Greg Newman Email & Phone Number

Auckland, New Zealand

Originally brought over from the UK to be the lead engineer operationally supporting TVNZ's terrestrial and satellite headends as well as manage the FreeviewNZ platform via the FreeviewNZ/TVNZ SLA. My role quickly grew to not only encompass BAU responsibilities but also the delivery of broadcast related technology projects and more recently, non-broadcast related technology projects during the refurbishment of TVNZ's head office.Responsible for the FreeviewNZ terrestrial and satellite… Show more Originally brought over from the UK to be the lead engineer operationally supporting TVNZ's terrestrial and satellite headends as well as manage the FreeviewNZ platform via the FreeviewNZ/TVNZ SLA. My role quickly grew to not only encompass BAU responsibilities but also the delivery of broadcast related technology projects and more recently, non-broadcast related technology projects during the refurbishment of TVNZ's head office.Responsible for the FreeviewNZ terrestrial and satellite platforms from a technology and operational standpoint, including the management of the platform SI (Service Information), listings delivery as well as managing the FreeviewNZ terrestrial and satellite platform specifications for broadcasters and manufacturers.Responsible for all stages of the delivery of technology projects from conception, business case proposal and system design, to commissioning and release to support.Key Achievements:The conception, design and delivery of TVNZ's new Harmonic combined DTT and DSAT headend. This project massively simplified the design and support of the TVNZ headends as well as reduced the OPEX costs associated with the headends by 75%.I was responsible for the delivery of all aspects of TVNZ's "Showcase" project which was part of the refurbishment of the TVNZ TVC (Television Centre). The project was envisaged to promote TVNZ's content to the public and the staff and consisted of two large LED screens (36sqm and 10sqm) and the contributing audio and video systems. It also encapsulated the provision of TVNZ's meeting room technology as well as TVNZ's desktop and receiver based IPTV system. The key to the project was to make things intuitive and minimise the impact to existing staff workloads and this was achieved through the choice of our vendors and the design of the system. The system runs in an automated fashion minimising the impact to staff workloads and can be easily controlled via browser or iPad. Show less

A varied and demanding role requiring multiple core skills including conceptualisation, system design, project management, installation, commissioning and operational support. Covering broadcast technologies from playout, distribution, interactivity and infrastructure to technology strategy and emerging technologies. Sole administrator of Five’s Isilon Clustered Storage comprising 32 IQ9000x nodes. Sole administrator of Five’s Signiant CDM (Content Distribution Management) file… Show more A varied and demanding role requiring multiple core skills including conceptualisation, system design, project management, installation, commissioning and operational support. Covering broadcast technologies from playout, distribution, interactivity and infrastructure to technology strategy and emerging technologies. Sole administrator of Five’s Isilon Clustered Storage comprising 32 IQ9000x nodes. Sole administrator of Five’s Signiant CDM (Content Distribution Management) file transfer system. Sole administrator of Five’s DSAT Harmonic compression system. Part of the evaluation & implementation team for Pharos Mediator (MAM) deployment-Digital Migration Programme (DMP). Administer and manage Five’s Multi-Site Broadcast Network forming the basic infrastructure of the DMP. Represent the Technology department in weekly operations meetings involving partner companies from supply to playout. Manage key third party relationships including contracted suppliers including Ascent Media, Arqiva and BSKYB alongside project based agencies and suppliers. Assess contracts for and technical accuracy and provide recommendations; manage ongoing supplier contracts. Responsible for the project and budget management of ad-hoc technology demands from the business such as Five HD and Green Button interactivity. Constantly involved in the R&D of new or existing technologies that would bring business value to Five. Show less

Charged with the selection and implementation of Five’s sole storage vendor and the subsequent incorporation of Isilon as the core storage for Five’s DMP and post production environment. Isilon was selected based on a rigourous analysis of the business requirements and it’s ability to deliver fast, scalable and reliable access across multiple platforms. Charged with the selection and implementation Five’s file transport system and the subsequent incorporation of a Linux based Signiant… Show more Charged with the selection and implementation of Five’s sole storage vendor and the subsequent incorporation of Isilon as the core storage for Five’s DMP and post production environment. Isilon was selected based on a rigourous analysis of the business requirements and it’s ability to deliver fast, scalable and reliable access across multiple platforms. Charged with the selection and implementation Five’s file transport system and the subsequent incorporation of a Linux based Signiant CDM system. Responsible for its integration and distribution throughout Five’s broadcast network facilitating fast, managed, tracked and reliable file delivery of broadcast assets throughout the company and its 3rd party supply and playout partners. Proposed, project managed, delivered and supported Five’s DSAT compression system allowing Five the flexibility to manage its own services. This was a first for Five, paving the way for subsequent projects which are managed by Five rather than 3rd parties. Selected, project managed, delivered and supported Five’s interactive playout system based around Mirada’s XPlayer and Softel’s Mediasphere platforms allowing Five to take advantage of secondary revenue from interactive advertising, program support applications and gaming. Show less

Part of a small team delivering interactive services in the form of Big Brother, competitions, games, programme information and advertising to the Channel 4 service on the BSKYB platform. Responsible for all technical aspects of the interactive platform including the liaison with application developers and SSSL (Sky Subscriber Service Limited), application scheduling and triggering and the support, maintenance and development of the interactive platform.

Responsible for all aspects of OnDigital’s/ITV Digital’s DTT headend broadcast technology including incoming baseband video, subtitling, interactivity, compression and encryption; requiring knowledge of multiple disciplines and covering installation, configuration, troubleshooting and maintenance.