Telestream, a provider of digital media tools and workflow solutions, announced the acquisition of Cloud-based encoding provider, PandaStream. The result of a comprehensive investigation of key suppliers in the cloud-based encoding market, the acquisition accelerates Telestream’s strategy for providing cloud services to complement its on-premise solutions.
As a direct result of this acquisition, Telestream is also announcing the launch of Telestream Cloud, a new software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering that builds on Telestream’s significant position and long history in transcoding. This new platform makes the PandaStream encoding capabilities available under the Telestream brand today and will serve as the foundation for future offerings in the cloud.
PandaStream services and technology have been developed by a team of experts with significant experience in building scalable cloud infrastructure. PandaStream’s encoding at scale, ease of use and cost efficiency combined with Telestream’s broad set of encoding products means Telestream customers have access to the most advanced encoding portfolio available.
“After careful investigation of the market and consideration of various companies, we identified PandaStream as a very good fit for our needs. This acquisition fast tracks the development of our existing cloud strategy, enabling the immediate launch of Telestream Cloud. By acquiring PandaStream, we are achieving a quantum progression in our cloud development objectives for both our enterprise and desktop product families,” stated Dan Castles, CEO of Telestream.
Using the PandaStream architecture, Telestream Cloud offers a globally distributed, VOD encoding platform that dynamically scales in response to customer requirements. File transfer and encoding times are optimized from any location since Telestream Cloud leverages multiple cloud service providers including Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services and Rackspace.
“Telestream can now provide video transcoding anywhere and everywhere–on your desktop, in your facility’s server room or in the cloud,” said Shawn Carnahan, chief technology officer at Telestream. “In the longer term, this acquisition opens up new opportunities for Telestream customers across every market we serve.”
Existing PandaStream customers can expect the same products and services they have enjoyed under the Panda brand. Using the new cloud infrastructure, Telestream will be rolling out additional services over time. The PandaStream team will transition to a separate business unit within Telestream over the next couple of weeks.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More