Quantel GE2 delivers workflow max for Pablo Rio
NEWBURY, UK–Quantel has launched Genetic Engineering 2. GE2 is Quantel’s second generation shared storage solution for post that delivers new levels of flexibility, performance and productivity for Quantel Pablo Rio color and finishing system users. The original Genetic Engineering transformed the efficiency of many post houses; GE2 will do the same for today’s multi-resolution post world.
GE2 enables instant sharing of high resolution jobs between suites, giving users total flexibility to move jobs at a moment’s notice. Each GE2 connected Pablo Rio has guaranteed realtime performance whatever the other suites are doing–even at 4K. GE2 is great for facility scheduling as it makes it possible to take on short notice jobs. It allows multiple suites to teamwork on tight deadline jobs and enables more suites to get involved when a job suddenly needs more resources.
GE2 enables up to four Pablo Rio systems to share the same GenePool storage. Third party systems can read and write to GenePool storage via the GenePool Gateway. Pablo PA also connects to the GenePool Gateway to handle back-office tasks, ensuring that the frontline Pablo Rio systems spend the maximum time on client-facing work.
There is a huge range of potential GE2 configurations, which means that GE2 systems can be tailored to meet every individual facility’s workflow requirements. For example, the GenePool shared storage can range from 18TB to support a two-suite HD production requirement, to almost 400TB–more than enough for even multiple simultaneous 4K or 6K Red Dragon jobs.
“The number one issue facing post houses today is workflow, and Genetic Engineering 2 delivers the kind of flexibility and productivity they need to compete in a market where clients demand quality and speed in equal measure,” said Martin Mulligan, Quantel sales director.
Genetic Engineering 2 is available now.
Aspera’s Michelle Munson to share cloud expertise at SMPTE Hollywood event
EMERYVILLE, Calif.–Aspera, Inc., creators of next-generation software technologies that move large data at maximum speed, announced that president, CEO and co-founder Michelle Munson will present at “Motion Pictures in the Cloud – Economics, Security & Architecture.” Organized by the SMPTE Hollywood Section, the event takes place on Tuesday, January 28 at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, Calif.
The sold-out event will feature presentations from industry leaders about real-world technologies for moving images using cloud services. Munson will join speakers including Lincoln Wallen, CTO of Dreamworks Animation, and Stephen Beres, technology architect, HBO Studios West, in sharing their experiences in using the cloud to meet creative and logistical needs in digital motion picture and television production, storage, delivery and archive.
Based on Aspera’s Emmy award-winning FASP technology, Aspera On Demand enables seamless, line-speed transfers of very large files and sets of files to, from, and across the cloud-based object storage of virtually every environment. The Aspera software platform turbo charges content delivery, with maximum-speed transfers at any distance, and creates a unique overlay for content security on top of the infrastructure, managing secure user authentication, content browsing, and access control across all major cloud and enterprise storage platforms.
Telestream boosts GPU Acceleration for Lightspeed Server
NEVADA CITY, Calif.–Telestream, which provides video transcoding and workflow solutions, announced a new Lightspeed Server model. Now available, the Lightspeed K20 Server utilizes cutting-edge technologies from NVidia and Intel to further boost video processing and H.264 encoding speeds for its family of Vantage video transcoding and workflow automation software products. .
“At Telestream, we are constantly taking advantage of the latest technologies to provide the highest quality images, increased speed, and increased productivity for our customers,” said Paul Turner, VP of enterprise product management at Telestream. “This is especially important for the large-scale transcoding requirements of content owners and creators who must distribute content to multiple platforms, including TV, Web and mobile devices.”
Lightspeed K20 Server, with the latest technologies from NVidia and Intel, offers significant productivity improvements over the original Lightspeed Server. Two NVidia K20 GPUs and two 10-core Intel Ivy Bridge CPUs provide cutting-edge speed. 2.0 TB of media storage is also included. The K20 server supports Vantage versions 5 and 6.
Lightspeed Server provides high-density transcoding and video processing in an efficient, 1 RU (rack unit) server with minimal space, electrical and thermal footprint requirements. As a part of the Vantage product family, Lightspeed Server can be used alone, clustered to increase capacity or added to an existing Vantage ecosystem.
Exclusive Telestream Lightspeed technology accelerates H.264 transcoding and video processing, including image scaling, deinterlacing, frame rate conversion, motion vector calculation, compositing and other compute-intensive tasks for Vantage products. Vantage received the 2013 HPA Engineering Excellence Award from the Hollywood Post Alliance for its video processing technology.
Grass Valley plays ball with Rockies
HILLSBORO, Ore.–For improved production quality and greater reliability on game day, the Colorado Rockies production staff has installed a Grass Valley K2 Solo 3G 2-channel media server into the control room at Coors Field in Denver. The compact, standalone server allows staff members to tap into a powerful 24/7/365 file-based infrastructure and high-performance file operations while guaranteeing that on-air channels will never drop a frame of video, which is vital during live sports productions.
“We worked closely with Grass Valley on our key requirements for a dependable system for our game-day productions and everything about the K2 Solo 3G — from its price to its compact size to its functionality — appealed to us,” said Scott Magennis, manager of Audio/ Video, Colorado Rockies. “The K2 Solo gives us 25 hours of high definition storage, immediate access to clip playout and instant replays, and loading files is fast and easy.”
The K2 Solo 3G delivers the same powerful functionality as the 4-channel Grass Valley K2 Summit 3G but is half the size, making it ideal for small production studios where space is of concern. The K2 Solo 3G easily integrates with the Rockies’ existing Kayak digital production switcher for fast response time while delivering a simple and intuitive user interface.
Recently, Grass Valley announced the newest upgrade to its K2 architecture to include powerful compression support for Panasonic’s new AVC-LongG (Advanced Video Codec/Long Group of Pictures) compression type. Grass Valley’s K2 Summit and K2 Solo are the first broadcast servers on the market to support playout of the AVC-LongG recording format, which is part of Panasonic’s new AVC-ULTRA codec family of products.
PlayBox Technology to introduce ProductionAirBox at BVE 2014LONDON–PlayBox Technology announces an addition to its portfolio of broadcast and production workflow solutions. ProductionAirBox will be introduced by PlayBox Technology at BVE 2014 in London’s ExCel exhibition centre, February 25-27.
“ProductionAirBox is an extremely fast media manipulation and delivery system with the near-zero latency demanded for the fast-paced work environment of broadcast news, sports and live production.” said PlayBox Technology UK Ltd managing director Don Ash. “It complements our NewsRoomBox production system by allowing practically instant switchover from one clip to another. A wide range of file formats and resolutions can be imported into the playlist, with up to 16 digital audio channels to accommodate multi-channel multi-language programmes.”
Based on multi-channel engine architecture, ProductionAirBox can deliver content rapidly in one-shot mode or from a playlist. Files with an alpha channel are output as independent fill and key sources. Supporting capabilities include clip timecode on the SDI output plus a clip trimmer with a dedicated SDI output. ProductionAirBox can be controlled via VDCP and Media Object Server (MOS) protocols.
Changes to the playlist can be made even while on-air. Every clip in the playlist can be trimmed or repositioned on-the-fly using commands such as next, jump or shuttle. All changes are performed seamlessly without interrupting the current playout session. Up to four independent players can be accommodated on a single server. Each player has separate playlist and playout control. Four SDI interfaces can be assigned as programme or preview outputs. Operation can be streamlined using single channel or multichannel user interfaces.
The ProductionAirBox feature-set also includes forward or reverse shuttle at up to 32x speed, mixing of different video resolutions and formats in a single playlist, logical content trimming, multi-channel audio output, plus support for a wide variety of compression standards and media containers.
In addition to its broadcast production applications, ProductionAirBox can be deployed wherever instant access to stored content is needed, including studio displays and presentation screens.
Fujifilm unveils new corporate slogan
TOKYO–To celebrate the 80th anniversary of its original founding, Fujifilm Holdings Corporation has created a new corporate slogan, “Value from Innovation.” Beginning this month, the Fujifilm Group will adopt the slogan for its global operations.
In response to the dramatic decline in the demand for photographic film since year 2000, Fujifilm Holdings Corporation has carried out a series of structural reforms. The company has moved away from its core business of photographic film and has been reborn as a company that is now involved in a diverse array of business operations. The Fujifilm Group is currently focused on and investing management resources in the following six business fields: Healthcare, including medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics; Graphic Systems, developing a wide range of printing equipment; Highly Functional Materials, such as optical film for liquid crystal displays and components for touch panels; Optical Devices, including television lenses and components for satellite optical systems; Digital Imaging, with the development of digital cameras and Photo book albums; and Document Solutions, including Fuji Xerox’s extensive lineup of composite equipment and devices, and solution services.
The new corporate slogan has been created to demonstrate the new direction Fujifilm is taking, and its future objectives. The slogan expresses Fujifilm’s commitment to deepening communications with its customers and all other stakeholders, and to further enhancing the value of the Fujifilm corporate brand.
