Jilion

Today we’d like to profile a digital agency who’ve selected SublimeVideo as their video player of choice for both clients and their own project.

Wollzelle have been working closely with Gucci since 2006 and Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry since 2008 to create an engaging web presence for their brands. They chose SublimeVideo to display a selection of videos showcasing the latest timepieces and jewelry collections across their sites.

Visit guccitimeless.com.

Originally founded in 1998 in Vienna as a non-profit artist’s workshop, Wollzelle has grown into a global agency offering branding, design and web development services to clients across Europe and the US.

Alongside their work with Gucci and a number of independent artists, Wollzelle also run their own online file management application, Fluxiom, where they chose SublimeVideo to present a range of demo videos.

Visit wollzelle.com.

“We love pushing web technologies beyond their limits, by turning sites into immersive, highly interactive experiences. To help with development, we’ve coded and released open-source tools that enable web developers everywhere to work faster and more efficiently.

This means we have high standards, but not that we want to reinvent the wheel: there is such a thing as building on the shoulders of giants. To us, SublimeVideo is one such giant: it puts great engineering at the service of original design. Practically speaking, it enables us to integrate rock-solid video capabilities into our sites and applications, safe in the knowledge they will work everywhere, so we can focus on what the video is about and what happens around it.

Because Jilion keeps an eye on the rapidly changing browser and plug-in landscape, we know our videos will keep playing, no matter what. That kind of surveillance is best centralised and entrusted to a specialist. The application’s low-latency, high-availability platform is second to none and we know integrating SublimeVideo in our sites will not penalise end users by slowing down pages. SublimeVideo shares our commitments and blends into our code: what more could we ask for?”

—Thomas Pamminger, CEO/Chief Creative Officer, Wollzelle.

SublimeVideo’s new Video Code Generator lets our users easily create properly configured <video> elements that are automatically optimized for SublimeVideo.

Most of the small integration issues our users sometimes run into can be avoided if their <video> elements are properly formatted and configured. We designed the Video Code Generator to streamline this process, and are pleased to announce that it is available now to all SublimeVideo users directly from their ‘My Sites’ page.

We’ve also created a public version of the generator, so that anybody can quickly and easily test SublimeVideo Player with their own video assets.

Please note that the Video Code Generator requires a modern browser that supports HTML5. We recommend using the latest version of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera or IE9.

Using the Video Code Generator

To use the generator, simply select the type of player implementation you need (Standard, Lightbox or Iframe Embed) and enter the URLs of your video assets. The live preview shows you exactly how your video will look in SublimeVideo Player. 

Existing users just need to copy the generated code and paste it into the page(s) on their site where they want to add video. Non-registered users who like what they see can quickly sign up for one of our free or paid plans and add SublimeVideo to their site in minutes.

Under the hood

SublimeVideo’s Video Code Generator includes some powerful features to assist users in resolving common problems they may face when creating their own <video> elements:

1. Incorrectly configured MIME Types

If a source is hosted and served with the incorrect MIME Type, the video simply won’t play.

The Video Code Generator automatically detects the video source’s MIME Type and informs the user if their Web server needs to be reconfigured.

2. Incorrectly configured <video> elements

A common example of a <video> element being configured incorrectly would be when its width or height values don’t retain the source’s aspect ratio, resulting in a letterboxed/pillarboxed player (black bars around the video).

The Video Code Generator detects the original size and aspect ratio of the source file(s) and automatically provides the user with correctly proportioned width and height values. It also fixes other common configuration issues such as incorrect ordering of the <source> elements.

3. Malformed <video> code

It’s common to see the <video> code formatted incorrectly. For example, being split across multiple lines or missing small elements of the code itself.

The Video Code Generator always generates properly formatted <video> elements, so our users no longer have to worry about formatting details.

Optimized for SublimeVideo

In addition to helping users resolve these issues, the Video Code Generator also helps them set up SublimeVideo-specific features such as Lightboxes, HD Switching, Embeds and video metadata to optimize their videos for our Universal, Real-Time Statistics platform.

We hope this feature will make it even easier for people to enable HTML5 Video on their sites with SublimeVideo. Let us know what you think in the comments or on the SublimeVideo Community Forum.

It’s been a special week for us, first with SublimeVideo being awarded both the MIPCube Lab Jury Prize and Vivendi’s “Coup de Coeur” Prize at MIPCube 2012 over the weekend.

Last night the team attended the Awards Ceremony for the “Trophées PERL 2012 Entrepreneurship Prize for the Lausanne Region” and Jilion was awarded 1st Prize for SublimeVideo.

The “Trophées PERL” Prize is held annually to discover companies working on the four most innovative projects in our home region. The 2012 ceremony was especially significant as it marked the competition’s tenth year.

We’d like to express our gratitude to the jury, the Lausanne Region association and its team for a really nice evening and congratulate all of the other startups who participated. The jury was composed of:

• Mr. Daniel Brélaz, Mayor of Lausanne.
• Mrs. Maia Wentland Forte, Vice President of The University of Lausanne.
• Mrs. Katarzyna Gornik, Journalist at “24 Heures”.
• Mr. Michel Berney, President, SIC.
• Mr. Guy-Philippe Bolay, Deputy Director, CVCI.
• Mr. Roland Luthier, Director of the Alliance liaison programme, EPFL.
• Mr. Pierre-Alfred Palley, Director, BCV.
• Mr. Maurice Wagner, Director, Debiopharm Group.
• Mr. Laurent Fabre, COO and co-founder, eSmart, 2011 Winner.

Over the weekend at MIPCube Lab, in addition to winning the “Most Promising Disruptive TV Start-up” award, SublimeVideo was also awarded Vivendi’s “Coup de Coeur” Prize!

As the global sponsor of MIPCube and one of the world’s leading media companies (Groupe Canal+, Activision Blizzard, Universal Music Group, SFR, etc.), Vivendi’s support means a great deal to us.

We’d like to express our gratitude to Vivendi and its jury:

• Sandrine Dufour, Executive Vice President of Innovation and deputy Chief financial officer of Vivendi.
• Corinne Bach, Vice President, Innovation Projects, Vivendi.
• Bruno Thibaudeau, Senior Vice President Business Innovation, Vivendi.
• Fabienne Fourquet, Director of Digital Content, Canal+.
• Jean-Marc Juramie, CANALPLAY Director, Canal+.

We are now back from Cannes where the MIPTV content trade-show is currently underway.

Last Saturday, we participated in MIPCube Lab’s competition, where ten startups from around the world involved in the fields of video or TV pitched to the MIPCube audience and the Jury composed of:

Anthony Rose, Co-founder and CTO, Zeebox.
Lisa Hsia, Executive Vice President, Digital Media, Bravo.
Dr Ralph Eric Kunz, Managing Director, Catagonia Capital.
Bobbie Johnson, European Correspondent, GigaOM.
Olivier Ezratty, Innovation strategies consulting, Opinions Libres.

We are happy to report that SublimeVideo won the “Most Promising Disruptive TV Start-up” award!

Our thanks naturally goes to the Jury, and we’d also like to thank the Reed MIDEM and MIPCube team for their hospitality and fantastic organization. Last but not least, congratulations to the other start-ups who participated for their enthusiasm and entrepreneurial spirit, it was great to meet you guys.

We’ve long been fans of the TWiT Network, and founder Leo Laporte was even one of the first tech journalists to cover the original SublimeVideo demo back in February 2010 (see MacBreak Weekly 178 from 11:15).

We’re delighted to be able to share that TWiT is now using SublimeVideo for all of their shows! Simply head over to TWiT.tv/shows to quickly select and enjoy any of the network’s shows with SublimeVideo.

This comes as part of a larger effort at TWiT to improve the quality of the network’s video output, including a new encoding and publishing system, and a move to new video formats for all shows.

TWiT controls every stage of the production of their shows, from recording to post-production and encoding. SublimeVideo was the missing piece of the puzzle; a modern HTML5 player that integrated smoothly with TWiT’s existing infrastructure and ensures their shows always reach every member of their Web audience.

This week we’ve looked at a handful of SublimeVideo users in the professional media production industries. We profiled Wyld Stallyons in the UK, Garlic in Spain and So Loud Music in New York City.

Introducing part four of four: Margaret Malandruccolo.

Visit mmfoto.com.

Margaret Malandruccolo (Los Angeles, USA)

Margaret is a professional photographer and director in Los Angeles, California. She’s worked with a range of well-known brands, musicians and publications including Nike, Canon, Toyota, Juliette Lewis, Queens of the Stone Age and Billboard Magazine.

Margaret’s site was developed by web designer and developer David Andrews (Made of Pixels).

“SublimeVideo ensured the player looked consistent across all browsers, including the HTML5 and Flash modes. We felt it was important not to detract from the surrounding content, so a player that looked different in various forms wasn’t an option.

SublimeVideo’s API was flexible enough to allow for the site’s desired presentation of motion content, and worked seamlessly for both the Flash and HTML5 versions of the player. Other players had different ways to communicate with each implementation (Flash vs. HTML5), or they were still in beta.

Automatic updates meant the player always incorporated the latest enhancements and bug fixes, without the need to check for and replace an older version of the player on the site. This ensures users always get the latest version of the player, without any action on their part or ours.

Finally, it was dead simple to add video content to the site and have it work as needed, especially considering we use only one video instance for multiple thumbnails. Easy integration makes for happy programmers.”

—Margaret Malandruccolo / David Andrews (Made of Pixels).

This week we’re looking at a handful of SublimeVideo users in the professional media production industries. So far we’ve profiled Wyld Stallyons in the UK and Garlic in Spain.

Introducing part three of four: So Loud Music.

Visit soloudmusic.com.

So Loud Music (New York City, USA)

So Loud Music is a music and sound design studio in New York City. So Loud’s team members have experience collaborating with a variety of well known artists and major labels, and now work with with clients including American Express, Canon, BMW, Pepsi and Verizon.

“Our clients review our work on a variety of platforms across multiple browsers. We needed a solution which would give our clients a consistent experience. We are in a creative business, and creating a consistent experience helps our clients to focus on our amazing music for advertising portfolio, instead of focusing on the technology.

The technology to implement a consistent web experience needs to be seamless, invisible, and work as expected… Easier said than done.  When So Loud Music found SublimeVideo as a means to showcase our music portfolio, we knew we had our answer.  SublimeVideo has the solution we need to showcase the music that we create for video, while creating a consistent experience across all platforms.”

—Paul Riggio, So Loud Music.

This week we’re looking at a handful of SublimeVideo users in the professional media production industries. In part 1, we profiled Wyld Stallyons in the UK.

Introducing part two of four: Garlic.

Visit garlic.tv.

Garlic (Madrid, Spain)

Garlic is a video production company in Madrid, Spain. They specialize in shooting live-action material, and have worked with brands such as Coca Cola, Sony, Mitsubishi and The World Wildlife Foundation.

Garlic’s site was built by graphic and web design agency Pixel Studios.

“We wanted to avoid building our own player implementation, and started an extensive search for the best HTML5 Video player on the market. After hours of testing and comparing the top solutions, we finally chose SublimeVideo Player for a variety of reasons. Specifically, the perfect cross-browser/platform compatibility and beautiful look and feel.”

—Victor Núñez, Chief Programmer at Pixel Studios.

Video is a powerful and often vital tool for showcasing creative work online. This week we’ll be taking a look at a handful of SublimeVideo users who provide professional production services to well known clients around the world.

Introducing part one of four: Wyld Stallyons.

Visit wyldstallyons.com.

Wyld Stallyons (London, UK)

Wyld Stallyons is a moving image production company in London. Since 2006 they’ve produced video content for clients in the music, broadcast and advertising industries including Honda, Bacardi, Ministry of Sound, Philips and three major UK TV channels.

“We chose SublimeVideo as our video delivery mechanism because we believed that native MP4 delivery of our videos was the best choice for visitors to our site. We don’t yet live in a world where every visitor can view MP4 videos natively, so we needed a solution that degraded gracefully back to Flash-wrapped videos for people using older browsers.

We looked at several offerings, but only SublimeVideo combined great aesthetics with an easy to use (and easy to implement) product. Being able to quickly and easily see how many videos had been served was a great bonus, too. Jillion were very quick to respond to our initial questions and their obvious commitment to making a cool, seamless product impressed us. Since our new site went live, we’ve been extremely happy with SublimeVideo. Nice work guys!”

—Jason Arber, Director at Wyld Stallyons.