Red Bee Media previews Digital Hive and Sherpa at Broadcast Live

Following announcements earlier this year about the development of its Sherpa technology and Digital Hive offering, Red Bee Media’s Broadcast Live stand (D10, in the ‘Delivery’ area) will enable visitors to preview how consumers will interact with new platforms and search and navigation tools through the company’s new services.
The stand is designed to explain how rights holders and platform owners can make more money out of content and to illustrate ways to deliver content to new platforms.
“Since becoming an independent company in August last year we have grown significantly and established our position in the market as experts in helping consumers navigate, find and watch content. Broadcast Live is a great opportunity to showcase our new products and services,” said Pam Masters, CEO of Red Bee Media.
A preview of the hybrid HD set-top box and service that Red Bee Media is developing with Microsoft and Netgem using Sherpa navigation will be on the stand. The service and set-top box will be available in the UK through ISPs by the end of the summer and will give consumers navigation to video-on-demand services, access to Freeview channels in High Definition, PVR functionality, electronic programme guide and interactive programme guide.
Visitors will also be able to see how Red Bee Media’s Sherpa technology has been used to allow consumers to navigate online content services designed especially for Windows XP Media Centre Edition PCs. Sherpa will help consumers navigate through the large range of free, premium and subscription-based products and services available on Media Centre. It will also lead them to products and services that will be of interest to them.
Digital Hive is a one stop shop for rights holders and platform owners to get content onto new platforms and make it work on different screens. Visitors to the stand will see how Red Bee Media can make content available on all platforms including mobile phones, video iPods and PS2s. There will also be examples of how content can be repurposed for these emerging video platforms. Red Bee Media’s graphic services, including its Piero technology, add context and new meaning to content. Piero is used to analyse sports coverage with 3D graphics and can enable play to be viewed from angles that cameras can not capture.
Visitors will be able to browse and search the electronic programme guide on mobile phones using Sherpa and see how their favourite programmes could be booked to record from their mobile handset.
Red Bee Media was the most awarded company at the recent Promax Europe industry event. Examples of its winning promos and channel branding will be on the stand – demonstrating how to market and help consumers navigate video content in a multi-channel environment.
A case study of how Red Bee Media has helped a broadcaster enhance its delivery of linear channels will be featured in another area of the stand. Red Bee Media has helped Flextech keep creativity at the heart of its business by installing Quantel creative desktops that make it easy for creatives to edit promos themselves right up to the point of transmission, while handling digital media management and playout itself in its Broadcast Centre.
At the Broadcast Live conference, John Pink, Commercial Director at Red Bee Media will be speaking at the ‘To delivery and beyond: The newest delivery and navigation methods’ session, explaining Red Bee Media’s experience with working with new platforms and developing a search an navigation tool.
In another session, ‘The chief engineer's new agenda: A changing role in a changing environment’, Chris Howe, CTO at Red Bee Media will talk about designing and managing the Broadcast Centre in West London, the most advanced playout and media management facility in Europe.
Broadcast Live is a new exhibition and conference in London from 20-22 June 2006, which will embrace the future of the multi-platform industry. Leading industry speakers will cover key subjects such as mobile TV, HD, IPTV and video on demand.
(GB)