Telestream, a leading provider of digital media tools and workflow
solutions, takes video encoding to the next level with its announcement
today of Episode 6.
For the first time, users can pool resources to share encoding work
across multiple computers in a mixed environment of Macs and PCs.
Episode also brings cross-platform scalability from the desktop to the
server, another industry-first. Combining exclusive One-Click
Clustering and integrated file sharing allows users to easily share
work across multiple machines seamlessly for faster and more efficient video encoding. A
new, intuitive user interface with graphical workflow builder
simplifies the encoding process. As part of its new deployment
capabilities, Episode 6 automates uploading of completed videos to
YouTube for greater audience reach. These groundbreaking features allow
professional videographers, post-production houses and content owners to
streamline operations and increase productivity, while reaching a
broader audience.
"Episode 6 offers an impressive combination of powerful new
features that will help workgroups such as ours realize our vision of
turning around high-quality encoding jobs more quickly for our clients,"
said Kenji Hayashi, producer at San Francisco-based Phoenix Editorial
and Bonfire. "The depth of control that Episode allows us to achieve,
combined with top-quality Main Concept H.264 and MPEG codecs, is
unrivaled in the industry."
Episode 6 exclusive One-Click Clustering
adds flexibility to processor-intensive encoding tasks by sharing the
workload across permanent or ad hoc clusters as computers become
available. With One-Click Clustering, users can easily join or setup a
cluster of mixed Mac and PC computers to get the work done more quickly,
maximizing productivity and equipment investment. Because of Episode’s
unique, built-in file sharing and ease of configuration, clusters can be
set up without the need for IT assistance. Permissions-based clustering
allows users to join a cluster, name clusters, view machines on the
cluster, as well as the workload and determine status of each.
For time-critical workflows, unique Split-and-Stitch technology and parallel
encoding, allow users to saturate the processing power of a single
machine or distribute files across a cluster of Mac or PC servers to
achieve remarkable encoding speeds. In addition, Episode 6 adds format
support for high-quality Main Concept H.264 and MPEG video formats.
"Major consumer brands have seen the success of Hulu.com and
YouTube, and are now funding professional webisodes that market products
out to online users and follow them onto their mobile devices. This
requires the ability to encode for multiple display formats while
keeping costs low," said Gerry Kaufhold, principal analyst with market
research firm In-Stat. "Telestream’s customers can follow this trend,
and benefit from the new clustering and file sharing capabilities built
into Episode 6 to achieve faster time-to-market and more efficient use
of existing network computing resources."
Episode 6 also adds new deployment capabilities that allow
users to automatically deliver their completed content using standard
network delivery protocols, and upload content to popular video sharing
websites like YouTube. All these new capabilities are easily accessible
through the new graphical workflow builder that allows users to visually
create and view the steps in their encoding process.
Episode is an all-in-one encoder that includes extensive
presets and filters plus the ability to add bumpers, trailers and
watermarks to enhance and protect video content. Combined best-in-class
video processing, full 10-bit support and hands-on control with
frame-by-frame video preview allow users to generate excellent picture
quality. Episode provides extensive format support for post-production,
new media, web and mobile encoding environments.
"We’re seeing explosive growth in the distribution of video to
the web and wireless devices," said Barbara DeHart,
VP of Marketing at Telestream. "Episode 6 is a game changer that
combines quality and encoding speed together with never-before-seen
scalability and ease of use. This is a major step towards our goal of
helping individuals, workgroups and large-scale businesses meet
the growing demand of web and mobile video distribution."
Pricing and Availability
Episode 6 will be available Q2 2010. Episode1 priced at $495 includes
support for Flash 8 & 9, H.264, Windows Media, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1, DV,
3GPP and much more, plus One-Click Clustering and file sharing,
processing of one job at a time, and unlimited batch processing.
Episode2 priced at $995 adds support for high-end professional formats
plus parallel encoding of two jobs at a time. EpisodeX priced at $3,995
adds unlimited parallel encoding plus Split-and-Stitch distributed
encoding for high volume throughput at maximum speed. All Episode
purchases from April 1 are eligible for a free upgrade to Episode 6. The
upgrade fee from Episode to Episode1 is $149, and from Episode Pro to
Episode2 is $299.
