The world’s major players in broadcast technology and services converge annually in NAB’s mammoth exhibit halls. Inevitably, some companies’ innovations from the past year have had a profound effect on the businesses of others. In the ever-shifting technology landscape, companies must explore various revenue streams should one aspect of their business dry up. Sonic Foundry is as familiar with this survival technique as anyone is.

Based in Madison, WI, with an office in Toronto, Sonic Foundry absorbed Toronto-based International Image two years ago, increasing its capabilities in conversion, reformatting, and encoding of TV, film and audio content for multiple delivery platforms. However, with greater adoption of high-definition capture, especially in the easily convertible Sony 24p format, and with manufacturers such as Panasonic offering VTR decks with format conversion capabilities, broadcasters now have greater ability to perform conversion themselves to satisfy different standards in the global market.

‘We definitely see that impacting the conversion services side of our business,’ says Ted Lingard, VP and GM of Sonic Foundry’s media services division. ‘There’s always an evolution of technology. That’s the race we’re running right now.’

However, there is half a century of TV not captured in digital formats, and in order to make this wealth of content viable for the day when consumers have HD 16:9 sets, plenty of HD upconversion and aspect ratio conversion remains to be done, which will surely keep Sonic Foundry busy.

The Internet, on the other hand, represents a revenue stream that has promised more than it has delivered.

‘Twenty-four months ago, a lot of people thought everybody was going to get their content out there on the Web, and TV stations were going to be a thing of the past,’ Lingard notes. ‘And so CD audio and video encoding into IP format came and went like a sparkler on the 4th of July.’

But other windows have opened up. With fresh broadcast channels and new media outlets, as well as the phenomenally fast consumer adoption of DVDs, content owners are looking at their back catalogs for restoration in preparation of digital distribution. With these clients in mind, Sonic Foundry is continually redefining itself, Lingard says.

For example, the MediaCollective application was born out of collaboration with MGM for large restoration events. When the studio is producing a new video master of a film that necessitates sending it to several post houses for different levels of restoration, MediaCollective allows all suppliers to log in on a browser-based application to track the content’s progress in the overall process. Clients can both view and input data.

(Sonic Foundry’s biggest Canadian clients are Alliance Atlantis Communications, Fireworks Entertainment, Nelvana, Minds Eye Pictures, Decode Entertainment, Rhombus Media and Ellis Entertainment.)

Aside from project management tools, Sonic Foundry offers restoration service with proprietary technology. DRT (Digital Restoration Technologies) is its flagship clean-up solution, removing dirt and scratches from negatives as well as providing color correction. The F3 solution eliminates distracting flash frames.

Sonic Foundry recently held demo days for these solutions at its Toronto and Santa Monica facilities, although NAB2002 will allow the company to market itself to more than 100,000 attendees from all over the world. At its NAB2002 booth, Sonic Foundry’s media services division will be beside its systems and software group, offering NABsters an overview of the company’s total corporate capability.

-www.sonicfoundry.com