BVE was a great success this year. We shared a booth with sns, MediaPros and Academia.

25th – 27th February 2014, London. Stand M72

View our latest headline hitting article in german in digital production.

Help us out and take this 2014 Digital Media Workflow eSurvey for a chance to win an iPad mini with Retina display!

FocalPoint Server is a workflow collaboration tool used by BBC Sport created by the co-founders of CatDV

“FocalPoint Server solved a circuital workflow and productivity issue for us during one of our busiest and highest profile periods of broadcasting on record. It was reliable, easy to use and it did the job asked of it.” Chris Groom, Post Production Lead at BBC Sport, summer 2012.

Asset management and archiving are hot topics at this year’s Broadcast India, and FocalPoint Server does both. FocalPoint Server is a new way to create, version, track and search all your editing projects, graphics and documents. It automatically sets up and maintains the necessary file or folder structures for major non-linear editing systems such as Final Cut Pro, Avid and Premiere, and VFX and graphics packages such as After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator and Maya to name a few. It provides the user with a simple interface, while complex file management takes place in the back end.

Now take your project from conception to archive in one fluid system, with FocalPoint Portal – A new social media-like collaboration tool to bridge the gulf between production and post-production. Discussion about a new project can be reviewed and commissioned, then an API assimilates all the information and creates a Portfolio in FocalPoint Server.

FocalPoint Archive – When your Portfolio is finished, you can archive the entire Portfolio together, with error reporting and new location updates. We have built an engine that will link in to all major archiving and storage systems Cache-A, Space, Quantum, SAN Fusion, Atempo/ASG etc.

Dynamic Drive Pool is unique Ethernet based SAN shared storage with unparalleled performance and capabilities.

FOCALPOINT SERVER AND BBC SPORT

FOCALPOINT SERVER – COLLABORATIVE WORKFLOW SOLUTIONS FOR FILE INDEXING, ACCESS AND CONTROL ENVIRONMENTS

FocalPoint Server is a new file indexing, access and control system that will ensure collaborative workflow environments turn jobs round quickly and accurately, such that users never need to worry about lost, wrongly labelled or incorrectly stored data and broadcast files. FocalPoint Server means post production teams can rest assured that the material being processed in edit suites is the most recent and correct version. It’s the kind of problem busy TV and web broadcast news and sports desks regularly face. FocalPoint Server has been designed to solve these problems and to improve workflow productivity and accuracy and it has been tested and proven itself time and time again.

The system is easy to use – operators typically learn the basics within an hour and are comfortable running the software within one day. It runs on both PCs and Macs and can be used to improve workflow around a wide range of file types ranging from broadcast files through to document and design formats. FocalPoint Server is an essential collaborative tool for content workers which can be easily integrated with any underlying software whether broadcast editing, design or document based.

The system is built around a sophisticated tagging and indexing format which means that new users always label and update file versions according to an organisation’s existing protocols – this is particularly useful in studios using large numbers of specialist freelance workers or where there is a high turnover of creative staff or where documents need to be accessed and worked on from multiple locations around the world.

Files can be indexed according to a wide range of parameters – a broadcast sport file could be tagged initially on the basis of sport, editor name or time/date, for example. When access is required, the user enters the basic classification system and the file is retrieved – the user does not need to choose between copies of the same basic work. The most recent version will always therefore be delivered to the desktop, which removes the risk of lost files or files which have been stored incorrectly. Each time any changes are made, that file assumes the primary version.

Resolving potential file tagging and storage issues alone will improve a studio’s workflow and accuracy.  At the same time, an intelligent system of backups means that non- destructive editing can take place, such that two editors can work on a broadcast item without either’s work being lost, but ultimately, there will only be one primary file version. From an editor’s point of view, this enables a rolling backup to be kept, so editors can easily revert to a previous version, should the situation demand it.

The system also allows for hierarchical privileges, enabling files to be accessed on a read only or with predetermined editing rights, meaning files can be accessed by the widest possible audiences, but always with the highest data safeguards in place.

The BBC’s Chris Groom, the Post Production Lead at BBC Sport, believes that FocalPoint Server plays a critical part in ensuring fast and efficient workflows and on-time delivery of the right broadcasting files, including during the high pressure summer of London 2012. Commenting on the system he said, “FocalPoint Server solved a circuital workflow and productivity issue for us during one of our busiest and highest profile periods of broadcasting on record. It was reliable, easy to use and it did the job asked of it.”

CatDV is many products rolled into one. You can think of it as all the following, and more:

• “iTunes/iPhoto for movies”
• Logging tool
• “QuickTime Pro”
• Batch movie conversion
• Media asset management
• Advanced workflows
• Video editing
• Subtitling and text tracks
• Web page generation
• Diagnostic tool

Our solutions are designed to accelerate and advance the content creation process by enabling more efficient, connected workflows for our clients. The ProMAX Platform Shared Storage System has become one of the most widely adopted products in the industry and our ONE+ Workstations are favored by editors, colorists and VFX artists around the world.

Promax are media technologists that thrive on what we do. They love technology and love to push the boundaries of what is possible. Film and video processes push technology harder than anything else around, so they couldn’t be having more fun!

ProMAX continually tracks and tests new technologies that feed the product development process. Video Production is always pushing the limits of technology and so Promax are constantly improving the capabilities of our products, and innovating dynamic new solutions that deliver huge value for their customers.

Promax continue the Cache-A range

Cache-A’s award-winning, archive appliances are employed daily by thousands of usersworldwide, in media/entertainment, Fortune 500 corporations, government departments,higher-education and houses of worship, to securely archive, search and retrieve vital digitalassets. The company was founded in 2008 with a dedication to make archiving easy, andcombines extensive experience in data storage and video media, with a reputation fordelivering innovation and excellence to digital media professionals at a reasonablecost. Cache-A’s product range includes desktop and rack-mount appliances that arecompatible with Windows, Mac OS and Linux/Unix networking infrastructures. Renowned fortheir ease-of-use, Cache-A products deliver leading-edge performance in video and digitalfilm workflows, and lead the field in using the secure, portable, interchangeable, industrystandard LTFS and tar formats on LTO-6 media. Cache-A’s Pro-Cache was awarded CreativeCow’s prestigious Blue Ribbon in 2011 for “Best Archiving System”, and Power-Cache wonStudio Daily’s 2012 Prime Award for “Best User Interface/User Experience”.

DAX Archiving Solutions secures the future of your history by offering plug-and-play digital archiving solutions. Key to all successful archiving solutions is the integration and automation of the archiving process into your own specific workflow. Minimize user efforts & archival storage costs, while maximizing data availability.

ASG provides Global 5000 businesses with world-class professional services and software solutions for Metadata Management, Applications Management, Operations Management, Content Management, Performance Management, Security Management, and Infrastructure Management. Through a wealth of technologies, which have been either developed in-house or gained through strategic acquisitions, ASG enables clients with both mainframe and distributed environments to mobilize their resources, boost productivity, and enhance performance through the intelligent use of technology. Currently, more than 30% of ASG employees focus exclusively on product development enhancement and maintenance, in order to ensure ASG products respond to the changing needs of its clients.