Omneon adds new features to platform

Omneon s IBC press event overflowed with both news and attendees as the video server company continues to make gains in both market penetration and technology enhancements.

The company s Media Grid storage architecture tops the list of IBC product introductions but Geoff Stedman, Omneon VP of marketing, made it clear during his presentation that previous products like the Spectrum Server will add functionality.

We ve added support for Avid s DnxHD format and that s one of the benefits of basing Spectrum on an open platform, he said. We can extend the product and support new codecs and media formats.

Omneon also will support Sony s XDCAM HD format, with file-based ingest and native MXF support meaning no need for conversion. Users will be able to have direct playout of XDCAM HD material back-to-back with standard MPEG-2 HD material, HDV material, and SD on a native timeline, said Stedman. Spectrum also now supports Apple Quicktime 7 so it can work hand-in-hand with MPEG-based material and it can also play DV and MPEG-2 material on the same timeline via a free upgrade to existing customers.

New features for the Omneon Media Tools ProBrowse 2.0 include offline shot trimming, and the ability for online scene change detection and low-res proxy and keyframes for each scene change. It also links to the full resolution version regardless of where the high-res version is stored, he said. As content moves around the process of managing material changes.

Also new is Jogclip with audio, the ability to step through a clip frame-by-frame at 1/4 speed or four-times realtime. MirrorTool 2.0 allows for filters to be set up to include or exclude material based on dates, keywords, etc.

We re gaining momentum with MediaGrid in Europe, says Stedman. Turner Broadcast Systems in London, TV4 Sweden and ESPN/Star Sports are among the new clients. Eric Ahlin, of Ardendo, spoke about the TV4 project that involved installing a Media Grid system that can hold 700 hours of high-res material and all low-resolution material so journalists can assemble story packages with Final Cut Pro.