B+C and Next TV have announced the winners of the Best of Show Awards for the 2024 NAB Show. Products were judged by a panel of industry experts at April’s convention based on innovation, feature set, cost efficiency and overall performance.
The Best of Show Awards, from B+C, Next TV, TV Tech and other Future B2B brands, were chosen from companies that exhibited at NAB Show and submitted nominations.
Here are edited excerpts from product descriptions furnished by the winning entrants.
Broadcasting+Cable
Dina, part of Fonn Group
Dina
Dina is a cloud newsroom system that enables digital-first workflows and facilitates story creation, planning and publishing across multiple platforms. It integrates with technologies such as LiveU and Mimir, providing immediate media access. The system also includes a mobile application, Dina Mobile, ensuring seamless integration with the newsroom and flexibility for journalists on the move.
ROXi
ROXi FastStream
ROXi’s new interactive TV platform, FastStream, makes broadcast TV channels on NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) fully interactive with no need for users to download or launch a TV app. FastStream-powered TV channels benefit from the instant accessibility of a broadcast TV channel but with the full interactivity and functionality of an app. Many analysts believe FastStream will make broadcast TV relevant to younger customers who expect to be able to pause or skip any segment, TikTok-style.
Sony Electronics
HXC-FZ90 Studio Camera System
Sony’s flexible new HXC-FZ90 Studio Camera System combines 4K image quality with seamless integration and streamlined live workflows. Ready for today’s live productions, the HXC-FZ90 supports HD HDR out of the box and has an easy path to accommodate those looking towards a 4K (HDR) future. For ultimate flexibility, 4K capability on the HXC-FZ90 is available as a weekly, monthly or permanent license.
AMD
AMD Alveo MA35D Advanced Media Accelerator
The Alveo MA35D media accelerator is designed to support up to 32 times 1080p60 streams, ensuring high channel density and superior video quality at ultra-low latency. The accelerator’s optimized architecture helps reduce rack space, network bandwidth and power consumption, making it an efficient solution for infrastructure and content providers to scale cost-effectively while delivering an optimal experience quality.
MEDIAGENIX
MEDIAGENIX FAST Scheduling Artist
Mediagenix FAST Scheduling Artist enables broadcasters to launch FAST channels at the click of a button. Automatically generated schedules include commercial ad breaks, promo intervals and specific channel branding. Mediagenix’s intuitive FAST cockpit allows real-time monitoring with operational metrics such as the amount of times content has been aired, the status of material and rights clearances. Its FAST algorithm ensures the most-suitable content is scheduled.
TAG Video Systems
TAG Language Detection
TAG Language Detection streamlines caption monitoring, significantly reducing the need for operator intervention. Integrated within TAG’s existing comprehensive caption monitoring suite, Language Detection automatically identifies subtitle language and precisely analyzes quality as defined by the language-specific dictionary. The feature also reduces the risk of human error and helps ensure captions adhere to compliance regulations.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Workflow Monitor for AWS Media Services and CloudFront
In just a few clicks, the AWS workflow monitor can discover the resources associated with a media workflow. Discovery can begin at any supported service, including AWS Elemental MediaConnect, MediaLive and MediaPackage, and the workflow monitor will create an end-to-end signal map. A customer can view all video workflows on a single page and filter for specific ones based on name or status. They can also view which resources are in use and their status, which can be updated every second.
Next TV
Ross Video
Media I/O UX
Media I/O redefines the live capture and playout landscape by offering support for a myriad of input sources, workflows, codecs and formats. It facilitates instant access to live ingest content, seamlessly integrating with post-production, media asset management and delivery workflows. Its unique capability to support edit-while-ingest processes fast-tracks production for both logging and editing workflows, enabling creators to harness the speed of live production without compromising on quality or flexibility.
Vimond
VIA App Builder
VIA App Builder is designed to simplify the creation and management of front-end video streaming applications. It accelerates the development process by offering dynamic building capabilities and seamless CMS integration, courtesy of its connection to the Vimond VIA platform. It enables creators and broadcasters to swiftly launch their streaming services, reducing the focus on technical complexities and allowing more time for content creation.
Cleeng
Cleeng’s Subscriber Retention Management (SRM)
Cleeng’s SRM suite helps service providers manage subscribers, keep them engaged to increase their lifetime value and introduce new monetization techniques with actionable insights throughout the subscriber journey. Customers using Cleeng’s full SRM product suite typically lower their churn rate by 30% in three months, increase revenues by 15% by adopting tailored pricing and upselling strategies and retain 25% of at-risk customers through AI churn prediction.
ThinkAnalytics
ThinkFAST
ThinkFAST seamlessly transforms existing content libraries into captivating FAST channels tailored to diverse audience preferences, significantly reducing the time and costs associated with manual curation and scheduling. It leverages advanced content-understanding techniques and first-party viewing data to optimize channel schedules, driving engagement and increasing advertising revenues. Powered by AI algorithms, it offers real-time recommendations across extensive content catalogs.
MEDIAGENIX
MEDIAGENIX Ratings Artist
MEDIAGENIX Ratings Artist leverages machine learning models trained on historical ratings data enriched with content and context metadata to predict TV ratings for all content types, with dedicated predictions per target demographic. To effectively manage time constraints, Ratings Artist generates intelligent predictions automatically based on new actuals and schedule changes. It adapts to the unique characteristics of each target demographic using a machine learning model, resulting in a 70% FTE enablement.
Evergent
Evergent Captivate Product Suite
The Evergent Captivate Product Suite offers a comprehensive toolkit to proactively anticipate and combat all forms of churn. The suite comprises Captivate Flow, Captivate Smart, Captivate Proact and Captivate Essentials, each designed to target specific aspects of churn through AI-powered technology and data-driven insight. Captivate Smart’s payment recovery engine has increased the industry recovery standard from 59% to 70%.
Zixi
Live Event Manager: ZEN Master
ZEN Master serves as the central hub for managing configurations and monitoring activities across the Zixi Enabled Network, including Zixi’s live-streaming platform and related devices. This software significantly reduces operational costs while enhancing production efficiency for media entities. Tailored for the complexities of remote live event workflows, ZEN Master offers powerful event scheduling capabilities, dynamic resource provisioning and real-time performance analysis.
TMT Insights
Polaris Operational Management Platform
Polaris is the result of over a decade spent researching, architecting and deploying digital media supply chains. The platform accesses all necessary tools and data — within a single pane of glass — to manage disparate systems across end-to-end media supply chains. This cloud-native and tech provider-agnostic platform is hosted within the customer’s cloud environment. It securely organizes and monitors fulfillment data from various integrated systems; surfaces actionable insights in one view within a customizable, intuitive UI; and provides granular control over specific tasks and jobs, both manual and automated.
