Day: Jul 4, 2019

MultiDyne Appoints WESCO Broadcast and AV as Master Distribution Firm

Posted on by contentntek in News

MultiDyne Fiber Optic Solutions is about to receive a substantial visibility boost in North America with the appointment of WESCO Broadcast and AV as its master distribution firm. A division of WESCO, a Fortune 500 company with more than 500 branches worldwide, WESCO Broadcast and AV will bring a full-serviceapproach to its distribution strategy that differentiates from a traditional distribution relationship.

“We are specifically focused on business growth for our vendors, which extends well beyond sales and taking orders,” said Michael Vivian, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, WESCO Broadcast and AV. “We have the largest broadcast and AV sales team on the market, and a fullengineering and product management team to work on solution designs.”

WESCO Broadcast and AV’s North America footprint includes warehouses in California, Colorado, Illinois and North Carolina, with a fifth opening soon in New York. The company expects to stock MultiDyne’s complete inventory. The partnership will also benefit MultiDyne dealers and systems integrators, which can purchase MultiDyne products from WESCO at the same price.

Vivian notes that MultiDyne’s rock-solid reputation as a “problem-solver” has advanced to serve a much broader array of requirements in the broadcast and production market. He also sees opportunity to grow MultiDyne’s market share in the commercial AV and datacom industries, where integrators and end users seek problem-solving solutions for IP convergence.

“We see a tremendous amount of convergence taking shape across broadcast, AV and datacom, and MultiDyne is bringing new compression and fiber transport solutions to market that will help simplify customer transitions to IP,” said Vivian. “We also see an opportunity to customize systems that bring MultiDyne products together with other brands we represent across cabling and connectivity. This will allow to bundle complete, integrated solutions for our customers.”

The master distribution alliance will initially focus on North America, with the possibility of expanding to international regions worldwide.

“WESCO Broadcast and AV brings a highly professional sales, marketing and engineering team to MultiDyne that will further strengthen our market presence and brand visibility in North America,” said Frank Jachetta, President, MultiDyne. “This strategic alliance with the WESCO Broadcast and AV team goes beyond a standard distribution arrangement; they are now a key part of the MultiDyne family by extension. We look forward to a long and fruitful business relationship.”

 

TNDV: Television Owner Nic Dugger Named President of Midsouth Chapter of Television Academy, NATAS

Posted on by contentntek in News, People

After serving the organization for 22 years, Nashville native Nic Dugger has been elected President of the Midsouth Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Scientist, NATAS, effective today. Nic most recently served as Vice President of the Board as well as the Student Awards Chairman.

The Nashville/Midsouth Region, founded in 1984, encompasses North Carolina (except Asheville) and Tennessee, and the television market of Huntsville, Alabama. In addition to granting the Midsouth Regional Emmy® Awards, the chapter awards scholarships, honors quarter-century industry veterans with the Silver Circle. The chapter also conducts Regional Student Television Awards of Excellence for high schools, offers a free, nationwide Job Bank, provides member discounts, and participates in judging Emmy entries at regional and national levels.

Tndv DuggerHeadshot_Press

“Nic has been one of the most active members of our chapter since become an intern in 1997,” says NATAS Midsouth Executive Director Geneva Brignolo. “He volunteered while a student at Middle Tennessee State University, and went on to provide his mobile units for our live telecasts when he started TNDV: Television in 2004. We are proud of Nic, and we look forward to many years of service to come.”

This new appointment adds to a growing list of accolades for Dugger, which includes TNDV;s recognition as Nashville’s Overall Small Business of the Year in 2016. Nic also joinedthe list of the Nashville Business Journal’s 40 under 40 in 2017, and was selected for the2018 Distinguished Alumni Award by Middle Tennessee State University, its highest honor.

Just Add Power 3G+ 767DSS Dante Transmitter Wins Best Audio Distribution Award at InfoComm 2019

Posted on by contentntek in Event, News, Products, Radio & Audio

Just Add Power (J+P) announced that its 3G+ 767DSS Dante® Enhanced Sound System transmitter earned the Best Audio Distribution Award in the Audio/Video category from Commercial Integrator at InfoComm 2019 in Orlando, Florida. The industry’s first solution to support the latest Dante eight-channel chipset, the 767DSS transmitter not only distributes Ultra HD and 4K video with HDCP 2.2 over a single Cat-5e cable, but takes Ultra HD over IP systems to the next level by adding compatibility with Dante and AES67 audio networks with separate switching of audio and video.

“We created the 767DSS to bring cross-compatibility with hundreds of Dante- and AES67-enabled solutions to Ultra HD over IP systems, allowing installers to deploy pristine audio in pretty much any installation scenario,” said Taft Stricklin, sales team manager at J+P. “We’re honored to have our efforts recognized with this prestigious award and are grateful for the hard work of our engineering team that made it possible.”

The 767DSS transmitter allows installers to input up to eight audio channels from the J+P system for playout on Dante-enabled and AES67 devices and extract up to eight channels from the audio network for playout across the J+P system. The 767DSS is backward-compatible with legacy two-channel Dante and AES67 devices, while offering higher performance with lower compression — bit rates of 176.4 and 192 kHz — and latency as low as 0.25 milliseconds on Gigabit Ethernet. Secondary connectivity is built-in for glitch-free performance and to provide redundancy for high-availability applications.

As with all models in the J+P lineup, the receiver integrates seamlessly with FHD infrastructure, allowing integrators to mix and match J+P devices to build a future-proof 4K system that suits any application requirement.

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THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO and the UK’s National Film and Television School promote emerging talent

Posted on by contentntek in News, Production & Post Production

The winning project is “The Run”, a crime-drama series by Ralph Mathers and Jamie MacDonald

As part of a commitment to discover and promote emerging talent, THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO and the National Film and Television School (NFTS) have announced the winner of a competition among final year students in the Screenwriting course at the prestigious British film and television school. Candidates presented their original ideas for television programs to Ran Tellem, head of international content development at THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO; Mariano Baselga, senior development executive at THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, and Stephen Johnstone, head of content at THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO UK.

The winning project, “The Run”, is a returning crime-drama series about forbidden love, turf wars and ice-cream by Ralph Mathers and Jamie MacDonald. THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO will finance the development of the idea, which will be presented to channels and co-production partners for future programs. Ran Tellem thanked the students for their work: “The level of the projects has been exceptional. We asked students to surprise us with the originality of their ideas and there is no doubt that they have managed that. The variety and diversity translated into a journey to many different places with a very diverse mosaic of characters, colors and situations. It has been extremely difficult to select a winner”.

 

Laura Fernández Espeso, head of tv at THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, said: “Talent is the most important factor when it comes to creating content; for us, being able to get involved in educational work, training the industry’s future talents, is a real honor”. We want to help develop fresh and extraordinary talent amongst debuting screenwriters  -explained Stephen Johnstone-;  but we also intend to produce a fantastic program, something new and different that sets THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO apart from the rest. It would be wonderful to turn one of these brilliant screenwriters into a star”. And he added: “We are very excited about our collaboration with the NFTS”.

According to Brian Ward, head of the NFTS screenwriting course, who supervised the initial development of all the ideas, the competition has been “a fantastic opportunity for students to experience first-hand the reality of the profession and the industry. Presenting yourself and your ideas persuasively, effectively, with originality and passion is one of the most crucial lessons to learn. The collaboration with THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO offers students an opportunity to further develop their original ideas in a professional setting with a real chance of getting them funded and into production”.

THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO and the National Film and Television School (NFTS) have also reached a partnership agreement for what is clearly an investment in training in international projects. Students enrolled in THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO Master’s in Screenwriting in association with the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) (https://masterdeguion.themediaprostudio.com/) will work together with students from the Screenwriting Masters from the NFTS (www.nfts.co.uk/screenwriting).

During the 2019-2020 academic year, students from both Master’s degree programs will complete co-production projects which will be coordinated by tutors of the NFTS Master’s in Screenwriting, THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO Screenwriting Master’s and the UCM.

THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO

With a wealth of experience in the audiovisual sector, MEDIAPRO, currently celebrating its 25th anniversary, recently launched THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, whose mission is to expand the creation, production and distribution of content globally drawing on its already well-established foundations, creating high-quality international content in association with the very best Spanish and international talent, including Paolo Sorrentino, Woody Allen, Isabel Coixet, Ran Tellem, Oliver Stone, Daniel Burman, Fernando León de Aranoa, Iván Escobar, Javier Fesser, Patricio Guzmán, Borja Cobeaga, Diego San José, Marc Cistaré, Manuel Huerga, Ernesto Daranas, Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn, Laura Belloo, Marc Vigil, Fernando González Molina, Javier Olivares and Ruth García. THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, with 58 offices distributed across four continents, 14 of which develop and produce content, launched 34 series in 2019 with a global investment of €200 million for productions of series, films, entertainment programs, short-formats and documentaries. MEDIAPRO has partnered with key industry players worldwide including HBO, Netflix, Amazon, DirectTV, Fox, Viacom, Yle and Disney, on award-winning productions which have earned international awards including 2 Oscars, 2 Golden Globes, multiple Goya awards and two Daytime Emmy Awards.

NATIONAL FILM AND TELEVISION SCHOOL

Recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema BAFTA, the NFTS is one of the world’s leading film, games and television schools. NFTS graduates have gone on to win eleven Oscars and 139 BAFTAs with alumni including cinematographer, Roger Deakins (Oscar winner and 13 times Oscar nominee); BAFTA winning director, David Yates, (best known for directing the Harry Potter films); Oscar winning animator Nick Park (creator of Wallace & Gromit), Oscar winning composer Dario Marianelli and BAFTA winning director Lynne Ramsay, among others. For more information: http://www.nfts.co.uk

FIRST MASTER’S DEGREE IN SCREENWRITING FROM THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO AND UCM

THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, a key player in the international audiovisual industry, is joining forces with the Universidad Complutense de Madrid’s Faculty of Information Sciences to launch the Master’s Degree in Screenwriting, offering students training tailored to the current and future reality of audiovisual production. The Master’s Degree, endorsed by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and with THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO’S experience and creative talent, will provide students with the opportunity of internship placement in Studio productions worldwide. This ensures students put the skills they have learned into practice in an environment adapted to the realities of national and international of the media and entertainment sector.

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PlayBox Neo Powers Phase 2 Expansion at WLVT – PBS39, Pennsylvania

Posted on by contentntek in Broadcast & Playout, News, System Integration

PlayBox Neo announces the completion of a playout system expansion at the headquarters of US public service broadcaster WLVT – PBS39 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This forms the second phase of a project commenced in Q4 2017.

“Phase 1 solved our requirement for a dependable and user-friendly core playout system which replaced legacy third-party servers,” says WLVT – PBS39’s Chief Technology Officer Andrea Cummis. “It centered on the installation and commissioning of a three channel AirBox Neo for master control, a ProductionAirBox Neo for live news and live production, plus two channels of CaptureBox Neo as the basis of a major upgrade to our media manipulation and delivery system.”

WLVT - PBS 39

“The Phase 2 system expansion adds a second ProductionAirBox Neo and two extra channels of CaptureBox Neo. Our old clip player died so we replaced it with the ProductionAirBox Neo and had it installed and working in a live show the same day. It is used for a range of tasks including inserting our evening news show into our main HD channel every night at 6:30.”

 

“PlayBox Neo has partnered closely with us so that we can operate five separate broadcast channels with the greatest possible efficiency. Our production team find the system very intuitive to operate, providing the creative tools they need exactly where and when they require them. The engineering staff are equally impressed with the system’s robust build, effective software integration and future-proof expandability.”

 

“The Phase 2 system expansion at WLVT – PBS39 is an excellent example of broadcast playout scaling up to match the accelerating demands being placed on this very talented production team,” adds PlayBox Neo’s USA Director of Operations, Van Duke.”

ProductionAirBox Neo provides content playout for news, live shows, studio screens and video walls, live production broadcasts and other places where video/audio content have to be displayed. For live productions, any required changes to the playlist can be made while on-air session. Every clip in the playlist can be trimmed or repositioned. Playout position can be changed on-the-fly with commands like next, jump or shuttle. Such changes are performed seamlessly without stopping the current playout session. One server can be configured with up to four independent players. Each player has independent playlist and playout control. All four SDI interfaces can be assigned as program or preview outputs. Single channel or multichannel user interfaces are available to streamline the operation.

CaptureBox Neo allows HD or SD content to be captured from up to four video sources simultaneously. These can be monitored on a single screen and controlled via a streamlined user interface with enhanced multichannel control and operability. Audio levels can be monitored as loudness/true-peak displays and adjusted when required. Ingested content is available for playback seconds after ingest commences. Capture lists can be imported from third-party traffic systems.

Founded in 1967, PBS39 (www.PBS39.org), virtual and UHF digital channel 39 is a community-owned public media station serving eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. PBS39 is licensed in Allentown to the Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation, and maintains studios located on the south side of Bethlehem. Its transmitter is located atop South Mountain in Allentown, PA.

WLVT-TV currently broadcasts five channels including the primary PBS channel (39.1), plus PBS affiliates Create TV (39.2) and WORLD Channel (35.2). In addition, France 24 and MegaHertz Worldview are broadcast on 39.3 and 35, respectively. PBS39’s primary service area includes much of eastern Pennsylvania and parts of western and southern New Jersey. Cable television carriers include Comcast, Service Electric, RCN, Blue Ridge Cable and others. WLVT-TV is also available over-the-air and throughout the region via DirecTV, Dish Network, and Verizon Fios.

PlayBox Neo, building on nearly 20 years of successful innovation, pioneered the development of high-efficiency server-based and cloud-based playout to support every scale and type of one-to-many communication. PlayBox Neo channel-in-a-box and cloud solutions today power over 18,500 TV and branding channels in more than 120 countries. Users include national and international broadcasters, start-up TV channels, webcasters, interactive TV and music channels, film channels, remote TV channels, corporate information channels and disaster recovery channels. Based in Sofia (PlayBox Neo Commercial HQ), PlayBox Neo has offices in West Palm Beach (PlayBox Neo LLC), Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand (PlayBox Neo Asia Pacific), and in New Delhi (PlayBox Neo India).

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