Telestream FlipScan Filters User-Generated Media for the Web

"Today's on-demand viewing phenomenon creates opportunities and challenges for content owners who must quickly respond to a rapidly changing video environment. This includes managing non-standard source material as a greater number of video websites and broadcasters invite consumers to upload their content," said David Heppe, President & COO of Telestream. "When inbound files are not recognized by receiving broadcast and IT systems, operators must intervene, which results in costly labor and workflow delays."

User-generated media presents a unique challenge. Large volumes of unorganized content often arrive in unrecognizable formats. The content itself is typically short-form, low-bandwidth material that may or may not carry metadata that describes the media. The challenge is how to cost-effectively manage this inbound media, notify senders of rejected content, reformat and process the media for distribution to destination platforms.

Supporting any FlipFactory workflow, the FlipScan option allows users to define a set of business rules to automatically filter and process source video, audio and metadata. Specifications are available to meet nearly any situation, including formats, codecs, video frame size, resolution, aspect ratio and more. Incoming files are scanned and compared to the rule set. If a piece of media fails to meet specified criteria, notification is sent to users and senders with an explanation of the failure. Media meeting the criteria are automatically submitted to the FlipFactory transcode engine for processing and delivery. In addition to validating incoming content, FlipScan extracts metadata and forwards it along with the content for use by downstream systems such as Digital Asset Management systems.

FlipScan technology was developed by systems integrator, Nativ, to address the problem of managing increasing volumes of unstructured business and user generated rich-media content. Telestream has entered an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Nativ to utilize the technology to provide FlipScan to Telestream's large installed base of FlipFactory customers and to the company's extensive worldwide sales channels. The technology was recently applied to the Getty Images' Media Management Services (MMS) platform to automate the management of incoming media. In this context, it removed the need for expensive manual process of validating and cataloging ingested video and audio content. For Getty Images, time and cost savings are already being realized.

"Telestream's FlipScan technology allows us to quickly and efficiently identify and validate well-known video formats and codecs. We can now extract useful file information very rapidly from the source video that clients upload, and transfer it directly into Media Manager or Image.net." said Tim Claxton, Senior Product Manager at Getty Images. "Over time, we expect massive benefits as the technology allows both the MMS team, and our clients, to efficiently manage the increasing volume of digital video without requiring additional production staff."

FlipFactory server-based applications automate any workflow. Supporting over 120 formats and system wrappers, FlipFactory automatically transcodes media, applies filters and delivers outbound files to multiple destination systems. Exclusive MetaFlip technology automatically transforms and delivers metadata with video and audio for submission to content distribution providers such as iTunes, Google, cable VOD providers and more. Additionally, FactoryArray extends any FlipFactory product from a single server to an array of servers working together to process jobs in the most efficient and secure manner possible. Intelligent load-balancing, distributed control, failover protection, database mirroring and automatic recovery ensure 24/7 reliability for critical, high-volume workflows.

Telestream is demonstrating FlipScan, FlipFactory and showcasing its integration into Getty Images MMS solution at the International Broadcasters Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam September 7-11, 2007 in Telestream stand 7.411. FlipScan will be available in September with other FlipFactory products from Telestream's worldwide network of direct sales and resale channels. More information is available at http://www.telestream.net.