Vizrt Ardome Integrates Civolution Watermarking Tech

Vizrt is integrating Civolution’s watermarking solution into its Viz Ardome media asset management software. Using Civolution’s NexGuard – Pre-release application, users will have the ability to deter potential piracy threat or trace the source of unauthorized copies of a video asset.

“Watermarking in the field of media asset management is new, but it’s a growing market,” explains Henrik Nordström, VP MAM Sales, Vizrt. “We see more and more requests from customers, including those that handle video archives, to ensure that no media assets can be used without approval or financial compensation. TV networks with program management workflows are also potential customers for this process. They need to export content for dubbing, closed captioning, or promotional purposes before airing, but also need to ensure the latest episode of a major series, for example, is protected and they can offer theft deterrence solution before the air date.”

“Piracy is still a major issue for the content industry which hinders the distribution and access to content,” adds Wim Bus, SVP Product Management at Civolution. “We are pleased to be working with Vizrt. Working together, we provide a solution to better protect, manage and allow the full exploitation of revenues. This is testament that the NexGuard Forensic Watermarking has developed into a must-have feature in any digital media management workflow.”

The integration of Civolution’s product with Viz Ardome is currently managed through the Nexguard plug-in for Rhozet’s Carbon Coder, a standalone transcoder that facilitates the transfer of media between acquisition, editing, playout, archive, Web, and mobile applications.

“As Viz Ardome is already integrated with the Carbon Coder, using the Carbon XML API, it was a natural and straightforward process to add support in Viz Ardome for watermarking requests,” says Erwan Gilles, System Specialist, Vizrt. “The dynamic use of the Carbon XML API to request watermarking allows more flexibility than drop folders.”

Civolution’s Nexguard plug-in embeds a unique virtual barcode in each copy of the content. The watermark is imperceptible to the human eye and, being part of the content, remains even if the content is modified. This content serial numbering process is versatile, fully automated and scalable – all driven by the central NexGuard management server, which hosts a database of copies and corresponding recipients. By cross referencing the database with the watermarks discovered in pirated copies, the NexGuard forensic marking solution can locate the source of piracy. Rightful owners can then implement a graduated response to piracy.