Vizrt unveils
new tools
At IBC2014, Vizrt is showcasing
new studio automation, 4K, IP
and cloud-based graphics,
enhanced media asset manage-
ment, social TV and sports
production tools and solutions.
Highlighted during the show
will be Viz Artist, its real-time 3D
modelling and animation tool
with MAXON CINEMA4D and
Adobe After Effects integration,
Viz One, a file-based video
workflow with Viz Pilot timeline
editor workflow, and the new Viz
Mosart, for a complete newscast
automation solution. Also on
display will be the Vizrt Social TV
solution with maps and interactive
The first half of 2014 has seen
France Medias Monde sign
numerous new distribution deals.
For France 24, developments
include expansion in Panama
and Uruguay for the English
version of the channel, a new part-
time broadcast on MyChannel to
some 10.5m households across
Europe, inclusion in the OTT and
mobile offer of Digi TV in
Romania and broadcast via the
satellite offer Tring in Albania.
France 24 has also strengthened
its presence in Thailand with a
new distribution agreement with
major cable operator Chaoren
that carries France 24 English
version in its basic offer, providing
access to a quarter of all digital
TWC picks
ClipJOCKEY
When Time Warner Cable Sports
looked for professional studio
production software early this
summer for its new Columbus,
Ohio facility it chose ClipJOCKEY,
arvato Systems' stand-alone
solution for efficient workflow
management in control rooms and
post production houses. Deciding
factors were cost effectiveness and
flexibility of studio production,
play-to-air capacity, ease of use,
strong production capabilities
and integrated file sharing. The
system was operational after just
one week of installation, config-
uration and training time, says
arvato Systems’Eivind Sandstrand.
FMM distribution deals
touchscreen capabilities, Viz
Libero, a 3D virtual sports
enhancements solution with Viz
Arena image-based tracking for
displaying live player-attached
graphics in real time, and Viz
Pilot, a template-driven graphics
and video management tool with
multi-channel playout.
Among recent deals signed by
Vizrt are a US$323k sports
analysis deal with a Western
European broadcaster, a US$1m
virtual set deal with a news
channel in the Middle East, and a
US$452k broadcast graphics
deal with an African financial
news channel.
RTI’s digital archives
households in the country.
For Virgin Media and ONO
subscribers throughout the UK
and Spain, a dedicated France 24
app compatible with TiVo digital
decoders has been developed,
allowing viewers to access text
and photo articles as well as
programmes on demand.
Radios RFI and MCD have
struck new deals in the USA and
Canada and subscribers to
ENOVATIVETV IPTV package can
now access eight 24/7 RFI and
MCD streams, including the
French language feeds RFI
Monde and RFI Afrique, both in
French, to RFI English, RFI
Swahili and RFI Hausa, RFI
Musique, MCD and MCD Music.
MEDIA MARKETS
|
THE CHANNEL
IN BRIEF
AUSTRALIAHBBTV
Australian broadcasters
Seven, Nine, Ten and ABC
are launching their HbbTV
service on 2 September.
FreeviewPlus offers a range
of new features including a
7-day EPG; access to
available FTA Catch Up TV in
one place on the TV;
recommendations of the
best programmes on today,
on Catch Up and in the
future, the ability to browse
and search programmes
across the next seven days,
plus a ‘Favourites’ function.
A range of FreeviewPlus
receivers will be available
from major appliance and
electronics retailers to
coincide with the launch.
ABC HANGOUTS
The ABC has been trialling
the use of video hangouts to
give audiences a chance to
get to know their favourite
ABC personalities in a live
video Q&A, with questions
submitted on Facebook,
Twitter and Google+. Visually
a hangout is not quite as
polished as broadcast TV,
but the advantages are the
low cost and the ability to
have up to 10 cameras on 10
different locations. After the
live broadcast the hangout
video is posted onto YouTube
and can be shared online
and on social media.
SUNDANCE
EXPANDS
Spanish language Sundance
Channel Global, part of AMC
Networks International, is
expanding across Central
America with launches in six
new territories. Its distinctive
mix of first run original drama
and independent films is now
also available on Cable Onda,
the biggest pay-TV platform in
Panama, on Tigo in El Salvador,
Costa Rica, Honduras, Paraguay
and Guatemala, and on Claro,
the biggest pay-TV platform in
Colombia and the Dominican
Republic. The network is
available to operators as an SD
or HD linear TV channel, VOD
service and via mobile and
online authenticated streaming.
.
In May 2013, Radio Taiwan
International launched a full-
scale digital archiving of its
treasures from 86 years of
broadcasting. The project covers
print materials from 1949 to 1979
and sound files of old programmes.
Included in the latter are reel
tapes of broadcasts from China,
which RTI monitored and
recorded during the Cold War
era. The wide variety of regional
accents found in main-land
China made the process of
transcribing broadcasts
particularly challenging.
As part of the project, old
publications and documents
were taken out of storage for
cleaning, scanning and
categorising. RTI’s digital archives
eventually ran to 15,000 pages of
old publications and documents.
RTI also cooperated with
Chengchi University on a report
detailing propaganda broadcast
by RTI during the Cold War. This
report also sheds light on
national history and the history
of cross-strait dialogue.
THE CHANNEL
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ISSUE 2 2014
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