Systems integration, as its name implies, is the bringing together of a large number of technical components to form a homogenous, fully functioning facility.
In the broadcasting context, this means the joining together of cameras, tripods, viewfinders, microphones, sound mixers, vision mixers, monitors, video tape recorders, servers and if necessary, satellite uplinks and transmitters to provide an integrated television facility or national broadcasting system.
Telemedia is a supplier of integration services and also provides integration for production based systems such as studios and control rooms, although their main focus is in the area of satellite and terrestrial transmission, fibre, microwave and uplink services.
The company does not generally install third party equipment, meaning that it will not become involved in the engineering services if less than 75% of the equipment is supplied by Telemedia.
Says national sales manager Quentin Barkhuizen: “The huge advantage of an integrated system is that one supplier only is responsible for the after sales service and warranty. Obviously with an integrated system, it is often difficult for the customer to determine exactly where the problem lies in the event of a fault and this becomes more serious if different parts of the programme chain are provided by different suppliers.
“The only real downside of systems integration is that there are inherent risks. Anything that involves installation – particularly in emerging Africa – is likely to have problems with regard to logistics, power supplies, access, accommodation and freight costs. Often the labour content and the time taken to install the system is not easily predictable, and unless the company doing the system integration installation has the margin associated with the sale of equipment, it can often be a very risky area of business.
“Systems integration is a global practice and certain companies both in South Africa and in Europe specialise in providing this service without favouring any one equipment supplier or tying in with any specific products.’
By Andy Stead
Screen Africa magazine – August 2012
