VCC smartphone-based remote contribution provides Stamford Studios with efficient, high-quality solution for engaging busy guests during live show productions STAMFORD, CONN. AND PALISADES, N.Y., (PRWEB) October 13, 2022 — The Video Call Center, LLC (VCC) today announced that it has been selected as a production technology partner for the third consecutive year by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios. VCC smartphone-based, remote contribution services will continue to bring live remote guests to Stamford Studios for season 16 of “The Steve Wilkos Show” and their new talk show “Karamo,” set to air in Fall 2022. Stamford Studios’s Vice President and General Manager, Vinnie Fusco, said, “VCC provides our Stamford Studios live productions with a very reliable remote contribution solution that enables our showrunners for ‘The Steve Wilkos Show’ and ‘Karamo’ to book compelling guests anywhere in the world. The remote production workflow has proven to be a convenient and easy solution for our busy guests and a platform that gives our producers tremendous flexibility to pursue the best storylines.” VCC smartphone-based, remote contribution services provides NBCUniversal’s Syndication Studios-based shows with virtually unlimited remote capacity and the highest-quality low-latency audio/video to ensure a natural conversation between guest and host. For the coming season, the studio set of “The Steve Wilkos Show” has been redesigned to take maximum advantage of VCC-powered guest remotes. In the new configuration, an on-set monitor has been positioned to enhance the face-to-face interaction between host Steve Wilkos and his remote guests. In addition to the remotes, VCC provides shows with pre-production call-producing services, technology, and live support during production hours. VCC CEO Larry Thaler said, “We are very proud of our years working alongside the production teams at NBCU Syndication Studios. It is thrilling to be invited to continue our support of ‘The Steve Wilkos Show’ and their exciting new talk show ‘Karamo.’ Our goal is for VCC technology and our call production staff to serve as a seamless extension of NBCU Syndication Studios production team and for the guests to feel as comfortable as they would be in the studio. This new agreement represents a tremendous validation of VCC’s approach focused on creating ease for the contributor and the producers.” VCC Technologies in Use at NBCU VCC’s Caller Cloud® is a complete live remote contribution solution that features hands-on support from VCC’s expert video call producers using VCC’s AirFirst™ platform. To date, Caller Cloud has been used to deliver more than 20,000 remotes for streaming, cable, and broadcast programs. AirFirst removes complexity for busy, remote guests by eliminating the need for them to download anything to their device. Connecting is as easy as clicking a link sent to them by text or email. This link connects them with an experienced VCC Call Producer who utilizes VCC’s Tenaciti™ feature and a choice of connection technologies to optimize the connection for each guest’s device and bandwidth for the best possible audio and video during long-duration shoots. VCC’s exclusive technologies and processes are used to enhance the connection between guests and the production so that the guest is comfortable, looks great, and can engage in uninterrupted two-way conversation with a show’s cast. VCC Call Producers also take cues from NBCUniversal’s Stamford Media Center creative team to ensure that guests are fully prepared for their appearance, know what to expect, and look their best. All VCC systems are available via the AirFirst SaaS (Software as a Service), which is offered as a do-it-yourself platform or as part of the VCC’s white-glove, full-service Caller Cloud service as utilized by NBCU. Visit www.thevcc.tv for more information. ABOUT THE VIDEO CALL CENTER, LLC The VCC is a technology and production services company enabling IP Video remotes-by-smartphone and putting them on the air through patented caller acquisition technology, workflow, and automation tools. The company has a large portfolio of worldwide patents (see https://www.thevcc.tv/about-vcc/ip/). VCC licenses its software and provides caller acquisition and production services. VCC has helped clients produce hundreds of broadcast and web programs, supporting NBCU, Major League Baseball, Fox TV Stations, ViacomCBS, CNN, Discovery, Fox Sports Networks, TLC, NBATV, WWE, Vice, Bally Sports, and many others. Examples of programs and complete information about the VCC are available at http://www.thevcc.tv. The company’s latest report detailing the impact of smartphone-based remotes is also available for download. ABOUT NBCUNIVERSAL SYNDICATION STUDIOS NBCUniversal Syndication Studios is responsible for the production, sales and distribution of NBCUniversal products to broadcast television within the United States. The division develops and produces first-run programming and distributes these shows, along with off-network content, in broadcast television as well as digital and streaming platforms. First-run, broadcast syndicated programming includes “Access Hollywood,” “Access Daily,” “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” “Judge Jerry,” “Karamo,” “Maury” and “The Steve Wilkos Show.” Current first-run original productions include “American Anthems,” a music-based docuseries airing on PBS and “Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of Cabbage Patch Kids,” a documentary that premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2022. In addition, the division distributes the retro television broadcast network Cozi TV and the weekend syndicated series “Open House.” Current off-network programming includes “The Office,” “American Ninja Warrior,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D,” “Monk” and “Dateline.”
0 Comments
PALISADES, N.Y. (PRWEB) AUGUST 26, 2022
Patents and other intellectual property developed by The Video Call Center, LLC (VCC), has been split off into a new company, Video River Group LLC. Both are wholly owned by Wolzien LLC. VCC provides daily high end management of smartphone remotes for major news, sports, and entertainment companies through software as a service and traditional production services. The portfolio assigned to Video River Group includes two dozen granted patents in 16 countries and the European Union, trademarks, and software that has driven nearly thirty thousand smartphone remotes to air through VCC services. The patents focus on management of large numbers of video callers for any broadcast, cable, or internet use in television and other industries and related automation tools. “Over the past decade the VCC team has created an extraordinary portfolio of intellectual property that goes far beyond daily national television production,” says Wolzien LLC chairman Tom Wolzien. “Video River Group will explore other options while VCC continues to operate under a non-exclusive license for news, sports, entertainment, and corporate production.” Further information is available at https://www.thevcc.tv/ and through [email protected] Data from year-long study of major TV news group identifies opportunities for newsrooms to use smartphone and laptop remotes to create more content efficiently and compete effectively
PALISADES, N.Y., SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 — The Video Call Center, LLC (VCC), a leading developer and provider of smartphone- and laptop-based IP video remote technology and services, has released a new study called “New management technology for video remotes drives change across TV News production.” The report explores the steps taken by a major cable news organization that quantifiably improved its ability to create content using remotes from smartphones and laptops by:
IP remotes are increasingly important to television news organizations that need near-instant access to journalists and experts worldwide. With no technician at the remote end of the connection, news organizations are challenged to connect quickly and effortlessly with their non-technical guests, achieve high-quality connections, and shorten time-to-air to improve productivity. The report uses testing data from nearly a year of on-air production to compare the organization’s legacy IP remote workflow to a modernized process using VCC’s AirFirst platform. Among the findings in the report:
According to Larry Thaler, CEO of VCC, “To compete effectively in today’s media landscape, TV newsrooms need to leverage their access to experts around the world and do so as quickly as possible. Every minute counts, so media organizations need smart tools and efficient workflows that reduce complexity for their contributors, empower their staff and accelerate time to air. Our goal with this report is to provide a glimpse of the real world data to show how news organizations can best use IP remotes to give them a competitive advantage.” The report is available free of charge at: https://tinyurl.com/VCCSpecialReport ABOUT THE VIDEO CALL CENTER, LLC The VCC is a technology and production services company enabling IP Video remotes-by-smartphone and putting them on the air through patented caller acquisition technology, workflow, and automation tools. The company has a large portfolio of worldwide patents (see https://www.thevcc.tv/ip/). VCC licenses its software and provides caller acquisition and production services. VCC has helped clients produce hundreds of broadcast and web programs, supporting NBCU, Major League Baseball, Fox TV Stations, ViacomCBS, CNN, Discovery, Fox Sports Networks, TLC, NBATV, WWE, Vice, Bally Sports, and many others. Examples of programs and complete information about the VCC are available at http://www.thevcc.tv. NAB 2022 Perspectives:The Video Call Center’s Larry Thaler on AirFirst, Solutions To Meet Increase in Live Remote Productions New platform provides cloud-controlled management for IP-based models Long before COVID transformed live sports production, The Video Call Center was pioneering solutions that allow content creators to get camera feeds from virtually any device into a live-production environment. From their Caller Cloud and Caller Queue solutions to HAT (host automation technology), The VCC has been at the forefront in harnessing the power of smartphone cameras as a live source while also opening the door for operations folks to rethink the conventional control room. At NAB 2022, The Video Call Center showcased its newest service: AirFirst. The company calls the first cloud-controlled management system for live IP-based remotes. SVG caught up with The Video Call Center CEO Larry Thaler to learn more about how AirFirst enhances operational efficiencies and to get his take on the first in-person NAB Show since 2019. What was your company’s strategy heading into this NAB Show, the first one in-person in three years?
It was the first time that we’ve publicly shown AirFirst, the new platform that we’ve put out. We’ve been doing remotes through smartphones for seven years now, and all of our knowledge is in this platform. All of the efficiencies gained in our operation are built into AirFirst. Inevitably, for example, [prospective clients we met with] were saying, “We install all these Skype TX boxes, and we’re struggling to keep up with the volume. It’s too much work. People don’t know their Skype names; we don’t know whether they’re downloading Skype TX or have downloaded Skype for business, which doesn’t work at all. We’re getting lousy results.” We can help you, and we could take hours and hours out of your day by making the connections really efficient. There were lots of people who came to us and said, “We’ve been jury-rigging with Zoom or [Microsoft] Teams.” Those people were really drawn to the platform, and having the opportunity to show that to them was just great. Can you tell us more about AirFirst? What does it deliver to the live-production industry? AirFirst was really the only thing we were showing at [NAB 2022]. Of course, we still have our services business, Caller Cloud, but, quite frankly, what we wanted to do is to show that this capability can be in anybody’s hands and that we not only are willing to share that technology with people but are willing to train people in what we do. Attendees were very excited. We had a very major broadcaster from the Middle East who came by who was struggling to do the volume of remotes that they have. One of the things that we were sharing with people was that we have a very large news customer now who’s doing approximately 25,000 remotes a year and we took 20 minutes or more off each of those remotes. When you multiply that out, that’s a big number of hours saved. We’re very excited to be doing that — not only for them but for other people as well. Were there any additional trends or common pain points that emerged as you talked to NAB 2022 visitors throughout the week? I think the thing that we heard the most was that, at the beginning of the pandemic, people installed whatever they could find as quickly as they could in order to get on the air. An “any port in the storm” kind of strategy. Nobody expected it to last this long. Not only are they having to use those same workflows that were hurried together, [but] they are seeing the volume of work that they’re doing in that way growing, and they can’t handle it. That’s when you need something that can handle the volume and can handle it across the whole team. That seemed very valuable to them. What was your general assessment of NAB 2022? How did it feel being back at an in-person trade show after so long? We had a great show. First of all, it was great to get in touch with people in person again. It felt really nice. It felt like the world was a bit more normal. We found that people were drawn to what we had, and it was great to see some old faces and meet so many new people as well. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. VCC announced today it has been issued patents for our Caller Queue® process and system in the European Union (#3446445), Japan (#7023274), and South Korea (#2360662). The patent has also been allowed in Canada, Australia, and Israel. The new patents increase VCC’s portfolio to twelve. Our Caller Queue process underpins the AirFirst™ platform and is widely used to produce popular TV shows for Discovery Channel, TLC, Food Network, NBCUniversal Television Distribution, and many others.
“While bringing a video caller to air is increasingly common, seeing it done well at scale is not. VCC’s professional clients and patent offices worldwide recognize the VCC’s intense focus on underlying processes that contribute to improved productivity, high quality, speed, and ease-of-use are unique. As VCC moves into new markets, this differentiation is valued for use in productions of all kinds, from network televisions and news to visual radio. Large and small corporations alike who value efficient production teams and whose brands are synonymous with quality depend on VCC.” – Larry Thaler, VCC CEO Caller Queue enables the producers of a show to: -Invite virtually unlimited numbers of viewers anywhere in the world to use their smartphones, tablets, and computers to participate on-air, and on-screen, in a live television production -Create a branded, virtual “green room” to retain guests prior to air. Guests can digitally sign legal releases and watch the show’s progress while waiting. -Sort, filter, and prioritize available video callers to best meet creative requirements -Communicate with callers to screen and prepare them prior to their appearance on air ABOUT THE VIDEO CALL CENTER, LLC The VCC is a technology and production services company devoted to handling IP Video remotes by smartphone and putting them on the air through patented caller acquisition technology, workflow, and automation. VCC licenses its technology within and outside the video production industry and provides caller acquisition and production services. VCC has helped clients produce more than 25,000 remotes over hundreds of broadcast and web programs, supporting NBCU, Major League Baseball, CBS, Fox TV Stations, CBS, CNN, Discovery, Fox Sports Networks, Hearst interactive, International Emmys, TLC, NBATV, NFL Network, Paramount+, WWE, Vice, Bally Sports, and many others. Examples of programs and complete information about the VCC are available at https://www.thevcc.tv/ By making high-quality live remotes by smartphone easy for guests and show producers, VCC Caller Cloud helps FS1 daily talk show The Herd keep sports conversation fresh and timely. The VCC (The Video Call Center) today announced that for the third year in a row it has received a contract extension from leading national 24-hour multi-sport cable channel FS1. In particular, FS1 relies on VCC Caller Cloud – a white-glove service for bringing live guests to air from anywhere in the world – for the daily studio show ‘The Herd with Colin Cowherd’. “The sports world moves fast, which means that we often don’t know until the last minute what guests will be the most relevant for that day’s show. The VCC gives producers and talent bookers for The Herd flexibility and confidence to reach out to the most relevant sports figures at a moment’s notice. VCC’s Call producers are a polished, professional, and seamless part of our show staff. The VCC is an integral part of the look and feel of The Herd.” Mike Wilken, Senior Vice President, Systems and Technology. VCC’s Caller Cloud solution is a complete solution that combines patented technologies and the support of expert video call producers to add live remote contribution to live television production. To date, Caller Cloud has been used to deliver more than 20,000 remotes for streaming, cable, and broadcast programs. Caller Cloud removes complexity for busy, remote guests by eliminating the need to download anything to their device. VCC’s well-regarded AirFirstTM platform makes connecting as easy as clicking a link sent to them by text or email. VCC’s exclusive technologies enhance and stabilize the connection between guests and the production so that the guest is comfortable, looks great, and can engage in uninterrupted conversation with a show’s cast. Because VCC’s Call-Producers perform their function across many clients, their experience level is among the highest in the industry. VCC CEO Larry Thaler said, “Today’s live studio shows need both speed and quality when it comes to connecting with live guests. At the VCC, our job is to eliminate the need for producers to compromise between those two requirements. Whether The Herd wants to reach a busy coach in their office on game day or an A-list celebrity on vacation in an exotic locale, the VCC makes it happen. If the guest has a smartphone and an Internet connection, the VCC can facilitate great conversation. We are thrilled to have again earned the long-term trust of the FS1 team.” To experience the VCC in action, watch ‘The Herd with Colin Cowherd’ on FS1, Monday-Friday from 12:00 to 3:00 PM ET Eastern. VCC Caller Cloud white glove service is available immediately. For information and to get started contact [email protected] ABOUT THE VCC (THE VIDEO CALL CENTER, LLC) The VCC is a technology and production services company devoted to the handling of IP Video remotes-by-smartphone and putting them on the air through patented caller acquisition technology, workflow, and automation (US patents #8,767,031, #9,654,731, #10,904,386 China patent #ZL 201380050976.3, Japan Patent 0149126001 and other patents pending). The VCC licenses its software via its AirFirst platform and provides caller acquisition and production services. VCC has helped clients produce more than 20,000 remotes over hundreds of broadcast and web programs, supporting NBCU, Major League Baseball, CBS, Fox TV Stations, CNN, Discovery, Fox Sports Networks, Hearst interactive, international Emmys, TLC, NBATV, NFL Network, Paramount+, WWE, Vice, Bally Sports, and many others. Examples of programs and complete information about the VCC are available at https://www.thevcc.tv/ The Video Call Center is a production service & technology company, provides state of the art tools and workflows for today's creators. Get an advanced live, recorded and remote production solutions workflow and live broadcast software for the sports, news and entertainment industry. Contact us today!
The Video Call Center is a production service & technology company, providing state of the art tools and workflows for today's creators.
Contacts348 Route 9W, Palisades NY 10964 212 235 7019 x2 Patents & IPUS patents 8767031, 9654731, 10904386. China patents 201380050976.3, Japan patent 6727196. HAT, CAT, Caller Queue, Caller Cloud, Talk Center America, Changing The Faces of Television and Smartphones Make Smart Television are registered trademarks of The Video Call Center, LLC. EavesDrop and StageDoor are trademarks of The Video Call Center, LLC Visit us for more information- https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-video-call-center https://www.facebook.com/thevideocallcenter/ http://twitter.com/thevcc |
AuthorThe Video Call Center is a production service & technology company, provides state of the art tools and workflows for today's creators. Get an advanced live, recorded and remote production solutions workflow and live broadcast software for the sports, news and entertainment industry. Contact us today! Archives
November 2022
Categories |