IN BRIEF

Weather Channel gets Navy data

The U.S. Navy and The Weather Channel have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly examine new methods and technologies for producing and presenting climate and weather forecasts. The net will have access to climate, weather and ocean data processed by the SGI Origin 3800 supercomputer at the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center in Monterey, Calif.

The Weather Channel will also have access to the Navy's Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS), which is used to predict changes in ocean and weather conditions in highly complex coastal areas.

SeaChange targets VOD

Beginning in July, SeaChange International will begin shipping new video-server configurations capable of delivering more than 2,000 Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) video streams from a single standard rack, while storing more than 2,000 feature-length movies. Single servers will be available with 800-Mb/s throughput for small applications requiring limited video storage.

LaserPacific offers HD Post System

A team of engineers at LaserPacific Media Corp., Hollywood, Calif., has developed a new system for making high-def post-production more efficient. The new High Definition SuperComputer Assembly system creates 24p HD programs as pure digital data. The process takes considerably less time than other methods and has qualitative advantages because the images and sound stay in data form throughout the assembly process, according to Senior VP of Engineering Randy Blim.