TV broadcast production, playout and delivery systems specialist Miranda Technologies has acquired Softel, a provider of captioning, subtitling, audio and video description, interactivity and other video technologies for broadcasters and content producers.

‘We’re certain our customers will benefit from the synergies this acquisition creates,’ says Softel CEO, Sam Pemberton. ‘Being aligned with Miranda in the Belden family extends our reach into potential new markets and being part of this team allows us to focus on continuous innovation.’

‘Captioning is a critical component of the playout chain, and one that is often difficult to manage,’ says Miranda President, Marco Lopez. ’By introducing Softel’s technology into the Miranda portfolio and directly integrating it into our iTX solution, we’ll present broadcasters with further efficiencies, not only in the purchase process, but also during deployment and in post-sale support as well. Miranda will continue to support the full Softel solutions suite and honor all Softel partner agreements.’

Headquartered in the UK, Softel additionally offers advanced television systems designed to improve broadcasters’ efficiency and provide new revenue streams. Network operators can offer interactive television and ‘second screen’ applications to their subscribers and improve headend efficiency with the MediaSphere suite or add MPEG ad insertion capabilities with Oliver. Softel also provides solutions for ancillary data processing, audio/video description and Teletext.

Integration planning will be led by a team of Miranda and Softel executives, but there will be no business disruption for Miranda or Softel during the transition. The integration is expected to be complete by this summer.