Archive of the Product Updates Category

Automated advertisement detection capabilities alert operators to new advertisements in commercial blocks, eliminating manual detection and marking
 
Tel-Aviv, Israel – Actus Digital, a developer of web-based media monitoring, content re-purposing and verification solutions for broadcasters, cable and satellite providers, IPTV, media and monitoring agencies, governments, regulators and content producers today announced the release of AdWatch version 5.2 with automated advertisement detection capabilities.
 
Actus AdWatch provides advertising agencies, content producers, distributors and regulators simple-to-use media monitoring tools that verify advertising content is broadcasted according to plan over local and remote affiliate channels. The new version 5.2 release detects unknown advertisements within commercial blocks (inside advertising breaks) and presents them to the operator for approval. Once approved, the new commercial content is detected in both future feeds and within past recorded content stored in the archives.
 
“The Actus AdWatch solution is a proven technology, with many customers around the world using it for content and advertising detection. In working closely with our customers to optimize their Actus installations, we often hear that they would like to see the system automate identification and marking of new advertisements,” says Sima Levy, CEO, Actus Digital. “Manual identification and marking is a time consuming task that takes up valuable resources which could be used elsewhere in the organization. We are very pleased to answer our customers’ requests with the new AdWatch 5.2 upgrade, providing them with a whole new level of productivity.” The advanced automation capabilities in the new Actus AdWatch 5.2 release provide highly accurate new advertisement detection, eliminating human error and lowering overhead costs by optimizing resource productivity.
 
Levy adds, “Most TV stations do track their advertisements, but usually this is done manually. Actus AdWatch is a more cost effective solution. It can free your employees and at the same time provide more accurate data at a lower cost, increasing advertiser satisfaction.” Highlights of the Actus AdWatch solution include:
 
• Know precisely what commercials were aired, how many times and by which sponsor
• Compare your own airings to those of your competitors
• Compare the campaigns that an advertiser (e.g. Coca Cola) gives you compared to your competitors
• Track how each commercial break affects your ratings
• Provide advertisers with proof of fulfilling their advertisement contracts with automated reports
• Generate customized reports on the fly
• Provide advertisers with recordings of the actual airing
• Web-based user interface allows easy access from any PC or Mac and from any browser
 
The Actus AdWatch system is also used in political campaigns to confirm that the campaign was aired as planned as well as allows operators to view the quality of the ads. The Actus system also benchmarks the success of the live campaigns so operators can view the ratings while the campaign is being broadcasted.
 
About Actus Digital
Actus Digital, a subsidiary of Taya Media Group, Israel’s premier video media and visual communication content and technologies company, is a developer of web-based media monitoring, content repurposing and verification for broadcasters, cable and satellite providers, IPTV, media and monitoring agencies, governments and content producers. Leveraging emerging web technologies and IT standard hardware, Actus solutions are highly scalable systems ideal for cross-organizational content analysis and content repurposing. Actus next-generation solutions compliment any broadcast workflow, empowering operators with purpose-built tools for acquiring, viewing, analyzing and re-purposing transmissions from channels around the world. Their impressive customer list includes global media conglomerates among the likes of AirTel, FOX, SKY and Zee Networks. For more information, please visit: http://www.actusdigital.com.
 
Press Contact
Janice Dolan
Zazil Media Group
janice(at)zazilmediagroup(dot)com
(cell) 617.817.6595
(fax) 617.812.7683
(skype) janicedolan
www.zazilmediagroup.com
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Harmonic will showcase a complete set of products that encompasses all segments of content production and delivery. This full range of solutions addresses acquisition, preparation, packaging, distribution, delivery, service management, and more. more

New DAM Coalition Unveiled to Keep Community Connected

(Burbank, CA) Createasphere’s Digital Asset Management (DAM) Conference – the leading industry event catering directly to the digital asset management community – has wrapped a highly successful two-day conference at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, covering the issues in which the entertainment, new media, retail, museums, non-profits, and government sectors are engaged. During the conference, Createasphere announced new initiatives to support and enliven the burgeoning asset management community, including a new DAM Coalition, commitment to events in New York and Europe, and the DAMMY Awards.

Createasphere’s DAM Conference, launched in 2010, has steadily grown into one of the most important events for key influencers and hands-on users of technology in digital and media asset management, as well as production, preservation, marketing, security, storage, and lifecycle organization and administration. This year’s Los Angeles event illustrated the evolution of the DAM/MAM communities – including professional creatives, marketers, digital librarians, IT specialists, and executives, among others – and their need for staying connected and educated.

Keynotes at this week’s Createasphere’s Digital Asset Management Conference included Managing Analog Assets in a Digital World from Theodore Gluck, Director of Library Restoration and Preservation at Walt Disney Studios, and Greg Satell of Moxie Interactive who addressed The Evolving Digital Ecosystem. Nearly 20 sessions, sponsored seminars and panels took place for DAM practitioners at every level, who gathered to hear experts from HBO, Turner, Hallmark, UFC, Wildbrain, J. Paul Getty Museum, Deluxe, Technicolor, Harris and more. The conference also presents a hand-picked gathering of the top companies and solutions in asset management on the trade show floor including Control Group, StorageDNA, ProMAX Systems, NTT America, Inc., Levels Beyond, JB&A, IO Integration, Hollywood Tools, GB Labs, Cinegy, BitSpeed, Amplidata, Technicolor, Marklogic, Key Code Media, Deluxe, MediaBeacon, Active Storage, Xinet, Quantum, Harris, 5th Kind, Canto, Autonomy, Avid, and Open Text. The Los Angeles DAM Conference also attracted a number of out of town attendees and from all over the globe, including Russia, Australia, Belgium, and Ireland, illustrating its value as a “destination” conference.

Mary Yurkovic, manager of the Createasphere DAM Events and Community, announced a new online platform – the DAM Coalition (www.damcoalition.com), which launches March 1. The DAM Coalition will feature editorial content overseen by Yurkovic from some of the globe’s foremost experts including Nigel Cliff, Luca Leonardini, David Riecks, Bob Harp, and Nick Sincaglia. The contributors will cover the most important topics driving the asset management including Content & Information Lifecycle, Market Resource Management, Digital Supply Chain, Metadata Taxonomy, DAM and MAM. It will also serve as an online forum for information exchange and a news site for related industry news.

Yurkovic comments, “The DAM Coalition will be a single source for the latest news in digital asset management, which we clearly see as a key issue facing the community. We know that there is a growing need for quality content that is driven by the evolution of the industry and a thirst for knowledge and expert led editorial. I am excited at the prospect of working closely with our audience and this amazing group of experts to create that much-desired information platform.”

Dates were also announced for the New York and European outings of Createasphere’s Digital Asset Management Conference. The DAM Conference will return to New York later this year on September 27-28 at the New Yorker Hotel, and to The Hague on November 13-14. The DAMMYs, the industry’s first and only award show honoring excellence in digital asset management, will take place during the New York event. For information and details, visit www.createasphere.com/dammys.

About Createasphere
Createasphere is a global community builder for the entertainment technology industry, advancing technologies and careers through Expos, Conferences, and online offerings.

Createasphere was founded in 2001 as HD EXPO, and over the past decade has grown into a global company that develops and presents influential events for the content creation community, on line and face to face. Founded by Kristin Petrovich Kennedy in Los Angeles, Createasphere became part of Diversified Business Communications in 2009, now driving their entertainment strategies and properties division. Currently, Createasphere is presenting 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 online news and content portal CreativeProCoalition.com; 3D Road Shows; and Post Production Master Classes.

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)

# # #

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

SAFETY HARBOR, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 2012: Metric Halo is pleased to officially certify two Thunderbolt adapters for use with their line of FireWire based audio interfaces. According to Allen Rowand of Metric Halo, “We’ve tested the Thunderbolt-to-FireWire adapter in the Apple® 27-inch Thunderbolt Display and the Sonnet Technologies™ Echo 34 adapter combined with their FireWire 800 Pro ExpressCard – both systems provide performance identical to native FireWire ports. Since the display has a Thunderbolt pass-through it’s possible to use both adapters at the same time, allowing the user to create two separate FireWire busses. With two busses the user can connect up to six of our interfaces, or use one for up to three interfaces and the other for hard drives.”

Rowand said the company looks forward to incorporating Thunderbolt into their products. “We’re in discussions with Intel to gain access to Thunderbolt more

New Multi-Format, Camera-Mountable DVR Delivers Pristine Video Quality and Streamlines Production Workflows by Eliminating Time-Consuming Transcoding more

Add depth and dimension to footage with PHYX Defocus chroma aberration, fast defocus, pan / tilt, and vignette vision
 
Boston, MA – February 22, 2012 – Noise Industries, developer of visual effects tools for the post-production and broadcast markets, introduces PHYX Defocus to its line of plug-ins available on FxFactory 3. PHYX Defocus effects accurately simulate depth of field, bokeh, tilt-shift, rack-focus and more. The GPU-accelerated suite is compatible with Final Cut Pro® X and 7, Motion 5 and After Effects®. Offered at 49 USD, users can learn more about PHYX Defocus here.
 
PHYX Defocus feature highlights include:
 
Chroma Aberration – Editors can simulate chroma aberration – the imbalance of RGB color channels that can occur with camera lenses.
 
Fast Defocus – This effect can be used to simulate ‘bokeh,’ or out-of-focus lens effects. Editors can create depth of field with the use of a depth mask, rack-focus effects, and more.
 
Pan / Tilt – A popular effect used in many motion pictures and music videos, users can create a tilt-shift setup for still and motion picture cameras, with smooth, defocused gradients.
 
Vignette Vision – With two effects options, editors can defocus either the outer edge or the center of the image. Defocusing the outer edge simulates POV shots, vintage lenses and more. Defocusing the center of the image allows editors to censor images, create hallucinations, etc.
 
More Information on PHYX Defocus
 
PHYX Defocus Tutorial
 
About PHYX Inc.
PHYX Incorporated is a privately held U.S. corporation. Its principals have been developing custom tools for Visual Effects since 2002. In 2007, PHYX Inc. brought its first collection of tools to the public. For more information, please visit the PHYX Inc. website.
 
About Noise Industries, LLC
Established in 2004, Boston, Massachusetts-based Noise Industries is an innovative developer of visual effects tools for the post-production and broadcast community. Their products are integrated with popular non-linear editing and compositing products from Apple and Adobe. For more information, please visit the Noise Industries website.
 
Press Contacts
Janice Dolan
Zazil Media Group
Janice@zazilmediagroup.com
(p) 617.817.6595
(skype) janicedolan
 
Megan Linebarger
Zazil Media Group
megan@zazilmediagroup.com
(p) 617.817.6595
(skype) megan.zazil
 
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Designed for the Professional Video Market, Product Makes its Debut DuringHands-on Intensive March 1st

(Burbank, CA) Createasphere’s Spring Entertainment Technology Expo – the top gathering of entertainment and media professionals, technical innovators, and content creators on the West Coast showcasing emerging media trends in production, post, animation, VFX, advertising, and streaming content – has announced its full schedule for the March 1st Spring Expo. The tightly packed, informative day will feature keynotes and sessions, including an intensive session featuring the Hollywood unveiling of HP’s Z1, the world’s first 27-inch all-in-one-workstation. Createasphere will take place at the LA Center Studios in Los Angeles.

The HP Workstations & Intel Intensive is a two-hour, in-depth exploration of the HP Z1 Workstation and its Hollywood debut. The revolutionary new HP Z1 Workstation snaps open so users can easily swap out parts and make upgrades without any tools required. The HP Z1 workstation combines a sleek industrial design with accelerated performance featuring Intel(r) Xeon(r) processors, NVIDIA Quadro graphics, support for more than 1 billion colors and HP’s world-class reliability. Built for computer-aided design, digital media and entertainment professionals, the HP Z1 provides blazing fast rendering and performance.

The Createasphere Entertainment Technology Expo offers an entire day of engagement, with additional intensives from Canon and AJA. Canon experts will be demonstrating innovations with the C300 and other new products; and AJA will look at how aerial photographers are taking file-based workflows into the air with Ki Pro and Io XT.

Createasphere’s Entertainment Technology Expo is presenting two not-to-be-missed keynotes from industry leaders. Visionary Ed Lantz, founder of Vortex Media, will present a Keynote & Immersive Showcase: Dive into Immersive Entertainment and the Transmedia Hub, in the Vortex Immersion Dome at the LA Center Studios. Oscar nominee Jeff Cronenweth, ASC will participate in a discussion called Visions of Oscar: Jeff Cronenweth, ASC – How Collaboration and Talent Gets the Story Told. Mr. Cronenweth’s Conversation will be moderated with well-known journalist Peter Caranicas, Managing Editor, Features at Variety. In addition to product premieres, intensive presentations, and immersive demonstrations in the Vortex Dome, Createasphere’s Entertainment Technology Expo features a full exhibition area, networking opportunities and education.

Early registration for both keynotes is required, as space is limited. This one-day event is designed as a technology summit with top-level presenters, offering a unique and engaging opportunity to explore the intersection of future technologies in service to creativity.

For further information and registration, visit www.createasphere.com/ete or call 818.842.6611.

About Createasphere
Createasphere is a global community builder for the entertainment technology industry, advancing technologies and careers through Expos, Conferences, and online offerings.

Createasphere was founded in 2001 as HD EXPO, and over the past decade has grown into a global company that develops and presents influential events for the content creation community, on line and face to face. Founded by Kristin Petrovich Kennedy in Los Angeles, Createasphere became part of Diversified Business Communications in 2009, now driving their entertainment strategies and properties division. Currently, Createasphere is presenting 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 online news and content portal CreativeProCoalition.com; 3D Road Shows; and Post Production Master Classes.

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)

# # #

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

ASSIMILATE’s Software Enjoys Broad Adoption Across Feature Film, Episodic Television and Commercials Productions

Since its announcement at NAB 2011, ASSIMILATE’s SCRATCH Lab has taken the production dailies market by storm with its power, versatility and affordability. The recent announcements of native support for the new Sony F65 CineAlta™ digital motion picture camera, and the breakthrough performance of 48 FPS playback of stereo RED EPIC streams, are just two examples of why Lab has gained favor so quickly on-set. SCRATCH Lab now delivers the most extensive support for production dailies. From RED EPIC, ARRI ALEXA, Sony F65, Phantom and Panasonic P2, to the Canon EOS C300, 5D/7D, and even the GoPro, SCRATCH Lab continues to set the pace for the industry with support for virtually any combination of popular native formats in a single timeline.

Priced at only $4,995, SCRATCH Lab has established itself as the dailies workflow tool of choice for directors, DPs, DITs and video engineers because it offers the most compelling end-to-end dailies system in the industry. Lab combines the fastest and most creative review process, with effortless shot, metadata, LUT and look management, sophisticated audio sync, and wicked-fast background rendering- all into one intuitive, incredibly cost-effective tool.

Key advantages of Lab include:

• Support for more native camera formats than any other tool on the market

• Unrivalled shot, timecode and metadata management

• Powerful QC, LUT and look management

• One-of-a-kind creative review tools ?

• Wickedly-fast, template-driven background rendering

“Our clients demand robust, efficient and cost effective ways to create deliverables from every type of native camera media you can imagine,” said Ryan Sheridan, CTO of Otto Nemenz, Hollywood, CA. “SCRATCH Lab is the most versatile workflow tool we’ve seen. We’ve made a significant investment in Lab because it delivers fast color-corrected dailies deliverables for our customers, regardless of the cameras they’re shooting. And the price allows us to deliver a cost-effective package for any type of production.”

“From Sony’s new F65 CineAlta to the ARRI ALEXA, AbelCine’s clients come to us for the latest camera technologies on the market,” said Jonathan Epner, Director of Digital Media Services at AbelCine in New York. “But the camera is only half the story. DPs and DITs also look to us to provide the best workflow tools available to process the images they shoot. SCRATCH Lab is our preferred offering because it delivers the power and versatility to handle the biggest productions, while the price makes it accessible to even the most budget-conscious projects. It’s no surprise that Lab has gained popularity so rapidly.”

Jody Neckles, DIT from London, UK comments, “My team and I have used SCRATCH Lab on loads of features, television dramas, and commercials over the last year. From rock-solid rendering to incredibly powerful review capability and look management, Lab delivers for me day in and day out. No matter what type of production, I know I can depend on Lab to deliver dailies on time and on budget. As it delivers such value for money, I’ve been able to buy multiple licenses for the price other vendors charge for just one. This gives me a huge advantage whenever I bid a project.”

SCRATCH Digital Workflow Tools

ASSIMILATE’s SCRATCH and SCRATCH Lab deliver the industry’s most comprehensive toolset for data-centric digital cinema and broadcast productions for 2D and 3D stereo projects at up to 5K resolution and beyond. New 6.1 versions of SCRATCH software, running on Mac OSX and Windows 7, feature SDI output via AJA Kona 3G graphics cards, wicked-fast dailies rendering, improved metadata and timecode handling, and enhanced RED workflow support.

ASSIMILATE is the premier provider of digital workflow and post-production tools, that have proven essential to the successful creation of thousands of studio and independent features, television shows, music videos and corporate video productions. The company’s SCRATCH products, running on Windows and Mac OSX, are the heartbeat of today’s most demanding digital post-production and dailies workflows for 2D and stereo 3D productions. They equip directors, DPs and artists with the state-of-the-art, intuitive, data-centric solutions they need to meet the continual challenges of increased creativity and productivity amid ever-shrinking budgets. ASSIMILATE’s SCRATCH data-centric DI system, is the most comprehensive, end-to-end cinema and broadcast imaging tool for dailies, playback, conform, editing, color grading, compositing and finishing of RED and other digital workflows. SCRATCH Lab delivers a comprehensive toolset for dailies, review, versioning, color correction, conform and output of on-set or VFX dailies. ASSIMILATE a privately held company, with headquarters in Santa Clara, California, USA, offices in London, UK, Groningen, NL and Beijing City, CN markets its products worldwide via a global reseller network. To learn more please visit www.assimilateinc.com

Los Angeles, CA (February 17, 2012) – ZipCam ‘made history’ on Sunday Feb 12th with the premiere of the new television series, “Full Metal Jousting” on History Channel, which – by the way – debuted to great ratings. “FMJ” is produced for History Channel by Pilgrim Studios, the largest reality television production company in Los Angeles.

ZipCam Systems, the world leader in ultra-lightweight cable camera tracking systems for the production of feature films, commercials, and episodic television, provided its trademarked “ZipCam” cable cam system and crew for filming the entire first season of “Full Metal Jousting”,
shot on location in Jackson, Mississippi.

Those who love the drama and excitement of competition – and extreme sports enthusiasts – will enjoy the show; wherein modern day ‘knights’ in full armor compete for a $100,000 prize by mounting 2000 pound war horses and slamming into each other at 30 miles per hour.

ZipCam Systems’ president and technical director, Ben Semanoff, said: “You can see our wire cam shots used throughout the competition.” He adds: “We had been looking to shoot with our newest cable cam on an action-packed television show like ‘FMJ’. We knew ZipCam would be a great match with respect to our system’s ability to deliver heavy duty reliability and high performance results in a remarkably compact and budget friendly package.”

It is this unique combination of safety, function, and performance characteristics – plus the ability to accept a wide range of film and digital cameras – that makes the ZipCam cable dolly the perfect choice for many productions. ZipCam Systems’ philosophy is to keep things simple while providing the uncompromised features and results that professionals depend on for great cable cam shots. And this can save productions a lot of time and money.

ZipCam will ‘make history’ again this Sunday night at 10/9c on History Channel, in episode # 2 of “Full Metal Jousting”.

For a link to the FMJ trailer, visit the ZipCam reel on YouTube and look in the ‘Description’ section below the video. Or visit the official ZipCam Systems website at www.ZipCam.com where you can learn more about the ZipCam cable camera system and watch the ZipCam reel.

ZipCam is a registered trademark of ZipCam Systems.

Copyright 2012 ZipCam Systems

Media Contact
Ira Semanoff
888-947-2269

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EditShare XStream, Energy and Metro provide Avid editors a high-performance, collaborative workflow for end-to-end tapeless production
 
Boston, MA — February 16, 2012 — EditShare®, the technology leader in shared media storage and end-to-end tapeless workflow solutions, today announced that the company’s collaborative storage products – XStream, Energy and Metro – now provide complete compatibility with Avid® Technology’s new 64-bit systems, Media Composer® and Symphony™ v6.0 as well as NewsCutter® v10.0. “The big news here is ‘project and media sharing,’” says Andy Liebman, founder and CEO, EditShare. “With Avid’s switch to 64-bit back in November, we had to modify our bin-locking and media-sharing code to be compatible with the new Avid software. Our work is now done, and as of today, EditShare’s Mac and Windows customers can get the same robust project and media-sharing options we have always provided for Avid’s 32-bit versions. Every aspect of EditShare’s tapeless workflow technology is now totally compatible with the latest Avid software. Customers can use our multichannel ingest, networked storage, media asset management, and backup and archiving products with complete confidence that they will work seamlessly with virtually any Avid NLE version.”
 
The EditShare shared storage V6.1.3 update is free to existing EditShare V6.x customers with a valid maintenance contract.
 
ABOUT EDITSHARE TAPELESS WORKFLOW SOLUTIONS AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE COLLABORATIVE STORAGE SYSTEMS
 
EditShare XStream and Energy Series – Shared Production Storage
EditShare’s best-in-class storage infrastructure combines blazingly high performance and workflow-engineered features, such as Avid® and Final Cut Pro® (FCP) project sharing, to optimize collaboration for post-production, Digital Intermediate and broadcast production workflows. Fully integrated with EditShare Flow, Lightworks, Geevs and Ark, EditShare shared storage solutions scale to petabytes, outperforming comparable solutions at an unbeatable price point.
 
EditShare Flow – Production Asset Management
Flow offers comprehensive media management capabilities for ingesting and logging clips and tracking assets across the production chain. Advanced features such as Multichannel Ingest, Edit-While-Capture and Bandwidth-Controlled File-Based Ingest add a level of control over productions that set Flow apart from its peers. Rapid production tools like Flow Logger and Flow Projects and Bins enable users to begin the pre-editing process during ingest. EditShare Universal File Technology gives users the space efficiency and convenience of single-format editing without sacrificing metadata tracking across the workflow.
 
EditShare Ark – Archiving and Backup
Developed on the same rock-solid architecture as the shared storage solutions, EditShare Ark disk and tape offer advanced backup and archiving capabilities managed from the same intuitive interface. Because Ark is directly integrated with EditShare tapeless workflow and collaborative storage products, archived content can be easily searched using EditShare Flow Media Asset Management tools, retrieved and quickly brought back onto the EditShare shared storage systems – XStream, Energy and Metro.
 
Geevs – Broadcast Ingest and Playout
Geevs Broadcast Servers have been crafted to offer a wide-range of capabilities, including simple ingest, complex newsroom integration, live sports with instant replay, multi-camera studio ingest and 24/7 scheduled playout. With more than 1,000 channels on air, Geevs meets the needs of every broadcast production workflow with its unmatched codec support including, DVCPRO HD, Apple ProRes, Avid DNxHD, XDCAM HD and AVC-Intra 100.
 
About EditShare
EditShare is the technology leader in networked shared storage and tapeless, end-to-end workflow solutions for the TV and film industry. Our groundbreaking products improve efficiency and workflow collaboration every step of the way. They include video capture and playout servers, high-performance central shared storage, archiving and backup software, media asset management and the world’s first three-platform (Windows/OS X/Linux) professional non-linear video editing application.
 
©2012 EditShare LLC. All rights reserved. EditShare® is a registered trademark of EditShare LLC. All other trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.
 
Press Contact
Janice Dolan
Zazil Media Group
Email: janice@zazilmediagroup.com
Tel: +1 (617) 817-6595
 
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