Posted by Derrick on August 31, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression | 
Sorenson Squeeze supports video capture. This can be very beneficial for those that need fluid video compression workflows. If you have a FireWire video camera or device attached to your Sorenson Squeeze workstation, then you can capture your videos directly into Squeeze. On the PC the videos will be captured in as DV .avi files and on the Mac DV .mov files. If you have a video compression project where you have several ‘worker bees’, you can have them fulfill the video capture process. Later you can have your primary compressionist do the video encoding. The good news for Squeeze users is the video capture feature is supported all the way back to Version 3 of Sorenson Squeeze.
Posted by Derrick on February 12, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression |
Telestream announced that it played a key technical role in bringing this week’s highly-acclaimed White House concert to television and web viewers. The concert, “In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement,” broadcasted nationally on PBS stations February 11 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Concert highlights are available on PBS websites. MVI Post, Washington DC’s HD leader in production and post production, successfully posted the concert for TV and web audiences under an extremely tight turnaround thanks in large part to Telestream’s Pipeline video capture system and Episode Encoder.
“Pipeline solved our problem of how to digitize four HDCAM tapes simultaneously into our server,” reports an elated Craig Maniglia, MVI Post owner who was working under a tight 18-hour deadline. “We needed a quick and efficient way to import and export HDCam tapes into our server while utilizing all of our decks simultaneously. After considerable searching, we discovered Telestream’s Pipeline product, and the problem was immediately solved.”
Two Pipeline HD Dual video capture systems were used to simultaneously ingest 16 hours of content in four hours from four high-definition camera sources, without tying up Avid workstations. Pipeline encoded the sources to DNxHD in native Avid MXF files for use directly in post production. This enabled MVI Post to quickly edit and mix the video while the concert was still taking place. In a separate bay, Episode Encoder Pro provided fast transcoding of concert highlights into H.264 video and AAC audio formats for PBS websites.
“We’ve been using Telestream’s Episode Encoder Pro software for quite some time for all our transcoding needs, because it’s the best for delivering time-critical broadcast content with flawless execution to all new media playout devices,” added Maniglia. “So, it was a no brainer to turn to Telestream for help in solving our tape digitizing dilemma.”
“MVI Post presented the perfect challenge for Pipeline, with its need to simultaneously capture multiple channels of video for quick turnaround editing,” said Barbara DeHart, VP of marketing at Telestream. “Pipeline and Episode Encoder are ideally suited for fast-paced production environments requiring high-quality video ingest and reformatting for multiplatform delivery.”
“In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement” was hosted by President and Mrs. Obama at the White House in honor of Black History Month. The concert includes performances by Natalie Cole, Bob Dylan, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, John Mellencamp, Blind Boys of Alabama, Yolanda Adams, Joan Baez, the Howard University Choir and The Freedom Singers. The program showcases the rich fabric of American culture in the setting of the nation’s most famous home.
On the strength of its HD workflow augmentation and creative talent, MVI Post was awarded the post-production rights to the concert. The music special is a production of WETA Washington, D.C., in association with The GRAMMY Museum, AEG Ehrlich Ventures and the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC).
MVI Post (www.mvipost.com) is a premier provider of HD digital media production on a local and national level for the web, broadcast, cable and radio. The company offers a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography with state-of-the-art post editing and mixing that consistently represents quality for its clients.
Posted by Derrick on January 24, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression |
ViewCast Corporation, a developer of industry-leading solutions for the transformation, management and delivery of digital media over IP and mobile networks, announced that TVTI Video Technologies Inc. has selected ViewCast’s award-winning Osprey 700e HD video capture cards to underpin the company’s video analytics solutions and services for professional sports teams. With high performance Osprey 700e HD cards at the heart of TVTI’s HD video infrastructure, coaches and scouts are afforded a high resolution view of player and team performance mechanics.
“TVTI clients such as the New York Yankees rely on our video analytics technology to help them improve team performance and assess competitors’ weaknesses,” said Mark Watson, founder of TVTI. “Ultimately, the value that we provide to our clients begins at the video capture stage. Osprey 700e cards equip us with the performance and reliability that we need to satisfy our world champion clientele, while providing the configuration and management flexibility that we need to drive cost and resource efficiencies across our systems.“
“The professional athletics market is yielding some of the most exciting, innovative applications of video capture and streaming technology in the industry, and TVTI and its clients are at the forefront of this trend,” said ViewCast President and CEO Dave Stoner. “ViewCast’s advanced HD capture and streaming solutions are the ideal fit for any athletics organization seeking a high performance, high throughput video platform to efficiently deliver content to coaches, players, and fans.“
TVTI has deployed numerous Osprey 700e-equipped video/data capture systems into the field for use onsite at clients’ home games, with great results. The New York Yankees are using a TVTI system to record and archive four angles of every pitch in HD. Using four Dell Precision workstations equipped with Osprey 700e HD cards, the Yankees’ video production team records approximately 300 pitches per game, yielding 1200 raw HD AVI files for each home game. The video files are later compressed, organized, and archived for rapid retrieval.
Back at TVTI headquarters, racks of Osprey 700e-equipped Dell Precision workstations are employed to record MLB and NHL game feeds throughout the day. TVTI software tools are used to segment these feeds into individual ‘event’ files and synchronize these files with player-specific statistical data provided by third-party partners. The video is then distributed to clients, who will use it to analyze their competitors in the days preceding a game.
Renowned for their performance, reliability and management versatility, Osprey 700e HD cards enable advanced capabilities such as dual SD/HD support with seamless on-the-fly signal switching, and the ability to feed multiple encoders (RealVideo, Windows Media, Adobe Flash and MPEG-4) at the same time in any combination. The Osprey 700e HD card provides TVTI with the bandwidth required to deliver up to 1080i video resolution via a high-speed PCI Express bus, and also features configurable archiving capabilities that help simplify post-processing workflows for TVTI’s video scouting service.
Posted by Derrick on January 21, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression |
Telestream announced a new release for its award-winning Pipeline video capture systems. Already recognized for its innovative network-based approach to capturing high-definition (HD) and standard-definition (SD) video from tape or live-sources, Pipeline V2.4 adds the ability to frame accurately
print HD or SD video back to tape. Additional new features include EDL import and time-code-break-triggered capture mode. These new V2.4 features save time and effort for content creators in Mac OS X and PC video production environments.
“This release continues to extend the power of Pipeline beyond simple video capture,” said Barbara DeHart, VP of Marketing at Telestream. “Telestream understands the vital importance of quickly and efficiently moving video between tape and file-based workflows. Already useful for video ingest in live, post-production and archiving workflows, Pipeline 2.4 adds the important final link of playing content back out to tape.”
Telestream changed the game in video capture with Pipeline. These hardware encoders sit on the network where anyone can access them, providing freedom from the hassles and limitations of video capture card solutions on dedicated workstations. Real-time, user-selectable encoding to multiple SD and HD formats – DV, IMX, MPEG-2 I-frame, ProRes 422 SD, plus DNxHD, ProRes 422 HQ and DVCPRO HD – provides flexibility in multiformat editing environments.
The addition of print-to-tape playout of HD or SD content in Pipeline 2.4 is especially useful for the creation of spot reels and review-and-approval tapes. Import of the common GVG4 EDL format in Pipeline 2.4 saves time and effort by allowing Mac and PC users to import an edit decision list from Final Cut Pro, Avid, and other editing systems into Pipeline.
Already available for PC users, Version 2.4 adds time-code-break-triggered capture mode for Mac OS X users. This feature is particularly useful in the production of reality shows where vast quantities of content are captured onto videotape from multiple cameras. By using Pipeline in conjunction with Telestream’s FlipFactory transcoding software, low-resolution proxy files are created for edit decisions. Pipeline then creates only the required high-resolution clips needed for final production. This workflow saves users time and money by eliminating the need to import and store large quantities of unneeded high-resolution footage.
Pipeline is the recipient of Broadcast Engineering’s 2009 Pick Hit Award, TVB Europe’s Best of IBC 2008 Editors’ Award, and Videography’s 2007 Vidy Award.
Pipeline 2.4 is now available as a free software update. Pipeline systems are available for purchase from Telestream’s direct sales and worldwide resale channels. More information is available at www.telestream.net
Tags: Avid, DV, DVCPRO HD, Final Cut Pro, IMX, MPEG-2 I-frame, Pipeline, plus DNxHD, ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes 422 SD, Telestream, video capture
Posted by Derrick on September 9, 2009 under Video Streaming and Compression |
Telestream announced that Studio Hamburg Media Consult International (MCI) selected its Pipeline and Episode products for a major tapeless IT workflow project that was recently completed for Studio Berlin Adlershof (SBA), the new technical operator of TV.Berlin and Hamburg 1 in Germany. Telestream’s Pipeline Quad network video capture system and Episode Engine Pro transcoding server software provide the speed, quality and automation needed for time-critical news workflows at these facilities.
Telestream products play an important role in tapeless workflows,” said Martin Brosthaus, Product Manager at Studio Hamburg MCI. “Pipeline Quad allows edit while ingest which speeds the video capture process. Episode Engine Pro provides broad support for all required formats and delivery of high-quality output at incredible speeds.”
Installation was completed at new premises for TV.Berlin which began operation in May 2009. Hamburg 1 underwent a complete facility redesign which went live in July. The tapeless IT workflows at both facilities are virtually identical, incorporating an Apple XSAN production environment and a high degree of automation.
“Studio Hamburg is one of the largest TV and film production facilities in Europe. We are pleased that Episode and Pipeline were chosen to play such a key role in this state-of-the art tapeless workflow,” said Barbara DeHart, VP of Marketing at Telestream. “These products are ideally suited to provide the speed, quality and level of automation required for this project.”
The central component for ingest is Telestream’s Pipeline Quad four-channel network video capture system which is automatically controlled by various ingest workstations via standard LAN technology. Pipeline control software provides scheduled recording or crash recording of live sources as well as log and capture from tape sources. A key Pipeline advantage is that all four channels can be accessed from any computer on the network. The ability to record open QuickTime files is an important feature, allowing edit while ingest for time-critical workflows.
Episode Engine transcoding also plays an important role in these tapeless workflows for editing in different formats and providing the required DV format for the playout servers. Raw material and reports are transcoded on a largely automated basis with the help of Episode presets and watch folders. A low resolution browse copy is created in parallel for the editorial system. Episode provides a variety of input interfaces such as file monitors, FTP monitors and watch folders which allow easy integration in mixed Windows and Apple network environments.
According to Brosthaus, “Episode Engine and powerful Apple hardware provide a cost-effective and easy-to-operate solution for professional transcoding workflows in time-critical news environments like TV.Berlin and Hamburg 1.”
Max Below, Head of Studio Hamburg MCI Product, adds “Modern components which can save
resources, such as the network-based Pipeline and Episode Engine, make completely new methods of automation possible.”
Pipeline and Episode Engine are being demonstrated at the International Broadcasters Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam September 11-15, 2009 in Telestream Stand 7.C19.
Tags: automation, Episode Engine Pro, Episode presets, Pipeline, Server, tapeless workflow, Telestream, transcoding, video capture, watch folders, workflows
