January, 2014 - VisiTech PR

Fraunhofer IIS’ easyDCP Now Available in Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve 10 to Enhance the Post-Production Workflow

January 31, 2014

Blackmagic Design’s post-production suite is now enhanced with generation, encryption and playback of digital cinema packages thanks to easyDCP plug-ins from Fraunhofer IIS

ERLANGEN, GERMANY, January, 2014 – Fraunhofer Institute of Integrated Circuits IIS, the world’s renowned source for audio and multimedia technologies, and Blackmagic Design, a world leader in digital TV and film technology, announces the general availability of Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve 10 with the core functionality of Fraunhofer IIS’ department of Moving Picture Technologies’ easyDCP software suite. This integration provides the ability to easily generate, encrypt and play back digital cinema packages (DCP).

With easyDCP now integrated in DaVinci Resolve 10, post-production houses can shortcut the cumbersome procedures of creative video technology for professional TV and motion picture production, creating DCPs instantly. The result is a seamless workflow from the first phases of the post-production process to DCP creation for transport and screening in theaters.

Fraunhofer IIS, with its easyDCP post-production tools, is one of the leading R&D partners in the industry. As an important driver for new technologies and solutions in the digital cinema and digital media market, Fraunhofer IIS has a strong alignment to close-to-market developments.

“Fraunhofer understands the needs and challenges the industry faces with optimizing their digital cinema workflows,” said Heiko Sparenberg, head of the digital cinema group at Fraunhofer IIS. “Blackmagic Design is one of the many influential names in the industry that has partnered with Fraunhofer IIS to broaden its range of supported formats in the area of creative video technology for professional TV and motion picture production by integrating the easyDCP API.”

In addition to optimizing the workflow, easyDCP’s built-in key delivery message (KDM) generator also makes it possible that sensitive data for dailies can be created and encrypted for specific players and for predetermined play-out periods. As a result, easyDCP not only enables DaVinci Resolve 10 users to save time, but also provides great safety measures in the exchange between production and post-production.

Fraunhofer IIS’ easyDCP software package is licensed by facilities worldwide. It is compatible to the standards for the creation, conforming and handling of DCPs.

Fraunhofer IIS and the Department of Moving Picture Technologies are part of the Fraunhofer Digital Cinema Alliance. The Alliance provides a network of deep expertise and intelligence for the development of scalable technologies and international standards that allow customers to stay ahead the market.

About Fraunhofer IIS
Founded in 1985 the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen, today with more than 780 staff members, ranks first among the Fraunhofer Institutes concerning headcount and revenues. As the main inventor of mp3 and universally credited with the co-development of AAC audio coding standard, Fraunhofer IIS has reached worldwide recognition. It provides research services on contract basis and technology licensing. The Fraunhofer IIS organization is part of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, based in Munich, Germany.

About the Department Moving Picture Technologies
The department Moving Picture Technologies develops new innovative imaging systems and procedures based on High Dynamic Range (HDR), light field and 3D capturing methods. Main application areas are the motion picture and TV industry. The algorithms will be used to extend technical and creative opportunities on the set and in the post-production. To achieve practical use specific components like image processing ASICs, software tools or complete prototypes and devices will be developed.

Well known software developments will be used, e.g. easyDCP for creation, playback and control of digital cinema packages DCPs. Actual and future extensions will work for enhanced 3D distribution packages, multi-format mastering or archiving of media content. The department is well connected to other organizations and associations and is working in several international standardization organizations.

Fraunhofer HHI and Contributing Companies and Institutes of MPEG Receive Technology and Engineering Emmy

January 29, 2014

Berlin, Germany – January 29, 2014 – The Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), today announced the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has recognized the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) with a Technology and Engineering Emmy® Award for the development of the MPEG-2 Transport Stream standard. As part of MPEG, Fraunhofer HHI, a leader in the development of mobile and fixed broadband communication networks, multimedia systems, image processing and 3D, played a leading role in the evolution of the standard. This includes the integration of new video coding formats such as multiview video coding (MVC) and High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC).

MPEG-2 first came into use as a video and transport standard for digital TV in the 1990s. Even though the MPEG-2 video standard in HDTV and the Internet is now largely superseded by AVC, MPEG-2 is still an enduring success. Most of the world’s digital receivers, from televisions and Blu-ray players to smartphones and tablets, now come equipped with the MPEG-2 transport stream format for video reception. The contributions made by Fraunhofer HHI to the standardization of the format enabled MPEG-2 to keep pace with the rapidly growing market for end-user digital devices.

Thomas Schierl, an editor of the MPEG-2 transport stream standard’s amendments, and his team from Fraunhofer HHI’s Image Processing department have been dedicated to developing the standards and solutions needed for the integration of current video codecs since 2007. This includes the integration of MVC, scalable video coding (SVC) and the latest standard, HEVC. Fraunhofer HHI made significant contributions reduces the data rate of the previous video coding standard, AVC High Profile, by half with no corresponding loss of picture quality. The new standard makes Ultra High Definition TV, or 4K video transmission, feasible at roughly double the bitrate of HDTV with AVC High Profile.

“We have always paid close attention to the whole digital media workflow from coding and transport to the end device,” said Thomas Schierl, head of the multimedia communications group, Fraunhofer HHI. “This Emmy is a very special honor for the people working on the MPEG-2 Transport Stream. The recognition our work received through this internationally famous television award showcases how important standardization formats are for the film and television industry.”

Fraunhofer HHI is part of the Fraunhofer Digital Cinema Alliance. The Alliance provides a network of deep expertise and intelligence for the development of scalable technologies and international standards that allow customers to stay ahead the market.

The Technology & Engineering Emmy
Established in 1948 by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Technology Emmy Award honors outstanding developments and innovations in the field of broadcasting. The Award recognizes companies, organizations and individuals who have made technological breakthroughs or have had a significant influence in shaping the future of television technology.

The Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute
The Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute is a world leader in the development of image coding and transmission systems, mobile and fixed broadband communication networks, and multimedia systems. From photonic components and systems to fiber optic sensors and high-speed hardware architectures, the Heinrich Hertz Institute works together with its international partners from research and industry on building the infrastructure for the future Gigabit Society. Fraunhofer HHI is your competent partner for UHD TV, 3D TV, 3D displays, HDTV, gesture controlled man-machine interaction, image coding, image processing and transmission, and use of interactive media.

Rostelecom in Russia new Customer of Net Insight

January 28, 2014

Russia’s largest telecom operator will utilize the Nimbra platform to achieve the highest possible Quality of Service

MOSCOW, (CSTB’ 14 Booth 525); Russia – Net Insight, a leading provider of efficient and scalable transport solutions for media, IP and broadcast networks, today announces that Rostelecom, a new customer, has selected the company’s Nimbra platform for live video transport feeds for a major winter sports event taking place in Russia in February.

With Net Insight’s Nimbra platform, Rostelecom will transport live video feeds from Sochi to Moscow for a major national broadcaster during an international winter sporting event. The telecom operator selected Net Insight for its compact and highly versatile platform that is especially suited for occasional use services and meeting demands for fast time to market.

Rostelecom is a nationwide telecommunications enterprise and the largest universal communications operator in Russia, serving more than 100 million subscribers in 80 regions. Rostelecom offers cutting-edge fixed and mobile telephony, broadband access, pay TV and cloud solutions to consumers and businesses.

“Rostelecom will deploy Net Insight’s Nimbra platform in order to serve our customers’ contribution needs during the upcoming sporting event,” says Igor Kachalov, senior specialist, service TV & radio company department at Rostelecom. “The Nimbra platform not only provides a highly stable JPEG2000 compression solution but also ensures advanced protection mechanisms. These benefits in combination with Net Insight’s and Kontur-M’s professional services were imperative in selecting the Nimbra platform.”

“Adding Rostelecom to our list of major service providers demonstrates that our Nimbra platform is the ideal solution for mission-critical live sports broadcasting,” says Fredrik Tumegård, CEO at Net Insight. “Net Insight has set the pace for innovation in the industry, and with this latest customer win, we are strengthening our presence in Russia as we strive to support the needs of our customers’ networks.”

The order was received in December in partnership with Kontur-M, one of Net Insight’s Premium partners in Russia. Kontur-M will supply on-site services during the winter sporting event.

Please visit Net Insight at Kontur-M’s booth 525 at CSTB’ 14.

For further information, please contact:

Fredrik Tumegård, CEO of Net Insight, +46 8 685 04 00, fredrik.tumegård@netinsight.net

About Net Insight

Net Insight delivers the world’s most efficient and scalable transport solution for Broadcast and IP Media, Digital Terrestrial TV and IPTV/CATV networks.

Net Insight products truly deliver 100 percent Quality of Service with three times improvement in utilization of bandwidth for a converged transport infrastructure. Net Insight’s Nimbra™ platform is the industry solution for video, voice and data, reducing operational costs by 50 percent and enhancing competitiveness in delivery of existing and new media services.

More than 175 world class customers run mission critical video services over Net Insight products in over 60 countries. Net Insight is quoted on the NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm.

For more information, please visit www.netinsight.net

About Rostelecom

For more information, please visit www.rostelecom.ru

About Kontur-M

For more information, please visit www.konturm.ru

Cortado Enterprise Mobility Solutions Honored in 2013 Mobile Star Awards

January 21, 2014

Cortado receives two Superstar and three Shining Stars awards in consumer and enterprise categories

DENVER, January 21, 2014 – Cortado, an international provider of enterprise mobility solutions today announces that its Cortado Workplace, Cortado Corporate Server and ThinPrint Cloud Printer products have all been named one of the best mobile products of the year in the 2013 Mobile Star Awards™ program, hosted by MobileVillage.com.

Cortado was honored in the following categories:

Cortado Corporate Server – Superstar, Enterprise: Mobile Device Management category and Shining Star, Enterprise: Mobile Secure File Access or VPN category
ThinPrint Cloud Printer – Superstar, Consumer: Mobile Productivity App category and Shining Star, Enterprise: Mobile Printing for Enterprises category
Cortado Workplace – Shinning Star, Consumer: Remote Desktop Access Mobile App category

Cortado Corporate Server, with advanced mobile device management (MDM) for the most complete, productive and secure mobile business solution available, enables users to work while mobile, increasing productivity and collaboration among teams. ThinPrint Cloud Printer is the first and only solution that turns any printer into a cloud printer. Cloud Printer functions with all browsers and all smartphones and supports all printers, regardless of the manufacturer, and can be used with all apps and all relevant operating systems. Cortado Workplace is a free app targeted for business users, improving productivity and allowing them to work on the go just as with a desktop PC, providing users with round-the-clock access to files and documents without requiring a powered-up computer.

“At Cortado, we strive to develop the one solution that consumers and companies need to overcome enterprise mobility challenges and enhance productivity,” said Henning Volkmer, president and CEO of Cortado, Inc. “Being honored in five categories of the Mobile Star Awards showcases our ability to develop products for a secure and efficient mobile work environment.”

“The Mobile Star Awards is the only competition where today’s most exciting new mobile products and companies can compete against established competitors on a more level playing field,” says Mobile Star Awards director Gary Thayer. “A major part of this is because votes are cast by real users who really love the products—these are the mobile early adopters, mobile IT professionals, and tech journalists who dominate our readership. And after 13 years, the mobile industry recognizes Mobile Star Awards winners and nominees as the star innovators to watch and follow.”

Winners are chosen by the nearly 11,000 readers of Mobile Villages’ “Go Mobile™” newsletter, which delivers headline summaries and links to the top mobile stories on major mobile tech sites including: CNET, Engadget, TechCrunch, The Verge, Computerworld and CIO. For more information about the annual Mobile Star Awards, visit MobileVillage.com.

This news release and press images are available online and can be downloaded at www.cortado.com/press.

About Cortado

Cortado – formerly ThinPrint – has delivered solutions for the modern working world since 1999. Enterprise mobility, printing, virtualization and BYOD are the main focus of the company. Cortado combines innovative devices such as smartphones and tablets with the customary requirements of office work, in teams and beyond space and system boundaries.

Easy for users, innovative, reliable, and with a high return on investment. These are the distinguishing features of Cortado products. No other company focuses so much on the issue of consumerization. By constantly evaluating feedback from users of its free cloud services available in all major app stores, Cortado continuously improves its products. These foundations allow Cortado to optimally implement an enterprise mobility strategy for businesses of all sizes.

Cortado established itself internationally with ThinPrint, the leading printer virtualization technology, which is used in 116 countries by thousands of companies. Even the biggest customers of Citrix XenApp and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services rely on ThinPrint. Via a long-term OEM partnership, VMware integrates ThinPrint technology.

The advantages of printer virtualization will only increase, also for cloud providers and in networks with physical desktops. Results are significant cost savings, immensely reduced helpdesk requests and noticeably more satisfied employees.

Over 18,000 enterprise customers with 5 up to 150,000 employees, as well as hundreds of thousands of individual users worldwide rely on Cortado solutions. As an internationally operating company, and founder of the Cloud Printing Alliance, Cortado employs over 220 highly skilled employees at its headquarters in Berlin, Germany and in its branch offices in the United States, the UK, Australia, France and Japan. Cortado was a winner of the 2013 Great Place to Work® competition and is named as one of the “Best Employers in Berlin-Brandenburg 2013”.

About MobileVillage / PDA Inc.

Since 1993, MobileVillage has been a pioneering market and solution development company dedicated to advancing mobile and wireless technology in a wide range of industries. MobileVillage accomplishes this by fostering education and alliances through “Best of Breed” solution identification, event partnerships, an online directory, daily news, the widely respected “Go Mobile™” newsletter, and annual Mobile Star Awards™ program. Visit MobileVillage online at http://www.mobilevillage.com.