Filing Deadlines

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has issued detailed guidance on filings that were disrupted by the government shutdown. While many of those fil...

19/11/2025

NFL's Popularity Advances TV Seasonal Viewership Growth

NEW YORK The popularity of NFL games is largely responsible for continued seasonal momentum in TV viewership into October (measured Sept. 29-Oct. 26), according...

19/11/2025

MyFree DirecTV Adds Seven New Channels

DirecTV has announced that its MyFree DirecTV streaming service has added seven new channels. Those include four sports services, NBA FAST, Red Bull TV, DAZN Ri...

19/11/2025

MRMC's Flair Bridge Simplifies Robot Control Across Any Platform

SURREY, U.K. Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has launched Flair Bridge, a compact device that transforms how operators control the company's motion-contr...

19/11/2025

FCC Sets Deadlines for 2022 Quadrennial Review

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission, which is continuing to rapidly ramp up its operations after the end of the federal government shutdown, has se...

19/11/2025

Nexstar Urges FCC to Waive Ownership Rules, Quickly Approve of Tegna Acquisition

IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...

19/11/2025

Rohde & Schwarz collaborates with Broadcom to enable testing and validation of next-gen Wi-Fi 8 chipsets

Rohde & Schwarz collaborates with Broadcom to enable testing and validation of n...

19/11/2025

Innato, starring Imanol Arias and Elena Anaya, arrives on Netflix in Spain on December 12

Back to All News Innato, starring Imanol Arias and Elena Anaya, arrives on Netf...

19/11/2025

Guillermo del Toro Sits Down With 'Troll 2' Director Roar Uthaug to Discuss Creatures and Folklore

Back to All News Guillermo del Toro Sits Down With Troll 2 Director Roar Uthaug...

19/11/2025

A Look Behind Luxembourg's Most Ambitious Broadcast

Some projects feel monumental from the moment the first phone call comes in. When BCE, the host broadcaster appointed to coordinate the national coverage, asked...

19/11/2025

Bay Area Host Committee And Dolby Partner To Deliver Immersive Fan Experiences

November 19 2025, 08:00 (PST) BAY AREA HOST COMMITTEE AND DOLBY PARTNER TO DELIVER IMMERSIVE FAN EXPERIENCES During the Week of Football's Biggest Game...

19/11/2025

New RT documentary on the life of former President Michael D. Higgins

Michael D. Higgins: Ireland's Ninth President features RT Archives footage and interviews across seven decades Watch Wednesday 19 November at 9:35pm on RT...

19/11/2025

November 18, 2025

Scripps Research scientists receive $1.1 million to advance AI modeling for HIV vaccine development New AI system helps scientists rapidly pinpoint the most pro...

18/11/2025

AGILE: Securing the Future of Independent Journalism

Independent media across Central America are operating under intensifying financial pressure, yet there is a clear appetite for models that can sustain both ind...

18/11/2025

NBA Debuts New Comms Infrastructure and Systems for Referees

NBA Debuts New Comms Infrastructure and Systems for RefereesTwo-phase rollout is intended to improve game flow, enhance officiating accuracyBy Dan Daley, Audio ...

18/11/2025

Platinum White Paper: How Aggreko Delivers Certainty for Broadcasters on the World Stage

Platinum White Paper: How Aggreko Delivers Certainty For Broadcasters On The Wor...

18/11/2025

Kiswe Extends DTC Products With Kiswe Core Cloud-Based Tool for Distributing Content to Any Platform

Kiswe Extends DTC Products With Kiswe Core Cloud-Based Tool for Distributing Con...

18/11/2025

Spanish Basketball Federation Partners with ScorePlay to Power Digital Transformation

Spanish Basketball Federation partners with ScorePlay to power digital transform...

18/11/2025

HBS Selects BBright Encoders and Decoders to Connect ST 2110 Live Production Workflows to the Cloud via SRT

HBS selects BBright encoders and decoders to connect ST 2110 live production wor...

18/11/2025

Ashes to Ashes: Inside TNT Sports' Hybrid and Maverick' Production Plan for Coverage of Cricket's Oldest Rivalry

Ashes to Ashes: Inside TNT Sports' hybrid and maverick' production plan...

18/11/2025

SVG All-Stars: Mimi Fotopoulos, Director, Talent and Production Operations, Tennis Channel

SVG All-Stars: Mimi Fotopoulos, Director, Talent and Production Operations, Tenn...

18/11/2025

Sports and Entertainment Convergence: Productions Share Tech, Infrastructure

SVG LIVE! Conference Explores the Tech Side of Sports and Entertainment ConvergenceLive sports and music productions increasingly share gear and infrastructureB...