17 December 2013
RRsat Europe Ltd., the European arm of RRsat Global Communications Network Ltd., a leading provider of digital content management and global distribution services, has recently restored the film ‘Victim’ for ITV Studios Global Entertainment. The cult classic 1961 British film stars Dirk Bogarde as a prominent lawyer who risks his career to hunt down a blackmailer. The film is notable for being the first British language film to use the word ‘homosexual’ (the first film itself to use the word being a German-language film in 1919).
ITV Studios Global Entertainment sourced the necessary elements and delivered them to RRsat Europe’s facility in West London, for preparation, cleaning, scanning and restoration (both audio and video). The specialist team at RRsat Europe set to work on the 35mm Original Negative and 35mm Finegrain, which due to the age of the film had some inherent problems, such as badly tram-lined sections and fluid damage.
The end result was Super 2K scans of both restored and unrestored elements preserved for future access. The team restored the film to such a good extent that on the re-release as a DCP, it was described on the BFI website as an “immaculate restoration”.
Rod Carter, Head of Operations for ITV Studios Global Entertainment commented: “This film is a significant piece of British film history. We were concerned therefore, with ensuring that it was restored to a level that meant it was preserved for future generations.
“We have worked with RRsat Europe for a number of years now, and they have delivered some excellent projects, such as the Prime Suspect restoration last year. So they have demonstrated the necessary technical expertise and service required to restore a culturally valuable project such as this.”
Matt Bowman, commercial director, RRsat Europe, added: “As with most older content such as Victim, there are a number of problems that arise with the elements due to their age. Using a number of techniques, the team painstakingly scanned, cleaned and assembled the new film to a point that suited this British classic.
“We’re incredibly proud to work on such classics to ensure that the legacy of British film makers is viewed in the manner in which it was intended.”
12 December 2013
Partnership with Effendi Norwawi to launch Malaysia’s first business news channel
Bloomberg Television today announced that it has entered into a landmark partnership with former Malaysian Minister and founder of ntv7 Dato Sri Mohd Effendi Norwawi’s Encorp Group Sdn Bhd. Bloomberg Television and Encorp Group will cooperate to create the first business news channel in Malaysia in 2014.
Bloomberg Television Malaysia will combine the unrivalled resources of Bloomberg with locally produced quality content to deepen and broaden coverage of Malaysia’s vibrant business scene.
“Malaysia’s business sector and capital markets have gone from strength-to-strength in recent years and have been fundamental in Malaysia’s economic transformation. It is one of the largest centers in the world for Islamic finance and an increasingly important hub in ASEAN for key strategic industries. This has driven global and local demand for comprehensive business news from Malaysia, providing an exciting opportunity for Bloomberg Television Malaysia to play a role in meeting that need,” said Parry Ravindranathan, Head of Bloomberg Television for Asia-Pacific.
Dato Sri Effendi added, “It is a real privilege and honor for us to partner with Bloomberg Television in Malaysia, given the prestige of the brand and all it stands for. My team and I will strive to set the bar for business news reporting in one of Asia’s best performing economies.”
Encorp Group Sdn Bhd will build Bloomberg TV Malaysia’s state-of-the-art studios in Encorp Strand and will develop anchors and reporters in Bloomberg Television’s unique and dynamic reporting style. Malaysian viewers can expect in-depth coverage of local business stories as well as up-to-the minute reporting on global financial markets that affect the local economy. Media industry veteran Michael Chan will head the new channel and a new Bloomberg TV Malaysia website will be launched for streaming of content online and to mobile devices.
Michael Chan, CEO of Bloomberg TV Malaysia said, “Bloomberg TV Malaysia will fill a gap in the marketplace for high-quality, market-moving business news, where updates on the country’s economic and business performance will be potentially seen by 340 million homes worldwide.”
“By partnering with Encorp Group, Bloomberg Television has chosen the best partner with unmatched broadcast experience and entrepreneurial spirit to deepen our ASEAN business coverage,” said Gary Groenheim, Commercial Director of Bloomberg Television, Asia-Pacific.
The Malaysia partnership continues Bloomberg Television’s momentum in Asia, following the launch of Bloomberg TV Indonesia and Mongolia in the past year and the company’s ongoing investment in news coverage and product development in Malaysia. According to economists’ forecast compiled by Bloomberg, Malaysia’s economy is projected to expand by 5 percent next year, up from an estimated 4.5 percent in 2013.
12 December 2013
Vizrt Ltd. today announced a deal worth USD 1.4 million for the implementation of broadcast graphics (BG) and media asset management (MAM) products with Thai Rath in Thailand. The deal is a continuation of a project by Thai Rath for a new TV channel.
The deal includes an enterprise MAM version of Viz One, Vizrt’s complete end-to-end solution for the creation, management and delivery of media assets. Vizrt will also deliver several Viz Engines, Vizrt’s real-time compositor, as well as Viz Virtual Studio for the broadcaster to expand its virtual set capabilities.
The Vizrt Social TV solution was purchased to give journalists a tool for moderating and distributing social media content for on-air use. Viz World is adding editorial capabilities that will allow the journalists in the newsroom to create local street maps for Thailand, as well as animated maps for the rest of the world.
Thai Rath is preparing to launch a TV channel in 2014 with a comprehensive Vizrt solution, designed for easy multiplatform distribution of content.
Martin Burkhalter, CEO of Vizrt, stated “Vizrt continues to be a strong partner for Thai Rath in Thailand. This new deal testifies to their trust in both Vizrt product lines: BG and MAM. It also gives testimony to the trust of Thai Rath in Vizrt’s Thailand-based sales and support team, to deliver the solutions to help them become a successful broadcaster.”
Thai Rath, is a Thai-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok and distributed throughout Thailand, with a distribution of more than 1 million copies per day. Founded in 1962, Thai Rath is the oldest and best selling newspaper in Thailand.
10 December 2013
To mark the U.N. observance of Human Rights Day on December 10, RFE/RL announces the launch of Lady Liberty, a webpage dedicated to women in journalism.
Lady Liberty recognizes the contributions of women journalists from RFE/RL as well as other media in the broadcaster’s target region, illuminating/highlighting/underscoring their reporting, the issues they confront, and the political, societal and cultural landscapes in which they work. It is a resource for and about them and a medium to promote their work.
In this first edition, Lady Liberty speaks with Masih Alinejad, an award-winning correspondent with Radio Farda, RFE/RL’s Persian Language Service, who uncovered the stories of 27 victims of the 2009 post-election crackdown in Iran; interviews Gulmeena Yosufzai, a young journalism fellow in Kabul with RFE/RL’s Afghan Service; reports on the cultural taboos confronting women journalists in Afghanistan; and remembers Monica Lovinescu, whose work for RFE/RL under Nicolai Ceausescu’s Romania was “a lifeline for those listeners behind the Iron Curtain.”
For news from all of RFE/RL’s broadcast regions, follow RFR/RL online and on Twitter and Facebook.
10 December 2013
Mezzo Live HD Asia will soon be available in the Asia-Pacific region for the first time, after a deal between Globecast, MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd (MEASAT), and Mezzo to deliver the channel via the MEASAT-3 satellite.
Mezzo Live HD Asia is a new around-the-clock TV channel for the Asia-Pacific region. Dedicated to classical music, jazz, and dance, the channel will broadcast some of the world’s most prestigious concerts, operas, jazz, and ballet. Broadcast in French, Mezzo Live HD Asia will be subtitled in 11 regional languages and adapted to the tastes of local markets in Asia to ensure it reaches the broadest audience across the region.
Soo Yew Weng, Senior Vice President of Sales of Globecast Asia, said, “Globecast prides itself on helping channels expand to new regions. To this end, we are happy to partner with Mezzo and MEASAT. For Mezzo to expand its presence and bring such high- quality content to the Asia-Pacific is great news indeed.”
“MEASAT is pleased to expand its partnership with Globecast with the agreement to distribute Mezzo Live HD Asia across the Asia-Pacific,” said Raj Malik, Senior Vice President, sales and marketing, MEASAT. “Mezzo Live HD Asia’s addition to the 91.5°E video neighborhood is a reflection of the growing popularity of HD content that is available over this region via our hotslot.”
The MEASAT 3/3a platform at 91.5°E covers 102 countries from Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. The platform currently leads HD channel distribution in Asia with 47 channels.
Globecast receives the signal for Mezzo Live HD Asia at its technical operations center in Paris. From there, the channel is sent via fibre to Globecast’s Hong Kong teleport for uplink onto the MEASAT-3 platform.
9 December 2013
The text and video content from the BBC Turkce website bbcturkce.com is now available to users of Turkey’s leading radio aggregator, Karnaval.com, thanks to a syndication agreement between BBC World Service and the Karnaval.com proprietor, Spectrum Medya.
Visitors to Karnaval.com will now see the most recent news and features from bbcturkce.com displayed on the News section of the website. The BBC Turkce videos are placed on the main page of Karnaval.com alongside news headlines and images from bbcturkce.com. Users of Karnaval.com will also see the BBC Turkce ticker with the main news stories from bbcturkce.com.
Frederick Durman, Head of Business Development – Europe and Latin America, BBC Global News, says: “This collaboration between BBC World Service and Spectrum Medya is part of BBC Turkce’s strategy to further boost digital presence in Turkey, reflecting both the boom in digital platforms Turkey is experiencing and the changing landscape in traditional media especially where news is concerned.”
BBC Turkce Editor, Murat Nisancioglu, adds: “We are thrilled that visitors to Karnaval.com will be invited to follow the world agenda with the BBC. We are looking forward to further extending our user base in Turkey’s growing digital market via this collaboration with Karnaval.com.”
CEO of Karnaval – Spectrum Medya, Ali A. Abhary, comments: “We are incredibly proud to work with one of the world’s most respected news organisations to bring BBC Turkce content to our users. Karnaval is quickly becoming a one-stop-shop for music, entertainment and news – with over 6.9 million monthly unique listeners across our properties. BBC Turkce provides our audiences with access to hard-hitting, international journalism of the highest calibre on domestic, international and lifestyle news topics.”
BBC Turkce is part of BBC World Service.
