Chyron gets graphic for Internet needs

By Andrew Lippe

The use of 3D Chyron graphics for sports coverage on TV has become a standard and now Chyron marks its entry into the world of Web-based graphics production at NAB 2008. Chyron Online will be a seamless platform to create, composite, manage and distribute graphic content over the Internet.

“We are moving Chyron into a completely new environment,” says Kevin Prince, Chyron’s Chief Operating Officer.

Chyron Online is born out of the acquisition of Axis Graphics and will feature an array of Web-based services including maps, real time weather displays, 3D Charts, graphs, financial quotes and a vast toolset for news graphics. Chyron Online is completely platform independent and integrates with Chyron’s other broadcast products. Prince says the Internet is moving from a mostly text medium to one where video and a compelling viewer experience is more important.

“Online graphics and content shouldn’t mean lower quality,” says Prince. “It should be fast, dramatic, stunning and attractive and therein lies the challenge for the traditional broadcast manufacturer.”

Also new at NAB is Lyric 7.0, Chyron’s real-time 2D/3D playout software which showcases significant new features and workflow enhancements, including adaptive 3D primitive geometry, Adobe XMP Support and FBX File Format Support.

Adaptive 3D primitive geometry links the sizes of 3D primitives to any ODBC data source in real time. This is a unique visual tool that can be used to show comparisons of quarterback performance, pitch counts, three-point shots, or anything involving near live data or stats.

Lyric 7.0 also takes advantage of Adobe XMP metadata within graphic files. Since player names can be embedded into a headshot graphic, typos will become a thing of the past. It will also support FBX 3D scene files, allowing 3D animators to create their animations in the software they use every day such as 3D Studio Max and Cinema4D. Textures, lights, objects and camera positions are all imported into Lyric 7.0, which can then immediately animate that scene to air in real-time.