New Mobile App Enhances Cinema Experience for the Vision Impaired
Swedish Cinema Uses Audible Magic Content Recognition to Synchronize Audio Descriptions and Spoken Subtitles with Movie Sound Tracks
April 08, 2015 12:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time LOS GATOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Audible Magic, the leading provider of automatic content recognition software solutions announced that Cybercom Group of Stockholm, Sweden has licensed its technology for Sweden’s “Available Cinema” project, making movie experiences more accessible to those with sight and reading impairments.
Available Cinema, a government project managed by the Swedish Film Institute in cooperation with the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority, enables audiences with any range of vision impairment or dyslexia to enjoy pre-recorded audio descriptions of the screen action and spoken subtitles. A mobile app provides narrative through the user’s earphones, using Audible Magic’s audio fingerprinting technology for frame-accurate synchronization with the movie soundtrack.
Lisa Wacklin, project manager for Available Cinema at the Swedish Film Institute says, “It's a huge change. In the past, audio descriptions were performed live and limited to about 150 movie screenings per year. Now they will be available for more than 150,000 screenings every year in Sweden.”
Cybercom created the Disabilities Platform, consisting of a software development kit, which can be easily incorporated within a mobile app, and separate tools to enable movie post-producers to package ‘fingerprints’ of the movie soundtrack with audio descriptions for app users to download from Sweden’s Cinema Guide server. The Swedish Film Institute intends to make the Disabilities Platform available internationally to movie distributors, broadcasters and organisations representing the vision and reading impaired.
“Working with Cybercom on this project has been truly rewarding,” said Mike Edwards, General Manager EMEA for Audible Magic. “Witnessing the delight of users at the launch is an experience I will not forget.”
“It is a very successful project with great cooperation between our companies,” said Cybercom project manager Magnus Månsson.
Audible Magic is the trusted leader in automatic content recognition (ACR) fingerprinting technologies. The company offers a broad range of hosted solutions as well as hardware and software products that identify audio and video content, synchronize actions between media devices, trigger user interactivity and generate usage reporting. Audible Magic’s customers and partners span technology and media industries and include industry leaders such as Dailymotion, Deluxe Media, Ensequence, Intel, Sling Media, Sony Music and SoundCloud.
Cybercom is an IT consulting company that assists leading companies and organisations to benefit from the opportunities of the connected world. The company’s areas of expertise span the entire ecosystem of communications services. Cybercom’s domestic market is the Nordic region, and in addition the company offers global delivery capacity for local and international business. Cybercom was founded in 1995 and has been quoted on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm exchange since 1999.
The Swedish Film Institute works to promote film across the board – from idea to finished product, during launch in Sweden and around the world, and by preserving films for posterity in their archives.
The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) monitors the electronic communications and postal sectors in Sweden. The Authority provides leadership on consumer and competition issues, efficient utilization of resources and secure communications.
Audible Magic and RGB Networks Announce Dynamic Ad Insertion for TV Broadcast Streams that Lack Advertising Markers
Audible Magic’s ACR Technology Couples with RGB Networks’ Ad Marking and Insertion; Demonstrations at IBC 2014
Los Gatos, Calif., September 3, 2014—Audible Magic, the leading provider of high-precision automatic content recognition (ACR) solutions, and RGB Networks, the provider of the industry’s most scalable, unified solutions for multiscreen video delivery, announced the companies are working together to enable cable and satellite broadcast network operators to replace ads embedded in broadcast streams when those streams originally lack advertising markers. The solution is particularly applicable outside the U.S., where ad markers such as SCTE-35 cues are often not included in broadcast content.
Audible Magic will demonstrate the solution September 12-16 at the IBC2014 Show in Amsterdam, RAI Hall 14, stand number 14.K03.
“Many network operators outside the US want to realize new revenue opportunities where advertising in broadcast streams could be replaced,” said Vance Ikezoye, Audible Magic’s CEO. “Lacking SCTE-35 markers, network operators can’t automate ad insertion. Now with Audible Magic detecting ad placements in the content itself with frame-accurate precision, RGB Networks can insert a marker and enable the use of ad insertion equipment.”
Audible Magic offers a hardware appliance that monitors incoming broadcast streams and applies its patented content fingerprint-matching technique to identify advertising content against a hosted database of all ads appearing in the network. When ad content is detected in the broadcast stream, Audible Magic’s Ad Detection Appliance signals RGB Networks’ ad-marking device that then injects SCTE-35 cues, with splice-frame accuracy, into the transcoded stream. Ad insertion equipment that responds to SCTE-35 cues can then be utilized downstream to enable ad replacement that is invisible to the viewer yet cost-effective to implement.
Audible Magic’s ad detection can be applied to live linear broadcasts or to video on demand, cloud DVR or personal DVR applications. The combined Audible Magic-RGB Networks solution works for both QAM or IPTV distribution networks.
“In working with Audible Magic, we’ve provided international network operators an immediate solution to increased revenues that easily plugs and plays with their existing infrastructure,” said Simone Sassoli, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at RGB Networks.
About Audible Magic Audible Magic is the trusted leader in automatic content recognition (ACR) fingerprinting technologies. The company offers a broad range of hosted solutions as well as hardware and software products that identify audio and video content, synchronize actions between media devices, trigger user interactivity, generate usage reporting and activate content monetization. Since its founding in 1999, the company has been awarded 29 patents in the US and in Europe. Audible Magic’s customers and partners span technology, entertainment and media industries and include CBS, CBC, Dailymotion, Discovery, Disney, Ensequence, EMI, Facebook, Fox, Intel, Metacafe, NBCUniversal, Sony, Soundcloud, Univision, Universal Music, Verizon, Viacom, Vimeo, and Warner Music.
About RGB Networks RGB Networks provides the industry’s most scalable, unified solutions for multiscreen video delivery to any device. With core strengths in nDVR, ad insertion, packaging, and transcoding, RGB’s ‘Multiscreen 2.0’ cloud-based solutions enable video service providers to streamline and monetize TV Everywhere and OTT services, with unmatched reliability and future-proof scalability. RGB’s high-capacity cloud, software, and hardware solutions uniquely offer the density and scalability required to support the growing demand for video delivery to TVs, tablets, PCs and mobile devices with integrated functionality that simplifies service provider’s network architectures and minimizes operational costs. RGB’s award-winning products are deployed with over 400 video service providers worldwide, delivering solutions for traditional and OTT video services. Venture capital investment firms include Accel Partners, Comcast Interactive, Focus Ventures, Granite Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and Mitsui & Co. Venture Partners. RGB is a private, profitable company based in Sunnyvale, California with offices around the world.
What’s Going On With Twitch and Audible Magic?
During the last few days the Internet has been buzzing with comments about Audible Magic as a service provider to Twitch.tv. Some of these comments contain rumors or misinformation, so we’ll mention a few things in this post to raise the level of information out there.
What happened?
Twitch turned on a new feature that aids its site in protecting copyright owners. When Twitch users' VOD videos contain copyrighted media content that has been flagged by the copyright owner as a “do not share” item, Twitch responds with an action to mask a portion of audio.
What’s Audible Magic’s part in this?
Twitch contracted Audible Magic to provide a content matching service. Twitch provides Audible Magic a sample of audio content and Audible Magic reports if a match is found in a database of submitted works. Matches, plus the content owner’s specified business rules, are reported to Twitch, and Twitch handles all actions from there. Audible Magic performs no blocking of content. Audible Magic is simply an information provider.
What’s in Audible Magic’s database?
Audio and video media copyright owners or their licensed agents submit “fingerprints” of media works, enabling those works to be identified by Audible Magic matching services. The copyright owners also submit business rules to associate with those works. If a copyright owner does not want their work shared freely on individual social media sites, they provide business rules specifying that. Copyright owners can also submit “allow” rules by title. Each month, Audible Magic receives on average 250,000 new media titles, including each title’s business rules, submitted by copyright owners to Audible Magic’s database.
Does Audible Magic work for the copyright holders?
Audible Magic receives no revenue from any media copyright owner for registering content in its database or for providing a matching service. Our paying customers are companies, like Twitch, that are looking for matching services to automate a part of their process or workflow.
What if Audible Magic incorrectly reports a match?
We believe Audible Magic offers the most highly trusted matching service available. We treat any match error as a bug, and we aggressively pursue prompt resolution of all bugs. We’re very serious about getting it right.
What’s next?
Audible Magic is devoted to continual improvement of its products and services. We work closely with our clients and partners to ensure we offer the best possible solutions. We also proactively evolve with our customers and their user’s needs to improve solution offerings. We are always open to feedback about how our services can be enhanced or what we can do to help our customers deliver great products.
How to Register Content With Audible Magic
Following Vimeo’s recent announcement of Copyright Match, which utilizes Audible Magic’s hosted content identification services, there have been a lot of questions about how to register in Audible Magic’s global content registry.
First, a bit of background. Audible Magic’s registries store audio fingerprints – compact numerical representations of unique acoustical qualities – that allow registered audio content to be matched against samples taken from Vimeo user video uploads. Vimeo, along with a number of other video hosting services, social media sites and cloud file storage services, use Audible Magic to help mitigate unauthorized use of copyrighted works.
As a content owner, fingerprinting and registering your works may help limit unauthorized sharing in the many places where Audible Magic services are deployed.
Content producers who work with established music labels, TV networks, motion picture studios or their distributors are likely already covered in Audible Magic’s registry databases. Those industries have incorporated Audible Magic software tools into their release workflows, which cumulatively register fingerprints from over 250,000 new titles per month.
Independent content producers typically work with digital service providers or distributors that likewise submit fingerprints to the Audible Magic registry. Producers should ask their providers if they offer an Audible Magic fingerprinting service. Audible Magic licenses Windows and Linux-based software tools, free of charge, allowing providers to bulk-scan content and upload fingerprints to the registry.
Vimeo Just Announced Copyright Match Using Audible Magic Technology
Here's Vimeo's blog post. More announcements coming!
Audible Magic, SportsData Announce Live Broadcast-Synchronized Sports Information Service for Broadcasters, App Developers
LOS GATOS, Calif.--Audible Magic, the market leader in automatic content recognition (ACR) solutions, today announced it is bundling its TV content identification and synchronization technology with information services from SportsData, the fastest-growing sports data company in the United States. Available today, these bundled services provide broadcasters and app developers the ability to present play-by-play sports information as events are watched on television.
Audible Magic will demonstrate this synchronized-information solution April 7-10 at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, booth SU10112.
Many broadcasters and app developers already use Audible Magic’s ACR technology to recognize TV content playing on or near a smart device such as a phone, tablet or set-top box. Once a TV show’s audio content is identified, the ACR function also allows apps to present information content synchronized with the events of the program. With the Audible Magic-SportsData Synchronization Bundle, play-by-play statistics and other information can be presented as a game unfolds.
The information synchronization works whether the game is being watched live or viewed from a delayed playback source, such as a DVR or video stream. The bundle can enhance viewing of a wide range of televised sports, including professional and college football, basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, auto racing, horse racing, tennis, and soccer.
In Audible Magic’s demonstration at NAB, a tablet app “listens” over its microphone to a basketball game playing on a nearby TV. The app initially recognizes which game is being watched. Then, as action unfolds, the app displays information about the players and the plays they just executed. The app also displays graphics pinpointing the location of the play just made.
“We anticipate sports broadcasters and app developers applying a great deal of creativity using this bundled service,” said Curt Dowdy, Audible Magic’s vice president of marketing. “With this kind of solution running on mobile apps, set-top boxes and smart TVs, very soon viewers will experience entirely new and compelling ways to interact with their favorite sports and players’ stats.”
“We are thrilled to partner with a leading technology provider like Audible Magic,” said Rob Phythian, CEO of SportsData. “This synchronization service will help companies deliver innovative first and second screen products to meet the real-time information needs of today’s highly engaged sports fans.”
The SportsData Synchronization Service extends Audible Magic’s already robust set of media content identification and information databases. The company also provides hosted content identification and synchronization for live and archived TV shows, live and archived TV advertising, motion pictures and music tracks.
About Audible Magic Audible Magic provides technologies that make media devices, apps and networks content aware. The company is the trusted leader in digital fingerprinting techniques that recognize audio and video content in all forms across radio and television broadcasts, Internet streams, cable and satellite transmissions, and stored digital files, and on consumer devices such as smart TVs, set-top boxes, smart phones, tablets, and other appliances. Since its founding in 1999, the company has been awarded more than 25 patents in the U.S. and in Europe. Currently Audible Magic has more than 200 customers and partners in technology, entertainment and media, including CBS, CBC, Dailymotion, Discovery, Disney, Ensequence, EMI, Facebook, Fox, Intel, Metacafe, NBCUniversal, Sony, Soundcloud, Univision, Universal Music, Verizon, Viacom, and Warner Music.
About SportsData Founded in 2010, SportsData is the fastest-growing sports data provider in the U.S. With a veteran technology team and over 100 data entry analysts, SportsData captures live play-by-play, scoring, and statistical data, and delivers that information in real-time to a wide range of companies in the media, technology, and sports industries for use in web, mobile, and second screen applications. As a subsidiary of Sportradar, the leading, worldwide premium partner for the sports betting and media industry, SportsData provides sports coverage for 40+ sports, 800+ leagues, and 200,000+ annual events.
Contacts
Audible Magic
Jill Pescosolido, 408-399-6405 x225
[email protected]
www.audiblemagic.com
Audible Magic Provides Automatic Content Recognition to Intel® Integrated Native Developer Experience
BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mobile World Congress — Audible Magic, the leader in automatic content recognition (ACR) solutions, announced that the Intel® INDE (Integrated Native Developer Experience) Media Pack for Android, will utilize Audible Magic’s ACR software development kit to deliver new compelling rich multimedia experiences. Additionally, Audible Magic announced that it has been selected to the Intel® Software Premier Elite Partner program.Read more
Audible Magic’s TV Content Recognition Services Now Integrated into Sling Media’s SlingPlayer for iPad
SlingPlayer for iPad version 3.2 provides users with enhanced information displays by recognizing the show being watched
Los Gatos, California, February 18, 2014—Audible Magic, the leader in automated content recognition (ACR) solutions, revealed that Sling Media is a licensee of Audible Magic’s ACR technology, which has been integrated into the Slingbox 500. Additionally, Sling Media is subscribing to Audible Magic’s TV show recognition database to provide enhanced experiences for Slingbox 500 customers.
The Slingbox 500 delivers live, recorded and on-demand video of all of your favorite TV shows, sporting events, recorded programming and premium content to your mobile device of choice in up to Full HD 1080p resolution, with no additional subscription fees required. With the release of SlingPlayer 3.2 for iPad, Slingbox 500 customers watching content remotely can now also pull up information about the shows they are watching.
Previous generations of Slingbox required customers to select a show from the program guide to access information about the TV content relayed from a user’s homes to SlingPlayer apps. Now, using Audible Magic technology and services, the Slingbox 500 identifies the TV program currently playing and provides information to the remote player about that show. The content identification works whether the show is sourced from live TV or from a delayed playback device like a digital video recorder (DVR).
“Sling Media’s adoption of our content-recognition technology and identification database services is another example of how ACR technologies are rapidly expanding and being deployed throughout the media ecosystem,” said Curt Dowdy, Audible Magic’s vice-president of marketing. “We’re making smart devices and apps even smarter. A set-top box that otherwise would have limited access to broadcast metadata can now reassemble that program information and provide useful benefits to the end user.”
“SlingPlayer for iPad is creating a new media-rich experience around TV with the ability to pull more information about what viewers are watching. Automated content recognition plays a key role in making this experience possible for our users,” said Mark Maisenbacher, Sling Media’s product manager for SlingPlayer Mobile for iPad.
Complementing the ACR technology embedded in the Slingbox 500, Audible Magic hosts a TV recognition database that contains records used to identify any show playing on US national TV networks. Audible Magic ACR technology running in the Slingbox 500 calls upon the database to identify the show, enabling program information to be accessed and then relayed to the SlingPlayer for iPad app.

About Audible Magic Audible Magic provides technologies that make media devices, apps and networks content aware. The company is the trusted leader in digital fingerprinting techniques that recognize audio and video content in all forms across radio and television broadcasts, Internet streams, cable and satellite transmissions, stored digital files, and on consumer devices such as smart TVs, set-top boxes, smart phones, tablets, and other appliances. Since its founding in 1999, the company has been awarded more than 25 patents in the U.S. and in Europe. Currently Audible Magic works with more than 200 customers and partners in technology, entertainment and media, including CBS, CBC, Dailymotion, Discovery, Disney, Ensequence, EMI, Facebook, Fox, Intel, Metacafe, NBCUniversal, Sony, Soundcloud, Univision, Universal Music, Verizon, Viacom, and Warner Music.
