Carolyn had previously worked for the company from 1999 to 2015 and returns after a four-year hiatus, during which she worked on projects for various companies within the industry.
Chris Lesieutre, CEO for Wall Street Communications and the Dundee Hills Group, said, “Carolyn is well known in the media and entertainment technology space, and certainly known by most of the media with whom we work. We hope you will please join us in welcoming her back to the team.”
To support significant momentum in the EMEA market for its world-class graphics solutions, ChyronHego announced the appointment of Matt Bryan as territory sales director, together with Andy Newham and Gary Lewis as account executives. With sales oversight for all territories reporting to the U.K., Bryan will emphasize revenue growth in the U.K. and Ireland. Newham will work with Bryan on growing market share in the U.K. region with an additional focus on Italy, and Lewis will leverage his expertise in the Middle East and South Africa to grow revenues and expand opportunities in those territories. All three will be based in the company’s London office.
“Andy, Gary, and Matt are all tremendous additions to our EMEA sales operation. Each comes with many years of high-level sales and business development experience for our industry’s biggest companies, and also with keen expertise in the EMEA marketplace,” said Marco Lopez, CEO of ChyronHego. “We look forward to working with this outstanding boots-on-the-ground team to continue building our leadership in this critical region and increasing the ChyronHego footprint amongst new and existing customers.”
Andy Newham joins ChyronHego from Zixi, where he served as strategic accounts manager in the U.K. and EMEA. Prior to that, he served in similar roles for Grass Valley and Ross Video, and — as owner and managing director of MediaMex Ltd — he was a contract business development manager for Ross Video covering EMEA. Earlier in his career, Newham served in account director and regional sales manager roles for Arqiva UK Ltd., Harmonic, and Harris Corporation, and he is a former product manager for OmniBus Systems. Newham holds a bachelor’s degree in literature and psychology from Staffordshire University.
Prior to joining ChyronHego, Gary Lewis served for three years as regional sales manager, Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe, for PHABRIX Limited. Prior to that, he held regional sales management and business development positions for a broad range of media technology companies throughout his 30-year career, including Riedel Communications, DataDirect Networks, Miranda Technologies, Pinnacle Systems, Autodesk, and Quantel. Lewis earned a bachelor’s degree in graphics and 3D design from the Hornsey School of Art in London.
Matt Bryan comes to ChyronHego from a position as business development director for Sohonet London. Previous to that, he worked for six years at Altered Images, first as senior business development manager and then as sales director. Bryan began his career in media and entertainment with Avid Technology, where he served for 11 years in positions including key account manager and key account director. He holds an accounting degree, with the designation of Association of Certified Chartered Accountants, from Nottingham Trent University.
Sachtler announced that VI Rental has made a major purchase of Sachtler’s flowtech100 carbon-fibre tripods and Video 18 S2 fluid heads. In response to customer demand, VI Rental has replaced its entire inventory of tripods with 40 new flowtech100 units and 18 Video 18 S2 fluid heads.
With a diverse customer base ranging from content creators and freelancers to large independent production companies and major broadcasters, VI Rental specialises in providing custom rental solutions to meet clients’ specific requirements. So far, numerous VI Rental clients — including “Food Unwrapped,” “Drive to Survive,” and other Netflix productions — have benefited from the flowtech tripod’s versatility, light weight, and easy operation.
flowtech100 is based on an exclusive carbon-fibre technology that includes the world’s fastest-deploying tripod legs. flowtech100 is compatible with all major 100mm fluid heads and supports a payload of up to 30 kilograms (66 pounds), making it ideal for a wide range of wildlife, commercial, and documentary productions as well as for heavy-duty electronic newsgathering (ENG) and electronic field production (EFP).
“Production companies have been asking specifically for flowtech, so we made this investment to ensure that we can meet that demand and deliver on the benefits of the absolute latest in carbon-fibre tripod technology,” said VI Rental Sales Director Tim Sparrock. “Our customers need a lightweight tripod that is quick and easy to deploy on location for a variety of shoots. flowtech100 meets all of those requirements and more. Plus, its 100mm bowl with the Video 18 head is a perfect match for the cameras in our inventory, ranging from the ARRI AMIRA and Sony VENICE to camcorders such as the Sony PXW-FS7.”
With unique quick-release brakes conveniently located at the top of the tripod, the flowtech100 legs can be deployed simultaneously and adjusted automatically to the ground’s surface — saving operators from having to bend over and manually adjust multiple brakes on each leg. The tripod also includes a new removable carbon-fibre mid-level spreader with four locking positions, a carry handle, and rubber feet that ensure fast and stable setup in narrow spaces or on uneven terrain.
“Visual Impact is one of our highly valued UK Premier Partners and one of Europe’s leading suppliers of broadcast equipment to the production community, with 20 offices and a presence in 10 countries,” said Dave Dougall, vice president of sales, EMEA and APAC, Vitec Production Solutions. “The fact that Visual Impact not only sells our products but also has chosen to bring them into its hire fleet is tremendous validation of our ground-breaking flowtech technology, and further proof of the tripod’s momentum amongst broadcasters and content producers worldwide. We value our close working relationship with Visual Impact, and the feedback the company is able to give us, based on its clients’ real-world use, plays a critical role in our ongoing product development efforts.”
Just Add Power (J+P) announced that its Ultra HD over IP video distribution system has been installed in the University of Memphis Tigers’ renovated locker room at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Tasked with creating a unique atmosphere in the space to wow recruits and pump up players before games, Miestro Home Integration relied on J+P’s solutions to cost-effectively and reliably distribute video content to a variety of video walls and large displays.
“In the past we utilized traditional chassis-based matrix systems for video distribution, but have made the switch to AV over IP,” says Lamar Gibson, president of Miestro Home Integration. “Among the solutions available, we’ve consistently had tremendous success with Just Add Power. Not only is the company’s 3G Ultra HD Over IP system cost-effective, but it delivers outstanding scalability, fast switching, and unmatched reliability.”
The university’s Ultra HD Over IP system offers ultra-low 16 ms of latency from source to screen and supports 4K Ultra HD resolutions and HDMI 2.0 devices with HDCP 2.2. The platform enables seamless switching between any resolution HDMI source as well as uncompressed lossless multichannel audio formats, including Dolby Atmos support. Video wall functionality is built-in for displays installed in portrait and flipped configurations as well as image push, pull, and pop features. An integrated scaler on the receiver automatically adjusts the picture to fit the screen.
Each video source in the Tigers’ locker room — a live feed from the field, four media players that deliver custom content, a Comcast cable box, and a direct feed for a local laptop connection — is equipped with J+P’s VBS-HDIP-707 transmitter. VBS-HDIP-508 PoE receivers are attached to 14 displays and one projector, including four two-panel video walls in horizontal and vertical orientations, a three-panel vertical video wall, a 98-inch display, a 75-inch touchscreen in the coach’s office, and a 65-inch display in the medical bay.
The J+P platform is engineered to provide complete scalability, so expanding the system with an additional screen or source is as simple as adding another receiver or transmitter. This was an important feature for the university, as the locker room also features 105 standalone displays — one above each locker — in addition to three additional touchscreens. With an eye on future expansion, the standalone locker displays and touchscreens have been pre-wired for inclusion in the J+P system.
“In college football, winning requires elite talent and it’s no secret that many schools will go to extraordinary lengths each year to get it,” said Taft Stricklin, sales team manager at J+P. “This installation showcases that AV technology can be used to differentiate a football program from the pack and wow recruits, while highlighting the important role that reliable and flexible video distribution plays in creating these environments. We’re proud to be part of the Tigers’ efforts. And they’ve paid off; their 2019 recruiting class is looking to be the best in the school’s history.”
This innovation will enable industry partners to utilize the SmartPanel as a user interface for their control, monitoring, and automation solutions, and is another example of how the app-based SmartPanel can be leveraged to take on additional duties within broadcast workflows.
For this initiative, Riedel has teamed up with several prominent industry control and automation vendors, some of whom have already implemented an early version of the API. Partners include ATOS BNCS, Axon Cerebrum, Broadcast Solutions hi, Lawo VSM, Pebble Beach Systems, and Skyline DataMiner.
The users of the Riedel 1200 Series SmartPanel Control Panel App can now trigger actions in control/automation systems and then provide visual feedback on status and configuration changes using the colors, labels, and symbols that are inherent in the panel. With simultaneous use of the Intercom App and Control Panel App, the 1200 Series SmartPanel delivers a unique combination of capabilities to expand and enhance user workflows.
“The Control Panel App offers several advantages to a proprietary control solution. Most importantly, its NMOS underpinnings allow a third-party system to automatically discover all of the panel’s control elements, like its lever keys or touch screens, and assign any desired functionality,” said Marco Muckenhaupt, Senior Product Manager, Riedel Communications. “We are really happy to have the support of some of the key vendors in the industry, and it’s great to see manufacturers working hand in hand to deliver real benefits to users across platforms.”
Speedcast International Limited announced that Barrie Woolston has been appointed senior vice president of the company’s Media and Broadcast team. In his new role at Speedcast, Woolston will help broadcasters and media companies navigate the complexities of global content distribution and the emerging trend toward IP and cloud-based services using the company’s scalable global infrastructure that consists of satellite, fiber, and cellular networks.
“Barrie has a solid track record for driving business growth in the media sector,” said Erwan Emilian, executive vice president, enterprise and emerging markets at Speedcast. “Over the last three decades, Barrie has worked with major broadcasters and platforms around the world. His understanding of the complex challenges our customers face, combined with the relationships he’s solidified with broadcasters, will help to increase Speedcast’s standing as the most extensive provider of global connectivity.”
Woolston has 30 years of experience in the technology, media, and telecom sectors, with a particular focus on managing customer relationships and driving new business. Before working at Speedcast, Woolston was the chief commercial officer at AsiaSat and the commercial director at Arqiva. Throughout the years, he has gained a strong understanding of DTH, OTT, satellite, and digital media technologies.
“The media industry is going through a dynamic period of change as disruptive business models and technologies impact broadcasters and content owners around the world. With its global scale in people and infrastructure married to our proven robust service culture, Speedcast is in a unique position to help the media industry navigate the challenges of the future,” said Woolston. “Speedcast has continually demonstrated a forward-thinking approach to sectors impacted by technology challenges by developing strong customer relationships and innovative technical solutions, and we will bring a much-needed new approach to an industry that touches everyone’s life on a daily basis.”
Speedcast recently announced that it expanded the capabilities of Speedcast Media Network to support the growing industry requirement for multiplatform, point-to-point, and point-to-multipoint live and linear digital video delivery anywhere in the world. As content rights owners and pay-TV operators make more content available on every screen globally, and with nearly 90 percent of U.S. and EMEA broadcasters expected to adopt IP and cloud technologies over the next few years according to IABM, Speedcast Media Network enables increased efficiency and agility for supporting “video everywhere” models for any size media organization.
INEA will benefit from ADB’s and Anevia’s sophisticated and mature platforms.
The project will see Anevia provide its software video-delivery platform – which includes NEA-DVR (www.anevia.com/product/cloud-dvr-solution) and the NEA-CDN (www.anevia.com/product/video-cdn) – integrated with ADB’s graphyne2 service delivery platform (SDP). INEA will then be able to offer its subscribers access to more video content and advanced video services including live, time-shift, start-over, video on demand (VoD), catch-up TV and network personal video recorder (nPVR). This new multi-screen service will leverage INEA’s high-bandwidth network, giving the operator a competitive advantage.
Michał Bartkowiak, Vice-President, INEA, says: “Our goal is to provide subscribers with TV entertainment on the highest possible level, and Anevia’s CDN and DVR software solutions help us achieve this. Launching the new platform – called HIWAY – is just the beginning and we are working on the further development of this platform.”
Damien Lucas, CTO, Anevia, says: “The way audiences are consuming TV content has changed dramatically over the last few years, especially as the number of devices increases and as we move away from watching exclusively in our living rooms. This has made it increasingly important for TV operators to change their approach and take advantage of the latest technologies in order to meet the needs of today’s viewers. In this respect, our streaming-video platform enables INEA to offer its subscribers a new video experience and to grow its footprint across the region. We are delighted to have worked so closely with ADB and INEA on this project.”
