Paramount Digital Entertainment Indexes Film Library, Creates Worldwide Licensing Opportunities For Clips Digitalsmiths’ VideoSense® Powers New B2B Clip Portal Open to Paramount Pictures Licensees  New York (December 23, 2009) -

Paramount Digital Entertainment today announced www.ParamountClips.com, the first product offering from the studio’s digital film index. At launch, clips from over 80 of Paramount Pictures’ most beloved and most successful films will be available to Paramount licensees. Digitalsmiths, the innovative multi-screen media analysis, operations and publishing technology provider, has utilized its VideoSense® technology to index, manage, distribute and further monetize Paramount’s vast digital film library on multiple screens.

Using the VideoSense platform, Paramount has launched a fully automated, self-service B2B clip portal for businesses. www.ParamountClips.com streamlines the process of digital rights management and accelerates time to market for clips.

Paramount’s licensees can search for any element within the library, a list that includes (but is not limited to) specific actors, locations or lines of dialogue. VideoSense instantly combs through the collected metadata to locate the relevant clip. That clip can then be reformatted, exported to any platform that plays video, and monetized.

“This new platform enables Paramount to create a ‘digital blueprint’ of our entire film library that can be monetized across an unlimited combination of screens, interactive applications, strategic initiatives and business relationships worldwide,” said Geremie Camara, VP of Product Development for Paramount Digital Entertainment. “With the Digitalsmiths technology, we are opening new revenue streams for our premium film and clip library.”

For the project, Digitalsmiths applied proprietary video interpretation technologies such as facial recognition, scene classification and closed-captioned time alignment to HD copies of films from the Paramount library. The resulting tracks have combined to form a unique, time-based metadata framework – or MetaFrame™ – of intelligent video tags that give users access to advanced capabilities such as search, discovery, customized playlists, and content recommendations. VideoSense will manage the complete workflow from search/discovery to final transcoding and fulfillment.

Said Ben Weinberger, co-founder and chief executive officer of Digitalsmiths, “We are proud of the work we have done for Paramount, which allows the studio to easily build its clip audience by making premium film assets easy to use, easy to view, easy to share and easy to monetize.”

About Paramount Digital Entertainment

Paramount Digital Entertainment (PDE) is a division of Paramount Pictures Corporation. PDE develops and distributes filmed entertainment across worldwide digital distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices, videogames, virtual worlds and emerging technologies.

Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group and Worldwide Television Distribution.

About Digitalsmiths

Digitalsmiths provides the industry’s only studio-grade digital media analysis, operations and publishing solution with an advanced, time-based metadata framework that empowers digital media companies to distribute premium video content across multiple platforms, open up new revenue streams for film and TV assets, and build audience. To date, Digitalsmiths has indexed over 3,000,000 tracks of metadata across 29,000 pieces of content and more than 200 terabytes of premium video content.

The company’s flagship product, VideoSense®, powers the digital media operations, publishing and analytics for today’s leading Hollywood studios, broadcasters, distributors and publishers including Warner Bros., Telepictures and TMZ.com. Digitalsmiths was named one of the "Top 45 Companies to Watch" by Dow Jones, one of the “OnHollywood Top 100” and “OnGlobal 250” by AlwaysOn, "Technology of the Year" by North Carolina's Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), and winner of the "Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards."

NewTek Launches HD Portable Live Production System
NewTek TriCaster TCXD300 offers HD/SD live switching, live HD virtual sets, live HD streaming and more  San Antonio, TX (December 17, 2009) -

NewTek Inc., manufacturer of industry-leading video and 3D animation products, today announced that it has launched TriCaster TCXD300, a product that redefines portable live production with benefits that include high definition and standard definition (HD and SD) live multi-camera switching, full HD streaming, live HD virtual sets, HD titling, HD digital disk recording, HD editing, audio mixing, efficient workflow, multiple effects layers and much more

"NewTek TriCaster TCXD300 represents a breakthrough in portable live production, allowing users to more successfully engage audiences, deliver messages and events, build brands and create new revenue streams. Customers can now produce network-quality HD or SD output, access unprecedented effects and layering capabilities, and take advantage of the most powerful virtual set technology available," said Andrew Cross, executive vice president, engineering, NewTek. "As the newest member of our TriCaster product line, this system combines industry-leading performance and ease-of-use to suit the diverse goals of producers ranging from beginners to seasoned professionals."

Specific benefits of TriCaster TCXD300 include:

End-to-end HD 1080i video pipeline, including effects, keying and virtual sets
Mix source resolutions and aspect ratios (including HD and SD video)
Use virtual cameras to smoothly zoom and pan within live virtual sets without adjusting your cameras
Layer up to five live video or computer generated sources (internal or supplied by a network)
Achieve a network-quality live production with graphics, titles and animated overlays on top of your live video. Lock a title or bug to a camera or virtual input and set the in and out motion for each
Flexible pre-production lets you edit HD and SD video on the same timeline in real-time with the integrated, resolution-independent video editor
Stream your full HD production directly to the Web in your choice of profile, including superior quality 720p, the highest streaming resolution in the industry, with simultaneous archiving for later viewing
Display cameras, clips and iVGA unlimited networked computer inputs with the on-screen ISO monitor for all switcher inputs (internal and external)
Record your live production in full HD 1080i resolution by pressing one button
Enlarge your workspace with enhanced secondary video output for projector or second monitor (up to 1920 x 1200), which offers varied displays including Program, Preview, Effects, all ISO sources, color scopes and much more

"NewTek Tricaster continues to play a major role in MTV's online original production process," said Jeff Jacobs, vice president, production planning and strategies, MTV. "We find that TriCaster is a most effective tool for producing quality content with the option of streaming live. We have used various Tricaster models to produce talk shows, after-shows, music sets and live press conferences both on TV and online. After initial work with the TriCaster TCXD300, it is clear that this new HD portable live production system is equipped with the features that will help MTV discover new efficiencies while reaching new creative heights."

With TriCaster, anyone can simultaneously produce, live stream, broadcast and project HD or SD network-style productions. A single operator or small team can create sophisticated productions while switching between three cameras, five virtual inputs and live virtual sets, while automatically inserting clips, titles and motions graphics with multi-channel effects. TriCaster is used by sports organizations, broadcasters, schools, government agencies and others to provide a new level of extended programming and content to their audiences.

Pricing and Availability

TriCaster TCXD300 is available in North America for US$14,995 and in multi-standard internationally for US$17,995. The TriCaster family of products in NTSC is available in North America starting at US$3,995. The TriCaster family of products is available in multi-standard internationally beginning at US$5,995. Educational pricing is also available. For more information, please visit www.newtek.com or call NewTek Sales at 800-368-5441, international callers dial +1-210-370-8000.

About NewTek Inc.

Benefiting producers and artists with its cost-effective and groundbreaking technologies, NewTek Inc. is a leader in portable live production, video editing, 3D animation and special effects tools, including the TriCaster product line, 3PLAY and LightWave 3D. NewTek has won numerous industry accolades, including two Emmy Awards.

Clients include: Fox News, BBC, NHL, NBA Development League, MTV, Nickelodeon, the Steve Harvey Radio Show, CBS Radio, ESPN Radio, ESPN X Games, Fox Sports, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NewTek products have been used in blockbuster films and television shows, including "Avatar," "V," "Angels and Demons," "Battle for Terra," "The Dark Knight," "Iron Man," "Tropic Thunder," "FlashForward," "Lost," "Fringe" and more.