Posted by Derrick on August 26, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression | 
ViewCast Corporation, a developer of industry-leading solutions for the transformation, management and delivery of digital media over enterprise, broadband, and mobile networks, today unveiled the Niagara 4100, the next evolution in ViewCast’s portfolio of portable, high-performance streaming media appliances. Ruggedized and compact for on-the-go mobility and featuring ViewCast’s easy-to-use system controls, the Niagara 4100 enables the ingest and transformation of high-definition (HD) video for delivery to the web, from virtually any location.
“Once the exclusive domain of professional studios and broadcasters, high-definition programming is now within reach for any organization with the desire to capture and stream live action wherever it happens,” said ViewCast President and CEO Dave Stoner. “With the Niagara 4100, we’ve synthesized our best-in-class streaming capabilities and rich system design expertise to elevate the state-of-the-art for on-location streaming. Portable, pro-caliber streaming has never been more accessible, more cost-effective, or more intuitive.”
The Niagara 4100 is ideally suited for live sports, news and event coverage, webcasting, or any other streaming application that requires ultra-reliable mobile flexibility. Organizations spanning broadcasting, athletics, corporate enterprise, government, higher education, and worship can quickly and easily equip for on-location streaming in even the most demanding environments, yielding new opportunities to expand viewership and associated marketing and sponsorship revenue.
With the ability to simultaneously stream in multiple resolutions at multiple data rates in multiple streaming formats – including MPEG-4, Adobe Flash H.264, Windows Media (Silverlight compatible) and Apple HTTP Live (iPhone) – Niagara 4100 users are afforded the broadest possible range of streaming options to reach the broadest possible audience. The Niagara 4100 can ingest standard-definition (SD) or HD video sources through its SDI input, and can accommodate a variety of audio input formats, including embedded SDI, AES/EBU, and balanced or unbalanced stereo.
With a portable, streamlined chassis, an easy-to-use web interface, and intuitive front panel controls, setup and operation is quick and easy. The Niagara 4100 comes standard with front panel A, B, C buttons that can be pre-configured independently to activate different streaming profiles to meet the needs of any streaming application. Users can control all key functions from the front-panel controls, or the unit can be accessed remotely anywhere on the network through its built-in web interface.
The Niagara 4100 is compact and self-contained in an impact-resistant shell, precluding the need for a keyboard, monitor or mouse. All rear-panel connections are recessed for maximum protection, and the built-in handle ensures on-the-go portability.
Time-saving pre-processing features provided standard with the Niagara 4100 include scaling, cropping, de-interlacing, inverse telecine and closed-caption extraction and rendering capabilities. Users can also customize streams with bitmap overlays that accommodate logos and/or graphics to ensure prominent, consistent branding.
Tags: Adobe Flash H.264, Apple HTTP Live, cropping, de-interlacing, HD, inverse telecine and closed-caption extraction, iPhone, MPEG-4, Niagara 4100, portable, streaming formats, Streaming Media Appliance, video for delivery to the web, ViewCast, webcasting, windows media
Posted by Derrick on May 16, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression |
Telestream, a leading provider of digital media tools and workflow solutions, announced that Orlando Magic Broadcasting has successfully deployed its FlipFactory video transcoding automation product for fast, efficient HD file format conversion and delivery of game-action highlights and pre-produced features for the National Basketball Association (NBA) team. Orlando Magic Broadcasting is the in-house video and audio production department for the Orlando Magic professional basketball team.
“Game action highlights are the bricks we use to build anything we need,” said Rick Price, Assistant Director of Broadcast Technology and Services for Orlando Magic. “We looked at other video transcoding solutions and found that Telestream was the only one that could decode and encode the proprietary EVS format. FlipFactory provides a cost-effective solution, fast transcoding speed, and tremendous workflow improvement.”
Prior to Telestream, camera shots and non-game actions were captured in HD via the OB truck. However, the Orlando Magic were unable to convert important game action highlights from their EVS slow motion, instant replay system into HD-compatible files for editing on Final Cut Pro systems. This kept them from being able to deliver HD content for game telecasts.
Since deploying Telestream’s FlipFactory video transcoder, over seven Terabytes of HD game highlights were transcoded during the 2008/2009 season alone. Price said that while he chose FlipFactory for game highlight conversions, he’s found that he can use it to do a lot more, including transcoding back to EVS HD, Flash for the web, H.264 for proxies, and Windows Media for review and approvals.
“We’re pleased that the Orlando Magic chose FlipFactory as the important final link in delivering superior-quality, all-HD broadcasts to its viewers,” said Barbara DeHart, VP of Marketing at Telestream. “One of FlipFactory’s strengths is the depth and breadth of formats and systems it supports, including the EVS system for sports broadcasters.”
FlipFactory provides a cost-effective alternative to buying and maintaining an expensive HD tape deck to record HD game highlights. It also eliminates the extra steps involved in handling and laying video off to tape. According to Price, “For the cost of the FlipFactory software and a server, we now have an all-HD workflow.”
Telestream FlipFactory video transcoding automation software offers more video and audio formats and third-party system support than any other file format conversion solution on the market. Used by thousands of the world’s most demanding media and entertainment companies, FlipFactory provides direct media and metadata integration and file exchange between all major professional systems.
FlipFactory is sold through a worldwide network of direct sales and resale channels. More information is available at www.telestream.net
Tags: automation, conversion, encode, fast transcoding, file, flash, FlipFactory, format, h.264, HD, proxies, solutions, Telestream, transcoding, Video, windows media, workflow
Posted by Derrick on February 16, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression |
Enciris Technologies will be at Embedded World 2010 in Nuremburg, Germany, March 2nd to 4th. They will be demonstrating their true HD video capture and compression hardware for embedded applications.
Enciris Technologies is a leading designer and manufacturer of high performance video processing hardware for OEMs, system integrators, embedded systems, and professional users. They provide solutions for customers aiming to add affordable HD video compression, streaming, and storage to their products or services.
Specialized in high definition video processing, Enciris Technologies has developed its own HDTV compression and decompression technology that complies with widely used standards such as VC-1/WMV-HD/SMPTE-421M and H.264.
Posted by Derrick on February 4, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression |
Shannon Dunn can attest to the game-changing impact of Sorenson Squeeze 6, the latest incarnation of Sorenson Media’s pioneering video encoding solution.
“There is nothing that can touch Sorenson Squeeze 6 for creating, editing and managing Internet video,” said Dunn, senior editor for Sprint’s Creative Media Services group, the video production arm of the telecom giant’s corporate communications division. “We produce hundreds of videos every year, and Sorenson Squeeze saves us untold time and energy.”
Sorenson Squeeze 6 is an intuitive, total video workflow solution that enables video professionals, small businesses and large enterprise customers alike to quickly and easily deliver exceptional video quality in all of the leading video formats – from Flash and VC-1 to H.264 and HD for MPEG-2.
One of the most significant value-adding features of Sorenson Squeeze 6 is its innovative new review and approval process made available through integration with the Sorenson 360 online video platform. “Seamless integration of our Sorenson 360 video delivery network represents a huge leap forward. There is nothing else like our total video solution in the marketplace,” said David Dudas, vice president of product development for Sorenson Media. “Because we have integrated Sorenson 360 into Squeeze 6, our customers get it all in one easy-to-use solution – our award-winning differentiated client-side encoding, as well as a true hosted solution for the storage and delivery of their video content.”
The review and approval process in Sorenson Squeeze 6 enables real-time collaboration. With Squeeze 6, the creator of the video content can automatically send an email or SMS text with a secure link to the video. The recipient then views the video and provides immediate feedback to the content creator, who can then make changes until all parties have approved the content.
“Sorenson Squeeze has enabled me to protect our brand and effectively manage the process of approvals and posting,” said Dunn, who must get approval from a handful of stakeholders for each project he completes. “We no longer undergo the inconvenient process of posting video files to an FTP site for each iteration of the video creation process – and files don’t get downloaded and posted prematurely.”
Another compelling benefit of Sorenson Squeeze 6 is the publishing presets feature, which enables Dunn and his team to create and distribute multiple files at once. “When I finish developing a video, I can just drag and drop a preset to the video and automatically output it to multiple locations in a variety of different formats,” Dunn added. “For example, using the same video file we can send out an uncompressed QuickTime file for archiving; a 256k WMV file for publishing on lots of portals; a file to an FTP site for clients; and a view-ready QuickTime file in 360 for internal review.”
Along the same vein, Valerie Junge, film editor at Big Sky Editorial, uses Sorenson Squeeze in all of the projects she edits for her high-profile clients, including celebrated Web viral videos such as the Microsoft Xbox 360 campaign “Behind the Fun,” featuring “Glee” star Jane Lynch. The Web virals, which Junge worked on with the T.A.G. unit of McCann Worldgroup, exclusively utilize Sorenson Squeeze 6 encoding.
“Sorenson Squeeze is the only product we use,” said Junge. “The process is so user-friendly and efficient, and the quality is so high that it is uncommon for anyone to ask for tapes or DVDs for approvals. We use Sorenson Squeeze to post high-quality rough cuts for online review and approval; it enables us to show our client a true representation of how the video content will really look. Our clients are always satisfied when they see their work posted on our site.”
Junge added that Sorenson Squeeze 6 is singularly effective performing across multiple formats, including HD. “We like to work in a HD environment here, and Sorenson Squeeze performs much better in HD than competing products do,” said Junge. “We are really big on quality control, and Sorenson Squeeze is reliable and works with any combination of platforms and applications. That is why it is a permanent component of our workflow.”
Posted by Derrick on January 26, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression |
Digital Rapids — the leading provider of tools and solutions for bringing television, film and web content to wider audiences – announced that Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has chosen Digital Rapids’ StreamZHD high-definition media encoding system to enable new live HD streaming capabilities from Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.
Lincoln Center is the world’s leading performing arts center, located on 16.3 acres in New York City. The center’s 12 resident organizations combine to present thousands of performances, educational programs, tours and other events each year on the Lincoln Center campus. StreamZHD is part of a complete HD production environment at the Center’s Alice Tully Hall, which also features four robotic HD cameras linked over fiber to servers, routers and switchers in the facility’s data center.
The StreamZHD system, supplied by systems integrator HB Communications, encodes content in real time for external distribution as live streams or on-demand files. Lincoln Center’s live streaming capabilities recently supported the concurrent worldwide debut performances of “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later”, the epilogue to the acclaimed Tectonic Theater Project play. On-stage pre-show and post-performance events — including an interactive question and answer session with questions submitted via Twitter — were streamed through StreamZHD to audiences in over 150 theaters worldwide, supporting local live readings of the new play at each location. Three live streams and three on-demand archives at varying bit rates were created in the H.264 format for Web viewing through Adobe Flash technology, with StreamZHD producing all six outputs simultaneously in real time.
“It is important that our technology infrastructure is at a level of excellence commensurate with the caliber of events that we host, and the ability to stream at HD quality over the Internet is phenomenal,” said Rob Tarleton, Chief Technology Officer, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. “Our HD production and streaming capabilities are key benefits for artists, performers and groups holding events at Alice Tully Hall in the Lincoln Center, and StreamZHD is an important part of making that happen.”
“The Lincoln Center’s use of StreamZHD is a tremendous example of how high-quality Internet streaming technology can combine with the arts to create new performance dynamics and unparalleled audience reach,” said Brent Ross, Director of Sales for the Americas at Digital Rapids. “StreamZHD’s simultaneous multi-format output capabilities, outstanding quality and reliability make it the ideal solution to enable innovative streaming experiences, and we’re thrilled that Lincoln Center for the Performance Arts selected us for their world-class space.”
StreamZHD continues to raise the bar for high-definition encoding solutions, delivering multi-format video ingest, encoding, transcoding and live streaming in a versatile configuration that integrates easily into any media environment. Combining the quality and performance advantages of hardware-based preprocessing with a format-flexible and feature-rich software application, Digital Rapids systems seamlessly support live and on-demand multi-platform distribution opportunities and production workflows.
