Features new Microsoft Silverlight-based Operations Manager user interface

Amsterdam, Netherlands, September 23, 2010 – RadiantGrid Technologies, the developer of leading-edge transcoding, transformation and new media automation service platforms, announced Version 6.0 (v6.0) of the RadiantGrid Platform at IBC 2010. Included in the upgrade are the company’s new Microsoft Silverlight-based Operations Manager user interface and transcoding from Avid AAF (Advanced Authoring Format) files. These new resources, along with others, will help increase efficiency and speed up the transcoding process.
“To best serve our users we are always looking to offer them access to the most file formats and transforming capabilities,” says Kirk Marple, president, chief software architect, RadiantGrid Technologies. “This latest version of the RadiantGrid Platform will provide benefits to all our users from major broadcasters and filmmakers to smaller affiliate stations and production houses. As per our support and maintenance upgrade model, both existing and new customers will have access to the new capabilities that v6.0 provides.”

As part of this latest version of the platform, RadiantGrid has added enhanced MXF support, including AS-03 and AS-02 files. With these new capabilities, AS-03 MXF files are prepared using the RadiantGrid Platform to transform the video essence data into MPEG-2, the audio essence data into PCM and AC-3 and ancillary (closed caption) data into SMPTE 436M VANC structures, which are muxed into the AS-03 MXF container format. RadiantGrid now also supports the ingest and creation of AS-02 MXF files for compatibility with Avid and Omneon video servers.

RadiantGrid has added enhanced support for the Closed Captioning formats DFXP and SMPTE 360M (GXF VANC) to its Closed Captioning Manager. This support provides both the capability to extract closed captioning from media sources and to insert closed captioning back into the transcoded output file.

Users of the platform will also have additional access to loudness control capabilities with the addition of Linear Acoustic AERO.qc audio processing.   Via RadiantGrid’s transwrapping functionality, users are able to pass through video streams of any type, while re-encoding, applying loudness processing, upmixing or downmixing the audio sources using Linear Acoustic AERO.qc processing. Alternately users can also use the platform’s new transwrapping capabilities to change the container of the video and audio streams but not the codec essences.   This can help save time when changing out an entire archive from one container to another.

With the integration of Avid AAF files into v6.0 of the RadiantGrid Platform the company’s software will be able to read the AAF files’ EDL (Edit Decision List) so the files can be directly ingested from Avid into the platform. Previously for Avid files to be processed with RadiantGrid, the editor would need to manually generate a Quick Time reference file and physically move that file into the RadiantGrid Platform.

RadiantGrid will now be able to offer its users full support for closed captioning and AFD (Active Format Description) data within GXF files, for those users looking to work with GXF files throughout their workflow. Originally developed by Grass Valley and SMPTE, GXF (SMPTE 360M) files allow for the transfer and archiving of HD Video content throughout a file-based workflow and can be used with Grass Valley K2 Summit™ and K2 Solo™ servers as well as legacy products.

To ensure seamless communication between broadcast traffic systems and master control automation, RadiantGrid has partnered with Metaglue Corporation to integrate BXF support into its platform. With BXF support, content and associated metadata can easily be transferred from anywhere in the transcoding farm to interface with traffic and automation. Now specifically the trafficking system can be integrated directly into the transcoding and transfer management architecture, and instruct the platform on how to process or transfer jobs by the station’s ID.

RadiantGrid now additionally supports the decoding and encoding of the Dolby E audio format. It also supports encoding to stereo and multichannel Broadcast WAV (BWAV) and AC-3 2.0 and 5.1 from Dolby E sources, as well as applying the many audio normalization and adjustment features offered within the platform.