Media and Broadcasting
Kaltura | September 12, 2023
Kaltura, the Video Experience Cloud, announced today that leading French multiservice provider Bouygues Telecom, with over 4.8 million subscribers, has unveiled its selection of Kaltura’s technology to power its next-generation IPTV and OTT digital TV service.
Bouygues Telecom chose Kaltura’s proven Cloud TV technology as the foundation for its TV service. The next-generation TV service will be powered by Kaltura’s cloud-based TV Platform providing content, service, subscriber, household, and offer management. Bouygues Telecom is set to migrate its existing TV service from an on-prem deployment to a cloud-based operation. This move will enable the next-generation TV service to leverage the agility and interactivity of the cloud alongside broadcast-grade scalability and resilience, while also reducing service complexity and costs.
“We are thrilled to have been selected as the vendor of choice by Bouygues Telecom, a truly premium service provider,” said Shuki Eytan, General Manager Media & Telecom at Kaltura. “By embracing today’s Cloud TV, which combines the best of IPTV and OTT, telcos can embark on the digital transformation that enables them to provide leading-edge offerings. We very much look forward to finish implementing and launching an advanced, next-generation TV platform to Bouygues Telecom that enables the operator to successfully pursue its TV content strategy, and to deliver a next-level entertainment offering to France’s consumers and partners.”
Bouygues Telecom relies on CommScope’s telecommunications expertise to integrate and roll out the project to Bouygues Telecom. "We're delighted to be working together with Kaltura to deliver a leading-edge technology platform that will help Bouygues Telecom provide an advanced next-gen video entertainment service to subscribers," said Ray Bontempi, VP, Product Management ANS at CommScope.
Kaltura's TV platform will support Bouygues Telecom in its TV content and services strategy. The operator will be able to offer its subscribers an advanced service that brings together popular multimedia content from its partners, seamlessly combining the operator's own content with multiple third-party services to create a customer-centric offering that is both compelling and personalised.
Jean Paul ARZEL, Chief Technical Officer at Bouygues Telecom said: “We are developing our next-generation TV service to offer an attractive and best-in-class experience, providing agility and efficiency to integrate new services, with systems and functionalities that are always up-to-date.”
Moving traditional on-premise functions and infrastructure to the cloud enables the operator to be more flexible, to adapt, and to embrace media evolution, while optimizing network and other resource management. Bouygues Telecom joins operators around the globe that have turned to Kaltura, with its extensive Cloud TV know-how and array of state-of-the-art solutions, to help with their super-aggregation journey.
About Kaltura
Kaltura’s mission is to power any video experience for any organization. Our Video Experience Cloud offers live, real-time, and on-demand video products for enterprises of all industries, as well as specialized industry solutions, currently for educational institutions and for media and telecom companies. Underlying our products and solutions is a broad set of Media Services that are also used by other cloud platforms and companies to power video experiences and workflows for their own products. Kaltura’s Video Experience Cloud is used by leading brands reaching millions of users, at home, at school and at work, for events, communication, collaboration, training, marketing, sales, customer care, teaching, learning, and entertainment experiences.
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Applications
PR Newswire | October 12, 2023
Sphere Entertainment Co. will tomorrow debut The Sphere Experience, a signature content category featured at Sphere – the next-generation entertainment medium that opened in Las Vegas last week, capturing worldwide attention for its stunning visual displays and immersive technologies.
The Sphere Experience is a new genre of live entertainment that will transform the shared experience and put Sphere's 22nd century immersive technologies on full display. The approximately two-hour program begins in the Atrium, which tells a universal story of how culture, technology, science, art, and the natural world have been intertwined throughout human history. Through one-of-a-kind immersive experiences created specifically for Sphere, guests will gain a better understanding of how technology amplifies our human potential. The Sphere Experience then continues in the main venue bowl for a muti-sensory cinematic experience at an unparalleled scale – Darren Aronofsky's Postcard from Earth.
"Every aspect of Sphere was designed to transport audiences to new places, both real and imagined, and The Sphere Experience is where that vision comes together in its most integrated form," said James L. Dolan, Executive Chairman and CEO of Sphere Entertainment. "From the moment guests enter the venue, Sphere's next-generation technologies will create an unforgettable journey, which includes a sci-fi exploration of our planet via Darren Aronofsky's Postcard from Earth."
Darren Aronofsky said: "Sphere is a temple to the arts. It's not built for sports, it's built for performance and for this new moving image medium: this experiential cinema. I can't wait to share Postcard from Earth with the world."
The Atrium
The Sphere Experience journey is curated by five humanoid robots – named Aura – that serve as interactive guides to Sphere, each focusing on one fundamental aspect of human ability: connection, creativity, innovation, longevity, and productivity. Aura was developed using next-generation technology in robotic mechanics and artificial intelligence.
Aura will guide guests through an interactive demonstration of Sphere Immersive Sound powered by HOLOPLOT which shows beamforming technology can simultaneously send unique audio content to specific locations, allowing guests to hear completely different content – such as languages or instruments. Sphere Immersive Sound is the most advanced concert-grade audio system in the world – using 3D audio beamforming technology and wave field synthesis to deliver targeted, crystal-clear and uniform audio to every seat in Sphere.
Other immersive technology experiences in the Atrium include a 50-foot-high holographic installation that draws on the themes of Postcard from Earth, artwork created by machine learning, LED displays, and a 360-degree avatar capture that virtually puts guests on top of Sphere.
Postcard from Earth
The Atrium experience ties directly into the main cinematic feature – Postcard from Earth – a first-of-its-kind immersive film by Academy Award-nominated director Darren Aronofsky. Postcard from Earth is a portrait of our planet, re-imagined as a sci-fi experience. The film brings audiences on a voyage spanning all seven continents, and deep into the ocean, high into the mountains, into the eye of a storm, and out into space.
Postcard from Earth takes full advantage of Sphere's experiential, next-generation technologies to transport audiences and engage the senses, making them feel like they have traveled to new worlds without ever leaving their seats in Las Vegas.
This includes utilizing the interior LED display plane that wraps up, over, and around the audience to create a fully immersive visual environment. At 16K x 16K, it is the highest resolution LED screen on Earth. Through Sphere Immersive Sound, a variety of technologies, including beamforming, enable audio to be directed to specific locations at a volume that remains consistent – from point of origin to destination. Sphere's audio system also allows sound designers to create a virtual point of origin and place it in a precise spatial location – meaning audio can be directed to the listener so that it sounds close, even though the source is far away.
Postcard from Earth is also the first production to feature the venue's multi-sensory 4D technologies. This includes immersive seats with an infrasound haptic system that will use deep vibrations so guests can feel the experience – such as the rumble of thunder or a soaring rocket launch. Sphere also utilizes environmental effects to rouse the senses – the feeling of a cool breeze and familiar scents – which help audiences conjure the feeling of being there.
Credits for Postcard from Earth include: directed by Darren Aronofsky; written by Ari Handel & Darren Aronofsky; produced by Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel, Graham Booth; Executive Producer Jane Rosenthal; Director of Photography Matthew Libatique, ASC, LPS; Production Designer James Chinlund; Edited by Jennifer Lame, ACE; Supervising Producer Ronan Browne; Field Producer Richard Evans; Sphere Director of Photography Andrew Shulkind; Costume Designer Ane Crabtree; Music Concept by Rob Simonsen; Music Produced by Rob Simonsen and Ben Wynn; Music by Brendan Angelides, Judson Crane, Nathan Johnson, Rob Simonsen, Joseph Trapanese, Ben Wynn, Jeremy Zuckerman; Music Supervisor Julianne Jordan; Casting by Mary Vernieu and Bret Howe; Cast: Byron – Brandon Santana, Fang – Zaya Ribeiro.
About Sphere:
Sphere is a next-generation entertainment medium that is redefining the future of live entertainment. A venue where the foremost artists, creators, and technologists will create extraordinary experiences that take storytelling to a new level and transport audiences to places both real and imagined. The venue will host original Sphere Experiences from leading Hollywood directors; concerts and residencies from the world's biggest artists; and premier marquee events. The first Sphere venue opened in Las Vegas in September 2023, and is a new Las Vegas landmark, powered by cutting-edge technologies that ignite the senses and enable audiences to share experiences at a never-before-seen scale.
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Media and Broadcasting
Business Wire | October 10, 2023
Zynga Inc., a wholly-owned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO), today announced that its studio, Socialpoint, launched Top Troops, a new mobile game that blends mobile strategy, RPG, and merge mechanics to create a thrilling medieval fantasy adventure of combat and conquest.
Top Troops transports players into the colorful Kingdom of King’s Bay as two feuding brothers lead their squads into colossal battles of good versus evil. Players are challenged to merge and battle their way to victory, utilizing endless combinations of strategies to create powerful squad-based armies. Each unit type, from Ninja Moles to Imperial Elves, can be leveled-up and combined strategically to create the perfect army for any challenge. Every choice that players make will determine the fate of their conquests.
“Top Troops is a bold new step into the merge-and-battle genre that combines the best of both worlds with strategic gameplay," said Akshay Bharadwaj, Head of Socialpoint. “We invite players to unleash their inner commander by building powerful empires and leading assassins, necromancer rats, and mermen into combat. With its innovative gameplay and colorful universe, Top Troops is sure to appeal to fans who want the fun and excitement of tactical conquests.”
“From the early days of our collaboration with Socialpoint to today’s launch, we are thrilled to finally bring Top Troops to life,” said Yaron Leyvand, Executive Vice President of Games at Zynga. “Top Troops is Socialpoint’s first worldwide launch under the Zynga label following our 2022 combination with Take-Two Interactive. Combining Zynga’s expertise and resources with Socialpoint’s success in mobile development and live operations, Top Troops will help to usher in a new phase of growth for our partner studio. This is just the beginning of what’s possible when you bring together the best minds from both teams to create a dynamic and vibrant game.”
Game Features:
Build your army: Merge and level-up your troops to grow and upgrade your units;
Dominate your enemy: Lead your army into epic, massive battles where strategy and power win the day;
Save the kingdom: Reclaim lost land where you can train, interact with your troops, and farm resources for further expansion;
Strategize your victory: Master deck building strategies to create the strongest army for varied foes;
Game Modes: Campaign and Player vs. Player.
About Zynga
Zynga is a global leader in interactive entertainment with a mission to connect the world through games and a wholly-owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. With a massive global reach in more than 175 countries and regions, the combined diverse portfolio of popular game franchises has been downloaded more than 6 billion times on mobile, including CSR Racing™, Dragon City™, Empires & Puzzles™, FarmVille™, Golf Rival™, Hair Challenge™, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells™, High Heels!™, Merge Dragons!™, Merge Magic!™, Monster Legends™, Toon Blast™, Top Eleven™, Toy Blast™, Two Dots™, Words With Friends™, and Zynga Poker™. Zynga is also an industry-leading next-generation platform with the ability to optimize programmatic advertising and yields at scale with Chartboost, a leading mobile advertising and monetization platform. Founded in 2007, Zynga is headquartered in California with locations in North America, Europe, and Asia.
About Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc
Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a leading developer, publisher, and marketer of interactive entertainment for consumers around the globe. The Company develops, operates, and publishes products principally through Rockstar Games, 2K, Private Division, and Zynga. Our products are currently designed for console gaming systems, PC, and mobile, including smartphones and tablets, and are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online platforms, and cloud streaming services. The Company’s common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO.
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