Archive for March 5th, 2012

Immersive Entertainment Demos, Product Premieres, and Oscar-nominated Talent

(Burbank, CA) Createasphere’s Spring Entertainment Technology Expo – the top gathering of entertainment and media professionals, technical innovators, and content experts on the West Coast showcasing emerging media trends in production, post, animation, VFX, advertising, and streaming content – wrapped a full day of innovative technology reveals, trend-setting keynotes, and informative immersive demonstrations on March 1st at the LA Center Studios. The event kept attendees booked with end-to-end events and opportunities throughout the day and into the evening reception.

Taking the stage in the Beaudry Theater, Oscar-Nominated Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, opened up to the audience about his experiences as Director of Photography on visually stunning feature films including “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,” “The Social Network,” and “Fight Club.” In an engaging conversation moderated by Peter Caranicas, Deputy Editor for Variety, Cronenweth shared his point of view as one of today’s leading visual storytellers, a talented artist who blends technology and creativity to produce amazing images. With a career that also includes over 500 music videos, from Celine Dion to Nine Inch Nails, and top rated commercials in addition to major motion pictures, Cronenweth dug into the how and why behind the scenes in his career. The Keynote was followed with an extended Q&A with the DP.

Creative visionary and technologist Ed Lantz, founder of Vortex Immersion Media and recognized transmedia, fulldome and digital media expert, delivered an eye-popping keynote to a standing-room only audience in the Vortex Dome. Vortex creates immersive entertainment venues in spots around the globe as well as a number of related products and services that serve a growing immersive entertainment community. Recently, Vortex built an immersive dome theater for Super Bowl XLVI and a number of other marquee clients. The Vortex Dome is an R&D development site for Vortex, semi-permanently in place at LA Center Studios. During the presentation, Lantz focused on the growing role that immersive entertainment will play in the future for studios, networks, venues, and content creators across the spectrum, and was followed with presentations of real-world immersive projects.

Increasingly, Createasphere’s Entertainment Technology Expos are seen as a go-to venue for the announcement and first-looks at new products from leading manufacturers. HP Workstations and Intel made their Hollywood debut during a hands-on intensive with its groundbreaking HP Z1 Workstation.

Canon presented the first public screening of “When You Find Me,” a 25 minute short – produced by Ron Howard, directed by Bryce Dallas Howard (“The Help,” “The Twilight Saga – Eclipse”) – shot in 2K. Following the screening, cinematographers Andre Lascaris and Bruce Dorn (who screened his film, “Playing with Fire”) joined Canon’s Tim Smith in demonstration and exploration of the C300.

Upcoming for Createasphere in 2012 is a broad spectrum of in-person events, education, and online engagement including its community news portals; ProVideo Coalition and DAMCoalition; the DAMMY Awards, Digital Asset Management Conference in New York and The Hague; Executive Marketplace in Chicago and Los Angeles; Post Production Master Classes in New York and Los Angeles; and the Entertainment Technology Expos in Los Angeles. The next Entertainment Technology Expo is set for November 7th and 8th, 2012 at the Burbank Marriott.

For further information about Createasphere offerings and events, please visit www.createasphere.com, or call 818.842.6611.

About Createasphere
Createasphere is the premier business development partner for technology enabled entertainment, marketing, and communications organizations. We advance careers and technologies by connecting world-class professionals globally online and in person.
Createasphere was founded in 2001, and over the past decade has grown into a global company that in 2011 produced seventeen events over three continents as well as five websites. Createasphere became part of Diversified Business Communications in 2008, and now drives their entertainment, media, technology strategies and properties division. Currently, Createasphere produces the Entertainment Technology Expos in Los Angeles; the Digital Asset Management Conference in New York, Los Angeles, and Europe; The DAMMY Awards in New York; the Executive Marketplaces for Houses of Worship in Los Angeles and Chicago; Post Production Master Classes in New York and Los Angeles, and the online news and content portals ProVideoCoalition.com and DamCoalition.com.

Connect with Createasphere on:
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/createasphere/120410987973181)
Twitter (https://twitter.com/createasphere)
LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/company/createasphere)
Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/createasphere)

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Media Contact:
Chris Purse, 818.303.8088
ignite strategic communications
chris@ignite.bz or mimi@ignite.bz

Growing Footprint Supports International Services For Games and Testing

(London, UK) Testronic Labs, the global leader in quality assurance services for film and television, games, websites, hardware, and software, has announced the completion of an expansion of their central London facility. The bigger footprint at the Testronic Borough High Street location includes new testing environments and offices.

The expanded environment was needed to meet the increased needs of Testronic’s European Games operations, which has seen sizeable growth in testing offerings. Games Services will now be headquartered in central London, alongside the Testronic Software Testing team. With the convergence of many entertainment technologies, this move enables Testronic to efficiently support new platforms, devices, and content.

“We are proud of our growth in Europe, and specifically in Games Services, which has led to the expansion of our London facility,” noted Seth Hallen, CEO of Testronic Labs. “With our increased presence in London, we can offer an even higher caliber of service to our Games clients. Our work with a wide array of customers has pushed our present capacity to its limit, and this expansion will allow us to continue to grow and better serve the needs of our Games clients.”

Games Services London has kicked off the expansion with several large triple-A titles. Alastair Harsant, Vice President of Operations for Games Services, concluded, “It is exciting to be asked to work on the most challenging games and projects. The expansion of the Borough High Street facility supports our continued growth in the industry and will allow us to support the future technologies that are crucial to all of our clients.”

The renovation and expansion will be completed in early March, 2012.

About Testronic Labs
Testronic Labs’ high standards have been protecting clients and safeguarding the consumer experience since 1998. As the leading global provider of quality assurance, compliance, and localization services for a notable array of industries; including media, entertainment, games, education, e-commerce and consumer electronics, Testronic Labs ensures efficient and secure delivery of the highest quality consumer deliverables. Based in Burbank, CA; London, UK; Diepenbeek, Belgium; Warsaw, Poland; and Tokyo, Japan, Testronic Labs offers an unparalleled history of next-generation innovation and service excellence across the entire digital media industry.

For further information, visit www.TestronicLabs.com.

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Media Contact:
Chris Purse, 818.303.8088
ignite strategic communications
chris@ignite.bz or mimi@ignite.bz

Oslo, Norway – T-VIPS, a global leader in Digital Terrestrial TV solutions, today announced the launch of the CP330 T2 Bridge, which enables efficient regional adaption in DVB-T/T2 Single Frequency Networks. Where terrestrial network operators face particular challenges in frequency availability, today’s favoured approach is to deploy cost and frequency efficient SFNs. There has however been a trade-off. SFN operation significantly impacts the operator’s ability to insert local content to a national TV service. The launch of the T-VIPS CP330 offers a flexible solution for operators to cost-effectively insert local content in SFN networks – easily. The CP330 T2 Bridge has been field-tested at major DVB-T2 reference sites and is ready to ship.

The CP330 offers network operators great flexibility both in how they design their distribution networks and how they insert regional and local content. The T2 Bridge enables the distribution of signals to digital terrestrial transmitters using satellite or hybrid (satellite, fiber and microwave) infrastructures.

With the T-VIPS CP330, it is now possible to reuse a Direct To Home (DTH) satellite signal to directly feed terrestrial transmitters. By utilizing the DTH satellite and the advanced deterministic multiplexing processes of the CP330, terrestrial operators now have a highly cost-effective distribution solution that is SFN compliant.

The main advantages of the CP330 are:

- Available in different modes for maximum flexibility:
- Support for deterministic remultiplexing, which creates identical signals at all transmitter sites in the same region, and offers the flexibility to implement a centralized model or carry out local insertion at transmitter sites
- Support for Multiple Physical Layer Pipes (MPLP), enabling adaptation through PLP replacement in the region – an alternative approach for complying with SFN requirements
- Increased reliability through integration with T-VIPS’ TNS541 and TNS544 seamless switches
- Smart PSI/SI processing to deliver a correct and complete EPG.

“Up until now DVB-T2 operators have been unable to effectively utilize DTH satellite signals for primary distribution to SFN transmitter sites. That changes with the launch of the T-VIPS CP330.” said Johnny Dolvik, CEO, T-VIPS. “With support for PLP replacement and deterministic remultiplexing, T-VIPS solves the issues of localizing a DTT offering while maximizing efficiency through SFN operation. Most important of all the CP330 allows operators to do this at the same time as utilizing the DTH satellite signal. We believe that this significant leap in flexibility and efficiency will make the CP330 an important part of the DTT operator’s toolkit.”

Applications

- Regional adaptation in SFN networks, where deterministic output TS or T2-MI packet sequence is crucial
- Insertion of local content using DTH satellite signals or infrastructures for primary distribution in a DTT network.

Key Features

- Deterministic multiplexing: ensures that the TS output from independent CP330s always produce identical signals within an SFN region
- PLP Replacement: replacement of PLPs in a centrally generated T2-MI stream with regional PLPs
• Rate adaptation and in-band configuration

• PID filtering and remapping

• Deterministic PCR re-stamping

• Transport Stream Monitoring, including TR 101 290 Priority 1 monitoring for all incoming signals

• Flexible Transport Stream interfacing – DVB-ASI or IP Gigabit Ethernet interfaces

• Compact, cost-effective 2 units in 1RU

• User-friendly configuration and control; WEB/XML based remote control and SNMP agent for easy integration with NMS systems, integrated with T-VIPS Connect.

For further information: David Bramley, Platform PR, Tel: +44 (0)20 7486 4900, Email: david@platformpr.com

About T-VIPS AS

T-VIPS is a global leader in professional video transport solutions. We help our customers deliver next-generation TV services such as 3D, HDTV, live events and local content. Our IP based video transport and Digital Terrestrial TV solutions allow network operators, broadcasters, and content providers to deliver the highest picture quality at the lowest cost. Leveraging our technology expertise in video over IP, video compression, transport stream processing, monitoring and seamless switching we deliver products and solutions that improve Quality of Service (QoS), ensure high quality in live contribution workflows and enable state of the art DTV.

Our wide range of products enables fast time-to-market, increased reliability and improved video quality. We also provide fully customizable solutions, tailored to customer needs to deliver increased efficiency in video transport infrastructures.

T-VIPS is driven by innovation, customer success, and the application of new technologies to enhance both traditional video transport and Over The Top infrastructures and ensure the delivery of high quality content to TV ready mobile devices.

Elias Arts has brought the award-winning Greg Griffith into its New York fold as the studio’s latest creative director and composer. The multitalented pro is starting strong, co-writing, recording and producing Lung of Love, the latest solo album from the Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray.

“I’m really excited about my new relationship with Elias, and putting together an album with the venerable Amy Ray is the best possible way to start,” noted Griffith. “I can already tell that I’m going to have a long and productive career here.”

Griffith, who has engineered projects for Shelter Island, Baby Monster and Water Works, has been composing music for TV and film since 2005. He took ‘boards Best New Composer that year, and recently hauled in a Yellow Pencil from D&AB London. He spent time at JSM and Stimmung prior to joining Elias Arts. In his earlier career, he worked as a guitar tech for recording artists including Jane’s Addiction and Macy Gray and played bass in the band Mellowdrone signed to Artist Direct.

“Greg has a unique background, with work for a lot of highly respected acts to his credit,” noted Elias Arts New York EP Kala Sherman. “The result is a distinct indie voice that is positively influencing our studio dynamic already. We love what we heard on Lung of Love, and we can’t wait to see what he does next.”

Griffith’s signing is just part of Elias Arts’ strong momentum lately. Simpatico, made up of Ann Zagaroli, Jolie Miller and Nicole Salm, has signed on as the studio’s new East Coast sales representatives.

Visit Elias Arts

About Elias Arts
Elias Arts is devoted to music composition, strategy and production. The company has employed the emotional strength of music and sound to launch, grow and reposition the most recognized brands and companies worldwide. Elias Arts has worked with well over half of the Fortune 1000 companies, and has also helped turn numerous startups into everyday brand names. Among the clients Elias Arts has worked with are AOL, Mastercard, Sony, Columbia Pictures, Nike, Apple, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Ebay, Honda, Intel, Visa, Yahoo, Universal Studios, Microsoft, McDonalds, ESPN and General Motors, to name just a few.

With offices in Santa Monica and New York City, global resources and a renowned roster of gifted composers, producers, and marketers, the mission of Elias Arts is to constantly strive for creative excellence and distinction through the art of music and sound design. The company is the recipient of over 700 major industry awards from around the world.

More info: TRUST 646 452 3388 (NY) 310 451 5153 (LA) trustcollective.com

Tool director Geordie Stephens recently teamed up with The Martin Agency on a lighthearted spot for Comcast’s newest offering, Streampix. In “Stream, Stream, Stream,” Stephens illustrates the instant enjoyment one gets from being able to instantly stream top TV shows and movies.

Visit Tool
View Media

Credits
Client: Comcast
Spot Title: Stream, Stream, Stream

Agency: The Martin Agency
CCO/EVP/Partner: John Norman
CD/Art Director: Jon Willard
CD/Copywriter: Jesse Gazzuolo
Senior Art Director: Brig White
Copywriter: Andrew Beckman
Agency Producer: Brett Alexander

Prod Company: Tool
Director: Geordie Stephens
EP(s): Brian Latt, Dustin Callif, Oliver Fuselier

Editorial: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Biff Butler
About Tool
Bicoastal Tool is an award-winning production company, representing top live-action directors and interactive directors for advertising projects. From funny… visually engaging… and/or interactive, Tool’s diverse roster of unique talent creates unforgettable commercial and digital content across all platforms.

More info: TRUST 646 452 3388 (NY) 310 451 5153 (LA) trustcollective.com

Booth # SL5624
Digital Rapids is bringing our complete range of media transformation and workflow technologies and solutions to the 2012 NAB Show, in booth number SL5624 (Lower South Hall).

Digital Rapids connects content to opportunity, providing innovative solutions, technology and expertise that enable media organizations and professionals to bring live and on-demand video to wider audiences more efficiently, more effectively and more profitably. more

NONE TORINESE, Italy — March 5, 2012 — At CeBIT 2012 (March 6-10), Sisvel Technology will showcase the latest developments in the innovative 3D Tile Format for high-resolution backwards-compatible 3D HD broadcasting. more

WOODBURY, NEW YORK – Among the product highlights at the NAB 2012 Booth of Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd., will be the U.S. introduction of a slow-motion HD camera capable of capturing video at 2.5X and 3X the speed of standard frame rate cameras. The SK-HD1500 uses standard 2/3-inch Bayonet mount lenses and integrates easily into existing Hitachi SK-series camera infrastructures. Also to be introduced will be the new HV-HD33 – a compact, 3-MOS sensor, multi-standard, P.O.V. HD camera – and the super-small, self-contained, signal sensor KP-HD20A HD camera.

Hitachi Kokusai Electric America will exhibit in booth #C4309 at the annual NAB convention, running from April 14th-19th at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Several recently introduced multi-format cameras will also be in the Hitachi NAB 2012 booth this year. Those include: the SK-HD1200 native 1080/60p studio and EFP camera; SK-HD1000 dockable studio and field camera, SK-HD2000 native 1080/60i studio and field production camera, Z-HD5000 HDTV studio and field camera, DK-H200, DK-H100 and the DK-Z50 multi-purpose HDTV camera.

“We anticipate a tremendous reaction from sports producers and mobile truck companies to our new slow motion camera and a lot of excitement from the broadcast, security, and industrial markets over the cost-effective HV-HD33,” said Sean Moran, Hitachi Kokusai Electric America’s National Sales Manager. “I’m positive this will be a very strong show for us. We’ve incorporated feedback from our customers, and now we get to show off the results of our efforts.”

The SK-HD1500 slow motion HD camera rounds out Hitachi’s offerings to mobile truck companies and sports producers. Hitachi now provides a comprehensive model line of HDTV cameras suitable for mobile sports and field production companies.

The SK-HD1500 has three 2.3Mpixel 2/3-inch, progressively scanned IT-CCDs. Like its sibling, the SK-HD1200, it has state-of-the-art, digital-to-analog, 16-bit RGB converters that further improves the dynamic range, signal-to-noise, and color fidelity. It is capable of 6Gbps transmission over SMPTE standard optical fiber. Hitachi assures compatibility with most slow-motion servers capable of 3X SMPTE292M 1.5Gbit/second HD-SDI links. This new slow motion HDTV camera can record at speeds of 150 and 180 frames per second, and its outputs are digital HD/SD video at 1080i, 720p and 480i all at 59.94 or 50Hz field rate. The SK-HD1500 employs the control panels, viewfinders, studio build-up kits and accessories of the existing Hitachi SK-series cameras. The SK-HD1500?s sensitivity is F9 at 2000 lux with a signal-to-noise ratio of -58dB. The camera has 1100 TVL of standard resolution.

First introduced at IBC 2011, orders for the SK-HD1500 have already been placed by Saudi TV, the Arabic news and entertainment channel in Saudi Arabia. Saudi TV has approximately 150 Hitachi studio cameras, along with a new 16-camera OB truck, and two five-camera DSNG trucks. Delivery of the SK-HD1500 cameras will begin in March 2012.

The new Hitachi HV-HD33 is designed for general observation where high sensitivity, low-noise, multi-standard signals, and low-user intervention operation are required. The HV-HD33 finds applications in a variety of environments, including: remote observation, in-studio use, point-of-view use, unmanned vehicles, robotic systems and industrial applications like factory automation, high-end monitoring and medical imaging. The HV-HD33 is Hitachi’s most economical 3-MOS sensor, compact HDTV box camera. It uses a 1/3-inch C-mount lens. The camera has the distinct advantage of outputting SDI at multiple frame rates and TV signal standards. The user interface is menu-driven and functions are available for complete automated “dusk-to-dawn” operation without supervision. The sensor array is 1312(H) X 1032(V), SNR is 53dB and sensitivity is F8. A low power consumption of 8W and weight of 550 grams enables this camera to go where others with similar picture quality cannot.

For even more space- and price-constrained applications and budgets, the KP-HD20A offers excellent HDTV video from a single 2.1Mpixel, 1/3-inch color CMOS sensor. Full raster 1920(H) HD at 1080/ 59.94i, 50i and 1080/ 25p/ 30p can be transmitted through 100m of coax, making it an easy substitution for existing SD observation cameras. Full unattended imaging including contrast & backlight compensation make it ideal for inhospitable locations. Camera remote control is offered with both RS232C and RS485 protocols for easy integration into new or existing PTZF robotic systems.

About Hitachi

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 400,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2009 (ended March 31, 2009) consolidated revenues totaled 10,000 billion yen ($102.0 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials, logistics and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at www.hitachi.com.

Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd. designs, manufacturers and markets video cameras, digital transmission, processing and recording devices for the broadcast television, cable, video production, and industrial vision markets. For more information, please call (516) 921-7200 or visit Hitachi’s web site at http://www.hitachikokusai.us. Hitachi Kokusai Electric, Inc. (TSE, OSE: 6756), is a Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT) group company.

Full versions of all press releases and product images are posted on the web site in the pressroom section: www.hitachikokusai.us

NEW YORK—Internationally loved film actress Monica Bellucci serves as the ultimate reflection of timeless beauty in a new ad for Oriflame’s anti-aging treatment Royal Velvet. Director Rebecca Blake not only captures the actress’s stunning features with great lighting, but also brings out her personality and intelligence. Blake’s unique ability at directing high profile celebrities and capturing an authentic performance on camera is demonstrated in this spot with Bellucci.

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HOLLYWOOD—Hollywood Center Studios, one of the largest, independent production lots in Hollywood, has upgraded one of its principal stages, Stage 1, through the construction of a permanent, three-wall, hard cove, white cyc. The new cyc is one of the largest of its type in Hollywood and is ideal for complex visual effects shoots requiring large casts, sets or production equipment.

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