Xeatre.tv 1.6 represents substantial development work while the recording and archive platform has already entered use across several sectors during the company’s first year. The vendor now plans to establish a partner network.
iPhone Operation
Xeatre.tv describes version 1.6 as the first IPTV-market system adapted for iPhone use. The optional xeatre.mobile module provides full control from the handset.
Users can access the electronic program guide, schedule recordings, and stream recorded material to the phone.
Archive Access and Export Events
Further version 1.6 development reflects practical deployments. Direct access to the potentially very large loop-recording archive allows users to select any archived program with a mouse click.
New export events link a recording to defined actions. An archive employee might record a program about a celebrity wedding, have it sent automatically to an entertainment-magazine editor, and then store it on the editorial file server in high-resolution MPEG-2 format.
The interface has also been revised for faster operation and improved ergonomics in media workflows.
xeatre.contentscanner Beta
The xeatre.contentscanner module is in beta. It uses image-analysis algorithms to search recorded programs and live television for specific content.
The module targets research into transmitted material, including commercials and licensed footage, for internal use or as proof of content for clients. Release was planned for spring 2008.
Partner Program
Long-term customer contracts support continued development of the platform.
“We are proud of Xeatre.tv’s rapid progress, but perhaps even more pleased that long-term support agreements allow us to look toward the immediate future with confidence,” says managing director Christian Siegert.
“After completing many different projects successfully in our first year, we now want to persuade partners of Xeatre.tv’s qualities. We will shortly present a partner model with attractive conditions for systems integrators.”
The company planned to introduce a sales model in the first quarter of 2008 that would involve systems integrators from the start of projects.
Deployments
Press offices use Xeatre.tv to record and automatically capture relevant broadcasts, including at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics.
Production companies such as Endemol Germany use it for competitor monitoring and topic-based idea research.
The Vorarlberg State Library in Bregenz uses the platform for archiving. IT manager Guntram Rauch says the organization selected Xeatre.tv after comparing several systems because of its flexibility and the close cooperation with developers during implementation.
Public institutions include the Federal Office of Languages in Hürth, which uses Xeatre.tv to record radio programs from around the world. Broadcasters including Bayerischer Rundfunk use the system for efficient recording and as a content source for media-asset-management platforms.
