Archive for February, 2010

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The 2010 VOD arms race

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

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‘Now that iPlayer has lit the blue touch paper under catch-up TV, effectively creating the mass market for video on-demand, 2010 will be the year when a glut of competing services vie to be one of the UK’s main VOD aggregators. They can’t all win, so here’s our bet on who has the biggest likelihood of succeeding…’

For in-depth analysis of the main players and evaluation of the leading contenders we recommend reading the article in full at paidcontent.co.uk

Their predictions for 2010 are below -  the race is on!

  1. BBC iplayer / YouTube
  2. Canvas
  3. Skyplayer
  4. SeeSaw / MSN Video
  5. BlinkBox
  6. Hulu

Posted in Digital Media News | No Comments »

Eagle lands 100 million views

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

eminiem_largePopular YouTube channel Eagle Rock TV celebrated an incredible 100 million views this month. The channel has over 28,000 subscribers and is home to live music and video from some of the world’s greatest bands.

Featuring a diverse collection of artistic talent, including Alicia Keys, Iron Maiden, The Beatles, Tupac and Andrew Lloyd Webber, it’s no wonder the channel is so popular.

Eagle house their digital library at re:fine.  Each track is edited and transcoded before the Eagle TV idents are applied and the tracks are uploaded for the millions of fans to enjoy.

Search for tracks at   http://www.youtube.com/eaglerocktv

Posted in IPTV and VOD, Main | No Comments »

iTunes uploads – big names, big films, big hopes!

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

love_largeJennifer Aniston’s latest comedy Love Happens hits iTunes this month via re:fine. Co-starring The Dark Knight’s Aaron Eckhart, Love Happens is about redemption, truth, loyalty, love and above all things… hope.

And if anyone is experiencing hope this month it’s Carey Mulligan.  British newcomer Mulligan stars in the Oscar-nominated An Education, playing a schoolgirl who has a destructive affair with an older man, practically ruining her chances at a higher education.   Mulligan won this year’s BAFTA for best actress and has been nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars, so a lot of hopes rest on March 7th for the team behind An Education.  See it the day after – it’s released on iTunes on March 8th.

Posted in IPTV and VOD, Main, iTunes | No Comments »

Twilight New Moon – on Playstation Networks

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Twilight: New Moon, the latest instalment of the smash-hit vampire series, is now available on the Playstation Network thanks to re:fine.

twi_largeNew Moon is the second film in the extremely popular series following the lives of ill-fated lovers Edward and Bella, but this time with an added helping of abs-flashing werewolves and the introduction to the red-eyed Volturi.

The Playstation network is becoming an increasingly important platform for viewing and downloading SD and HD content, with recent statistics from the BBC suggesting that PS3 owners account for 8% of iPlayer traffic. As more fantastically popular films such as the Twilight franchise appear, it looks as though the Playstation Network is becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Posted in IPTV and VOD, Main | No Comments »

Cutting it – with Steven Carey

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

carey_largeVideo of Steven Carey’s world famous hair designs is now available for viewing on line.

London hair designer Steven Carey is famous for his avante garde styles, and provides hair styling and art direction at The Collections showcases as well as in the pages of such industry-respected magazines as Vogue, Elle and Harpers.

Steve Carey hosts seminars and hair shows as well as running his exclusive Mayfair salon. For the first time his tutorials and inspirational styling can now be viewed on his website.

Posted in IPTV and VOD, Main | No Comments »

re:write – the re:fine metadata tool

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

ollys tool_largeFrom this month clients delivering their titles to multiple platforms can make use of our online metadata interface.

The intuitive new tool was developed by one of our in-house programmers.  Cast, crew, sales and release information can be submitted once for fast and accurate delivery to video on demand platforms such as iTunes and Hulu.

Posted in IPTV and VOD, Main, iTunes | No Comments »

The Planets – An HD Odyssey

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

odysseywebThis Blu-ray  is a collaboration of music and science that could only have come out of Houston, Texas, the home of NASA and space exploration.

Filmmaker Dr Duncan Copp has created a spectacular visual companion piece for Holst’s musical score featuring new high definition NASA images which will be projected onto a 24ft screen as the score is performed by the Houston Symphony orchestra under Music Director Hans Graf.

To celebrate this production and the currently sold out US tour re:fine authored and replicated the Blu-ray & DVD presentation which features actual images and video footage of our solar system shot from a variety of unmanned planetary probes as well as the Hubble telescope.

re:fine created the print and packaging graphics after extensive consultation with both Duncan Copp and Houston Symphony.

Both the Blu-ray and the DVD are double disc sets, with the Blu-ray boasting PCM stereo & DTS-HD MAster Audio 5.1.  The second disc features an interview with Hans Graf as well as a tour of the planets with  NASA planetary scientists.

Many of the images have never been seen before by the public and would have been unimaginable 100 years ago when the score was written. One wonders how Holst would have reacted to seeing actual images of the worlds that he could only view from afar.

Posted in Blu-ray, Main | No Comments »

Anne Frank Remembered

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

frankwebThis month we worked with Producer/Director Jon Blair to author a DVD of his Oscar and Emmy winning film of the life and legacy of child diarist Anne Frank.

Combining personal testimony, never-before-seen photos, previously undiscovered family letters and rare archive footage (including the only known moving footage of Anne herself) this haunting film has been hailed as a masterpiece by critics and audiences alike.

By concentrating closely on the details of Anne’s brief life, rather than her famous diary, the film makes real the story of this one child and her family, and those who lived and died with her. As the Sunday Telegraph said “This haunting documentary is the most moving Holocaust film of them all”.

The film is narrated in English by Kenneth Brannagh and Glenn Close and has subtitles in German, French, Spanish, English and Dutch as well as a choice of narration languages between English and Dutch. This is the first time since its original release that the film is available as a multi-lingual DVD for international sale.

For more information visit www.annefrank.org

Posted in DVD Authoring, DVD Duplication and Replication | No Comments »

Beyond Biba – A portrait of Barbara Hulanicki

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

bibaBeyond Biba tells the story of the woman behind the iconic London store that changed women’s fashion forever.  As well as tales of the store, the clothes and the brand, the documentary provides an insight into the life of Barbara Hulanicki.  It is an amazing story that starts with a cultural explosion in London during the 1960s and continues today in Miami Beach where she resides as one of the most respected interior designers in the US

The DVD contains the 60 minute documentary and a number of bonus materials including an interview with the producer, stills gallery and deleted scenes.

It is the packaging that makes this DVD stand out.  The DVD Digipak features quotes from Hulanicki, a booklet and a set of four postcards of original Biba sketched designs.  This is presented in a slipcase boldly embossed with the Biba logo.

The DVD is on sale at www.beyondbibamovie.com,  Amazon and HMV in London.

Posted in DVD Authoring, DVD Duplication and Replication, Packaging | No Comments »

Chew Lips – Karen

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

chewwebSouth London trio Chew Lips are one of the most hotly tipped bands for 2010 according to NME, The Fly, Nylon, Q and even Grazia.

Their first album Unicorn came out in January and we were proud to replicate the first single from the album “Karen”.

With a hectic touring schedule planned for the first six months of this year we are sure to be seeing a lot more of them!

Posted in CD Replication | No Comments »

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