Category Archives: From the team
I’m a GPU, how about you?
This piece, from London-based Fearghal Kelly, is the first in a series of posts from KIT’s international team focusing on more technical issues. Introduction It’s easy to get distracted by the glossy black shells and colourful interfaces of the many thousands of video platforms in existence today. As consumers and users, we often lose sight of the advancements that get us here. KIT digital is right in the middle of building these platforms and we are fortunate enough to work side by side with the key technology enablers. Underneath the usual 3LAs (Three Letter Acronyms) like Digital Rights Management (DRM) and Content Delivery Network (CDN), there are some less familiar names. In this post, we’d like to celebrate an unsung hero – the Graphics Processing Unit or GPU. Not only is the GPU at the heart of the video revolution, but while you read this, the world’s GPUs are acting in tandem to disentangle the proteome and create novel medical treatments … Continue reading
NAB For Newbies: Tips & Tricks
NAB can be a daunting experience for newcomers. To help, we put together this list of tips from some old NAB hands. At The Hotel Bring Cash – ATMs in Las Vegas tend to charge excessively high fees Travel in Packs – With mammoth taxi lines snaking around the LVCC, it can take hours of standing in the hot Vegas sun just to catch a ride back to your hotel. Grab 4-5 co-workers or friends and flag down a limo instead. (You can usually find them by the taxi line.) Splitting the fare lets you get to your destination with minimal cash and maximum style. Stay Hydrated – keep in mind that Las Vegas is in the middle of the desert. The air inside the show is very cool and dry and it’s often hot inside. Always carry water with you in your bag so you’re not walking around the show parched and grumpy. Be a Smarter Networker – Pack a … Continue reading
KIT digital’s Employment Growth – 3rd Largest in the U.S. Tech Industry
Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports that KIT digital increased its workforce by a whopping 319% during the most recent two-year period. This represents the third-highest growth rate among large U.S. technology companies (market value > $100 million.) Impressive numbers like this put KIT in the same league as rapidly expanding tech leaders like Apple, Google, and Amazon. To learn more about job opportunities at KIT, please visit our “Careers” page or recruiting section on our LinkedIn Page. http://www.kitd.com/company/careers/ http://www.linkedin.com/company/kit-digital-inc/careers
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Challenges of the SOPA Discussion
What a day yesterday has been in this curious world that has whipped content makers, technologists and the US House of Representatives into a frenzy of passionate conflict. At KIT digital, we’re a bit stuck in the middle. On the one hand, many of our clients invest tens of millions of dollars into creating and distributing the worlds best content, and their investment ought to be protected by laws that stop and punish those who steal that content. Because make no mistake, stealing is what it is. Of course, on the other hand, anyone can see that the SOPA/PIPA bill suffers from a lack of technical insight from the US Congress as well as a more basic disregard for many principles inherent in this lofty idea that all of us believe in, the “free internet”. In a nutshell, this is a bill that was created in the name of ‘prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation.’ SOPA grants the U.S government and … Continue reading
KIT digital Reports Record Earnings in Q3 2011
It’s an exciting day at KIT digital, as we released our quarterly earnings report this morning. From the press release: Revenue in the third quarter of 2011 increased 29% sequentially to a record $62.3 million from $48.2 million in the previous quarter, and increased 124% from $27.7 million in the same quarter a year ago. Excluding the effect of acquired companies during the comparable periods, the company estimates organic growth in Q3 was 11% sequentially and over 35% versus the same year-ago quarter Read the full press release → For those that are interested, a video of our earnings call will be streamed online this morning at 10:30 am EST. Click here to register and watch it online →
Watch our Investor Day presentation from Prague
As we’ve mentioned in this space before, KIT digital’s senior executive team recently hosted a two-day open house at our new Prague HQ for investors, customers and key members of the media. We’ve made a recording of a presentation from that event’s agenda viewable on our website – it offers a full view into KIT digital’s view on the market moving forward, and the progress we’ve made over the last few months in integrating and relaunching the brand. Click here to watch the presentation and video →
KIT digital officially opens the doors to its new Prague HQ
Last week was a big week in our new Prague headquarters. Members of our management team from around the world hosted more than 60 international guests for a ‘Corporate Open House’ event, where we took stakeholders through a snapshot of the business today. This snapshot included in-depth demonstrations of the latest iteration of the KIT Video Platform. Check out our video recap of this exciting event below:
Inside Look into KIT China's New China United Television Project
Watch the video below to get a behind the scenes look into the KIT digital China team and the work they are doing to launch CUTV, a new media platform developed by a consortium of 19 leading television stations and newspapers throughout the People’s Republic of China, led by the Shenzhen Media Group.
Facebook Brand Page Follies
This post first appeared on DigiDay Daily. You can read the original here, along with the follow-up, The Like Trap, by DigiDay Editor-in-Chief Brian Morrissey For the past 15 years, “fish where the fish are” has been the mantra of anyone in digital media. At the end of the millennium, that meant “AOL Keyword: Acme Corp.” In the mid-2000s, it meant the Acme Corp Second Life store. And in 2011, it means “find us on Facebook.” Now marketing on the site du jour is not in and of itself a grievous error. It’s just that most brands get so blinded by the bright shiny objects, they forget even the most basic rules of marketing. Let’s start with metrics: for many brands, the only sign of an effective Facebook page is the presence of many, many “fans.” (e.g. people who have hit the “Like” button.) It’s an easy number to achieve: there are actually companies that will guarantee you x number … Continue reading
KIT Powers VOA Direct, a New Global Content Marketplace
KIT digital has been engaged by Voice of America (VOA) to provide KIT’s software platform as a white-label online content marketplace solution called “VOA Direct.” VOA Direct will serve as the online media content distribution hub for VOA’s network of 1,400 radio and TV affiliates across 38+ countries. The KIT Platform software solution will provide VOA with a fully managed platform to automate syndication and instant/simultaneous delivery of VOA’s media assets, including video footage, audio and still images. Using the KIT Content Marketplace offering, VOA Direct will allow affiliates to immediately upload, access, preview and order media files in all necessary IP-based protocols and formats for distribution over television, radio, web, mobile, and tablet devices. The KIT Content Marketplace will also allow VOA to manage rights restrictions based on customer preference and access. VOA, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. Government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA … Continue reading
Watch KIT digital's 2011 Earnings Broadcast Today
KIT digital’s executive management team will host an online video broadcast to discuss first quarter 2011 results today (Tuesday, May 10, 2011) at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time (4:30 p.m. Central European Time). The presentation will be followed by a question and answer period. The video broadcast of the presentation will be streamed online via a link provided in the Investor Relations section of the company’s website. Please go to the website at least a few minutes before the call in order to register your name and access the video player page. The Q&A session will not be video webcasted. For participants who wish to listen to and participate in the Q&A session, or access the call via telephone only, please dial the conference telephone number below at least 5-10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time: Date: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 Time: 10:30 a.m. Eastern time (4:30 p.m. Central European time) Dial-in # (North America): +1-800-895-0198 Dial-in # (outside of … Continue reading
OTT : The Next Big Thing in Broadcast & Media
OTT: The Next Big Thing in Broadcast & Media View more presentations from annmarielocke.
Find, Engage and Recruit Top Talent with Online Video
Improving communications by leveraging the power of video is being widely adopted by many Global 1000 businesses to more effectively engage and interact with employees, colleagues and partners around the world. With in-person meetings becoming increasingly expensive and home and mobile bandwidth growing, it’s more cost-effective and efficient to move meetings from the boardroom to the Internet. One of the areas that has seen a recent surge in using video for meetings is Human Resources. As we continue to expand into a global workplace, potential candidates for recruitment are no longer found only in your office’s city or even country. Talented professionals are recruited from around the world, which makes interview logistics for multiple candidates much more complex and expensive. To streamline recruitment processes and save costs, HR departments are starting to conduct interviews via live video. Companies are also using video to engage and recruit talented professionals before the interview process even begins. Jobnob, an agency that helps connect … Continue reading
Slam Dunk: KIT digital selected by Believe Entertainment Group to Power Up “The LeBrons”
KIT digital has been contracted by Believe Entertainment Group to help with the design and implementation of an exciting new cartoon series featuring the infamous, NBA two-time Most Valuable Player, and pop-culture icon LeBron James in an attempt to better target and communicate positive messages to today’s youth. The cartoon miniseries called “The LeBrons” features four versions of the basketball star—Kid, the youthful side of LeBron, Athlete, his professional basketball player side, Business, his suave entrepreneurial side, and Wise, the grandfather-figure that represents LeBron’s knowledge and experiences. Believe Entertainment Group turned to KIT digital’s cloud-based video asset management and delivery expertise to successfully drive this initiative and bring it to the forefront of the youthful target audience’s mind. Specifically, Believe enlisted the help of KIT digital for the design, implementation, and delivery of this miniseries in a fashion that would be appealing to its young adult target audience and also enable brands such as HP and Intel to advertise on … Continue reading
Wedding of Catherine & Prince William Delivered to an Audience of Billions With the Help of KIT's Video Content Services
KIT digital is helping the largest media companies in the world to capture and deliver packaged Royal Wedding video content simultaneously across multiple types of IP-enabled devices, including TVs, mobile phones, tablets and PCs. Major media outlets like the Associated Press, MSN, ABC-Disney, Canal Digital, Singtel, CNN, SKY News, Astro and the BBC will be relying on KIT’s unique broadcast systems and content management capabilities to marry the worlds of TV broadcast and real-time IP-video distribution. KIT’s ‘lens-to-lens’ delivery starts with outdoor broadcast (OB) vans the company has outfitted for major broadcasters to capture, broadcast and stream live HD video content via satellite, and extends all the way to powering social media site delivery, as well as ‘on-deck’ and ‘off-deck’ mobile video experiences. Unlike the last Royal Wedding, this time the audience will be ‘liking,’ rating, tweeting and blogging about every aspect of the day’s events. KIT digital’s content services team will also be processing the raw footage of The … Continue reading
Internet Video is no Longer Just About Web Video
The number of people who consume video over the internet is growing at an astounding rate and when you combine that with the proliferation of smartphones and connected TVs, these audiences are becoming increasingly fragmented. Mobile for instance is now the fastest growing sector in video consumption. Not the largest, but the fastest growing, with 40% year over year growth from 2009. In Q4 of 2010 alone, almost 30 million people watched video on a mobile device – and then of course there are connected TVs. According to Forrester, by 2015 there will be over 43 million connected TV households in the US. Also by 2015, 58% of TVs sold will be internet connected and 34% of US households will have a connected TV. At the same time, social is no longer a nice to have – it’s become an absolute requirement for engaging audiences, and consumers now expect and demand a social experience. Facebook alone is now boasting over … Continue reading
Tribeca Defines the Online Film Festival Experience
For its 2010 festival, Tribeca launched Tribeca Film Festival Virtual (TFF Virtual), a virtual and interactive movie experience featuring high-definition premium video content and live streaming coverage from the festival, powered by the KIT Platform. Tribeca extended its relationship with KIT digital to take its 2011 Festival to the next level of Internet-driven videos and to define the online film festival experience. For its 2011 Festival, Tribeca launched the Tribeca (Online) Streaming Room where users can watch premier features and award-winning short films, connect with filmmakers via social video experiences, and engage with industry thought leaders on the future of film. With the KIT Platform,Tribeca also extended its online delivery to mobile publishing so that viewers can watch the films on a Web browser, iPhone, or iPad. Live video coverage of the red carpet events, the opening press conference, select Tribeca Talks panels, and the closing award ceremony is also available via the Festival Streaming Room. Viewers are able to … Continue reading
SAP Streams Live Conference Sessions from its Essential Global Business Event Sapphire Now to the iPhone and iPad
Co-Executive Chief Officer of SAP Bill McDermott said in an interview with Bloomberg last week that he believes mobile is the new desktop. With KIT digital as a partner, SAP carried its mobile initiatives and vision into its annual user conference Sapphire Now, which occurred May 17-19 in Orlando, Florida. By leveraging KIT digital’s VX-one, SAP enhanced its real-time connectivity and user experience during the conference by streaming live sessions to the iPhone and iPad. The live viewing was exclusive to invite-only for SAP board members, executive staff and select press. More than 400 of the sessions are now available for on-demand viewing for anyone who missed the sessions or wants to revisit the material. Implementing online video strategies has enabled SAP customers, partners, prospects, etc to attend more sessions and hear from more thought leaders. Sapphire Now is an essential global business event for senior executives, business managers and decision makers that features keynotes from the SAP executive team and … Continue reading
KIT digital at Streaming Media East
Streaming Media East is always a great opportunity to showcase your solutions and how it is unique among the other big players in the industry. As a gold sponsor of this year’s event, KIT digital has a strong presence on and off the exhibit floor at our booth (#212), networking events and conference sessions. KIT team members from all over North and South America have joined together in the Big Apple to tell our story because we are passionate about what we do and confident that we can design a solution that meets everyone’s needs. In previous years, it was a leap of faith for organizations to invest time and money incorporating online video strategies into their business plans. It is a true testament to the maturity of the industry that conference attendees are no longer asking how to get started with online video but instead are asking how they can stream their great video content to mobile devices, the … Continue reading
KIT digital team has successful week at MIPTV!
I can’t think of a better way to start at KIT digital than land in sunny Cannes for MIPTV. I was immediately struck by the focus of the team, in/out of the booth. I was equally impressed by the quality of our many conversations involving prospects from all around Europe, ASIAPac and North America – GLOBAL is really the word, as exemplified by this interesting article from Dailystar, which you can click here to read. There seemed to be a “clear appetite” for a true enterprise/end-to-end solution with Global deployment capabilities. As I was listening in to my colleagues’ conversations, it became evident that KITD’s leading position had struck many chords! Always great seeing a prospect trying to pitch you what they’d like to see, which is what you offer! As the whole crew prepared to brave 20h+ driving back to Prague, the spirits stayed high, and focused on the many critical follow ups.. I’m already thinking about next weeks … Continue reading
Super Bowl 2.0: Advertisers Utilize IP Video & Social Networking to Generate Buzz Around Gameday Spots
Maximizing Brand Exposure Nearly 40 advertisers bought ad time in the CBS broadcast spending $2 million to $3 million per 30 seconds of the Super Bowl’s traditional TV commercial time. This year, however, companies jumped on the social media bandwagon to build hype on their ads prior to gameday and maximize their brand exposure. The goal being to get the game’s massive audience to watch their Super Bowl ad — then click on the brand’s website and share the brand’s video on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and other social networks. Measuring “Buzz” Factor In this Super Bowl, companies will be measuring everything to see if they got their money’s worth. Advertisers will count tweets, visits to their Facebook pages and visits to the brand’s site to see how many times their videos were watched/mentioned. IP Video Has Created a Digital Water-Cooler According to a survey by an ad agency, nearly 100 million viewers are expected to watch the game on Sunday. … Continue reading
Basics for Adding Video to your Website
As organizations incorporate online video as part of their communication strategy, their websites need to be designed in a manner that allows the video to integrate seamlessly into the page. Whether you are retrofitting your website to accommodate video, or rebuilding it from scratch, below are a few simple things to consider when adding video clips to your page. Aspect Ratio Online video is trending away from the 4:3 aspect ratio towards the 16:9 aspect ratio. This provides a more cinematic and modern feel to your story. When preparing your original video assets, consider the 16:9 aspect ratio. Column Width Although most video players provide the flexibility to be resized to fit into the allotted space on your page, video quality can sometimes suffer as a result of resizing. Video sizes that are too small can lose their impact. Consider encoding to standard video sizes and incorporate that into your page layout so you can avoid having to resize your … Continue reading
Tablet PCs – A New Chance for the Mobile Media Business?
When you take a look at recent CES and tech news all over the net, it seems there is only one topic being discussed – the new equipment class of tablet PCs. Actually they aren’t so new … The Apple Newton hit the market in 1992, and was regarded as the first Tablet-PC. Picture reference: www.apple.com Recently, there have been some releases from E-Book readers and announcements/presentations for new Tablet-PCs. These two classes should not be confused with each other! While most E-Book readers are equipped with monochrome displays (focused on sharp contrast not on rapid changes) – unfit to display moving images, the Tablet-PCs boast high-resolution color displays specifically designed for consumption of moving images. Picture reference: www.sony.com Let’s take the iPhone as an example. Apple impressively demonstrated that you can have success with a new platform (the App Store) when you have a good implementation, easy usage and a good concept. Now we transfer this to the Tablet-PC … Continue reading
KIT digital Counts Down the 5 Most Influential IP Videos of 2009
The KIT digital team of editors and IP-video experts selected the 5 most important IP-videos of 2009. These videos were chosen for their influence over the development and implementation of IP-video as a content channel, and how they’re shaping the further advancement and uses of the technology. KIT digital editors focused specifically on the extent to which the video implementation delivers content that would not have been available via mainstream means, the degree to which the IP-video influences the event itself and the scale to which the video or IP-video event represents a shift in viewing patterns by audiences. 5. GM Reinvents Themselves Post Bankruptcy: Perhaps the most significant new development for IP-video in 2009 has been the rapid adoption of this communication tool by businesses for investor and media relations. GM used IP-video to restore, retain and grow confidence in their business by live-streaming their most important corporate announcements in 2009. Big businesses take notice. 4. US Airways Plane … Continue reading
Using Video for Non-profits: The Humane Society Raises Awareness of Its Horse Rescue Efforts
The spirit of the holidays really took hold today as I was demonstrating a newly designed site for our client, The Humane Society, and I got caught up in watching content around some recent horse rescue efforts. Sometimes their content is tough to watch, but if you have a few minutes, I’d encourage you to watch this piece on a recent horse rescue mission. It’s really quality storytelling. Be sure to click on the “donate” button to show your support. In the bigger picture, hats off to the entire team at Humane Society. They recently re-launched their site with great quality 16×9 content, calls to action, and a very tight integration with video in almost all the messaging they do. Any organization looking to see how it’s done right should look no further than their site. Send me an email to learn more. brian.kaufman@kit-digital.com Brian Kaufman Client Solutions Director, NYC // = 0; i=i-1){ if (l[i].substring(0, 1) == ‘ ‘) … Continue reading
Join the KIT digital Family
We are growing fast and what makes that possible is our growing team of talented individuals all around the world. We are 290 strong, with offices in 14 countries and speak 18+ languages. And there is more growth to come! Check out our career section for some great opportunities. Some Highlights: Flash and Flex Developers: Do you dream in AS2 and AS3? When other kids thought of being astronauts, did you see yourself designing next generation user interface experiences? If you answered “yes” to both then you should consider applying for one of our open developer positions. Interested? Click Here! Head of MENA Business Development: Experienced, Arabic speaking sales managers look no further, your ideal job is here. Based in Dubai, UAE this position is an opportunity to drive our outreach in the Middle East and North Africa. Interested? Click Here! Public Relations Manager: Can you make KIT digital a magnet for the press? Working with our IR and PR … Continue reading
Welcome to our new blog!
Hello readers from the KIT digital marketing team! You will find us posting about the company on this blog, tweeting from @KITdigital, and making friends over here. Don’t hesitate to drop us a line in the comments or send us a note to info@kitd.com