I love this time of year. It seems that the whole media business world calms down a bit, and I personally get a chance to put my feet up for a few days and actually watch some of the television that Dalet helps our customers to create. It’s also a good time to reflect on the activities of the year and look forward to the next one. So hold onto your seats, here’s a quick trip through 2014 – to the tune of the “12 Days of Christmas” – featuring acquisitions, winning awards and bumping into George Lucas, plus a look into the excitement 2015 promises, including adventures in MAM, slick editing and the return of Bruce’s Shorts.
January. It’s cold in the UK, it’s been raining since September, and Paramount announces the end of film. It’s official: the future is digital.
February. It’s still raining, and despite the travel problems in the UK, the wonderful Ben Davenport and I present the SMPTE Seminars in the UK. A well received training experience for students and experienced professionals alike to learn about the wonders of IP.
March. It’s still raining, and behind the scenes, the excited Dalet and AmberFin teams are preparing to be a single company, but no one is allowed to know. I feel like I might burst. In public, the Digital Production Partnership reaffirm that October will be file delivery day.
April. It has stopped raining in the UK, and 24 hours, 35 minutes before the NAB show begins, it’s official. Dalet acquires AmberFin. The show floor buzz was that it was a smart move by Dalet. The dozens of people caught by my April Fools blog forgive me (possibly).
May. Frantic flying as new teams form and new opportunities are discovered. Ben undertakes an adventure in a very old Volvo while Bruce issues an apology about HEVC and interlace.
June. It starts raining again in the UK as Dalet and Adobe tell the world about revolutions.
July. Raoul tells us how to enhance news with slick archive workflows, and Italian religious broadcaster TV2000 tells the world why unified MAM makes business better.
August. We’re getting very excited, as BT Sport is shortlisted for a prestigious award at IBC for workflows using the Dalet AmberFin Platform.
September. We launch our 3-platform approach at IBC 2014 and receive lots of praise; the AmberFin platform is amongst the first to receive DPP certification.
October. Kevin Savina explains to the world how to do multi-site MAM while Simon Adler and I do a comedy/educational double act on re-inventing wheels at the SMPTE conference where we dine with George Lucas.
November. The annual CCW show reveals that it’s all about the MAM as our very own Stephane Guez and Luc Comeau star in well attended panel sessions.
December. What? The year’s over already? As Ben Davenport performs subtle psychological experiments on his German audience, we say good-bye to 2014, but we leave you with a very special present for the holiday season. The first series of Bruce’s Shorts has been placed on our YouTube channel for your learning pleasure.
Look out, 2015 – it’s going to be FUN! Here are some highlights of the first four months to get you in the mood…
January: The launch of Dalet Academy and series 3 of Bruce’s Shorts
February: Dalet and Telestream team up to discuss a hugely controversial topic on the Wednesday of the HPA retreat
March: NAB previews with some big product announcements
April: The NAB convention – a chance to meet us, see some live academy training events and have a beer with us at the close of the show.
May … You’ll have to be patient or sign up to the blog, to Bruce’s Shorts or our white papers, case studies and webinars. We have some fantastic content to help you learn about our industry and make great business decisions … and it’s all 100% FREE.
However you celebrate the closing of 2014, on behalf of the whole team at Dalet, I hope you have a good one, and we look forward to welcoming you into 2015.