Client News

Cinegy Multiviewer 15.2: Hail to the King

Munich, Germany, 05 August 2020: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digital video processing, asset management, video compression and automation, and playout, has released the latest version of Cinegy Multiviewer 15.2, solidifying Cinegy’s position as the leading IP and multipurpose multiviewer vendor.

Cinegy Multiviewer 15.2 is the most flexible multiviewer ever, great for on-premise and remote monitoring applications.

Streams from satellites, camera feeds, playout devices and other local or remote sources all need to be monitored. Cinegy Multiviewer displays and analyzes these signals, raising alerts for any detected signal problems. Running as a service operating on commodity IT equipment, video streams can be received over IP, eg UDP/RTP, NDI, SRT via Ethernet or using standard SDI cards.

Notable features introduced include latest version NDI support, using Cinegy Encode as an SDI output option, SRT encapsulated IP input and output stream inputs, and support for encrypted SRT streaming on input.

Cinegy fully supports the SRT Alliance which is visible in its entire product range. Head of Product Management Lewis Kirkaldie said, “For years the world of broadcasting has been anticipating an open and reliable technology to move signals around. Numerous attempts have been made by different enthusiasts across the industry but none of them got closer to fulfilling the requirement than the brilliant SRT.”

Multiviewer Version 15.2 offers further enhancements of its SRT support with additional SRT output encryption support along with DNS resolving for SRT URL addresses.

Kirkaldie adds, “The new Multiviewer has a great many performance optimizations and compatibility enhancements to run even more reliably on the latest Microsoft operating systems, as well as embracing the latest and greatest technologies and protocols widely used in the industry.”

Cinegy Multiviewer 15.2 also fully supports 8K workflows via IP or SDI. Cinegy's 8K capabilities were first deployed in 2015 upon the release of its Daniel2 codec which at the time was capable of decoding 16K video at 280 fps with an Nvidia Quadro M6000. Cinegy has further optimized and integrated Daniel2, making it ubiquitous through the software product range. Cinegy Multiviewer 15 joined Cinegy Capture PRO and Cinegy Air PRO in supporting 8K, via IP (SRT/RTP/UDP), SDI, NDI (e.g. BMD DeckLink 8K Pro) confidence software broadcast solutions when the major update v15 was released earlier this year.

For more information, see the latest release notes here.

Trams Ltd Celebrates 30 Year Anniversary

London, UK, 27 July 2020: Trams Ltd, a leading value-added reseller and IT solutions provider, is proud to celebrate its 30th Anniversary this month. Established in 1990, Trams is a well-respected and proven supplier to a variety of blue-chip organisations across the media & entertainment, finance, education, oil, gas and energy sectors.

“Trams has been the perfect partner for us in terms of supplying the services we ask of them. From hardware/software to cloud services, we have been extremely happy with the Trams performance and feel very well looked after. We look forward to working together for many years to come! Keep up the good work!” – SkyBet.

Becoming an Apple Authorised Reseller in 1993, Trams continued to establish accreditations from a wide range of manufacturers including Dell, Cisco, Quantum, HPe, Lenovo, Jamf and many more.

Warren Peel, Managing Director, Trams Ltd said, “Our reputation and performance has been built on our clients’ confidence in Trams’ dedicated and experienced colleagues, together with strong and lasting relationships with our manufacturer partners. Without our valued staff and clients, this 30-year milestone would not have been possible. We would like to extend our thanks to all who have supported us throughout the last three decades.”

“Trams has always demonstrated the highest competencies in front of our most demanding media and entertainment customers, served by an amazing team of skilled and committed professionals,” explained Anniek Snauwaert, Sales Director, EMEA M&E of Quantum. She concluded, “Happy Anniversary Trams, the entire Quantum team is excited to help as a vendor of choice during the next 30 years of growth.”

Having received numerous awards for IT services across B2B and the education sector, Trams continues to deliver its award-winning service. “Despite the challenges of Covid-19, Trams is committed to working closely with its customers to ensure delivery of reliable, IT solutions making the financial, logistical and technological challenges of a “work anywhere” workforce, possible,” concluded Peel.

For more information on Trams Ltd, visit www.trams.co.uk/about/30th-anniversary

Pandemic reinforces value of partnerships

Aldermaston, UK, 29 July 2020: Having completed a number of projects in recent months despite the constraints of the global pandemic, SI Media and GB Labs reflect on the underrated value provided by global and regional partnerships.

Based just north of Venice, Italy, SI Media is an international broadcast software solution provider – including its proprietary “.YES!”, an HTML5 web-based and cloud-oriented suite for media asset, broadcast management, newsroom computer, and playout automation system for master control rooms and studios.

Dominic Harland, CEO/CTO GB Labs said, “Because so many of SI Media’s customers already use our storage, our systems have now become an integral part of what they recommend as part of their workflow and production solutions to new and existing customers - and one of the installations we have just completed together in Asia was for a new online and nearline archive for master control and production workflows using our FastNAS storage system.”

GB Labs provides the world’s most intelligent NAS shared storage technology, wrapped in simple to use yet ultra-powerful appliances designed specifically for media professionals. GB Labs pioneered NAS technology more than a decade ago, and continues to advance its capabilities - in-house – daily.

GB Labs’ storage products are stable, reliable, and scalable in ways that fit elegantly with any modern requirement. It can be used for both MCR and production workflows, which for a software orientated house such as SI Media is a key element in providing a complete technology solution.

SI Media EMEA Sales Manager, Paolo Favaro further explained, “With the current restrictions on site visits and other practical uncertainties, it’s a major bonus to have a technology partner and hardware supplier you can count on in any scenario. Moreover, the speed with which we receive support for a proposal, and the expertise with which it is delivered, is remarkable.

“Adding GB Labs storage to our recommended portfolio has brought several benefits to our project proposals: It expands our influence on the projects; it increases our overall value; and it enables us to set up and test a complete workflow in our laboratories, minimising wastes of time and risk. It also provides the stability of using the same provider and the certainty of the reliability of the proposed system. A partner with the quality of technology provided by GB Labs enables us to expand what we offer to our clients and minimise the time typically required to build and deliver a system to a specific request.”

Harland concluded, “The importance of mutual trust and respect - especially during difficult circumstances – cannot be overstated. Providing partners with high-quality products and the highest standards of support during normal operating conditions is a core value for any successful business, but it really pays dividends when the going gets tough. We are delighted to have contributed to the ongoing success of SI Media and look forward to many more projects to come.”

Mo-Sys introduces the one-stop 4K virtual studio

London, UK, 16 July 2020: Mo-Sys, a world leader in precision camera tracking solutions for virtual studios and augmented reality, has brought virtual studio production within reach of everyone with StarTracker Studio, the world’s first pre-assembled production package. The system is scalable to any size production, and can support 4K Ultra HD.

Critical for virtual studio and augmented reality production is to track the position of each camera in three-dimensional space across all six axes of movement. StarTracker from Mo-Sys is proven as the most precise and reliable camera tracking package, using dots on the studio ceiling (“stars”) which are placed at random and tracked to plot camera positions with extraordinary accuracy.

To make virtual studio production accessible by all, StarTracker Studio bundles the tracking with cameras and mounts and a high-performance virtual graphics system based on the latest version of the Unreal Engine and the Ultimatte keyer. Mo-Sys’s unique plug-in interfaces directly between the camera tracking and the Unreal Engine, for extreme precision with virtually no latency.

All the hardware – including Lenovo PCs with Titan RTX GPUs – is mounted in a rolling rack cabinet and pre-wired, and all the software is loaded and configured. All the user has to do is design their unique virtual environment, power up the StarTracker Studio rack and start shooting.

“StarTracker Studio enables any organisation to create premium virtual studio content easily and simply, at an attractive price point,” said Michael Geissler, CEO of Mo-Sys. “We have made it simple by bringing the best equipment together, from respected vendors like Blackmagic Design/Ultimatte, Lenovo, Canon and Cartoni.

“That hardware works with the incredible virtual graphics power from the Unreal Engine, tied with perfect precision to real objects thanks to Mo-Sys tracking,” he continued. “It gives the user access to top end effects like hyper-realistic reflections, soft shadows to emulate real-world lighting, continual depth of field processing to emulate lens performance, and occlusion handling, so talent can walk around virtual objects. In other words, top-end, uncompromised virtual production, in a simple one-stop package.”

The standard package is supplied with three Blackmagic Ursa Mini 4.6K cameras with Canon 18 – 80 zoom lenses, and paired with Mo-Sys StarTracker tracking units. The kit also includes a camera jib, a rolling tripod and a camera rail set. An 8 channel Atem production switcher provides the live output for broadcast or streaming, and three video recorders are included for separate programme, key and graphics recording. Smart switching means that only one Ultimatte keyer is required for the system, rather than the more conventional one keyer per camera.

The package also includes the Mo-Sys Beam In kit to bring remote guests into the virtual studio. Every element can be used in HD or 4K Ultra HD. Three radio microphones and an eight-channel audio mixer are also part of the solution.The system is scalable up to the largest size of virtual production. Rack kits are available to support either eight or 16 cameras. The complete system is pre-configured by Mo-Sys before shipping, and Mo-Sys will also provide all support, including training in technical and creative aspects where required.

“We have all had to find new and inventive ways to keep up production over the last few months,” said Geissler. “StarTracker Studio is ideal for the new normal, especially including our Beam In kit for remote contributions. This is a powerful production platform aimed at anyone who wants to create virtual studio and augmented reality content, without the time and investment setting it up themselves. Hang a green screen and, with StarTracker Studio, you are good to go.”

Additional information will be available through a Webinar on 23July 2020 at 10am BST and 6pm BST.

GB Labs further strengthens CORE.4 and CORE.4 Lite security

Aldermaston, UK, 14 July 2020: The leader in intelligent storage solutions, GB Labs has announced that its proprietary CORE.4 and CORE.4 Lite operating systems have been upgraded with additional security benefits designed to augment existing performance, analytic, and real-time data monitoring and display features.

GB Labs’ Chief Product Officer, Howard Twine said, “We have been anything but idle in recent months and have used our time to further improve our already market-leading storage system OS with a range of security enhancements.

“Some of what we have done will mean little to the casual observer, but to everyday users, we have again practically reinvented what is possible to do with a well-designed storage system.”

Twine said, “Security has always been crucial for protecting valuable assets, and with increasing numbers of people moving files around from a variety of remote locations - including home - and between various platforms, we knew it was important to revisit our operating systems to exploit or improve every aspect of their protective environment.”

The CORE.4 UI has been improved with a range of auditing features, both historical and real-time. Data columns can be sorted to indicate how users have interacted with files as well as the type of protocol; login confirmation; shutdown and restart; file transfer status and location details; in addition to report creation and delivery tools. The real-time data is displayed in a timeline along with a pie chart that includes protocol data, all of which can be viewed for detailed analysis of precisely what’s taking place with the data at any time.

“It is, of course, common to monitor a system and resolve security problems after the fact, using accumulated data, but what isn’t common is our ability to automatically monitor a system’s data - live - and flag up anything extraordinary. This is highly valuable in showing how people interact with a system and in identifying where any bottlenecks may be, unnecessary downtime is being wasted, or further efficiencies may be found. All of these tools are useful in helping an organisation achieve its aspirations.”

Twine added, “The in-built System Security Analyser in CORE.4 and CORE.4 Lite is a tool that actively looks for potential security issues and, if detected, makes appropriate recommendations.

The upgraded CORE.4 OS with advanced security is currently being rolled out to existing GB Labs storage system users and will be available in all new systems from August 2020.

Intinor Brings German Literature Prize Direkt to the People

Umea, Sweden UK, 25 June 2020: Intinor, Sweden’s leading developer of products and solutions for high-quality video over public internet, today announced that the Festival of German-Language Literature was streamed live using Intinor’s solution for remote production in an unusual way.

The annual festival normally takes place in Klagenfurt, Austria, and culminates in the awarding of the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, one of Germany’s most prestigious awards for literature.

However, this year the prize-giving took place under different circumstances, i.e., from home. Coordinated and streamed by Austria-based Remotion Media Production and Services, Intinor Direkt link encoders were safely established in the homes of 14 authors and jury members scattered throughout Austria, Germany and Switzerland to produce seven live channels routed through to Remotion’s Klagenfurt master control room where a Direkt router rack was placed.

To allow the most robust transmission, Remotion used Intinor’s own protocol “Bifrost Reliable Transport” (BRT™). This protocol provides very strong protection against lost or late packets while simultaneously adding redundancy with network bonding over LAN & 4G.

The program feed was then “pulled back” to each location for confidence monitoring purposes. Intinor's solution for 4-wire talkback was used to provide a professional ‘mix-minus audio’.

Intinor Sales Manager, Europe, Martin Weber, said, “We would like to thank Remotion for their expertise and trust in Intinor to produce this important live streaming event which was flawlessly broadcast on 3sat in Germany, ORF in Austria, and SRF in Switzerland as well as multiple web-streaming platforms."

Mo-Sys puts the crowd back into sport

London, UK, 19 June 2020: Mo-Sys Engineering, a global leader in real time camera tracking and remote systems, has announced a revolutionary approach to bringing the atmosphere back to live sport amid covid-19 restrictions. Providing precision, zero-latency tracking for any camera (including ultra-long box lenses for sport), the Mo-Sys camera tracking kit interfaces directly to the Unreal Engine or any broadcast render engine, allowing production companies to add virtual crowds to stands.

“After so many weeks, sports fans are desperate for any action,” said Michael Geissler, CEO of Mo-Sys. “But the frustration will turn to disappointment if the atmosphere of the game falls flat because of empty stands. We have developed a camera tracking kit which any outside broadcast can implement quickly and simply, capable of filling the stands with a virtual, but enthusiastic, crowd.”

The Mo-Sys camera tracking encoders are quickly mounted onto broadcast standard Vinten Vector heads, with no impact on the camera’s perfect balance and no backlash when panning and tilting. Zoom data is collected either by gear encoders or by a serial data link to digital lenses. The combined tracking data is sent over ethernet to the workstation hosting the augmented reality software.

“We are known for the absolute precision and stability of our camera tracking – that’s why Hollywood relies on our technology,” Geissler added. “In this application, we deliver precise tracking, including compensation for lens distortion, even when a 100:1 lens is zoomed fully.”

Mo-Sys has worked with Epic Games to develop a tight interface to the Unreal Engine, including support for the latest version 4.25 software. The result is that highly photo-realistic augmented reality – such as crowds filling the stands – can be integrated into live production with no limitations and negligible latency. The kit includes the bolt-on encoding kit for Vinten heads and the lens calibration tools.

Users can see the technology in action in a Mo-Sys LiveLab webinar, which will also include contributions from Epic Games and Canon. The webinars are on 30 June, at 10.00 (register at https://bit.ly/2N1Ve44) and repeated at 18.00 (register at https://bit.ly/30GqFZP). Michael Geissler of Mo-Sys will also join a distinguished panel with the RTS Thames Valley Creative Centre’s look at production techniques for audience shows in a time of pandemic on Thursday 25 June at 17.00 (register free at https://rts.org.uk/event/future-studio-audience).

Sarah Deas joins Pixel Power to strengthen sales team

Cambridge, UK, 18 June 2020: Pixel Power, the global leader in graphics production and playout automation, has appointed Sarah Deas to its head office team. Deas will provide internal sales support to the sales teams in the Cambridge base and regional offices in North America, South-East Asia and the Middle East.

“I am delighted to be joining Pixel Power right now as the business grows in the playout automation and non-linear content delivery market”, said Deas. “Pixel Power has been a rock solid name in the industry for decades and the transition to being a major player in master control playout connects directly with my 15 year experience in the industry in business analysis and asset management. Developing this further through automated workflows and automation/playout is a natural step.”

Pixel Power continues to invest in staff with in-depth experience in order to deliver precisely tailored solutions to broadcast and media companies around the world. Expert sales support is imperative during the customer consultation process. Deas’s focus on detail in this phase complements the precision designs created by the solution managers that enable the software defined solutions to deliver exactly what broadcast and media customers are looking to achieve.

“Internal sales programmes are critical to ensuring all parts of the process from initial consultation through to deployment are well connected”, said James Gilbert, CEO of Pixel Power. “The current crisis has brought home to broadcasters everywhere just how important it is to have flexible and scalable software solutions if they to react to dramatic changes in workflows and demand. Our software defined installations have been enabling broadcasters to quickly switch their operators to work from home or remote locations. It is this flexibility and speed that is getting the attention of many major media and broadcast companies worldwide who want us to be part of their new normal.

Mo-Sys Launch U50 Remote Camera Control Head for Box Lenses

London, UK, 2 June 2020: Mo-Sys Engineering, a global leader in real time camera tracking and remote systems, today announced the launch of U50. Designed and manufactured during the lockdown period, the U50 is a heavy-duty remote head that enables camera operators to safely return to work and control the biggest box lenses and heaviest broadcast camera set-ups remotely.

Offering the ultimate for camera remote control and remote production, U50 combats the current challenges and unique requirements in the Covid-19 affected world. Making it possible to operate large box lenses and cameras remotely, U50 achieves the same precision and agility when camera operators are controlling manually and on-site. With no other remote head capable of smoothly and quickly operating box lenses and with on-site production crews dramatically decreasing, this innovation offers a new solution to tackle current challenges.

Danny Zemanek, Freelance Camera Operator explained, “Previously remote production technology was an additional cost for broadcasters, but now it is essential to ensure camera operators can work safely. The U50 remote head from Mo-Sys represents a new way that operators can control big box lenses with the same precision and agility that we have come to expect.”

Built on the same high-precision backlash free drives in the successful Mo-Sys L40 remote head, the U50 head enables fast acceleration and deceleration of heavy broadcast camera packages with super telephoto lenses of up to 50kg. The unique combination of a U-shape space-frame design and zero backlash drives give U50 enough strength to achieve fast panning shots with no bouncing, even when zoomed in. Whether you are following a puck in an Ice Hockey game or trailing F1 cars on a racetrack, U50 allows you to precisely follow the action.

The U50 is specifically designed to allow remote operation, eliminating the need for operators to manually pan and tilt the camera onsite. Instead they can move the camera remotely from a control room with an intuitive pan bar that translates operator movements 1:1 to the remote head. And with the Mo-Sys TimeCam option soon to be made available, U50 has the potential to be operated anywhere in the world with virtually no delay by using Mo-Sys’ delay compensated global remote-control technique.

Michael Geissler, CEO Mo-Sys Engineering Ltd said, “Our U50 is ideal for sporting events and long-range filming environments. At the core of the U50 are our highly robust pan and tilt motors with zero backlash, providing lag-free operation. Using the power and sturdiness of the Mo-Sys L40 pan and tilt motors, but now with a double space-frame design, the U50 is Mo-Sys’ strongest head to date.”

Extremely strong and backlash-free drive units give operators instant and delay-free control. The precise gear drives enable flawless operation even with the biggest zoom lenses, unlike worm gear drives which can cause judder. The hole through the centre of the gear boxes for cable pass-through removes the need for slip-rings and makes it future-proof for high bandwidth digital video. This also allows for tangle free direct cabling.

Geissler added, “Just like the rest of our broadcast robotics and film remote heads, the U50 can be operated with a variety of input devices such as hand-wheels, pan-bar or joystick. It can be connected through a bus cable, ethernet or fibre for long distances. The button-console interface provides controls for pan/tilt velocity adjustment, input smoothing and direction, user defined position limits with feathering and axes zeroing.

“Whether you’re a freelance cameraman, work in production, broadcast, OBs, rental, virtual events, corporate or sports,” Geissler concluded, “Our U50 simplifies the operation of the head in remote-mode making it ideal for all those operating and involved – be they technical or not.”

Intinor connects to the American broadcast industry through JB&A and NewTek

Umea, Sweden, 01 June 2020 — Intinor Technology, Sweden’s leading developer of products and solutions for high quality video over internet, is working closely with American companies JB&A, a value add distributor specialising in the field of video, broadcast, production & proAV, and NewTek, the leader in IP-based video technology, to connect with the American broadcast industry.

At a time when travel and face to face meetings are restricted, Intinor has been keen to work closely with its regional partners across the globe to find alternative ways to connect with local broadcasting companies, offering webinars and online demonstrations with the opportunity for live Q&A sessions.

This is a particularly important time for Intinor to connect with customers. The ongoing crisis is leading many companies to re-evaluate their production facilities and to consider creating new remote production workflows that not only overcome the current challenges of social distancing but also offer long-term economic and productivity benefits. Intinor’s solutions are known as the “Swedish Army Knife” for an all-IP infrastructure.

Daniel Lundstedt, Marketing Coordinator for Intinor said: “In these challenging times, the broadcast industry and producers are looking for alternative ways to distribute and produce their content. Most broadcasters are used to working with secure connections, using satellite or dedicated fiber, and have been wary of using the public internet due to the risk of packet loss, latency issues on networks etc.

“One of the major challenges in switching from the more traditional workflows to remote production is how to get around the inherent instability of the public internet” Lundstedt continues. “That’s where Intinor comes in because that’s what we do all the time.”

JB&A has been Intinor’s exclusive distributor in the USA for years and the two companies regularly run joint events. The webinar, which ran live on April 14th 2020 and is available to view on YouTube, aimed to educate viewers about REMI production (REMote Integration), REME (REMote Editorial viewing) and to demonstrate how broadcasters can implement these using the solutions that Intinor offers. Nicholas Smith, JB&A’s VP of Technology, hosted the event from Folsom, CA with Daniel Lundstedt representing Intinor from its base in Umea, Sweden.

Moving on from an introductory presentation, the webinar demonstrated the interoperability of Intinor’s Direkt product family, using many different input streams, laptops, mobile phones as well as encoders, as part of the production.

They also demonstrated Intinor’s own transport protocol, Bifrost BRT™, that has forward error correction, adaptive bitrate, ARQ, or resending, and network bonding. Other protocols are also supported, including SRT and many others.

Another American company that Intinor has often partnered with is NewTek. Intinor was due to promote its Direkt router studio alongside NewTek in the NDI® Pavilion at NAB this year as the products from these two companies fit together nicely in a Remote Production Workflow using content from a variety of sources. Since JB&A are also distributors for Newtek, this offers perfect synergy and value add for all three companies involved as well as their clients.

With the cancellation of NAB and numerous other industry shows due to COVID-19, NewTek has created its own TV channel, NewTekTV. NewTekTV aims to keep people up-to-date on technology news, live demos, support and expert advice as well as showing in itself the flexibility of IP-based, software-defined visual storytelling (#SDVS) on a global basis.

In their latest broadcast, focusing on how to keep sports fans engaged when there’s no sports going on, Lundstedt was invited on as a guest speaker to talk about how Intinor is using NDI® to help keep the world connected.

NewTekTV’s host, Richard Evans, was interested to hear about the remote workflows that Intinor offers and how Intinor’s Direkt router studio works with NewTek’s Tricaster to provide a complete solution for remote production.

“The Direkt router studio supports input from different IP streams, such as SRT, RTMP, or Intinor’s own protocol, BRT™ Bifrost, all of which offer ways to handle secure transmission even over poor internet connections” explained Lundstedt. “Content collected via the Direkt router can then be sent via NDI® to NewTek’s Tricasters which provide all the tools necessary for media production. Once the production is complete, this can then be transmitted via NDI® again back to the Direkt router which handles the broadcast of the finalised content, sending to multiple partners if required.”

Further webinars and online demos are planned. Check out Intinor’s Upcoming Events for more details.