The new SnapStream Encoder takes in component video/audio or non-HDCP HDMI and encodes it to H.264 IP streams. At $2000 for a 4-input encoder, it is the least expensive option to stream your TV source to SnapStream Cloud or a local SnapStream appliance.
More on the SnapStream Encoder, 4-channel (YPbPr Component & HDMI):
Y'all, CCW (Content and Communications World) is happening this week. Watch out New York City, because SnapStream's both exhibiting AND leading a conference session at CCW that you won't want to miss. If you'll be at the Javits Center November 12-13, here's the rundown on where to find us:
| Title: | CBS Black Rock: Recording & Clipping TV with a "DVR on Steroids" |
| Speakers: | Heather Doyle, Director at CBS Black Rock Media David Hadley, Technical Director at CBS Black Rock Media Gayan Gunawardana, Sales Manager at SnapStream |
| When: | Wednesday, November 12 |
| Time: | 10:15 AM EST (First session of the show!) |
| Where: | Production + Post Theater (Javits Center) |
| More: | Session info below |
Come by for a demo at booth #755!
Hear from CBS Black Rock Media’s Director, Heather Doyle, and Technical Director, David Hadley, as they discuss the TV recording and clipping workflows of their group in a panel led by Gayan Gunawardana of SnapStream. As part of CBS Operations & Engineering, CBS Black Rock Media fulfills TV clip requests for every division of CBS, such as the sales, marketing, sports and affiliate relations groups.
Whether it’s a TV clip of the "The Big Bang Theory" for a press rep or an NFL broadcast clip for a sponsor, they can efficiently service everyone with the robust recording and clipping capabilities of SnapStream. Heather and David will briefly review the archaic processes of pre-2008, which were dependent on one-channel DVRs, long overtime hours of manual recordings, hunting for specific clips, editing software and VHS tapes/DVDs.
The discussion will focus on how the group was able to streamline processes to a single system and find several “bonus use cases” involving their top exec’s TV appearances and engaging CBS Sports fans on Twitter.
It's your chance to see a live demo of SnapStream's new social TV features, in addition to our robust TV recording and TV search capabilities:
Social media + TV go together like peanut butter and chocolate. Don’t believe us? Check out this Twitter Media Blog detailing stats from the recent social media storm caused by the Syfy Network’s “Sharknado 2: The Second One.”
The newly released SnapStream 6.4 makes it easy to engage with your fans/viewers through social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook. It's so quick to post images, TV clips and animated GIFs, because you can "do it yourself," without help from video production or anyone else.
Inside SnapStream, for the first time, you can watch the broadcast of any TV show AND what viewers are live-tweeting about it, side by side, in one window through our "Tweets Tab."
Tweets are automatically categorized so our "Tweets Tab" automatically works for 200+ US channels. Just pull up a national TV show and you'll see tweets about that show, from the Twitter firehose, displayed side by side with the show itself.
And to make it easy to find the right TV moment, you can click on any tweet to "snap" to that moment in the broadcast. From there you can reply to an individual tweet with a TV screenshot, animated GIF or video clip.
With our "Tweets Tab," you can engage people watching your TV show with unprecedented efficiency -- there isn't a better way to "engage your follower's followers."
And live-tweeting does wonders to boost follower growth and to build a strong social audience for your TV show, according to a recent Twitter study.
Here's how SnapStream can help your TV show maximize engagement on Twitter and Facebook for every minute of your broadcast, to boost viewership and Nielsen Social TV Ratings.
Tweet and Reply on TwitterDid you know that simply adding an image to your tweet can double your engagement rate? SnapStream 6.4 gives you a quick, seamless tool for replying to tweets with embedded TV clips, images or animated GIFs.
This allows you to engage your viewers and fans in a one-to-one fashion, in real time, with the actual TV moments they're talking about. Tweet, rinse and repeat to amplify 100s of engagements into 1000s.
The clips you create for Twitter are stored in SnapStream’s cloud forever (no limits on storage!) and the images and animated GIFs are stored directly on Twitter.
Create viral buzz with memes! SnapStream 6.4 allows you to overlay text onto any TV screenshot, so you can add a meme-like photo caption or a message to drive more followers.
We support multiple Twitter accounts per user and users can easily and securely add their own accounts without the need for an administrator to be involved.
Post Directly to FacebookEnsure viewers will come back for more by capitalizing on your content’s ability to keep viewers hooked between episodes. SnapStream 6.4 allows you to compose Facebook posts directly inside of SnapStream that contain screenshot images or even TV clips directly from the show.
With all the content you'll be posting, you might be curious where those videos and images will be stored. All media content is natively embedded and hosted on Facebook.
With SnapStream 6.4, you can publish content directly to your Facebook Page. Are you managing multiple Facebook pages? SnapStream supports multiple Facebook accounts, so you can securely manage all of your Facebook Pages from a single SnapStream log-in.
GIFs are at the heart of many Internet memes and viral phenomenon. SnapStream makes it easy to create and share animated GIFs on the Web and to social sites like Twitter and Tumblr. It’s one of SnapStream’s essential tools for repurposing your show’s content and engaging fans online.
SnapStream 6.4 makes it easy to adjust frame rate and speed so you can highlight those awesome sports moments (or bloopers) with slow motion. In this case, we had fun speeding up this SNL clip with Kristen Wiig, Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake!
Webinar: Boost Social TV Ratings with SnapStream
Date/Time: Tuesday, November 18 at 3 p.m. EST / Noon PST
For: TV Shows and Broadcasters
Webinar: Share TV to Twitter and Facebook
Date: Wednesday, November 19
Pick a Time: Noon EST / 9 a.m. PST or 3 p.m. EST /noon PST
For: All Organizations
For current customers: To schedule your free upgrade* to 6.4, contact SnapStream’s support team via the Enterprise Support Form or via email at support@snapstream.com.
For new users: Contact one of our Sales Engineers to start the conversation about your TV monitoring needs. Email: sales@snapstream.com. Phone: 1-877-762-7787
*All software upgrades are free for current SnapStream customers who have a valid support contract and meet the hardware pre-requisites.
HOUSTON, TX — On Tuesday, June 17, the hosts of morning radio show "The Roula and Ryan Show," on 104.1 KRBE, started up a fun conversation about late night TV. You see, the night before, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" aired its newest rap remix featuring NBC News anchor Brian Williams.
If you haven't seen it yet, you seriously need to watch Brian Williams rap "Baby Got Back," which has racked up more than 3.8 million views on YouTube and counting. All of these Brian Williams raps have gone extremely viral, because they're just plain hilarious, with "Rapper's Delight" topping them all with 11.9 million views. Whoa baby.
So, back to the radio show: SnapStream was surprisingly brought up in this context and we thought, "Cool, they're talking about us on the radio!" Our TV search and clipping technology is known as "the secret weapon" to creating satirical clip montages at "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," "The Soup," and "The Colbert Report."
While "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" is not a SnapStream customer (yet), they totally should be! They could crank out these Brian Williams raps at a furious pace if they were using our ridiculously fast TV search. Just sayin'.
Take a listen! (SnapStream's mentioned around 2:15 in the clip.)
And thanks again to the team at "The Roula and Ryan Show" for the amazing shout-out on the air, in our shared hometown of Houston!
Next week, we're heading to the Big Apple to showcase our TV monitoring technology at Content and Communications World (CCW). Many broadcast folks refer to this hallmark event as the NAB of the East Coast. Since NAB in April, SnapStream's engineers have been diligently working to launch SnapStream 6.0 and tons of new capabilities.
Whether you're a current user or considering SnapStream for the first time, you'll find that everything in the new version helps to enrich your production workflow for recording, searching, clipping and repurposing TV content.
AirPlay, search, clip and share TV from your iPad
Collaborate using SnapStream's iPad app during your production meetings. Use AirPlay to display TV recordings and clips from your library in H.264. You can also run searches, create clips and share them in the cloud. Enjoy all of these features on the go, with the mobility and convenience of the iPad.
View multiple channels simultaneously
SnapStream's new multi-viewer enables you to watch up to four content streams simultaneously for a multitude of workflow applications, such as comparing what's airing on your competitors' channels at the same time.
Watch TV and read the transcript, side by side
Monitor the broadcast video and televised transcript in a new interactive way, using Snapstream's new auto-scrolling transcript. Click on any keyword in the text to jump to it. Skip from one keyword mention to the next. Resize the windows to switch your focus from reading to watching, or keep it right at 50/50.
Monitor TV live and fullscreen
Enjoy the ability to track live, real-time events and freely flip between channels without recording anything to disk. Use the new fullscreen option to expand the video display for presentations or just to get a closer look.
CCW takes places at the Javits Convention Center in New York City, Nov. 13 and 14. SnapStream will be at booth 753 (see map below). We recommend setting an appointment with us in advance: schedule a meeting here. But, you are also welcome to swing by anytime during the show hours. See you there!
Recently, I attended the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers (TAMIO) conference in College Station, TX. There was one session that really grabbed my attention, it was the session amazingly named: “Better than beer money! 101 ways to spend your PEG funds.” Based on the reaction and conversation that I heard regarding this session, I knew that this was one that I definitely wanted to attend!
PEG funds are simply funds that are provided to a local government to help support their public access channel(s). These funds can be easily applied to capital expenditures for the channel, for items such as cameras, lights, audio equipment and so forth. The main stipulation for the use of the funds is that they have to be used for broadcasting and running the channel. So, what other projects could these funds be used for? SnapStream?
I returned to work Monday after the conference and began researching more and more about PEG funds. I spoke with Keith Reeves, Station Manager for Austin's Channel 6, who has tons of first-hand experience with the subject matter. The City of Austin has been a long-time friend of SnapStream and they recently purchased SnapStream using PEG funds.
Keith filled me in on a lot of interesting pieces of information:
On Wednesday, August 14 at 2 p.m. CDT, we are hosting a PEG funds 101 Webinar with Keith Reeves, to share how the City of Austin was able to underwrite 100% of their SnapStream purchase using PEG funds.
Join us to learn more about the little known funds that you may be sitting on and how you can easily address your media monitoring needs while not affecting the city's overall budget.
Because TV is our world, we are very excited to exhibit at Content and Communications World, November 14 - 15, at booth #856.
SnapStream enables TV show creatives to easily search TV and incorporate TV clips into their programs. Shows like The Soup, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report all tap into SnapStream's endless supply of up-to-the-minute pop culture and news clips.
This is the time we live in: the "clip culture."
Video clips are suddenly everywhere. They have jumped from the Internet and splattered all over TV. Talk shows, entertainment/comedy shows and even hard-hitting news programs have all added TV clips into the mix of writing and production.
SnapStream provides broadcasters with the TV recording and search technology to reliably capture and re-purpose TV content.
You have The View re-broadcasting and commenting about what was said on Fox News; CNN reporting on a skit from Saturday Night Live; and E! News recapping Jersey Shore and all the latest episodes of reality TV.
Because of how easy it is to create a TV clip and play out to SDI, all of these shows have embraced the clip culture. And we have to admit, we think it's pretty cool how the landscape of TV is changing before our eyes.
With fair use, The Daily Show (and all shows) can embed and comment on any content, from any network. So now, TV is this amazingly interconnected ecosystem. Does it remind of you something? (The Web!)
In short, we love supporting and cultivating this fresh new format of TV, so please join us at CCW in New York City next week:
Make an appointment with SnapStream >>
We will demonstrate the core features for TV and film production:
Before I began researching the news comedy programs outside the U.S., I had no idea what the world had in store. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has inspired so many TV shows and spin-offs worldwide, that the initial query of "who are they?" evolved into a four-part series. (See posts 1, 2 and 3.) Right on key, the Foreign Policy in Focus recently wrote about the Global Stewarts, too.
We have learned that comedy and politics are tightly integrated, not just at home, but abroad. It's been good to pop out of our own "cable TV bubble" and to see how the international crowd entertains, from living rooms in South America to Israel. In today's final batch of shows, you'll see that every nation's comedic style reflects the social and political culture of the population. Comedy is how people make sense of, poke holes in, and cope with the critical, and oftentimes trivial, events gripping their daily lives.
Heute-Show
About: The Heute-Show is a straight-up German adaptation of The Daily Show hosted by Oliver Welke. Meaning "today show," Heute-Show is a nightly half-hour news comedy program that mock reports on current issues in the political landscape of Germany, as well as international news. If you're fluent in German, you can enjoy watching a full episode featured above. Viel Spaß!
First Aired: 2009 Fun Fact: Anchorman Oliver Welke also co-wrote a book called heute-show with a writer from the TV series, Morten Bold. |
Al-Bernameg
About: Born out of the Egyptian revolution and Syrian uprising of 2011, grassroots Al-Bernameg has become a political tour de force and nationwide television sensation. Literally "The Program," Al-Bernameg began as a viral phenom on YouTube, gaining millions of viewers under the title The B+ Show. Host Bassem Youssef says he was inspired by The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Ten episodes later, ONTV offered to take Youssef into broadcast production three times a week, making national history as the first show of its kind. Youssef also became the first media personality to successfully transition from a YouTube Show to broadcast television.
First Aired: 2011 Fun Fact: Before emerging as a TV star, Dr. Bassem Youssef was known as the cardiothoracic surgeon who helped wounded Tahrir Square protesters after the Battle of the Camel. Clearly, he's certified to dissect "the heart of politics" using his own razor-sharp wit. |
Parazit
About: Parazit is a Persian-language satirical TV show hosted by two Iranian ex-pats, Kambiz Hosseini and Saman Arbabi. The weekly half-hour show, which originally aired as a 10-minute segment, has now developed a mass following with Iranian audiences. Directly influenced by The Daily Show, Parazit pokes fun at the absurdities of life in the Islamic republic, giving audiences an outlet from their oppressive government. Parazit translates to "static," which references the Iranian government's attempts to jam foreign satellite programming. Enjoy a full episode with English subtitles, courtesy of Parazit's YouTube channel.
First Aired: 2008 Fun Fact: The hosting duo, Hosseini and Arabi, made a guest appearance on The Daily Show in January 2011. |
Eretz Nehederet
About: Eretz Nehederet (ארץ נהדרת), which means "A Wonderful Country" in Hebrew, is Israel's smash hit spoof news show. Every Friday night, Israeli audiences tune in to enjoy the show's political satire as a welcome source of comic relief. Eretz Nehederet reflects the nation's current affairs, institutions and leaders, with an irreverent style similar to The Daily Show. Host Eyal Kitzis, often compared to Jon Stewart and Ali G, works alongside the country's brightest comedians to make one of the most watched and influential shows on Israeli TV. Click above to watch the skit, Angry Birds Peace Treaty, which conveniently uses English plus subtitles to translate all of the squawking.
First Aired: 2003 Fun Fact: Eretz Nehederet airs on Friday night (the Sabbath), which means no TV for observant Jews. But, because of the show's permeative effect on Israel's popular culture, a religious lawmaker successfully got the station to air repeats of the show during the week. |
If I Were Prime Minister
About: If I Were Prime Minister of Japan (太田光の私が総理大臣になったら…秘書田中) is a prime-time news satire show starring Hikari Ōta, a standup comedian who gives his take on running the country, in a country where direct political satire is considered taboo. Acting as Prime Minister, Ōta begins every show with a radical manifesto that will somehow bring bring peace to Japan and/or the rest of the world. The guests of the day then heatedly debate both sides, lampooning Japan's typical political debate shows. The New York Times wrote about how Ōta is pushing the boundaries of political satire in Japan, saying that he is the closest thing the country has to Jon Stewart. It seems that content is blocked from the U.S., so I couldn't find a clip to share with you.
First Aired: 2006 Fun Fact: Despite the extreme nature of the show, Ōta steers clear of certain topics, such as the imperial family and North Korea, because of the complexities and a general lack of public understanding. |
See related posts:
Following up on yesterday's post: We're exploring international TV shows equivalent to The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, in terms of their cultural significance and satirical style. To kick off our trip around the world, let's take a look at the funniest fake news TV shows of South America and Italy, where everyone loves Tarantino movies and double entendres. As awesome as descriptions are, it's even more telling to watch the clips!
Caiga Quien Caiga
About: Caiga Quien Caiga, translated to "Whoever May Fall," is the big front-runner on the world stage, having won an International Emmy for Best Non-Scripted Entertainment in 2010. Also known as CQC, this Argentine TV show is a weekly news mashup that injects current affairs, show business and sports with humor and irony. When you watch the clip featured above, you'll get the futuristic, rock-concert vibe right away. CQC has also been adapted in Spain, France, Chile, Italy, Brazil, Portugal, and briefly in Israel and the Netherlands. The hosts vary from country to country, but in Argentina, they are Juan di Natale and Guillermo López.
First Aired: 1995 Fun Fact: All presenters on the show wear trademark black suits and sunglasses, inspired by Quentin Tarantino's movie Reservoir Dogs. |
Custe o Que Custar
About: Custe O Que Custar, translated to "Whatever It Takes," rounds up weekly events in politics, the arts and sports with a satirical slant. The show, also known as CQC, is directly modeled after its successful counterpart, Caiga Quien Caiga. In the episode featured above, in the Política segment (15:45), the "reporter" appears to be hounding various public officials with ridiculous, off-the-wall questions. Even without speaking Portuguese, you can get the flavor and context! They're known for adding humor with superimposed thought bubbles, graphics and sound effects. The hosts are Rafael Cortez, Felipe Andreoli, Oscar Filho, Monica Iozzi, Mauricio Meirelles and João Pedro Carvalho.
First Aired: 2008 Fun Fact: Really, who knew Reservoir Dogs was so influential in South America? |
Le Iene
About: Le Iene, translated to "The Hyenas," is another adaptation of CQC. The show features comedic sketches and reports covering political affairs and consumer issues. One of the show's most popular recurring sketches, besides the mock news reporting, is the "double interview," in which two people are asked the same questions. Their answers are then edited together on a split screen, so that they answer one after the other. You can watch an example of the intervista doppia in the clip above. The current hosts are Ilary Blasi, Enrico Brignano and Claudio Amendola.
First Aired: 1997 Fun Fact: Le Iene was also the release name in Italy for the film Reservoir Dogs. And you guessed it: all the presenters on the show don the signature black suits, white shirts and black ties prescribed by the movie. |
Striscia la notizia
About: Striscia la notizia literally translates to "the news slithers" in Italian, but more accurately means "strip the news." Stricia airs right before the regular news, which gives it the perfect stronghold to sneer at government corruption and rip scams to shreds. The show is hosted by Ezio Greggio, Enzo Iacchetti, Michelle Hunziker, and the comedy duo of Ficarra and Picone. One of the show's segments can be translated to "the new monsters," and it shows the best and worst of TV, using clips and witty commentary, kind of like The Soup on E!. Watch the clip above for an example.
First Aired: 1988 Fun Fact: The term striscia has a variety of double meanings which relate to the show's editorial voice: cocaine, which conveys excitement; comic strips, which are funny; and snakes, which are sly. |
Come back to SnapStream's blog to learn about the comedy news TV shows of Canada and the United Kingdom.
See related posts:
If you've heard of SnapStream's TV monitoring technology, you've likely heard The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report mentioned in the same breath. While we can't take credit for Jon Stewart's acerbic on-air personality or Stephen Colbert's deadpan delivery, we can say one thing: we are the television search technology behind the news-driven humor.
Yup, our very own closed-captioning search technology is at work on the TV production sets of both of these Emmy-award-winning shows. For this reason, we at SnapStream have a special place in our hearts for the TV genre of news satire, or "fake news." So, this got us thinking, when did this trend come into vogue? Are there mock newscast shows in other countries? Who are The Daily Show equivalents worldwide? It turns out, The Daily Show's international impact is pretty astounding.
First let's flash back: The 1960s marked the era of Britain's satire boom in broadcast, with the groundbreaking That Was the Week That Was on BBC. In 1975, Saturday Night Live took off in the U.S. with its mock newscast "Weekend Update," which continues today as the show's longest-running recurring sketch. Then came HBO's Not Necessarily the News (1983-1990). Fast-forward to 1999, when The Daily Show with Jon Stewart first entered America's living rooms.
The Daily Show took a trailblazing comedic direction, focusing on politics, current events and the hypocrisy underlying it all. The show's editorial voice has become deeply influential to our society, confirmed in a phenomenon called "The Daily Show Effect," according to American Politics Research. Look at the books written about the topic, too! (See: News Parody and Political Satire Across the Globe)
In 2002, CNN International began airing The Daily Show: Global Edition to overseas audiences, spawning syndication and fan bases in dozens of other countries. There's one official franchise in the Netherlands, The Daily Show (Nederlandse Editie). As a result, broadcasters all over the world have created their own localized spin-offs of The Daily Show, embracing the "infotainment" format and stylings of Jon Stewart.
Here's a clip of Jon Stewart appearing on the The Daily Show: Netherlands Edition, hosted by Jan Jaap van der Wal.
Up next, we will get to know the TV shows outside the U.S. similar to The Daily Show and The Colbert Report:
Stay tuned!
See related posts:
Where: Italy; Canale 5