Bergen, Norway, April 11, 2011, Vizrt Ltd. (Oslo Main List: VIZ)

Vizrt, a leading provider of digital media software for the TV and online publishing industries, announced today that it has entered into a collaboration with Vimond Media Solutions, a company providing a platform for monetizing superior, engaging and attractive end-user experiences based on live and on-demand video services to a range of internet connected devices.

The collaboration, which numerous features will be demonstrated at the upcoming NAB 2011 in Las Vegas, completes what is now Vizrt´s complete end-to-end-solution for broadcasters, distributors and media companies looking to develop products and monetize online video content with full broadcast quality.

The Vimond video player supports simultaneous streaming to different devices, and opens up for payment and access to content directly through a television set.

“Our combined solution empowers broadcasters to create and offer their own online video services; shows, clips, movies, sports, or news. The same player logic with the same functionality delivers across multiple platforms, allowing the consumers to choose among the variety of platforms and devices, ranging from PCs, TVs, mobile phones, tablets, IPTV boxes, Media Centre Consoles, connected-TVs, game consoles, to IP-enabled set-top boxes,”

said Helge Høibraaten, CEO at Vimond Media Solutions.

The platform also can be extended to other formats through its open API.

Francois Laborie, Chief Commercial Officer at Vizrt, stated,

“With Vimond on board, Vizrt offers one workflow for video streaming and all supporting functionalities, such as subscriptions, advertising, geo-blocking, Digital Rights Management (DRM), and analytics. The complete live and on-demand package comes in one framework, securing smooth delivery on every viable platform or device needing a specific video format or content enhancement.”

At the heart of the solution are the Viz Media Engine transcoders and the Vimond control servers. The online video solution takes advantage of Smooth Streaming; adaptive streaming of media over HTTP. The method provides a high-quality viewing experience that scales massively on content distribution networks, including HD quality. Broadcasters can build their own Hulu-like websites and offer a range of business models; from subscriptions, via pay-per-view, to sponsorship and advertisement. Vizrt offers the entire spectrum of web TV players from in-page standalone players, to advanced web TV players with live sports statistics, subscription management, to live TV with EPGs.

The production workflow is tightly integrated, keeping your costs low, and the efficiency high. Vimond already integrates with the existing Vizrt workflow, from storage and transcoding in the Viz Media Engine, to online publishing via Escenic Content Studio. All live streams are logged and archived to a dedicated media asset management (MAM) server to build highlights, teasers or editorially enhanced content later on.

The solution also includes an advanced monetization and administration logic. The solution can be made available on-premises, hosted, as a SaaS or as a hybrid hosted/on-premises model.