Visual Unity Wins Major Connected World Award.TV At IBC 2012

September 13th, 2012. Prague, London, Dubai:  Leading broadcast and multiscreen systems integrator Visual Unity is delighted to announce that its vuMedia™ integrated multiscreen content and delivery platform has won the ConnectedWorld.TV 2012 Award for the Best Use of Online Video by a Non-Broadcaster.

This ConnectedWorld.TV Award recognises the impact vuMedia™ has had in helping Czech company TopFun deliver its innovative Video-on-Demand and PayTV service.  The solution distributes media streams commonly broadcasted via satellite and cable TV to smart phones, iDevices, set-top boxes and Smart TVs, in both SD and HD quality, and supports a unique application for Samsung TVs that lets viewers access live feeds and download movies direct to their TV.

vuMedia^TM was developed by Visual Unity to help broadcasters and content owners control how their brand and assets are managed and monetized in the multiscreen environment – delivering a cutting-edge viewing experience on any screen or connected device.  The platform supports comprehensive Video-on-Demand services, integrating with billing and CRM processes, providing TopFun with complete control of content delivery, monetization and subscriber management. TopFun also employs Visual Unity’s own Content Delivery Network to ensure secure and robust regional distribution.

Visual Unity’s Tomas Petru (left) and TopFun’s Erik Uxa (centre) accept the Award for Best Use of Online Video by a Non-Broadcaster, at the Hotel Okura during IBC 2012

Visual Unity, which was also nominated in two other categories, beat stiff competition from Angel Sharp and the Football Association to win this Award. Open to any organization with limited access to broadcast distribution, the Best Use of Online Video by a Non-Broadcaster Award aims to recognize how the Connected World has been successfully exploited to deliver multimedia and TV-style content to a defined target audience.

Tomas Petru, President of Visual Unity, says: “We are delighted to have received such a prestigious award and see it as a fantastic endorsement of the power and flexibility of the vuMedia™ platform. We are proud of TopFun’s success, where we have delivered a reliable and superior viewing experience for subscribers, driven by an efficient back-end that will enable TopFun to expand in the future. The combination of this ground-breaking technology and Visual Unity’s experience in broadcast and multiscreen systems integration is enabling us to optimize workflows for our customers and deliver real value in the content-on-demand space.”

The ConnectedWorld.TV awards, held in conjunction with the IBC Connected World, celebrate the creativity of broadcasters, independent producers, technology companies and consumer electronics manufacturers pioneering the business of ‘content everywhere’. The Awards showcase many of the exciting developments arising from the growing use of broadband internet – both fixed and mobile – as an alternative distribution channel for TV and video content.

Nearly 150 entries were received from 102 organizations in 23 countries and the quality of the entries was described as ‘phenomenal’ by Neil Nixon, chairman of the judging panel and editor of ConnectedWorld.TV and IBE.

In 2011, the judging panel also shortlisted Visual Unity for an award based on the deployment of vuMedia™ for Czech TV.  This system continues to be central to the state broadcaster’s online service, iVysilani, and helped deliver to the Czech Republic unprecedented multiscreen coverage of the London 2012 Games.

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Contacts:
Kristyna Sonkova, Marketing Manager, Visual Unity
T: +420 271 742111  |   M: +420 724 822 399   |   E: kristyna.sonkova@visualunity.com
Sue Sillitoe, White Noise PR
T: +44 (0) 1666 500142  |     M: +44 (0) 7798 621891  |   E: sue@whitenoisepr.co.uk

About Visual Unity
Visual Unity is an international Systems Integrator bridging the gap between linear broadcast, IT and IPTV  to help clients reach and engage audiences  on any screen. Since 1991, the team has been designing and delivering turnkey broadcast and complex multiscreen solutions worldwide  – from HD Outside Broadcast vehicles and major playout facilities to live internet streaming and Video on Demand services.

Visual Unity is based in Prague, London, Cologne, Moscow, Bratislava, Belgrade, Nairobi and Dubai. For further information, please visit www.visualunity.com

Visual Unity: Na Hrebenech II 1718/8, Prague 4, 147 00, Czech Republic
T: +420 271 742 111    F: +420 271 742 112    E: info@visualunity.com