If you haven’t been there, it is a truly invigorating experience to be in the Sony stand at IBC. Most attendees are there to geek out over Sony’s newest technologies. For us, its an opportunity to engage directly with customers, and see how Ci perfectly ties into the other cloud-based technologies and solutions that make up Sony’s Intelligent Media Services portfolio. (Having a front-row seat to the CLED wall is pretty sweet too!)

As the big show approaches, we wanted to give you a sneak preview into the upcoming features that we’re especially excited to show you at IBC 2019.

Coming to IBC 2019

Ci’s AI-based automated metadata generation expands to video

Well, we’re confirming the rumors are true – Ci does AI-enabled computer vision. Image files uploaded to an AI recognition-enabled Workspace will be processed (transcoded) as usual then, automatically recognize objects, celebrities, faces and, text. We can even perform a facial analysis to provide age and emotion detection. All of the AI-generated data will be stored as custom metadata in the context panel and yes, everything is searchable!

Discover more with ‘Related Images’

To help you discover files efficiently and get the most of AI recognition, we’re introducing a new ‘Related Images’ tab in Workspace preview. Here you can find additional images that contain the same faces as the image you’re previewing. Simply select the file thumbnail to view and find more ‘related images’.

AI-enabled metadata tagging is a Company Network feature but if you’d like to see how it works or learn more and can’t meet us at IBC, contact us to preview this feature.

Protect your content with burned watermarks

Ci loyalists can tell you that on-demand watermarking has been available since the ‘early days’ of our MediaBoxes. Our classic watermarking feature was a handy tool to add overlay watermarking on image and video files shared in MediaBoxes – but it had limited cross-device compatibility.

We’re thrilled to announce that dynamic burned-in watermarking is now available within MediaBoxes on all image files. This means that you can not only add watermarks to image files but all files uploaded where Ci generates a preview thumbnail image – ladies and gents, that means Word documents, PowerPoint files, and PDFs. Disclaimer: The watermark is only burned into the first page of multi-page documents.

And, just in time for IBC Ci will extend the burned watermarking feature from images to videos too! The transition to dynamic burned-in watermarking means that files will be better supported for MediaBox recipients previewing on smaller screens including mobile devices plus your content is more secure than ever!

Watermarking in MediaBoxes is a Company Network feature but if you’re interested in seeing how it works, be sure to visit us at IBC or contact us for a private preview.

ICYMI: Top five highlights from our releases this summer

  1. Storage management policies to keep your storage costs down
  2. Enhanced preview experience with “carousel” view to preview all files in a folder, upgraded Pro Player with playback speed options, keyboard shortcuts and timecode support for live streams and zoom tool for images files
  3. Refined search using “AND” and “OR” plus ‘Search tips’ to help you become a search expert
  4. Expedited sharing and collaboration with faster preview-ready content in MediaBox and shorter wait-time for “export to target”
  5. Save folders (and subfolders) to Workspace from a MediaBox

These updates are just a snapshot of things. To stay on top of all of Ci’s new features, improvements and upgrades, check out our Product Updates page.

Ci Catalog is coming

Ci is the home to ever-growing PETABYTES of content. Much of that content starts in Ci Workspace as creative work-in-progress lovingly worked on by a small and attentive team. But, like any good kid, it grows up and needs to make its way in the world.

Ci Catalog, the newest application in the Ci platform, provides a home for content that has diverse groups of stakeholders with different security needs and content life cycles. Ci Catalog is the content repository you’ve dreamed of with the same ease of use and simplicity you’ve come to love from Ci Workspace coupled with the access control model required for a distributed and matrixed organization. And the fact that it is perfectly integrated with Ci Workspace means your content never has to be moved – minimizing costs and reducing security threats.

We’re very excited to announce the pre-release of this new member of the family. Swing by the Sony stand and be one of the first to catch a sneak peek of the massive evolution of Ci!

How to find us at IBC 2019

The Ci team will be at the Sony stand (13.A10) in the Elicium building. Come meet the Ci team in the Intelligent Media Services (IMS) – Production & Delivery area between Virtual Production and Ven.ue. Learn more about Sony at IBC 2019 here.

Book a meeting with Ci

This year, there are so many features and offerings that we can’t wait to show you but will only be available for preview in demos – AI metadata tagging, burned in watermarking on-the-fly, Ci Relay, the upcoming Ci Catalog, the list goes on… Be sure to contact us to book an appointment to secure your timeslot!