WQXR-FM Chooses Combined NETIA/Isilon Solution for Highly Automated Production & Broadcast Operations
CLARET, France -Oct. 3, 2007 - NETIA today announced that New York City's WQXR-FM, the classical music radio station of the New York Times and the nation's first commercial classical music radio station, is implementing an integrated solution comprising NETIA's Radio-AssistTM 7.5 range of digital audio software programs and Isilon® Systems- Isilon IQ clustered storage system to enable secure, highly automated production and broadcast operations. As the first step in a major studio overhaul, the NETIA and Isilon Systems installation initially will enable conversion of WQXR-FM's CD library to a hard-disk system and eventually provide a complete and highly efficient production environment capable of creating additional content for a variety of distribution platforms.
"As we upgrade our facilities, one of our primary objectives is to enable the creation of more programming for additional plaforms," said Harold F. Chambers III, director of operations and production at WQXR-FM. "NETIA's Radio-Assist provides the comprehensive production environment and database management tools we require for streamlined production, while Isilon's storage systems offer the density and reliability we need for storage of audio content from thousands of CDs."
The integrated solution being deployed at WQXR-FM features Radio-AssistTM's DBShare database management module, which ensures the consistency of media stored within the Isilon IQ clustered storage system. By performing systematic and synchronous redundancy checks of all the metadata produced by the system, DBShare ensures the stability of database contents. All databases are automatically synchronized and thus provide automatic, transparent redundancy, as well as automatic database restoration, in the event of any incident.
Added protection of the radio broadcaster's media assets will be provided by the storage system software, which preserves file integrity and accessibility. The Isilon IQ solution offers a range of data security software including SnapshotIQ, which enables instant global snapshots of the server system; SyncIQ, which allows for synchronization and replication processes; and SmartConnect Advanced, which allows users to optimize the number of client connections based on Network File System (NFS) and Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocols. In conjunction with Radio-AssistTM, and the DBShare module in particular, Isilon IQ delivers high storage capacity with simple management tools and a high level of data security.
WQXR-FM will install a routing system along with its NETIA and Isilon Systems software and hardware to allow for a complete shift of production tasks to Radio-AssistTM. Among the benefits of the system will be online users' ability to access now-playing information in real time, which is particularly valuable in identifying classical pieces and recordings for listeners.
"Flexibility and security are critical to successful management of media content, and we've worked closely with our partner here, Isilon Systems to ensure our integrated solution delivers both in meeting WQXR-FM's media-storage needs," said Mustapha Rezzoug, product manager, Radio, at NETIA. "Together, our technologies serve as an end-to-end station management solution equipped with unique data protection tools and optimized access to stored media."
More information about NETIA and its products is available at www.netia.com.
About WQXR-FM:
Founded in 1936, 96.3 WQXR-FM was the nation's first commercial classical music radio station, and since 1944 it has been owned and operated by The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT). The most listened-to classical station in the United States, with nearly a million listeners tuning in each week, WQXR also features regular news, analysis and commentary from correspondents of The New York Times. WQXR is available online at
www.wqxr.com and through
Radio@AOL. More information about the station and its programming are available at
www.wqxr.com.