In Broadcast September 2012 - 73

ISSUE 12 - SEPTEMBER 2012 | WWW.INBROADCAST.COM

InMEDIA

Agama Launch Mediaroom Edition
Agama Technologies, a video service quality assurance expert, has become an ofﬁcial Microsoft Mediaroom ecosystem partner. The company has also launched a Mediaroom edition of its complete end-to-end DTV Monitoring Solution at IBC2012. The solution offers Mediaroompowered IPTV operators the same powerful presentation, aggregation, reporting and alarming functionality that has established Agama as a trusted service assurance solution provider worldwide. The Agama DTV Monitoring Solution is a full-coverage product suite for continuous and real-time monitoring and quality assurance of all forms of video delivery, from service creation to consumption. Trusted by TV operators around the world, the solution enables systematic improvements of service quality and customer satisfaction, whilst reducing OPEX and qualityinduced churn. By providing serviceaware transparency and insight – from pixel level in the head-end to information on what is actually experienced by each individual viewer - the proven solution supports operators in ensuring their customers’ TV experience and achieving operational excellence in the video delivery. At IBC2012, Agama launched an edition of its complete solution aimed at Mediaroom-powered IPTV operators. Integrating with the Mediaroom platform, the Agama solution provides such operators with end-toend visibility from head-end to home, making it possible to get a detailed understanding of the service quality across the delivery network. With Agama, Mediaroom operators can be proactive in preventing problems or detecting them before customers are impacted, helping to strengthen customer loyalty and proﬁtability. Incident handling also becomes more efﬁcient when problems can be accurately triangulated – where is the problem originating, how severe is it, and how many customers are affected? For trending and systematic analysis, r e p o r t s comparing services, r e g i o n s , D S L A M s or other infrastructure parts can be generated. Reports can be tailored, scheduled and automatically emailed to all stakeholders. This provides the whole Agama Enterprise Server multiplatform dashboard o p e r a t o r organisation our full end-to-end solution,” says with the same objective information Mikael Dahlgren, CEO at Agama and puts everybody on the same Technologies. “Microsoft Mediaroom page, ultimately enabling a rapid is the most widely deployed IPTV and cost-effective TV service growth platform in the world, and we are with a high customer satisfaction. excited to be able to share our “Parts of our solution have experience and proven product already been deployed for a few line for video service monitoring years in Mediaroom environments and quality assurance with all their with several operators, primarily operator customers worldwide.” ■ to monitor in head-ends and post A-server network locations, but now we take the next step and enable these operators to benefit from

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Mikael Dahlgren, CEO at Agama Technologies

Primestream Enhances FORK Suite
Primestream, a leader in advanced media asset management and broadcast automation software, has released the latest version of FORK Xchange Suite. The application gives broadcasters instant web access to content on their FORK Production servers from any Windows, Mac, or iOS device. FORK Xchange Suite 1.5, an add-on to Primestream’s highly acclaimed FORK software platform for managing and automating broadcast workﬂows, contains new capabilities for creating subclips and markers, as well as an upload manager, extended metadata functionality, multitrack audio control, and more new features. “Content creation and management are no longer centrally located activities. We created Xchange Suite so that producers and editors can tap into their content from anywhere,” said Claudio Lisman, Primestream/B4M president and CEO. “The more efﬁciently and quickly they can get the job done, the more readily they will profit from their assets. We’re building on that notion with this latest version of Xchange.” In FORK Xchange Suite 1.5, subclips can now be created directly from the Xchange Suite using the new Assemble module, an interface for creating subclips and markers. Users can review material and select portions of the media to deliver to remote sites. Users can create and submit markers and subclips through Assemble from a desktop PC and/or iPad. FORK Xchange Suite 1.5 also boasts an upload manager and monitor, which allows users to upload content in any of the supported formats directly from the user’s browser, and then monitor the upload progress of multiple ﬁles. Once the FORK Production Server registers the ﬁle, it creates an H.264 proxy ﬁle, which is also viewable from anywhere. Users anywhere in the world can also download a proxy or high-res media ﬁle of any clip in Xchange. With the new multitrack audio feature in Xchange Suite 1.5, a video clip can have multiple tracks of audio in different languages. Additionally, a new audio panel facilitates switching between audio tracks and master volume controls. This flexibility enables accurate creation of voiceover text for multi-language assets. Xchange Suite 1.5 also has extended metadata capabilities. Required metadata ﬁelds ensure that content has valuable information that is later searchable within Xchange and FORK. Read-only metadata ﬁelds provide protection for critical information, embedded within the content. The use of predeﬁned values allows for quick tagging of content with commonly used metadata tags. Upon login, groups are presented with their customised form for metadata logging - permitting easy access and user-friendly workflows. Not only is Xchange hardwareagnostic, it also supports multiple frame rates according to both NTSC and PAL standards. Other new features include the ability to colour-code media files for easy identiﬁcation, and the ability to perform simple or advanced searches within smartbins with the click of a button. ■

FORK Xchange Suite 1.5
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In Broadcast September 2012

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