iVAST Develops Interactive “Arthur” for WGBH
Reprinted from a iVAST press release:
iVAST, a leading worldwide provider of MPEG-4 solutions, along with WGBH, an affiliate of PBS Kids in Boston, interactive content designers Beyond Z, and encoding specialist Metro Encoding, unveiled today an enhanced television program based on Arthur, the popular PBS children’s animated series. The prototype, created and delivered entirely with iVAST’s MPEG-4 software, was presented during the American Film Institute’s (AFI) eTV Workshop held in Los Angeles, December 3rd. It is also on public demonstration at The Western Show from December 4-6 in The Interactive Television Alliance booth # 4628.
WGBH, in cooperation with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), first created a prototype enhanced TV application around the Arthur TV series in 1999 to explore, test and demonstrate the educational possibilities of advanced TV applications. That vision was taken to the next level in this demonstration, utilizing a single technology platform - MPEG-4 - to develop, produce and distribute the enhanced interactive Arthur program. Through the use of iVAST tools, the eTV Arthur boasts several engaging features designed to support the programs’ teaching goals of literacy and social skills. Examples include American Sign Language captioning, a Spanish language track, a plot customization game called “You Decide”, as well as quiz and puzzle games. The unique puzzle game features active video tiles that the user drags to unscramble a video segment.
“Combining the creative production capabilities of WGBH, Beyond Z, Metro Encoding and our Los Angeles Studio with the interactive multimedia capabilities enabled by iVAST software, we have transformed Arthur into a highly-engaging educational program capable for delivery over both broadcast and broadband infrastructure,” said Elliot Broadwin, CEO, iVAST. “iVAST’s MPEG-4 Platform not only takes advantage of the compression capabilities of MPEG-4, but also leverages the most advanced media standard, built from the ground up to support interactive capabilities.”
The iVAST MPEG-4 Platform is a powerful suite of content production, distribution and playback tools utilizing the latest in advanced compression technology and interactive media delivery. The iVAST MPEG-4 Platform provides robust interactive digital media solutions for broadband Internet, broadcast, cable television, enterprise streaming, distance learning, and packaged media. iVAST software is highly scalable and enables cost-effective integration and deployment with existing content delivery and legacy systems.
About iVAST
iVAST is a leading worldwide provider of MPEG-4 software for the creation, distribution and interactive viewing of high-quality digital media. Building on the success of the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 open standards, the iVAST MPEG-4 Platform™ enables the efficient distribution of entertainment, enterprise and educational content across any network - broadcast or broadband - to end user devices. iVAST is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, offers creative services through its studio in Los Angeles, and Asia Pacific sales and support through its office in Tokyo. For more information, please visit www.ivast.com.