Media Asset Management in a box
Viz Video Hub™ is the media asset management (MAM) system for people who don’t want to think about their storage. It is easy to set up, easy to use, and easy to expand. Not to mention that it is one of the most cost-effective ways to engage into file based archiving.
Viz Video Hub allows you to store every type of media file that you are likely to encounter; video clips, pictures, graphics, and even audio files. Once the files are stored they can be searched and accessed from any standard PC using detailed metadata and powerful search functions. If you are using other Vizrt systems from before, Viz Video Hub becomes even more capable; by integrating with a Vizrt graphics system, it can be used as a standalone production unit.
Media Asset Management the easy way
When we developed Viz Video Hub, we wanted to make things easy. Let’s begin with the user experience. The user interface is not tied to any specific hardware or operating system. Journalists and operators can search the database from any desktop PC or Mac and even access files remotely with a laptop and a wireless connection.
Whatever computer you use, all the functionality is always right there in front of you. Everything is available with a click of the mouse. With an hour’s training anyone is capable of searching, browsing, and even editing video clips and submitting them to the rundown.
Flexibility
Your demands to the storage system are just as unique as your station is. So, instead of adjusting your workflow and your requirements to the specifications of the system, you choose the Viz Video Hub that exactly suits your needs. Take for example Viz Video Hub Base, our competitive entry-level system. It offers most of the functionality of its bigger siblings, with a storage capacity suited for smaller production teams, graphics departments, and special events coverage. The system stores up to 40 hours of DV25 video material and allows 20 simultaneous users to search the database and edit videos using Viz PreCut. We even included two licenses for the non- linear editing application Viz EasyCut . The next configuration, Viz Video Hub Base+, raises the bar by supporting up to 450 hours of storage, while a fully built out Viz Video Hub Extended supports up to 2,000 hours of DV25 storage and 50 simultaneous users.
If you need that extra bit of security, Viz Video Hub Base+ and Extended both support additional redundancy options.
Ingest
We think that getting media files into the MAM system should be so easy and straightforward that everybody can do it. And when it comes ingesting media, it doesn’t get easier than drag and drop. All you have to do is to specify one or more folders on the network that Viz Video Hub monitors. The users simply have to drop their files into these folders and the system will automatically start to encode and import them.
And media that is only directly available in file formats? That’s not a problem either. With additional modules, which we call “companion products”, Viz Video Hub also handles live HD feeds, video tapes (including tape robot intgeration for Viz Video Hub Extended), FTP file-import and many other methods of file ingest.
Metadata
With a couple of hundred, thousands or even millions of video clips, keeping track can be a tricky business. Fortunately, Viz Video Hub makes organizing easy. We integrated an efficient, industry-standard metadata model based on the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set.
Whenever a new file is ingested into the database the user can fill in the appropriate metadata. Some information, such as the date, file type or usage history are added and updated automatically. Other fields, such as a descriptive title, the language of the audio or a subject can be chosen by the user. What kind of metadata can be added is completely up to you. The more clearly defined the data is, the more powerful the database becomes.
Search
With detailed metadata in place, users can search for specific file names, data ranges, or special rights requirements. They can even use a structured search with Boolean logic, for example ”football” AND “Brazil”, or even more specific “politician” AND “female” AND “Clinton” OR “Hilary”. Of course all the different search functions can be combined with each other.
Keyframes
Choosing the right key words during a search will narrow down the results. But which of the clips is the one that is best suited for a story? Viz Video Hub helps making the right choice by automatically creating key frames of every video clip and image file. These key frames are displayed in the list of search results for a quick overview of the content.
Low and high resolution files
When new video files are ingested, Viz Video Hub automatically produces two versions of each transferred video file: a low-resolution version for browsing and online editing, and a high-resolution version for export and
playout. To save bandwidth and to speed up the workflow users normally work with the low-resolution files.
Editing
Viz Video Hub is all about making daily tasks more efficient. Journalists often have an idea of how the video clip for their latest story should look. Why not give them the possibility to prepare the clip on their computer and only send it to a dedicated video editor for fine tuning? The two bundled video editing applications Viz PreCut and Viz EasyCut do exactly that. They are so easy to understand and use that it will take journalists only minutes to rough cut a video for their story, or add a new voice over to an existing clip. These tools enable up to 80 concurrent users to simultaneously cut video and create new clips. For those who need more editing power, we have included integration with Apple's Final Cut Pro. Simply drag a clip into the craft editing software and save the edited version back directly to the Viz Video Hub. It is even possible for the journalist to start editing in Viz EasyCut or Viz PreCut and then transfer the clips with the edit decision list (EDL). A video editor can then continue working with the file in Final Cut Pro.
Integration
When developing Viz Video Hub we made sure that our system communicates well with a whole range of Vizrt and third-party products. For example, all Vizrt graphics and control applications can access the video assets in Viz Video Hub; from Viz Artist over Viz Content Pilot, to Viz Trio, Viz Virtual Studio, and Viz Multichannel. Users can even directly access files stored in Viz Video Hub from within all major newsroom systems, such as iNews, ENPS and many others.
Proven technology
Even though Viz Video Hub is Vizrt’s “small” MAM systems, its features are quite grown up. We have taken all the experience and the most important features from our full-fledged MAM system Viz Ardome and applied them to Viz Video Hub. The result is a cost-effective, hassle-free system that has proven its worth at broadcasters around the world.
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Viz Video Hub |
Viz Video Hub |
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Instant access to ingested material |
+ |
+ |
|
Powerful search options and pre-editing functions |
+ |
+ |
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Ingest either through drop folders or optional video servers |
+ |
+ |
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All ingest, search and editing functions can be carried out on standard PCs |
+ |
+ |
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Storage |
5 600 GB |
6 300 GB |
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DV25 storage |
450 hours |
500 hours |
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IMX50 storage |
225 hours |
250 hours |
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Additional storage packs |
- |
Up to 3 x 6 300 GB |
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Offline backup option |
+ |
+ |
|
Redundancy option |
+ |
+ |
|
Concurrent Viz PreCut and MAM users |
20 |
50 |
|
Included Viz EasyCut licenses |
2 |
5 |
|
Additional Viz EasyCut licenses |
- |
5 |
|
Final Cut Pro connections (DV100) |
2 |
4 |
|
Additional Final Cut Pro connections (DV100) |
- |
8 |
|
Simultanious users |
20 |
50 |
|
Additional users |
- |
60 |
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Transcoding capacity |
3 DV25/DVCPRO25/IMX50 |
4 DV25/DVCPRO25/IMX50 |
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Additional transcoding capacity |
4 DV25/DVCPRO25/IMX50 |
12 DV25/DVCPRO25/IMX50 |
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Supported video formats |
Base: |
Base: |
