Multiscreen specialist Visual Unity launches at IBC

IBC will see the launch of Visual Unity, a new company focusing on multi-screen integration.

Visual Unity will use the show to demonstrate how its multiscreen systems integration services help broadcasters to integrate web and mobile delivery into their existing workflows and will also present its vuMedia product set.

Visual Unity launched operations earlier this year, borne out of systems integrator Visual Connection (latterly KIT digital Czech).  Led by president Tomas Petru and CEO Jakub Kabourek, the company is based in Prague with offices in London, Dubai and Belgrade, supported by a 60-strong team including 20 in-house software developers.

“Broadcasters who haven’t yet implemented a multiscreen strategy are missing out on more than 78% of today’s potential audience and a demographic of future big spenders” said Petru. “For those already providing multiscreen services, the process is too often labour-intensive and disjointed from their main workflow, with the selection and preparation of non-linear content still performed manually. In this dynamic environment, very few traditional broadcast system integrators have the IT skills to deliver a truly integrated multiscreen platform. As a multiscreen systems integrator, Visual Unity offers extensive IP video expertise combined with an inherent understanding of traditional broadcast operations. This allows us to optimise existing broadcast workflows to efficiently deliver web and mobile content, from the point of content planning and creation to distribution and audience engagement.”

vuMedia is the company’s newly-branded integrated management and Content Delivery Network platform.  It comprises four modules that can be deployed into existing workflows to manage, automate and monitor multiscreen delivery: vuChannel  for web-based  and mobile viewing, integrated into the station backend; vuDemand  for VOD services, including billing and reporting; vuMobile  for mobile content and applications; and vuNet providing a CDN for extended secure control over distribution and user-experience management in areas where the Cloud is either not available, is too expensive or unfavourably shifts control to other operators.

Kabourek said: “vuMedia is the latest generation of a multiscreen delivery platform originally conceived and brought to market by our Czech development team in 1998.  Since that time it has been successfully deployed by clients worldwide to deliver sports, news, entertainment and music content to wide range of connected devices. The platform’s robust and modular architecture provides broadcasters and content owners with almost unlimited scalability, full redundancy, geographical distribution, virtualised services and automatic fail-over features.”

The platform is deployed at Czech TV’s iVysilani.cz service. This online service allows viewers to watch one of four Czech TV channels either in HD quality via a web-based player or at lower bit rate streams on any mobile device. Viewers can also access an online archive with more than 150 000 news and TV programmes (with more than 1,800 days of footage) at various quality levels, covering the whole spectrum of playback devices.

Visual Unity will be co-exhibiting with sister company Unity Mobile at IBC on Stand 3.C35