Groundbreaking new version of high-volume transcoding software, powered by Kayak application foundation, makes IBC debut

September 9, 2011 — IBC 2011, Amsterdam, Stand 7.G41: Digital Rapids is treating attendees of the IBC 2011 exhibition to a look at the next generation of the company’s automated, high-volume media processing solution, as the upcoming 2.0 version of the Digital Rapids Transcode Manager software makes its IBC debut. Powered by the groundbreaking new Kayak application platform, Transcode Manager 2.0 builds on the proven quality, format flexibility and performance that have made Transcode Manager the preferred choice of leading media organizations for applications from post production and archive to broadcast and multi-screen distribution. New features in version 2.0 include intelligent, logic-driven workflow automation; dynamic licensing; and elastic scalability with support for both on-premises and external clouds. more

September 2, 2011 — Passfield, UK: Digital Rapids – the leading provider of tools and solutions for bringing television, movie and Web content to wider audiences — announced today that IBC TV News, the official news channel of the IBC conference and exhibition, will again use Digital Rapids’ versatile multi-format encoding systems to transform content for the IBC TV News website and mobile distribution. In addition to on-demand Web and mobile clips, IBC TV News will also feature live streaming of news updates on the Web. A new ‘daily download’ service will also allow IBC attendees to download the latest IBC TV News show at WiFi hotspots within the convention centre.

“IBC TV News is an important part of the IBC experience, showcasing key news for attendees while bringing the highlights and atmosphere of the show to viewers all over the world who are unable to attend in person,” said Clive Vickery, Managing Director, EMEA and Asia at Digital Rapids. “We’re pleased to be working with the IBC TV News team once again to bring their content to their viewers with exceptional quality.” more

June 6, 2011 — Sydney, Australia: Digital Rapids – the leading provider of tools and solutions for bringing television, movie and Web content to wider audiences — announced today that Stellar Inflight, the world’s longest running in-flight entertainment company, is using the Digital Rapids Transcode Manager automated transcoding software to transform high volumes of video and audio for both new and traditional in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems and viewing platforms.

A Transcode Manager Server and multiple Transcode Engines are deployed at each of Stellar Inflight’s technical facilities in Sydney, Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. High volumes of source files are transformed by Transcode Manager into multiple outputs in the formats required by varying in-flight entertainment systems. Transcode Manager is also used to transcode content for viewing on portable media players and tablets — such as the Apple(r) iPad(r) — now available to passengers on select airlines. more

May 31, 2011 — Markham, Ontario: Digital Rapids Digital Rapids will be showcasing the new 2.0 version of the award-winning TouchStream portable encoding and live streaming appliance at the upcoming InfoComm 2011 exhibition. The version 2.0 update adds support for the Digital Rapids Broadcast Manager multi-encoder management software, enabling comprehensive remote monitoring, management and control of multiple TouchStream units from a centralized location. Additional new features in the TouchStream 2.0 upgrade include enhancements to HTTP Live Streaming for Apple(r) iPhone(r) and iPad(tm) devices and improved Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) Smooth Streaming capabilities. more

April 13, 2011 — NAB Show, Las Vegas, Booth SL6010: Digital Rapids – the leading provider of tools and solutions for bringing television, movie and Web content to wider audiences — is providing the encoding capabilities powering live and on-demand video of the 2011 NAB Show on the official show website, www.nabshow.com. Expanding upon the on-demand content featured on the site during previous events, the NAB Show is for the first time featuring official daily webcasts, live from the show floor. The automated, high-performance Digital Rapids Transcode Manager software is being used in the production of on-demand content for the third consecutive year, while the TouchStream portable live streaming appliance is being used for encoding and streaming of the live webcasts.

Production teams are capturing and editing video throughout the event, including daily highlights packages; feature segments from the exhibition floor; selections from NAB sessions, luncheons and keynotes; interviews and more. The Transcode Manager software transforms the finished video segments into the formats required for online viewing. The resulting high-quality media files are then delivered to content distribution provider Highwinds for on-demand delivery to viewers through the Show’s website. more

Transcode Manager 2.0 powered by new Kayak application foundation

April 11, 2011 — NAB Show, Las Vegas, Booth SL6010: Digital Rapids has unveiled version 2.0 of the award-winning Digital Rapids Transcode Manager enterprise-class, multi-screen media file transcoding software. Transcode Manager 2.0, built on the groundbreaking new Kayak application platform, combines outstanding quality, intelligent automation and exceptional performance for transforming high volumes of media between acquisition, production, archive and distribution formats. New features include powerful, logic-driven process automation; greater deployment flexibility; and seamless scalability beyond facilities into the cloud.

In addition to previews of Transcode Manager 2.0 in Digital Rapids’ booth (SL6010) at the 2011 NAB Show, the new cloud transcoding capabilities running on the Windows Azure platform will be demonstrated by Digital Rapids in the partner demonstration area of Microsoft Corp.’s booth, SL3812. more

April 10, 2011 — NAB Show, Las Vegas, Booth SL6010: Digital Rapids has unveiled a wide array of new products and enhancements in the company’s comprehensive range of encoders for live multi-screen delivery. The new offerings include the launch of the StreamZ Live IP encoder for repurposing live IP-based inputs; significant performance increases in the StreamZHD Live ABR adaptive streaming encoder; new remote management capabilities for the TouchStream live streaming appliance; and a preview of a new hybrid encoder, extending Digital Rapids’ proven, multi-screen encoding benefits into ‘traditional’ television applications in the broadcast, cable, satellite and telco markets.

From IP to Multi-Screen

StreamZ Live IP offers the superior output quality, outstanding reliability and flexible output format support of Digital Rapids’ StreamZ Live encoder series in a dedicated configuration for transcoding live IP-based sources. StreamZ Live IP’s rich output capabilities allow content owners to easily repurpose contributed source feeds for revenue-expanding multi-screen content distribution opportunities. more

March 29, 2011 — Markham, Ontario: Digital Rapids – the leading provider of tools and solutions for bringing television, movie and Web content to wider audiences — today announced new dual-channel models in the StreamZ and StreamZHD families of studio encoding systems; StreamZHD Live ABR adaptive streaming encoder; and Flux family of video capture and pre-processing hardware. The new models combine Digital Rapids’ long-standing ability to output multiple formats, resolutions and bit rates simultaneously in real time with the capability to capture and encode from two distinct sources concurrently.

Dual-channel, standard-definition StreamZ models feature SDI video input support with embedded audio. High-definition, dual-channel models of StreamZHD and StreamZHD Live ABR support HD-SDI, dual-link HD-SDI, 3G-SDI and standard-definition SDI video inputs. Real-time down-conversion of dual-link and 3G-SDI inputs leverages new facility infrastructures and allows easy repurposing of such sources without the workflow inconvenience and expense of external format converters. more

Twenty of the user-friendly encoding and streaming appliances record and stream clinical activities from multiple locations

February 25, 2011 — Markham, Ontario: Digital Rapids – the leading provider of tools and solutions for bringing television, movie and Web content to wider audiences — announced today that the University of Guelph has purchased 20 TouchStream live streaming appliances for video capture, archiving and live streaming at the Hill’s Pet Nutrition Primary Healthcare Centre at the Ontario Veterinary College. The TouchStream units stream and record medical procedures, interviews and other clinical activities from multiple locations within the Centre.

TouchStream units in rack at University of Guelph

Hill’s Pet Nutrition Primary Healthcare Centre is a state of the art experiential learning facility where students develop enhanced skills, competence and confidence in providing veterinary healthcare. To support their educational goals, the Centre sought a user-friendly solution to capture video and audio from multiple patient care and procedure rooms, stream it live for immediate remote observation and store it for subsequent on-demand review.

The TouchStream appliances receive source video signals from a variety of locations throughout the Centre and encode them into digital formats for live streaming and on-demand viewing on the Web and other devices. Supplied and deployed by systems integrator Design Electronics, the TouchStream units are integrated with a Crestron control system, allowing recording and streaming to be remotely activated from each location. TouchStream’s flexible concurrent streaming and archiving capabilities and its ability to integrate with third-party components were key considerations for the project, and contribute significantly to the overall system’s ease-of-use. more