Catering to the Jet Set Crowd

CCA Limited is a multi-service organization that manages a world-class international residential resort situated on the Grenadines island of Canouan, just south of St. Vincent. This exclusive Caribbean resort is home to multimillion-dollar villas and very high-end, luxury hotel properties. Telecommunications System Supervisor, Omoro Alleyne, and his small team are responsible for cable TV distribution to approximately 250 resort customers, along with telephone, security and fire alarms systems.

“We have a discerning and demanding clientele that have very high service expectations. They expect multiple channels of Hi-Def with total stability and reliability; they want their IPTV service to reflect the level of luxury, comfort, and extravagance of their surroundings. Given our remote location, my main concern is being able to access content to meet these expectations. I needed a solution that would let me bring in content from a variety of sources and turn it around to deliver high-quality video to the customer,” Omoro says.”

The Smart Choice

After evaluating several video equipment providers, CCA chose Inca’s Intelligent Video Delivery solution. Inca came to the table with high-quality products at an affordable price, backed by exceptional service and support.

“The Inca video processor is exceptional—head and shoulders above the competitors’ products that I compared. Plus Inca has an excellent track record. I had confidence in them and what they do. And they are an invaluable source of knowledge,” says Omoro.

CCA recently built a new hotel within the resort and deployed a completely new IT infrastructure, building their IPTV service from the ground up. Because Omoro essentially runs the show singlehandedly—in addition to other engineering responsibilities across the island—, he needed video delivery equipment that was super efficient, rock-solid reliable, and ultra-easy to use. And it had to be affordable because they were building everything from scratch.

CCA receive their signals from a variety of different sources so they must be prepared to handle any format. To meet this challenge, they use the Inca HD AVC Encoder 3410, the Inca SD Encoder and Receiver 3210, and the Inca Demultiplexer 1104. Inca’s encoding technology enables CCA to take analog video and convert it to digital. CCA employs Inca’s digital processing equipment to convert and reformat commercial satellite feeds and off-air channels to IP streams for use on their IPTV network.

Omoro says, “One of the greatest strengths is my input option. I can dump just about any signal—any format— into the Inca boxes and turn it around into clean IP SPTS streams. That is an immense asset.”

Inca’s Intelligent Video Delivery solution has enabled CCA to reliably deliver a world-class video product that meets the expectations of their discerning customers.
“The picture quality has improved significantly. We had a lot of challenges before we deployed the Inca equipment,” Omoro notes.

Usability + Visibility Hand in Hand

Inca equipment is characterized by its intelligent, streamlined configuration and operation that increase efficiency in the headend and make it easier for operators to do their jobs.
Omoro says, “The equipment is pretty simple to understand and easy to work with—very configuration-friendly. You don’t have to have a lot of in-depth technical knowledge to understand and use it, which is helpful in my situation. I am essentially a one-man show responsible for resort-wide telecommunications. So when I do have to be away and other IT techs are brought in to cover me, their learning curve is very short; they can understand and operate the Inca equipment very quickly.”

Inca gear provides deep visibility into each step of the processing chain with VidiOS™, an advanced processing and monitoring engine at the heart of every Inca product. From a user-friendly, web-based interface, CCA can view critical information about their video flow, including visual thumbnails of all signals, stream downloads, analysis and alarms. VidiOS also provides the ability to filter, remap, and perform advanced processing on the payloads and structure of their content.

“One of the great benefits is being able to manage things remotely is actually being able to make changes without having to physically touch any equipment. Plus, I have a good bit of redundancy built into the system for added reliability,” says Omoro.

The New and the Old

A brand new network infrastructure was deployed to deliver IPTV to the new hotel. CCA now faces the challenge of delivering the same high-quality video content to their guests in the older part of the resort that lacks an up-to-date infrastructure. Seamless compatibility with legacy middleware and infrastructure is imperative.

Omoro says, “Inca enables integration with just about every aspect of the system. I can add and remove elements without problems and with limited disruptions. And the Inca gear is cost-effective because I can use it alongside equipment we already have.”

Exceptional Support

Inca pride themselves on working side-by-side with customers—technically, strategically, collaboratively—to build the most cost-effective, reliable, and easy-to-use solution tailored to each customer’s unique requirements. And they are always on hand to resolve any challenges that arise.

“Support has been excellent. And what they say they can deliver, they actually deliver. I have only good things to say about Inca!” Omoro says.