23 February 2009
At NAB 2009 German S4M Solutions for Media will showcase its integrated broadcast management systems as well as software solutions for the professional management of digital video assets. S4M presents the latest member of its product family: ClipJOCKEY a studio production tool tailored to the needs of TV broadcasters and production companies.
ClipJOCKEY supports the daily processes carried out in control rooms. At the same time, it enables migration into a file-based environment. The tool corresponds to a scope of features that amongst many others is provided by VPMS, S4Ms video production management system. The difference: As a stand-alone solution ClipJOCKEY focuses on core workflows in control rooms and covers the special needs of TV broadcasters and (post)production companies regarding ingest and playout functionalities. For instance, MOS-enabled news formats can be carried out tapeless. Likewise, the pre-production of magazines may be accomplished without tapes. Especially to that end, S4M has developed the add-on mode allowing the same comfort that hitherto was only possible in a tape-based context. In doing so, a multi-channel link feature supports key-fill applications and multi camera productions.
As a partner at the Microsoft stand Cologne-based S4M also showcases Dynamics Media, an all-in-one broadcast management system based on Microsofts business management solution Microsoft Dynamics AX®. Dynamics Media is a ready-to-deploy system that consists of two modules: Dynamics AdSales concentrates on air time sales tasks and traffic management, whereas Dynamics Broadcast enables licence, material and asset management, as well as program planning.
At a joint booth with Annova Systems, Solutions for Media also presents other fully installed enterprise solutions managing individual stations, station groups, and networks: licence and rights management (S4Rights), program planning and scheduling (S4Schedule), traffic, adsales and optimisation (S4AdSales) and video content management (VPMS). Moreover, S4M and Annova demonstrate Annovas enterprise newsroom solution OpenMedia and S4Ms VPMS in action in one single workflow.
23 February 2009
Bao Tong, the highest-ranking Chinese government official charged in relation to the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, told VOA the Chinese Communist Party’s actions cost it the respect of the world
Washington, D.C., February 19, 2009 – Bao Tong, the highest-ranking Chinese government official charged in relation to the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, told the Voice of America (VOA) the Chinese Communist Party’s actions cost it the respect of the world.
In a wide-ranging interview, the political secretary to the late Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang challenges the Chinese government to “reappraise Tiananmen” as a starting point toward the truly harmonious society that China’s current leaders seek.
Bao said he agrees with President Obama who said in his inauguration speech that China’s government risks being on the wrong side of history if it continues to justify violence as a way of maintaining control.
Bao, an advocate of democracy for China, was arrested shortly before Tiananmen. He was convicted in 1992 in a trial and served seven years in prison. Bao’s exclusive interview with VOA’s Mandarin Service Correspondent Zhang Nan took place inside the Beijing home where Bao has been under virtual house arrest since he was released from seven years in prison.
VOA Mandarin is airing the extensive interview in segments on its daily television program Issues and Opinions. The full interview will be on www.VOANews.com/Chinese.
VOA’s Mandarin service broadcasts 84 hours of radio programs and seven hours of TV a week. VOA also broadcasts 14 hours of radio and six minutes of TV in Cantonese and 42 hours of radio and two hours of TV in Tibetan each week.
23 February 2009
Hilversum When disaster strikes anywhere in the world Radio Netherlands Worldwide will go into action as an international disaster service. RNW will not only report on the events, it will provide a complete information service for any Dutch victims, those in trouble and their relatives. With special broadcasts, a separate website and mobile phone platforms all serving to keep the audience constantly up to date. RNW expects the disaster service to go into operation by spring 2009.
Dutch emigrants, expats and holidaymakers are regularly faced with natural disasters, major accidents, terrorist attacks, political upheavals and social conflicts. Everyone who is faced with these situations, directly or indirectly, wants fast answers to pressing questions: What happened? How could this happen? And then
who is missing? How do I get home? Who has more information? What can I do? Where can I get what I need?
One hour after the first report of a disaster a specially trained RNW team will start answering all those questions via radio, mobile phone, internet and BVN television. The news and information stream will be kept up to date from minute to minute with special broadcasts, a separate website and mobile platforms. For as long as is needed.
Editor-in-chief Rik Rensen explains: Its an extra service in addition to our existing programmes. The disaster team is RNWs response to the urgent requests for help and information we received during recent events like the violence in Mumbai and the lengthy airport strike in Bangkok.
23 February 2009
Vizrt, a leading provider of real-time graphics and integrated video workflow solutions for the media industry, will introduce Viz Video Hub version 1.2.1 at the 2009 NAB Show, Booth SL5508, from April 18-23 in Las Vegas, Nev. As a scalable, upgradeable solution for IT-based production and archiving, Viz Video Hub is currently in operation at several of the worlds leading broadcast, sports and media companies.
Enhanced capabilities within version 1.2.1 give Vizrts Video Hub plug-and-play media asset management (MAM) system an extended support for archive functionality through a Tape Robot feature. The Tape Robot support enables broadcasters to archive video assets directly within Viz Video Hub. The functionality includes capabilities for ingest and playout, transcoding, browsing, craft editing, and more on a smaller scale.
With these additional capabilities, Viz Video Hub can serve as a pivotal component anchoring the entire Vizrt workflow, spanning newsrooms, editing stations, channel branding, control rooms, and every production task from ingest to playout, said Petter Ole Jakobsen, Chief Technology Officer of Vizrt.
With its new support for Viz Link workflow, Viz Video Hub 1.2 allows graphics solutions, including the Viz Trio HD/SD CG graphics engine, Viz Content Pilot for real-time template-based graphics creation, and Viz Multichannel for channel branding, to search for video clips on the MAM storage, retrieve and edit them, and add them to graphics and templates. (Viz Video Hub also stores and manages associated metadata using the Dublin Core standard.)
The Viz Link support enables video assets contained in the Viz Video Hub to be quickly and easily retrieved and repurposed by Vizrt graphics solutions such as Viz Content Pilot, Viz Multichannel and Viz Trio. Additionally, the video assets of Viz Video Hub can be directly accessed from within the Escenic Content Studio software for managing and publishing media content to web, mobile, and other new media distribution platforms. Viz Video Hub 1.2.1 helps media organizations maximize the value of their media assets by making them accessible throughout the organization.
Viz Video Hub 1.2.1 is directly tied to Viz Ingest Manager, a control interface for automating the recording of live feeds, as well as Viz Capture from tape, and ensures that these systems automatically update content onto multiple Viz Video Engine video servers. Based on the schedule in the user interface, Viz Ingest Manager will control video servers to record the material indicated in the schedule. The base license comes with support for eight concurrent ingest feeds.
Video Hub 1.2.1 increases support beyond 80 concurrent clients and a greater number of Viz EasyCut licenses. Ideal for newsrooms, Viz EasyCut is a nonlinear, timeline-based editing tool, bundled with Video Hub, that can access Video Hubs assets so they can be edited into new clips.
With the integration of Viz Video Hub 1.2.1 and Viz Escenic Content Studio, web journalists can now search and add video content stored within the Viz Video Hub to their online news stories directly from the Escenic Content Studio interface. File transfer and conversion are handled as background processes.
Vizrt will also preview Viz Video Hub 2.0, which features a new control interface for transcoding and streaming service as well as a whole new user interface experience. Viz Video Hub 2.0 will also support tighter integration with Escenic Content Studio 5. The integration will allow automatic updating of the Escenic software with all of the assets from the Viz Video Hub.
23 February 2009
The Associated Press has appointed Henrik Eklund as Director of Digital Partnerships and Distribution in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Eklund is formerly CEO at Kamera, one of the world’s leading mobile and online distributors.
“Henrik brings to AP great experience in the digital and mobile marketplace and will lead our rapid business growth in these two critical areas,” said London-based AP Vice President of Sales-International Daisy Veerasingham, who announced Eklund’s appointment to the new position.
Eklund, based in Stockholm, will focus on opportunities in digital and mobile distribution to grow AP’s digital business in the region.
In his role as CEO at Kamera, Eklund developed a highly successful global business in more than 25 countries. The company packaged and delivered multiplatform TV for Web sites and mobile operators. Prior to Kamera, Eklund founded PAN Interactive, one of the leading game publishers and distributors in Europe and was previously a management consultant, specializing in business process re-engineering.
Eklund holds a degree in business administration from Gothenburg University in Sweden.
23 February 2009
GlobeCast will be announcing the launch of its new African DTH satellite platform, along with other recent expansions in terms of coverage and services, at the first Satellite MENA in Dubai next month. At stand C3-21, the content management and delivery company will also be highlighting recent developments in its global distribution and contribution services for broadcast.
Also being highlighted at Satellite MENA is GlobeCasts recent acquisition of NETIA, a specialist in content management software. An animation on the GlobeCast stand will allow the visitor to see the creation of a channel from contribution all the way through to playout and distribution, including information on NETIAs software and how it facilitates this process.
With local offices on five continents and a global satellite and fibre distribution network, GlobeCast offers tailor-made solutions for specific broadcast requirements. Hundreds of channels are entrusted to GlobeCast every year, among them long-term partners in the Middle-East such as Arabsat and ASBU for worldwide distribution of an Arabic programs bouquet, Al Jazeera International, Abu Dhabi TV and many others.
