Snell & Wilcox Introduces iCR Version 3.0 at NAB Show

Snell & Wilcox announced iCR V3.0, a major upgrade to
its multi-award winning integrated content repurposing platform. Version 3.0
adds dozens of new features to the iCR platform and enables users to
industrialize and streamline their file-based video repurposing operations
reliably while achieving higher quality and lower bit rates.

iCR V3.0 features new universal conversion tools that enable
users to create multiple variants of HD and SD programs easily while remaining
in the file-based domain. Through a simple wizard that makes operations
intuitive while reducing operational errors and complexity, users can perform,
in a single step, complex conversions that include resolution, aspect ratio,
and color space conversion, as well as advanced deinterlacing, film pulldown
removal, and automated audio retiming.

Standards conversion in iCR V3.0 is handled by
software-based Alchemist IP, which now delivers a level of quality that rivals
Snell & Wilcox’s world renowned hardware systems. Significant performance
improvements also increase operational efficiency and allow practical operation
in a pure file-based environment.

Advanced MPEG-4 authoring capabilities include encoding to
ASP, H.263 and H.264 (AVC), AAC, AMR, and Dolby D audio, as well as file
wrapping for a diverse range of outputs including ATSC, DVB and CableLabs
Transport Streams, ISO MP4, 3GP, and QuickTime. This allows iCR to create
professional quality deliverables for a very broad range of content delivery
platforms including mobile TV, broadband TV (Web), VOD, IPTV, and portable
media players.

With as much as 40 percent of a typical customer’s ingested
content needing to be re-encoded due to issues that could have been detected
and fixed easily at the mastering stage, the system’s realtime QC functionality
has proven to be a key productivity enabler. Quality control functions now
include onscreen display of output levels and alarm states, as well as a large
number of fully automated functions. The user can now generate, review, and
annotate quality control reports, and export XML-based reports to asset
management systems.

Finally, iCR 3.0 offers enhanced enterprise-level
integration with a new plug-in API that allows easy expansion of the system’s
capabilities and accommodating of any specific workflow requirements.
Additionally, through strong scripting support and a SOAP/Web Service
interface, iCR offers an unrivalled solution to enterprise-level integration for
mastering, repurposing, and quality control.

iCR 3.0 enables its users to create high-quality, error-free
digital masters of their content and repurpose them for distribution on
multiple revenue-generating platforms. It offers support for a wide range of
codecs including MPEG-2/IMX, MPEG-4, DV, DVCPRO, QuickTime, and uncompressed
video — offering streamlined repurposing support for a wide range of
devices, including HDTV displays, VOD, IPTV and broadcast playout servers, Web,
mobile phones, and portable media players.