New eMAM Blog

Friday, April 5, 2013

Empress Announces eMAM 3.3 with Adobe Prelude and Adobe Premiere Pro integration with Facilis Technology Shared File System support

Empress Press Contact: 
Shaun McTernan
SVP Sales & Marketing
shaun@empressmam.com
212.643.4898




New York, NY April 5, 2013 After the success in enterprise media asset management and archive management, Empress is proud to release new tools for different users including Producers, Directors and Editors for post-production workflows in association with Adobe® and Facilis Technology. 
A new eMAM workflow allows ingest users to use Adobe Prelude™ CS6 software to move the content from camera directly into eMAM using the built-in eMAM panel. Project, sequence and metadata from Adobe Prelude will be preserved in eMAM for use in NLE workflows.  “We are very excited to work with Adobe to focus on the needs of the media and broadcast industry and offer a product that provides unparalleled support for camera formats and codecs on the desktop at an affordable price point,” comments Empress COO David Miller. 
In Adobe Prelude CS6, users can log and choose content for editors and share projects, categories, or individual clips in appropriate formats.   From eMAM, users can use any web browser to collaborate using the rich eMAM feature set, including annotation, subclip, markers, comments, and approvals.    eMAM Version 3.3 extends access for these functionalities with native applications for  Apple iPAD and Android tablets.
Using Final Cut XML Exchange,   eMAM can move projects and sequences into and out of NLE applications.   A native Adobe Premiere® Pro CS6 plug-in gives editors access to the entire eMAM online library directly from the application.   eMAM 3.3 also has a film strip view for viewing projects inside the application.  
eMAM is a full media asset management system, able to transcode, deliver, and download media from any storage location whether local, at a remote location, or stored in the cloud.  eMAM has now been tested and qualified with Facilis Terrablock SAN storage.  TerraBlock offers the edit-in-place functionality necessary for editorial workflow, and the ability to link original files into Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, and Avid Media Composer using the project XML export option in eMAM. A native Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 plug-in gives editors access to the entire eMAM online library directly from the application, and eMAM version 3.3 also has a film strip view for viewing projects inside the application.  
Empress will showcase eMAM 3.3 at booth SL12505 at the upcoming National Association of Broadcasters convention being held at the Las Vegas Convention Center April 8-11th.

About Empress
Empress Media Asset Management, LLC., a private company,  is a  leading provider of digital asset management and workflow management systems for media & entertainment, and corporate clients.  It is part of the Empress family of companies, which includes Empress Cybernetics System PVT LTD, specializing in customized software and database development and Empress Media Inc., one of the largest distributors of blank recording media and supplies. To learn more visit www.empressmam.com


Thursday, April 4, 2013

CompuNext and Leading Software Providers Launch MediaPaaS Cloud Service for Broadcast, Media and Entertainment




At the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)  2013 in Las Vegas, leading media service software vendors Empress Media Asset Management, Harmonic, Venera Technologies, Unlimi-Tech Software, team up with  the ComputeNext cloud service brokerage  to launch MediaPaaS - the first Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) built to enable on-demand procurement and utilization of digital media asset management and workflow services in the cloud. Interested parties can see a demo of the solution at Booth C-ST13 in the Start-Up Loft at NAB13.

Las Vegas, Nevada (PRWEB) April 3rd, 2013
MediaPaaS launches as part of the Start-Up Loft at NAB 2013 (Booth C-ST13) with the vision of uniting digital media services with cloud service brokerage to redefine how broadcasters, content creators, distributors, and digital media agencies realize their end-to-end media workflows. The MediaPaaS platform is an integrated marketplace of B2B software which is customizable to run on a variety of cloud infrastructures for use on-demand.
MediaPaaS provides a web-based portal for professionals who handle digital media content to choose from a portfolio of media services, like transcoding and automated content verification. MediaPaas enables these services to be launched when needed onto a variety of different infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) offerings procured via cloud service brokerage. The granularity of control and ability to choose and deploy applications, tweak services, as well as optimize the workflow and underlying IaaS, has been built in close collaboration by Unlimi-Tech Software, Empress Media Asset Management LLC., Venera Technologies, and ComputeNext Inc., with additional encoding services powered by Harmonic ProMediaCarbon.
The MediaPaaS portal is ideal for media organizations that are looking to enhance digital media workflow and content delivery by using on-demand software in order to facilitate their media production and post-production workflows in the cloud. 
The solution was designed based on feedback from customers in broadcast and media markets who require the ability to provision media solutions that leverage the cloud model of on-demand, scalable, and pay-per-use.  The MediaPaaS suite can be tailored to suit a variety of workflows or project types, with additional media services added over time.
At launch, 7 types of digital media cloud services have been made available across an inventory of IaaS offerings procured and integrated by the ComputeNext cloud service brokerage. During the trial phase, users are able to deploy cloud servers to run individual services or a package of combined and customizable software services from ISVs such as:


Unlimi-Tech Software, a pioneer in managed file transfers and the creator of FileCatalyst, the world's leading accelerated file transfer solution, has the following product portfolio:

FileCatalyst Direct
-        Accelerated File Transfer with speeds up to 10 Gbps
-        File transfer management capabilities including tracking, automation, and notifications
-        Media file transfer while encoding, using progressive transfer options

File Catalyst Workflow
-        Accelerated file submission and distribution workflows
-        Easy local and international collaboration with secure, web-based file transfer  
-        Simple management of media files in one central location

FileCatalyst Webmail
-        Enables users to send files of any size to any email address
-        Provides web-based file storage and sharing
-        Easily integrates into existing systems with many customizable features

Empress Media Asset Management LLC. is a supplier of digital asset management software whose eMAM™ product provides digital asset management software to meet the workflow needs for content management and collaboration, storage, transcoding, archive, and distribution in SaaS and installed deployments.  

eMAM  Online
eMAM™ digital asset management software from Empress Media Asset Management meets the workflow needs of its diverse customers for:
-        Storage, archive, and distribution in SaaS and installed deployments
-        Media asset management
-        Collaboration
-        Transcoding powered by Harmonic ProMedia Carbon
-        Workflow automation

Venera Technologies specializes in providing solutions for audio/video content analysis and automated content verification. Pulsar, their flagship content verification product, enables file-based workflows with a seamless process of multi-format Audio/Video automated QC. It is the fastest automated content verification tool in the market, with the ability to process an HD file up to 4X real time.

Venera Technologies’ Pulsar
-        Automated Content Verification
-        24x7 Automated Content and QC Processes from Ingest to Delivery
-        Quick Scan, Auto Sort, and In-Depth Verification of Audio/Video/Container
-        iTunes Verification
-        Automated analysis of Adaptive Bit Rate files

Harmonic is the worldwide leader in video delivery infrastructure for emerging television and video services. The company’s production-ready innovation enables content and service providers to efficiently create, prepare, and deliver differentiated services for television and new media video platforms.

Harmonic’s ProMedia Carbon
ProMedia Carbon is file-based transcoding software that facilitates the conversion of media to a massive array of acquisition, editing, broadcast, Web and mobile formats.
-        File-Based Transcoding on demand
-        Broad Format Support (Virtually Any)
-        Automated Operation
-        Scalable Transcoding

ComputeNext is a cloud service brokerage whose IaaS marketplace offers real-time comparison data and on-demand provisioning of cloud infrastructure from over 20 cloud service providers, who are all in competition for consumer’s workloads.

ComputeNext Cloud Service Brokerage
-        20+ locations of Cloud Infrastructure
-        17 Cloud Service Providers with Unique Value Propositions
-        Search, Discovery, and Provisioning via API
By aggregating choice in digital media cloud services, the collaboration has enabled instant provisioning and scalability of media software on top of a global selection of cloud servers which can be further tailored for media workloads where price, latency, data privacy, piracy/scene loss, and time to market are drivers.
Built as a full-service procurement solution - Digital Media, Entertainment, Film, and Broadcasting organizations can use the MediaPaaS e-commerce platform to search for, deploy, manage, and use cloud software relevant to their business needs across a growing number of underlying Infrastructure-as-a-Service options. The media software will be available on a selection of over 17 cloud service providers, with geo-located deployments possible in over 20 different data centers locations.


About ComputeNext 
ComputeNext, a Bellevue, WA based technology company, offers CIOs, developers, ISVs and SMEs choice in cloud service providers to eliminate lock-in. With the belief that a handful of large IaaS providers cannot satisfy the world’s computing demands, ComputeNext has built a marketplace for any cloud providers around the world to list and offer their cloud computing services to the public.   As a cloud marketplace, MediaPaaS delivers a transparent and transactional user experience with patented search and discovery technology to promote efficient computing.

www.computenext.com

About Empress Media Asset Management LLC.
Empress Media Asset Management, LLC., is a leading provider of digital asset management and workflow management systems for media, broadcast, and corporate clients. It is part of the Empress family of companies, which includes Empress Cybernetics System PVT LTD, specializing in customized software and database development and Empress Media Inc., one of the largest distributors of blank recording media and supplies.

About Harmonic
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) is the worldwide leader in video delivery infrastructure for emerging television and video services. The company’s production-ready innovation enables content and service providers to efficiently create, prepare, and deliver differentiated services for television and new media video platforms.

About Unlimi-Tech Software:
Located in Ottawa, Canada, Unlimi-Tech Software is the creator of FileCatalyst, the world's leading file transfer solution.  Founded in 2000, the company has more than a thousand commercial and government clients. FileCatalyst is a software platform designed to accelerate and manage file transfers. FileCatalyst is immune to the effects that latency and packet loss have on traditional file transfer methods like FTP, HTTP or CIFS. Global organizations use FileCatalyst to solve issues related to file transfer, including content distribution, file sharing and offsite backups.

About Venera Technologies
Venera Technologies specializes in providing cutting edge solutions in the field of digital media. Since its inception in 2003, the company has been delivering quality, innovative solutions and creating long-lasting relationship with its customers. Venera’s flagship offering, Pulsar, along with its Rapid add-on module, improves the operational efficiency in file-based workflows by automating content QC processes. Pulsar ensures consistent content quality throughout the workflow and is the chosen QC tool for some of the largest media companies worldwide.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Colgate-Palmolive selects eMAM as the solution for Media Asset Management

Background
Colgate has been utilizing multimedia to communicate to its employees for over 30 years, resulting in an abundance of media assets on a variety of tape formats.   This rich media was in danger of deterioration and access to the content was challenging as the equipment necessary to playback the older formats became obsolete and difficult to find.  

Charged with maintaining this corporate legacy, Colgate-Palmolive’s Corporate Communications department sought an effective and reliable digital asset management system to preserve the integrity, provide ease of availability and archive the wealth of Colgate’s legacy media assets.  eMAM™ from Empress Media Asset Management (Empress) is a feature-rich, enterprise class software system that solved the problem.  


Challenges:
1.     Preservation and access to legacy media
Colgate-Palmolive has content on 8mm and 35mm film, betacam, VHS, DAT, and a variety of other formats.    These recordings physically degrade over time, so the historic images and videos can be in danger of being lost.   There is no easy way for staff to search or preview the content.   For many of these formats, Colgate-Palmolive does not have equipment in-house to view the content.   Even if viewable/accessible, there is no system in place to re-purpose, store or share with others.
2.     Lack of a digital workflow tool for studio acquisition
The in-house studio at Colgate-Palmolive corporate headquarters is not equipped to reformat content into needed formats or to distribute the content worldwide as needed.
3.     Inefficiency in sharing and distributing video on corporate intranet
Colgate-Palmolive staff had a labor intensive process to post video content to its employee intranet with a limited number of technically trained resources to complete the process.  
4.     Non secure content distribution from worldwide videographers
Colgate-Palmolive has a global network of videographers producing content for regional and global uses.   Videos were sent to the corporate headquarters on physical media or using various internet tools.    There was no way to ensure the security of these internal communications.
5.     Challenge for IT support, maintenance, training, and infrastructure for support of various systems.
There are major labor and equipment costs involved with the utilization of a variety of different systems for various aspects of media content acquisition, sharing, and distribution.


Solutions:
Colgate’s selection of eMAM included the installation of the eMAM suite of tools including eMAM Mobile and eMAM Feeder.  In addition, Empress staff coordinated the installation of a Rorke Data 32 TB Storage Area Network to solve their challenges:
1.     Preservation and access to legacy media
eMAM now provides access to the digitized content through their corporate standard web browser.  Users can now search and browse all the legacy material and repurpose as needed without the need for plugins or software download.  eMAM’s user friendly interface allows users to quickly locate assets and directly share using eMAM’s eBIN Smart eMail tool.  
2.     A digital workflow tool for studio acquisition
Content in eMAM can be transcoded in real-time simultaneously to different formats.   Server “watch folders” have been setup, supporting “drag & drop” file upload which triggers delivery to a choice of predefined destinations.  
3.     Efficiently sharing and distributing video on corporate intranet
Users can use eBIN and other eMAM tools to easily post content to the intranet or send mixed media emails (video/audio/images/documents).   eMAM has become the framework for unifying their digital workflow needs.  
4.     Secure content distribution from worldwide videographers
eMAM Feeder was designed in close collaboration with Colgate-Palmolive to meet their worldwide ingest requirements.    eMAM Feeder provides a simple interface enabling contract producers to upload their content directly into eMAM – without the need to provide VPN or other user access to the Colgate Wide Area Network.  eMAM Feeder also supports selection of predefined projects/categories and includes the ability to add metadata tags.
5.     Reduced need for IT support, maintenance, training, and infrastructure for support of various systems.  
IT staff and resources assigned to support the various media players, flash plugins, and other systems could now be reassigned as eMAM has become the corporate global standard for video distribution.   The challenge of supporting video on iPad / iPhone has been eliminated through the implementation of eMAM which supports native iOS video.




Results and ROI

Workplace efficiency

Regarding the project, Steve Baez, Associate Director – Corporate Communications at Colgate-Palmolive commented: “We have been extremely pleased working with the Empress team.  I consider them as Business Partners collaborating to implement eMAM.

They truly have made it easy for us to get this done.

Having Empress deliver a solution (their software and 3rd party hardware platform) as a complete turnkey solution allowed us to focus on the business integration of eMAM. This was a tremendous benefit to us and key to the project's success. 

In addition to the interface being simple and easy to use with minimal training, it is web-based, meaning our IT organization does not have to deal with software downloads, or version control.

Furthermore, the eBIN functionality has been a significant plus.  When sending a video, we are no longer concerned with the recipients PC type, the asset file type, size, codec, etc.

By integrating their media player into a simple email, eMAM delivers a seamless viewing experience to all recipients regardless of their platform. This includes mobile devices as well.

I view eMAM as a long term business strategy integral to our workflow.”