28 April 2011
Vimond Media Solutions, which provides a comprehensive environment for managing and delivering multiformat over-the-top (OTT) media services, announced today at the 2011 NAB Show that it is teaming up with Vizrt, a leading provider of digital media software for the TV and online publishing industries, to offer an end-to-end solution that allows broadcasters, distributors, and media companies to create and offer their own online video services that monetize content with full broadcast quality.
At the heart of the combined solution is the Vimond video player, which supports simultaneous streaming to different devices and opens up for payment and access to content directly through a television set. The same player logic and functionality works across multiple platforms, allowing consumers to enjoy the video experience over PCs, TVs, mobile phones, tablets, IPTV boxes, media center consoles, connected TVs, game consoles, and IP-enabled set-top boxes. The platform also can be extended to other formats through its open API.
“Our combined solution with Vizrt will allow broadcasters, distributors, and media companies to monetize their content while providing superior, engaging, and attractive end-user experiences based on live and on-demand video services,” said Helge Høibraaten, CEO of Vimond Media Solutions. “And because our player has been developed and intensively tested in real production for many years, broadcasters will now have a flexible, proven, and stable system with which to create their own online video services.”
“With Vimond on board, Vizrt offers one workflow for video streaming and all supporting functionalities, such as subscriptions, advertising, geo-blocking, digital rights management, and analytics,” said Francois Laborie, chief commercial officer at Vizrt. “The complete live and on-demand package comes in one framework, securing smooth delivery on every viable platform or device needing a specific video format or content enhancement.”
The Vimond control servers and the Viz Media Engine transcoders are central to the online video solution that takes advantage of the Microsoft® Smooth Streaming adaptive streaming technology to provide a high-quality viewing experience that scales massively on content distribution networks. Broadcasters can build their own Hulu-like websites and offer a range of business models, including subscription, pay-per-view, and ad-supported services.
The production workflow is tightly integrated, keeping costs low and efficiency high. Vimond already integrates with the existing Vizrt workflow, from storage and transcoding in the Viz Media Engine to online publishing via Escenic Content Studio. All live streams are logged and archived to a dedicated media asset management (MAM) server to build highlights, teasers, or editorially enhanced content later on. Vizrt offers the entire spectrum of Web TV players from in-page standalone players to advanced Web TV players with live sports statistics and subscription management to live TV with electronic program guides (EPGs).
The solution also includes advanced monetization and administration logic. The solution can be made available on-premises, hosted as a SaaS or as a hybrid hosted/on-premises model. Although Vimond Media Solutions is a new company launched in Q1 of 2011, the technology embodied in the Vimond Video Platform has been developed and proven in production over more than 10 years at TV 2 in Norway and at other Scandinavian broadcasters. Now available for the first time to broadcasters, telcos, and media organizations, the Vimond Video Platform provides an intuitive and mature environment for production staff to manage the distribution of online video content, a powerful set of tools for managers to create commercially successful services, and a stable, high-quality experience for viewers.
Vimond Media Solutions is demonstrating the full range of Vimond functionality at the 2011 NAB Show in the Vizrt booth, SL5408.
26 April 2011
Al Jazeera English has announced the launch of The Stream, a social media show which is premiering online at Stream.aljazeera.com.
The programme draws on the enormous growth of the social networks that are transforming today’s news and current affairs agendas and that have played a key communication role in the recent revolutions in emerging democracies.
The Stream, which will be airing live daily at 1930 UTC, has launched in beta form online and will begin broadcasting on Al Jazeera English on 2 May.
The programmes host is Derrick Ashong, a passionate advocate for the power of social media to promote change and development. Working with various guest co-hosts, Derrick will guide the show, monitoring live activity on the web and presenting viewers with real-time developments from around the world.
26 April 2011
Available to 160 million households in 180 countries, FRANCE 24 has recently signed a series of new broadcasting agreements that will strengthen the channel’s distribution over the Asian continent.
The new agreements in detail :
► In India, in just four months, FRANCE 24 already reaches more than 3 million households. FRANCE 24 English channel is now available in the State of Orissa and throughout the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) on more than thirty cable networks.
► Already accessible in English to 1.2 million households in Hong Kong on NOW TV and HKBN, FRANCE 24 French version is now available à la carte on the new HKBN package BB TV. Available on the channel 738, FRANCE 24 in French is offered for a fee ranging from 30 to 70 HK dollars (2.5 to 6.5 euros) depending on length of customer subscription.
► In the Philippines, following the annual PCTA Convention (from April 5 to 8 in Manila) gathering major Philippines cable operators, the English version of the channel is available to 100,000 households across the country.
► In Japan, while the English version of the channel is already available on NTT DOCOMO, FRANCE 24 is now available in French “à la carte” on the IPTV platform KONA TV.
► In Thailand, the number of households receiving FRANCE 24 in English grew from 1.5 to 1.8 million in three months, thanks to recent agreements with cable operator associations TCTA (Thailand Cable TV Association) and COA (Cable Operator Association).
► In the hotel sector, FRANCE 24 has extended its partnership with the ACCOR group in Asia, and the channel is now available in 91 luxury hotels across the region.
For Brice Bertrand, Director of Distribution in Asia Pacific, “these markets are eager to discover a new tone in international news and we make every effort to ensure that all countries of the continent can get FRANCE 24 as quickly and as simply as possible, in English, but also in French.”
26 April 2011
CNN now has a free application for Android phones. The CNN App offers intuitive navigation with the news experience, giving users direct access to CNN’s global resources – from live field reporting to user-generated content and a variety of enterprise interviews and podcasts.
“We are excited to offer the millions of Android phone users around the world access to CNN’s global reporting,” said Louis Gump, Vice President of Mobile at CNN.
The CNN App showcases news of the day through text, audio and photos, live and on-demand video, and a direct gateway to CNN iReport, the network’s participatory news community. By clicking on the menu button, users can toggle between US and International editions.
Drawing on the resources of CNN Radio, the CNN App also features a section devoted to audio content. The Radio section of the App includes hourly news updates, original reports from CNN Radio correspondents, audio of interviews from CNN television, and podcast series about politics, entertainment, tech and food. Users can also personalise their radio experience while they’re on the go.
Users can track local news and weather based on location and view stories they’ve saved even when they’re offline. Text stories and images can also be shared directly from the App via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter.
The CNN App features push-notification breaking news alerts, and a widget that allows a user to view the latest headlines from a variety of categories directly from the phone’s home screen, without even launching the app.
26 April 2011
Darren Long, a London-based media professional, has been named to the post of Video Integration Manager for The Associated Press, a new position. Its the latest appointment tied to APs multimillion-dollar upgrade of its newsgathering infrastructure in order to provide high-definition images to the broadcast and digital industries.
As Video Integration Manager, Long will play a vital role in this process by helping the AP transform its international video production processes to ensure our journalists around the world are equipped for the digital age and the AP leads the market in creating and delivering video content for all platforms, said AP Director of Emerging Products-International Sue Brooks, who made the announcement today. Long reports to Brooks. He will be responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of several projects which will fundamentally affect how AP staff collect, produce and archive content, she added.
Last year, Long was appointed CEO of Screenocean and succeeded in starting up this new business-to-business media licensing and content management venture representing content from the UK Channel 4 network and a range of rights holding production and distribution companies. Before that he was Head of Collections and Information at the British Film Institute from 2005 to 2010. He started working for Independent Television News in 1987 and left in 2005 as Director of Operations at the ITN Archive, now ITN Source.
As part of its video business transformation, AP will also significantly increase the depth and breadth of video content available from around the world. The upgrade, aimed at helping the AP lead the market in creating and delivering video content for all platforms, is the single biggest investment in the APs London-based video business since 1998, when the AP bought its competitor, Worldwide Television News.
