Thomcast and Envivio Team Up to Provide End-to-End MPEG-4 Over MPEG-2 Broadcast Networks
Las Vegas, April 23, NAB 2001 — Thomcast (Booth #L9000), prominent supplier of digital image processing and multimedia broadcasting solutions, and Envivio (Booth #E2950), the leading company for end-to-end MPEG-4 interactive broadcasting solutions, today announced that they are teaming together to provide professional MPEG-2/DVB/ATSC and IP broadcast networks with MPEG-4 based turn-key solutions.
Thomcast and Envivio will jointly develop the technical end-to-end MPEG-4 over MPEG-2 networks solution to deliver rich media applications to set top box and PC users. Thomcast will bring its expertise in the area of interactive MPEG-2 broadcast solutions and MPEG-2 streaming over IP networks, and Envivio will bring its end-to-end MPEG-4 interactive broadcasting solutions. Envivio is considered by Thomcast to be the most advanced company in the field of MPEG-4 end-to-end solutions for the broadcast industry.
Using the Envivio MPEG-4 authoring tool, broadcasters, content developers and other post production organizations can author rich media scenes with audio, video, text, graphics and viewer interactivity, all within MPEG-4's powerful object oriented environment. Once authored, the media can be distributed without further modification to any MPEG-4 capable device such as set top boxes, PCs, PDAs and other consumer information devices, or with this new end-to-end solution, to MPEG-2 cable, satellite, terrestrial or IP networks. The broadcast of MPEG-4 content over MPEG-2 networks will increase broadcast revenues through new interactive programming and enhanced advertising value, and reduce post-production costs through simplified encoding.
"This is a great opportunity for Thomcast to enrich its array of interactive broadcast solutions. Our technical and commercial partnership with Envivio targets the growing market demand for rich media delivery, through applications such as e-commerce, video synchronized data, oriented advertising, home banking, distance learning or game shows." states Eric Gourmelen, Head of Multimedia Applications department of Thomcast.
"Thomcast is a natural partner for Envivio," says Julien Signes, CEO and CTO for Envivio. "Their expertise and reputation for quality will help bring MPEG-4 to the forefront of broadcast strategies for the industry and speed deployments. The deployment of MPEG-4 content over MPEG-2 transports will remove a cost constraint for broadcasters and will help speed the profitability date for MPEG-4 systems. We are excited about this opportunity to work closely with a established leader in broadcast solutions."
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About Thomcast:
Thomcast, a wholly owned subsidiary of THALES (formerly Thomson-CSF) designs, develops, manufactures and sells equipment, systems and solutions for:
- terrestrial broadcasting (radio and television)
- digital image processing and multimedia broadcasting
- as well as broadband wireless communications (1.7 - 3.6 GHz).
for broadcasting, cable TV, satellite and telecommunication services providers worldwide. Thomcast has deployed its systems in 168 countries.
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About Envivio:
Envivio.com, Inc. is the leading developer of end-to-end MPEG-4 interactive broadcasting solutions utilizing MPEG-4's rich set of integrated streaming media elements: high performance audio and video, two- and three dimensional graphics and animation, and rich interactive user experience. The company maintains a worldwide perspective on creating MPEG-4-based solutions to enable broadcasters, distribution network operators and content developers to build new revenues and utilize the efficiencies of targeting content at the full range of MPEG-4 capable devices. Envivio's solutions include Envivio Broadcast Studio for MPEG-4 authoring, Envivio Media Servers to distribute, and EnvivioTV™ to receive MPEG-4 content. The company is privately held and has received investments from Royal Philips Electronics, France Telecom, Sigma Designs, Aurora Ventures, Global Accelerator and other leading broadband media investors.
