Norwegian broadcast graphics tools provider Vizrt has acquired Texas-based NewTek, developer of video network technology supporting SMPTE ST 2110 as well as its own NDI protocol. The move creates a combined company with an array of broadcast technology ready for deployment using IT-based virtualization techniques.
The new company will focus on researching and developing video production software that helps drive the transition from broadband to IP video infrastructure, the companies said in a press release announcing the acquisition.
Vizrt President and CEO Michael will remain in place at the helm of the combined business, with NewTek President and CTO Andrew Cross serving as president of R&D.
“Combining our organizations allows us to pursue our joint vision of software-based video production, leveraging the power and flexibility of computing and IT-based systems,” said Hallén in a prepared statement. “The combined business will be very well-positioned to deliver turnkey systems that give creative power to any organization that has ambitions of producing content for any output platform.”
“The combined company represents one of the most disruptive changes for the video industry in decades,” claimed Cross.
Vizrt and NewTek had previously found common ground, working together on the NVG1 NewTek-Vizrt IP Graphics Server, a rack-mounted turnkey system that combined Vizrt’s Viz Trio character generator and its Viz Engine compositing software with NewTek’s NDI networking technology. Last year at NAB, the companies showed a combined system that included a 44-input 4K 60p live production system from NewTek and a Viz Opus automation system running as virtual machines connected by NDI video streams over Cisco switches.
Vizrt, which is privately owned by Nordic Capital Fund VIII and employs more than 500 in 30 offices worldwide, did not disclose terms of the deal.
Also today, Vizrt announced Viz Engine 4, the latest iteration of its rendering system. It boasts a new, backward-compatible Reality Fusion pipeline that Vizrt said supports added realism, real-time performance, and a range of post-processing effects, including physical based rendering (PBR) and global illumination. Viz Engine 4 is also integrated with third-party engines including Unreal Engine 4, the company said.
Vizrt will exhibit at NAB 2019 in booth SL3316; NewTek will be at booth SL5016, which the company is also touting as “NDI Central.”
Vizrt: www.vizrt.com
NewTek: www.newtek.com
