Kabel Deutschland

Case study

Kabel Deutschland (KDG), the largest system operator in Germany, operates the cable network in 13 states and supplies approximately 10 million subscribing TV households in Germany. The company operates the grids, markets cable connections and provides comprehensive services for the cable connection.

With the advent of digital TV, KDG decided to extend its offering with digital program packages in the broadband network. As a consequence, the company's existing monitoring concept and infrastructure had to be revised thoroughly. This revision coincided with the move to a new location, from Usingen to Roedelheim.

After a detailed technology and market analysis, KDG selected Barco for the installation of a new monitoring system which could meet the needs of future. Barco delivered a monitoring system consisting of 22 rear-projection modules from the OverView D series, driven by 11 Hydra multiviewers.

KDG requirements
The old monitoring center not only coped with an outdated workflow, with a lot of manual interventions, the center was also architecturally limited in its extension possibilities. The new center needed to be capable of handling much more than the 110 signals represented on the CRT displays of the old Usingen center.

Flexibility was of key importance in the design of the new center. A large number of signals, from various sources and formats needed to be represented in a much more efficient way as before. In addition, the new system needed to be fully integrated into the existing SNMP management system. Thirdly, there was an important need for qualitative status reporting. Finally, to obtain independency from future software upgrades and technology evolutions, the monitoring system needed to be based on standard products and open interfaces.

The Barco solution
Barco's visualization and monitoring system was able to meet all those requirements. KDG opted for rear-projection combined with split-screen systems. This simplified the signal wiring and hence reduced the installation costs. The modular structure of the video wall featuring frameless screens offers operators a uniform and homogeneous display. At the Roedelheim KDG center, Barco installed 50” rear-projection modules, which make it possible to visualize approximately 230 video signals on the new video wall instead of 110.

The result is astonishing. The rear-projection video wall offers outstanding image quality. The DLP technology and Blackbead screens cause no burn-in effects and guarantee a high viewing angle and an optimal contrast, even in daylight viewing conditions. The dual redundant lamp system ensures worry-free operation upon lamp failure.