What’s stopping you from upgrading to dvLED video walls? Read our debunking 6 dvLED video wall myths blog.
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Vegas never seems to disappoint me when it comes to NAB. It may not be as flashy as some displays from South-by-Southwest but NAB is the pulse of where the AV, broadcast, and the film industry sits but also where it is going. I overheard a conversation behind me on the plane of a passenger asking their seatmate what NAB actually was
“Is it a technical conference or is it about the creative aspects of film and broadcasting?”
“Both, kind of.”
To a broadcast muggle that may not be hip to our industry, I would say NAB is very technical in nature but it is the creativity that we have with this gear that makes the masterpieces people binge-watch in their free time or watch casually over a cup of coffee. I was there representing clients who mostly use this technology in corporate and NGO settings but I was standing next to the NBC broadcast team for the Olympics at one booth and the NFL Films team at another.
Discussions on the main stage varied from the post-production team presentation of HBO’s “The Last of Us” to an XR/VR panel on how the technology is used to enhance educational settings and experiences. Our goal as an industry always remains the same: how do we tell better stories? And that doesn’t sound technical to us. Stories of course are as old as language itself. What we use to tell our stories? Very technical. Another feature of NAB is all the side stages and pavilions to offer further breakdowns in our industry’s tech, business practices, and culture, including frank discussions on the progress of Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. A panel discussion hosted by Gals and Gear highlighted the triumphs of how far we’ve come but still how far we need to go to get away from industry practices known as cronyism or shadow hiring. The old “I know a guy” (And it’s usually is a guy) mantra is still alive and it’s up to all of us to continue to work towards these DEI goals.
There’s lots of tech to get through so we’ll start here.
Last year the bells of the ball were the large remote production video wall sets powered by Unreal Engine or Unity servers. This technological advancement allowed immersive experiences for actors and allowed for any environment to be easily customizable to the whims of a creative team. No need to travel to 6 different locations for a shoot, you could load the digital volumes into the graphics engine, and manipulate lighting and backgrounds in ways that Location managers only could pray for good weather or for that tree in the shot to be merely 3 feet more to the left.
But that was last year. Those sets were still on display of course but no large changes to the tech were show-stopping for this broadcast tech junkie.
From a ten thousand-foot view, I can summarize this year’s NAB display as a representation of two different bodies of vendors: those who transmit signal to a destination and those who have developed products that receive or build upon an IP/cloud workflow.
If you have been involved in the tech talk of the industry in the last 6 or so years you’ve heard of SMPTE2110, IP workflows, and the cloud. NAB 2023 has confirmed what has been on the horizon for years: the time of analog first gear is over. It’s time to turn that serial port into an ethernet one.
If your AV or broadcast teams are separate from your IT teams it is time to start the conversation and get them talking. IP transport of audio and video signals over ethernet is a reality that all vendors are in on. If your IT teams are nervous, they do not need to turn far for assistance, the presence of IT gear manufacturers and cloud platforms have been a mainstay at the show: Cisco, Avixa, Netgear, AWS, Microsoft Azure, etc.
Why is this so important? SPMTE2110, that’s why.
To most people, that just looks like a cat walked across my keyboard. In simplest terms, SMTE2110 allows teams to move video feeds from one place to another using only an ethernet (internet) or fiber cable. Why do I say this is important now? Blackmagic Design, an industry underdog or disruptor (Depending on who you are talking to) released its first converter for IP and 2110. The price point? Only $595.
SMPTE was only seen as affordable and thus doable, for larger organizations and industry juggernauts much like how remote production stages are seen as engines of large studios that produce major motion pictures (ie. Disney, HBO, etc.). This announcement spells a foreshadowing of what to be on the lookout for in the coming years. This technology is no longer inaccessible to your budget. Even network switch manufacturers like Netgear are due to release their next hardware models that will be compatible with SPMTE.
Now, fostering conversations between IT and AV is a whole other discussion article that can get complicated depending on your business, but having these teams start talking is essential. Most IT professionals have little knowledge of how audio and video packets transport around a network and most AV professionals have a limited knowledge of IT security and infrastructure. It’s an uneven playing field for both parties but a team that can acknowledge their individual shortcomings and rise above them will be able to make some incredible productions.
I think I might know what you’re thinking: I’m not doing a SMPTE system upgrade, but I still need a scalable solution that is a bit more affordable and does not include more hardware. Well, my friend, that is what the cloud is for.
There were many vendors offering compatibility with their hardware to be run in the Cloud, typically skewed to AWS but many say they are cloud agnostic to a degree: Ross Video, Evertz, Vizrt, Panasonic to name a few. But also browser-native applications that are hosted in the cloud like Ross Video’s cloud production suite or the Switch’s Mimic product.
The cloud, whether you are using AWS, Azure, or GCP, has been around for a while but the “lift and shift” away from hardware purchases is what makes these workflows and products very attractive. Only use what you need when you need it.
Within this cloud production work graphics have been a pain point for many but this year’s NAB demonstrated what is front of mind to solve this: HTML5 graphic integration into products.
Another cat on my keyboard? No. In a nutshell, HTML5 graphics enable the production of graphics from any browser with no coding or broadcast graphics knowledge. With HTML5 graphics, everything happens seamlessly in the cloud and can be controlled by one person. When you are working in the cloud, it is easier to create multiple versions of the same broadcast. For example, a broadcaster with a global base can send multiple broadcast signals, re-versioned for local consumption in other countries complete with graphics in the local language. What once would take multiple teams or workflows can now be streamlined cleanly.
Wow, with all this human efficiency what could possibly next? AI of course! Web3 was replaced as the reigning hot topic in most spheres now and that is certainly true here. At a stop at the ATSC 3.0 booth, they had an avatar of an ASL interpreter translating an emergency broadcast signal. A combination of the two spheres of the aforementioned tech. It was exciting to see how much AI has pushed accessibility more front of mind for people. This little ASL avatar is only the beginning of building upon closed caption technology before it. Captions are getting faster, smarter, and being translated into more languages for the global audiences remote and virtual audiences have drawn. For our Virtual Services team at TeamPeople this is exciting news as we can continue to integrate greater accessibility options into our livestreaming products
All of these innovations don’t photograph as well as a fancy LED wall or camera but they are transforming the industry. With how much has advanced this year from last year I only have this to say: I can’t wait to see what stories we can tell next.
If you need help starting the conversation between your AV, broadcast, and IT teams, we can help. Sarah Doyle and our team of technical experts are well-versed in providing custom solutions for complex workflows. We’d love to hear about the challenges your team is facing and the pain points we can solve with these technical advances in audiovisual technology. Get in touch with us!
Payroll fraud is incredibly common. White collar crimes can be slippery because they aren’t always as obvious as someone swiping a stack of bills from the cash register. Some perpetrators likely don’t even think of themselves as thieves. They’re just “redirecting” funds they feel should be theirs anyway, “manipulating their payroll records” to show they had extra vacation time, or clocking in when they’re not actually on duty. Those last two, by the way, were done by police officers and a firefighter, respectively.
Payroll fraud is a misappropriation of funds that can happen a variety of ways. It could happen in the form of paying “ghost” employees or vendors. Such entities look legitimate but exist solely as a front. They may be workers who’ve quit, been fired, or died but are still receiving paychecks. They could be vendors that seemingly provide a service, but are in fact, nonexistent.
Another form of payroll fraud is when a worker clocks in when they’re not working or has someone clock in for them when they’re running late. Any form of falsifying hours falls under the umbrella of payroll fraud. Businesses lose billions in reported cases and small businesses are especially vulnerable. The duration of the schemes varies, but some businesses only find out after a worker has been fleecing it for years.
Depending on a company’s setup, payroll fraud can sometimes be remarkably easy to pull off. Businesses with small payroll departments are most vulnerable, but it happens at the big companies and even feel-good nonprofits, too.
As usual, the best approach is prevention. Preventive measures discourage a would-be fraudster from trying something unsavory in the first place. They also make it easier for companies to catch perpetrators early on. Any resources a company puts toward preventative measures pales in comparison to the potential cost of lax procedures.
So let’s say you’ve taken preventive measures to minimize risks and something still doesn’t add up. If you see any red flags, it’s time to dig.
. Corruption always leaves a trail. If more than one employee uses the same bank account, unknown vendors are receiving checks, and unusual expenses are popping up, it’s worth looking into. If something seems like it could be amiss, investigate. If you have the resources to conduct a thorough internal investigation, that’s a good place to start. If not, hire someone to do it for you. And do it quietly so you don’t tip off the fraudster(s) before you have all the information you need.We’ve talked about the workers, but companies can be guilty of a different kind of payroll fraud as well. Businesses that misclassify employees as independent contractors to avoid paying payroll tax and other costs associated with employees are also guilty of payroll fraud. It’s not the focus of this post, but we cover worker classification in depth. Contact us for a free risk assessment if you think your worker classification practices could use a second look.
Now is a great time to identify vulnerabilities, and determine a course of action. Most payroll fraud, while incredibly frustrating and costly, is highly preventable. If you’d rather offload some of your payroll completely, call 303-526-4900 or email us. We minimize the time, effort, and risk associated with worker classification, payroll, and more.
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Flexible tech for hybrid learning, including extended reality (XR) and simulation labs, is dominating higher ed tech trends. Explore 2023 hybrid learning trends in our podcast with Crestron.
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Forget “try before you buy.” Today’s consumers are all about watching before they buy. Research from Brightcove shows that 85% of consumers worldwide use video content in some way to inform their online shopping decisions.
The next generation of e-commerce video marketing is here now, too: interactive video. More than eight in 10 shoppers who spend the most money online agree that interactive videos with features such as click-to-purchase links are helpful as they shop online.
The challenge for brands looking to seize this opportunity is that most video platforms don’t offer interactivity directly in the platform. However, Brightcove is one of the few online video platforms (OVPs) that offers interactivity out of the box (OOTB). For a feature designed to improve the customer experience, the benefits of in-platform interactivity are undeniable.
Benefits of OOTB Interactivity
There is, of course, one key benefit to using third-party interactivity: It’s platform agnostic. Most vendors work with a variety of OVPs. While switching video platforms might seem like a hassle, the many benefits of OOTB interactivity (like Brightcove) make it worthwhile.
Seamless integration. Features are designed to work with the rest of the software, reducing the amount of time and effort required to get the system up and running.
Consistent user experience. There is a consistent user experience for interactive elements, reducing confusion and improving customer engagement.
Lower costs. Unlike third-party features that require additional licenses for fees, the cost is included in the software subscription, making the rates more transparent and cost-effective.
Greater security. There are more robust security features in place to protect systems and data. You can take advantage of them without having to implement additional security measures for third-party integrated features.
Easier maintenance. Interactive features are maintained and updated by the OVP, reducing the burden on you to maintain and update it. Plus, feature enhancements aren’t time-consuming or costly for you—they come with the package.
Interactive Video Features
While OOTB interactivity is still uncommon among OVPs, several features have become standard across interactivity offerings. Overlays, quizzes, chapters, polls, external links, and in-video branching are available on most solutions, including Brightcove.
However, Brightcove has the widest interactivity feature set, including several advanced features that many other platforms do not. The standard features are a step in the right direction, but the following advanced features further interactivity’s goal of making video behave more like the web.
Sentiment. A high-performing product video clearly demonstrates interest. But without knowing the customer sentiment, you won’t know if that interest is related to purchases or returns. Embedding a video with sentiment options like thumbs up/thumbs down, star ratings, or emoticons can help you discern the difference.
Video-to-video branching. If streaming services have taught us anything, it’s that consumers like the video experience. With video-to-video branching, online shoppers never have to leave. Instead of returning to a menu, they can continue browsing similar or related products from the comfort of your video player.
Time triggers. One of the most important rules of interactive video is giving the viewer time to react. Opportunities for feedback or browsing different product videos can quickly become opportunities for frustration if the video continues before the viewer can take action. Time triggers allow you to pause the video at certain points, or skip to another part of the video if no action is taken.
Personalization. If your website offers a store login, you can further refine your customers’ viewing experience based on the first-party data they submitted. Like the restaurant server who remembers your name and order, your video player could do the same.
Chat. In stores, getting your questions about a product answered is easy—just ask someone. Overlaying third-party messaging programs onto your video provides a similar, digital experience. Why lose an immediate sale when you answer questions in real time?
Custom content. Embedding custom forms means that RSVPing to a launch party doesn’t have to wait for a follow-up email. Whether you use Google Forms, Mailchimp, Typeform, Calendly, or Eventbrite, feel free to collect form data without asking your customers to click off the video.
Interactive Video Playback
The most advanced interactive features are worthless if your customers can’t play or properly view the video. Thankfully, interactive video has come a long way; most platforms offer web playback on all the major browsers as well as mobile web playback.
Especially with almost half (42%) of e-commerce now happening on mobile, it’s critical to ensure the video experience is seamless on every user’s device. Unlike some interactive solutions that only offer lightboxes, Brightcove provides inline experiences. While lightboxes are notoriously unresponsive on mobile devices, inline provides a much more user-friendly experience.
Most platforms also allow interactive playback in standard landscape orientation, and some, including Brightcove, allow portrait.
Interactive Video Analytics
Interactive video not only provides a better video experience for online shoppers, it gives marketers more granular behavioral data about their customers. Most solutions offer this through platform analytics, CSV export, API access, and the ability to integrate with Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics.
The metrics offered will vary, but you can expect most platforms to include metrics related to activity stream, aggregate performance, conversion, and overlay clicks. However, few offer stop watching/exit metrics like Brightcove. Similar to a video’s engagement rate, these metrics are key to knowing how your audience is responding to your interactive elements.
For example, just as too many interactive elements can be distracting, so can the wrong element at the wrong time. Stop watching metrics can help you test and isolate the optimum time in a video to place a Buy Now button or a related product link.
Thanks to native MAP integrations, Brightcove also offers user-level reporting like click-through rate, navigation rate, and response rate. If this sounds like an absurd amount of data, it is. This is actually one of the biggest issues with interactivity providers: great data but poor insights.
Marketers don’t just need more data; they need the tools to quickly interpret and act upon it. This is why Brightcove also offers Audience Insights, the leading customer data platform (CDP) specifically designed for video. With proprietary metrics as well as fully aggregated user-level data, Brightcove offers more actionable interactive video insights than any other platform on the market.
How to Compete with Interactive Video in E-Commerce
E-commerce brands know that video can make or break a product purchase. But with so much video content, it’s hard to stand out. And even when you do, it’s often hard to figure out why. It’s not enough knowing that a video was viewed or a call-to-action was clicked. Brands must focus on why a viewer took the next step or dropped off.
While other platforms can produce engaging, interactive videos, most aren’t innovative enough to meet the data-driven demands of e-commerce strategies. Brightcove Interactivity offers everything enterprises need to compete in today’s highly personalized, audience-centric market.
For companies that hire a lot of freelancers, an Employer of Record (EOR) can be a lifesaver—or at least save some headaches if not literal lives. A partner for handling hiring temporary workers can be a key to avoiding fines and court dates by keeping businesses out of trouble. An employer of record is defined as “a company or organization that is legally responsible for paying employees, including dealing with employee taxes, benefits, insurance, etc.”
As such, an EOR deals with the administrative problems and mountains of paperwork that come with hiring, paying, and insuring workers. Outsourcing parts of business that require extremely-specialized skills and those that deal with risk and compliance can be a very wise business move. These issues have very high stakes and a partner is required when devoting the time and resources toward doing the job right simply isn’t feasible. Keeping your workforce happy and paid on time/with accuracy is also crucial to maintaining a happy workforce. In addition, the laws are always changing and audits, fines, and penalties follow when airtight systems and processes are not in place. An EOR keeps everything running as it should and serves as the employer. As such, it takes on many of the related responsibilities and liabilities while employees work for another company.
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you might consider whether an EOR would help you. In addition to easing the above concerns, an EOR turns a mountain of hiring paperwork into a molehill and handles certificates of insurance, I-9s, and E-verify forms. They also terminate employees when necessary, administer benefits, and conduct background checks and drug screenings.
Not every company needs an EOR, but for those who do, it’s a game changer. We find clients benefit greatly from partnering with an EOR when they need help onboarding or don’t have the capacity to handle hiring-related HR issues. Since PayReel specializes in these services, we have systems in place to make everything as efficient and smooth as possible. Sometimes, having an EOR in position can be the difference between staffing and finishing projects on time and tanking a project before it really even gets off the ground. If you think you might benefit, reach out to PayReel and we’ll talk through solutions for your unique situation.
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