Vizrt to demonstrate delivery of real-time graphics content to mobile phones

Viz|3G — a powerful, end-to-end platform for delivering real-time graphics and video content to mobile devices — is to be unveiled at IBC 2006 at the Vizrt booth in Hall 2, Stand 219 of the RAI Convention Centre.
Among the features in the new Viz|3G release are: an advanced GUI with a dynamic matrix layout; video streaming support from the new MPEG-21-controlled mobile streaming server and encoding platform; RSS data support for tickers and other similar applications; presentation of commercials and a back-office system for user and content management.
Viz|3G marks the first integration of a real-time graphics engine for mobile phone video viewing. Viz|3G is based on Vizrt’s Viz|Engine renderer and group subsidiary company Adactus’ MPEG-21-based multimedia delivery platform. Vizrt also plans to demonstrate the 3G integration whereby graphics produced by the popular Viz|Trio CG can be distributed to mobile phones by the Viz|3G server.
“Viz|Trio operators can already distribute graphics they’ve created in SD and HDTV, and now they can do the same for the various 3G ‘phone definitions’,” said Peder Drege, CEO of Adactus. “Vizrt customers benefit from having a truly integrated graphics system so they can repurpose and reuse their existing video/graphics content and distribute it to multiple broadcast sectors, including to the fast-growing mobile television market.” The first broadcaster to have already used Viz|3G to advantage this year was TV2 Norway.
At IBC, Vizrt will demonstrate a prototype of a lightweight Viz|Engine renderer running on a cell phone. This will provide real-time, hardware-accelerated graphics on the client and the opportunity for bespoke advertising animations, tailored to the phone user’s profile and even the location of the user.
Using the Viz|3G platform, graphics are sent as data in a separate stream from the video, and local rendering produces a much higher quality visual appearance than graphics compressed within the video stream.
“As new phones and devices emerge, new features will need to be supported,” said Drege. “We have the streaming, encoding and software development expertise to maintain a client/server relationship for content presentation. Together with Vizrt, who are experts in broadcast graphics, we’ve created a platform where video can be delivered to cell phones and other multimedia devices within a secure environment, and the graphics can be rendered locally in a resolution that fits every phone. This will revolutionise mobile television.”
(GB)