T-VIPS Gateways Enable Remote Color Correction, Daily Screening at MTI Film

MTI Film, a provider of post production and film restoration services for television,  film restoration and commercial projects, selected a video transport system from T-VIPS to facilitate remote collaboration of the 2012 revamp of TV’s iconic “Dallas” series.

Featuring old and new generations of the Ewing dynasty at Southfork Ranch, the TNT show is also updating its post-production methods to enable real-time transport of show dailies between its Dallas studio and MTI’s color correction facilities in Los Angeles.

Larry Chernoff, CEO and Founder of MTI, believes that the inherent flexibility and cost-effectiveness of transmitting media over IP networks will soon be standard for post production. He explained, “For this show, the producers want to screen and approve dailies in Dallas using our Remote Control Dailies system. They also want highly accurate color correction using our staff colorists in Los Angeles. It’s critical for our business model that MTI leverages its talent for more than one production at a time. So much production is now being done outside Hollywood, we feel that remote image correction and dailies processing is the most efficient solution.”

Chernoff predicts that as his customers begin to appreciate the benefits and ease of this approach, the use of video delivery over IP for creative collaboration will skyrocket.

On the recommendation of its systems integrator, Mercator Digital, MTI purchased T-VIPS’ JPEG2000 Video Gateways. These compact 1RU models utilize JPEG2000 compression for robust transmission of HDTV (and SD) signals over Gigabit Ethernet with 10-bit video resolution, at bitrates from 50Mbps to 200Mbps. T-VIPS’ Video Gateways deliver visually lossless HD video with frame-by-frame encoding, minimal latency, flexible forward error correction, error concealment, ancillary data support and built-in redundancy, while allowing user-friendly configuration as encoder or decoder.

MTI’s new IP-based transport solution also represents a cost-effective option, ensuring a more efficient workflow and reduced operating costs. Chernoff said, “We’ll devote roughly 50Mbps in each direction for the color correction on this project. The quality of the video provided by the T-VIPS Gateway at this relatively low bandwidth was a major attraction for us.”

MTI clients can review and discuss dailies in real time. Each collaborator enjoys the color reproduction at the same time, just as if they were sitting side by side in the screening room. Using IP-based networks, the creative team can make key decisions without delay, increasing productivity and reducing production costs. In addition to remote screening and approvals in the post-production workflow, T-VIPS Video Gateways are ideal for applications in professional broadcast contribution of live sports and events, studio-to-studio media exchange, remote production and in-house signal distribution.

“It’s our mission to equip our customers with the intelligent tools they need to move high-quality video efficiently around the globe,” says Janne Morstol, COO of T-VIPS. “T-VIPS is dedicated to creating innovative technology that shrinks the distance between designers, colorists, producers and directors, for a genuinely collaborative creative workflow.”