Adobe Anywhere Launched

Collaborative Cloud based Adobe Anywhere

At this year's NAB conference in April, Adobe previewed Adobe Anywhere for video, and it's now available for everyone.

Anywhere is a new component to the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, one that lets users store video assets in the cloud and work collaboratively with people anywhere in the country. Anywhere now works with Premiere Pro CC and Prelude CC. Adobe adds that After Effects CC support should come later this year.

With Anywhere, Adobe is targeting broadcasting, education, and government, or any large organization that needs video collaboration. Anywhere is hosted locally but run in the cloud off a cluster of servers. It contains two parts: the Anywhere Collaboration Hub, which stores project information and allows collaboration, and the Adobe Mercury Streaming Engine, which lets remote workers access files without long download times.

Whinge!

Why has adobe opted for this new rental model? It does feel like I am never in control and just paying money to someone for a product that essentially I will never own.

Is this to combat piracy? Is this model going to make Adobe more money?

NY  Times technology columnist David Pogue recently reviewed the suite and noted that it will mean higher prices for many users. Pogue condemned the move, saying " Adobe isn’t offering the rental plan -- it’s dictating it.

The 800-pound gorilla of the creative world has become the 1,600-pound gorilla." In a follow-up blog post, Pogue said Adobe is sacrificing customer happiness for greater profit.

In July 2012, as part of its partnership with the University of Salford, Adobe sent two of its engineers over to MediaCityUK to work alongside students testing the latest, pre-release Adobe software product, 'Anywhere'. This is a video record of that project, shot and edited by Louis Lablom, MA student.


To find out more about the Adobe and University of Salford MediaCityUK research partnership please visit http://www.salford.ac.uk/MediaCityUK/.......

Shock Horror... BBC Ditch 3D

Disappointing.......

That was the main reason that the BBC gave for dropping 3D. No audience, no real demand for 3D content on their telly boxes by the British public. 

I should state that the BBC haven't 'ditched' 3D per say, just put it on hold, with no scheduled date to revive it. 

Kim Shillinglaw, the BBC's head of 3D (not for much longer!) stated that "I have never seen a very big appetite for 3D television in the UK" 

She continued 

"We will see what happens when the recession ends and there may be more take up of sets, but I think the BBC will be having a wait-and-see. It's the right time for a good old pause."

She said that around half of the estimated 1.5 million 3D TV owners in the UK turned on the BBC's 3D coverage of the Olympics, but only 5 per cent of viewers (That's 75,000, which when compared to the number of active B&W TV's in the UK  estimated at 13, 000 you can see that 3D is a very popular choice for the likes of you an me)  bothered to watch the Queen's Christmas message to the Commonwealth, figures Shillinglaw called "disappointing." Given Her Majesty's customary scowl during such coverage, the 5 per cent figure is understandable.

What happens to the head of 3D?  Is Kim put on hold indefinitely? No sadly not, (only joking ! ) she'll go back to her day job as head of science and natural history at the BBC once the 3D unit is shut down.

Answers please....

Why do they not come out and just say, you know what we got sucked in, wasted your money and actually we are stopping the 3D service. Why string it out?

Good news

It is not all bad, the  last programme to be aired by BBC will be a Dr Who special in November 2013.

First Technicolor, Now Red Bee

From Telephones to TV, Ericsson Making a Commitment to the Television Broadcast Industry

Communications giant Ericsson, yes Ericsson who made phones and in 2012 was announced as the largest provider of wireless network equipment has announced its intention to acquire UK-based services company from an entity controlled by Macquarie Advanced Investment Partners. The planned purchase – which is subject to the usual regulatory approvals – comes at a time of profound change for the synchronicities between the broadcast sector and communications providers, as highlighted by BT’s forthcoming launch of its own dedicated sports channels.

Ericsson says the purchase would support its strategy to grow in the broadcast services market, and would bring into the fold 1,500 highly skilled employees, as well as media services and facilities in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Australia.

The move follows on from the introduction of Ericsson’s broadcast services business in 2007, and its subsequent expansion with the acquisition of Technicolor’s Broadcast Services Division in 2012. If the new deal goes through, Red Bee Media will be incorporated into Ericsson’s Business Unit Global Services.

Magnus Mandersson, executive vice-president and head of Business Unit Global Services at Ericsson, says: “Ericsson is making a step change to our business, cementing our commitment to TV and broadcast services and continuing a journey we started in 2007. We can create value for broadcasters by making digital content more accessible, enabling monetisation of TV content more efficiently. Video traffic shows very strong uptake in the mobile networks and Ericsson can address the need of both broadcasters and telecom operators through our technology expertise and services capabilities.”

From my point of view, there surely has to be a conflict of interest if this goes through. It would mean the play out services for all BBC, ITV and Channel 4 channels come under the Ericsson global division. That has to be a concern, no?

Reading 'Broadcast Engineering who spoke  exclusively to Thorsten Sauer, Head of Broadcast Services at Ericsson.

Why the acquisition?

“The primary focus was to broaden our offering,” Sauer said.

As Ericsson Broadcast Services expands, will it run out of Tier 1 customers?

“We would like to offer our services to all customers that can benefit.” Sauer said. “The skill set we are building is relevant for broadcasters large and small. (As an example) some of the skills (from Red Bee) in content distribution are relevant to cable and telco side.”

Sauer continued on this theme of new customers.

“We would be interested in new customers that want a high-quality service," he said. "We have to have a good offering for different market segments. Some customers have big demands with live content; another segment has more thematic channels with a different channel requirement. We believe (in this latter area) we can add a lot of value though industrialization of processes.”

Ericsson clearly wants to offer a high quality of service, but to be competitive, it will do that in a highly industrialized way.

One area Red Bee has been active in is the skinning of streamed content with the RedPlayer. The RedPlayer second-screen app has proved a success, being adopted by several leading broadcasters. This will dovetail with the recent acquisition of Microsoft’s MediaRoom IPTV platform. IP delivery is not new to Ericsson.

“We already operate 80 streaming channels in Scandinavia, so that side of Red Bee will strengthen our proposition.” Sauer said. “We can leverage the complementary skill sets of the middleware we have, with the user interface design from Red Bee.”

Red Bee has products as well as services, notably Piero, 3D analysis technology for televised sporting events. How does that fit with the managed service portfolio?

“Piero is an interesting technology," Sauer said, "but we need to understand it better before making any judgment.”

From its past as BBC Broadcast, Red Bee also provides access services including captioning and audio description, as well as creative services for channel branding and promotions. Ericsson operates limited access services in the Netherlands, so the acquisition will strengthen this area. This becomes another offering to its customers, especially with the legal requirements in many countries to provide the services.

3D is Dead Long Live 4K

ESPN Sports Ditches 3D 

I have been stating for a long time and even more so at NAB and IBC when this gimmick was floated as the next big thing to hit the TV industry since HD. 3D is a fad, not a long term feature that will stick around. 

Was I right?

Well, ESPN Sports, owned by Disney has pulled the plug on the 3D venture.

ESPN 3D will cease transmissions by the end of the year, launched in 2010 with offerings that included American football, Masters golf and action from the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

But the channel said customers have not warmed to the technology, citing a “lack of demand from the majority of consumers.”

Disney is now looking to focus their efforts on Ultra HD or 4K TV rather than 3D broadcasts.

“We are committing our 3D resources to other products and services that will better serve fans and affiliates,” said ESPN spokeswoman Katina Arnold.

The channel charges an average of US$2.79 from each subscriber, and is carried by Time Warner Cable Inc, Comcast Corp and DirecTV, amongst others.

Will others follow?

In short, yes !

Back in January of this year, BBC North controller of production Mark Harrison reckons the tech is yesterday's news. 

I am surprised that other broadcasters have not followed the same path as Disney by pulling the plug on 3D. 

If I was a betting man, I would wager that BSKYB will announce in the next 6 to 12 months of a reduction in 3D services.  

In summary, this is not news, just an assertion that  3D is and was a fad and a gimmick. Was that not obvious to all in the industry? Apparently not. I am sure that 3D will have its place in the movie theaters and games consoles, just not on our TV screens