Broadcasters General Store Now Dealer For Complete PlayBox Neo Line

PlayBox Neo, a provider of media playout solutions, announced the addition of Ocala, Fla.-based Broadcasters General Store (BGS) as a new U.S. dealer representative offering nationwide support. BGS will carry the entire PlayBox Neo line of server-based playout, channel branding and cloud solutions.

Known as the preeminent dealer of radio and audio solutions, BGS has expanded significantly into the broadcast and video production market, hiring several former broadcast engineers to its staff and adding lines such as PlayBox Neo, AJA, Studio Technologies, BirdDog, BlackMagic and Kramer.

BGS is also the exclusive dealer of the Axia Quasar radio console, which has provided BGS with an insider’s view into how station staffing has changed. “Our team is constantly inside television and radio stations, and we’ve watched as staffs have realigned,” said Shane Finch, sales director, BSG. “Where you may have had three engineers at a station, now you may have one. They are looking for reliable automation and playback solutions. At the same time, given some of the recent weather events of late, they’re also very interested in digital disaster recovery.”

The AirBox Neo-20 playout system can be used as both a live playout server for master control and as a disaster recovery solution. The workflow of AirBox Neo-20 is uniquely adaptable to a customer’s needs. It provides automated content streaming and broadcast playout for any kind of TV channel — cloud-based, satellite, cable head-ends, over-the-air broadcasters, corporate TV, and OTT. The optional Multi-Backup Manager (MBM) module is designed for backing up multiple playout channels simultaneously. MBM allows the user to choose the number of backup systems, reducing overall system cost while maintaining system integrity.

“Some broadcasters have lost their content multiple times because of hacks or weather events,” recalled Finch. “That disaster event, one leading radio broadcaster has had it happen to him three times. Having a redundant backup with digital recovery gives them a sense of insurance that they welcome right now.”

PlayBox Neo solutions provide a workflow to keep channels on-air by combining scheduling, ingest, playout, CG and interactive graphics within one box and remote tools to enhance QC checks, preparation and monitoring. The output can be SDI and/or IP streaming and is suitable for a variety of applications, including traditional broadcast TV, pay TV, playout centers, satellite operators, etc.