Bergen, Norway, February 26, 2008 - Vizrt, a leading provider of real-time, integrated broadcast graphics software, announces the latest version of its powerful media asset management system, Viz Ardome 4.6. Viz Ardome 4.6 makes its official debut at NAB 2008 (SL4805) in Las Vegas this April.

 

Viz Ardome is the core software module within the industry-leading Vizrt media asset management solution. (Vizrt acquired Ardendo in April of 2006.) Viz Ardome is the module responsible for media management and archiving tasks. The Vizrt media asset management product portfolio also provides capabilities for: ingest and playout, transcoding, browsing, craft editing, and more.

 

Version 4.6 of Viz Ardome offers increased HD support. Because of its modular design, the Vizrt product line provides broadcasters with a future-proof upgrade path.

 

The new version is also fully integrated with all major newsroom computer systems such as Avid's iNEWS, Associated Press' ENPS, Avstar, and QNews. The software enables users to produce an audit trail - a series of records of computer events that monitors system activity.

 

Viz Ardome 4.6's highly scalable, streamlined and automated workflows enhance productivity in a cost-effective package. Isak Jonsson, Head of Research and Development for Vizrt explained, "Viz Ardome media management may have saved operators years worth of time in handling, storage and retrieval while significantly increasing workflow ability. Because it allows multiple users to edit and access the same source material from multiple PC's over a web interface, Viz Ardome offers increased productivity and cost savings over competitive solutions."

 

As with previous versions of Viz Ardome, version 4.6 demonstrates the integration between digital asset management, Vizrt's Viz Content Pilot graphic solution and control software and Apple's Final Cut Pro nonlinear editing workflow. It adds full integration with major servers and libraries, such as Omneon, which are widely-installed at broadcast facilities throughout the world.

 

Viz Ardome 4.6 facilitates such tasks as automatic detection, acquisition, and archiving of essence (the program content of digital media assets) and metadata (which provides production details about an asset's nature and origin). To track media assets, Viz Ardome supports advanced, high-performance free text search with Boolean, fuzzy, thesaurus, filtering, and grouping functions. It also enables faster than real-time transcoding to enable video to be browsed (viewed) on desktop PCs complete with video and audio keyframes when combined with Viz Media Processor software transcoder.

 

With support for MXF and AAF import/export, among other industry-standard media formats, Viz Ardome 4.6 can support thousands of users and large workgroups that need to manage media across an IT-based server infrastructure. This means automating complex tasks like the distribution of broadcast material to all relevant playout servers based on rundown content; deletion of material from archive and production servers; and the detection and import of all new content entering the pipeline.

 

Viz Ardome 4.6 features robust ingest, quality control, and scalability including: a technical quality check for audio and video (black, silence, noise detection) and VTRs; channel condition monitoring; automated ingest from Flexicart and Odetics tape robots, enabling automated and balanced ingest of large amounts of archived tape material; the new physical media management (videotape to file relations) enabling video items to be linked to physical videotapes, digital files, or when edited, to both formats.

 

Vizrt's media asset management software modules include: Viz Ardome for media management and archiving which is typically deployed together with companion products such as the Viz Dart ingest scheduler; Viz Upload and Viz Capture ingest station and play-out control; the Viz Media Processor transcoder;. Viz PreCut and Viz EasyCut -proxy based video cutting and editing; Viz Media Logger - advanced archive logging and Viz Video Engine, two channel HD and SD video server. Designed for IT-based broadcast production and digital media archiving, the modular, scalable Vizrt product suite supports a wide range of tasks from ingest to visualization, including digital archiving, ingest, transcoding, browsing, and system integration media management.

 

Viz Ardome 4.6 has been installed for a few customers thus far. It becomes widely available February 11.

 

Vizrt media asset management suite's customers include CNN, Premier Media Group, Sveriges Television (SVT), Danish Broadcasting Corp., TV2 Norway, Network TEN, BBC Scotland, Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC), Fox Business News, and the Swedish Parliament.

 

Vizrt offers a new vision for content creation and delivery with an end-to-end solution from ingest to visualization. Our solution combines Vizrt's true 2D/3D graphics tools with Curious Software's World Maps and Ardendo's Asset Management. Running on non proprietary software and hardware, the combination of these unique cutting edge products ensures a seamless workflow from conception to multi-format distribution. The latest addition to the Vizrt product range is the Viz|Multi Platform Solution.

 

Vizrt's product suite is used by the world's leading broadcasters including: CNN, CBS, Fox, BBC, Sky, ITN, ZDF, Star TV, TV Today, CCTV and NHK. Also, many world-class production houses and corporate institutions, including both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, utilize Vizrt solutions.

 

Vizrt is a public company traded on the Frankfurt Prime Standard and on the Oslo Main List: VIZ, ISIN: IL0010838154. For further information please refer to www.vizrt.com

 

 

Press contacts:

 

Bjarne Berg	Ofra Brown	SCHWARZ Financial Communication
President & CEO	CFO	Frank Schwarz
+47 9055 7711	+47 2169 2790	+49 611 2058 095
bberg@vizrt.com	ofra@vizrt.com	Schwarz@schwarzfinancial.com