M+E Connections

LAS VEGAS — Verizon Digital Media Services (VDMS) made two partnership announcements, with THEO Technologies and Iris.TV both sharing that they’ll integrate their technologies with the VDMS streaming platform. THEOplayer Universal Video Player and IRIS.TV’s Video Personalization Platform will help VDMS’ expand its delivery of personalized experiences via a simple workflow on just one platform, the company said.

“These partnerships demonstrate our ongoing commitment to provide our customers with access to all the services needed to deliver great content embedded in a single platform,” said VDMS president Ralf Jacob. “The integration of these technologies brings advanced features that can help bring great playback capabilities and personalized services to every viewer on any device.”

THEOplayer Universal Video Player is a video playback solution that will pair with VDMS’ server-side ad Insertion and DRM tech, while the IRIS.TV personalization and programming solution will have an AI-driven metadata enrichment part to play, the companies shared.

“We are delighted to be integrating THEOplayer into the VDMS Platform, taking advantage of one of the best networks for streaming to deliver world-class experiences to VDMS’ global customer base,” added Steven Tielemans, CEO of THEO Technologies. “THEOplayer is already powering some of the largest streaming services in the world, and with the support of VDMS, we can bring a premium video experience to even more viewers.”

Also at NAB:

Mediamorph Helps T-Mobile Austria

Cloud-based content value management specialist Mediamorph announced during NAB that the Austrian arm of T-Mobile has tapped it to streamline its VOD business, to better capitalize on content contracts and VOD royalties, streamline asset orders, and get a better view of its content ecosystem and supply chain management.

T-Mobile Australia currently has more than 8.5 million subscribers, and the Mediamorph partnership will allow the company to “to deliver an even better customer experience by showcasing our valuable content,” according to Jan Willem Stapel , CCO of consumer for T-Mobile Austria.

“As we open a new chapter in the digitization of Austria, entertainment and digital content are essential for our development as an integrated provider, and with this comes increased customer expectations,” Willem Stapel said.

“Mediamorph has become the go-to provider enabling operators and MVPDs to increase VOD revenue while radically reducing the time and cost of fulfillment,” said Rob Gardos, CEO of Mediamorph. “Mediamorph’s CVM platform drives greater accountability, flexibility and scalability to maximize revenues. Using our solutions, T-Mobile will be able to quickly scale, bringing more content, innovation and the right mix of offers to its customers.”

Adobe Celebrates Content-Aware Fill for Video

Just ahead of NAB, Adobe announced updates for video and audio tools in its Adobe Creative Cloud, including its brand new Content-Aware Fill for video solution. Powered by the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology, Adobe Sensei, which allows for the removal of unwanted objects (think boom mics, signs, logos, even people) from footage, automatically.

“It brings the art of storytelling to the craft of editing,” said Steve Forde, GM of emerging products, digital video and audio with Adobe. “The response has been amazing.”

Other Creative Cloud improvements include faster Mask Tracking (for effects and color workflows); dual GPU optimization and improved hardware acceleration for HEVC and H.264 formats in Premiere Pro; GPU-accelerated effects in After Effects; the ability to organize and storyboard media in Premiere Pro’s Freeform Project panel; and the ability to polish audio easily and efficiently with Punch and Roll in Audition.