LiveU today presents its annual ‘State of Live’ report based on data gathered from its global customer base of thousands of users. The findings reflect the substantial growth in IP news and sports broadcasting with a 50% increase in the number of LiveU units used to stream live events and 250% increase to around 20 million in live sessions overall.

HEVC continues to play a key role in live transmission, which is pivotal for live sports productions. This is due to the higher quality video performance and bandwidth efficiency enabled by HEVC technology. LiveU reports a 65% growth in HEVC units deployed worldwide and over 400% growth in HEVC-based sessions. Nearly 50% of the field units used to stream sports are HEVC-based with almost 80% of sports sessions transmitted in HD.

The increasing deployment of cellular bonding technology for live sport coverage has been evident worldwide. Following the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™, Kevin Callahan, VP, Field Operations & Engineering, Fox Sports said, “We always get energized if there is a huge buzz at home and this World Cup surpassed all our expectations with the success of the US Women’s soccer team. LiveU’s LU600 HEVC portable transmission unit provided the backbone for our ENG shoots that were not at the stadium, enabling us to increase the number of live feeds. We also sent content to multiple locations simultaneously using LiveU’s Matrix IP cloud video management platform, making the content available to Fox TV stations that wanted to integrate live shots into their newscasts.”

Frame.io, the world's leading video review and collaboration platform, announced today the arrival of Frame.io for iPad. Frame.io for iPad follows the success of the company’s 2016 Apple Design Award-winning iOS app, and, like its smaller sibling, allows users to stay up to date with what’s happening on set or in the edit suite while on the move. Frame.io for iPad is another step toward realizing a fully, globally distributed video workflow, giving creators and collaborators the ability to review or approve work in progress from anywhere in the world. Apple’s high quality iPad screen lets users view true-to-life color, while making the mobile experience more flexible and delightful. There are times when watching dailies, evaluating VFX shots, or getting a better sense of composition and color benefits from a larger display than a smartphone can offer - that’s where Frame.io for iPad comes into play.

Custom Consoles announces the completion of Module-R studio control desks and two MediaWall monitor display mounts for Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media & Cultural Studios. The desks and display mounts form part of a full broadcast-quality news studio facility designed by UK-based system integrator ATG Danmon.

"We were invited to propose a turnkey solution based on an outline specification provided by the university," explains ATG Danmon Managing Director Russell Peirson-Hagger. "The project coincided with a relocation to new city-centre premises. It comprised a large TV studio and dedicated gallery, a smaller TV studio with its associated gallery, plus a broadcast newsroom. These will be used to train the next generation of television, radio, online and printed-media journalists. Module-R desks and MediaWalls are used in many broadcast facilities in the UK, Europe, MENA and Asia, so were a logical choice given the need to match the functionality and processes of a real broadcast environment. They are robustly constructed, ergonomically efficient for engineering staff and well as operators, and attractively styled. Both product series also gave us the freedom to match the available room dimensions from standard modular elements."

Atlanta DTH, Inc. (ADTH) announces that it has joined the SRT Alliance, a broadcast media industry collaboration created to develop an open-source protocol allowing low-latency video streaming over the internet. ADTH will provide full support for the SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) protocol.

Developed and pioneered by Haivision, the SRT protocol optimizes streaming performance across unpredictable networks with secure streams and easy firewall traversal. It accounts for packet loss, jitter, and fluctuating bandwidth, maintaining the integrity and quality of a video stream.

"With its 25 years of experience in the broadcast and telecommunication sectors, ADTH is a very welcome addition to our membership," comments Haivision CCO & EVP Strategic Alliances Peter Maag. "With increasing support from across the entire industry, SRT is rapidly becoming the globally preferred standard for low-latency video streaming."

"Efficient and effective standards are essential to the advancement of any industry, not least in the OTT streaming sector where signal delivery needs to overcome many technical variables," adds ADTH founder and Managing Director Michael Day. "The SRT Alliance's aims and objectives are in full accord with our own strategy of promoting the highest possible video quality-of-experience securely, efficiently and at the lowest possible latency. We are SRT-ready."

Altered Images, a leading UK supplier of visual communications technology solutions, has chosen Custom Consoles Module-R, M-Desk Technical and custom-designed studio furniture for a newly completed broadcast media training suite at Plymouth Marjon University.

The new resource includes a total of seven desks in an open plan configuration. Located on the former BBC South West villa site in Plymouth, it is equipped with all the facilities required for the university's courses in journalism and broadcast production. These include a four-camera TV studio, a TV news room and TV production gallery, a radio news room, radio studio and central apparatus room.

"The design brief we were given was to create a fully professional radio and TV production environment including latest-generation Dante IP networking", says Altered Images' Media and Broadcast Solutions Director Russell Butcher. "Custom Consoles desks are very widely used throughout the broadcast media industry so will be met by many students as they progress into their careers. The desks and equipment bays look good, are ergonomically comfortable and efficient, and are very long-lasting."

Argentine telecommunications facilities provider Servicios y Telecomunicaciones SA (SYT) has chosen a complete mediaClass OTT TV Everywhere solution as the core of a newly launched Rocstar TV Everywhere platform. The system is designed to allow carriers, cable operators and ISPs to offer own-brand TV Everywhere OTT products based on a strong channel line-up and premium content. All functions are provided through an operator-class version of mediaClass software, customised and integrated into servers at SYT's headquarters in Buenos Aires.

"We signed the agreement with SYT at the April 2019 NAB Show and have been very busy adding specific features for Rocstar TV local markets," says mediaClass EVP Manelli Hosseini. "This new service will allow easy white-labeling for carriers, ISPs and cable operators to offer full TV Everywhere OTT and IPTV with their own brand and their own app. The system includes all the advanced TV Everywhere features – content source processing and storage, digital rights management, subscriber management, viewer analytics and an AI-based recommendation engine. We have also built in true multi-tenancy which is often claimed but not delivered. The resultant service is very easy to use, includes automatic configuration, and is highly cost efficient."

Anevia, a leading provider of OTT and IPTV software solutions, for the expansion of its multiscreen TV service.

The expansion was driven by the exponential growth of the market locally, as well as geographical inroads of the multiscreen TV service into other South American countries. To scale up, the telecommunication service provider chose the Anevia Embedded Distributed Storage (EDS) technology, where the same servers are used for both computing and storage. This enables costs to be kept under control by halving the number of physical rack units needed.

The operator has also continued expanding its CDN infrastructure using Anevia’s NEA-CDN® solution which enables it to ensure high quality during football matches and other peak traffic events as well as supporting the cutting-edge features required for interactive OTT television.

"We are thrilled that Anevia’s technology has once again been trusted to deliver premium services for OTT television, after four years of spectacular success with this OTT offering in Argentina," says Anevia CEO Laurent Lafarge. "Our EDS technology is widely recognised to be much more reliable and scalable than a traditional NAS architecture. It enables TV operators to thrive as they scale up."

PlayBox Neo Ltd reports a buoyant 2019 with strong demand for its Channel-in-a-Box and software-based TV channel branding and playout systems. Total unit deliveries reached and surpassed 18,500, supported by product demonstrations at NAB Las Vegas, Broadcast Asia, IBC, NAB New York and regional events in various countries.

"Our Channel-in-Box series, refined over 20 years, continues to sustain us as one of the strongest performing companies in the global playout solutions market," says PlayBox Neo CEO Pavlin Rahnev. "Success in the media playout sector stems from paying close attention to the industry's needs. The primary demand in the playout sector is for operational flexibility. PlayBox Neo Channel-in-a-Box can be configured from a wide range of software modules to match practically any workflow and any required level of backup security. With our SaaS-based Cloud2TV offering, we also offer great flexibility in the way channel managers can handle supplementary aspects such as intelligent archiving, event-specific channels and emergency recovery.

Broadcast metadata and transcription service provider, Take 1, has hired Stephen Stewart to fill the newly created position of chief operating officer.  The appointment is part of a broader restructure of the company’s senior management teamto support their ambitious service and technology expansion plans.   

With the previous role as vice president of global content operations for the BBC as well as positions at Red Bee Media and Deluxe, Stewart is a broadcast and production operations specialist with broad experience.      

As Take 1 COO, Stewart will lead the transition of Take 1 Cloudsolutions into production and implement processes to both maintain the company’s security credentials and secure additional industry accreditations.  He will also be responsible for developing the company’s access services department and for implementing efficiencies across their global workforce.  Stewart will join Take 1 on 16 December 2019 and will report directly to Take 1 CEO, Louise Tapia, from their UK head office.

“Stephen is a respected and accomplished leader and we’re thrilled that he’s chosen to join the Take 1 team,” said Take 1 CEO, Louise Tapia.  “His global operations experience in the broadcast and broader media industry makes him a perfect fit for our future growth plans across our international sites.” 

www.take1.tv

Sky News Australia has made a major investment in state-of-the-art robotic camera support systems from Vinten and Intelligent Prompting solutions from Autoscript for its six remote studios in Australia. With the latest build-out just completed in Sky News' Canberra Parliament House studio, the Vinten and Autoscript equipment is a vital link in the network's strategy to reduce operational costs through centralised, IP-based control of remote broadcasts.

Sky News is a 24/7 multi-channel network providing international news, local news, and current affairs programmes to viewers throughout Australia and New Zealand. With headquarters, master control, and main studio based in Sydney, the network operates remote studios in Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

Sky News has fitted its Canberra Parliament House studio with three Vinten FH-145 robotic pan/tilt camera heads, driven by the Vinten HD-VRC control system, three Vinten Quattro pedestals, and three Autoscript EPIC-IP 19" prompting monitors with integrated talent feedback monitors, driven by Autoscript WinPlus-IP News prompting software. Amber Technology, a Vitec Production Solutions Premier Partner, supplied the Vinten and Autoscript solutions and partnered for the build-out.

Media asset management software provider IPV has confirmed details of new growth capital that will enable it to further expand the global reach of its acclaimed MAM product, Curator. The £4m Series A round was led by SME-focused venture capital firm Mobeus Equity Partners, with additional ongoing finance secured from Calculus Capital.

Mark Fagan, IPV CEO said, “Multiple industries are rapidly expanding their use of video but are facing significant challenges during the content creation process. Curator makes it easy to remotely edit, collaborate and publish high quality video content – enabling customers to ensure consistency of messaging and sustained audience growth via digital, online and mobile platforms.”

This capital will enable IPV to deliver the benefits of Curator to an even wider audience, expanding into areas of digital marketing, customer experience and enterprise video management.

ATEME, the emerging leader in video delivery solutions for broadcast, cable, DTH, IPTV and OTT, announced today that CJHello, the largest cable operator and a leader in Korea’s media industry, has successfully deployed its TITAN Live software solution for MPEG-2 HD transcoding for delivery of high-quality video services to its viewers.

TITAN Live is a hardware agnostic, real-time multi-channel/format solution designed for processing SD, HD and Ultra HD content for any screen. TITAN Live enables CJ Hello to deliver a premium experience to its customers while providing the following major benefits:

·      Lower OPEX: based on ATEME’s High-Efficiency MPEG-2 (HE-MPEG-2®), CJ Hello is able to save bandwidth and add additional HD channels to existing transponder

·      Flexible operations: ATEME’s software is server-agnostic and can run on any private/public and on/off-premises cloud infrastructure with the same benefits and value proposition.

·      Future-proof solution: TITAN Live benefits from ATEME’s continuous research and innovation in video quality, allowing for future evolutions of the solution

Red Giant today announced the availability of Red Giant Complete for individuals, students and teachers. Expanding its software licensing options, Red Giant Complete is a subscription service that gives editors, motion designers and VFX artists all Red Giant tools at one low price – Trapcode Suite, Magic Bullet Suite, Universe, VFX Suite and Shooter Suite. With Red Giant Complete, annual subscribers will have the most up-to-date versions of all tools, saving thousands of dollars over traditional perpetual licenses.

Watch now: Red Giant Complete - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1nnDIlmEo8&feature=youtu.be

“Red Giant Complete has been available to our volume customers for years, with thousands of licenses in use at broadcast networks, film studios and universities. And now, due to popular demand, we're really excited to offer subscription licensing to all of our customers,” says Chad Bechert, CEO of Red Giant. “At the same time, nothing has changed. While we think Red Giant Complete is an incredible deal, we know some customers are more comfortable buying software the traditional way. We want to make sure our community of talented artists has what it needs, so we’re continuing to offer perpetual licenses at their usual prices.”

Red Giant Complete is $599 a year for individuals or $299 for students and teachers. Check out the Red Giant blog to learn more about how to switch over to Red Giant Complete and why now is the best time to make the switch, with a special, limited-time-only introductory offer for established Suite customers

Channel 5, based in St. Petersburg, Russia, has dramatically rationalised its core technology by updating to a Platinum™IP3 router from Imagine Communications for its MCR and playout. The remarkable design of the Platinum IP3 incorporates much of the video and audio infrastructure, eliminating a large number of outboard devices from multiple vendors, simplifying cabling and reducing power consumption, as well as making workflows more coherent and transparent.

Channel 5 was already using an Imagine Platinum router, but continually increasing operational demands called for more inputs and outputs. Channel 5 took the opportunity to rationalise its infrastructure by bringing much more functionality into the new, expanded router, eliminating the need for external third-party devices.

“We knew that the newest models of Platinum router, like the IP3, can host a huge amount of functionality within the frame, making system architecture much more logical,” said Sergei Volhin, technical director of Channel 5. “It meant we could do away with a lot of other equipment, making the installation neater and easier to understand. The new Platinum IP3 reduces the cost and complexity, maximises on-air security, and gives us the capability to quickly set up workflows and expand the I/O as our needs develop.”

The new 28RU Platinum IP3 router was specified, configured and installed by Imagine’s channel partner, MediaProject. The IP3 is highly scalable, and in its initial implementation, it provides for 576 x 1024 video I/O in SD and HD, with fully redundant routing and both copper and fibre interfaces. The router also supports 64 TDM audio slots, each carrying up to 128 audio channels.

As well as the highly resilient switching, the Platinum IP3 also offers video and audio processing which in other systems would require large numbers of third-party devices — each consuming power, cooling and rack space. At Channel 5, all the multiviewer displays in the playout and master control area are driven by router-integrated Platinum SX Pro multiviewer cards — enabling a real saving in outboard processors and ensuring faster and more secure operation. The router also integrates audio embedding and de-embedding with full level control and channel shuffling and extensive video processing.

“Every broadcaster wants a core infrastructure that is going to be absolutely secure and resilient, but is also compact, convenient and clear,” said Mathias Eckert, SVP & GM EMEA/APAC, Playout & Networking, at Imagine Communications. “The fundamental design of the Platinum IP3 router allows us to configure very complex signal management, processing and monitoring in the same device, so a single command can fire multiple actions without the need to set each parameter. That makes for very secure operations, even in complex workflows.

“The result is that — as Channel 5 identified — the Platinum IP3 is a complete solution, and one which reduces cost while enhancing resilience,” Eckert added. “And, when the time comes, it can be expanded to encompass IP switching alongside SDI and digital audio, providing long-term security.”

The router project was installed and commissioned by MediaProject during summer 2019.

For more information about Imagine Communications’ products and solutions, please visit https://www.imaginecommunications.com.

Edgeware & ENENSYS Technologies ('ENENSYS') announced today that the two companies are forming a technological and global sales alliance. Edgeware, the leading provider of content preparation, unicast CDN and streaming solutions for broadband operators, and ENENSYS, the leading provider of Multicast ABR and LTE Broadcast media streaming solutions to network operators, will cooperate on key opportunities which leverage the strengths of each in their respective markets.

Edgeware has deployed over 200 private unicast CDNs globally and continues to innovate in the area of internet TV delivery, which requires unicast (one to one) streaming technology. ENENSYS has been a leader in the deployment of 4G/5G Broadcast and OTT Multicast solutions for mobile operators globally, leveraging the multicast capabilities of their private networks. Together, the two companies can offer a truly unique media delivery portfolio – to both the broadband fixed line and mobile operator markets.

Customers interested in knowing more about the integrated solutions now available thanks to this new Edgeware-ENENSYS collaboration are invited to contact their local sales representative, or submit a request via https://www.enensys.com/contact/ or https://www.edgeware.tv/contact/