MELBOURNE, Australia—Mediaproxy will demonstrate its newly unveiled suite of AI-powered tools designed to transform how broadcasters and media organizations track the presence of brands in different forms of content over multiple platforms during the 2026 NAB Show, April 18-22, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The new feature set, which has been integrated into the company’s LogServer compliance logging and analysis platform, is based on advanced machine learning models that can automatically detect logos and visual identifiers associated with companies and products. It allows customers to gain deeper insights into brand exposure and sponsorship performance while also ensuring that the accuracy and integrity of the digital information connected to the content or production does not change during distribution.

Key to the feature is an AI-driven detection engine that identifies brands as they appear across multiple channels and regions. Broadcasters can now streamline reporting and reduce manual reviewing and ensure more comprehensive compliance coverage. The solution scales effortlessly and seamlessly to support high-volume environments where rapid, reliable analysis is essential.

As the media landscape becomes increasingly complex, the ability to identify and track brand elements automatically gives organizations a powerful tool for understanding audience engagement and allows them to verify contractual obligations.

See Mediaproxy at 2026 NAB Show booth W1423.

More information is available on the company’s website.

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Quality assurance solutions provider Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for file-based media workflows.

Elite Media Technologies specializes in master-level and international audio QC, SDR and HDR finishing, IMF and DCP packaging, and full-service picture and sound restoration along with distribution and delivery across streaming and broadcast platforms.

“We offer comprehensive master-level and foreign audio quality control services, along with SDR and HDR mastering, IMF and DCP creation, as well as picture and sound restoration,” said Nick Mairose, president and CEO of Elite Media Technologies. “Our mission is to create high-quality media experiences for clients worldwide. After an in-depth evaluation, we selected BATON for its audio and video analysis, scalable architecture and feature set, which align with our commitment to maintaining high standards in content transformation and delivery.”

BATON is used to automate quality control processes for media files, helping ensure compliance and consistency across formats, including SDR and HDR content.

“For more than 15 years, Elite Media Technologies has specialized in creating high-quality content for global distribution across multiple languages and formats,” said Ashish Basu, executive vice president of global sales and business development at Interra Systems. “As a highly respected company in the industry, Elite Media Technologies’ focus on quality makes its adoption of BATON for file-based QC significant for us.”

“We continue to invest in research and development based on customer feedback,” Basu added. “In addition to checking the quality of SDR and HDR content, BATON can support Elite Media Technologies in delivering content to its VOD, SVOD, and OTT distribution clients.”

During the 2026 NAB Show (booth # W2243) from April 19-22, in Las Vegas, Interra Systems will showcase the latest version of its BATON platform, along with its entire suite of QC, monitoring, and analyzing solutions — including ORION for real-time monitoring and VEGA Media Analyzer for deep technical analysis and debugging. Live demos can be scheduled here: www.interrasystems.com/mailer/nab-2026/index.html.

More information about Interra Systems’ solutions can be found at www.interrasystems.com.

MELBOURNE—Mediaproxy, a provider of software-based IP compliance monitoring and multiviewing solutions, will showcase the next generation of its industry-leading LogPlayer interface at 2026 NAB Show, April 19 to 22 in Las Vegas, on Booth W1423.

The updates to LogPlayer include powerful new AI-driven capabilities, direct support for web content and expanded support for key broadcast standards including ST 2110, NMOS, NDI and JPEG-XS.

“Innovation through quality engineering has been the company’s mantra for over 25 years now.” said Erik Otto, CEO of Mediaproxy. “We take great pride in leading the way with technology advancements that others in the industry follow.”

A major highlight of the upgrades is the introduction of AI functionality. Designed to augment user interactions, the AI-powered toolsets streamline workflows and accelerate access to critical content and metadata.

Mediaproxy’s latest version now also features native integration to record YouTube TV channels. The new capability enables operators to ingest web-based sources such as dashboards and live streaming services, including YouTube TV, as first‑class content into the LogServer and Monwall ecosystem. By recording these streams natively, LogServer removes the need for hardware converters or third‑party boxes, significantly simplifying hybrid broadcast and OTT monitoring and logging requirements, the company said.

Monwall Web, an extension to Mediaproxy's well-established server and client-based multiviewer, enables low-latency multi-screen monitoring. It offers new flexibility for engineers and operators using remote connections in conjunction with ultra-low-latency mosaics creating fully virtualized production workflows.

Mediaproxy also said it continues to strengthen its support for IP-based and open-standard workflows and will demonstrate extended NMOS functionality as well as support for ST 2110 with JPEG-XS for high-quality, low-latency IP video transport.

More information is available at https://www.mediaproxy.com/

At the 2026 NAB Show, April 18-22 in Las Vegas, Interra Systems will showcase its latest advancements in automated QC, real-time monitoring, and captioning.

“Media and broadcast companies are under increasing pressure to scale streaming operations while maintaining absolute reliability, with little margin for error. As the industry moves toward IP- and streaming-first workflows, the conversation has shifted from experimentation to execution at scale,” said Anupama Anantharaman, vice president of product management at Interra Systems. “Our solutions provide a trusted platform for mission critical operations, delivering production-ready, human-trustable media intelligence for FAST, live linear, and on-demand workflows. Automated QC, captioning, and real-time monitoring for IP and OTT streaming remain our foundational pillars, so we are sharpening our focus in areas where we have strong traction and credibility.”

“At NAB Show 2026, we will also demonstrate how Interra Systems is applying AI responsibly to deliver results customers can rely on, especially where accuracy and error-free content delivery are crucial,” Anantharaman added.

Interra Systems solutions on display:

• ORION monitoring platform: Recent updates include all-frame deep-dive analysis, support for modern IP formats such as NDI and Zixi, and AI-driven video corruption detection to improve visual quality and reduce troubleshooting time. For live events, ORION enables faster issue detection and response, helping teams operate with greater confidence under pressure. ORION Suite now includes an integrated multiviewer that unifies monitoring data across multiple streams. Enhanced automation – including real-time multiviewing, automated audio language detection, and updated SCTE35 signaling – streamlines advertising workflows and monetization. Additional security and networking enhancements such as IPv6 compatibility, SNMPv3 support, and granular DRM authentication provide a flexible, reliable foundation for live sports, news, and large-scale streaming operations across on-prem, hybrid, and cloud environments.
• BATON Automated QC: Interra Systems will introduce BATON 9.4, the company’s latest version of its BATON platform featuring enhanced audio and video QC that delivers greater accuracy, fewer false alarms, and broader detection for more reliable automation and reduced manual rechecks. Other enhancements include support for Oracle Cloud Interface (OCI) as S3 compatible storage, one-click diagnostics for faster troubleshooting and quicker resolution of operational issues, and more.
• BATON Captions: The latest BATON Captions updates focus on faster workflows, higher transcription accuracy, and simplified compliance. Enhancements include a new web-based editing experience, Whisper AI integration, expanded language support, automated workflows, and advanced tools for localization and broadcast compliance — all designed to reduce operational overhead for streaming and broadcast teams.
• VEGA Media Analyzer: Interra Systems’ VEGA media analyzers help teams validate compliance and troubleshoot complex streaming and hybrid workflows, with recent updates adding AV1, VVC, faster multicore analysis, built-in chatbot assistance, expanded cloud compatibility, and improved tools to boost reliability and reduce validation time.

Interra Systems will be in Booth W2243 in the West Hall of the LVCC.

Interra Systems, a global provider of end-to-end quality assurance for the media industry, will unveil its latest innovations in media QC, monitoring, and analysis at IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam.

As the media and entertainment industry looks ahead to a future defined by multiplatform complexity and rapid technological change, Interra Systems’ solutions empower broadcasters, telcos, and streaming providers to deliver outstanding viewer experiences. Visitors to Booth 7.C11 will see how the company’s integrated QC and monitoring tools help media organizations identify and resolve issues early, optimize workflows, and ensure seamless, high-quality content delivery in today’s dynamic environment.

“IBC is where the global media community comes together to shape what’s next. Our long-standing team of engineers is committed to developing technology that enables our customers to thrive in a fast-changing landscape,” said Anupama Anantharaman, vice president of product management at Interra Systems. “We’re excited to showcase our latest advances in QC, monitoring, and captioning, and to collaborate with industry leaders on driving the future of media quality and innovation.”

Interra Systems Solutions on Display at IBC2025:
ORION Suite: Comprehensive Video Monitoring for Every Platform
At IBC2025, Interra Systems will spotlight the latest enhancements to its award-winning ORION content monitoring suite, including a powerful new multiviewer feature for real-time visualization of multiple video and audio streams. ORION continues to set the standard for robust, real-time monitoring across linear, IP, and OTT workflows. With flexible deployment, broad format support, industry-first all-frame decoding, real-time audio language detection, ad insertion monitoring, and advanced analysis, ORION dramatically improves video quality checks and playback assurance for critical channels.

ORION Central Manager (OCM): Unified Workflow Oversight
Interra Systems’ flagship OCM platform delivers centralized, end-to-end visibility across the entire media workflow. Recent updates include support for IPv6 compatibility, advanced probe management and user group permissions, and support for enhanced end-to-end ad insertion monitoring — boosting operational efficiency and security for large-scale media operations.

BATON 9.3: AI-Powered Automated QC
BATON 9.3, the latest version of Interra Systems’ industry-leading automated QC solution, introduces enhanced autoscaling, improved 4K video quality checks, and new validations such as blank bar detection and CIE color gamut analysis. BATON 9.3 aligns with the latest ITU-R BT.1702-2023 PSE flash guidelines and features advanced algorithms for QR code detection, freeze/duplicate frames, media offline, blockiness, defective pixels, video dropouts, burnt-in text, and shot transitions.

BATON Captions: Intelligent Captioning and Subtitling
With the demand for accurate, multilingual accessibility at an all-time high, BATON Captions delivers robust, AI-powered captioning and subtitling. New features include intelligent caption placement that follows scene change guidelines to prevent overlap with burnt-in text — a common challenge in regional content.

The latest release also introduces advanced QC and correction tools powered by machine learning, ASR, and NLP. A redesigned UI enhances usability with an integrated relay workflow service, vertical zoom on audio waveforms, and smart caption segmentation that automatically splits, merges, and resegments captions based on clause boundaries, character limits, and natural pauses. These enhancements improve efficiency, ensure compliance, and support seamless multilingual viewing experiences across formats.

VEGA Media Analyzer: In-Depth Media Analysis and Debugging
Interra Systems’ VEGA suite for compliance, debugging, and stream interoperability features expanded support for VVC, AV1, HEVC, MV-HEVC, AVS3, HDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, ATSC 3.0, and more. VEGA simplifies complex video standards and ensures seamless compatibility across platforms and devices.

Interra Systems will be in Booth 7.C11 at the RAI Amsterdam.

Interra Systems will showcase new versions of its Orion monitoring and Baton QC platforms at the 2025 NAB Show, April 6-9 in Las Vegas.

The company will talk about new advances to its end-to-end video quality monitoring, content-aware quality control, advanced captioning, and in-depth video analysis tools. Harnessing the latest technologies, Interra Systems’ cutting-edge solutions enhance accuracy and efficiency, set new standards in QC and monitoring performance, and empower customers to optimize their workflows for peak video quality, the company said.

“We’ll be commemorating our 25-year anniversary at NAB 2025, where we'll present our latest innovations that enhance every aspect of media workflows,” said Anupama Anantharaman, vice president of product management at Interra Systems. “Our high-density, scalable solutions set industry benchmarks in media QC and monitoring, while our AI-driven tools demonstrate why global leaders in broadcasting and service provision rely on us to streamline workflows and deliver high-quality content faster."

Interra Systems will spotlight the Orion suite's latest capabilities, including a state-of-the-art multiviewer feature that transforms monitoring by enabling real-time visualization of multiple video and audio streams. This tool not only ensures seamless quality control and efficient workflow management but also allows operators to quickly verify alerts and resolve issues, thereby maintaining high broadcast integrity with greater accuracy and efficiency.

Alongside the multiviewer, Orion-OTT offers real-time monitoring of both linear and IP-based infrastructures and a comprehensive monitoring solution for live and VOD assets. Designed for flexible deployment across various environments and supporting an array of formats and protocols, the solution now features industry-first, all-frame decoding and deep-dive analysis for critical channels — significantly improving video quality checks and service playback.

In addition, the Orion suite now includes support for RHEL 8.10, Rocky 8.10, Dolby Atmos, IPv6, and more. The suite also boasts end-to-end ad insertion monitoring, which enhances workflow visibility from pretranscode to edge by comparing externally supplied ad scheduling information with actual DAI markers. Updates include closed caption availability reports, enhanced QoS and QoE scoring, comprehensive DRM integration, and flexibility in deployment models.

OCM, Interra Systems’ flagship video monitoring and management solution, provides quality tracing that monitors service quality and pinpoints issues across various stages of the video workflow. New features at the 2025 NAB Show will include advanced probe management and improved user group permissions, ensuring both efficient and secure video operations.

Interra Systems will also showcase Baton 9.2, now with enhanced autoscaling, enhanced video quality checks for 4K files, and new support for video quality, such as blank bars check and CIE color gamut check. It accommodates ITU-R BT.1702 2023 PSE video flash guidelines and contains algorithm improvements in QR code, freeze frames, duplicate frames, media offline, blockiness, defective pixels, video dropout, burnt-in text, shot transition, and more.

Baton 9.2 also supports Sony 360 Reality Audio, LZW compression in TIFF files, AV1 video format, BW64 audio, 24-bit LPCM audio in an MP4 container, sidecar Dolby Vision metadata files, an integrated Whisper model for audio language identification, and more. The latest Baton release also features significant installation process improvements for enhanced usability and resilience, along with UI support for dark/light themes, a new database manager tool, and enhanced diagnostics and alerts.

Interra Systems will also demonstrate advanced new updates to its award-winning Baton Captions solution — including caption placement as per scene change guidelines to avoid burnt-in text overlap and a host of QC and correction features. All of the updates take advantage of cutting-edge machine learning, automatic speech recognition, and natural language processing technology.

A new UI layout comes with many new features, including an integrated relay workflow service; vertical zoom on audio waveform; and intelligent caption segmentation during review, which enables automatic splitting, merging, and resegmentation based on properties such as row count and character count while adhering to clause boundaries and natural pauses.

Interra Systems will also demo its Vega platform for standards compliance, debugging, and stream interoperability assurance. The platform has been enhanced to support an extensive range of compression standards, including the latest in VVC, AV1, HEVC, MV-HEVC, AVS3, HDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, ATSC 3.0, and more.

This broad compatibility reinforces Vega's role as a critical industry tool, Interra said. The platform's comprehensive capabilities enable media professionals to navigate the complexities of various video formats and standards with ease, ensuring high-quality content delivery across different platforms and devices.

Interra Systems will be in Booth W1921 in the West Hall of the LVCC.

NEW YORK—TAG Video Systems has announced that during the 2025 NAB Show. it will showcase its advanced capabilities for end-to-end monitoring and visualization, with a special preview of the QC Station, a powerful addition to the company's QC Elements toolset.

Visitors to Booth W1757 during the show in Las Vegas between April 6 to 9, will see how the platform simplifies complex workflows while guaranteeing the highest video quality across all workflows.

The preview of the QC Station will show how the solution is designed to enhance video quality control across live production and distribution environments. In addition, QC Station integrates QC Elements, a powerful set of tools for real time, deep analysis of video streams. This enables engineers to monitor video quality in real time, validate content integrity, and ensure compliance with industry standards.

“Our presence at the NAB Show allows us to demonstrate not just our technology but our commitment to the industry by offering the most sophisticated monitoring and visualization tools on the market today. The addition of QC Station is no exception. It includes the high-end functionality that TAG is known for—giving engineers even more precision and control over video quality,” said Michael Demb, vice president of product strategy.

QC Station offers scope-like functionality for precise monitoring of luminance, chrominance, color volume, and HDR content. These advanced capabilities, available directly within TAG’s Media Control System (MCS), enable broadcasters to streamline troubleshooting, resolve quality issues faster, and ensure consistent video quality across their operations, the company reported.

In addition, TAG will be highlighting its Advanced User Management functionality enhanced with Access Groups and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to streamline and secure user access management. Implementing this role-based permissions feature ensures that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive systems and tools, leading to elevated security, increased operational efficiency and reduced human error.

Access Groups simplifies user access management by grouping MCS features, settings, and resources, enabling administrators to tailor permissions based on specific responsibilities. This feature is essential for large-scale operations, ensuring compliance and audit readiness while improving access control and system security.

In addition to the QC Station and Advanced User Management, TAG’s Realtime Media Platform will be demonstrated with the proven and award-winning features and tools broadcasters have come to rely on from TAG to ensure quality at scale. With support for cloud, hybrid, and on-premises workflows, the platform provides comprehensive monitoring and visualization across all major media formats and standards, enabling broadcasters to achieve seamless operations and monitor content integrity throughout every stage—whether in live production, playout, OTT, or traditional delivery.

The ability to monitor live streams, validate encoding parameters, and verify compliance allows broadcasters to maintain the highest-level standard of video quality. TAG’s solutions integrate real time diagnostics, quality measurement, and error detection, providing a flawless operational experience and enabling issues to be proactively addressed before they affect viewer experience.

More information is available here.

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Interra Systems has integrated Netflix's Video Multi-Method Assessment Fusion (VMAF) algorithm—a widely-trusted standard for video quality assessment—into its industry-leading VEGA Media Analyzer solution.

This integration makes it easier for media companies, broadcasters, and streaming services to assess video quality with increased precision and efficiency, meeting the growing demand for perceptually accurate quality control across high-stakes streaming environments.

Developed by Netflix, VMAF has become a benchmark for perceptual video-quality assessment, offering reliable measurements of video quality as experienced by viewers. Combining this with VEGA’s in-depth video analysis provides users with a powerful platform for evaluating and optimizing video quality, ensuring seamless and engaging streaming experiences for audiences worldwide.

“Today, media companies face the critical challenge of delivering high-quality video across a range of resolutions to meet diverse OTT streaming demands,” Anupama Anantharaman, VP of product management at Interra Systems, said. “By integrating VMAF into VEGA Media Analyzer, we enable encoder and transcoder developers to assess video quality more efficiently. This integration provides actionable insights for encoding decisions that enhance viewer experience while maintaining operational efficiency.”

Anantharaman added: “For streaming companies, delivering high-quality video is paramount. With this integration, they now have access to industry-standard quality benchmarks, allowing video engineers to optimize compression, reduce artifacts, and provide a viewing experience that meets the highest quality standards.”

More specifically, Interra said adding VMAF support to VEGA Media Analyzer offers significant benefits for media companies, broadcasters and service providers, including enhanced perceptual accuracy, efficient quality control and optimized streaming performance. VMAF scoring captures video quality as perceived by the human eye, ensuring assessments are viewer-centric. This integration also automates quality assessments, enabling faster and more-consistent results across a wide range of content. VMAF scores guide encoding and bitrate decisions, helping achieve the best quality-to-bitrate ratio and improving overall streaming efficiency.

More information about Interra Systems solutions can be found at www.interrasystems.com.

THATCHAM, U.K.—Test & Measurement solutions provider Leader Electronics of Europe, has announced that it will showcase both Leader and Phabrix instruments at this year’s IBC Show, which takes place at RAI Amsterdam from 13-16 September (Stand 10.C01). 

During the show, the company will be presenting a comprehensive range of its latest and most popular test & measurement (T&M) solutions that cater to every stage of the manufacturing and broadcast production chain – from in-house video technology development to broadcast QC, on-set live production and post-production.

Martin Mulligan, COO, Leader Electronics of Europe, commented that “The continuing increase in the number of broadcast environments employing both SDI and IP underlines the validity of our commitment to providing T&M solutions that are truly ‘hybrid-capable’. We expect many IBC visitors will be looking to review their T&M capabilities in 2024-25 as the pace of IP adoption intensifies, and we look forward to demonstrating why our technology can provide everything they need to support new and legacy workflows. Adding to this, we can’t wait to add another major product innovation into our line up; stay tuned for more details on its release in the run up to IBC 2024!”

Solutions relating to hybrid IP/SDI generation, monitoring and analysis include: 

• The Leader LT4670 1U full-rack width ‘True Hybrid’ SDI/IP synchronous test generator will be demonstrated at IBC. Its standard toolset includes Genlocked black burst signals, tri-level sync pulse generation, and dual PTP generation, a stay-in-sync function for use in the event of an error in the incoming genlock signal, slow-lock stabilization when returning to genlock from stay-in-sync, 48 kHz word-clock signal output synchronized to incoming video; plus synchronous control between devices (L-SYNC).
• Phabrix’s advanced QxL rasterizer will also be on show. QxL is fully 10G/25G IP enabled as standard, with support for generation and analysis of JT-NM TR 1001-1:2018, ST 2110-20 (video), up to four 2110-30 (PCM) and 2110-31 (AES3 transport) audio and a 2110-40 ANC media flow, all with 2022-7 Seamless IP Protection Switching (SIPS) and AMWA NMOS IS-04 discovery and IS-05 device connection management. 
• Alongside the QxL will be Phabrix’s renowned handheld instrument, Sx TAG. An ideal line checking tool for testing ST 2110 and ST 2022-6 streams, Sx TAG provides support for SMPTE ST 2110-20/30/40 encapsulation/decapsulation with ST 2059 PTP, SDP and NMOS as well as SMPTE ST 2022-6 encapsulation/ decapsulation.

Advanced generation, analysis and monitoring tools for broadcast QC and MCR solutions include:  

• Phabrix’s QxP portable waveform monitor offers 12G-SDI and 25G-IP monitoring in a fully portable, lightweight 3RU form factor. With its combined waveform monitor, generator and analyzer toolsets, and integral V-mount or Gold-mount battery plate, QxP is designed for all workflows whether SD, HD, UHD, EUHD, SDR, HDR, SDI or IP, conventional or remote production. 
• Phabrix’s Rx Series will also be demonstrated. Ideal for fast 2K/3G/HD/SD fault diagnosis, the Rx rasterizers offer up to 4 channel generation, analysis and monitoring, all displayed via an ultra-flexible display layout, offering up to 16 instruments on show simultaneously.

Flexible test & measurement for on-set, post and live production:

• Leader’s brand-new ZEN-W Series will be making its IBC Show debut, comprised of the ‘True Hybrid’ simultaneous IP & SDI, LV5600W waveform monitor and LV7600W rasterizer. Each incorporates a Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) interface, allowing secure remote control and monitoring from a web-connected desktop or laptop computer.
• Leader will also be demonstrating a host of brand-new updates for its complete ZEN Series of rasterizers and waveform monitors, including HDR/SDR/HDR conversion via 3D LUT file import, SDR Full Range Display and the addition of ARRI, RED and SONY camera tools to the Leader Cinezone real-time false color exposure display.

Instruments for 12G-SDI and product engineering environments include: 

• Renowned for ‘in-house’ product development and technology manufacturing environments, Phabrix’s advanced Qx and QxL rasterizers offer up to 12G-SDI and 25G IP analysis and monitoring. The Qx Series’ fast 12G/6G/3G/HD-SDI physical layer testing toolset instantly highlights SMPTE compliance issues. Its advanced SDI-STRESS option will also be demonstrated, suitable for stress testing SDI interfaces up to 12G.
• Phabrix’s SxE handheld instrument offers generation, analysis and monitoring toolsets with advanced Physical Layer Analysis, ideal for SMPTE compliance evaluation.

Solutions for live cloud production are also available. Using AWS Direct Connect, traditional Picture, Waveform and vectorscope analysis tools are available to productions utilizing the cloud. With support for CDI, NDI & SRT, along with the traditional Quality of Experience analysis tools, production and engineering staff can also analyze Quality of Service, with Ancillary Data, Flow Tables and Path delay analysis on either computer, tablet or smartphones.

More information is available at https://leaderphabrix.com/

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Interra Systems will show the latest developments in its content-aware quality control (QC), monitoring, captioning and analysts at IBC 2024, Sept. 13-16, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

"At IBC this year, we are excited to showcase our BATON Captions solution, which harnesses the power of machine learning, automatic speech recognition and NLP to significantly reduce the need for human intervention while providing accurate captioning enhanced with QC checks,” said Penny Westlake, senior director of Europe at Interra Systems. 

“Multi-language support is critical for broadcasters and service providers, especially in Europe, so we've improved our captioning product further to support a range of languages, including Spanish, French, Finnish, Polish, Portuguese and many others," she added. 

New features for BATON Captions include web-based player enhancements and new correction options like segmentation and shot boundary correction. Interra Systems also will show BATON Media Player, which simplifies how users play, inspect and verify audio and video content, the company said.

The company will also show BATON 9, the latest version of its QC solution, featuring advanced AI and machine learning capabilities. It employs automated QC to meet the highest standards for quality and compliance, the company said.

Interra Systems has updated the solution’s framework updates, enhanced the performance of video quality checks for 4K files and added support for RDD59 specifications as well as direct analysis of image sequence formats apart from optimized MXF file verification. The company also has enhanced advanced diagnostic tools to monitor system health and improved the API, it said.

"We will also demonstrate how our solutions are consistently being developed in response to key trends in the evolving media and entertainment environment. For example, our ORION suite of solutions addresses the monitoring needs of next-gen media workflows, driven by cloud infrastructure, automated error handling, ad-insertion checks, root cause analysis, and high-quality video output, and designed for compatibility with CMAF, SRT, and SMPTE's ST 2110 standard," said Westlake.

At IBC 2024, Interra Systems will show new capabilities for its ORION suite of solutions that support a wide range of deployment scenarios in hybrid and cloud environments. These enhancements cater to linear broadcast, IP-based delivery and live/VOD OTT content, the company said.

The company has enhanced its software-based ORION-OTT monitoring solution with the addition of localization support, certification for the latest OS releases and Dolby Atmos integration. ORION-OTT updates also improve dynamic ad insertion (DAI) and server-side ad monitoring as well as low-latency stream monitoring and support the latest DRM solutions, it said.

Interra Systems also will show it ORION 2110 Probe, which supports SMPTE ST 2110 monitoring, enhancements for ORION Central Manager (OCM) and VEGA Media Analyzer (VMA).

See Interra Systems at IBC 2024 Stand 7.C11.

More information is available on the company’s website.

DENVER—Video streaming infrastructure provider Bitmovin has announced that the Graham Media Group has selected Bitmovin Playback to enhance its viewer experience. 

Since deploying Bitmovin Player, Graham Media Group said it had doubled its online viewer engagement time. The solution is being used in Graham’s  Houston, Detroit, Orlando, San Antonio, Jacksonville, and Roanoke markets.

The Bitmovin Player ensures video playback across a wide range of devices. Bitmovin Analytics provides real-time monitoring, optimizes playback performance, and enables data-driven decisions to improve content and advertising strategies.

Graham Media, which operates seven local TV stations and digital hubs, chose the solution, which includes the Bitmovin Player and Bitmovin Analytics, to free its developers from the time-consuming task of maintaining playback quality. This allows them to focus on innovative user experience features to boost engagement and deliver local journalism to their communities.

Kenny Elshoff, senior web engineer at Graham Media Group, explained that “The speed to get the player into our codebase and extensibility of the SDKs made this the best player for us for now and the future.” 

Graham Media Group also deployed Bitmovin Analytics alongside the Bitmovin Player for real-time monitoring and to help optimize playback health. 

Before Bitmovin, Graham Media Group did not have integrated playback analytics, so the team didn’t have detailed insights into the quality of streams. Bitmovin Analytics ensures each stream's reliability by analyzing real-time user session data and sharing it with the player. Bitmovin Analytics reports any playback issues so they can be fixed before they impact the viewer, the company said. 

“Bitmovin is a well-known player in the video streaming industry and our top choice for a technical partner as we seek to expand our audience reach by offering game-changing viewing experiences powered by high-quality streams that drive viewing engagement,” said Michael Newman, director of transformation at Graham Media Group, “We can't wait to see the positive impact that Bitmovin's solutions will continue to have on our operational efficiency and viewer satisfaction as we continue on our quest to deliver content that informs and celebrates local communities.”

“Graham Media Group is a trusted local voice, and we are deeply honored that Bitmovin’s solutions will help deliver content that helps nurture community spirit,” added Stefan Lederer, CEO and co-founder of Bitmovin “The combined power of the Bitmovin Player and Bitmovin Analytics meets Graham Media  Group’s need for flawless playback for its millions of viewers with real-time analytics that resolves any playback issues and always optimizes for the best streaming experience.

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Interra Systems, a leading provider of end-to-end quality assurance solutions to the digital media industry, has announced that its longstanding customer, Swank Motion Pictures, is using the enterprise-class version of Interra Systems' BATON solution to optimize quality control and compliance. 

With the AI-/ML-enabled automated QC platform, Swank Motion Pictures can detect a variety of video quality issues at an early stage and streamline quality excellence.

"Swank Motion Pictures distributes a wide range of programming to customers over land and sea," said Mark Floyd, manager of digital lab services at Swank Motion Pictures. "Once our content reaches its destination, it has to work. Interra Systems' BATON provides us with the assurance that it will and that our customers will enjoy an optimal viewing experience."

The BATON QC platform can be deployed in the cloud or on-premises, providing Swank Motion Pictures with comprehensive quality, standards compliance, and regulatory and baseband checks for VOD content for linear and streaming workflows. The hybrid QC solution implements organizational QC policy to support a combination of automated and manual QC checks, improving workflow efficiency for Swank Motion Pictures. Built on a scalable architecture, BATON will ensure that as Swank Motion Pictures' requirements evolve, the platform will grow to match its needs. Complementing this, Swank Motion Pictures is also using Interra Systems' BATON Media Player to play, inspect, and verify audio and video content, the companies said. 

"We're thrilled that Swank Motion Pictures uses our BATON platform to QC their file-based content," said Ashish Basu, executive vice president, worldwide sales and business development at Interra Systems. "With the BATON enterprise application, Swank Motion Pictures has confidence to deliver outstanding-quality video content. BATON has been instrumental in helping them identify imperfections with detailed reports and an optional review process via the BATON Media player."

Interra Systems will showcase its leading content-aware media QC solution - BATON - including the latest BATON 9.0 engine, along with the company's full suite of powerful media QC, monitoring, and analysis solutions at the 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 14-17 in booth W2720.

During the NAB Show, Muneesh Sharma, director of engineering at Interra Systems, will speak at the 2024 NAB Show Broadcast Engineering and IT Conference as part of the Quantifying Quality in Video Technology presentations. The session, "Elevating Video Quality With The Video Compression Score Metric," takes place at the 2024 NAB Show in the West Hall Meeting Rooms Level 2 (W220-W221) on Sunday, April 14 at 12:10 p.m. PDT.

More information about Interra Systems solutions can be found at interrasystems.com. 

The transition to cloud workflows in media QC and monitoring gained momentum around the mid-2010s, but at the start of 2020, the M&E industry began to accelerate its digital transformation efforts. Although cloud workflow adoption is steadily increasing, the industry is still in a transitional phase. 

The percentage of QC and monitoring performed in the cloud varies depending on factors like company size, budget, security, and technological expertise. Some major players have migrated significant portions of their workflows to the cloud, while others are still evaluating and implementing solutions.

While the media industry is increasingly embracing the cloud, this doesn’t render on-premises solutions obsolete. This article will explore the advantages of each, delve into how they complement each other, and explain the need to deploy a mix of both. By striking the right balance between the two, media companies can leverage the cloud’s advantages while addressing specific requirements and concerns that may require on-premises solutions.

Cloud Workflows vs. On-Premises Solutions
Cloud infrastructure offers several key advantages. Thanks to on-demand resources, media companies can scale their QC and monitoring processes up or down based on project needs, eliminating the need for upfront hardware and software investment. Cloud workflows also improve efficiency and agility with remote QC and monitoring, allowing geographically dispersed teams to access projects and collaborate seamlessly. 

Likewise, automated QC checks and standardized workflows reduce manual tasks and ensure consistency. Cloud platforms facilitate integration with other media production tools and provide access to valuable analytics, enabling data-driven decisions and improved insights. Finally, cloud providers offer robust security features and infrastructure redundancy, ensuring the safety and reliability of data and processes.

While cloud-based solutions are gaining traction, on-premises QC and monitoring systems still offer distinct advantages for certain scenarios. With on-prem solutions, users have complete control over their hardware and software, allowing for customized security protocols and data privacy measures — a crucial feature for media companies handling highly sensitive content or operating in geographically restrictive environments. 

Moreover, maintaining data on-premises gives users more control over data residency and compliance with specific regulations or internal security policies. Dependence on an external internet connection is minimized, potentially reducing vulnerability to service interruptions or bandwidth limitations.

Additionally, hardware and software resources are solely dedicated to users’ QC and monitoring tasks, potentially leading to higher performance and stability compared with shared cloud environments. Users can customize the system to their specific needs and integrate it seamlessly with existing infrastructure, offering greater flexibility and control over workflows. On-premises solutions can also be more suitable for applications requiring offline processing capabilities for sensitive content or security protocols.

The latency issues associated with streaming also warrant significant consideration. Despite advancements in streaming technology, latency issues remain a challenge when you compare cloud-based live streaming compared with traditional broadcast methods. Latency in live streaming may have an adverse impact on viewer experiences – especially for real-time events such as sports.

As for costs, the initial investment in hardware and software might be lower than ongoing subscription fees for cloud services — depending on the specific needs of users and usage patterns. Because users can avoid potential variable charges based on usage or resource scaling in cloud environments, costs become more predictable.

Seamless integration with existing on-premises systems and workflows might be easier with on-premises QC solutions. For these reasons, media companies may prefer on-premises solutions and avoid depending on external cloud providers for critical media operations.

The Benefits of a Hybrid Approach
Often, the most effective approach leverages the strengths of both cloud and on-premises solutions through a hybrid model. Cloud resources can seamlessly scale up to handle temporary bursts of processing needs (e.g., during peak seasons or large projects) while on-premises solutions handle core QC and monitoring tasks. 

This approach offers optimal resource utilization and cost savings. Highly sensitive content or data with strict compliance requirements can be processed on-premises, while less critical tasks or collaboration-focused QC can benefit from the cloud's accessibility and flexibility.

Specific stages of the workflow that require high performance or dedicated resources can be performed on-premises, while cloud-based solutions handle tasks like automated checks, reporting, and collaboration. A hybrid method streamlines the overall workflow and optimizes resource allocation. 

Moreover, cloud storage and processing capabilities can act as a backup for on-premises systems in case of hardware failures or natural disasters, ensuring operational continuity and data security. Companies can migrate specific workflows or departments to the cloud gradually, evaluating its effectiveness and feasibility before committing to a complete cloud transition. This reduces risks and allows for a more measured approach.

Striking the Right Balance
Implementing a hybrid model requires careful planning for seamless integration between cloud and on-premises systems to avoid workflow disruptions and data silos. Maintaining consistent security standards and data privacy controls across both environments is crucial. Additionally, reliable and high-bandwidth internet connectivity is essential for smooth data transfer between cloud and on-premises systems.

Media companies should carefully assess their specific needs, resources, and priorities to determine if a hybrid model offers the best balance of security, performance, and cost-effectiveness for their media QC and monitoring operations. This includes evaluating the existing workflow, technical infrastructure, team expertise, and budget. 

Consider the sensitivity of the data, scalability needs, performance requirements, collaboration needs, and compliance considerations. To assess the effectiveness and feasibility of the cloud within a work environment, start with a small pilot project using a cloud-based solution for a specific workflow.

It’s critical to partner with a media technology solution provider that is experienced in designing and implementing hybrid cloud models for media workflows. Their expertise can help users select the right cloud services, integrate them seamlessly with their on-premises environment, and ensure optimal performance and security.

Conclusion
Based on current trends and emerging technologies, it's unlikely that media workflows will ever be 100% cloud based. The media industry will likely see a continued shift toward the cloud, driven by its scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. However, on-premises solutions will remain relevant for specific security, compliance, performance, and customization needs. 

The future will likely be characterized by hybrid architectures, with media companies strategically utilizing both cloud and on-premises solutions based on their unique requirements. Depending on the pace of technological advancements, evolving industry needs, and unforeseen developments, the actual trajectory of cloud adoption and the future of on-premises solutions remains dynamic and subject to ongoing transformation.

With the advent of UHD workflows, ensuring a premium viewing experience for audiences has never been more important. This, coupled with the break-neck speed with which content creation and distribution technology is advancing, means media professionals are now facing both obstacles and exciting opportunities at the same time. 

This article delves into the challenges of an end-to-end UHD workflow and how they can be overcome with advanced QC solutions.

Video Quality Issues in UHD Workflows
UHD, including HDR, offers a premium and immersive experience to viewers.  However, as is the case with any new technology, it comes with its own set of challenges regarding adoption. Creating an end-to-end workflow that captures, edits, and transcodes in UHD may not be financially or operationally feasible for many content creators, especially those in their first few years of business. Therefore, such creators may resort to upconverting the resolution, framerate, dynamic range, bit depth, and color gamut of their content. 

However, if these aspects are not handled properly, the result could be a host of video quality issues, including blurriness, digital ghosting, color banding, and tone mapping. Furthermore, upconverting from HD to UHD, or poor UHD capture, may result in blurriness at the edges, as these processes may not be capable of maintaining sharpness in these areas. Therefore, blur detection is a critical requirement.

Likewise, frame rates much higher than 30 fps are required to achieve the natural feel of temporal variation on bigger and wider UHD screens. During the capture of large spatial data at a high temporal rate — 48 fps, 60 fps, or 120 fps — visual issues such as motion-blur, ghosting, grains, and dead/stuck pixels may occur. 

Furthermore, during the journey through transcoding, upconversion, and editing, perceptual temporal issues like motion jerks and flickering may also be introduced. It’s important that such quality issues are discovered before content is delivered to end-users, while corrective action can be taken to fix them.

Another challenging aspect of UHD content is the wide color gamut (WCG) specification (e.g., ITU-R BT. 2020, DCI-P3), which extends the range of colors beyond the standard color gamut. It is this extended range that provides the true, in-depth colors that make UHD scenes look more realistic on a big screen. 

During the transformation of content through editing, transcoding, and tone-mapping, the very fine and smooth variations of the content colors can be disturbed, leading to the formation of bands that are quite evident on wide screens. This color banding can ruin the overall viewing experience.

Furthermore, unlike SDR content, where display quality can be predicted by analyzing the loss resulting from compression, HDR content is much more complex. Due to the non-linear relationship between the decoded and displayed data, this perceived video quality analysis becomes much more cumbersome.

Again, this depends on the type of transfer characteristics that have been fixed while creating the HDR content, which involves the automated or manual process of defining the contrast at various scenes. The content needs to be specified with the average and maximum light levels (nits or cd/m2). For the analysis system, it is important to measure these light levels whenever there is any kind of transformation — such as editing or transcoding — of the originally toned content. 

A primary factor affecting HDR viewing performance is interoperability between the video and the display. When a legacy SDR display is used to view a picture created in a color palette with a WCG, contouring — rendering smooth gradient areas as a series of distinct bands — can be an issue if the conversion is not handled carefully. It can be caused by bit depth loss, which is a global issue, or by incorrect region-based tone mapping, a local problem. These conversions need to be appropriately handled in order to maintain a rich viewing experience. 

In addition, while guidelines for photosensitive epilepsy (PSE) have been long defined for SDR content, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and National Association for Commercial Broadcasters for Japan (NABJ) have now updated the guidelines for HDR content as well. This needs to be included as an additional component in the analysis of UHD content. 

The Need for Advanced QC Solutions
To address the above issues, media professionals must employ advanced QC solutions tailored to the UHD landscape. Such solutions must have comprehensive format support from capture to delivery, including ProRES, DNxHR, TIFF, SonyRAW, DPX, EXR, AVC, and HEVC.

Different metadata checks for parameters like resolution, bit depth, frame rate, WCG, and HDR transfer characteristics are also required for ensuring the quality of UHD packages. In the case of HDR, additional checks are available for parameters like MaxCLL, MaxFALL, and white point chromaticity. Due to bigger file sizes, there is also a potential issue of file corruption while transferring UHD content. Therefore, checking MD5 or SHA1 checksums may be important for certain workflows.

Owing to higher processing speeds, and increased hardware and storage requirements, multiple media organizations have shifted their UHD workflows to the cloud. For this reason, it’s imperative that a QC solution have both stable and optimized support for different cloud platforms like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. This will ensure seamless integration with various workflows.

As UHD becomes widespread, it is critical that providers deliver content in pristine quality to match viewers’ ever-increasing expectations. It is important that such content is free from different artifacts, has consistent quality, and meets UHD specifications. This can be achieved with advanced QC solutions tailored specifically for the UHD landscape. 

Such solutions, with comprehensive format support, metadata checks, and cloud integration capabilities, ensure that content retains its quality throughout its lifecycle, from capture to delivery — ensuring a premium viewing experience for audiences.

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Interra Systems will make the U.S. debut of its BATON 9.0 engine show and highlight its AI-powered captioning solution, ORION monitoring suite and VEGA media analyzer during NAB Show New York, Oct. 24-26, at Javits Center in Manhattan.

The solution addresses the challenges of today’s media landscape, delivering high audio and video QoE and QoS, efficient metadata management, including captioning, and orchestration for cloud and hybrid deployments, the company said.

“Coping with the intensely competitive media landscape demands a keen focus on high-quality audio-video output and comprehensive video monitoring,” said Anupama Anantharaman, vice president of product management at Interra. “Our efforts have been directed toward advancing our solutions, ensuring impeccable video quality and seamless delivery across evolving video delivery technologies and platforms, encompassing the cloud, virtual machines, and machine learning.

At its booth, Interra Systems will feature:

• BATON, the company’s AI-/ML-enabled automated QC platform. The new BATON 9.0 engine includes major framework updates, performance enhancements for QC and analysis of UHD content, optimized IMF analysis and enhanced video quality checks. 
• BATON Media Player enhancements and Dolby Atmos storage support for formats like AXS-R7, REDCODE audio, “dng” and additional options to review errors as well as recaptioning and subtitling tasks.
• BATON Captions, the company’s automated solution using ML and auto speech recognition technology to support caption generation, live-to-VOD repurposing, post-production editing and localization. New enhancements include RHEL support and the ability to browse and download log files from the web browser.
• ORION Content Monitoring for OTT and Linear/IP video; ORION 2110 probe for monitoring IP environments and ORION Central Manager (OCM) for end-to-end visibility of video.
• VEGA Media Analyzer (VMA) analysis for next-generation media workflows.

The company will also highlight its AI-/ML-based services for broadcasters and OTT providers offered on a custom basis.

See Interra Systems at NAB Show New York booth 518.

During IBC2023, Interra Systems has announced that it will be showing a long list of new enhancements to its solutions that will help clients optimize content delivery, streamline operations, and enhance audio-video quality.

Highlights at this year's IBC will include the latest upgrades to the company's industry-leading BATON solution – with a brand-new engine to enhance performance, an AI-powered captions solution, its award-winning ORION monitoring suite, and powerful VEGA media analyzer solution, the company said. 

Interra Systems reported that its comprehensive solutions are designed to address key challenges in meeting today's ever-increasing demand for quality – including audio/video QoE and QoS, metadata management, and orchestrating cloud and hybrid deployments – by automating media processing.

"Interra Systems' dedication to continuous innovation will be on full display at IBC2023," said Penny Westlake, senior director of Europe at Interra Systems. "Earlier this year we launched numerous updates to our world-class solutions that moved the needle forward in terms of QC, captioning, and monitoring of media content. At IBC this year, we're excited to present a host of new features, all of which build upon these recent improvements and align effectively with the changing media landscape. The evolution of our technology demonstrates our commitment to helping service providers and broadcasters elevate viewer experiences, while also ensuring optimal content monetization."

Specific highlights include: 

• Optimizing QC Workflows. At IBC2023, visitors will get to see the company's new, enhanced BATON 9.0 engine in action, which includes the most recent upgrades to Interra Systems' BATON solution – the company's award-winning AI-/ML-enabled automated QC platform, which addresses the most demanding QC standards for quality and compliance. New features added to BATON include major framework updates, performance enhancements for QC and analysis of UHD content, optimized IMF analysis, and optimized reading and downloads from S3 cloud. In addition, enhanced video quality checks enable the detection and decoding of QR codes, video dropout, logo detection, color banding for UHD content, and burnt-in-text recognition. BATON also offers complete support and checks for subtitles and transport stream formats, as well as Dolby Atmos, enhanced audio quality checks like Audio Silence, and enhanced support for formats including REDCODE audio, DPX, and TIFF.
• Enhancements to Interra Systems' BATON Media Player — which allows media professionals to play, inspect, and verify audio and video content — now enables optimized playback of 4K content and further support for Dolby Atmos storage formats like AXS-R7, REDCODE audio, ".dng", and more options to review errors along with recaptioning/subtitling tasks.
• BATON Captions is an automated solution utilizing cutting-edge ML and automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology, which allows broadcasters and media professionals to address caption-related requirements such as generation, live to VOD repurposing, post-production editing, and localization for different geographies for the global distribution of media.
• In addition to the upgrades made to BATON Captions earlier this year – which includes IAM-based S3 access, additional languages, project-based custom dictionaries, burnt-in-text detection, profane word detection, and more – new enhancements on display at IBC2023 will include RHEL support and the ability to browse and download log files from the web browser, export dictionaries, and perform a database backup before upgrading.
• ORION Content Monitoring for OTT and Linear/IP Video Ensures Better QoS/QoE. Interra Systems' ORION and ORION-OTT are comprehensive monitoring solutions addressing a variety of hybrid and cloud deployment scenarios for linear broadcast, IP-based delivery infrastructures, and live/VOD OTT content. In addition to upgrades made earlier this year — including improved support for localization, more HDR and ST2110 checks, enhancements in scheduled reports, usability improvements in live monitoring views, and support for scheduled monitoring — the latest updates to ORION on display will include support for Dolby Atmos.
• ORION-OTT's enhanced support for localization and Dolby Atmos audio will be showcased at IBC2023 alongside brand-new capabilities such as support for Nagra and Comcast DRM, and updates to dynamic ad insertion (DAI) monitoring post server-side ad insertion (SSAI). The other recent enhancements include monitoring of low-latency streams, more DASH compliance checks, improvements in freeze detection, and additional system alerts for third-party integration.
• ORION 2110 Probe Future-Proofs End-to-End Monitoring in IP Environments
• Interra Systems' ORION 2110 Probe supports the SMPTE ST 2110 standard and enables broadcasters to future-proof the end-to-end monitoring of video quality in IP environments. Features include QoS/QoE monitoring of ST 2110 essence streams, ST 2110 main and redundancy signals, and NMOS integration.
• OCM (ORION Central Manager) for End-to-End Visibility of Video. At the heart of Interra Systems' innovations lies the power of centralized management of IP and OTT probes, which provides seamless control and monitoring of all streams from a single, user-friendly interface. Whether content is being delivered to television, OTT, or streaming services, the company's advanced centralized management system ensures unrivaled efficiency and unmatched quality assurance. OCM makes error detection and isolation faster and more efficient and has recently been enhanced with multiple features, such as localization, end-to-end ad insertion monitoring, and RHEL 8.4, and options to schedule database backups for disaster recovery.
• VEGA Media Analyzer (VMA) — Powerful Analysis for Next-Generation Media Workflows. Interra Systems' VEGA is an industry-leading analysis platform for standards compliance, debugging, and interoperability of encoded streams. It offers support for the highest number of industry compression standards, such as AVS, HDR, AV1, VVC, Dolby Vision, ATSC 3.0, Dolby Atmos, DTS Audio, DolbyE Audio, Dolby AC4, Apple ProRes, JPEGXS, and HEIF.
• Further VMA enhancements include support for the JPEG XS image format and viewing HDR in the HEVC/H264 codecs. In addition, the platform now has the capability to show video frames with SCTE-35 markers, and pictures with digital video broadcasting (DVB) subtitles, in transport streams. For the VVC standard, VMA has received performance enhancements and offers support for intra-prediction, AU level graph, and residue views.
• Interra Systems will also showcase its most recent addition to the VMA platform: VEGA Vista. The innovative analyzer, which can be part of automated workflows, performs comprehensive analysis of MPEG-2 transport streams, providing reports with root-cause analysis for errors that can cause problems related to transmission or audio/video quality.

To book a meeting with Interra Systems and see all the latest demos on display at the company's IBC2023 booth (7.C09), visit interrasystems.com.

VIENNA—Bitmovin will provide playback health analytics to complement the existing analytics offered as part of Amazon Interactive Video Services (IVS), Amazon’s managed live streaming AWS solution that makes it easy to build live streams and interactive video experiences, the company said.

The Bitmovin Analytics helps to optimize playback health and support data-driven decision making for content and ad strategies. They supplement Amazon IVS’ stream health analytics with playback health to bring a deeper understanding of each viewer’s streaming experience, the company said.

Bitmovin Analytics fully monitors the health of video streams in near real-time, including key performance metrics, such as video start time, average bitrate, view time, buffering and top errors, it said.

“Amazon IVS is powering live interactive video experiences for use cases that span social media influencers to retail, household consumer brands and public institutions, and so it’s a huge honor to add to the service's existing metrics with the announcement of Bitmovin Analytics,” said Stefan Lederer, CEO and co-founder of Bitmovin. “Bitmovin Analytics with Amazon IVS is a robust solution, providing deeper session analytics that can pinpoint playback issues and provide actionable insights to resolve them to ensure IVS-powered streaming services are delivering exceptional viewer experiences to their audiences.”

Bitmovin Analytics complements Amazon IVS to provide a complete understanding of audience preferences and viewing habits with insights into audience retention, geographical distribution and device utilization to inform decision-making on investment into new content and the prioritization of what’s popular with audiences, the company said.

Bitmovin’s Analytics delivers near real-time operational monitoring to optimize video and ad workflows based on viewer experiences across all platforms. Bitmovin Analytics also offers benchmarks across different performance metrics to gain industry insights, it said.

More information is available on Bitmovin’s website.

Over the years, the cost of good television equipment has bucked the general inflationary trend. For example, you can buy a camera and lens today that is far better than a camera and lens from 20 years ago, and today’s gear will cost just 50% or less of what the camera would have cost you in 2003.

When using that camera back in the day, you probably wanted to view its output on a waveform monitor to get the exposure right. Today’s camera is likely to have a waveform display capability built in that can be called up anytime to check the exposure. So today’s production equipment not only often costs less than ever, it does more than ever.

Of course, video networks are far more complex today, and this complexity means that test and measurement/quality control equipment today has to do much more at the network level than was needed for the simpler networks two decades ago. Much of today’s network-level test gear is evolving with new measurement and analysis techniques, as the video streaming environment gets more complicated and demanding over time.

“As delivery systems have become more complex, the demand for versatile and advanced digital monitoring and analysis solutions has increased,” said Anupama Anantharaman, vice president for product management at Interra Systems. “As a result, single-purpose monitoring gear has taken a backseat to more adaptable multifunctional tools. These tools leverage the power of new content creation and delivery standards—and computer networks—to provide comprehensive monitoring capabilities that cover various aspects of stream analysis and signal evaluation.”

The Impact of ST 2110
Signals that conform to the SMPTE ST 2110 standard have multiple components (video, audio and ancillary data) each transmitted as separate streams. An IP-based stream monitor can analyze, evaluate and route these streams and extract the metadata based on the user’s workflow, providing full flexibility.

“Software-based tools used on an IP network can efficiently extract and analyze this metadata, allowing broadcasters to monitor and verify critical information such as format, timing and identification,” Anantharaman said. “In the context of video, waveform monitors can sometimes fail to detect problems due to human error. However, by using IP-based probes, operators can automate the process of stream verification for today’s vast amount of content.”

Human error notwithstanding, standalone testing and QC devices still have value in many operations and workflows.

“Although the underlying infrastructure of how media is transported has changed, the overall tasks that need to be accomplished by operators and engineers are still fundamentally the same,” said Don Kianian, solutions marketing manager for Telestream. “The workload has increased and the need to manage these workflows efficiently is paramount. 

“Traditional, familiar waveform monitoring tools are still extremely useful to monitor and measure video and audio signals,” he added. “They may also be complemented by other software tools (such as quality control solutions) that can automatically QC content and alert users to media that does not meet spec.”

Telestream serves both OTT and broadcasters, and Kianian said the company is seeing a shift in how the two are evolving.

“We’re certainly seeing OTA adopting more and more OTT technologies and solutions [e.g., cloud workflows, remote collaboration, AI/ML] as part of a broadcaster/content provider’s overall strategy to reach broader audiences and go toe-to-toe with the increasing number of content providers in the market,” he said. “I expect this tug-of-war to continue well into this year and beyond.”

Upgrade to ATSC 3.0
Traditional broadcasters are in the early phases of a soft transition to the ATSC 3.0 standard, which is much more IP-friendly than the outgoing ATSC 1.0. What does this mean with respect to test and measurement equipment, and what lies ahead?

“As the transition to ATSC 3.0 heats up in the United States, we are seeing increased interest in test and measurement equipment,” said Ralph Bachofen, vice president of sales and marketing at Triveni Digital. “The transition to ATSC 3.0 is an opportunity for broadcasters to upgrade their T&M suite.

“With the latest T&M equipment, broadcasters can ensure outstanding-quality NextGen TV services, better understand the new standard, and simultaneously deliver ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 transmissions during the simulcast phase.”

Bachofen explained that single-purpose test gear is still in use, but it has an easily understood limiting factor.

“Single-purpose gear is still in use, especially in the RF realm,” he said. “The trend is to adopt multipurpose systems for service quality assurance and enterprise-wide monitoring. Single-purpose gear is much more expensive than having a solution from one vendor that can monitor multiple demarcation points at the same time.”

The sheer volume of production today means that more test, measurement and quality control gear than ever is needed. And yes, that means devices such as waveform monitors.

“The demands of operational television businesses are largely unchanged in that content has to meet in-house delivery standards as well as regulatory requirements,” said Prinyar Boon, product manager at Phabrix. “This remains the case regardless of how it’s been carried: file, streamed, broadcast, compressed, uncompressed, SDI, IP, MT2TS and so on.”

New Signal Types
Although production facilities need to measure and confirm the quality of signals, the relatively recent (and ongoing) industry transition from SDI to ST 2110 means new test gear is needed for the new signal types, according to Boon.

“To complicate the picture, many of these facilities will use both SDI- and IP-based systems,” Boon said. “We’ve been deeply involved for many years with the development of workflows for live HDR production, and measurement tools for ST 2110 systems using precision time protocol (PTP), while also retaining traditional SDI-based toolsets. 

“So yes, we’d agree very much that the era of standalone gear is over, and without doubt the long-term trend is to have operational and production tools evolve into on-prem and off-prem cloud-based systems.”

In the days when broadcast OTA was the only game in town, broadcasters could rely on knowing that the signal was properly received on a monitor TV in the studio. If the picture/sound were good on that TV, then all viewers were receiving a quality signal.

In the OTT world, it is much more difficult for a program provider to check what the user experience is—especially when dozens of network operators (Comcast, Verizon, Cox, etc.) actually take the signal from the program provider and deliver it to the customer. Ensuring a quality experience in this environment is complicated… but not impossible.

“Because of the user-centric technology in modern video streaming, measuring the quality of the video transmission sent out doesn’t necessarily offer insight into the quality of the video received by the customer,” said Mathieu Planche, CEO of Witbe. “Furthermore, true video service performance is now defined by many more elements than just the image quality alone. User-centric video services need to be tested with user-centric monitoring technology.”

Location, Location, Location
In other words, sensors from the test system must be placed as close to the user as possible to make sure the network delivers the expected quality to the customer.

“Checking that a FAST channel is available on Comcast NOW TV cannot be verified through simple packet loss,” Planche said. “It involves complex interactions between backend systems, cloud-to-cloud integration, device operating systems, content providers, ad providers and various DRM stacks. OTT providers need user-centric monitoring technology to understand the true quality delivered to their end-users.”

This is where artificial intelligence (AI) could play an important role in monitoring networks and responding to failures faster than a human can react. In the meantime, change and growth is constant in the program delivery process.

“As the weight shifts further to online content and live streaming, having a solid grip on the entire chain becomes more important,” said Rajesh Patel, vice president for sales & solutions EMEA at Mediaproxy. “With an ever-increasing scale of sources, using software-based tools and APIs to optimize monitoring workflows will help reduce overall cost and enhance quality-of-service. 

“Teaming up with partners with solutions that straddle multiple disciplines is something to look at as old equipment becomes obsolete,” he continued. “This also includes shifting the thinking towards what the cloud can offer to handle specific pressure points.”

Patel sees that there is still a need for hardware-specific test equipment, even as change is coming.

“Despite the ever-growing availability of software-based tools, traditional hardware-based monitoring equipment is certainly still relevant in today’s monitoring chain,” he said. “This is especially still true for ST 2022-2 as well as for the emerging SDI replacement, ST 2110.” 

AMHERST, N.Y.—FlexScreen created the world’s first flexible window screen and when we made our first foray into marketing, we started with an iPhone and social media. Fast forward nine years, and our push into marketing has been so successful that we went from being just a flexible window screen company to acquiring Reflex Brands, a digital marketing agency. 

We now support digital advertising, two podcasts, live streaming, a live production and recording studio and in-the-field filming for customers and commercials. Due to Reflex Brands’ marketing efforts, FlexScreen even caught the eye of ABC’s business reality TV show “Shark Tank” and was featured on season 11.

All our work is supported by a full-blown professional video production workflow that includes Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pros, Video Assist 12G HDR monitor/recorders, several models of ATEM switchers, HyperDeck Studio HD Mini recorders, a Smart Videohub 40x40 router, Blackmagic Web Presenter HD streaming solutions, DeckLink and UltraStudio for capture and playback and a multitude of converters.

Smartscope Duo 4K Monitors
With this type of exponential growth came the need for workflow expansion, and as we expanded our workflow, we were able to grow our offerings. Now our gear affords FlexScreen and Reflex Brands’ live production, streaming, content creation and post workflows.

As your workflow grows, so must your attention to detail, and it was important for us to incorporate tools that took the guesswork out of certain aspects, so we could create the best possible content. A big detail was signal monitoring, for which we rely on two Blackmagic SmartScope Duo 4K monitors. We purchased them because we needed a simple way to view and manage everything going on in our studio.

With two 8-inch LCD screens, the SmartScope Duo 4K includes built-in waveform, vectorscope, RGB parade, YUV parade, histogram, audio phase and level scopes. Because the screens are independent, we can display a combination of scope and picture views.

All in One
Physically, our SmartScope Duo 4Ks sit inside of our travel racks, as well as in our studio’s control room. We use them when we are checking audio levels, then switch to multiple camera shots to check color, exposure, and the angle. We especially rely on waveform monitoring and love this feature because it gives us real-time data and information about what’s going on during our live streams or recordings, adding that extra layer of confidence and attention to detail. 

The SmartScope Duo 4Ks provide all sorts of different, easily accessible data in one unit, streamlining our workflow and saving costs, whereas previously we had to invest in multiple devices just to view everything we needed.

It may seem like a simple thing, but truly as you grow your workflow, you also must pay more attention to the minor details to make sure things run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Because we trust the quality of Blackmagic Design, we knew the SmartScope Duo 4K was going to perform and fulfill our needs. l 

Nicolas DeSarno is director of Reflex Brands and project manager at FlexScreen. With a background in videography, he now travels around the country teaching clients how to grow their own brands through social media marketing. He can be reached at 724-576-2007 (Reflex Brands) or 888-983-3539 (FlexScreen) or nicolasdesarno@reflexbrands.com.

For more information, contact Blackmagic Design at 408-954-0500 or visit www.blackmagicdesign.com.

HUDSON, N.H.—Game Creek Video is a technical productions services company responsible for bringing some of the largest sporting and entertainment events to air through our state-of-the-art fleet of mobile production trucks and mobile units. 

We recently built several new trucks for the fall sports and entertainment season—one of them, named Centennial, is a powerful SMPTE 2110 IP-based broadcast truck designed to handle formats from HD to 4K with full support for HDR signals to ensure superior contrast and color rendering. 

Monitoring for Quality
Since quality is paramount for every production, it’s important to measure signals coming in from all cameras and ensure each source image matches the others (camera shading). It’s also important to guarantee that the high-quality output is maximizing the wide color gamut and contrast range that the HDR format provides. 

Driven by customer demand, we installed six Telestream PRISM IP/SDI waveform monitors at multiple positions within Centennial. These include camera shading positions, engineering, and the replay area where, either directly or via KVM, the TD, tech manager, and replay operators have access. 

We designed Centennial as a “Swiss Army knife” which can deliver whatever capability the client needs. Our goal is always to be as flexible and agile as possible. Centennial was also designed to expand and easily connect to other trucks which is something we pride ourselves on.

As formats and signals have evolved, waveform monitors have had to keep pace. IP-based signals also carry audio and additional metadata, so waveform monitors must also be able to monitor embedded audio signals such as Dolby as well as other ancillary metadata.

While operators need the latest features to monitor IP signals and make objective measurements of HDR, they also appreciate a traditional layout of waveform monitor and vectorscope. The Telestream team has been responsive to the marketplace by allowing two full displays from a single scope versus squeezing everything together in a single display, a unique feature our video shader positions rely on. Not having to buy two full units saves on cost and installation as well.

Although Centennial is an IP-based truck at its core, part of its flexible design is the ability to work in a mixed IP and SDI environment. The capability of PRISM waveform monitors to also work in both SDI and IP was an important feature that helps ensure this flexibility. Because the PRISM platform is app-based, our clients can customize and add tools based on their unique requirements. 

PRISM MPD200
For Centennial, two PRISM MPD200 models are installed at camera shading positions and deliver two screens for both waveform and vectorcope displays from a single unit. Three PRISM MPX2-25 are deployed with two racked in engineering and one in replay and a single PRISM MPI2-25 is racked in engineering for 2110 and 3G/12G analysis. 

Because PRISM employs a software-defined platform, it’s easy to keep these waveform monitors current with updates and any upgrades can easily be deployed in the field. This is a critical design component since there is no time to pull equipment and send it back to the factory for upgrades and modifications when the trucks are constantly on the road. 

The timeline for building Centennial was short and with worldwide shortages of parts, we were concerned about delivering the truck to schedule. When one of our main clients made the initial request for the PRISM scopes, we worried that potential supply chain issues might impact our short runway. Thankfully, Telestream was able to pull out all the stops and get us the units we required in time. For that we were very grateful. 

Jason Taubman spearheads Game Creek Video’s efforts in technology leadership and truck design while servicing the company’s vast profile of high-profile sports clients, including ABC, CBS, ESPN, FOX, HBO, NBC, MLB, NBA, the YES Network, NFL Network, and Amazon Prime Video. Since joining Game Creek in 1999, Taubman has led the design and build process for over 60 mobile unit projects, and also helped the company lead the industry to new workflows in HD, UHD, HDR, IP/2110, and remote control of mobile units by client production staff. He can be reached at jtaubman@gamecreekvideo.com or 603-882-5222.

For more information visit www.telestream.net.

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Interra Systems this week revealed its BATON machine learning-, artificial intelligence-enabled automated quality control (QC) platform has successfully completed an AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR) and that the company has joined the Amazon Web Services Partner Network.

The availability of Interra Systems’ solutions in the cloud offers media companies a way to take advantage of newer, faster processors to optimize performance and gives them the ability to streamline content production and delivery from anywhere, the company said.

"We are excited to join the AWS Partner Network and to further strengthen our commitment to the cloud," said Saurabh Jain, director of strategic partnerships at Interra Systems. "Being a part of the AWS Partner Network brings increased efficiencies and cost savings to customers using our quality control and monitoring solutions. Having our software solutions stamped with an FTR approval also means customers can expect world-class security, reliability and operational excellence when they are running on the AWS cloud."

Interra Systems' software-based and cloud-ready QC, captioning/subtitling, monitoring, and analysis solutions provide a complete set of tools for scalability, high performance and centralized management, the company said.

With the option for on-premises and cloud deployments, its solutions give media companies the flexibility to deliver premium live and video on demand assets to a global audience now and in the future, it said.

"As media companies transition to the cloud, they require solutions that can ensure content quality at cloud scale," said Ryan Broadwell, director of ISV Partnerships at AWS. "We're pleased to have Interra Systems join as a member of the AWS Partner Network to allow media companies to scale their content workflows."

As an AWS Partner, Interra Systems is positioned to help media companies take full advantage of all that AWS has to offer and accelerate their journey to the cloud. FTR helps AWS Partners to identify and remediate risks in their products or solutions.

Running BATON products on AWS allows media companies to perform content QC remotely in the cloud from anywhere in the world. BATON offers QC support for 4K, comprehensive audio-video quality checks for complex content, OAR watermark and enhanced Cinavia watermark checks, IMF Application 2 Extended, PSE for HDR, foreign languages, Dolby Atmos and FLAC audio.

More information is available on the company’s website.

NEVADA CITY, Calif.—Telestream has announced a new version of GLIM, the company’s remote media player that can play any media file from anywhere.

Built for broadcast engineering, operations and post-production personnel who need to QC files visually when they are remote from the media, GLIM plays master video files of any size and format directly to a browser on-the-fly without the need to generate a proxy, the company said.

Prior to GLIM, those needing to QC media remotely needed to download huge media files which could take hours just to view the file, the company said.

Although downloading a smaller proxy file might not take as long, there’s a risk media might not be in perfect frame sync with inspection tools, it said.

With the latest version of GLIM, a new UI places video front and center to the user experience while surrounding the content with audio VU meters and a new zoomable mini timeline with selectable overlays for GOP, SCTE 35 and 104 markers and Nielsen watermarking, it said.

The latest version of GLIM also introduces a technology preview of a new luma waveform display with more scope tools to follow in subsequent releases, it said.

“With its new UI, GLIM has never been easier to use. We’ve had a tremendous response from our many GLIM customers and are delighted to hear all the stories of hours saved in QC workflow,” said Nick Kayworth, senior product manager at Telestream. “This product has truly transformed QC workflows as our users continue to evolve and standardize their remote working environments.”

GLIM can run on a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) server or a new turnkey GLIM hardware appliance. In the case of the former, it supports up to five simultaneous playback sessions. In the latter, up to 15 concurrent sessions are supported due to GPU acceleration, Telestream said.

It also can run five sessions in an AWS Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) environment or up to 15 simultaneous sessions when using GPU-accelerated instances of AWS EC2, it said.

GLIM is built on the same framework underpinning the Vantage Media Processing platform, a true multi-format media player with support for a wide variety of format and containers, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website. 

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Content QC and monitoring technology provider Interra Systems has announced that ZOO Digital, a global provider of cloud software-based subtitling, dubbing, and media localization services, has expanded its deployment of Interra Systems' BATON automated QC solution. 

BATON enables ZOO Digital to perform comprehensive quality and compliance checks on VOD content, resulting in faster and more efficient delivery of globalized media content for its customers in the TV and film industries, the company said. 

"Given the recent explosion in video streaming, we are anticipating an increased workload from customers globally," said Andy Saldaña, vice president of media services and special projects at ZOO Digital. "As the volume of media content that we manage grows, Interra's BATON solution will enable us to address the QC needs of our customers swiftly. BATON expedites the creation of subtitles, audio dubbing, localized metadata, media compliance, and more, allowing our customers to reach new audiences and boost their revenues."

ZOO Digital has production facilities in the U.S., U.K., and Dubai. Being a software- and cloud-based solution, Interra Systems' BATON provides ZOO Digital with a highly scalable architecture that can easily be expanded as its QC needs grow. BATON supports a wide range of media formats and offers comprehensive quality checks, including extensive subtitles and closed-caption verification, audio language identification, PSE correction, and loudness detection and correction.

"ZOO Digital was an early adopter of BATON and continues to be a valued customer that understands the important role that automated QC plays in global media distribution," said Ashish Basu, executive vice president of worldwide sales and business development at Interra Systems. "With BATON powering its QC operations, ZOO Digital can ensure that the content being delivered by some of the biggest names in the media and entertainment industry always has exceptional quality."

More information about Interra Systems solutions can be found at www.interrasystems.com.

Basingstoke, UK — July 25th, 2018 - EditShare a technology leader in intelligent scale-out storage, AQC and media management solutions, announced today that Johannesburg, South African-based full-service post production facility, Bladeworks, has upgraded their QC workflow with EditShare’s QScan AQC solution. Following deals with major broadcasters Viacom and Sky One, Bladeworks knew that they needed a solution that could guarantee that their content was compliant with the stringent delivery specifications set forth by these organizations, ultimately selecting QScan because of its automated QC processes and specialized quality control features such as ensuring photosensitive epilepsy (PSE) standards compliance.

Prior to implementing QScan, Bladeworks’ approach to QC was comprised of two methods; eyeball the files before delivery, making adjustments based off what the team’s eyes and ears could detect, or, send files to a third-party company to QC the files before delivery to the broadcaster. “Many broadcasters in South Africa don’t have the intense delivery specifications like we’ve found in the UK, for instance. But for certain projects that needed to be tested for specific parameters, we’d send the files off to an outside company that performed QC and then they’d send it to the broadcasters,” says Andries De Jager, head of data, Bladeworks. “Then there were some deliveries where we’d just play through the file and make sure there were no black gaps and check that the grade was applied properly; if the eye caught something, we’d go in and fix it.”

Delivering projects to Viacom and Sky One proved to be quite involved as they are very specific in terms of digital quality and complying with the different global standards. Bladeworks required a more advanced AQC solution that could be integrated into the existing workflow without disrupting the creative process. When considering an AQC solution to onboard, it was QScan’s intuitive user interface and competitive pricing that hooked Bladeworks. De Jager continues, “We went through the interface, checked it and compared to other options on the market and found it to be both more cost effective and simpler to use. We needed a solution that was capable of being used by everyone on the team, not just the technical experts because a lot of the time, they aren’t available. With QScan, you can just pretty much drop a file in, have it scan and go..”

De Jager concludes, “With QScan, we are able to check whether the file format is correct, if it complies with R128 loudness, if there are any potential harmful flashes as per the photosensitive epilepsy standards (PSE) and all the nitty gritty errors that can occur in terms of the quality of the final product. The QScan support team has been an invaluable asset to us as we navigate new delivery specifications, ensuring there are no hiccups in our deliveries. This, in concert with the intuitive user interface, has made implementing QScan into our workflow incredibly seamless.”

For more information about EditShare’s QScan family of AQC products, please visit qscan.editshare.com.

About EditShare

EditShare is a technology leader in networked shared storage and tapeless, end-to-end workflow solutions for the post-production, TV and film industries. Our groundbreaking products improve efficiency and workflow collaboration every step of the way. They include video capture and playout servers, high-performance EFS central shared storage, AQC, archiving and backup software, media asset management, and Lightworks – the world’s first three-platform (Windows/OS X/Linux) professional non-linear video editing application.

©2018 EditShare LLC. All rights reserved. EditShare is a registered trademark of EditShare.

Press Contact

Nick Govoni
Zazil Media Group
(e) nick@zazilmediagroup.com
(p) +1 (978) 866 7354

Basingstoke, UK — June 19, 2018 - EditShare a technology leader in intelligent shared storage, QC and media management solutions, announced today that the latest EditShare QScan Automated Quality Control family (AQC) of products, powered by the award-winning QUALES QC engine, now supports automated QC of IMF (Interoperable Master Format) packages. “The new QScan IMF release is yet another milestone on EditShare’s journey to provide users with next-generation solutions that meet the needs of today’s global production supply chain,” comments Howard Twine, director of software strategy, EditShare. “Although IMF is not a new concept, its broader industry adoption is on the horizon. Our new QScan IMF capabilities will play a key role in ensuring users that compliance delivery can be met with the utmost confidence and simplicity, demystifying complex emerging high-dynamic range technology and workflows.” In addition to support for IMF packages, all QScan models carry compliance certification from the DPP and AMWA which includes support for PSE testing.

IMF smooths the path for those modern post-production workflows requiring multiple file formats for the master, different versions and edits, different resolutions and frame rates, aspect ratios, languages, and ultimately distribution to many destinations. QScan aids in the IMF QC workflow by detecting the existence of the corresponding XML files (CPL, PKL, OPL, AssetMap, Volume Index) reading the contents and providing information about the structure of the entire IMF package (IMPs). Twine elaborates, “It is particularly interesting the way QScan shows the information of these XML files. QScan provides a timeline view of the CPL where all essence files are described, thus helping the user better understand the structure of the whole IMP. This approach educates while simplifying the entire process.”

QScan IMF Timeline

QScan will detect when any errors are present in the XML files and perform all audio and video checks on the essence files as well. Twine concludes, “An IMF bundle is complex and there are many parts to it that can go wrong, causing problems further up the production or delivery process. QScan provides EditShare customers with the ability to rapidly and automatically spot structural errors within this bundle. In most cases, these types of errors cannot be spotted easily by a human operator and cause real problems for the production.”

About EditShare QScan Family of Products

The QScan AQC product line simplifies compliance and delivery requirements with robust quality check capabilities that leverage a patent pending QScan Single-Pass Analysis process which can be applied at any point during the workflow. The intuitive UI offers simple-to-use features and easy-to-read reporting results, making it easy to expand AQC use across the operation. QScan allows users to combine different test templates and with QScan Single Pass Analysis, maximizing efficiency for qualifying essence and container elements.

QScan One – A robust full-featured entry level AQC solution that processes one file at time. Ideal for small post facilities requiring the facility to check the integrity of files on an on-going basis but that don't need to check large volumes of media concurrently.

QScan Pro – A full-featured professional AQC solution that processes four files at a time. Designed for mid sized post facilities, with different departments such as audio, grading, VFX, and editing. Each department can set up parameters to test their files, with up to 4 files being tested simultaneously.

QScan Max – Fully scalable multi-node enterprise AQC solution with each node allowing for processing four concurrent files at a time. Ideal for VOD, OTT and Telco companies, the Max revision has limitless scalability allowing a large operator to test hundreds of files concurrently.

See new QScan release at BroadcastAsia2018

Attendees to the BroadcastAsia2018 can book a private demonstration to see the new QScan IMF capabilities along with other EditShare award-winning solutions (stand 6J5-01) at: sales.asia@editshare.co.uk

About EditShare

EditShare is a technology leader in networked shared storage and tapeless, end-to-end workflow solutions for the post-production, TV, and film industries. Our ground-breaking products improve efficiency and workflow collaboration every step of the way. They include video capture and playout servers, high-performance central shared storage, archiving and backup software, media asset management, and Lightworks – the world’s first 3-platform (Windows/OS X/Linux) professional non-linear video editing application.

©2018 EditShare LLC. All rights reserved. EditShare is a registered trademark of EditShare.

Press Contact

Nick Govoni
Zazil Media Group
(e) nick@zazilmediagroup.com
(p) +1 (978) 866 7354

NEVADA CITY, CALIF. & BRISTOL, U.K.—Telestream has announced the acquisition of UK-based Quality Control (QC) technology specialist, Vidcheck. The acquisition, according to Telestream President Dan Castles, will add QC technology to Telestream’s Vantage product line.

Telestream CEO Dan Castles

Established in 2009, Vidcheck provides automated QC solutions within file-based production workflows. Its system solutions are used by broadcasters, facilities and content owners worldwide, such as ITV, BBC, CBS and many others. The privately funded acquisition is complete and the new combined company will take its bow at IBC (stand 7.B26). 

Vidcheck’s QC technology is primarily known in European markets. Vidchecker, the company’s flagship product, provides file-based automated QC. Telestream says the acquisition will build on Vidcheck’s success, providing greater reach around the globe and strong sales and market presence. 

“Vidcheck’s team and product portfolio line up very well with our area of expertise,” said Dan Castles, CEO of Telestream LLC. Castles continued, “It is not just some great technology and products that we are acquiring but also a gifted, talented and passionate team that will reinforce our resources here at Telestream. We look forward to leveraging our combined know-how to offer our worldwide customer base an even more complete and exciting product portfolio.”

"Telestream is a great home for Vidcheck, technically, commercially and culturally,” commented Thomas Dove, CEO of Vidcheck Ltd., who will stay on as director of QC for Telestream. “The companies have complementary technologies which will feed into both product ranges, the most obvious being the perfect fit of Vidchecker auto QC with Vantage. With Telestream's sales and support reach, Vidchecker will naturally be available to a much wider set of customers, particularly in North America. Being part of Telestream provides a great launch pad for the next phase of growth for Vidcheck."

Castles says that while Vidchecker will be integrated into Telestream’s Vantage line, Telestream will continue to offer Vidchecker as a standalone product. “Everything that current customers get from Videcheck, they’ll continue to get from Vidcheck,” Castles said, adding that there’s not much overlap among the two companies’ customer base. 

“One of the great intriguing things about this is, when we did our due diligence [for the acquisition], about half the Vidcheck customers have never owned a Telestream product,” he said. “That’s huge for us.”