THE CUSTOMER: Portland Oregon Fire & Rescue THE CHALLENGE: Serving and protecting the nearly 225,000 households of the city of Portland is the charter of Portland Oregon Fire & Rescue (PF&R). For many years, PF&R has utilized its analog cable video distribution system to broadcast instructional videos to its firehouses, as part of its effort to assure staff readiness. However, the effectiveness of the department's analog system was limited by the lack of analog network connectivity to three of the system's fire houses. To compensate for the incompleteness of the system, PF&R copied the analog videos to DVDs and sent the copies to those stations not on the analog system. While distributing copies was an adequate work-around, department leaders were aware that the long-term costs of an incomplete network would multiply over time: the firehouses on the system would never be fully synchronized in their readiness preparation, and would never be able to share in real-time system-wide scenario review, remote on-scene and training transmissions, or video-based system-wide announcements.

To preclude the need for new analog network investment, PF&R sought a system that would utilize existing system connectivity and provide a cost effective means to distribute video information with excellent picture quality to all of the fire houses. The VITEC H.264 MGW 1100 Media Gateway Platform was selected as the best solution for these requirements. THE VITEC ADVANTAGE: The VITEC MGW 1100 allows PF&R to stream video content simultaneously to all of its firehouses. It gives PF&R the ability to use T-1 broadband connection for the delivery of video feeds to its entire system of ?re stations, delivering content directly to PC workstations and laptops. The key component of the system is the VITEC H.264 MGW 1100 Media Gateway (MGW) encoding and streaming platform, supporting real-time processing of digital and analog feeds with low latency compression and streaming in MPEG-4 H.264 Format. Additionally, the VITEC system allows the dept to continue to use its existing analog system in parallel with the IPTV technology. With the VITEC IPTV solution, PF&R has a technology that is ready to meet its needs now and into the future, with all the features of a carrier-grade IPTV solution. As the PF&R organization's needs expand, the VITEC platform can scale as the foundation for an expanded system for the distribution of live remote scenario monitoring, system-wide announcements, and VOD scenario review. In addition, VITEC technology allows for cost-effective future upgrades to High Definition (HD) broadcasting with low bit rate H.264 HD streams.

THE VITEC COMMITMENT: IPTV solutions give emergency response agencies cost-effective options for coordinated communications and video-based training. VITEC's video streaming solutions and video portal provide the powerful tools responders need for remote monitoring, realistic situation assessment training, scenario response review, readiness skills development, and other management objectives. With its deep experience in video delivery systems, VITEC is positioned to provide state-of-the-art IPTV solutions that are specifically designed to meet current and future needs of emergency services agencies.