Live From NAB: Miranda Looks To Simplify VOD, Graphics

Miranda, a provider of integrated solutions for production, playout, and delivery systems for television broadcasters and multisystem operators, addressed the media this morning to discuss its latest product offerings while spotlighting two of them: Enterprise Suite on Demand and iTX graphics integration.

CTO Michel Proulix sees the company’s 2012 NAB portfolio as a significant step forward for the company: “We’re not individual products anymore. We are about solutions that are integrated together to solve problems.”

Michel Proulix, CTO at Miranda, discusses the company’s new product line during an NAB press conference Monday morning.

Miranda’s week is highlighted by the launch of Enterprise Suite On Demand, an automated content-publishing system specifically designed to simplify creation of multiple content versions, with appropriate branding, for delivery to the many video-on-demand (VOD) platforms. The system automates version mastering, encoding of deliverables, and metadata packaging through tight integration with traffic systems.

Enterprise Suite On Demand aims to automate the whole process through integration with existing traffic systems.

“Managing the increased workload related to VOD content generation is one of the primary concerns facing broadcasters today,” says Stéphane Blondin, director of product management, workflow, and playout for Miranda. “Their principal challenges lie in controlling operational costs and efficiently managing large volumes of files and their associated metadata to fulfill contractual obligations. We’re helping fuse playout and digital operations and facilitating monetization.”

The addition of two new graphics options into its iTX integrated playout platform for linear and on-demand television promises to streamline graphics integration in broadcast. One new option is the integration of Miranda’s Vertigo XG graphics processor, which provides real-time CG, DVE, and graphics capability directly into the iTX output server.

The other newly added option is the deep integration of Adobe After Effects rendering, which provides unlimited graphics and text effects while leveraging the powerful and popular graphics-authoring environment.

“The biggest thing we have done at this NAB to iTX is dramatically increasing the graphics capability of it,” says Proulix. “Of the two things we have done, the After Effects is the coolest because it gets people away from proprietary platforms.”

Deal With NBC Olympics
Miranda also announced that it will provide NVISION hybrid routing; Kaleido multiviewers; Densité infrastructure equipment, including signal conversion, fiber and media cards; and iControl signal and facility monitoring to NBC Olympics and its work during the 2012 London Games this summer.

The solutions are being used within the remote network production studios in London. Miranda will supply equipment to NBC’s Olympics division at each venue for the Games, as well as back in the broadcast center to provide monitoring and control of the remote signal paths.