Former Downpatrick man lifts Emmy award

Former Downpatrick man lifts Emmy award

30 May 2018

A FORMER Downpatrick man has been presented with a prestigious Emmy award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Paul McCann — who has worked in television engineering for over three decades and spends a lot of his time in the United States – is managing director of Berkshire-based Bluebell Opticom.

The company’s area of expertise is fibre optic technology used by major broadcasters. It designs products to transport digital television content over fibre optic cables and was the first company of its kind to do this.

The company’s products are used for the critical delivery of video, audio and data services at live, world-class sporting events and venues requiring the transport of high-bandwidth signals over long distances.

Last month, Paul was honoured to be in Las Vegas to receive the Emmy award for pioneering development of so-called SDI over fibre optic networks.

And Bluebill Opticom has a particularly strong link with Downpatrick as Paul’s colleague, Peter Murray, is also from the Scotch Street area in the town.

The pair have been working together for around 15 years, with Peter in charge of all the company’s manufacturing.

Paul said he was “honoured and delighted” to accept the Emmy award at the 69th annual Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards ceremony in Las Vegas in April.

He explained when Bluebell was launched, it began making equipment that converted serial digital interface to light, with the work based on academic interest. However, broadcasters were quick to adopt the new technology when they saw its advantages.

As a result, SDI signal transport over fibre is commonplace today with Bluebell the trusted vendor for thousands of broadcasters, outside broadcast truck companies, stadiums, governments and satellite uplink stations throughout the world.

“I am very proud of what we have achieved over the years and it is a tremendous honour to be recognised for those achievements by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences,” said Paul.

“It is thrilling to see that what started out as a good idea for a product that has been embraced by the whole industry. We continue to push the boundaries to provide our clients with leading-edge, useful technology.”

Paul added: “This award is a huge milestone for our company and also means a great deal to me personally.”