John Snow, Sr. FPGA Architect at Cobalt® Digital, is the recipient of SMPTE’s Excellence in Standards award in recognition of his long-standing participation and leadership in the SMPTE Standards Community. Snow was honored during the Annual SMPTE Awards Gala which included a virtual ceremony and social reception on Wednesday, November 11. With a wink and a nod, SMPTE encouraged ‘attendees’ to don their finest black-tie attire and remotely honor industry luminaries and next-generation leaders.

VUALTO, a leading live and on-demand video streaming and DRM provider, has announced it is expanding its strategic partnership with Media Excel, a leading provider of multiscreen encoding solutions, to include sales and support services for Media Excel’s products in VUALTO’s regions of operation.

FSR, a leading manufacturer of a wide variety of infrastructure solution products for the audio/video, Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), education, corporate, hospitality, and government markets, has announced that its recently released Smart-Way Raceway system is the recipient of an Award of Excellence from Tech & Learning Magazine. The awards program evaluates and salutes outstanding products that are improving the way educators work and students learn. Smart-Way Raceway was honored in the “Best re-invention of a classic” category.

“For 40 years, Tech & Learning has reported on how edtech products are improving teaching and learning,” says Tech & Learning Group Publisher Christine Weiser. “In keeping with this mission, our 2019 Awards of Excellence contest focused on stand-out products that are both unique in the K-12 market, as well as those that are helping schools solve specific problems.”

The Smart-Way Raceway System provides a cost-effective way for schools to get the power and data connections to the exact locations they need for reliable, safe connectivity, making it ideal for classrooms and collaborative work environments. Today’s classrooms are breaking from traditional settings with more flexible furniture and seating arrangements creating a real challenge to transport power and data efficiently. Smart-Way eliminates obstacles by allowing schools to position connections anywhere in the room, delivering the power necessary for students to benefit from the technology that comes with today’s advanced devices and connected workspaces.

Viaccess-Orca (VO), an Orange Group company and a global leader providing OTT and TV platforms, content protection, and advanced data solutions, announced today that the Malian Transmission and Broadcasting Corporation (SMTD) in West Africa has chosen VO's cardless Conditional Access System (CAS) to secure its free-to-view and pay-TV platforms as part of a nationwide government initiative to roll out digital terrestrial television (DTT). Thomson Broadcast has been tasked with handling the deployment for SMTD's new infrastructure, while also supplying the video headend, contribution and distribution network, and TV transmitters.

"We are excited about offering digital terrestrial television in Mali, as it will significantly improve our viewers' quality of experience while offering a broader range of content choices," said Ismaila Togola, CEO of SMTD. "Working with Thomson Broadcast and Viaccess-Orca, both leaders in their respective industries, will help us get this new DTT service securely deployed to market."

May 30 marks the 2019 kick-off for Cine Gear Expo at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.

The Expo opens with the Film Competition screenings on Thursday, in Paramount’s Sherry Lansing Theatre. Winners will receive prizes like cameras, lighting, support, and accessories thanks to the generous donations of the Film Series Sponsors.