4 March 2010
GlobeCasts newly launched Content Acquisition and Distribution division has signed a VOD distribution deal with ZN Animation, one of Chinas biggest animation producers, as well as general and popular entertainment content from Shanghai Media Groups subsidiary, WingsMedia.
Under the deal, GlobeCast – the content management and delivery company and division of France Telecom, will help this top-notch content reach VOD viewers on DTH and pay-TV bouquets throughout Europe.
The contract was signed with Zhejiang Zhongnan Group Animation Video Co., Ltd. (ZN Animation) as represented by their worldwide distributor, CHINAnimax Pte Ltd in Singapore, and Shanghai Media Groups subsidiary WingsMedia.
ZN Animations popular programmes include Chinese animation hits such as RUBI, an educational and entertaining pre-school program, and Zheng Hes Voyages to the West Seas, the adventures of the great explorer, Admiral Zheng He, which won the 2009 Accolade Award of Excellence/TV/Animation and was nominated for Best Animation by The Asian TV Awards 2009.
WingsMedia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinas one of the biggest media groups, Shanghai Media Group (SMG). Among its hit shows are talkshow ChenChen All Star and hugely popular dramas such as Love Affairs and Burning Roses.
4 March 2010
For NAB 2010, Pharos will be demonstrating the latest version of its widely adopted Mediator broadcast workflow management platform which now includes its Playtime automation options within a highly integrated solution aimed at improving operational efficiency and driving down costs.
For its ninth year attending the event in Las Vegas, Pharos will show full integration of Playtime into Mediator 4, providing a functionally advanced broadcast automation system that helps broadcasters and service providers publish content for both traditional channels and new media. Mediator 4 now has the ability to separately manage presentation requirements and content independently based on schedule priority and media management workflows.
Additional enhancements to Mediator 4 include an advanced metadata system allowing information to be added as new delivery platforms such as On Demand, .com, podcasting and mobile are launched. Combined with detailed workflow analytics, ongoing system optimization and maintenance can finally keep pace with a constantly evolving business environment.
Over the course of NAB 2010, senior Pharos team members will be available to answer questions and conduct real-time demos exemplifying how its technology has helped international clients across 40 countries including HBO, MTV, Turner CNN, BBC World Service and Ascent Media.
As Glen Sakata, Senior VP, Pharos Americas; explains, The close integration between media asset management, workflow, playout and automation within our Mediator 4 platform is helping to reduce the complexity and costs associated with the repetition of the same tasks across multiple systems.
Pharos Mediator is built around the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) concept to aid speedy implementation and to provide flexibility for future products and services. Key elements such as the Mediator interface, device control, workflow and messaging are designed based on the best tools for the job and include Oracle, Java, Flash and key industry standards such as MXF and BXF.
Using a Service Oriented Architecture we provide a platform that is able to grow and adapt as our clients explore new business models, processes, delivery methods and content types. This agility is vital in a production and broadcast environment that is evolving rapidly and a key differentiator that defines Pharos as a true innovator within our industry. Sakata adds.
4 March 2010
Only better content will persuade listeners to buy digital radio receivers, the RadioAsia conference in New Delhi heard today.
The real challenge for the broadcaster is to motivate the listeners to replace their analogue receivers with digital receivers, R Narasimha Swamy of Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd (BECIL) said.
This can happen only if the created content be more imaginative, innovative and attractive.
On the third and final day of the conference, participants heard how digital radio technology was penetrating the Asia-Pacific region.
The Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner, said there were now more than 55 Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB+) services on air in Australias five largest cities, covering nearly 60 percent of the population.
She said DAB+ radios could now be obtained at more than 600 retail shops.
The other technical standard gaining ground in the Asia-Pacific region is Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM). The DRM consortium was founded in 1998 as a non-commercial entity promoting the adoption of the DRM standard around 100 members including broadcasters and manufacturers.
The conference heard that All India Radio was carrying out DRM shortwave transmissions from Khampur in Delhi on an experimental basis.
RadioAsia was jointly organised by the ABU, the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) and Singapore Exhibition Services.
2 March 2010
Radio Netherlands Worldwide is sending a complete mobile radio station to the disaster area in Haiti. The Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA), a global umbrella organisation of broadcasters and a partner of RNW, will take delivery of the radio station. The CBA was approached for help by Caribbean contacts and will send the equipment to the CECOSIDA radio station in Port-au-Prince.
As the Dutch international public broadcaster, RNW regards it as part of its remit to provide a country which has been so badly hit by disaster with technical services support.
RNW General Director Jan Hoek: There are virtually no radio stations still operating in Port-au-Prince. People there are cut off from every form of information. By providing the CBA with the requisite broadcasting equipment RNW is helping to facilitate the search for family members and inform people where they can get free medical care, water and food.
Radio in a box
The mobile radio station, also known as the radio in a box, was specially constructed for use in countries where radio transmitters have been partially or completely destroyed by a disaster. The radio station, less than a cubic metre in size, is equipped with an FM transmitter, a mixing console, microphones, a CD player and a laptop computer. Once the transmitters in Haiti are largely operational again the mobile station will be returned to the Netherlands.
Indonesia
Following the earthquake in Padang, Indonesia, in September last year, we sent a ‘radio in a box’ to Sumatra. RNWs partner stations were highly successful using it to get the flow of information started again. At present the radio transmitter there is being used for post disaster information provision, such as trauma healing for children.
Apart from providing a mobile radio station, RNWs transmitter in Bonaire is being used to broadcast Creole radio programmes from the Voice of America.
2 March 2010
Nowhere is space more precious than on a mobile video unit. Even the 53-foot expando HDTV trucks are densely packed with gear and extremely crowded at air time. And many studio control rooms arent much roomier. So one of the most common complaints and requests that manufacturers hear is to pack more firepower into ever smaller boxes.
As a company that prides itself on responding quickly to customer needs, Vizrt is stepping up with a solution for a critical piece of gear on every live broadcastthe CG, or live 3D graphics and animation generator. At the 2010 National Association of Broadcasters show, from April 10-15, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV, Vizrt (Booth SL5408) will showcase Viz Trio One-Boxthe latest version of its Viz Trio realtime 3D graphics and animation system.
As one of the most popular and widely installed live graphics systems in the world, Viz Trio is highly versatile, intuitive, and full featured. It allows artists and operators to deliver extremely creative and visually complex graphical presentations that enhance live sports, news, and specials.
Viz Trio previously required two standard desktop PCs to operateone for Trio client and one for its powerful companion renderer Viz Engine. With Viz Trio One-Box everything, Viz Trio as well as the latest Viz Engine, runs on a single PC with two graphics cards on-board. This means that there is no negative impact on graphics quality or rendering speed. With Trio One-Box, both the VGA preview and final program signals can be viewed on one PC.
With the new Viz Trio One-Box, the work of two PCs is now being done on one, explained Gerhard Lang, Chief Engineering Officer, Vizrt. By consolidating two PCs down to one, were saving our customers space. This solves a critical concern for OB [Outside Broadcast] mobile environments and studios where desk and rack space is at a premium.
Were also saving our customers money because theres one less PC to buy, Lang added. And weve simplified the setup and maintenance of the whole system.
Among the graphics frequently created using Viz Trio are score boxes, player statistics, game clocks, maps and charts. Trio customers often use another companion product, Viz Artist, for sophisticated 3D graphics, animation and template design.
Viz Trio One-Box will be the standard configuration for all future Viz Trio systems.
2 March 2010
Pictures and video from the 2009 AIBs, the International Media Excellence Awards ceremony, held in London on 4th November 2009 are now available.
The pictures can be seen from this website on the 2009 Awards page
The videos showing shortlists of the categories and highlights of the event are being added to the AIBlondon channel on YouTube and will also shortly be added to this website. Please subscribe to the AIBlondon channel and browse through the videos as they become available.
The 2009 AIBs were held in the fabulous surroundings of LSO St Luke’s in London and showcased the best of broadcasting internationally. They attracted over 200 entries from all over the world and were judged by an independent panel of experts involved in broadcasting drawn from 13 countries in Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe.
The 2010 AIBs will be held in London on 10th November 2010. For more details click here
