Telestream Releases Vantage 2.0 Unified Video Workflow Management Software

Telestream, a leading provider of video transcoding and workflow solutions, has announced a major release for Vantage enterprise-class workflow design and automation software. Major new features in Vantage 2.0 include Vantage Workflow Portal, which enables creation and deployment of operator user interfaces in minutes for browsing video, entering metadata, and forwarding media. A new SDK allows customer and third-party systems to easily access and control Vantage workflows. New GraphicsFactory integration allows template-based layered graphics and audio to be applied during a transcode. Many video workflow analysis and transcoding format support capabilities are also new.
Since initial product release last spring, Vantage has been deployed to major media and entertainment companies around the world. Outdoor Channel, America's leader in outdoor television, uses Vantage to enable greater operational efficiency and quickly deliver any file type to any destination for domestic and international needs.
Paul Weaver, Vice President of Operations at Outdoor Channel, said: "Vantage, with its easy-to-use workflow graphical user interface and ability to process multiple transcodes at a much faster rate, provides the processing capabilities we needed to support digital workflows across all of our departments. The redundant, dual-server configuration gives us peace of mind knowing that we have a failsafe solute that will not suffer any delays in our various workflows."
New in V2.0, Vantage Workflow Portal allows media and entertainment companies to streamline the human element of their video workflows, adding direct human interaction as necessary without the need for custom web engineering. Vantage Workflow Portal makes it easy to create and deploy customised user interfaces that allow common operator tasks, such as metadata entry, review and approval, content routing, simple tagging and video stitching.
A new SDK simplifies Vantage integration directly into existing software systems using a web services interface. New database redundancy capability allows a SQL server mirror-with-witness model to be used with Vantage. Version 2.0 also adds delivery and send-to-playback support for Avid Interplay 2.2 editing environments.
A key Vantage component, Vantage Analysis, goes beyond content verification to enable users to automate smart transcoding and self-healing quality control workflows. Vantage 2.0 adds MPEG-2 video level and gamut checking, macroblocking artifact detection and several other new analysis features. Further, a new Compute function allows automated mathematical functions to be performed upon analysis results, driving intelligent decision-making and automatic correction of many types of errors.
New transcoding support in Vantage 2.0 includes: MainConcept.CFG file support for H.264 encoding, Omneon AVC Intra and SAMMA JPEG-2000 decoding, and several other new capabilities. A new Telestream EDL XML playlist format allows MPEG-2 stitching without requiring a full transcode, and Vantage Workflow Portal provides an interface for creating these playlists.
Barbara DeHart, Vice President of Marketing at Telestream, said: "Where Vantage 1.0 allowed highly customisable workflows, the introduction of Vantage 2.0 allows highly customised access to those workflows through the SDK and Workflow Portal. Vantage 2.0 allows customers to streamline the human element of their video workflows - adding direct human interaction as necessary in a cost effective way - or removing human intervention when a fully-automated workflow is desired."
Vantage is a video workflow design and automation software solution that was built from the ground up on a modular, future-proof platform that combines video capture, transcoding, analysis, metadata processing, delivery and file management into a unified framework - all designed to meet the long-term needs of a rapidly changing video industry.
Vantage 2.0 is now available from Telestream's worldwide network of direct sales and distributors.
(KMcA)