Brevity Speeds Video Delivery

Its V3 technologies are being tested at six major channels

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/30/2012 7:43:09 PM

As producers and programmers struggle with the difficulties of moving large HD video files between production sites or between facilities, a New York City-based start-up, Brevity, is getting some significant traction with a new solution that offers much faster transport of high resolution video by using technologies that allow for simultaneous transport and transcoding.

Improvements in delivery times using Brevity's V3 technology vary with formats and the type of algorithm but one of V3's core algorithms, Data Warp, offers speed improvements of two to eight times faster while a second, Image Warp, offers up to 30 times faster speeds than previously seen, argues Brevity CEO and co-founder Jake Bronstein.

Those improvement have also caught the eye of a number of TV players, including six major networks and channels, two studios, three post-production facility and one major sports team that have either deployed or are testing the solution, adds Bronstein.

Unlike traditional compression, which typically sacrifices quality for speed, V3 works under what COO, Tim O'Brien calls "a new concept in technology that some are calling network coding."

That means their solution essentially "models or creates a blueprint set of instructions" that are sent across the network that allows the technology at the other end where another unit "rebuilds the video," he says.

This allows multiple formats to be sent simultaneously so that significant time is not wasted transcoding the video. "It can come out in multiple formats that don't require another step at the other side," O'Brien notes.

Most clients who have tested or deployed the product have not been willing as yet to have their names used, but Brevity has announced a deployment with a major New York City post-production house, the Creative Group.

"The ability to provide simultaneous transport and transcode enables us to offer our clients significant improvements in file-based workflow...while ensuring very high quality," noted Joe Avallone, president of the Creative Group, who also called the technology "a game changer" in a statement.

It has also partnered with the production service company Tranzxl, which is renting Brevity's units at Tranzxl's New York and L.A. facilities to clients for specific projects.