Anevia announces the addition of multi-tiered storage to its Cloud DVR storage offering, Embedded Distributed Storage (EDS). This new feature makes EDS even more cost-efficient and scalable while also enabling storage in the cloud – meaning the solution becomes both flexible and elastic.

TV service providers are increasingly enriching their VOD content and need to expand their storage capacity without a commensurate increase in the number of users. The original hyper-convergent design of the scalable, high-performance EDS calls for more servers to be added to increase streaming and storage capacity in parallel. Multi-tiered storage means it is now possible to also increase storage capacity independently of streaming capacity.

With only a small fraction of the VOD catalogue being consumed regularly, long-tail content can be stored more efficiently and cost-effectively on general-purpose ‘cold storage’ support used by the IT departments. This eliminates the need to buy new servers and the related software licences, cutting both the complexity and the cost of scaling for a given number of users.

The newly introduced feature also enables object storage, which opens up the possibility of storing in the public or private cloud. This brings the advantages of scalability, flexibility and elasticity.

AMS Neve has launched the 1073® OPX, a brand new Octal Microphone/Line/Instrument Preamplifier that is designed to meet the needs of the modern studio environment.

With the launch of the 1073® OPX, AMS Neve has taken its 1970s classic and updated it for today’s workflow by packing eight legendary 1073® remote-controlled preamps with Marinair® transformers into a 2U rack unit. Front and rear connectors give comprehensive connectivity to any Studio/Live/Broadcast environment, while modern remote-control software gives two-way control with Total Recall™ of all settings. Input sources benefit from the transformer-coupled input stage and can be connected directly to the front-mounted Mic/Line/DI input for recording in the studio control-room.

The analogue and digital monitor signal path of the 1073® OPX allows it to be used as a complete standalone I/O interface or as a live room remote preamp with a full, latency-free monitoring cue mix signal path. The optional digital I/O card comes with Neve’s industry-revered mastering-grade converters with up to 192kHz/24-Bit A/D conversion over USB connection. This ensures that the unit can be used as a Primary Audio Interface to any connected DAW-enabled computer, as well as Primary and Secondary Dante™ connectivity for Audio-over-IP applications.

The 1073® OPX is shipping now and carries a retail price £2,995 / $3,695. The price for the optional Digital I/O card is £795 / $995. As an introductory offer, AMS Neve is selling the 1073® OPX and Digital I/O card together at a special bundle price of £3,495 / $4,295.

For more information, please visit: www.ams-neve.com

Middle Atlantic Products, a brand of Legrand | AV, today announced that its Forward family of toolless installation solutions earned a Top New Technology (TNT) Award from Commercial Integrator at ISE 2020 in Amsterdam. Built to install today's systems at tomorrow's speed, Forward is designed around an innovative new rackrail and Middle Atlantic's patented universal hole pattern that allow the family's blank and vent panels, cable management, lighting, and other rack solutions to be quickly installed without tools. With Forward, integrators can install everyday rack builds five times faster and with the reliability to ensure a satisfying and positive AV experience.

"The rack is where every AV installation begins and where installers spend a majority of their time — ensuring every screw, cable, and device is installed correctly," said Paul Dolynchuk, director of product management at Middle Atlantic. "Forward is the first solution of its kind to reinvent the rack installation experience, allowing installers to work quickly without sacrificing system reliability or industry best practices. This award reflects the passion that all the members of our talented product development team poured into creating a family that works just as much for the end-user as it does for the installer."

The Forward accessory and options line focuses on the entire system lifecycle and builds upon industry-leading products that integrators have depended on for decades.

Anevia, a leading provider of OTT and IPTV software solutions, will introduce the latest version of its NEA-CDN® content delivery network solution to Middle East broadcasters and media channel managers attending the CABSAT 2020 exhibition and conference in Dubai, March 31st – April 2nd. NEA-CDN v5 makes it easy for operators to scale their OTT services for peak viewing within minutes by simply adding nodes to their CDN – and then removing them when they are no longer required.

As the first cloud-native CDN solution, NEA-CDN v5 – based on the Kubernetes infrastructure – provides operators with a centrally orchestrated, hardware-agnostic, and elastic private CDN. It makes it easy to deploy – in just one click – and comes with a centralised management and analytics platform that makes it easy to operate.

“Traffic fluctuations are huge in OTT video streaming,” comments Anevia NEA-CDN Product Manager David Tencer, “and operators will most of the time only use 6% of their available CDN capacity – meaning that 94% of the capacity is usually being wasted. With this elastic CDN solution, OTT operators can ensure a high-quality experience even during peak traffic, without having to build in over-capacity.”

OTT and IPTV software solutions provider Anevia has appointed Alexandre Nitu as Vice President Operations. In this role, he will be responsible for leading and growing Anevia’s Operations teams, guiding them with his technical vision to identify areas for improvement to maximise quality of deployments and ensure customer satisfaction. He will also be a key member of Anevia’s Executive Committee.

With over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, Alexandre Nitu brings strong leadership and team management skills as well as significant experience in project management and operational support. Prior to joining Anevia he was VP Customer Operations for eServGlobal, a software company serving mobile operators, where he led teams of software and systems engineers in charge of designing, deploying, and providing operational support for the company’s electronic recharging, voucher management, and mobile money solutions.

“We are excited to welcome Alexandre to Anevia,” says Anevia CEO Laurent Lafarge. “His proven track record of leading operations teams towards continuous improvement and innovation will be a great asset to Anevia.”

“I am delighted to join Anevia, a company whose values of ambition, innovation and transparency are dear to me,” says Alexandre Nitu. “I look forward to working with the already excellent Operations teams and helping them sustain their success when facing the challenges of the future.”

Sachtler's flowtech100 carbon-fibre tripod was a critical tool in the production of "Skid Row Marathon," an award-winning documentary from filmmakers Gabriele Hayes and Mark Hayes. "Skid Row Marathon" tells the inspiring story of Superior Court Judge Craig J. Mitchell and the people of the Skid Row Running Club in Los Angeles, who have turned their lives around through the empowering sport of long-distance running.

"At least 60,000 people live on the streets and in the shelters of Los Angeles County — many of them stuck in a downward spiral of addiction and despair. As the founder of the Skid Row Running Club, Judge Mitchell has helped to save hundreds of them," said Gabriele Hayes. "It's an incredibly powerful story, and the flowtech100 tripod helped us tell it. A tripod this lightweight and easy to set up and adjust, while sturdy and stable enough to handle our heaviest payload, really is a game-changer."

Spanish telco consortium Plataforma Multimedia de Operadores (PMO) has chosen a complete video delivery technology from Anevia, a leading provider of OTT and IPTV software solutions, to power its new Zapi TV service. Zapi will give local telecom operators the resources they need to offer a wide range of subscription-based programmes for viewing on Android set-top-boxes, smart TVs, smartphones and tablets. The new resource is a joint venture by PTV Telecom and Opencable, Acutel (Association of Local Operators of Andalusia) and Aotec (National Association of Local Telecommunications Operators).

"Zapi TV is designed to be a nationwide service offering the highest possible quality of experience," comments PMO CTO José Carrillo. "We selected Anevia as a best-of-breed end-to-end video-delivery partner able to function as a single point of contact, speeding up the entire deployment and integration process. The result allows the consortium's members to offer their subscribers high quality-of-experience plus a rich set of features including cloud-based content search and personalised digital video recording. We have already announced the service and will be promoting it strongly from Q1 2020 with the aim of attracting up to 600,000 customers. The service will also include a package of sports channels for ultra-low-latency delivery."

Uncut Gems is the latest movie from directing duo, the Safdie Brothers. The movie tells the story of a charismatic New York City jeweller and gambler (Adam Sandler), and is set in the diamond industry of New York. So it is appropriate that the colour palette was created at The Mill NY by colourist and director of DI, Damien Van Der Cruyssen.

Van Der Cruyssen collaborated closely with cinematographer Darius Khondji, as well as the Safdie Brothers, all of whom he had worked with previously on the Jay-Z video for Mercy Me. “At that point I got a good understanding of their relationships and how I could fit into the equation.”

Visually, Uncut Gems has a classic New York City look, but with a modern twist. “The Diamond District hasn’t changed much over the last forty years, so it automatically had that 70’s ‘noir’ feel,” commented Van Der Cruyssen. “But we wanted to break away from the steely, gritty New York to a more real-life aesthetic – less forced and contrived.”

Around half of the movie was shot on 35mm film to give it a more natural look, which meant Van Der Cruyssen had to treat the digital footage to match. “Marrying the film footage with the digital scenes was quite challenging,” he explained. “So I asked the crew to shoot some grain elements that could be overlaid in Baselight and adjusted per scene.”

Camera Hire, a well-established Australian rental company and a leader in industry camera support solutions, recently purchased 10 CiNX 3 Fluid Heads and 10 Sprinter II 2 Stage Carbon Fibre Tripods from Miller Tripods. For over a decade, Camera Hire has provided professional cameras and supporting equipment for a large range of productions including commercials, documentaries and feature films.

As a long-time customer of Miller Tripods, Bevan Dally, managing director of Camera Hire, knows he can always turn to Miller to provide top-of-the-line solutions for his customer base. “We’ve been using Miller’s ArrowX series for some time now and the fluid heads are excellent,” he says. “The payload range and versatility are very beneficial considering the various types of jobs we support. With the CiNX line, our customers are able to mount a variety of cameras, including Sony’s FS7, Canon’s C300’s, and ARRI’S Alexa Mini and Amira, with ease.”

Thanks to Miller’s CiNX 3 Fluid Heads, Camera Hire can provide its customers with a solution that significantly improves cinematographer’s workflows. “Upgrading to the brand new CiNX series was a no brainer for us, especially because of its ability to mount ARRI dovetail plates directly on the head,” Dally says. “We can now easily provide our clients with a Sony VCT or ARRI dovetail system using the same fluid head, without the need to swap back and forth between multiple plates. With CiNX fluid heads, cinematographer’s can easily and quickly change from one camera to another with a seamless transition.”

AMS Neve and Westlake Pro have partnered to create the first AMS Neve Showroom in the US. Located at Westlake Pro’s headquarters in North Hollywood, the space provides an environment for clients to listen to the entire AMS Neve product portfolio.

As the UK manufacturer’s first authorised demo space in the US, Westlake Pro is ideally placed to demonstrate products such as the iconic Neve BCM10/2 Mk2 16-channel console and the Genesys Black G32 console. The large showroom also incorporates an array of AMS Neve outboard products including the 1073DPX dual channel mic pre and EQ, the 33609N stereo compressor and the 8801 channel strip from the legendary 88R console – all displayed in impressive custom furniture.

A private demo with AMS Neve certified staff can be booked by calling Westlake Pro at 323-845-1145. Customers are encouraged to bring along their own Pro Tools session and listen to it in the new Showroom.