2007 MTV Europe Music Awards Delivered Live on the Web With ViewCast’s Niagara Pro Streaming Media Encoder
08 Nov 2007
Music fans around the world watched live on the Web as Avril Lavigne accepted top honours at the 14th annual MTV Europe Music Awards (EMA), streamed online with the Niagara® Pro from ViewCast Corporation (OTCBB: VCST). Designed for high-quality, high-resolution video capture and streaming, the Niagara Pro enabled MTV Europe to offer exclusive Web broadcasts featuring award presentations and dazzling performances from A-list stars including Lavigne, the Foo Fighters, Babyshambles (fronted by Pete Doherty), Mika, Nicole Scherzinger, will.i.am, and My Chemical Romance.
“The MTV Europe Music Awards is known for being a sensational event, and the live element contributes to the electric atmosphere and appeal of the show,” said Alec Hendry, Director of Digital Media Operations & Development at MTV Networks Europe. “The Niagara Pro proved to be a reliable, easy-to-use tool for us in bringing that excitement to a broader platform and to a greater number of viewers. We were very pleased with its performance in enabling live streaming to MTV’s worldwide Web presence.” Hip hop debonair Snoop Dogg hosted the 2007 MTV Europe Music Awards, where pop punk goddess Avril Lavigne was the biggest winner, taking home two awards - Most Addictive Track and Solo Artist of 2007. Album of the Year was won by Nelly Furtado for the 7 million selling ‘Loose’, while 30 Seconds to Mars triumphed in the Rock Out category. Linkin Park took home the gong for Band of 2007, while the on-going feud between Kanye West and Justice was settled once and for all when Justice won the Video Star prize for the second year in a row. The UK’s biggest rock act Muse scooped the best live act ‘Headliner’ Award and winning the UK & Ireland category.
More than 50 million votes were registered across Europe in the 2007 MTV Europe Music Awards, which totally reinvented itself this year to allow viewers and music fans to take control of nominations and voting for the all-new Award categories.
Held Nov. 1 at Munich’s OlympiaHalle, the MTV Europe Music Awards show broke new ground with its offering of multiplatform viewing options. In preparing for the event, MTV asked Garland Partners Limited (GPL), a U.K.-based reseller of digital video streaming and IPTV solutions, to assist in implementing a Web streaming solution for the awards show. Working along with ViewCast, GPL provided on-site technical assistance to MTV as it deployed two Niagara Pro units to cover the show’s dynamic presentations and performances.
The Niagara Pro dual-channel encoder is a professional rack-mountable streaming media appliance capable of delivering two channels of full D1 high-quality streaming video. ViewCast’s Digital SimulStream® technology enables simultaneous streaming of multiple resolutions at multiple data rates in multiple streaming formats. The Niagara Pro’s three preprogrammable EZStream® buttons allow users to create custom encoding profiles or to use predefined encoding profiles, then execute those profiles simply by pressing a single button on the encoder’s front panel.During the show, the Niagara Pro’s provided Live streaming Flash® and WM9 content which in turn were delivered to Akamai for live streaming on www.mtvema.com. This was the first time the integrated Live Flash option in the Niagara SCX Pro software was used in a live event.
“We designed the Niagara Pro to provide professional-grade performance around the clock in demanding streaming applications, and the system is a perfect fit for events such as the 2007 MTV Europe Music Awards,” said ViewCast Senior Vice President of Sales Gary Klembara. “MTV always has pushed the boundaries of media and technology to provide viewers with fresh content, delivered in an innovative fashion. With live streaming of this year’s show on the Web, the network continues this tradition. We’re pleased that our technology played a key role in making the online broadcast a success.”
More information about the Niagara Pro and other ViewCast products is available at http://www.gpl-uk.co.uk/viewcast.htm
About MTV Networks International
MTV Networks International includes the premier multimedia entertainment brands MTV: Music Television, VH1, Nickelodeon, TMF (The Music Factory), VIVA, Flux, Paramount Comedy, Comedy Central, Game One and IFILM. MTV Networks' brands are seen in 496.1 million households in 162 countries and 32 languages via 132 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 200 digital media properties. The company's diverse holdings also include interests in television syndication, digital media, publishing, home video, radio, recorded music, licensing & merchandising and two feature film divisions, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. MTV Networks is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).
About Garland Partners Limited
Garland Partners Limited (GPL) is an expanding U.K. company working with several leading suppliers of digital video streaming and IPTV solutions to deliver professional end-to-end systems for many applications including internet TV, mobile TV, IPTV, and broadcast services. The company focuses on meeting customers’ system requirements, providing a full package of technical and commercial support with the best available products. Customers range in size and application, and GPL’s strength is its flexibility in matching the right technology to client needs. Further information is available at
www.gpl-uk.co.uk or by phone on +44-1455-221188
About ViewCast
ViewCast develops video and audio communication products for delivering content dynamically via a variety of network types and protocols. These products include Osprey® Video capture cards and Niagara® video encoders/servers featuring Niagara SCX® encoder management software. ViewCast products address the video capture, processing, and delivery requirements for a broad range of applications and markets. More information is available on the company’s Web site at http://www.gpl-uk.co.uk/viewcast.htm.
ViewCast, Osprey, Niagara, Niagara SCX, GoStream, EZStream, and SimulStream are trademarks or registered trademarks of ViewCast Corporation or its subsidiaries.
All trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
High-Quality Live Flash and Windows Media Web Streams Feature Musical Performances From Europe’s Favourite Groups
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