AmberFin digitizes and transforms new and archived media content

AmberFin, a developer of file-based media ingest, transcoding, and unified quality control solutions for content owners, broadcasters, sports organizations and postproduction houses, has made a number of significant announcements.

AmberFin has unveiled new competitively priced file-based media ingest, transcode, and playback products that enable the digitization and transformation of new and archived media content. The cost-effective modules are designed to meet the specific business needs of small and medium sized media organizations. These new application-specific products focus on industry standard workflows and requirements including: ingest and transcode to MXF AS11 and metadata support for the Digital Production Partnership; ingest and transcode to the most popular MPEG2, XDCAM and IMX formats; best of breed playback, QC review, annotation and metadata entry or tape layback for a wide range of codecs and wrappers; file-based proxy generator; and a fully featured PC workstation for the creation and preparation of MXF-AS12 compliant deliverables, especially the creation of AS-12 commercials.

AmberFin and Interra Systems are announcing the successful conclusion of a co-operative development project that will add value to customers of both companies. The project sees the integration of Interra Systems’ market leading, enterprise class file-based QC solution, Baton, within AmberFin’s iCR Unified Quality Control (UQC) platform for content ingest and transcoding operations.

In the UK, independent Soho-based post-production facility, Smoke & Mirrors has chosen AmberFin iCR ingest, file playback and unified quality control (UQC) software-based systems to ensure the efficiency of file-based workflows as it migrates to totally tapeless operations. This will allow Smoke & Mirrors to achieve greater efficiencies through automation of routine operational processes, whilst maintaining crucial skilled human quality control (QC) touch points. Specifically, AmberFin iCR is being used in content repurposing operations with file playback and Unified Quality Control including Digimetric’s Aurora Pro software system within the platform. Using AmberFin iCR, Smoke & Mirrors can efficiently repurpose uncompressed Quicktime masters of varying specifications to a single mezzanine format. Also, AmberFin’s Unified Quality Control (UQC) system provides a crucial human quality control element to both the technical and subjective aspects of Smoke & Mirrors’ output.

In Australia, the Premium Movie Partnership has selected the new AmberFin iCR File Player with its advanced Unified Quality Control (UQC) option for video asset checking at its Showtime Movie Channel content preparation facility, located at the Fox Studios Entertainment Quarter in Sydney. Showtime required a single solution that could play back and perform QC analysis on a wide variety of file formats including their in-house editing format Apple Pro Res and formats used for delivery to broadcast video servers.

Bruce’s Shorts, the popular free broadcast-IT workflow training program hosted by Bruce Devlin, AmberFin’s CTO, and co-author of the MXF format, celebrated its first anniversary at IBC.  To mark the occasion, AmberFin ran a couple of competitions and gave away iPads. Existing subscribers to Bruce’s Shorts were encouraged to ‘recommend a friend/colleague’ to sign up for the free training.