Archimedia Technology, a company with applications that bring precise multiformat viewing to the professional’s desktop, TV, UHDTV, and SDI infrastructure, will host a demo room at the 2015 HPA Tech Retreat, Feb. 9-15 in Palm Springs, Calif. Archimedia will demonstrate its Atlas professional media player, which now plays 4K 60p and high dynamic range (HDR) content on any display to the best of that display’s native ability.
Visitors to Archimedia’s demo room at the HPA Tech Retreat will see Atlas play clips from Elemental’s 4K 60p demo reels in several formats, as well as from the “El Fuente” movie documentary commissioned by Netflix in 4K 60p in IMF, HEVC, and ProRes formats. All will be shown on a UHDTV streaming from an Atlas 4K lent by 3rd i QC. Archimedia representatives will be on hand to explain the system’s key features and how Atlas fits into the postproduction and screening workflow.
Atlas is capable of playing 4K 60p and HDR encoded content at full screen in practically any format from all kinds of sources and manufacturers on all kinds of screens, from a laptop to a UHDTV to a projector aimed at the side of a building, all with frame-accurate precision at speeds commensurate with the hardware. That capability is a breakthrough for all professionals in the media and entertainment industry — from technorati to producers to executives to archivists to lawyers — who until now had no way to view 4K 60p and HDR content outside of the edit suite where it was created without first transcoding it to a smaller format to suit hardware limitations.
Atlas takes care of the transcoding step, thanks to a unique professional-grade scaler built into the player. The comprehensive range of formats supported includes the latest IMF, HEVC, and AS-11 DPP formats; more than 100 caption/subtitle formats required by law around the world; DPX, TIFF, and EXR frame sequences; encrypted DCP; and Dolby® audio codecs.
“Everyone needs a player that will let them watch 4K 60p on the screens they already have, and that’s exactly what the latest version of Atlas is designed to do,” said Archimedia CEO Mark Gray. “It’s an impressive feat that still dazzles us, and we think HPA retreat attendees will be just as dazzled. These innovations are what have made Atlas a staple for major studios, TV networks, and production and post houses around the world.”
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More