Getting the film to market during the “Golden Week” around Chinese New Year was crucial to box office success, and Media Shuttle performed flawlessly in a starring role.  The 3D film “Journey to the West” is now set to break box office records.

We also just learned that Venture 3D is working on some exciting new projects this summer using Media Shuttle.  Unfortunately we can’t reveal what it is, but we think heavy metal fans will be delighted.  Read more about Venture 3D.

Here are 5 reasons why you should say goodbye to your outdated FTP system:

1. Creating and Managing an FTP System is a Nightmare.

FTP is a transfer protocol and not a file transfer application. Because of that, there is a large amount of custom work that needs to be done in order to setup a working FTP based file transfer application. Your company will have to invest a number of developers, a lot of time and several machines in order to set up a usable system, running on thousands of lines of scripts that only one person understands. If that person leaves or is unavailable, then your file transfer system becomes even more difficult to manage!

 2. FTP is Risky.

An FTP-based system is inherently risky. The costs associated with any one of these vulnerabilities are immense:

• User credentials are in plain text and user management is a manual, or at best scripted, process.
• You have little control over who has access to your files. FTP does not have monitoring in place to make sure that only those who have the right privileges are able to access your valuable data.
• FTP servers are placed in the DMZ where anyone can get access to your valuable data.
• It is very difficult to track files sent using FTP. Once you send a file, there is no automated way to determine if the file arrived, it was picked up and if your SLA will be affected.
• FTP lacks the type of security that is required by any organization to ensure the protection of its data in movement and at rest.
• No checkpoint restart. If a file transfer fails, FTP does not automatically try the transfer again from the point of failure. In an era of shrinking delivery windows, this has a big impact on your business.

3. FTP is Far from User Friendly.

This one doesn’t need much explanation. Anyone who has tried to use FTP to send a file has been forced to use a console or a very outdated UI. Your clients and partners don’t want to have a terrible user experience. In an era of beautiful and responsive Web/mobile applications, there has to be a better way.

4. FTP Doesn’t Work for Extreme File Movement.

If you’ve ever tried to send a large file using FTP, then you know that it just can’t be done. FTP servers are not able to handle large files, and as a result critical transmissions will fail. With Media Shuttle, you not only have the ability to send files with sizes in the gigabytes, you will also be able to send those files in minutes, not hours or days.

5. Your Brand is Your Most Valuable Asset. You Need to Protect It.

Your business may depend on file sharing but you are likely not in the business of setting up and maintaining a file sharing system. With FTP, you must spend valuable resources to keep the system up and running so that your business is not interrupted and your brand takes a hit. With Media Shuttle, you can focus all of your resources on your core business and grow your brand.

Signiant is the leader in extreme file transfers, with a customer base that includes BBC, ESPN, Schlumberger and others that rely on our software for sending large, valuable assets in a fast and reliable way.

Mohammed Aboul-Magd, Product Manager

The other significant trend affecting file sharing is the incessant creation of massive amounts of unstructured data. We’re mobile, we’re creating tons of data and we want access to it at all times from anywhere. But not all of this data is created equal; some files are simply more important than others. And not only is it the sheer quantity of files that is growing but the size of the files themselves. We can all remember MBs being a unit of measurement considered large. Some of us may even harken back to talking about KBs. But now GB files are fairly common – think heavy-weight digital assets such as video files, seismic data sets, DNA sequencing, and other forms of “big data” which when aggregated often total in the PBs! With video now widely used for marketing teams in all industries, every company is a Media company. It’s no wonder IT vendors are highly focused on not only Big Data analytics, but BIG files, something here in New England we can’t help but to refer to as “wicked big dater.”

Arguably the heavier (i.e. larger) the asset, the more valuable it is to a company, a form of intellectual property. It is here we need to consider the implications of the advent of the “Dropbox Syndrome”, which, with respect to the risk of digital asset loss, may soon reach epidemic levels. Absent a corporate IT issued file sharing solution that is easy-to-use and does not require IT parental micro-management a la an FTP server, the consumerization of IT culture of today is such that end-users will, and are, using their own built-for-the-consumer file sharing account to move around corporate digital assets. IT has no control over these cloud-based storage services, never mind any visibility into the who, what, where, and when of the movement of the digital assets. It’s 2:00 am; do you know where your assets are?

As IT use cases expand and mature, multiple solutions are often brought to bare. When it comes to file sharing, different classes of digital assets require purpose-built solutions. Sharing and synching MP3s and pictures to/from devices and between friends and family requires ease of use, cloud storage, and synchronization. Dropbox has not only created this market but has done something few companies in any market ever achieve – brand an entire product category a la Kleenex, Xerox, etc. But heavy assets require a different set of capabilities, extreme file sharing functions, of which absolute must-haves include not only that easy to use, cloud-delivered interface for the end-user, but an enterprise-ready platform comprised of managed acceleration to handle GBs that aggregate to PBs, serious security, storage independence for the option of keeping certain digital assets on private infrastructure, and repudiation tracking for full visibility. It’s 2:00 am and with extreme file sharing, yes, you will know not only where your assets are, but have been and with who. Now how do I get that for teenagers?

Doug Cahill, VP Business Development

With 95% of the world’s animated broadcast content originating from studios outside of the U.S., production firms face a huge challenge in moving­ animated TV show files between international collaborators. Uncompressed HD animated video files range from 200 – 250 GB for a typical 30-min episode files sizes too massive to handle via FTP or consumer-oriented cloud file sharing solutions.

At The Product Factory, a Burbank post-production house specializing in animation content, Signiant’s Media Shuttle came to the rescue.  Working in partnership with children’s TV producer Rollman Entertainment, The Product Factory used Signiant’s Media Shuttle file transfer software to expedite the debut of an animated TV series featuring an 11-year old superhero and a sports theme, a series that debuted on cable recently.  The Product Factory used Media Shuttle to move large animation files from a content partner in India back to Los Angeles – with all the speed, security and control that TV production companies need to achieve highly efficient workflows and competitive advantage without costly capital outlays.

Based on an existing online sports world for kids, the animated TV show features such stunning graphics and rich animation that each 26-minute episode took three full days to transfer via FTP from India to Los Angeles – the same time as overnight shipments. Emerging cloud-base file transfer solutions typically limit file sizes to 2GB, lack acceleration and can require the file to be received at a third-party location – effectively doubling transfer time.

“With Media Shuttle, we have the ease of use and flexibility of a cloud-based solution, but files arrive directly on a server sitting on our premises, which cuts delivery time in half compared to other products on the market,”  said George Rizkallah, founder and CEO of  The Product Factory, which positions itself as ‘a small facility with huge ability.’  “As a subscription-based solution, Media Shuttle also lets us avoid multi-year contracts and sizable capital outlays.  After working for years with animation customers that routinely send us large digital files using Signiant’s solutions, it’s a delight to be able to access all of the key capabilities of Signiant in an affordable, easy to use tool like Media Shuttle.”

The newest addition to Signiant’s software product suite, Media Shuttle provides an effective alternative to FTP with file transfer speed up to 200X faster over the public Internet while delivering the ease of use of consumer-based file sharing solutions –but without file size limits or associated security risks. Users simply access Media Shuttle through a powerfully simple cloud-based interface, while assets remain securely stored on the customer’s network. Onboard Checkpoint Restart features assure file delivery by automatically restarting transfers if they become interrupted.

Try Media Shuttle for yourself.  Send a large file now.

Q: Unique aspects of working in APAC?

With Signiant’s expansion in the region, I get to contribute to the process of building new markets from early stages. I like to take ownership and see a project through from start to finish. The opportunity to create and build lasting relationships with partners and customers here is amazing.

Q: Favorite part of your job?

Before I went to Engineering school, I had a good amount of experience teaching. Working in the field, I’m able to transfer those teaching skills to many of my daily activities working with customers. I enjoy collaborating with so many talented people to apply our technologies to solving real business problems. This, and all of the new foods that I get to try while travelling around Asia!

Q: Favorite product feature?

I love how Media Shuttle targets a new audience for our product suite, while still utilizing the same underlying technologies that customers have come to know and trust. In today’s technology market, companies need to be able to make an amazing first impression. It’s all about the “Wow” factor. As someone with a technical background, this means simplicity and branding.

Q: Any inside happenings to share?

As announced at IBC, delivery standards compliance is going to be an important step forward. Signiant understands the importance of unifying formats in order to make digital content available as quickly and smoothly as possible. Knowing my colleagues in charge of Signiant’s products, I can say for certain that the main goal will always be to make products and features that are simple and easy to use.

Q: Miss anything about Canada?

Although I love living in Singapore – just a couple hundred kilometers north of the equator – I actually enjoy Canadian winters (crazy, I know). I grew up skiing, and more recently snowboarding, so I will certainly miss having plenty of fresh powder.

We recently came across this link which will take you to the story of the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation. Take a look at the video —  it’s a pretty amazing facility and story. As you watch it, keep in mind that Signiant’s software is used extensively and exclusively to move content throughout the facility, guaranteeing “bit perfect” transport of priceless, historical recordings.

Enjoy!

p.s. The  Library of Congress Packard Campus is home to more than 1.1 million film, television, and video items.  With a collection ranging from motion pictures made in the 1890′s to today’s TV  programs, the Library’s holdings are an unparalleled record of American and  international creativity in moving images.

Authenticated Portals

First in the list of new features is something called “Authenticated Portals”. For certain types of content, it will be desirable to secure access to the content with more than just a user’s email address on a white list of allowed senders or receivers. Using this new functionality, administrators can now configure their file transfer portal to require senders and receivers to login with a username and password. Like the rest of the Media Shuttle product, configuring and using this functionality is incredibly easy.

Drag and Drop Files

Next up, we’ve added drag and drop for content selection. Sending content is now as simple as dragging files into the upload screen and picking the recipient.  Look for this on the Mac soon.

Simplifying the Send

Always sending content from the same email address? Tired of typing it in each time you use Shuttle?  We’ve made this a bit easier too.  Adding a ‘from’ address to the portal URL and then bookmarking the page will save users from having to type their address every time.  It’s as easy as just appending ?sender=me@address.com to the portal URL you are currently using (ie. https://myportal.mediashuttle.com?sender=me@address.com).

Managing Multiple Portals

For administrators, we’ve made it more convenient to quickly switch between multiple portals. Just look for the “Manage Portal” menu and use the drop down list to find the portal you need.

Free Webcast, October 4, 2012

To see all these new features in action, join us for our upcoming Webcast on Thursday, October 4 at 9AM and 1PM ET.  Click here for more information and to register.

If you need more excellent reasons to visit us at IBC this year, we have a few good ones for you…

#5. Products!

In addition to our award-winning Media Exchange and Managers+Agents products we will be demonstrating our newest product, Media Shuttle, a subscription-based file delivery solution that provides a simple way to move large media files. Designed to meet the needs of media operations, creative professionals, engineering and IT, Media Shuttle gives any size workgroup or enterprise the convenience and ease of use of public cloud-based file-sharing services without file size limits or security risks.

#4. Parties!

We are hosting two super-fun customer cocktail events during the IBC show.  These events are an opportunity for us to celebrate new partnerships with Sohonet and NetApp and relax with our customers from around the world!  So be sure to connect with us for details.

#3. DPP, AWMA and Standards!

We are excited to present breakthrough work in the broadcast standards compliance space.  The emergence of published standards are important topics for our industry. A good example is the DPP initiative which, among other things, will provide a commonly agreed file format/metadata strategy for the UK broadcast industry. Stop by for a demo of our new patent-pending technology designed to ensure file conformance with these and any other customer-defined specifications.

#2. Partnerships!

Our technology partnerships are continuing to grow, so visit us to learn more about how together with our partners, we can deliver further value to your business. Did you see the recent NetApp and Sohonet announcements?

#1. ROI!

Make the most of your trip to the IBC Show by visiting us in Hall 14 Stand 621 to learn more about Signiant, the solutions we provide, and how together they can drive greater ROI for your media business!

Schedule your meeting now or visit us in Hall 14 Stand 621. Time is running out.

Why?  Because we have a lot to talk about!

The IBC Show affords the opportunity to see, learn and experience what’s new for technology, trends and workflows. You can find us in Hall 14 Stand 621 where we will be demonstrating our products, including Media Shuttle – our new subscription-based file delivery solution now available.

We’ll also be presenting our breakthrough work in the broadcast standards space. The emergence of published standards such as DPP, FIMS and so on are important topics for our industry at the moment. A good example is the DPP initiative which, among other things, will provide a commonly agreed file format/metadata strategy for the UK broadcast industry. We are excited to present a new patent-pending technology designed to ensure file conformance with these and any other published specifications.

One of the ways to ensure a proper preview of these demonstrations is to schedule your appointments in advance for the things you know are a ‘must-see’ in your book.  If you are responsible for moving content, then Signiant is a ‘must-see’ so schedule your appointment today.  We  welcome the opportunity to show you how our technology and workflows are changing the way media professionals can drive compliance, efficiency and cost savings.

And on that note, ‘See you in September’!

Q: Favorite part of your job?

The diversity of the role. Working with customers, partners, vendors and thought leaders every day and listening to what they are doing, what their goals are and how their using technology to create compelling solutions and deliver real business value. I also enjoy being involved in product strategy, influencing the roadmap, liaising with my colleagues in sales, support, marketing, engineering and finance that are all great to work with and very much the reason behind the success we have enjoyed over the last six years in Europe.

Q: What’s a typical working day for you?

I will typically spend 2 -3 days a week on the road (around Europe) working at customer sites managing projects, consulting and designing workflows, creating architecture designs or evangelizing new ideas and best practices to customers looking to take advantage of what other Signiant customers are doing. The rest of the time I will be involved in creating or writing up solutions, proposals and providing feedback to our team on how we can refine and improve our solutions and improve on our customer experiences. I also get involved from time to time in helping people out with technical issues though we have a 24-hour support desk. I like to keep my hand in this to stay current with the technology.

When I’m not on the road for Signiant, I’ll likely be out on the cycling as that’s my passion. It’s been a great inspiration to watch all the exciting performances at the London Olympics. Earlier this year at the Manchester Velodrome, I was fortunate enough to be part of the team supporting one of our product managers, Mike Nash, who holds the world cycling record for the furthest distance traveled in an hour in the men’s 40-44 age category. (45.959KM for the record).

Q: What are you currently working on that is ‘hot’?

I’m currently very involved in working in the broadcast metadata standards space for Signiant. The emergence of published standards such as FIMS, DPP, MXF and so on are very important topics for our customer’s at the moment. A good example is the DPP initiative which, among other things, is the commonly agreed metadata strategy for the UK broadcast industry. As a result I’m working on designing solutions which allow Signiant to be very involved in assisting customers with the capture, processing, transformation and verification of metadata within file-based workflows. In fact we will be demonstrating some of these new metadata-driven solutions at IBC and I look forward to presenting these new solutions and ideas at the show.

Q: What keeps you motivated?

Every day at Signiant there is a new challenge, whether it’s of a technology or business nature. You never know exactly what you’re going to be doing the next day and that does keep things interesting.

Q: Tell us something about you that most would be surprised to learn?

I’m proud to say that I’m related to Chris Hoy who has just won his sixth Olympic gold medal at the London Olympics in the men’s cycling event. He’s an inspiration.

Q: Speaking of inspiration, we heard you had a recent shark diving experience, tell us more.

Our new subscription-based fast file transfer software is here!  And, we’re offering up a FREE 14-day trial of Media Shuttle so you can see just how incredible it is.  Here are the ‘Top 10 Reasons’ to try it today.

#10 Acceleration, no need to worry about tight turnaround times, we’ve got your back!

#9  Security, ensure that your valuable content is protected

#8  Rock-solid reliability, checkpoint restarts assure file delivery

#7  Simplicity, so easy to access, use and navigate (even my mom could do it)

#6  Control, know who content is going to when and where

#5  Signiant’s software is in the cloud, not your media files

#4  No file size limits, send any size file anywhere fast!

#3  Set-ups in minutes, add your brand in seconds

#2  Confirmation notifications let you know your media is delivered

#1  Because it’s available today! Try it FREE for 14 Days – Sign up now

Here’s why…

Like all of Signiant’s products, Media Shuttle provides media professionals with secure, accelerated media file deliveries in an easy-to-use interface. But unlike our other products, it delivers these interfaces from the cloud, which makes deployment a snap. In a twist on this we’ve developed some interesting patent-pending technology – a “cloud connector” to be exact – that actually keeps your media out of the cloud and safely stored on your internal network. Media professionals (and media lawyers) really dig this.

While we think all this is pretty cool, there’s another aspect to Media Shuttle that our users love. It’s the monthly subscription model. Not only does this give production companies, post houses and content owners instant access to a super scalable and secure solution for file movement, but it also makes Media Shuttle a top pick for production projects, and others looking to scale usage based on changing demand. Turn it up.  Turn it down. Then turn it up again.

One post house we work with was just telling us today how excited they were about this subscription model. For the cost of one-and-a-half motorbike couriers running tapes or disks around London, they can have Media Shuttle at their fingertips – for all their fast file transfer needs!  No capex concerns or long-term contracts. In short, Media Shuttle is the perfect line-item solution to intermittent project requirements – whether you’re delivering on-set dailies to a post house, or chasing a DOP or Director in some other city for approvals.

It’s all good.  And we think you’ll like it, too.  Sign up for a free trial subscription today.

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

Being able to work on and be exposed to so many areas of developing a product – from definition, development and marketing, to packaging and pricing. It makes every day very interesting.

Q: What was your role in developing Media Shuttle?

With one other chap, I came up with the core idea for Media Shuttle and the overall high-level system design. On a day-to-day basis, I work closely with the engineering team on defining requirements for product features as well as working with marketing, product marketing and the rest of our product team.

Q: What is your favorite thing about this product?

Media Shuttle is so easy, even my mum could use it!

Q: What is your vision for Media Shuttle moving forward?

Expand the functionality, such as integration with Signiant workflows, while still keeping it incredibly easy to use.

Q: Any inside happenings to share about Media Shuttle?

One of the highlights of the project has been being able to attend the NAB Show and see firsthand the reaction to Media Shuttle.  Being able to see this (which was all fantastic) and bring that customer enthusiasm back to the engineering team was great! I found at NAB that there was a lot of ‘wow’ from Signiant, and it’s been very rewarding to be an integral part of this.

The volume of hours broadcast at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver more than doubled compared to the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy – and will likely double again for 2012. So how do broadcasters deliver the enormous amount of content all over the world in multiple formats so quickly, efficiently and without error?

Enter Signiant.

As a partner to NBC during the 2010 Winter Olympics our role was to manage the movement of content and automate processes on the back-end. We worked with NBC to produce 14 optimal workflows to automate, manage and monitor over 400 hours of live competition and more than 1,000 hours of full-event replays. We also automatically generated confirmation receipts after content was delivered successfully so that URLs could be published. Due to the enormous volume of content – the automation of workflows, job monitoring and delivery of receipts became critical components to delivering the Winter Games successfully online. For more on the work we did with NBC during the 2010 Winter Olympics, check out our case study.

Now onto the future! I ask again, are you ready for the 2012 Summer Olympics? We are! As a partner and provider of powerfully simple file movement – we know and understand the need for moving enormous volumes of content in tight turnaround times. We also know that content is an extremely valuable asset, which is why we take pride in offering products that provide our clients with total control and security over the automation, management, and movement of their content. So let the games begin.

Given that how we do business has changed, and the fact that countless devices are accessing proprietary data in the cloud from anywhere and at anytime – the need to ensure enterprise security in the cloud is no longer nice to have, but a necessity!

Our new Media Shuttle product was designed with enterprise content security in mind. Its patent-pending, hybrid architecture enables corporate network users to access their information through a simple and intuitive user interface delivered from the cloud, with the content itself maintained under the secure control of the internal network.  This architecture affords the functionality needed for moving large files quickly without compromising the security required.  This is a win-win for content stakeholders and corporate content policy.

For more on content security in the cloud with Media Shuttle click here.

From a Signiant perspective, it was a rewarding day as the vast majority of those sharing their wisdom and experiences were not only Signiant-enabled and using our workflow tools to achieve high levels of efficiency in their organisations, but also made reference during their presentations to their confidence in our continuing ability to drive innovation to support their ongoing need for more efficient workflow solutions.  It is wonderful to know that Signiant has become some deeply embedded into the broadcasting community and are viewed as integral to the success of our clients move to modernise their processes.

Whilst technology was the language of the day, a secondary theme to emerge was the challenge of how to bring your people along this new journey.  The re-education of staff to remove their dependence on physical media has clearly raised unforeseen issues and it was of great interest to see how global players have addressed this challenge through education and training. Librarians must now become data experts and producers now have to trust a virtual system to house their precious material and can no longer tuck a tape into their desk drawer so that they can easily lay their hands on their assets. People like tangible things and feel a sense of ownership of ‘their tape’ whilst a file never creates this emotional connection.

All in all it was a fascinating insight into the multiple disciplines that work within this broadcast arena and it certainly gave us food for thought to realise there are many types of customer who could and should implement Signiant into their workflows, and we look forward to the opportunity to assist them on this journey.

Read all about the exciting Blue World series in today’s press release recognizing Todd’s outstanding achievements.  And, definitely check out the the Blue World site for some truly fascinating ‘Webisodes’ and photos of Todd on location with the team.

The following day we moved a few miles east and headed into Soho, the heart of London’s post-production community. Again with Boxer leading the afternoon event, we played host to over 70 visitors from all areas of the post community. Whilst the workflows may be slightly different in the post world, the pressure remains on everyone to increase efficiencies, work smarter and offer customers a high level of service, technical excellence and support and we at Signiant are proud to be supporting both the broadcast and post-production communities with these aims.

Thanks to everyone who came along. We’ll be in touch for a more in-depth discussion and a big thank you to Mark, Sam and the team at Boxer Systems who created this event which we look forward to supporting again in 2013. Look for the continuation of our EMEA tour throughout the summer.  For a list of upcoming events around the globe, click here.

If you would like to see a demo of Media Shuttle, please call +1.781.221.4000, and we can arrange for your local Signiant expert to visit you or click here to download the Media Shuttle brochure.

From an EMEA perspective, NAB is equally important and we will be there in force. For those of us here who won’t be joining the fun, we have a reseller channel swinging into action. The first of our many European partners is Boxer Systems, a powerhouse in systems solutions sales. We are proud to be working with Boxer as they introduce the Signiant family of products into a wider network of clients. Initially focusing on London’s prestigious production and post-production communities, Boxer and Signiant will be supporting media and entertainment companies looking for workflow automation tools that drive greater efficiency and meet stringent security thresholds.

Boxer Systems will also be a critical part of our EMEA success story in 2012 as we launch new products, but you won’t read about them here today. Just like the rest of the M&E world, we will be announcing these exciting new solutions at NAB.  So jump on a plane, check into your hotel and ride the monorail (does anyone actually use that?) and meet us at the greatest show on earth ( booth SL4228) .