LONDON—A new study highlights the growing importance of video podcasts for both media companies and consumers with data showing that video podcasts are rapidly going mainstream. An Ampere Analysis survey finds that one in five internet users are now watching them on social platforms and that YouTube is the most popular platform.

Their rapid growth highlights the increasing strategic importance of video podcasts as platforms invest in cost-effective formats to drive engagement and compete for audiences, the researcher reported.

Daniel Monaghan, Senior Research Manager at Ampere Analysis, explained that “As platforms vie for time spent, lower-cost long formats become increasingly appealing. Video podcasts offer these by providing easy viewing akin to linear chat shows. Netflix’s recent deals with Spotify and Gary Lineker’s Goalhanger highlight the growing importance being placed on this format by major players, especially as they look to take on YouTube’s dominance.”

Key findings from the study include:

• 20% of Internet users globally watched video podcasts on social video platforms in the past month (Q3 2025).
• YouTube is the go-to platform for video podcasts, with 11% of Internet users having watched one on its service in the past month. TikTok is proving popular for clips.
• Those aged 18-34 are 24% more likely than average to have watched a podcast.
• Audiences who watch video podcasts are also more engaged with the audio versions. 60% of podcast viewers also listen at least a few times a week, compared with 36% of Internet users on average.
• Video podcasts are particularly popular in mobile-first markets such as Brazil, India, Indonesia and Malaysia, but 20% of Internet users in markets such as Spain, the US and Canada are now also engaging.

The data is from Ampere's Media Consumer survey, which runs biannually across 30 global markets and samples 56,000 Internet users aged 18 to 64 per wave.

BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, France—Moments Lab will showcase the latest multimodal and agentic AI capabilities of its Video Discovery Platform that accelerates at-scale content search, creation and distribution workflows for video teams at the 2026 NAB Show, April 18-22, at the Las Vegas Convention center.

Moments Lab’s Discovery Agent enables users to search their media library through conversational prompts that describe what they need just as they would to a colleague. The agent returns relevant clips, quotes and precise moments across entire libraries or within a single long-form video.

“We’ve seen rapid user uptake of the Discovery Agent at more than 50%, and the feedback we’re getting is that it’s a ‘life-changing’ tool,’” said Phil Petitpont, CEO and co-founder of Moments Lab. “The true impact of the Discovery Agent is its velocity. You simply ask for what you need in plain language and get precise, contextual results in seconds. The agent even makes suggestions to help fill narrative gaps. It’s truly transforming how creative teams work.”

Moments Lab’s Discovery Agent is now available. Other new features that will be demonstrated at the show include:

• Agentic Ecosystem: Beyond Discovery Agent, Moments Lab will demonstrate how agentic workflows are deployed to enable agent-to-agent interactions and what’s possible with Agent-to-Agent (A2A) and Model Context Protocol (MCP).
• Projects: New collaborative workspaces for producers, editors and digital teams to work with specific media within the Moments Lab Video Discovery Platform.
• Moments Gateway: A lightweight application that bridges on-premises production and archive storage to cloud systems to enable AI-powered video search.
• Native panels for Avid Media Composer and DaVinci Resolve: Joining Moments Lab’s existing Adobe Premiere Pro in-edit capabilities to eliminate manual EDL workflows and dramatically reduce download times. Editors can search, preview and access AI-indexed footage from their Moments Lab libraries directly within their NLE. 

Taken together, these advancements create a continuous flow from archive to rough cut to final delivery, reducing handoffs, shortening turnaround times and enabling creative teams to focus on storytelling rather than file management.To support organizations moving beyond experimentation toward full-scale adoption, Moments Lab is also introducing a dedicated Agentic Transformation package. Designed to accelerate the deployment of agentic workflows, the package removes three critical barriers to entry: strategic advisory to help teams define where and how to begin their agentic journey; technical deployment support to facilitate migration and ensure agents fully understand and interact with proprietary media libraries; and support of AI indexing costs to enable sustainable, large-scale implementation.

See Moments Lab at 2026 NAB Show booth N1011.

More information is available on the company’s website.

ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—Broadcast news allows viewers to see the important events happening around the world. CNBC’s new program, “The News With Shepard Smith,” has taken that idea and made it the focal point of its set, which features a bevy of video monitors designed to present the news in flexible and innovative ways.

Smith will premiere the new set next week (Oct. 26-Oct. 30), after using a temporary set for the first few weeks since the show debuted, the result of what Steve Fastook, senior vice president of operations and engineering at CNBC, described as “the most difficult set we’ve ever built,” not just because of the intricacies of the set’s tech, but because of the forced adjustments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

THE BUILD

CNBC announced that Shepard Smith was joining the network on July 8, which with the show debuting in the fall, called for an extremely fast-paced construction, especially considering the average build time for a set, according to Fastook, is 35 weeks. And for what is expected to be one of the network’s marquee programs, it couldn’t just be any old set.

“This is probably the largest single set we’ve ever encountered,” said Fastook. “It’s technically complex; very, very intricate; video everywhere.”

As the first set built by CNBC during the COVID era, the process had to be adapted to make sure that everyone was safe and followed the proper protocols. This ranged from using two set shops—Showman Fabricators in Bayonne, N.J., and Sacks Exhibitors in Andover, Mass.—to build the different set pieces, and having specific credentials for those working on the set as they entered CNBC’s headquarters, in addition to the typical temperature checks and other social distancing efforts.

The actual build took place in Studio B at CNBC’s global headquarters in Englewood, a 60x60-foot space, which had to be gutted. One of the bigger projects in the build involved cutting the lighting grid to build a custom structure to hold the 15,000-pound metal rig that would be used to hold the set’s main video monitor.

COVID safety protocols were also incorporated into the final design and build of the set, with the backstage area designed so that a console could be operated while still maintaining 6 feet of distance between crew members. 

THE CENTERPIECE

The defining element of the set is the video monitor that is held up by the specially designed rig previously mentioned. With in-studio guests not a reliable option currently, Fastook said they had to develop a compelling way to visually present the correspondents from all over the world. The solution, five vertical, life-size monitors that can either work together to show a single image or video, display five individual videos or any combination in between. 

The individual monitors, which are all 1.2mm pitch direct LED screens, can also be moved mechanically to create a desired look, Fastook explains. The plan is to be able to move them on camera for the viewers to actually see. The center monitor is designed so it can emerge away from the other monitors 17 feet in six or seven seconds, allowing the monitor to show a correspondent as if they are coming out to meet Smith.

“Imagine the California wildfires,” said Fastook. “The visuals of the fire fill up the wall, and then the center monitor transitions to the correspondent and moves away from the rest of the wall and toward you.

“This is probably one of the coolest things that we’re going to do,” he continues. “At the end of the day, it’s all about being immersed in the stories.”

Fastook does acknowledge that the full motion of the monitor is likely not going to be used right away, as many elements of the new set will be introduced over the next few weeks as the crew gets comfortable using them.

The immersion goes beyond just the main video monitor, though. There are five additional vertical monitors placed throughout the studio and the windows wall, the wall in the back of the set that is made up of three bands.

“This set is all video,” said Fastook. “Anywhere you look, there’s video elements. So every single shot, not only does the team have to plan the shot, but they have to plan what’s in the monitors behind and they have to make clean transitions in the monitors behind. So the level of complexity producing on this set is multiple times greater than just a traditional set.”

‘NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS’

While the monitor may be what initially draws people’s eyes, Fastook takes pride that their goal of creating a high-tech, innovative set has been met. “[E]verybody that has come across it in the building has come in saying, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this.’”

In addition to the monitor, the studio includes an array of LED lights that can offer a reported 17,000 color combinations. There are additional stage and open areas on the set that will allow for different setups for guests and presentations when COVID restrictions lift. And, with all of this high-tech equipment, Fastook says that Studio B uses only 10% of the power that CNBC’s Studio C, which is the home of “Mad Money,” does, despite being a larger set.

“I have to say I’m so proud of my team,” Fastook said. “This is the most difficult set we’ve ever built, for obvious reasons—it was fast scheduled and COVID—and highly intricate and highly technical. Every single person on my team and everyone we worked with really went above and beyond on this one. It’s a great moment for them. I’m really, really proud of them.”

See a timelapse of the set's construction below:

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Broadcast TV and video are popular targets for criminals to launch credential stuffing attacks, according to a new report from Akamai that looked at the entire industry landscape.

Credential stuffing is the method by which criminals tap automated tools to use stolen login information to attempt to gain access to user accounts on other online sites, assuming that consumers use the same login and password for multiple services. The use of these stolen credentials can range from just allowing a non-subscriber to watch content via pirated streaming accounts or, more dangerously, stealing personal information.

While the media industry is a prime target in general—Akamai reports that 20% of the 88 billion credential stuffing attacks observed from January 2018-December 2019 were targeted at media companies—the video media sector is becoming increasingly targeted. There was a 63% increase year-over-year in attacks against the video sector, per Akamai. This includes a 630% increase against broadcast TV sites and a 208% increase against video sites. Video services saw a 98% increase in attacks; attacks against video platforms, however, dropped by 5%.

Reasons for this increase in attacks against broadcast TV and video sites includes the rise in on-demand media content in 2019, as well as the launch of new video services (Akamai doesn’t specifically name the services), the kind of things that credential stuffing attackers target, says Akamai.

The U.S. is the number one place for credential stuffing attacks against media companies, with a reported 1.1 billion in 2019.

The “Akamai 2020 State of the Internet/Credential Stuffing in Media Industry” report was delayed from its original April date to July because of COVID-19, but that delay allowed for Q1 2020 data to be added to the report. This included a spike in malicious login attempts against European video service providers.

“As long as we have usernames and passwords, we’re going to have criminals trying to compromise them and exploit valuable information,” Steve Ragan, Akamai security researcher and author of the report, explained. “Password sharing and recycling are easily the two largest contributing factors in credential stuffing attacks. While educating consumers on good credential hygiene is critical to combating these attacks, it’s up to businesses to deploy stronger authentication methods and identify the right mix of technology, policies and expertise that can help protect customers without adversely impacting the user experience.”

The complete Akamai report is available online. 

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—About 76% of global wireless bandwidth will be used for video delivery by 2025, according to the new annual Ericsson Mobility Report. The monthly use of 164 exabytes (equivalent to a billion gigabytes) compares to video's current level of 63% (33 EB) and reflects greater use of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and the continuing expansion of 5G technology, the report says. Ericsson's forecast expects 2.8 billion global 5G subscriptions by the end of 2025, compared to 190 million at the end of this year.

Ericsson's report acknowledges that it has "slightly decreased our 5G subscriptions forecast for 2020 and 2021 in North America," compared to previous estimates, although it offers no reasons other than "LTE will remain the dominant mobile access technology" for the next few years and "is projected to peak in 2022." Ericsson predicts that "5G subscription uptake is expected to be significantly faster than that of LTE" after its 2009 debut.

Video traffic in mobile networks will grow by around 30% annually during the next five years, Ericsson says, driven "by the increase of embedded video in many online applications, growth of video-on-demand (VOD) streaming services ... and viewing time per subscriber." It also cites "the evolution towards higher screen resolutions on smart devices" and "the increasing penetration of video-capable smart devices."

The growing impact of wireless video becomes even more significant when compared to the forecasts of exactly 10 years ago this month, when Cisco's Video Network Index for the year 2020 predicted that video would consume 79% of internet traffic—almost entirely using wireline facilities.

The primary drivers for video traffic growth include the growing role of video in online content such as news, advertising and social media as well as video streaming and sharing services, according to Ericsson's analysis. It also cites:

• Changing user behavior
• Increased segment penetration, not just early adopters
• Evolving devices with larger screens and higher resolutions
• Increased network performance through evolved 4G deployments
• Emerging immersive media formats and applications, such as high definition and ultra HD, 360-degree video, augmented and virtual reality

The report also cites that decades-old visionary goal: "video being consumed anywhere, any time" (although it overlooked the "any device" trope).

Ericsson expects that video streaming via wireless networks will rely on higher resolution quality than the current 480p format.

"With smartphones and networks improving constantly, streaming in HD (720p) and Full HD (1080p) is becoming more common," the report says. "More immersive media formats and applications are expected to become a significant factor contributing to mobile data traffic growth, as 5G networks will provide the performance needed for a good user experience. For example, watching a streamed e-sports event in multi-view would consume about 7GB per hour, while a high-quality AR/VR stream with a media (bit) rate of 25Mbps would consume as much as 12GB per hour."

This year's forecast slightly ups the outlook that Ericsson predicted a year ago, when it expected 5G to account for 55% of North American mobile subscriptions by 2024.

COVID-19 IMPACT

Ericsson's report begins with an examination of the role of networks and digital infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic, described by Fredrik Jejdling, Ericsson's executive VP and head of business area networks. He cites the impact of novel coronavirus starting early this year, including lockdown restrictions and new work-from-home "digital behaviors."

The report explains that, "in markets with limited penetration of fixed residential networks, the mobile data demand increase was especially high" and that in some markets "service providers made temporary changes to data plans [such as]... unlimited data for a certain period of time." The report also cites, "up to 90% increase in Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) calls for some service providers" and an "increase of 20% to 70% in voice due to more and longer calls. Data traffic increased due to more bidirectional and streaming services."

EXPANDEDED ROLE FOR FIXED WIRELESS ACCESS 

FWA connections are forecast to reach nearly 160 million by end of 2025 – totaling about 25% percent of global mobile network data traffic. At the end of 2019, global FWA data traffic was estimated to have been around 15% of the global total. It is now projected to grow nearly 8 fold to reach 53 exabytes in 2025, representing 25% of the global total mobile network data traffic.

"FWA delivered over 4G or 5G is an increasingly cost-efficient alternative for providing broadband," says the report, citing factors that are driving the FWA market, including growing demand for digital services and government-sponsored programs and subsidies in some countries.

“One of my favorite things about working in this industry is talking to people and learning their stories,” explains Walter Biscardi, Jr. “And I’ve learned a lot of tips and tricks throughout the years for getting good on-camera interviews.

“Here are a few to help you get the most out of your next on-camera interview.” To view the full transcript of the video, click here.

To view all of his tutorials, click here.

No matter the size of the story, the goal remains the same: You need to reach your audience and deliver your message. Today, video is the most powerful form of communication you can use. And you don't have to be a professional when you have the right tools.

Find out how NewTek’s Tricaster Mini can produce amazing content with hundreds of advanced production capabilities for video switching, playback, motion graphics, amazing virtual sets, and dynamic effects with an easy-to-use compact video creation system that helps you tell your story with professional results.

This video was sponsored by NewTek Inc.

Statistical Multiplexing (Statmux) is now available with AWS Elemental MediaLive, Statmux is a technology used in live broadcast workflows that allocates bits in real time among multiple live video channels. It instantaneously adjusts the bitrate of each channel in the statmux pool to make the best use of total available bandwidth and combines the encoded outputs into a single transport stream. This maximizes network efficiency by optimizing picture quality for a group of channels within a fixed total bandwidth.

Using AWS Elemental MediaLive with Statmux, customers can now deploy linear video processing and playout in the AWS Cloud for broadcast, cable, or terrestrial distribution.

Media companies, such as national broadcasters, originate live content and simultaneously share that content with their distribution partners. Traditionally, this has been accomplished by preparing channels for distribution using purpose-built, on-premises hardware encoders. These systems can take months to procure and configure, require extensive engineering to operate reliably, and cannot be repurposed once deployed. AWS Elemental MediaLive with Statmux lets broadcasters and content providers build and manage broadcast video workflows on fully managed AWS services and gain flexibility, reduce hardware and management costs, and deliver excellent picture quality with built-in reliability.

Key benefits of AWS Elemental MediaLive with Statmux include:

• Cloud flexibility—Add, remove, or update live channels based on evolving audience and business needs, easily introduce new codecs, prioritize resources on a per-channel basis, and take advantage of multiple codecs and resolutions.

• Built-in resiliency—Resources are automatically allocated across multiple availability zones for high availability and fully managed failover.

• High video quality—Statmux for MediaLive lets you maximize video quality while optimizing for fixed satellite or cable distribution bandwidth. And, you can tune quality settings on a per-channel basis without disruption to assure that the highest-priority channels maintain the highest quality.

• Operational efficiency—Build broadcast distribution workloads in minutes, without on-premises hardware, and deliver channels more efficiently over fixed network bandwidth.

• Monitoring and metrics—Integrated Amazon CloudWatch monitoring enables real-time views of video metrics and multiplexer performance.

• Unified headend—For content providers that distribute traditional broadcast video as well as multiscreen linear video, Statmux for MediaLive can deliver both through a single architecture. With the increasing importance of OTT delivery, having one system to manage all encoding can dramatically simplify operations.

Learn more about how customers are saving time, reducing overhead, maximizing low-cost cloud resources, and maintaining optimized picture quality with AWS Elemental MediaLive and Statmux here: https://aws.amazon.com/medialive/features/statmux.

Lisa Aussieker, MediaKind’s VP of Marketing and Communications, explains the speed, portability, flexibility and cost-savings of their four new application-based solutions released at IBC 2019. They include Cygnus 360° Events for providing high resolution 360° video from live events, and Cygnus Contribution that supports low-latency point-to-point live contribution links via satellite or IP networks. There’s also Cygnus Distribution to distribute live content via satellite and IP networks, and the cloud-based OTT and broadcast headend platform branded as Aquila Streaming.

Videosys Broadcast, a leading supplier of quality camera control systems, RF links and camera backs to outside broadcast providers is launching Stagebox at IBC2019, on stand 10.F21. Enabling the delivery of video, audio and data from A to B over fibre, Stagebox allows outside broadcast operators to multiplex all audio and video components (microphone, monitors, talkback panel) onto a single SMPTE fibre cable and power remotely.

Stagebox improves outside broadcast production workflows by removing the requirement to run separate cables for each feed. It provides crews with a multi-purpose production tool, enabling all the feeds to be connected to the base unit in an OB truck and multiplexed onto a single SMPTE fibre cable. This greatly reduces rigging time and costs. Stagebox can also be used for the lighting director’s position or in a small remote studio.

Colin Tomlin Managing Director of Videosys Broadcast says, “As well as allowing all the video and audio components to be multiplexed onto a single SMPTE fibre cable, the system can manage four video and four audio signals in each direction, which can be selected from a small screen. This additional feature provides confidence to the operator that the correct signal has been selected. We are delighted to launch this at IBC 2019 and look forward to demonstrating it at the show.”

Additional Stagebox features include a monitoring output so the operator can check individual video and audio signals without interrupting the main feed and Stagebox talkback to the OB truck or studio, again adding an extra layer of confidence for operators.

Throughout the show Videosys Broadcast will also demonstrate its Camera Control System (CCU). Comprised of three units, Indoor Unit (IDU), Outdoor Unit (ODU) and Camera Receiver (RXSM-E), the CCU system provides an end-to-end solution from RCP to camera for the outside broadcaster, allowing them to seamlessly control their camera settings no matter what their location. The Videosys Broadcast CC system works with cameras from all the major camera manufacturers and has over 1000 deployments worldwide and is used by all major production companies at leading live events across the globe. 

Rome, Italy (August 16, 2019) –Cartoni, the Italian leader in premium camera supports for the broadcast, film and pro-video industries, is proud to celebrate winners of the ‘Win an SDS Tripod’ contest. The contest drew entries from the United States, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

“On behalf of everyone at Cartoni, we want to thank everyone for participating,” explains Elisabetta Cartoni, President and CEO of Cartoni. “We are thrilled to see the incredible photos and how people are using our gear! With so many great submissions, we decided to expand the awards to the top seven submissions. We are thrilled to see that camera operators all over the world have fallen in love with our patented SDS Tripod technology, which gives them the speed they need to capture incredible shots.”

Designed for camera operators on-the-go, the SDS Tripod is a set of patented tripod legs that allow camera operators to set up and fold their tripod in an instant. Three SDS Tripods will be awarded to the first four prize winners, and four runners-up will be awarded a Cartoni Monopod.

A Cartoni Focus 12 SDS Tripod System will be awarded to veteran cinematographer Eduardo Ramirez (California) who has worked on 13 feature films, more than 300 commercials and music videos and Season One of Narcos Episodes 4-7. 

“Cartoni was my first love, as a Second Camera assistant I began working with Cartoni back in 2006, and from the beginning, I discover how solid, effective, and efficient a Cartoni system is. The C20/C30 are amazing heads. And now I’ve been using the Maxima, which is an incredible head. Now as Dp and owner of a rental house, my first call was Cartoni heads,” says Ramirez.

A Focus 8 SDS System will be awarded to Kent Anderson (South Florida).

“I typically shoot documentary travel-based content and love being outdoors, capturing landscapes, wildlife, and foreign culture. My favorite gear is built tough, works every time, and is versatile. I like hybrid DSLR’s that capture both photo and video really well. Recently I’ve enjoyed using the Lumix GH5 and typically have it rigged with a Smallrig cage and SmallHD monitor for video work, but can quickly strip it down for just photo. I’ve had my Cartoni Focus tripod for almost ten years, and it’s the only piece of gear I still bring on every single shoot,” says Anderson.

An additional Focus 8 SDS System will be awarded to former radio DJ turned corporate filmmaker Frank Lozano (Los Angeles, California).

“I just love what I do. I get to travel and see new places and help people along the way. But most importantly, I like to “share” those experience with others. I think that’s why I love my cameras so much. When I’m a long way from home, I need to have gear that I can trust. That’s why I love Cartoni tripods. I’ve been using them since 2004 and it’s always been the set-up I prefer. Some of these places, I may never get a chance to come back. That’s why it’s got to be right the first time,” says Lozano.

A set of SDS Tripod legs will be awarded to Dubai-based Focus 18 videographer Issam Saadane (Dubai, UAE).

“During a shoot, one of my colleagues was using a Cartoni Tripod, and I fell in love with the quality and the finish of it. Three days later, I got my first Cartoni tripod. Plus, I love the wide range of rigs from the brand,” says Saadane.

A Cartoni Monopod will be awarded to Keaton Bowlby (California), Bryan Roy (Canada) and Mathieu Cowan (Canada).

For more information on the SDS Tripod, join Cartoni at IBC 2019, Booth 12.E30. Register for free by using code 4582.

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Sony was awarded top honors from the publishers of AV Technology magazine and Sound & Video Contractor magazine following the InfoComm 2019 show in Orlando last week. Sony’s AI-based Edge Analytics Appliance, the REA-C1000 took home a “Best of Show” honor from AV Technology, while the VPL-FHZ75 3LCD laser projector received a “Best of Show” win from Sound & Video Contractor magazine.

AV Technology magazine is a publication for audiovisual and information technology managers responsible for procuring and maintaining of AV and IT systems. Sound & Video Contractor is a technical resource for integrators, contractors, dealers, and consultants.

Sony’s REA-C1000 allows users to create video content in real time, without the need for specialized training, additional staff or equipment. The compact and lightweight REA-C1000, uses its advanced AI-based video analytics technology to analyze the input it receives from connected cameras and automatically extract the object in focus to combine it with other images in real time. This unique technology uses motion/face detection and color/shape recognition, enabling the REA-C1000 to be the powerful brain of any connected camera and AV setup. The technology allows various organizations to cost-effectively create professional, engaging content.

The new VPL-FHZ75 (6500lm) and VPL-FHZ70 (5500lm) cater to the increased market demand for high brightness projection in midsize environments such as universities, corporations, churches, museums and entertainment installations. Offering WUXGA resolution, both use a newly developed 0.76-inch LCD panel with an incorporated optical compensator to deliver bright and vibrant images with stunning contrast, providing true blacks and accurate-to-life color reproduction. Both models come with an ‘intelligent setting’ feature that simplifies the installation process by automatically selecting the best configuration based on the projectors’ environment.

The VPL-FHZ75 and VPL-GTZ240 4K SXRD laser projector also won a Best of Show award from Projector Central. Projector Central is a review and information site for projectors, screens and related equipment.

For more information about all of Sony’s latest professional technologies, please go to pro.sony.

Short-form content app and VOD service Flix Snip has announced a major distribution partnership with multinational telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics manufacturer Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. Flix Snip’s premium, short form content is now available to Huawei mobile phone users across Spain and Italy as part of the Huawei Video SVOD service. This announcement builds upon the momentum of Flix Snip’s recent launch in Russia on the MegaFon and Rostelecom telecoms services.Huawei Video delivers a wide selection of regularly updated international, European, and local content. Subscribers in Spain and Italy can now access Flix Snip’s diverse catalogue of high-quality, short format premium entertainment content, which has a running time of 20 minutes or less. Flix Snip offers a range of genres including: drama, animation, children, family, comedy, science-fiction and horror. Compiled from top productions and filmmakers around the globe, content is localized and dubbed in Spanish and Italian.“Flix Snip is a perfect fit for our Huawei Video service because it lets subscribers access high-quality, short-form content conveniently on the go,” says Jaime Gonzalo, VP of Huawei Mobile Services in Europe,. “Our users want compelling short movies and series that they can dip in and out of. The Flix Snip service provides a huge range of content in a number of genres that meet the viewing requirements of our expanding mobile video platform.”Sebastien Perioche, Founder & CEO, Flix Snip adds, “The way in which we consume content has changed dramatically. Viewers are more often watching video on their mobile devices and they want to access curated, premium content that’s congruent with their busy lifestyles at  the touch of a finger. We are delighted to partner with Huawei and we look forward to announcing more content distribution deals around the world in the near future.”

LEAWOOD, Kan.—NewTek once again has organized an NDI Central Pavilion for the NAB Show. For this year’s show, April 6-11 (exhibition floor April 8-11), in Las Vegas, at least 16 NDI partner companies have committed to participate.

The pavilion will be in the South Lower Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (booth SL5616) and adjacent to the NewTek booth (SL5016). There, a slice of the tech community supporting NDI will be on hand demonstrating their products and discussing how they contribute to a vibrant NDI ecosystem.

Between now and the show, I will be previewing in this NDI Central blog space what pavilion exhibitors are planning. Today, the focus is on Bannister Lake, 3D Storm, Etere Pte. Ltd, Changsha KILOVIEW Electronics, Medialooks and NewBlue.

Bannister Lake

Bannister Lake will be demonstrating its Chameleon NDI data aggregation and management software solution.

Used to create and manage tickers, L-Bars and full frame graphics, Chameleon NDI reads, ingests and manages multiple, diverse data feeds, such as news, weather, sports and social media. It provides full editorial and moderation control over both incoming data and output data formats.

The browser-based solution provides a sophisticated and powerful link between real-time data and graphics for broadcast, streaming, digital signage, HTML5, online and mobile.

With powerful query functionality to pinpoint specific datasets and a robust RESTful API, users can easily output customized data in various popular formats to any device or endpoint. More information is available on the Bannister Lake website.

To set up an NAB appointment, contact Vernon Freedlander at 416-450-5628, or email him at vfreedlander@bannisterlake.com.

Etere Pte. Ltd.

Etere will be showing its Full IP Playout with ETX-M IP Multiviewer, a scalable, easy to manage and cost-effective IP playout solution that eliminates the need for SDI hardware. The only hardware required is standard IT servers.

The solution includes ETX-M IP Multiviewer software with loudness control capabilities at the front end. A single piece of software manages ingest, playback, graphics, archive and newsroom with no third-party integrations.

The company’s technology allows users to take advantage of virtual machines (VM) of any scope. More information about the solution is available online.

To make an NAB booth appointment with Etere, email info@etere.com.

3D Storm

3D Storm will show three products in the NDI Central Pavilion, including LiveCG Broadcast, Delta-Stadium and LiveMedia Server NDI-2 (LMS NDI).

LiveCG Broadcast is a compact multilayer character generator for automatic management of titles and graphics.

The 1U turnkey system offers a wide range of tools to create and insert graphics in live video productions. Designed for production applications ranging from election results and sports scores to television game shows, LiveCG Broadcast features an exclusive social media broadcasting engine.

Its Social Hub software provides for real-time social media management and moderation. The Social Hub collects posts, messages, images and videos in real time on a dedicated interface coming from Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, WhatsApp, Skype, Instagram, Line, RSS feeds and email accounts. More information is available online.

Delta-Stadium is a turnkey solution to generate and display 2D and 3D graphics for pre-game animations and presentations, clocks, animated scores, statistics management, actions and referee decisions. Delta-Stadium includes one sport interface (soccer, rugby, basketball or baseball) and a new generic interface, which allows users to create custom interfaces.

3D Storm and Deltacast have developed a dedicated interface, Delta-Stadium Perimeter, to display signage on stadium perimeter LED panels. The project has already proved its success at Groupama Stadium in Lyon, France. More information is available online.

LiveMedia Server NDI-2 is a versatile dual-channel software HD video player-recorder that uses the NewTek NDI protocol. It can be installed on any Windows PC connected to an Ethernet LAN and can play and/or record simultaneously two NDI channels.

With LMS-NDI-2, users can create and broadcast multi-codec clip playlists from a PC on a local network without any dedicated peripherals. The integrated playlist editor supports all major industry standard file formats and codecs in the same broadcast list. LMS-NDI-2 reads the playlist in real time without prior transcoding in an NDI stream available on the entire network without latency. The new version also supports one overlay. More information is available online.

To set up an NAB interview, call Alexandra Henry at +33557262262 or email at ahenry@3dstorm.com.

KILOVIEW will feature its N1 and N2 encoders at the NDI Central Pavilion. The N1 is a portable, wireless SDI-to-NDI video encoder, and the N2 is a portable wireless HDMI-to-NDI video encoder. Both are designed to help users reliably bring traditional video signals into live, IP-based production infrastructures using NewTek’s NDI technology.

Besides supporting the NDI protocol, both are compatible with other hardware and software devices on the network. The products offer simple, efficient transmission of video based on an IP network and are compatible with all NDI-enabled systems. Additional information about the N1 encoder and N2 encoder is available online.

KILOVIEW also can provide ODM/OEM services for customers from different industries, such as live entertainment, sport events, games, professional venue monitoring and online displays.

To set up an NAB appointment, email Judy Zuo at judy@kiloview.com.

NewBlue

NewBlue will spotlight its Titler Live 4 suite of professional graphics solutions, which include Live 4 Broadcast, Present, Sport, Social and Complete.

Titler Live 4 Broadcast is an on-air graphics solution that streamlines workflows for the creation of broadcast graphics. It enables users to leverage Adobe Photoshop and After Effects graphics or customize included designs; connect graphics to Excel spreadsheets, live social media, scoreboard data and other data sources; and control graphics with a powerful API to customize workflows. Up to 16 channels of 4K-NDI or 4K-SDI key and fill are supported. More information is available online.

Titler Live 4 Present streamlines on-air graphics workflow by driving them from spreadsheets. Connect graphics to Excel spreadsheets, CSV files, RSS feeds and other sources to prepare dynamic graphics, bugs, clocks and titles. More information is available online.

Titler Live 4 Sport offers scoreboard connectivity and included controllers to deliver dynamic scoreboard graphics. It streamlines workflows and elevates sports broadcasts. More information is available online.

Titler Live 4 Social enhances productions by adding live audience comments, tweets and Facebook polling. With Social, users can engage viewers of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube videos with 3D animated social graphics. It can combine social media feeds and manage shows on the fly. More information is available online.

Titler Live 4 Complete combines the capabilities of Titler Live 4 Present, Social and Sport and gives users two layers of on-air graphics. . More information is available online.

To set up an NAB appointment with NewBlue, email Jessa Chludzinski at jessa@newblueinc.com.

Medialooks

Medialooks will feature its Video Transport product that delivers NDI streams across long distance via the public Internet with ultra-low latency.

Offering a high level of video quality, adaptive bit rate support, point-to-point encryption and PTZ camera control, Video Transport is easy to set up and is often used as a "quick glue" to bridge the wide area gap in IP-based workflows.

Applications range from remote production and studio call-ins to team streaming of games and distributed debate shows about e-sports events.

New for the 2019 NAB Show is a feature making it easy to run and maintain multiple channels on a 24/7 basis. More information about Video Transport is available online here and here.

To set up an NAB appointment, email Andrey Okunev at okunev@medialooks.com.

This blog was sponsored by NewTek.

UAV Cinema offers Commercial Drone Services for Video Production of all types to the greater midwest area. While based in Cleveland Ohio, UAV Cinema travel to markets all throughout the region. Offering Heavy Lift Drone Camera Packages capable of flying a Movi Pro and cameras from RED, Arri, Sony, and more. When a heavy lift package exceeds the needs of your shoot, we can provide a more cost effective DJI Inspire 2 Package, that offers 4k resolution & ProRes Files or RAW CinemaDNGs, for ultimate flexibility in post production.

We offer Aerial Video Services you can trust in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, and more.

Licensed & Insured Commercial Drone Services.

UAV Cinema’s pilots are full licensed commercial drone pilots and comply with the FAA Part 107 rules regarding unmanned aircrafts. Since normal video production liability insurance doesn’t cover drones, we are additionally insured up to $1 Million for both Indoor and Outdoor Flights. For locations that require insurance beyond $1 Million, the coverage can be raised upon request

Cinematographers At Heart

Our drone gimbal operator has years of experience as a Director of Photography, and having come from this background informs all the work UAV Cinema does. Having worked on countless productions, we are intimately familiar with the needs of Feature Films, Commercials, Television, and how to accomplish your shots in the safest manner possible. Some of our favorite clients include Mainsail Creative, XPO Logistics, TBS’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Cub Cadet Commercial, Commercial Media, John Deere, & Honda.

For Additional information or to book UAV Cinema, contact us at UAVCinema.com

Fremont, CA - January 9, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that season one of the popular Australian television comedy “Stage Mums” was shot using its URSA Mini 4.6K and Pocket Cinema Camera digital film cameras. The show’s editing, audio editing and color correction were also completed using DaVinci Resolve Studio.Airing on a Network Ten in Australia and available on Tenplay, “Stage Mums” takes a tongue in cheek look at the lives of two stage mothers who will go to any lengths to give their daughters opportunities to showcase their amazing talents, most of which don’t work out exactly as planned. Created by Anna Waters-Massey and produced by SundayArvo Productions in association with OZPIX Entertainment, the series was filmed on Australia’s Gold Coast, and recently had its debut broadcast season, which comprised of an entirely Australian cast and crew.With a highly stylized look and feel to match its over the top comedy, “Stage Mums” combines a familiar run and gun reality show look with the bright, warm and hot feeling that comes from shooting on the Gold Coast. Director of Photography Andrew Condor and internationally acclaimed filmmaker, actress and producer Amie Casey decided to use URSA Mini 4.6K as the main camera for the most recent season in order to capture the stylized look.“We definitely wanted ‘Stage Mums’ to be bright and colorful and relative to the style of high quality Australian television, allowing us to build a product that Australians can get behind and be proud of while becoming a beloved series internationally,” explained Casey. “As a producer, one of the great things I loved about working with both Blackmagic Design cameras was the portability. Our production days were fast paced and largely location based, and working with such easily maneuverable cameras while not having to compromise on quality was a dream come true.”Condor used an URSA Mini 4.6K as the A and B camera and the Pocket Cinema Camera for BTS and as a second unit insert and pick up camera. Both cameras made use of a Rec. 709 LUT and were used in multiple locations and in a variety of different natural and artificial lighting situations.“The Ursa Mini 4.6K is a giant for quality in a lightweight, compact body! It was the perfect camera for ‘Stage Mums’ as I wanted a smaller camera package for a run and gun feel, but I didn't want to compromise on quality of the image. Its compact size allowed us to get shots where bigger cameras just would not fit, and we often found ourselves in very small shooting locations, but we were always able to fit both cameras to keep the style of the show consistent,” said Condor. “The 15 stops of dynamic range and the low light capabilities really came in handy with our tight schedule and even tighter lighting budget.”Shot on a very tight schedule, and with the reality, on the run production style, Condor wanted to work with a smaller team of people around the cameras.

“That's where the URSA Mini 4.6K comes into its own. My excellent B camera operator, Colin Larsen, and I were able to control everything in an instant and keep the flow of the show going. We had a few slow mo shots, and being able to shoot up to 120fps without quality loss was fantastic. We also had a lot of locations where we were constantly dealing with different levels of illumination, and I loved the quality of the built in ND filters so that we didn't have to concern ourselves with ’in front of lens’ filtration,” he said.Post production for the series is completed at Sound Vision Studio by post producer Robert Merlini. DaVinci Resolve Studio was used for color correction, audio and video editing and final HD and UHD delivery for the various channels, including Australia’s Channel 10 Peach, Tenplay and US platform Seeka TV.“DaVinci Resolve Studio was the obvious choice for the overall look and feel of the show. Its color features helped to no end in our final product. I also used the Fairlight audio editing page for the the sound mix and was amazed at the functional mix features that helped create the end sound,” Merlini said.He continued, “We really benefitted from DaVinci Resolve Studio not having unnecessarily complicated processes for preparing final deliverables. On the Deliver page, we were able to batch compile and process the file in all of our delivery file formats. DaVinci Resolve Studio made this a breeze. To be able to deliver to the broadcaster exactly to their specification was the perfect way forward for us.”Stage Mums can also be viewed at www.stagemums.com.

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Mini 4.6K, Pocket Cinema Camera, DaVinci Resolve Studio and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com

As Cisco’s annual global internet traffic reports have shown in recent years, video is the No. 1 driver of explosive usage growth.

And with the emergence of 4K-UltraHD, the trend is only accelerating.

According to Cisco’s Visual Networking Index, the amount of traffic crossing the global internet will increase by 153% to around 356 exabytes a month by 2022, with video accounting for 82% of traffic.

By 2022, Cisco estimates that nearly two-thirds (62%) of connected flat panel TVs will support 4K. By that time, the far denser data requirements of 4K-UltraHD resolution will account for 2% of global internet traffic.

Of course, traffic growth will also be driven by the proliferation of internet of things. Also by 2022, Cisco predicts that machine-to-machine modules will be located on 51% of global devices, with their connections accounting for 6% of global IP traffic.

Now matter what’s driving the growth, the spike in internet usage is startling. More traffic will cross the internet in 2022, Cisco predicts, than in the entire span of 1984-2016 combined. And in five years, 60% of the world’s population will be using the internet.

“The size and complexity of the internet continues to grow in ways that many could not have imagined. Since we first started the VNI Forecast in 2005, traffic has increased 56-fold, amassing a 36 percent CAGR with more people, devices and applications accessing IP networks,” said Jonathan Davidson, senior VP and general manager, Service Provider Business, Cisco. “Global service providers are focused on transforming their networks to better manage and route traffic, while delivering premium experiences. Our ongoing research helps us gain and share valuable insights into technology and architectural transitions our customers must make to succeed.”

LOS ANGELES—In an effort to maintain its prominence as the premier global standards and education body for the film and television industries, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers has announced a new strategic business plan that emphasizes its three pillars: standards, education and membership, with a commitment on inclusiveness and objectivity.

"The strategic business plan officially released today reflects the initiative championed by SMPTE president Matthew Goldman to examine the Society and to establish our guiding principles, vision, mission, and value propositions resulting in this new three-year strategic plan," said SMPTE Executive Director Barbara Lange. "I look forward to working with current and newly elected SMPTE Board of Governors leadership to achieve the ambitious objectives set out in this plan."

With its announcement during the annual SMPTE meeting this week, the society released its first mission statement:

“SMPTE enables the technical framework and global professional community that makes motion-picture, television, and professional media available for all humanity to enjoy for artistic, educational, and social purposes.”

Within its standards work, the society said it will create a "Knowledge Network" environment that enables state-of-the-art standards-development processes while improving how content is discovered, accessed, and monetized.

Within its education work, the society said it will continue to enhance its offerings to become the comprehensive resource for industry-relevant professional development. SMPTE will continue providing education on emerging technologies that professionals must understand for continued career success.

In continuing to build SMPTE membership around the world, the society will focus on extending its presence at the local section level and on ensuring high levels of volunteer engagement, including recognition of service, to create a more robust and diverse global community for its members.

The SMPTE Board of Governors will be responsible for overseeing the Society's new strategic business plan.

As more Silicon Valley companies focus their efforts on streaming video, the society faces the challenge of remaining relevant in a world where tech giants can quickly saturate the marketplace with proprietary formats, bypassing the more universal approach of industry agreed-upon standards. In an effort to navigate this new landscape, the society earlier this year announced its "Vision 2020" strategic plan, which includes expanding membership to other industries and segments that rely on motion imaging, such as gaming, corporate video and internet video, and bolstering its membership, education and standards work.

Gone are the days when audio engineers could do it all when it comes to sound for video. Extreme versioning driven by factors like multiple markets with unique languages, multiple distribution vehicles, including traditional broadcast, mobile, internet and OTT, and different loudness rules that vary from nation to nation have seen to that.

Complicating matters further for audio engineers has been the dramatic shift from linear to file-based and virtualized workflows, where speed, efficiency and quality consistency are the rule.

This informative white paper explains these changes and how automated audio processing can meet today’s challenges head-on by integrating closely with file-based video workflows. Find out:

• The integration of automated audio processing into file-based and virtualized video workflow solutions
• How automated audio processing maximizes quality and consistency for broadcasters, content facilities and post houses
• The advanced specialized audio handling, processing and delivery capabilities Minnetonka AudioTools Server brings to modern video workflows
• How audio engineering personnel can be allocated more effectively by leveraging automated audio processing and freeing them to handle situations requiring their expertise.

Click here to read the full white paper.

Corporate Videos

Best Marketing Video Production Types for Businesses

In case you’re contemplating producing a corporate video for your organization, you’re not alone. Videos are 200%-300% more effective than other marketing media forms . That shouldn’t surprise you since video accounts for one third of all internet traffic. According to WordStream, “Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users.” and “ 64 percent of consumers make a purchase after watching branded social videos” In any case, there are such a huge numbers of choices for corporate video services, so how do you know where to begin?

Before you set out on a video project, it’s essential to recognize what sorts of video productions are possible. There are all sorts from Marketing Videos to Internal Communications, Training videos, and Event Video. If you are looking for an overview, the fundamentals are bellow:

1. Lifestyle Brand Videos

These are typically shorter in length, frequently set to music, and they usually have a more commercial look to them. Lifestyle Branding is all about attracting a new audience and driving brand awareness. You’ve likely seen these pop up on a daily basis within your Facebook Newsfeed & & Instagram Stories. These short, memorable videos are the ideal method to catch the eye of potential new customers and get them interested in your product.

Genius TIP: To get Higher Return on Investment, get multiple edits of your video content optimised for Social Media, Email Marketing Campaigns, & Website Landing Page Videos.

2. Company Profile Videos

The about us or brand identity video is the backbone of corporate video production, it’s a profound insider perspective of your organization. With CEO Profile Videos we understand a it is more than just an annual report; It’s about capturing the essence of its company and chief. Generally around 2-3 minutes in length, these are a perfect method to tell your story & showcase your team, while establishing your company as a leader who drives innovation in your industry.

3.Customer Testimonial Videos

Nothing is more persuasive than a honest customer testimonial. Written review generally come across as disingenuous and not entirely trustworthy. When the testimonial is on video, it become much more human and instantly trustable. When potential customers get the opportunity to see how real customers feel about your company’s product or service it can be a truly pivotal moment. Let Commercial Media create a video case study for your company

4. Industry Explainer Videos

Similar to a product launch video, industry videos are ideal for startups or companies with complex product lines. These videos use music and narration paired with graphics to explain what a company does and how its product lines fill an an industry need. If you are explaining a concept, how a manufacturing process works, or how software works, the script is essential.

5. Product Announcements

Nothing is better for seeing a product in action than video, and when it comes time to announce new products being able to show-and-tell its features can be a powerful sales tool.

“Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch a video compared to 10% when reading it in text.” – Forbes Video keeps your audience more engaged longer ensures your company’s customers keep you in mind come purchase time.

Conclusion

Different styles of video productions each serve a their purpose. Most importantly, you must consider what your video goals are are before you decide what type of corporate video services you need.

Written By Henri Rapp

IBC 2018 opens in Amsterdam in a few days, and IP video transport and networking are sure to be on the minds of many attendees.

NewTek will be at IBC 2018 showing its latest NDI developments. Before the show opens, I had the chance to speak with NewTek President and CTO Dr. Andrew Cross about what the company has in store for the RAI.

Besides discussing the important additions NewTek is making to its NDI SDK, Cross offered thoughts on how the market has accepted NDI and the direction in which the video industry is headed.

(An edited transcript.)

Phil Kurz: What’s new with NDI for IBC 2018?

Andrew Cross: We are going to be announcing NDI 3.7 at IBC, and I kind of trapped myself by releasing 3.5 at NAB. I don’t want to call it 4.0, but it’s the biggest reasonable step I could think of. That’s why it got to 3.7.

It’s a big step forward. There’s a whole load of improvements. The first, which is probably going to have the biggest market impact, is we are announcing what we are calling the NDI Embedded SDK. It’s a version of the software development kit for people who wish to use NDI in hardware devices.

All along NDI has been great for software, and our focus –and this goes back to what our company does—has always been on making it accessible to software users. But that’s only half of the world. So, making NDI something that truly can be used in hardware products has been missing for some time and something we have been working to fix with this embedded SDK that allows people to build actual, real NDI hardware. With that we include the tools to run it on your own device, but we are also making available our own FPGA for NDI compression.

We are actually releasing what we use for our own NDI Spot Connect Pro, which is our own 4K-HDMI-to-NDI converter. We are making this so people can build their own hardware products around NDI. That fills a big gap.

What other NDI releases will NewTek make at IBC?

AC: We are also releasing something we have been asked for a lot, which is a utility called NDI Stream Analyzer, which allows people to get a lot of information about an NDI stream. Obviously, our goal with NDI has been to make it just work for everybody. But at the same time, there are a lot of people and a lot of setups that want more information about how well a stream is working, if there is something wrong with it, the bitrate and the timing information on the stream. So, we are releasing tools that do this for free. We are giving those away.

At the SDK level we are also making big improvements. Honestly, the biggest one –although it might not sound that glitzy, it is really important—is we have put a frame synchronizer into the SDK. You know, when people are building computer software, nobody even thinks about the concept of genlock. So, your computer is running at 60Hz on its monitor, but that almost certainly doesn’t match the 60Hz the camera is running at.

It is nontrivial to take the 60Hz the camera is running at and display it correctly on a computer screen. A lot of people think you just get tearing. But you get a lot of other problems that are related to the clocks not matching. And the same is true of audio, of course.

Our frame synchronizer takes all of the complicated work in analyzing the timing and taking the corrective steps for the timing differences between your local computer clock and the remote clock, and it does all of that for free for people.

This makes it possible to build computer applications displaying and using video and audio without having to worry about timing issues so much easier. This saves so much time for people, and putting it in the SDK makes the SDK much more usable for people.

Beyond that there are a lot of other improvements, such as significant improvements in the way we send data over the network, and personally, that’s been the bane of my existence for the last three months. That is finding better ways to do this because it turns out that a real-world network –like getting UDP with forward error correction working well—is really quite difficult.

There are all sorts of weird wrinkles in the real-world that books don’t tell you about. So, we have significantly improved all of that.

Tell me more about FPGA support and the SDK?

AC: You don’t even have to buy the FPGA from us. We will allow you to buy a Xilinx test board, where anyone working on an FPGA project probably would start –so they would buy a Xilinx or Altera development kits.

We are producing in the SDK an SD card image that you can put onto one of these dev kits, and it will include our FPGA SDK, so it will serve as a testbed for people to build NDI encoders. So, if you bought one of these FPGA dev kits and put the SDK on it, you would have the basics of a working piece of NDI hardware. Now obviously people will adapt that for whatever their actual project is, but you get a great starting point.

And we allow people to get the SDK and build NDI encoders pretty much for free. To take them into a commercial application, we need to work out a licensing agreement with them. But our goal is to allow people to build something, play with it and worry about the details when they want to go to market.

How would you characterize the demand from hardware developers for an NDI SDK solution?

AC: This is a common request and answers a good number of requests from people with interest in doing a hardware-based NDI product. But with so many people and so many requests we will be talking about an embedded SDK 2.0 and 3.0 here soon with all of the additional capabilities people will want.

We are basically a software-focused company, so I am really happy that we are taking the need to make NDI available to hardware vendors seriously here. That’s a good position to be in.

How would you assess where NDI is today among developers?

AC: I have lost track is the answer. What I mean by that is there are so many people using it for so many things that it’s hard to keep track.

Something I have seen is we are about three years in. In the first two years, all of the big software vendors were using it. But if I look at the people signing up for the SDK now, we are seeing more and more startup companies needing to interact with IP video and individuals who have cool projects.

So, it has gone from being something the big vendors use to something that’s the de facto way people quickly use IP video in their startups. It’s gone one tier further from this is what the industry uses to this is the way people experiment with IP video and build products –even at the lower level of the market—and I find that to be very cool.

Has NDI become a de facto standard for IP video?

AC: Obviously, it is self-serving to say yes. But I don’t just for the sake of marketing spin say yes. My sense is certainly that it has become very widely adopted, and I believe the answer at this point is yes.

If you walk around at IBC and in the media and product tools halls and you tick off the companies that support and don’t support NDI, you end up with more than 50 percent of the exhibitors supporting NDI, which is quite remarkable.

I am not saying –nor have I ever said—that it solves all problems for all people, but I certainly think it has become commonly seen as solving a good number of problems for a good number of people in the real world.

Are you or NewTek presenting any technical paper or speaking at IBC?

AC: Personally, I am giving a talk at the IABM meeting about IP video –more about IP video and the place of computers in that than NDI, although NDI is intertwined.

Can you offer a few details?

AC: I get asked a lot of smart questions by people, and that’s helped me to realize over the past few years that the real revolution going on in our industry is one not just about networked video. It is about a broader trend in the market and how computing technology –the combination of computer software and networking—have put together the pieces needed to produce video.

We have gone from a place where computers and the associated pieces of technology weren’t sufficient to produce broadcast quality video to one in which they are.

So, the real revolution going on in our industry, and NDI is part of it, is one in which we are able to use general purpose computing products to produce real-time video.

Our industry tends to look at that as –and I hope I’ve excluded NewTek from this—but or industry as a whole tends to say, “Look these computer things are getting fast, and you can do video with that. So, let’s steal the core things computers do and put them into our products.”

That’s the way many people think, but what I am encouraging is that people think the other way around. Instead of thinking “we’re from the video industry, how do we steal from the computer” think the other way around. The world is computing. We are computing people. How do we take all of this incredible technology and bring it into the video world?

The best analogy I can give is what happened in the phone market. When the iPhone came out, this was a computing company, Apple, which decided they could take a computer and turn it into a phone. At that time, the traditional phone vendors probably thought these guys have no idea what they are doing. This isn’t a phone. It can’t even dial 911 reliably. Nobody is ever going to use this.

But the computer industry said, “Let’s put cool screens on our traditional phones.” And a few years later the phone industry is dominated by computer manufacturers. It’s Google with Android, Apple with iOS and Samsung. Three computer companies own the phone industry now.

That is the exact same shift our video industry is going to go through. And the reason for it is technology has gotten cheaper and cheaper; computers have gotten smaller and smaller; and chip sizes have shrunk and shrunk. We can do more and more for less money, and it’s all connected together via Ethernet and the internet. We need to look as how instead of stealing the pieces of that that we want, we can take all of that and embrace it and build something that is newer and bigger than what the video industry can do on its own.

This is why we created NDI –to allow people to use software and their existing networks on computers they have today. That is where the future of the industry is going to be.

Best Video Production Companies in Cleveland

Cleveland has for a long time been a major film production hub in the midwest. There are plenty of camera crews, video production companies, & media production resources located in Cleveland making anything from small scale interview shoots to major motion picture production. Here is a ranking of the Top 5 best video production companies in Northeast Ohio:

5 Best Video Production In Cleveland:

1. Commercial Media

Commercial Media is a Cleveland Video Production Company specialising in high end cinematography for Television Commercials & Web Advertising Videos. Commercial Media provides everything from media production services to copywriting & post-production. Having in house Cinematographers, Audio Specialists, Writers, Editors, Producers, & Directors. Whether a simple camera crews to complex large scale video productions armed with RED Cameras, Arri Cinema Cameras, Panasonic, Canon, or Sony Cameras, we capture beautiful images paired with impactful audio recordings that drives your brand’s message to the forefront.

2. Bad Racket Recording Studio

Bad Racket Recording Studio is a Audio Production facility in Cleveland Ohio. One of the best recording studios in ohio, Bad Racket has capabilities far surpassing many smaller facilities that exist in the region. Offering 3000 Sq. Ft. of Sound Stage Studio Space, we can handle anything from Voice Over Recording Sessions with a Phone Patch to ADR, Live Full Band Music Recording, and Foley Recording. Featuring an Calibrated Audio Mixing Stage & Control Room, Very Large Live Room, and 3 Isolation Booths, we are equipped to handle nearly any type of audio production from recording to mixing and mastering services. Our Engineers are experts in Music Production, Audio Post-Production Mixing for Film, Sound Design, Audio Restoration, Podcast Production, & tons more.

3. Henri Rapp Recording - Production Sound Mixer

Having well recorded audio in the field can make or break any production, this is where hiring an excellent Location Sound Mixer is of extreme importance. Henri Rapp has years of experience as a location sound recordist, as well as post-production mixing. Whether recording dialog, ambiences, special effects, or room tone, he has the gear to make any production succeed. Basic Audio Gear Package consists of Sound Devices 664 Field Recorder & Mixer, Boom, 2 Wisycom Wireless with Sanken COS11 Mics, & Hardwired Feed to Camera. Additional gear such as Timecode Sync Boxes, Smart Slate, IFBs, Additional Wireless Lavalier, Wireless Camera Hops, and more available upon request.

4. UAV Cinema

For UAV Aerial Video Services in Ohio look no further then UAV Cinema. UAV Cinema is a fully FAA Licensed & Insured Drone Service, working in Cleveland, Columbus, & Cincinnati. Drone Packages start with DJI Inspire 2 Drone with 4k RAW Package, Drone Pilot, Aerial Cinematographer, & Drone Safety Utility. Heavy lift drones carrying RED & Arri cameras available upon request.

5. Cleveland Camera Rental

One of the biggest needs in any video production is gear, fortunately Cleveland has an excellent production equipment rental house, Cleveland Camera Rental. The staff is knowledgeable with wide array of gear ranging from Camera, Support Gear, Grip Equipment, Video Lighting, & much more. If you need video gear while shooting in Ohio, look no further than Cleveland Camera Rental.

Facebook has announced the international launch of its Watch platform.

The tech giant revealed on a European press call with TVBEurope that it is also rolling out ad breaks as an open program to more countries around the world, starting with the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and the US this week.

More countries will be added in September including Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

Watch was introduced in the US a year ago to give Facebook users a dedicated platform to find their favourite shows and video creators, and to start conversations with friends, other fans, and even creators themselves.

Facebook has been gradually updating the look and feel of Watch to make the experience more social, and making it easier to see which videos friends have liked or shared, creating shows that have audience participation at their core.

With Watch, users can find the latest videos spanning entertainment, sports, news and more all in a personalised Watch feed. At the top of the Watch feed is the Watchlist, a customisable collection of recent videos from pages a user follows. Users can also save videos from a news feed if they don’t have time to watch it right away.

Facebook’s head of video Fidji Simo made it clear that the platform aims to build new video experiences that put people at the centre, giving them the ability to shape the direction of the content and enabling them to find new video experiences in their Watch feed, like Watch Parties.“Facebook Watch is different because it is built on the notion that video doesn’t have to be a passive experience, and can instead connect you with others,” said Simo. “With Watch we have built an interactive experience that gives you a new level of access and influence. You don’t just watch videos on your own, you can have a two-way conversation about the content with friends, other fans or even the creators themselves. You are truly part of the action.”

"With the global rollout of Watch, we're excited to bring a new distribution platform to our partners around the world, and to help eligible creators and publishers make money from their videos with ad breaks," added head of content and strategy Matthew Henick.

More than 50 million people every month in the US view videos for at least a minute in Watch, and total time spent watching videos in Watch has increased by 14x since the start of 2018.

Watch is now available globally on iOS and Android, and can be found in a user’s shortcuts bar or the “More” bookmark. The service is also available on Apple TV, Samsung Smart TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Xbox One, and Oculus TV.

Date: August 30, 2018

Time: 12:00pm ET

It’s been a decade since the video industry saw its first sVOD service. A lot has changed over the past 10 years. Technology challenges facing content and video providers (CAVPs) have given way to business concerns as the industry matures. 

Key findings of a new research report from Broadcasting & Cable and TV Technology and Comcast Technology Solutions, underscore this shift. Fully 60% of CAVPs identify business issues as their top challenge right now. Join Editor-in-Chief Tom Butts, nScreen Media analyst Colin Dixon, and Matt Smith of Comcast Technology Solutions as they discuss the greatest concerns facing CAVPs and the strategies being deployed to tackle these challenges during this informative webinar.

Among the highlights:

• Controlling costs and maximizing customer lifetime value are important, but not the top business challenge concerning CAVPs.
• 3 key features CAVPs identified as differentiators to stay ahead of their competition.
• Why half of the responders would put most of their existing service in the cloud.

Register Here

Speakers and Moderators

Moderator: Tom Butts - Editor in Chief, TV Technology

Speaker: Colin Dixon - Chief Analyst & Founder, nScreenMedia

Speaker: Matt Smith - Executive Director, Comcast Technology Solutions

Technology-related content delivery challenges are taking a back seat to business issues as the online video segment of the industry matures. New research conducted by Broadcasting & Cable and TV Technology magazines in partnership with Comcast technology Solutions, confirms this shift, and many others as content and video providers (CAVPs) shared their strategies for optimizing the business and technical performance of their video distribution services.

This report lays out these details including:

• Controlling costs and maximizing customer lifetime value are important, but not the top business challenge
• 3 key features CAVPs identified as differentiators to stay ahead of their competition
• Why half of the responders would put most of their existing service in the cloud
• How clip sharing can be a critical component to building subscriber numbers

Click here to download the full white paper.

New York City, NY – July 10, 2018 –Frame.io, the leading workflow management platform for video, has made significant steps to strengthen security in media environments, announcing that the company has received SOC2 TYPE 1 compliance, ensuring customers’ data is protected. In addition, the Frame.io video collaboration platform now includes two new security features: Visual Watermarking and Asset Lifecycle Management, expanding security management to front-line workflows.

“At Frame.io content security matters. It doesn’t just matter, it’s everything,” said Emery Wells, co-founder and CEO of Frame.io. “Earlier this year, I wrote an open letter to our customers about our growing security team and initiatives, with a promise to not just meet security best practices, but far exceed them. Becoming SOC2 Type 1 compliant is a big step toward our goal to lead in the content security space. And releasing new security features like Visual Watermarking and Asset Lifecycle Management is another way we can deliver on our promise.”

Ensuring Data Protection Through SOC2 Type 1 Compliance

As part of this compliance, Frame.io underwent a rigorous audit process conducted in accordance with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The audit process evaluated Frame.io against service controls derived from three key trust principles of SOC2 - security, availability, and confidentiality. That means all customers can rest assured their valuable media assets are protected from security threats today and well into the future.

“SOC2 Type 1 certification is a milestone in our efforts to keep customers' data protected,” stated Wells. “Ensuring customers’ content is safe and accessible is a responsibility we take very seriously. So instead of just talking about our security processes, we invited an independent third-party auditor from an accredited auditing company and had them examine us against security, availability, and confidentiality controls. This is just the first of many measures Frame.io is taking to build the industry’s best security program. Now, when we say that your content is secure, you don't have to only take our word for it.”

As part of the audit process, auditors examined various internal controls and practices, including human resources, software development lifecycle, risk management & assessment, vendor management, change management, incident response process, security monitoring & operations, infrastructure & cloud security, physical security, and most importantly, the Frame.io management and board's commitment to security & privacy of Frame.io customers.

Customers can review a SOC2 Type 1 report, validating Frame.io security controls. The Frame.io SOC2 Type 1 report is available under NDA to all existing and potential customers.

Frame.io’s effort to obtain SOC2 Type 1 compliance was led by Frame.io Head of Information Security, Abhinav Srivastava. Abhinav joined Frame.io this past September from the AT&T Research Lab where he was leading a number of security research efforts. Abhinav and the Frame.io security team recently co-authored a white paper published on July 9th as a part of Usenix's HotCloud '18 Workshop on cloud computing.

Learn more on the Frame.io blog: https://blog.frame.io/2018/07/10/delivering-on-our-security-promise/.

Download the Frame.io Security white paper, Go Serverless: Securing Cloud via Serverless Design Patterns.

Security is not a checkbox, it is a never-ending part of the product development process. And so Frame.io has released two new features to further strengthen its ties with enterprise customers.

Introducing Visual Watermarking

Now admins and team managers can configure watermarks that are embedded onto any media their users upload to Frame.io. Admins can type out their own custom watermark, set its opacity, and choose where in the frame they want the watermark to appear. Then they can configure their team settings to automatically watermark the content their team uploads to Frame.io, helping deter any unauthorized sharing of their team's content.

Introducing Asset Lifecycle Management

With Asset Lifecycle Management, customers need not worry about cleaning out old videos from the platform; Frame.io does it for you on an automated cadence that you define. Admins and team managers can set a limit on the number of days a given asset will remain in Frame.io. Once an asset hits that limit, Frame.io automatically deletes it. Assets can be restored up to 30 days after deletion and admins can disable Asset Lifecycle Management on a per-project basis.

Asset Lifecycle Management is built for the enterprise admin that finds themselves removing assets from Frame.io constantly, whether that be for security, for better organization, or for increased storage capacity.

About Frame.io

Frame.io powers the future of creative collaboration. Today’s leading media companies use Frame.io to streamline their video review and collaboration process with teammates, clients and a variety of other stakeholders. Frame.io is all about what happens before distribution, before you reach the finish line. They make getting there faster, smoother and more efficient with a single platform that works seamlessly across web and mobile. Frame.io for iOS is the winner of a 2016 Apple Design Award.

Frame.io is backed by industry heavyweights including FirstMark Capital, Accel Partners and Jared Leto. To learn more please visit http://frame.io.

Press Contact

Megan Linebarger

Zazil Media Group

(e) megan@zazilmediagroup.com

(p) +1 (617) 480-367

###

At this year’s NAB Show, exhibitors showcased storage, recording and cloud technologies with unique technologies to accelerate broadcast workflows, provide media production capabilities on demand, handle the ingest of live video to the cloud, and record and play back broadcast-quality content.

CLOUD

AMAGI MEDIA LABS introduced TORNADO, a machine learning-based content preparation service that enables TV networks and content owners to scale their operations, accelerate broadcast workflows, generate new revenues and reduce operational costs.

AVID unveiled Avid|On Demand, a cloud services and solutions platform that provides media production capabilities on demand. Media organizations can deploy the capabilities they need on a per-project basis and allows teams to manage and deliver content to any device anywhere—all in a secure environment with controlled access.

AWS ELEMENTAL showed the newest version of the AWS Elemental Live L000 Series appliance, which ingests live video to AWS Elemental MediaStore to show cost-efficient contribution to the cloud for low-power, space-constrained or remote facilities.

BROADCAST PIX introduced the ioGates Desktop App, a solution that allows users to view and distribute large content files through a secure cloud-based video management service. With the new app, users can customize content delivery to specific devices to accommodate various workflows and format requirements. The system is compatible with Mac, Windows and Linux operating systems, whereby users can view and browse files—as well as upload files—within specific folders of an ioGates cloud account.

DNF CONTROLS unveiled new and enhanced solutions focused on helping users transition to virtual and cloud-based IP control with Cloud Content Control. Via a collaboration with AWS Elemental, this live cloud playout system includes play-to-air automation that controls a GTP-32 control processor that emulates a video server channel, with content housed remotely on Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) and accessed via Elemental’s Live Cloud. The company also showed its GTP-V1 software-only control solution for radio and TV applications.

EVERTZ and INTERRA SYSTEMS announced a new cloud-enabled integration solution of the Interra BATON file-based QC solution with the Evertz Mediator X media asset management platform to simplify automation of quality control for media developers, producers and distributors.

IBM ASPERA unveiled IBM Aspera on Cloud, a new hosted service that provides the means to transfer, exchange and deliver content from any location. It overcomes the file transfer challenges of the hybrid cloud by allowing media companies to move content securely across on-premises and multi-cloud environments.

IMAGINE PRODUCTS and STORAGE DNA partnered to introduce the myLTOdna, a new product that integrates elements of the Imagine Products myLTO tape-authoring application and StorageDNA HyperTape access tape solution powered by dnaLTFS.

PEBBLE BEACH demonstrated the newest versions of Beluga, which integrates with the company’s playout automation system to prep content for linear playout, OTT and VOD distribution via the cloud; and Orca, a virtualized IP channel solution for playout from the private or public cloud.

PLAYBOX TECHNOLOGY introduced a new transcoder for its SaaS-based CloudAir playout solution, with support multiple file wrappers and formats including MPEG PS/TS, MXF, QT, AVI, MP4, GXF, MPG2, H.264, ProRes, DNX HD and MJPEG. Other new features for CloudAir include an enhanced graphics editor template preparation interface, improved playlist editing, advanced playlist export to EPGs and automated linking of stored assets.

QUANTUM introduced a hybrid cloud/onpremise solution known as aiWARE for Xcellis. It’s a hybrid on-premises and cloud version of the Veritone artificial intelligence platform that uses cognitive analytics—such as object recognition, optical character recognition and transcription—to extract value from video and audio stored on Quantum appliances.

ROSS VIDEO launched Streamline.cloud, a cloud-based version of the Streamline media asset management that allows for files to be stored either in the cloud or in a local facility and moved between locations using Ross Video’s Cloud Gateway.

SDVI debuted two new features within its cloud-based SaaS service. Rally Gateway creates customer-branded content submission portals to serve as automated on-ramps into the media supply chain. The second, Rally Access, presents media supply chain managers with a timeline-based view of issues discovered during preparation and packaging. 

TELESTREAM introduced new features for Telestream Cloud Services, a service portal that provides access to a number of digital media processing capabilities in a SaaS model. New features include auto-transcription and file-based quality control as well as Flip transcoding and Workflow services.

VIZRT announced the availability of its Viz One MAM on Amazon Web Services, a move that the company said will provide more flexibility and choice for organizations who are looking to use the scalability and accessibility of cloud-based solutions. Media companies are able to access content from virtually any location with the with Vizrt’s Viz One either entirely on AWS or as part of a hybrid architecture.

XYTECH introduced Dash, a new cloudbased software solution that gives smallto mid-sized media and post facilities robust workflow management capabilities. Available on an affordable monthly subscription basis, Dash is based on the Microsoft Azure Managed Cloud platform.

STORAGE, RECORDING & REPLAY

1BEYOND introduced the Beyond Net-Drive and ThunderTape 3 systems, both of which support LTO-8 drives. The Net-Drive archiving devices are designed for transferring files to LTO tapes and can be used as standalone devices or attached to a network. All come standard with RAID storage and multiple 1/10 Gigabit connections. The ThunderTape 3 archiving device is a portable LTO device available with dual drives that is designed for individual users or small post facilities looking for a way to connect a tape drive to an existing Macintosh for an LTO backup solution.

360 SYSTEMS introduced the TSS-2470 II, a new hybrid IP/SDI server which also serves as a variable time delay.

ATOMOS announced that its Shogun Inferno and Sumo 19 monitor/recorders will now offer real-time recording in the new Apple ProRes RAW format from the sensor output of Panasonic, Sony and Canon cameras.

AVID introduced Avid NEXIS|E5 NL, a new nearline storage, high-density onpremise solution that manages media across all online, nearline and archive storage resources. Features include a new web-based Avid NEXIS management console app for managing, controlling and monitoring Avid|NEXIS installations. Extending the Avid NEXIS|FS (file system) to a secondary storage tier eliminates the need for third-party tools to search for, find and import media from multiple pools of third-party storage, the company said, which enables users to locate content distributed throughout an operation more quickly.

CONVERGENT DESIGN showcased the newest version of Apollo, which can record up to four 1080p streams and offers live switching, and the Odyssey 7+, a monitor recorder with a 7.7-inch OLED monitor with 3400:1 contrast and 1280x800 resolution.

DATAVIDEO introduced the HS-13, a new all-in-one system that offers streaming and recording within a portable production studio. It features an H.264 streaming encoder and recorder as well as a six-channel video switcher and LCD monitor for multi-view. The company also released the NVS-40, a four-channel video encoder, streaming unit and recording station.

EDITSHARE announced that its XStream EFS shared storage solution now features ACL Media Spaces and offers new storage space reporting capabilities. The company also showed new capabilities within the EFS 40NL nearline storage solution for EFS tiered storage.

EVS introduced XT-VIA live production server for UHD-4K and IP operation as well as an integration with VIA, EVS’ new technology platform of modular services and workflow engines. By connecting to the XNet-VIA media network, XT-VIA connects to all new EVS products and solutions, offering a flexible way to share live content to and from anywhere in the workflow.

FACILIS TECHNOLOGY showcased the latest version of its Facilis Shared File System, which builds on v7 and features real-time and historical bandwidth monitoring of volumes and workstations, RAID50 and RAID51 management through an admin console, automatic load balancing of clients and remote client deployment.

HARMONIC launched new VOS SW Cluster software, which embeds media processing capabilities with support for cloud and hardware compute environments, thereby enabling operators to quickly launch OTT services.

MASSTECH debuted a new version of its FlashNet media object storage solution, and MassStore, a media object framework platform that orchestrates services and workflows from multiple vendors.

NEWTEK showed the newest version of NewTek Remote Storage, which offers four streams of direct NDI playback.

PRIMESTREAM introduced a new Media Player Recorder and Media Processing Framework designed to boost 4K workflow and give users the ability to edit-while-capturing in Adobe Premiere Pro and Apple Final Cut Pro. The company also debuted Review Hub, a new SaaS system integrated into Xchange that allows users to securely share and collect feedback.  

PLAYBOX TECHNOLOGY introduced Neo TS Time Delay, a 1U IP-based delay server providing fully transparent delay of IP transport streams such as DVB/ATSC MPEG broadcast-quality compressed video and audio.

QUANTUM debuted enhancements to its Xcellis workflow storage family and StorNext shared storage and data management platform. The new version of the Xcellis scale-out NAS platform delivers scalable Ethernet-based storage and combines high-performance media and metadata management to support collaborative workflows.

QUOBYTE introduced new hyperscale storage software for M&E collaboration. This parallel distributed file system leverages “hyperscaler technology” (the ability of an architecture to scale appropriately as increased demand is added to the system) to unify file, block, and object storage to allow post production, visual effects, and playout workflows to reduce administrative overhead while providing secure data integrity for collaboration across a workflow chain.

ROHDE & SCHWARZ has rebuilt its R&S VENICE platform for live production, studio production and channel playout applications. The rebuild features an ultra-robust design for airplay with a new underlying software structure called virtual storage access (VSA) technology that enables an interruption free playout operation.

ROSS VIDEO launched the Abekas Tria News playout server, designed for television newsrooms, offering efficient ingest and reliable playout of newsroom media assets from four independent PGM playout channels.

SUITCASETV showed off the newest version of the MediaStor storage platform and the MediaStor File System, which aggregates multiple storage servers into a single unified structure.

VIDEO CLARITY introduced the Venue Player IP video server, which automatically plays multiple uncompressed segments of content to multiple screens in precise timing and sequence. It applies recently developed and standardized media flows for playing video and audio according to SMPTE ST 2110.

VIDEO DEVICES introduced a new set of features for the PIX-E Series of 4K-compatible recording monitors. With Firmware v3.50, the PIX-E Series offers playback functionality such as the ability to add, delete, and locate to cue markers; create a custom playlist; and loop playback of individual recordings, regions or playlists.

In this sixth of six installments related to the 2018 NAB Show, colleagues Roger Sherwood, Global Industry Director of Cisco’s Media & Entertainment group, and technology communications specialist Leslie Ellis –who’ve covered umpteen millions of square feet of trade shows—talk shop. The question they’d been posed was this: “Talk about things you’d only know or see because you’d been there; stuff you won’t find online.”

Leslie Ellis: I think I’d start with the “numbers behind the numbers” that Josh (Stinehour) revealed at the Devoncroft conference, about NAB exhibitors over time.

Roger Sherwood: You mean the bit about how one major exhibitor purchased 41,950 square feet of space at the 2005 NAB --and 9,900 square feet this year?

LE: Yes. Hello, industry consolidation! And what puts those numbers in perhaps even sharper contrast is that NAB is one of the remaining gathering places for “video people” in general. So many other trade shows have shut down. As a result, it seems like a lot of adjacent communities are seeking and finding ways to “bundle in” with NAB.

RS: There was a lot of “show within a show,” too –all of those mini stages sprinkled around the various show floors.

LE: Three that I counted, probably more.

RS: This isn’t news by any stretch, but I loved when John Stroup (CEO of Belden) said how they’ve seen so many other industries “go digital” –manufacturing, retail, and so on— but that media and entertainment is the one of the last to go fully digital. I loved it because it reiterates something we’ve been seeing for several years now.

LE: As you know, I live mostly in the industry we used to call “cable,” and from that prism, sometimes it seems like déjà vu, when listening to broadcasters talk about where they are along the continuum of “IP transition.” It feels like about a three-year gap.

RS: The other one that really stood out to me, and again from the Devoncroft conference, was the whole thing about how “remote production” had risen to No. 4, from somewhere far lower than that, in their list of most important tech trends, [which was] defined as “not where you spend money, but what will have impact.”

LE: Right! That was on my list, too. And then that supporting quote from Michael Harabin (President, Gearhouse Broadcast) –“I saw all those trucks pulling out there for production … it’s like looking at dinosaurs moving around.” I’d read about trends in remote production, but I didn’t realize it was moving that quickly.

RS: Yes, that’s a biggie. And I think we both agree that the quote of the show goes to my colleague and friend, Dave Ward (Cisco CTO of Engineering and Chief Architect), with his “1-800 Save My Ass” quipo. You have the killer notes, what was the context, exactly?

LE: He had been asked “Who puts all of this together?” as it relates to the virtualization of everything. Dave said, “It goes back to who’s going to be the 1-800-SAVE-MY-ASS when something is broken… which will depend on who the end customer trusts. Who they think is actually going to answer the phone when something is broken.”

RS: And then something about how that’s us, that we’ll be the 1-800.

LE: Right. The quote was, “We’ll take the lead, the solution partners.”

RS: Speaking of field notes… did you tell me you spent some time just writing down things you heard people say in passing? Kind of like “scenes from a mall,” except in this case from LVCC?

LE: I did! I always do. I only write them down if I hear them a few times, or if they’re particularly funny or illuminating. You know –what you hear when you’re walking from one place to another. This year, the one that came up enough that I wrote it down and ended up putting six check marks behind it –so at least 7x overheard— was “I didn’t say I want it, I just want to see it.”

RS: Could apply to almost anything.

LE: Could, but, among the “bright sparkly things” this year was HDR, AR/VR, and let’s not forget the most frequently used acronym of the 2018 NAB, “AI/ML.”

RS: Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning.

LE: In one of the Show dailies, I counted 25 incidences of it on a single page.

RS: You’re a weirdo. I mean that in the nicest way.

LE: Thank you. What’s next?

RS: IBC.

LE: See you there!

As part of its continued efforts to revolutionize the management and distribution of digital content for studios and rights holders, OWNZONES Media Network has integrated two of its most powerful tools into one formidable solution. The OTT EntTech company has unified its cloud-based OWNZONES Connect™ media logistics platform with its consumer video applications. This allows content creators to cut costs and manage content discovery by leveraging OWNZONES’ app framework no matter what technology they are currently using.

“By essentially re-architecting our backend and API, we are now leveraging the latest technologies for improved scalability and flexibility,” said Aaron Sloman, Chief Technology Officer at OWNZONES. “Unifying our OWNZONES Connect and consumer video applications allows for real-time changes to the content and content discovery experience that also helps engage and monetize audiences.”

Among the biggest highlights touted as part of OWNZONES’ newly unified services:

• A choice of ready-to-use design templates that can have an app quickly up and running based on the most effective layout for the client’s target audience.

• The ability to instantly localize an app to multiple regions by simply selecting them from the console, eliminating the need to develop different apps for each language. All major world cities included. Plus, geo-restriction options to prevent access by regions where content is not licensed or available.

• A cloud-based data warehouse and analytics integrations, which allow OWNZONES to create a better experience for users and gain insights around content performance and trends.

“From the beginning, we have found ways to transform the experience for those hoping to manage and distribute content in the OTT and mobile space,” said Dan Goman, CEO of OWNZONES. “In unifying our OWNZONES Connect and consumer video applications, we’re taking this to a whole new level – giving our clients access to features like instant localization, analytics integration and more.”

Today’s news follows the announcement of two new OWNZONES Connect features – Cloud ProRes Previewer & ProRes Based IMF Packaging. These tools allow customers with entire libraries of content mastered in ProRes format to leverage the power of IMF in record time and without incurring massive conversion costs.

As the post-production processing continues to migrate to the cloud, OWNZONES is taking a leadership position in introducing many cloud-based features with its proprietary platform, OWNZONES Connect. With years of research invested in the platform, OWNZONES Connect is designed to conform and distribute digital content in the most efficient and streamlined way possible to all devices. It also acts as a post house in the cloud with state-of-the-art features in editing, conversion and encoding, motion graphics, sound mixing and editing.

More specifically, OWNZONES Connect features an array of capabilities that work in conjunction with each other to create the ultimate post house in the cloud for IMF. This includes the Cloud IMF transcoder, the Native Cloud CPL Builder, Cloud-based CPL Source Previewer, Cloud-based IMF Playback, Supplemental Packager and Elastic Parallel Transcoding.

OWNZONES is a pioneering technological force that’s transforming the over-the-top (OTT) industry with groundbreaking innovations, from digital supply chain solutions to unique, customizable video apps. Their solutions help media companies and services deliver high-quality video content to their consumers globally, at scale and at a fraction of the standard cost. OWNZONES’ philosophy is to always go beyond the current market needs and prepare for tomorrow’s transformational technologies. With this mindset, their proprietary technology enables clients to transform, deliver and monetize their video content libraries like never before.

For more information please visit www.ownzones.com.

The 2018 NAB Show, along with a few lingering snowstorms, income taxes, and the alleged arrival of spring, are all theoretically behind us now -- but not without leaving a chunky trail of acronyms, at least in the case of NAB. Acronyms are a necessary evil in any industrial life, not because engineers are trying to drive us bananas with the grand geekery of it all, but because it’s just easier to say (as one of hundreds of examples) “SMPTE” (pronounced “simm-tea”) than it is to say “The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.”

Like many of us in the video realm, we attempt to keep tabs on what is a steady flow of such impressively nerdy acronyms dotting the conversational landscape. Especially those that mark the transition of pretty much everything to IP, Internet Protocol. It started with the transition of SDI (Serial Digital Interface), essentially the starting line for the broadcast transition to IP.

There’s SMPTE 2022, in the works since 2007, as a “unidirectional, IP-based protocol for the transport of real-time video, audio and ancillary signals … in particular, a method for the encapsulation of the payloads of a variety of existing SMPTE serial digital video standards.”

The new one (to me, anyway) this year was SMPTE 2110, which builds on 2022 by unpacking each part of a signal (the video, the audio, and any ancillary data) into different IP streams, instead of being rolled together into one big transport stream. Each individual stream contains its own time stamp, which can be used at the receive end to line everything up so that it plays out correctly. (So, kind of like the IP version of lip sync.)

As someone much smarter than me took the time to explain in Las Vegas (thanks again, Subha!), SMPTE 2110 spans three pillars. The first: Off-the-shelf switching, as in video switching, so that broadcast and media providers can get away from buying big, all-in-one, monolithic switches. The reasoning: The inputs to any video switch tend to scale at different rates, dynamically. Therefore switches need to be able to also scale at different rates, dynamically.

Which brings up the second pillar: The ecosystem. One of the highlights at the Central Hall this year was the (always crowded) IP Showcase, where 56 suppliers representing the broadcast landscape came together, again, to demonstrate their collaborative work to interoperate -- not just as a “plug fest,” but more this year at an operational level. Background: That IP Showcase tends to move back and forth, across the Atlantic, from IBC to NAB and back again; that will be the case this September, in Amsterdam. It’s kind of assumed, by now, that one piece of gear can link to another, and they’ll both work as intended. This year, it was more about that next step -- how to make it work in real life, so that the people operating it can do so with relative ease. Meaning that their day-to-day, business-as-usual life stays reasonably the same, unfettered with the drudgery of relearning new ways to do the same things.

Last not least, SMPTE 2110 is further evidence of virtualization. Taking big, “bespoke” things, and unthreading them into their digital core. Maybe it’s an API (Application Program Interface) for a software-defined network (SDN) that gets teased out, standardized, open-sourced, and offered out to the community.

In theory and in practice (so far), SMPTE 2110 makes it easier for broadcast and media people to do more things, more quickly; to be more Internet-like. One example that came up over and over again was 4K video, already widely available on the display end (as evidenced in every consumer electronics store leading up to the Winter Olympics). Or prepping a venue to shift from, say, the Madonna concert on Saturday night, to the soccer match on Sunday afternoon. Or outfitting a control room for a multi-site production, without having to re-encode video multiple times.

So what does it take for the industry to be SMPTE 2110 ready? At the most basic level, it’s about those acronyms that are getting all broadcast applications and gear “souped-up” for IP. The next step is about how to work in that 2110 environment. What changes are necessary, in traditional broadcast operations, to accommodate the dynamic scaling of inputs and outputs?

The work of it is all shifting towards operating in IP. And scaling a network that previously would transport a few monolithic flows, but now has multiple IP-based flows -- all going to different end-points, but needing the precise timing to maintain broadcast accuracy and fidelity. If you visited the Cisco booth, for instance, it is that level of operations which were on display. You can find out more about that here. And you can be certain that in September, on the other side of the Atlantic, we’ll be talking more about operating in a 2110 environment.

Until then, be well and thrive!

About the Author: Leslie Ellis is a respected “technology translator,” known in cable and telecom circles for her award-winning, 20+ year “Translation Please” column in Multichannel News. She took on this Cisco-sponsored pre-NAB series to point out common and frustrating obstacles, for anyone on the sliding transition toward “being more Internet-like.” It is less of a comprehensive representation of available options and more a glimpse into what’s worrisome, on a day-to-day basis for engineers and IT people who work in media and entertainment.

The priority of OTT video service providers (OSVPs) is shifting. Live and linear have surpassed SVOD in importance as confidence grows among OSVPs in the quality and reliability of their services, finds new research from TVTechnology and Broadcasting & Cable magazines, sponsored by Akamai. How does this effect you?

The “Scale My Service: OTT Video Providers Closing in on the TV Benchmark,” report shares the perspectives of company managers with responsibility for technical implementation of video streaming services at TV broadcast stations, groups and networks, pay-TV providers, programmers, TV service producers and new media companies, including:

• Half of U.S. operators say their online service already meets or exceeds the quality and reliability of traditional TV or will do so within six months
• 70 percent say they are meeting or exceeding at least some of their KPIs, and 20 percent say they meet all KPIs
• Three quarters agree that quality remains an important parameter

Click here to download the full white paper.

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.—Humans have been watching and enjoying moving images have been a part of the world since the late 19th century. Now, as 2017 comes to a close, moving images may also be something a machine can watch and comprehend, according to a blog post from the MIT Technology Review.

The post shares that Google has recently launched a tool that is capable of allowing AI systems to recognize objects in a video as part of its Cloud Platform. Previously, AI was only really capable of recognizing objects from a static frame. An MIT program is looking to now see if AI can determine not just what a video contains, but what’s happening in the footage as well.

To read the full story, visit the MIT Technology Review.

Want to learn more about AI and the future of broadcast? Attend TV Technology’s webinar, The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Broadcasting, Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m., EST.

Implementing HDR makes sense for your media operation if you understand that High Dynamic Range (HDR) is not just about more pixels, it’s about better pixels. Whether you are a content creator, broadcaster, cable/satellite operator or OTT streaming service provider, the opportunity is now as HDR video is expected to be the consumer technology taking the television experience to the next level.

To learn more about High Dynamic Range, download our latest white paper, Making Business Sense of the HDR Opportunity

Implementing HDR makes sense for your media operation if you understand that High Dynamic Range (HDR) is not just about more pixels, it’s about better pixels.This new HDR primer explores the challenges and business opportunities surrounding the deployment of this dynamic visual technology. Details include:

• Leveraging HDR to enhance and expand media offerings 
• Why HDR represents a competitive advantage for content producers and distributors
• Overcoming challenges to enabling HDR 
• Best practices for deploying HDR with software enabled workflows 

Whether you are a content creator, broadcaster, cable/satellite operator or OTT streaming service provider, the opportunity is now as HDR video is expected to be the consumer technology taking the television experience to the next level.

Download now. 

WASHINGTON—The National Association of Broadcasters hasn’t been shy about sharing its thoughts on the impact certain elements of the upcoming spectrum repack could have on stations and viewers and it is continuing do so, this time in a visual medium.

The NAB has released a video that gives a quick glance at towers and antennas and the challenges that they could face as a result of the repack, as well as the potential impact on viewers.

The video calls for the parties involved in the repack to work together and figure out how to effectively meet these challenges. Watch the full video below.

 To follow our online coverage, visit our repack silo, www.tvtechnology.com/repack.

NASHVILLE, TENN.—Up on a hill just south of downtown Nashville, the “NASH Campus” of Cumulus Media has been demonstrating the future of radio and video integration for more than three years now.

The NASH campus (credit: Scott Fybush)

The former home of two local FM stations, WKDF(FM) and WGFX(FM), the building was gutted and extensively rebuilt in 2013 as the new national headquarters for the company’s country music programming.

Three studios were purpose-built to house the national “America’s Morning Show” (recently renamed “Ty, Kelly and Chuck”), “NASH Nights Live” and country star Kix Brooks’ “Kickin’ it with Kix” and “American Country Countdown.” Each was built from the start not only to handle the radio broadcast but to be future-proofed for video.

“Every studio is equipped with five stationary video cameras,” says NASH Program Director John Shomby. “Anyone who comes in knows there’s always video being taken. When the mic’s open, the video’s running.

PART OF THEIR DNA

Each of the three studios at NASH was designed to project a specific image on video.

Brooks’ corner studio was built to look like a living room and office, with comfortable sofas and chairs in the center of the room, guitars along the walls ready to be grabbed and played, and a desk and table in the corner adorned with Brooks’ music memorabilia.

Down the hall, the morning show studio puts the hosts and guest on a small stage with audience seating in front of them. And just off the lobby, the “NASH Nights” studio looks most like a traditional radio studio but with plenty of custom lighting and fun visual details such as guitar bodies in place of the usual legs that support the console and desk.

Control room for “Ty, Kelly and Chuck.” (credit: Scott Fybush)

The ORAD camera system at NASH depends on voice activation to direct most of the video switching, automatically choosing video shots based on who’s speaking in front of which mic in each studio.

For Shomby, though, what matters about the visual radio aspect of the NASH campus isn’t the technology but the programming. The veteran programmer says he’s seen a big change in just a few years in how “radio” talent adapt to performing for video. Today, he says, being video-friendly is an essential part of being on the air at a national level.

“I don’t think I have to do anything (to train them),” he says. “Today’s talent is already in that mode. I don’t have to remind them to do video; they just do it. They’re on Facebook Live, they’re on Snapchat, it’s just part of their DNA. Maybe five years ago, I would have had an issue with it but not now. The talent that’s at a network level has already been through that change. When we brought Ty Bentli on for the ‘Ty, Kelly and Chuck’ show, (his video skills) were very important.”

In the radio world of 2017, Shomby says it’s no longer a question of whether video and other digital content helps the bottom line; it’s simply a part of doing business in today’s media environment now for talent and management.

“They’ve all been schooled very well in this on the way up,” he says. “They know it’s part of the job description now. What goes on the radio is always first priority, after that comes everything else, but it’s all a part of it. It all supports what you’re doing on the air and helps your ratings. In the old days, a personality came in and did the show, maybe they answered request lines, but not much else. Now you’re a multifaceted personality.”

Shomby says this means being comfortable in front of hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis, which comes more naturally to today’s younger talent.

“You have to be comfortable with it, and those are the ones who succeed,” he said, “but those are also the ones who grew up in front of cameras. The generation that’s coming up now, my 18-year-old is the IT person at home. People are so used to the technology that it’s a part of their life. If we threw them in a studio and took everything away and told them just do a (radio) show, they’d be lost. The older people like me know they’ll be left behind if they don’t learn it.”

That’s changed what Shomby looks for when he’s seeking out new talent for NASH, too.

“You have to think about what someone’s going to look like in front of a camera, how they act, how they communicate socially, all of those things wrapped into one,” he says. “That’s all part of the package. You’re not just doing bits anymore.”

It has also affected another kind of talent: the musicians who make regular treks up the hill to the NASH campus to perform and talk about their work. Shomby says there’s something special about the country format that’s made it easy for those performers to work well with the video aspects of NASH programming.

“They’re very media-savvy,” he says. “It’s part of the process for them to become an artist in Nashville, learning how to be natural, because they make the personalities feel like they’re friends. We’ve had guys over here doing cornhole tournaments.”

As an example, Shomby mentions country star Lee Brice, who played college football for Clemson. Before Clemson’s national championship game, Brice stopped by the NASH campus to make a bet with morning co-host Chuck Wicks. With the cameras rolling, Brice picked Clemson to win, while Wicks picked Alabama. If Alabama had won, Wicks challenged Brice to come back to the show wearing an Alabama jersey and sing “Sweet Home Alabama.” (Alas, Clemson won.)

In this screen grab from a NASH video, co-host Kelly Ford looks on as Chuck Wicks makes a bet with country star Lee Brice.

“I can guarantee you right now, Rihanna wouldn’t do that,” Shomby says. “The country artists definitely have a spirit of cooperation, and there’s a spirit of camaraderie between the labels and the artists that doesn’t exist in other formats.”

MORE TO COME

The NASH campus makes it easy for artists to get ready for the video spotlight with some features that weren’t part of traditional radio studio design. Down the hall from the studios, there’s not only a green room but a makeup area where visiting performers can make sure they’re camera-ready.

For now, the video that’s generated from the NASH shows and studios isn’t seen in real time; instead, digital producers edit shorter bits of content that appear on each show’s social media outlets and can be used by affiliate stations. Shomby says that will change soon, with live streaming in the works.

Later this year, he’s planning to roll out podcasts, which he says will be more than just replays of live show content. “It has to be more than just putting show stuff up on a podcast,” he says. “It’s showing other things that person can do, too.”

Also expect to see some views from above. “I’ve got a drone sitting in my office right now with a GoPro camera sitting on top of it,” Shomby says. “I don’t know yet what we’re going to do with that.”

It’s all part of a future that’s much more than just radio, as Shomby sees it.

“When people walk in here, I try to tell them it’s not a radio station, but what you’re seeing here is really the future of radio,” he says. He arrived at NASH in 2016, after the campus was completed, and praises the facility designers. “They had the vision of what radio is going to be 10 years from now, cameras in every studio, very expensive lighting, that’s where I think it’s headed for everyone,” he says.

Radio broadcasters across the country are placing more emphasis on live and recorded video, in part to gain traction with their social media platforms.

Experts say webcams and digital video recorders are now common gear for radio broadcasters as they launch additional multimedia channels. Some radio stations are now training personnel as videographers and purchasing programs like Sony Vegas Pro, Final Cut Pro, MediaShout, Logic Pro and ProPresenter to edit video.

Radio stations also are developing video marketing strategies and campaigns for advertising clients in an effort to monetize video products and services.

Here are several examples of radio broadcasters embracing video as a means to expand their listener base:

VIDEO IN EVERY FIBER

Public broadcaster KEXP(FM) in Seattle has found many ways to incorporate video into nearly every fiber of the alternative and indie music radio station.

The KEXP YouTube channel

KEXP video is everywhere on social media from Facebook and YouTube to Instagram and Vimeo. Its new state-of-the-art live performance studio, which opened in 2016, is tricked out with first-class video production facilities so performances by visiting bands can be captured live and later uploaded to YouTube.

Jim Beckmann, online content manager and senior video producer, says he is amazed at the level of the station’s in-house video distribution.

KEXP video began organically, he says, with no real strategy other than a desire to capture some of the bands who were already visiting KEXP to perform in its live room.

“Within several years though, we were filming regularly and noticed that our presence online, particularly on YouTube, was growing to a surprising degree,” Beckmann says.

Today the radio station sees video as a core method for expanding its mission, Beckmann says, which is to champion music and promote discovery.

Beckmann says the radio station considers YouTube as its main digital video platform. KEXP currently has nearly 1 million YouTube subscribers, and this is still where KEXP sees the long tail, “where people continue to discover artists through archived videos that may even be seven or eight years old.”

But the station also shares live music sessions through Facebook Live; even without much promotion, a session there will get thousands of views.

KEXP, which has a video staff of four employees, uses BlackMagic gear to film and live stream video, Beckmann says. Video editing is done with Adobe Premiere. The non-commercial radio station also relies on a handful of volunteers to help with video projects.

Technical tools, though, are only part of what make for good video, he says.

“Matching cameras, good lighting and access to a stable non-linear editing program, whatever it might be, are the most important tools,” Beckmann says. “That, and talented videographers with as much an ear for music as an eye for good framing.”

Beckmann says it is always a challenge to integrate radio and video effectively.

“We are continually looking for ways to bring our vast video viewing audience back to our station, to our website, the online radio stream, the great photographs, engaging events and everything else,” he says. “We are still trying to figure out ways to better connect our YouTube viewers to everything else that’s going on at KEXP.”

VERSATILE SPACE

Radio America, a broadcast network based in Arlington, Va., has built its own video arm of the company. Its hybrid “Video Studio 66” studio consists of two rooms. The studio half includes a green screen, two Sony NXHD cameras and professional lighting while a control booth includes several Mac editors, a Newtek TriCaster video switcher and a Telos Axia control board.

“It’s really a radio studio and video studio. It’s a versatile space that also allows us to do a new community outreach project for our military veterans,” said Rich McFadden, director of operations for Radio America.

The radio network, in cooperation with its sister organization The American Veterans Center, preserves the stories and legacy of vets by telling their stories in video form, McFadden says.

“We have veterans in for tapings with a studio host and that are edited down to four- or five-minute-long oral histories that end up being shared on YouTube and the website www.americanveteranscenter.org,” he said.

Radio America produces a video project for Newsmax TV called “Behind the Curtain” with host Jack Burkman, a registered lobbyist in Washington

Radio America, which serves approximately 500 affiliates as well as American Forces Radio Network and Sirius/XM, also produces a video project for Newsmax TV called “Behind the Curtain” with host Jack Burkman, a registered lobbyist in Washington.

“We try to use video across several different platforms. Our daily shows that we own, including the ‘Chad Benson Show’ and ‘The Dana Show,’ are also in video form. We repurpose nearly all of our radio content for video to be used on Facebook Live, YouTube or Periscope. It’s an easy way to reach a new audience and it’s another outlet for our advertisers. It really builds value for advertisers.”

McFadden, who has used Skype and chat rooms with video for the network’s programming through the years, calls the production of video a big step for radio broadcasters.

“The best tip I can give anyone is to get a Lynda.com account. The online training service has just about any video editing software program or video production training you can think of. Then learn a basic video editing program, whether its Apple’s Final Cut or Adobe Premiere. And learn Photoshop,” McFadden says.

Monetization of video is the next big step for radio, according to McFadden. “We make some money by charging clients for production time. And video is an add-on for our advertisers, but you have to try and create a revenue stream outside of the number of YouTube views.”

And the future of employment in the radio business might soon also depend on a person’s video skills, he said.

“I will tell you that anyone with video skills has their résumé go to the top of the pile here,” McFadden says.

AUDIENCE DIVERSIFICATION

KCRW(FM) in southern California has been at the forefront of using multimedia. The public broadcaster, located in Santa Monica, Calif., started producing video as early as 2000 and launched a YouTube channel 10 years ago. The station has added much more complimentary video since then, including virtual reality film of concerts in its performance space.

Joey Caroni, creative director, strategy and audience development for KCRW, says the station views video as a means to diversify its non-terrestrial listening audience.

“Our video production is quite robust. We are producing content for video and using it as a marketing tool in an effort to drive listening. We have added a lot of video capabilities, like virtual reality, with all new distribution channels to reach a more global audience and introduce the KCRW brand,” Caroni says.

The NPR affiliate is now producing Parallax videos, including companion video for an audio series called “Below the Ten” that examines life for folks in south L.A., Caroni said. Parallax videos use a special effect, utilizing Photoshop, to create motion in images from still photographs that are then combined with audio. (View previous KCRW Parallax videos here.)

KCRW is producing Parallax videos, including a series called “Below the Ten,” which examines life for folks in south L.A. Parallax videos create motion in images from still photographs that are then combined with audio.

“We created a whole new experience that took those audio stories and placed them into a whole new video format. Then we distributed the video to a new audience group via channels like Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, though Instagram is mostly used for short-format video content. Video is much more sharable than just audio on most platforms,” Caroni said.

KCRW began pushing more live video to Facebook in 2016, Caroni says, which resulted in nearly 600,000 live stream views last year.

“We plan on focusing on more dual-format content this year including more episodic podcasts and episodic video series. And we will focus more on distributing video and not just having people come find videos on our website. That’s a big difference. A big chunk of my job is to think about format types and ways to distribute video.”

Caroni said the AAA format station is expecting to push more video through Periscope this year, not just live events but also produced content.

“We are also looking to get KCRW into the mix of video content producers used by other distribution channels that aggregate content for audiences. I think that is the next step for us. We have a wealth of culture and music content to share on video,” Caroni says.

The radio station, which employs two full-time video producers/editors, uses a range of video editing tools, including Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator and PluralEyes.

Caroni says he encourages radio broadcasters interested in venturing into video to invest in some low-tier hardware first, such as placing GoPro cameras in master control to simply “pull back the curtain” on radio.

“There are those who want to watch radio to see how it works. That’s very low hanging fruit that’s easy to pick. You start there and then you develop projects by maybe partnering with a local production house that has video expertise. They might very well be interested in the access you can grant them,” he says.

“Also reach out to local artists who work in video and leverage the exposure you can give them. There are people with video cameras who have the desire to build their portfolio and are interested in working with other media creators.”

WASHINGTON--Here is a quick look at the 2016 Government Video Expo & National Drone Show, which was held Dec. 7-8 at the Washington D.C. Convention Center.

AMSTERDAM–A new achievement in the world of virtual reality production has been accomplished: Captured views from the summit of Mt. Everest. Out now is a trailer of a soon-to-be-released VR series produced by Dutch Picture Industry, a production and marketing company based in Amsterdam. The documentary simulates what it’s like to take part in an expedition to the summit of Mt. Everest by following Noel and Lynne Hanna, a veteran Mt. Everest climbing couple.

The production crew experimented with several types of VR camera setups using GoPros mounted on custom rigs. “One of the rigs we had was eight GoPros with a 3D printed rig and for a backup we used a 360 box,” said Przemek Siemion, the documentary series director, who climbed up to about 7,500 meters of Mt. Everest. For reference, the summit sits at approximately 8,848 meters.

“Then the two cameras that went to the summit were on a rig that had a custom enclosure over the GoPros where you can also attach different lenses.” The Hannas were the only two in the group to actually reach the summit. It was decided that the two man production crew should be left behind while the couple captured the money shots with one of the GoPro rigs.

GoPro cameras were chosen due to their weight, an issue Siemion says, that came about frequently throughout the hike. Other problems arose due to the nature of the expedition. “They [expedition guides] don’t care that much about your filming. We had to work around other people and we didn’t always know what was going to happen because they [expedition guides] didn’t always know themselves,” Siemion added.

Siemion says a large portion of the trip involved transporting equipment to and from camps and developing a backup plan for the cameras and batteries.

There’s no word yet on when the VR series will be formally released.

FRANCE—Past and future are working together now, as a new video shows that the classic Game Boy device can be retooled to be used as a drone controller.

Gautier Hattenberger from the French Civil Aviation University recently created a code that could translate signals from the Game Boy to something a drone could interpret. He uses a GameLink, Arduino microcontroller and FTDI semiconductor to transfer the signals from the handheld to the drone.

In the video below, Hattenberger uses his Game Boy from 1989 to fly a ARDrone2 from Parrot.

Hattenberg released the source code on GitHub for others to access.

HOUSTON—NASA tested a pair of new technologies recently: the Orbital ATK’s QM-2 solid rocket booster and NASA’s HDR Stereo X camera (HiDyRS-X). This camera records multiple slow motion video exposures at once and combines them into an HDR video for ideal exposure of the extremely bright rocket motor plumes. See the camera in action below.

FLORIDA—While it still is difficult to capture lightning in a bottle, the Geospace Physics Laboratory recently caught it with a camera. A video posted on YouTube by the Florida Institute of Technology showed a recent lightning storm that was recorded at 7,000 frames per second and played back at a speed of 700 FPS. Check out the footage below.

Guido Meardi of V-Nova discusses how V-Nova PERSEUS video compression solution allows providers to maximize the quality of video services delivered over legacy copper and 2G-3G mobile infrastructure.

Simon Frost, Global Head of Media Marketing and Communications at Ericsson, outlines the increasing disruption to the TV and Media industry caused by growing expectations from today’s consumers. He describes Ericsson’s NAB announcements, including the launches of Ericsson MediaFirst Video Processing, its new Global Content Discovery Service and its Piero Augmented Reality software to enable more immersive sports graphics, as well as explaining how Ericsson is succeeding in enabling its customers to delight the TV consumer everyday.

Cisco’s Samira Panah explains how Cisco Media Blueprint accelerates the creation and delivery of immersive content, and how Cisco is helping its customers transform their infrastructure and applications.