HITS

There’s nothing like a major conference to announce a major milestone.

Sony DADC NMS used IBC 2017 to announce that its cloud-based Media-as-a-Service platform Ven.ue in September delivered its 10 millionth file. NMS announced it’s currently averaging 190,000 deliveries a month and that Its repository holds 1,26 million hours of premium content (covering 23 languages) from more than 450 content owners.

“While others seem to endlessly debate the emotional, economic, and strategic merits of going all-in on the cloud, we were able to cut through the noise and deliver on this promise to our clients,” said Andy Shenkler, EVP and chief solutions and technology officer for Sony DADC NMS. “The benefits we have unlocked by fully committing to a cloud strategy are clearly seen by our clients and the advantages they are realizing cannot be understated.”

NMS is showcasing Ven.ue at the AWS Elemental Booth: Hall 5 Stand C.80 and via private demos from a boat docked outside the RAI convention center.

In other news at IBC from members of the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA):

Globecast

Media solutions provider Globecast used IBC to launch its Globecast liveSpotter solution, a media management capability geared toward helping clients manage live-to-VOD packaged content.

The worldwide soft launch of the service comes after some select customers deployed the trial solution successfully. Globecast liveSpotter allows for unlimited short-form VOD content to be created from any live feed, close to real time, and then allows that content to be shared across OTT, VOD and of social media platforms. Clipping of content can be made both automatic and manual,

“As media consumption becomes more à la carte — for example we see sports fans following events on their mobile, looking for the most immersive experience — our customers need to be able to serve this changing demand cost-effectively,” said Christine Nassif, senior global marketing manager for Globecast. “By aggregating multiple technologies into a single platform, Globecast liveSpotter allows us to satisfy our customers’ linear live content distribution and media management requirements alongside their short-form, fast turnaround VOD content needs, without them having to use a third party. This provides very real financial benefits.

“One market where the advantages are clear is, of course, the sports market where rapid turnaround VOD game highlights, for example, add hugely to the consumer experience, be that via social media or VOD platforms.”

Technicolor

Technicolor kicked off IBC showcasing its next-gen technologies, services and partnerships, all geared around creating new experiences for consumers, including: demonstrations on how OTT services are evolving; new intelligent technologies that optimize Wi-Fi efficiency and performance; home network solutions developed by Technicolor with Amazon Web Services (AWS) that work between cloud and edge devices in the home; augmented, virtual and mixed reality premium content services; and the company’s high-dynamic range streaming solution.

Additionally, Technicolor has a slew of panel appearances at the show, including “Story Telling to Story Doing” (Sept. 16, 10:50 a.m.), “Where Technology Meets Storytelling: Reconceiving the Linear Narrative in Wonder Buffalo” (Sept. 16, 11:25 a.m.) “The New Canvas: How Emerging Technology Is Changing the Way Stories Are Told” (Sept. 16, 2:35 p.m.), “Creative and Technical Sides of VR Production” (Sept. 17, 10:50 a.m.) and “Technologies for the Future: How Color Management Advances VR, AR and Beyond” (Sept. 18, 1:40 p.m.).

SDI Media and GrayMeta

MESA members SDI Media and GrayMeta announced a major partnership at IBC, teaming up to bring AI to the entertainment supply chain, a deal that has the two companies developing AI and machine learning solutions that aim to enable the creation of intelligent metadata for the localization and distribution of media content.

The collaboration call for GrayMeta’s automated metadata solutions to be paired with SDI Media’s expertise in localization services for content owners, broadcasters, and digital platforms. GrayMeta and SDI will evaluate and test the new technologies, and find new opportunities for data mining and automation.

“I am excited by GrayMeta’s ability to harness the very best thinking around AI technologies within the GrayMeta Platform,” said Scott Rose, CTO of SDI Media. “We know that good localization depends on talented language experts, and we are committed to automating tasks that do not truly require a creative (human) decision so that our people can focus on quality and we can improve time-to-market for our customers. This meeting-of-the-minds can accelerate SDI beyond what we are doing with our development of automation technology.”

Josh Wiggins, GrayMeta’s chief commercial officer, added: “It is great to be partnering with SDI Media to elevate what GrayMeta can offer to entertainment and broadcast companies. They offer an unparalleled opportunity to provide real-world validation and feedback on the potential for machine learning and metadata creation. By leveraging their knowledge of all geographies and distribution outlets, we can accelerate the development of GrayMeta’s technology and focus on specific applications for the content supply chain.”

Mark Howorth, CEO of SDI Media, said his company will continue to invest in smart systems and cloud-based applications “to create the speed and transparency our customers need to meet the demands of our evolving marketplace. But by partnering with GrayMeta, SDI hopes to extend our service solution beyond the traditional boundary of localization – that is, the delivery of the sub/dub file – and help our customers extract previously unrealized value from their media assets through their entire distribution supply chain.”

Additionally, at IBC GrayMeta announced a partnership with video AI firm Valossa, which will integrate Valossa AI into the GrayMeta platform, with the hope of enabling organizations to unify disparate platforms and services to leverage AI via one platform and API.

“We are focused on delivering enhanced, intelligent metadata solutions that leverage powerful machine learning and AI technology, and delivering to a wide range of customers worldwide,” said John Motz, CTO of GrayMeta. “We now feel that we are providing more value to our customers, who are creating and storing massive amounts of video that needs to be classified for ready access at any time.”

Mika Rautiainen, co-founder and CEO of Valossa, added: “Video service and software market has been the focus since our founding, and we see great opportunities for video intelligence both in the cloud, and on-premise. Together, with GrayMeta, we can deliver a simple and efficient way for customers to use AI to articulate video content characteristics.”

IBM

IBM and IBC itself combined forces at the show to release the results of a new report: “Creating a ‘Living’ Media Partner for Your Consumers: A Cognitive Future for Media and Entertainment.”

The report saw 92% of media and entertainment executives saying that cognitive tools will play an important role in the future of their business, and relayed that more than half of the 21,000-plus consumers surveyed say they’re using mobile devices every day to watch streaming videos.

More than 50% of surveyed consumers said they access free, over-the-internet video (from the likes of YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat) and 48% said they access video through subscription services from traditional pay TV providers.

“The proliferation of video platforms and services are enabling more dynamic social, short-form, and immersive content formats that creates cross-platform competition for traditional licensed and original content,” said IBC CEO Michael Crimp. “This is a challenge for advertisers and content providers to reach target audiences with relevant, personalized offerings and messages — to succeed they need to embrace technologies and innovations in the marketplace, such as cognitive computing.”

Steven Canepa, GM of IBM’s global telecommunications, media and entertainment industry, added: “With an ever-increasing array of devices and over-the-top direct-to-consumer platforms, connected consumers are now clearly demanding high quality and personalized anytime, anywhere content experiences. The challenge is to use the data emanating from this connectedness for competitive advantage. Cognitive computing allows media companies to better understand their audiences, to enhance customer choice and engagement, and to derive the insights necessary to better connect the right content with the right audience member.”

Irdeto

Digital platform security firm Irdeto announced a new partnership with CE manufacturer Vestel, which has Irdeto’s newly launched TV Cloaked CA solution (which allows consumers to access premium pay TV services directly through their TVs, without the need for a separate set-top box) integrated into Vestel’s 4K TVs.

The partnership also allows for European operators to directly sell pay TV content using Vestel 4K TVs, with local Turkish TV operator Filbox the first to use the solution to deliver content directly through Vestel TVs.

“Delivering broadcast pay TV services directly through the TV will transform the user experience for viewers who purchase our 4K Smart TVs,” said Hakan Kutlu, VP of marketing for Vestel. “Irdeto TV Cloaked CA is enabling this breakthrough, ensuring that important security requirements for high-value content are met. This means that we can focus on providing the best possible viewing experience for our customers and offering a real differentiator in the market.”

Steeve Huin, VP of strategic partnerships for Irdeto, added: “Operators are under constant pressure to acquire new customers and offer innovative services, while maintaining optimum security to protect valuable content. This integration of our proven software-based conditional access directly into Vestel’s 4K Smart TVs will ensure secure delivery of content without the need for a separate STB or external CAM, for the first time. This can make subscriber acquisition easier for operators by leveraging TVs purchased by consumers directly in retail, while providing them with frictionless instant-access pay TV services on their new TV.”

Irdeto TV Cloaked CA is offered in the Irdeto 360 Security suite, and is designed to ensure future-proof, end-to-end security of content. The new integrated Vestel 4K TVs will ship in Europe in early 2018.

Veritone

AI insights and solutions provider Veritone announced at IBC a new collaboration with broadcaster and content professional services provider Dalet, which will have the Veritone platform offered to customers of the asset management and orchestration platform Dalet Galaxy, to enable enhanced content production, management and delivery.

The inclusion of Veritone’s tech will allow Dalet Galaxy customers to use AI technology for automated metadata extraction and analysis, covering speech-to-text transcription, face recognition, object recognition and logo recognition and more.

“Artificial Intelligence is one of our customers’ top priorities. They recognize the power of AI to seamlessly and automatically process, transform and analyze data,” said Frederic Roux, VP of sales for the Americas for Dalet. “We’re pleased to collaborate with Veritone in this effort to help media organizations capture new opportunities with smart workflow services that can easily become part of their existing installation.”

Ryan Steelberg, co-founder and president of Veritone, added: “We are thrilled to team with Dalet, a leader in media asset and workflow management. The collaboration will empower Dalet Galaxy users with the new-found intelligence and impactful applications essential to remain competitive now and in the future.”