(29 July 2005 8:00 pm)

MUMBAI: VertigoXmedia, a US-based provider of broadcast graphics software and hardware, has added Malayalam channel Amrita TV to its clientele. The channel is using VertigoXmedia's Xmedia Suite to drive an array of data-rich graphics for its daily programming.

Launched in April 2005, Amrita's program line-up includes daily news segments that feature an on-air crawl with a news ticker, bug, and clock driven by smart Xmedia Suite graphic templates and rendered with Orad's graphics systems.

Vertigo's Xmedia Suite is a set of tools for automatically creating, managing, and playing out real-time, dynamic broadcast graphics. It acts as a centralized asset management system, storing and managing all digital assets as well as real-time data feeds from virtually any source. Templates can be designed with simple drag-and-drop operations, and by linking them to the data feeds, the system automatically generates graphics, states an official release.

The only open-standard solution of its kind, the Xmedia Suite is capable of cross-platform publishing and can be used with any standard character generator as well as the company's own VertigoXG system, the release adds.

"Amrita TV is an important new station serving an extremely large viewership, and we are very excited that they have chosen the Xmedia Suite to streamline graphics creation and drive newsroom automation," said VertigoXmedia President and CEO David Wilkins.

"We're committed to providing top-notch customer service to Amrita and other stations in the Middle East and southern Asia. Our new office in Dubai -- headed by Raed al Tikriti -- expands our presence and allows us to better serve our customers in the region."

Amrita TV features distinctive programs that cater to all age groups of society. The lineup includes made-for-TV movies, serial programs, dance and music shows, talk shows, and children's programs, in addition to news segments. The station's newsgathering network is dedicated to providing unbiased reports of events in regional, national, and international politics, business, sports, current affairs, arts and culture, health, science, and weather.