ZyGoDigital has added XML-based information directly into a video stream.
ZyGoVideo is a codec for QuickTime and QuickTime Pro that compresses and decompresses video files to deliver broadcast-quality video at lower transmission speeds. It can compress smooth running video at 28.8kbps and 56kbps in real-time. ZyGoVideo Pro uses a wavelet technology to produce quality still images at half the size of comparable Photo JPEG compressions, according to Rod Sheffield, president and CEO of ZyGoDigital.
ZyGoDigital’s MediaShow application can be used to show six videos tiled on a single plasma display. The text is used to annotate the videos with camera ID, location, security classification and other pertinent data. Text color, placement, transparency, font and size can be modified dynamically as the video streams. Text can be input from a database or changed interactively via network connections to the broadcast server.
“Using XML allows us to add important data dynamically to the video stream without eating into our bandwidth budget,” Sheffield said. “Of course, the more complex the XML becomes, the more one needs the greater compression ZyGoVideo affords in maintaining a low data rate goal. The use of XML also complies with evolving standards (XrML) for Data Rights Management (DRM). We are excited to be one of the first providers of interactive text and DRM capabilities within QuickTime.”
Their solution also automatically adds a good deal of traditional “logging” data directly into the video stream rather than in a separate database. This means data always follows the video about and makes asset management more efficient, Sheffield said.
The new XML streaming, feature is being offered as a part of the ZyGoCasting custom solution. ZyGoCasting is a solution based on ZyGoVideo. It supplies the user with live broadcasting via ZyGoCaster, which is capable of compressing and saving multiple videos simultaneously on Xserves. Both compression settings and file addresses may be modified during the streaming broadcast, creating clips with different resolutions and data rates for later streaming broadcasts. Another key component of the solution is MediaShow, the custom player designed to tile videos as a low cost alternative to video walls.
ZyGoVideo Pro is sold for US$99, and bundled with some QuickTime compression applications.