Switch Media, a world leader in online video technology, is announcing the launch of MediaHQ Lite. This is an end-to-end OTT platform that provides a comprehensive feature set at a cost-effective price point allowing an OTT service to be delivered swiftly. MediaHQ Lite keeps complexity to a minimum while satisfying core OTT requirements, reducing overheads and providing the opportunity to test new ideas with minimal budget.

Premium OTT services have become complex and fragmented. Many broadcasters and content owners struggle with bespoke integrations, finger pointing between vendors, the high costs of app development and progressively increased overhead costs. MediaHQ Lite is aimed at new OTT offerings where time-to-market is critical, and budgets are realistic. The platform provides the ability to extend reach, free up operational resources and adapt to the changing OTT landscape and consumer expectations.

Using MediaHQ Lite, an OTT service can be launched quickly and easily without any kind of customisation. Users simply rebrand according to their own brand guidelines. Features include secure VOD and live streaming with DRM, a global CDN service, analytics reports, comprehensive metadata, high definition ABR encoding and use of the Switch Media applications, or their own apps if they have them. What really sets MediaHQ Lite apart is a full featured server-side ad insertion integration with AdEase providing uncompromised addressable ad experiences.

bTV Media Group, Bulgaria's TV audience leader, has installed state-of-the-art teleprompter and camera support equipment from Autoscript and Vinten in its all-new innovative studio. Located in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, the futuristic broadcast newsroom incorporates seven Vinten Quartz pedestals with Vector 750 pan-and-tilt heads, along with Autoscript EPIC-IP17 teleprompters.

In addition to bTV, Bulgaria's first private national TV station, the bTV Media Group's television unit consists of market-leading channels bTV Action, bTV Cinema, bTV Comedy, bTV Lady, and RING. The new studio is the largest-scale technological project in the history of bTV and is unique in Central and Eastern Europe, featuring three multifunctional sets, 11 video walls, and a total area of 450 square metres.

The Autoscript and Vinten equipment is part of an overall design based on maximum flexibility in camera choreography and functional efficiency. Each camera setup includes an Autoscript EPIC-IP17 teleprompter sporting a sleek carbon-fibre hood, together with an integrated talent monitor.

vinten.com.

Ariana Grande’s Sweetener World Tour is underway with disguise 4x4pro media servers and OmniCal projector-calibration engine playing a key role in facilitating the ethereal, galaxy-themed visuals on stage.

The tour supports the artist’s fourth and fifth studio albums, ‘sweetener’ and ‘thank u, next.’ It kicked off in March 2019 in New York and wraps in December 2019 in California, comprising three legs and a total of 102 dates in North America and Europe.

“The tour was designed to highlight the range and femininity of Ariana and create an ever-transforming space for her to perform her latest albums and give the audience an immersive experience to dive into as they witness Ariana's journey through her music,” says Loren Barton, Media Department Director with Lumentech. He has overseen the projection and media departments in support of many recent projects by Production and Lighting Designer LeRoy Bennett. Possible Productions produced the motion graphics for the show, which sees the stage brought to life with visuals of space during the song ‘NASA’, the visuals then turn the stage into a planet, a moon and a galaxy. From conversations with Ariana herself, Michael Figge and his team at Possible created a stage theme for each song that reinforced the choreography and lighting.

Testronic, a leader in quality assurance (QA), localization services, and compliance for the film, television and games industries, has integrated GrayMeta’s Iris Media Platform as a QCplayback tool in their testing facility which is used to test Post Production Masters and other files for OTT services in territories around the world.

Testronic provides outsourced QC testing services, in various worldwide territories, to content owners who are launching, or have an existing, OTT service. Testronic’s services ensures that the quality of the content meets the highest expectations. Testronic also tests the OTT platform across a large international device farm to confirm correct functionality and user experience on mobile and living room devices, as well as smart TVs for territories the world over.

Testronic has integrated Iris into its playback tool testing platform, helping them in their QC process for Master Quality Control and OTT deliverable package QC. Equipped with advanced video and audio tools, collaboration features, and a QC report generator, GrayMeta’s Iris Media platform uses metadata templates to efficiently check technical requirements, import automated QC reports and verify and double-check for false positives.

testroniclabs.com.

The Immersive Digital Experiences Alliance™ (IDEA) today announced the release of the first draft of royalty-free specifications for the Immersive Technology Media Format (ITMF). ITMF is a display-agnostic interchange format for conveying high-quality and complex image scenes to a wide variety of immersive displays, including extended-reality headsets and display panels, based on the highly anticipated light field technology.

Tedial, the leading independent MAM technology solutions specialist, is responding to the rising demand for improved business and operational efficiency in live sports production and media content distribution with enhanced versions of its flagship solutions. The latest improvements to the Company’s award-winning platforms will be showcased at NAB Show New York 2019 on October 16th & 17th in Booth N244 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

 MediaKind, a global media technology leader, today announces the appointment of Allen Broome as CTO. Broome brings more than 20 years of media technology leadership and software expertise to MediaKind and was previously VP Cloud Engineering at Comcast Cable.

Fincons Group, a leading IT business consultancy, is delighted to announce they will be leading a key panel session during Medientage München 2019 entitled “Engage and Monetize in a competitive market: Experiences of Innovation Acceleration and Efficiency of Delivery”. The session will be moderated by media journalist Dr. Jörn Krieger.

Artel Video Systems, a world-class provider of innovative, real-time multimedia delivery solutions, today announced that its InfinityLink and FiberLink® solutions are supporting IP-based media transport for Cablenet, an independent alternative telco provider in Cyprus. Cablenet is using the Artel media transport systems to connect stadiums across Cyprus and two remote production sites through the company's network and headends.