“With our initial investment in Observer systems, we envisioned them monitoring what’s going out to air and providing proof that we aired content properly,” said Dave Folsom, vice president, chief technology officer at Raycom Media. “Since then, they have been in constant use, adding value on so many levels and in so many different ways. This system-wide upgrade gives us new Observer hardware with more robust capabilities, and the fact that we have been able to add in NAVE and CALM Act monitoring and view content from mobile devices feels like a bonus.”
Volicon Observer systems capture, store, and stream stations’ broadcasted content, offering unlimited simultaneous users 24/7 access to live and recorded content from their desktop computers and smart devices. An intuitive, streamlined user interface accessible from Mac® , PC, and mobile devices allows Raycom Media and its authorized users to access, play, pause, and search recorded content for legal purposes, program analysis, talent coaching, proof of performance, and a host of other uses.
The Observer loudness monitoring module enables Raycom Media to measure AC3 dialnorm levels and to monitor broadcasts’ compliance with ITU BS.1770-1 and BS.1770-2, ATSC A/85 RP 2011, and CALM Act (FCC Report 11-182A1) standards. Intuitive overlay controls provide continuous measurements that identify program loudness and loudness range. High-visibility audio, video, and measurement data, as well as fast, accurate access to any given piece of content and the ability to export a report and/or the content itself with loudness data overlaid, will support the broadcast group in demonstrating diligent compliance with loudness rules and laws.
Using the Observer system’s integrated NAVE monitoring module, Raycom will be able to determine immediately whether or not a station has placed Nielsen codes in the broadcast stream properly or if anything happened to them after it left the station. The immediate feedback provided by the Observer system will reduce the time it takes Raycom Media to act on this information and, in turn, improve its ability to maintain accurate ratings attributions.
To address Raycom’s multichannel broadcast management and monitoring applications, the Observer systems not only provide mission critical monitoring functionality at the station level, but also facilitate provision of high-quality live or recorded content directly to “C suite” desktops, as well as executives’ iPad® and iPhone® devices. Using Raycom’s central Observer server, producers, directors, consultants, and other team members evaluate — and even guide — the course of production, in turn reducing the cost and difficulty of maintaining the desired quality, content, or character of programming.
Volicon’s patented Virtual Media Network (VMN) technology provides a unique architecture that allows for efficient expansion and scalability, seamless and efficient streaming throughout the organization, and optimized video logging and monitoring.
Further information about Volicon and the company’s Observer digital video monitoring and logging products is available at http://www.volicon.com.
About Raycom
Raycom, an employee-owned company, is one of the nation’s largest broadcasters and owns and/or provides services for 48 television stations in 36 markets and 18 states. Raycom stations cover 12.6 percent of U.S. television households and employ nearly 3,500 individuals in full- and part-time positions. In addition to television stations, Raycom owns Raycom Sports (a marketing, production, and events management and distribution company in Charlotte, N.C.) and Broadview Media (a post production/digital signage company based in Montgomery, Ala.).
About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government media-monitoring organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
BURLINGTON, Mass. — May 9, 2012 — Volicon today announced that its Observer® digital video monitoring and logging system has been deployed by Communications Corporation of America to facilitate fast, easy production of website content at the 25 broadcast channels it operates. The leading medium-market broadcast and digital media company has configured four Observer systems to ingest all stations’ production feeds and subsequently enable news anchors, producers, and reporters to clip and automatically convert video for Web delivery.
“As we built out the KETK NBC website, we realized we needed a way to put on-air content online, and not one company we approached was able to provide a solution — until we talked to Volicon,” said Andrew Newland, Web development manager for Communications Corporation of America. “The Observer system gives station staff the ability to access and review all of their on-air content, as well as tools that make it easy to create content for their websites. The system as a whole is just amazing.”
Communications Corporation of America operates 25 stations — including FOX, NBC, CBS, CW, MyNetwork, and EstrellaTV — in 10 markets throughout Louisiana, Texas, and Indiana. The company provides its clients with a complete media solution including television, mobile, Web, print, and event marketing. The Observer has become a significant part of these operations, as the company’s largest stations put more than 60 stories on their websites each day, and nearly all of that content has been captured and processed by the Volicon system.
Installed at four sites that together serve all 25 stations, Volicon Observer systems capture, store, and stream station production feeds, offering simultaneous users 24/7 access to video from their desktop computers or smart devices. An intuitive, streamlined user interface for both Mac® and PC platforms allows users to access, play, pause, and search recorded content. Once a user drops the desired clips into the appropriate watch folder, those clips are automatically converted into the correct format and made ready for viewing via the station website. This process typically completes in the background as staff write their stories.
Volicon’s patented Virtual Media Network (VMN) technology provides a unique architecture that allows for efficient expansion and scalability, seamless and efficient streaming throughout the organization, and optimized video logging and monitoring as the group’s broadcast operations continue to grow.
“The ease with which we can add video to station websites has made our products that much stronger,” added Newland. “The speed and simplicity of the Volicon solution helps each station get timely news online quickly, and that’s critical in the broadcast news environment.”
Further information about Volicon and the company’s Observer digital video monitoring and logging products is available at http://www.volicon.com.
About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
“After looking at all the major players in the digital video monitoring field, we found that the Volicon Observer TS best met the requirements of our station engineers,” said Mike Doback, Vice President of Engineering at Scripps Media. “In addition to supporting quality control, legal compliance, and executive oversight of all our stations, the Volicon system gives us the opportunity to address all of these tasks from within a single solution.”
Observer TS enables networks and broadcasters to increase logging density, accommodate high-resolution content repurposing, directly monitor native MPEG ASI/IP handoffs, and inspect and export transport streams — all while operating efficiently over a LAN or WAN. By using Observer TS for compliance logging and air checks, operators can easily extract flexible MPEG metadata and troubleshoot the MPEG transport stream live or from the Observer log.
With two configurable logs — either the high-bit rate native ASI content or the low-bit rate proxy for remote viewing — logging and monitoring with the Observer TS supports an extremely network-efficient workflow. The system also makes complete stream, search, analyze, clip, and publish functionality available from within the versatile Web-based Observer user interface.
Further information about Volicon and the company’s Observer digital video monitoring and logging products is available at http://www.volicon.com.
About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable, and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
“Because the Observer gives users simultaneous remote access to live or recorded video from any show, executives are empowered to provide input or guidance on the fly,” said Russell Wise, vice president of global sales and business development at Volicon. “Easy and immediate access to crisp, clear video from the desktop, iPad, iPhone, or Android ensures that decision-makers can intervene during the creative process, as needed, rather than wait to review video and then provide feedback. This capability dramatically reduces the time and cost required to maintain not only the appropriate look and feel of a show, but also control over its content.”
The Volicon Observer system captures, streams, and stores content from multiple sources, offering simultaneous users 24/7 access to video from their desktop computers or smart devices. When deployed across an entire production company, the Observer system makes live and recorded content available to every networked user with the correct permissions. An intuitive, streamlined user interface for both Mac® and PC platforms allows users to access video with ease.
With the ability to play, pause, and search recorded content using either a desktop or mobile device, executives enjoy a new level of flexibility in ensuring the quality and compliance of all programs in production. Volicon’s patented Virtual Media Network (VMN) technology provides a unique architecture that allows for efficient expansion and scalability from small to large deployments, seamless and efficient streaming throughout the organization, and optimized video logging and monitoring.
Further information about Volicon and the company’s Observer digital video monitoring and logging products is available at http://www.volicon.com.
About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
“Through the Observer interface, executives can dial into any station broadcast, at any time, for a live view of the transmission, as well as access to critical monitoring parameters and analysis tools,” said Russell Wise, vice president of global sales and business development at Volicon. “By providing high-quality video to the desktop, iPad, iPhone, or Android instantly, the Observer system allows station groups to improve communications, competitiveness, quality of service, and both regulatory and contractual compliance.”
The Volicon Observer system integrates easily into existing broadcast infrastructures to give users remote access to live or recorded video from any station. Capturing, streaming, and storing content from channels across the entire station group, the system offers multiple simultaneous users 24/7 access to video from their desktop computers or smart devices. An intuitive, streamlined user interface for both Mac® and PC platforms enables users to access video with ease.
Within the station group, for example, the vice president of operations can use the Observer system to run loudness checks on any number of stations, in turn ensuring the group is in compliance with FCC regulations. The vice president of sales can employ the Observer’s monitoring capabilities to monitor the broadcasts of all competitive affiliates in a local market; perform an analysis of ad sales across all stations; and identify potential areas for increased sales and revenues. Producers at both the local and group level can use the Observer system to roll back and look at their own broadcasts, as well as competing newscasts, to determine how well local news ad production teams have performed in bringing breaking news to their audiences.
With the ability to play, pause, and search recorded content using either a desktop or mobile device, executives enjoy a new level of flexibility in ensuring the quality and compliance of all station programming. Volicon’s patented Virtual Media Network (VMN) technology provides a unique architecture that allows for efficient expansion and scalability from small to large deployments, seamless and efficient streaming throughout the organization, and optimized video logging and monitoring.
Further information about Volicon and the company’s Observer digital video monitoring and logging products is available at http://www.volicon.com.
About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
“The new utility afforded by our 7.0 software release, along with improvements in computing, storage, and capture technologies, allows us to offer the robust New Observer package at a compelling value for broadcast stations,” said Andrew Sachs, vice president of product management at Volicon. “For those stations that haven’t yet adopted logging systems, the New Observer system is the best reason yet for making the shift.”
The New Observer system allows users to record (log) five ATSC/ASI inputs continuously, as well as monitor the A/V content for BS.1770-2 loudness, NAVE, and other correlations of data and video that are critical both for quality of experience (QoE), compliance, and accurate Nielsen ratings. Volicon has packed the New Observer system’s 1-RU chassis with four 8VSB/QAM inputs, as well, to facilitate both return-feed monitoring and competitive monitoring of in-market stations.
Because the New Observer logs the full transport stream, users are able to go back an hour, a day, a week, or a month to examine and/or export content. Low bit-rate proxies (WMV or H.264), DVR-like frame-accurate controls, and an intuitive interface on both PC and Mac® systems support easy content review, even when Observer is operating over an enterprise network or WAN. The system’s logging, review, and export capabilities allow operators to troubleshoot problems quickly and distinguish customers’ issues in their network from issues with the service handoff. Users can stream and export content remotely to all stakeholders in the media enterprise, or they can access live and recorded video, as well as monitoring data, via iPhone® and iPad® devices.
The New Observer system integrates easily into existing broadcast infrastructure, thanks to open system APIs. Volicon’s patented Virtual Media Network (VMN) technology provides a unique architecture that facilitates seamless and efficient streaming throughout the organization, optimized video logging and monitoring, centralized management, and efficient expansion and scalability from small to large deployments.
In addition to providing the station-complete version of the New Observer, Volicon offers an even less expensive ASI-only entry-level model for those broadcasters looking for a simple, affordable way to get into digital monitoring and logging.
Further information about Volicon and the company’s Observer digital video monitoring and logging products is available at http://www.volicon.com.
About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
BURLINGTON, Mass. — April 2, 2012 — Volicon today announced the release of the NAVE (Nielsen Audio Video Encoder) Decoding, Logging, and Alerting module for the company’s Observer® digital video monitoring and logging product range. This new ratings assurance tool enables broadcasters or networks to ensure proper transmission and delivery of NAVE codes to Nielsen monitoring equipment and, in turn, ensure ratings credit for advertisements.
“Our Observer product line helps stations and networks to ensure and demonstrate the integrity of their on-air product, and this new module extends this assurance to include the NAVE codes through which broadcasters receive ratings data,” said Andrew Sachs, vice president of product management at Volicon. “The NAVE Decoding, Logging, and Alerting module allows the broadcaster to be immediately notified of discrepancies, avoiding any gap in ratings credits. It is available as a software module on the Observer systems, providing the broadcaster with additional value for their investment in Volicon.”
Unlike expensive stand-alone equipment, Volicon’s NAVE Decoding, Logging, and Alerting module affordably logs NAVE IDs (SIDs) along with the broadcast content. This facilitates effective troubleshooting, as well as cost-effective monitoring of cable, satellite, and IPTV provider return feeds to ensure delivery of codes to the consumer environment. With this convenient addition to their Observer systems, broadcasters and networks can now ensure the accurate generation and delivery of NAVE ID codes.
Further information about Observer digital video monitoring and logging products is available at http://www.volicon.com.
About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
“Kelvin’s outstanding record in high-technology sales and marketing, and in the broadcast, cable, and telecom markets in particular, makes him a great fit for Volicon,” said Russell Wise, vice president of global sales at Volicon. “The fact that he has spent nearly 15 years of his 24-year career in the Asia-Pacific and understands the business, cultural, and political elements of this market exceptionally well makes him a great asset to Volicon as we continue to expand our presence worldwide.”
Ko has held senior sales and marketing positions with a number of well-known companies in the broadcast and cable space including Ineoquest, Cisco, Leitch, and Harmonic.
Ko, who holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, is fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. He will work out of offices in Kowloon.
Information about Volicon and the company’s Observer digital video monitoring and logging products is available at http://www.volicon.com.
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About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
“With baseband usage on the decline, broadcasters and networks are increasingly recording the native ASI and IP MPEG transport stream and generating low-res proxies for viewing and subsequent troubleshooting,” said Eli Warsawski, Volicon’s director, president, and CEO. “Gary will outline an efficient MPEG transport stream monitoring workflow and explain for attendees how this model can enable them or their operations to increase logging channel density while facilitating the inspection and export of transport streams efficiently over the WAN.”
During his BEC presentation, Learner will touch on how transport stream monitoring simplifies access, storage, and use of both the content and metadata compressed within transport streams. He also will explain how the full-quality content logging possible with transport stream monitoring can not only speed resolution of customer complaints and reduce customer care costs, but also enable new use cases, such as repurposing high-resolution data, managing interactive content, and dialnorm reporting.
Learner has more than 16 years of experience in the video imaging field, including director of software development at Univision Technologies and co-founder of Exatel. He also held senior engineering and management positions with PictureTel and Polaroid. Learner holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Northeastern University in Boston, and an MBA from Boston University.
Information about Volicon and the company’s Observer® digital video monitoring and logging products is available at http://www.volicon.com.
About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
On March 7 at 9 a.m. EST, Volicon Vice President of Product Management Andrew Sachs will present “What Is Loudness? Navigating the Compliance Requirements of Loudness Monitoring.” The webinar will define loudness, provide a primer on today’s compliance mandates with a focus on commercial loudness being mandated through the EBU PLOUD (R128: Tech 3341/2/3), describe what loudness monitoring entails, and explain how to prove compliance. This webinar will be tailored to EMEA audiences.
At 1 p.m. EST on March 7, Sachs will present “Act CALM and Carry On!” This webinar offers similar information on loudness, regulation, and compliance, but with a specific focus on the commercial loudness being legislated through the CALM Act and ATSC A/85. This webinar will be tailored to North and South American audiences.
On March 8 at 11 a.m. EST, Sachs will conclude the series with “Are You Getting the Ratings You Deserve?” The encoding of television signals is critical to audience measurement in a digital environment, and in this live webinar Sachs will discuss implementation of affordable logging of Nielsen Audio Video Encoder (NAVE) IDs (SIDs) along with broadcast content for effective troubleshooting, as well as cost-effective monitoring of video service provider (VSP) return feeds.
To register for these free webinars, please click the appropriate links.
“What is Loudness?”
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/229911392
“Act CALM and Carry On!”
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/783642913
“Are You Getting the Ratings You Deserve?”
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/874374496
About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
BURLINGTON, Mass. — Feb. 15, 2012 — Volicon today announced that it has extended the capabilities of its Observer® loudness monitoring module with enhanced graphing, reporting, and real-time alert features that further simplify critical compliance tasks. Equipped with these tools, as well as A/V logging and an array of measurement functions, the Observer logging and monitoring platform provides a uniquely powerful and convenient tool for ensuring and demonstrating compliance.
“With commercial loudness being legislated in the United States, Europe, and across the world, broadcasters are under pressure not only to monitor loudness in real time, but also to provide a clear affidavit of compliance for regulators,” said Andrew Sachs, vice president of product management at Volicon. “The Observer module’s fully compliant integrated loudness monitoring not only simplifies ensuring and demonstrating compliance, but also adds value by combining loudness with logging and QoE monitoring for a complete logging, compliance, and assurance solution.”
Volicon’s Observer loudness monitoring module, available on all Observer product lines, allows users to measure AC3 dialnorm levels and to monitor their broadcasts’ compliance with ITU BS.1770-1 and BS.1770-2, ATSC A/85 RP 2011, CALM Act (FCC Report 11-182A1), EBU R128 (Tech 3341/2/3/4), and ARIB TR-B32 standards. Compared with competing loudness measurement solutions, the enhanced Observer module increases visibility of audio, video, and measurement data; enables more accurate selection of aired content; and supports faster, more practical access to any given piece of content.
Intuitive overlay controls within the Observer system’s Web-based interface allow users to maintain continuous measurements that identify program loudness and loudness range. The Volicon system measures momentary (M), short-term (S), and integrated (I) measurements, with adjustable short-form (< 2 minutes) and long-form time frames that make it easy to compare the ad’s loudness to surrounding channels.
In addition to providing graphing, reporting, and alarming capabilities that are invaluable in maintaining compliance, the Observer system enables users to view and export A/V affidavits with audio, video, and frame-accurate loudness measurements burned in, which facilitates fast resolution of loudness complaints.
Further information about Observer digital video monitoring and logging products is available at http://www.volicon.com.
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About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
BURLINGTON, Mass. — Jan. 30, 2012 — Volicon today announced the appointment of Jennifer Knutel as the company’s senior director of marketing. Knutel brings 16 years of professional marketing experience to this position, in which she will be responsible for planning, implementing, and directing all marketing and communications activities.
“Jennifer joins Volicon with a strong record as a marketing professional for technology-driven firms and a reputation as a resourceful leader,” said Russell Wise vice president of worldwide sales at Volicon. “With her background in tech sales and marketing, as well as her knowledge and experience in bringing innovative solutions to market successfully, she will be a valuable addition to the company.”
Knutel’s experience in marketing communications, business development, and sales support includes positions with both large high-tech and early-stage product companies. She most recently served as marketing manager at Application Security Inc. and earlier led marketing and communications at AirSprite Technologies, and Adaptive Instruments. Knutel also held a position in business development at Lernout & Hauspie.
“Volicon solves complex logging and monitoring challenges in the broadcast and cable industry with products that are well-designed, easy-to-use, and provide a definitive ROI,” said Knutel. “The combination of great products and an experienced, energetic team has made Volicon a success. I am excited about working with the talented professionals at Volicon and about leading the company’s marketing efforts.
Knutel will be based at Volicon’s Burlington headquarters and report to Eli Warsawski.
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About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
BURLINGTON, Mass. — Jan. 3, 2012 — Volicon today announced the release of the Observer® Enterprise version 6.0 video content logging and monitoring system. Enhanced with robust new features, this latest Observer Enterprise version not only simplifies critical processes with new loudness-monitoring capabilities, closed-caption support, and transport-stream monitoring and export, but also serves as a convenient and versatile platform for additional monitoring applications.
“We’re continually refining our Observer product line to meet the evolving demands facing broadcast and media companies,” said Eli Warsawski, president and CEO at Volicon. “While our Observer Enterprise system has always provided the reliable and straightforward monitoring capabilities our customers require, the 6.0 system release reflects significant advances that simplify compliance with new standards, regulations, and practices in the management and delivery of DTV services, and it opens opportunities to introduce new revenue-generating services.”
The Volicon Observer family of products captures, stores, and indexes broadcast content from multiple channels, offering users simultaneous 24/7 access to video from their desktop computers. Configurable alarms monitor video quality and provide early detection of audio and video issues across hundreds of HD channels, facilitating rapid resolution and helping to minimize downtime. The system also allows broadcasters to manage and compare content assets across multiple channels in a unified interface from any Internet connection.
Key enhancements in the Observer Enterprise 6.0 include the same transport-stream logging capability that earned Volicon’s Observer TS (transport stream) system a Broadcast Engineering Pick Hit award at the 2011 NAB Show. Now available in Enterprise 6.0, transport-stream logging gives broadcasters, networks, and cable operators the ability to handle MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 transport streams natively as high-resolution streams, or efficiently over the WAN as low-res proxies, while retaining the content and associated metadata within the stream. Dual-export functionality allows organizations to mark in and out points, clip content, and then export a full program and/or the full transport stream.
Using the system for compliance logging and air checks, operators can easily extract MPEG metadata and troubleshoot the MPEG transport stream live or from the Observer log. Because native transport-stream logging increases signal density and flexibility while enabling full-quality content logging, users also can employ their Observer Enterprise 6.0 systems to rebroadcast high-resolution data, provide interactive content, and offer dialnorm reporting for logged content.
Fully standards-compliant loudness monitoring also has been integrated into the Observer Enterprise 6.0 to enable real-time monitoring of broadcasts not only for regulatory compliance, but also to improve the overall listening experience for viewers. With intuitive overlay controls and browser-based loudness monitoring, Enterprise 6.0 users can maintain continuous measurement of program loudness and true-peak signal levels for instant verification, for review, or for export. These capabilities simplify the overall monitoring workflow and add value by eliminating the hassle and cost of working with external systems. The new Observer Enterprise release further simplifies operations by providing support for CEA-608/708 closed-captioning data within the transport stream.
Observer Enterprise 6.0 is now shipping. More information about Volicon and its Observer product family is available at http://www.volicon.com.
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About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
“As we upgrade our cable operations, we’re committed to enhancing the reliability and quality of the services we offer,” said Terry Falls, senior vice president of network operations at Innovative Cable. “The Observer RPM will help us do so, giving our facilities a cost-effective way to monitor signals being delivered to the set-top box and enabling our staff to be proactive in identifying and addressing issues rather than reacting to customer calls. The Observer system will significantly reduce the workload associated with monitoring, facilitate immediate notification of key staff across our business, and support faster identification of resolution of issues affecting the viewer experience.”
Volicon’s Observer RPM scans channels around the clock and automatically tests signal integrity, issues alerts (via email and SNMP), and captures the problematic content when channels do not conform to prespecified limits. The system can monitor linear content for video or audio errors such as closed captioning, audio levels, and static screen or black screen. In addition to giving staff across Innovative Cable convenient desktop access — local or remote — to monitored channels, the Volicon monitoring system allows users to clip and export full-motion, full-frame-rate recordings for evaluation and analysis of intermittent issues.
“The Observer RPM offers large-scale cable companies, such as Innovative Cable, a highly automated solution for improving quality of service while reducing the burden on engineering and support staff,” said Ken Rubin, Volicon’s director of sales. “Easy access to live monitoring and to recorded clips of impaired content simplifies and speeds the resolution of issues, thereby helping to maximize uptime across the channel lineup.”
Further information about the Observer RPM and other Volicon products is available at http://www.volicon.com.
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About Innovative
Innovative is the market leader in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), providing a broad range of telecommunications and cable TV services. The company’s family of services for both the business and residential markets includes local telephone, long-distance, Internet, cable TV, wireless, and business phone systems. Innovative prides itself on being the premier-quality service provider in the USVI. More information about the company and its services is available at http://www.innovativevi.net.
About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.
BURLINGTON, Mass. — Nov. 14, 2011 — Volicon today announced that it has enhanced its Observer® Remote Program Monitor (RPM) with the addition of a new triggered recording module that aids cable operators in boosting service quality and customer satisfaction levels. The module, optional on new and existing Observer RPM systems, automatically generates full-motion video clips of MPEG impairments and provides cable operators with a visual “proof of experience” that speeds analysis and resolution of issues in the transport stream. These video/audio clips are “triggered” by popular MPEG transport analysis and ad systems from companies such as Mixed Signals, Arris, SeaChange, and IneoQuest.
“We’re continually refining the Observer RPM to give cable operators the tools they need to monitor their services more effectively, and to isolate and mitigate any service impairments more quickly,” said Andrew Sachs, Volicon vice president of product management. “By automating the recording of content affected by MPEG transport stream impairments and, in turn, generating clips that demonstrate the visual impact of those impairments, the Observer RPM enables engineers and customer care staff to respond promptly to any service issues that might affect the subscriber experience.”
Volicon’s Observer RPM scans channels around the clock and automatically tests signal integrity, issues alerts (via email and SNMP), and captures the problematic content when channels do not conform to prespecified limits. The system can monitor linear content for video or audio errors such as closed captioning, audio levels, and static screen or black screen.
The triggered recording module for the Observer RPM leverages SNMP alerts from an MPEG transport stream analyzer to identify stream issues, dials the affected channel, and creates an A/V clip highlighting the MPEG impairment. With access to these automatically generated clips, engineers can evaluate the severity of the issue and focus their efforts on the impairments that most affect the customer experience. The cable operator, as a result, can improve its service levels and reduce technician dispatch costs.
More information about the Observer RPM and other Volicon products is available at http://www.volicon.com.
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About Volicon
Volicon provides the broadcast and cable industries with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective automated multichannel video content logging and monitoring system for compliance, media analysis, content repurposing, and quality of service. Its Observer® real-time digital video monitoring and logging solutions are based on Volicon’s patented Video Monitoring Architecture (VMA). VMA is comprised of a multichannel video streaming engine, interactive search, content analytics, and service monitoring and alarming capabilities. Volicon products and services meet the demanding requirements of broadcasters, cable and IPTV service providers, and enterprise and government organizations looking to improve broadcast product quality, enhance video management, and lower costs. More information is available at http://www.volicon.com.