Content Meets Expression
Join us at NAB 2008 and meet an all-new Vizrt. The branding we will present at NAB is about much more than just a new look. It is a sign that all of Vizrt’s product lines come together and combine their continuous excellence into workflow that simply has never been offered before. The real time graphics now integrate the with media asset management solutions at a whole new level, while media convergence becomes a reality with Vizrt’s new solutions for MAM and graphics production for the web. We are sure you will agree that one of the industry’s most powerful product suites never looked this good! This newsletter will give you a foretaste of the products and surprises that Vizrt’s Research & Development teams are preparing for this year’s NAB.
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| Perceptive Pixel |
Vizrt’s whole range of graphic solutions allows instant interaction with the content displayed, from single touch to complex multi-user and multi-screen scenarios. The immediacy of content availability makes it possible to call data, video and graphics on demand, directly on a studio floor.
Vizrt‘s Viz Engine 3 renderer was designed with built-in interactivity to maximize the ability of a news anchor to drive a live story at his fingertips. This unique graphic renderer is now at the heart of most interactive broadcasts, whether they are election, weather, finance or sports coverage.
For this NAB show, Vizrt will introduce strategic partner Perceptive Pixel, developer of the super-reactive Multi-Touch Broadcast Wall used, among others, during the U.S. primary elections (www.perceptivepixel.com ). Vizrt and Perceptive Pixel will jointly display new capabilities for combining live graphics and video on an instantaneous touchscreen. The show will also feature several demonstrations of the interactive capabilities of the Vizrt graphics on at least two large video walls.
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| Viz Link |
Viz Link is an extension to Vizrt’s graphic products, such as Viz Content Pilot and Viz Trio, by allowing direct access to video-storage solutions from graphic templates.
Viz Link supports the entire range of Vizrt’s Media Asset Management (MAM) systems, from the MAM in-a-box product Viz Video Hub 40 and the powerful Viz Video Hub 500, to Viz Ardome, a full-fledged personalized MAM system.
A typical Link workflow that Vizrt will present at NAB, allows Viz Content Pilot and Viz Trio to search video clips on a Viz Video Hub, create a play-list with both graphics and video elements, and playout that playlist.
Viz Link at a glance:
- A powerful enabler for other Vizrt products
- Enables video support in Viz Content Pilot and Viz Trio
- Full access to graphics templates from the newsroom system
- Supports Viz Video Hub and Viz Ardome
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| Escenic |
A few months ago, Vizrt announced its strategic partnership with Norwegian based Escenic. Escenic is the leading web content management and publishing platform for news websites (www.escenic.com ).
This integration ties the broadcast and web publishing workflows together tighter than ever before. At this year’s NAB, Vizrt and Escenic will showcase how Escenic’s web content management platform interfaces with Vizrt’s digital video asset management solutions, such as Viz Video Hub and Viz Ardome. It allows all video assets to be available on journalists and editor’s desktops regardless of the final medium targeted (web or TV).
The second remarkable benefit from this integration is the possibility for web journalists to browse through Vizrt’s graphic templates and generate graphics for web publishing. The graphics can be published as images, videoclips or fully interactive Viz MPS graphics.
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| Viz Reporter |
Viz Reporter brings the mobile revolution to the journalist on the move, making each journalist with a mobile phone a video journalist.
The product allows the transfer of high-resolution video files, pictures and audio clips that were taken with conventional mobile phones. The files are automatically ingested into a Media Asset Management system where they are transcoded, organized and prepared for playout.
Viz Reporter consists of two parts: a client that resides on the mobile device and takes control of the phone’s multimedia hardware, and a server application.
To standardize and organize the content, the client supports predefined templates, in which the recipient can configure necessary and optional descriptions. The sender can then add metadata like keywords, location or subject to video clips and images before they are sent from the mobile phone to the Viz Reporter server.
Viz Reporter features:
- Supports standard multimedia-enabled mobile phones
- Uncompressed transfer of captured video
- Possibility to add meta information directly on the mobile phone
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| Viz Multichannel |
At NAB Vizrt will present an updated version of Viz Multichannel. The application gives broadcasters full control over every graphic element in single or multiple channel playlists. Viz Multichannel translates the marketing strategy for each channel into automatically generated, cutting-edge 2D and 3D graphics and DVE effects. Operating multiple networks is now just as easy as controlling a single channel.
One of Viz Multichannel’s new features is the graphical timeline that allows users to get an instant overview over the amount and position of the graphical elements used in the playlist. Elements can be modified directly in the timeline and it can be zoomed in and out to provide more details or to give a broader view.
Also new is the possibility to “Viz Link-enable” The Viz Multichannel with an integration with Viz Video Hub. When working with graphic templates, video clips and pictures stored in the Viz Video Hub can now be used to automatically generate the content for graphics elements.
Viz Multichannel fully supports major automation systems from Pebble-Beach, Omnibus and Harris for getting live updates about changes in the schedule.
Viz Multichannel highlights:
- Viz Video Hub integration
- Graphical timeline of playlists
- Supports major automation systems from Pebble-Beach, Omnibus and Harris
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| Viz Weather |
Vizrt has dramatically enhanced the display quality to allow higher resolutions and smoother animations. Viz Weather now supports the advanced features of the Viz Curious Maps client, making it possible to define several zoom destinations. The user can also now utilize the whole zoom range without any resolution artifacts, which allows seamless animations up to the street level.
Viz Weather features advanced options for live data updates allowing last-minute changes.
Viz Weather now integrates yet more tightly with iNews: Weather playlists can be edited and the weather elements can be previewed in iNews.
Highlights of Viz Weather
- Unlimited zoom animations
- Integration with iNews
- Enhanced support for Viz Artist 3
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| Viz Video Hub |
Vizrt has taken the essential Viz Ardome technology and put it in a box. Viz Video Hub is a ready-to-run Media Asset Management system that is completely pre-configured and can be used without the need for customization.
Viz Video Hub is a robust and easy-to-use system, ideal for the demanding pace of a newsroom. It provides users with direct access to powerful search options, the most recent material, and pre-editing functions – resulting in significant time saving. The heart of Viz Video Hub is the powerful search engine. All metadata fields are directly searchable from the main search box using both structured and free-text search.
Viz Video Hub is available in two different configurations. Viz Video Hub 40 covers entry-level demands while Viz Video Hub 500 also covers advanced media asset management needs. Additional upgrade and redundancy options further enhance the usability and flexibility of Vizrt’s Media Asset Management solution.
The Viz Video Hub features at a glance:
- Pre-configured and ready-to-run
- Fully scalable system
- Supports SD and HD
- Up to 2000 hours of DV25 storage (fully expanded Viz Video Hub 500)
- Includes licenses for Viz PreCut and Viz EasyCut
- Transcoding capacity for up to 4 real-time IMX50 streams (Viz Video Hub 500)
- Based on proven Viz Ardome technology
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| Viz Curious Maps small |
Viz Curious Maps is the broadcast industry’s de facto standard to create branded maps and geographic animations. It features an almost unlimited resolution from world view down to a single street level.
A major evolution of Viz Curious Maps 8.2 is the merger of the map design solution with the 3D graphic workflow (previously Viz World). A single installation of Viz Curious Maps can now be upgraded to a server edition that provides on-demand branded maps for clients within 3D graphic templates, for example within Viz Content Pilot, Viz Weather or Viz Trio.
The latest version of the Viz Curious Maps client/server features several new concepts: The new Pyramid concept automatically tiles the needed resolution in the correct order to provide a smoother zoom with less pixilation up to the street level. The Navigator feature uses an advanced algorithm to align the camera speed to the ground movement. This provides clear images when shifting from one location to the other, independent of the distance between them.
With the new overlay concept, journalists can now also attach 3D label events (fires, plane crashes, etc.) to any location without having to think about their precise placement.
Viz Curious Map 8.2 main new features:
- Expansion path between a single Viz Curious Maps design tool to a client/server solution
- New Pyramid concept for high quality zooms
- Navigator supports unlimited jumps between locations
- Seamless 3D-terrain integration with globe and flat maps
- Real-time fading of map layers
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| Viz MPS |
Viz Multi Platform Suite (MPS) has taken a big step forward since it was first introduced in its pre-release version about a year ago. Vizrt’s solution to interactive, personalized 3D graphics on the web will come with a set of new features and the first online website fully powered by the new technology.
One of many exciting new developments is the availability of different MPS server configurations. MPS graphics-on-demand, for example, allows users to fill out Viz Trio templates in a browser GUI, send the data to the MPS Server and get MPS graphics file back. This allows a journalist to generate 3D graphics for the web based on a template system.
Hardware and software support has also greatly been enhanced: The latest MPS Client runs on Windows as well as OS X and supports all major web browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. The playback capabilities of different video formats have been enhanced to include DivX, wmv, QuickTime and many others.
The optional MPS Adaptation Engine allows live data insertion, automated text translation, and content and advertisement personalization.
Viz Multi Platform Suite’s main new features:
- A 3D Engine for each end-user device
- Based on OpenGL technology
- An additional Java client for devices without OpenGL support
- MPS Client supports Windows and OS X
- Different server configurations for broadcast, graphics-on-demand, and interactivity
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| Viz Ardome |
The new Viz Ardome 4.6 is fully integrated with all major newsroom computer systems such as Avid’s iNEWS, Associated Press’ ENPS, Avstar, and QNews. Its highly scalable, streamlined and automated workflows enhance productivity in a cost-effective package.
Viz Ardome demonstrates the integration between digital asset management, Vizrt’s Viz Content Pilot graphic solution and control software and Apple’s Final Cut Pro nonlinear editing workflow. It adds full integration with major servers and libraries, such as Omneon, IBM and GVG K2.
Viz Ardome 4.6 facilitates such tasks as automatic detection, acquisition, and archiving of essence (the program content of digital media assets) and metadata (which provides production details about an asset’s nature and origin). It allows faster than real-time transcoding to enable video to be browsed (viewed) on desktop PCs complete with video and audio keyframes when combined with Viz Media Processor software transcoder.
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| Vizrt for Apple |
Vizrt is increasingly supporting applications for the Apple platforms. Viz Curious Maps has shown the way for a very long time, with a full Mac support, and more recently, the Viz Ardome solution has been made available on OS X with its components Viz ArdCentrum and Viz Ardome Assistant.
The integration with Final Cut Studio on Mac platform is gaining two new players for this show, Viz ShotCut and Viz Trio NLE integration.
Viz ShotCut is a whole new desktop editing application in line with the Viz Pre Cut and Viz Easy Cut of the Windows world. It has been designed with a direct integration with Viz Ardome for clip search and retrieval. Among the most remarkable features are the drag-and-drop integration with Final Cut Pro (FCP), where the whole project is preserved, and the possibility to highlight scene changes within a clip by the simple press of a button.
Viz Trio NLE for Final Cut Studio allows user to add graphics from templates directly within Final Cut Studio. It can be seen as a user interface that combines the control for Viz|Media Sequencer Engine, Viz|Engine and FinalCut Studio on the OS X desktop. A preview of the upcoming release will be possible on the dedicated Vizrt for Apple demo pod on our booth.
Some of the major new features of the Vizrt for Apple solutions:
- Support for MXF with or without external audio tracks
- Easy drag-and-drop from Viz Ardome web interface into FCP
- Instant access to highres material for editing in FCP. No need to transfer material locally to the edit suite.
- If running Viz ShotCut there is support for dragging the timeline directly into FCP and connecting it up with the hires material.
- Easy posting of your projects back into Viz Ardome. Creating a new item or posting directly to a rundown or a project.