Vizrt (), short for ''Visualization in Real-Time'' or ''Visual Artist'', is a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
company that creates content production, management, and distribution tools for the digital media industry. Its products include applications that create real-time
3D graphics
3D computer graphics, or “3D graphics,” sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the ...
and
maps
A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes.
Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...
, visualised sports analysis, media asset management, and single workflow solutions for the digital broadcast industry.
Vizrt has a customer base in more than 100 countries and some 600 employees distributed across 40 offices worldwide.
Viz software includes the tools
Viz Pilot
Viz may refer to:
*'' viz.'', a synonym for “namely”
* ''Viz'' (comics), a British adult comic magazine
**'' Viz: The Game'', a computer game based on the comic
*Viz Media, an American manga and anime distribution and entertainment company
*" ...
and
Viz One
Viz may refer to:
*'' viz.'', a synonym for “namely”
* ''Viz'' (comics), a British adult comic magazine
**'' Viz: The Game'', a computer game based on the comic
*Viz Media, an American manga and anime distribution and entertainment company
*" ...
, aimed at news organisations and digital broadcasters. Intended users include
journalists
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
whose traditional role as pure news-gatherers is extended to include controlling the flow of their story from a single point.
Vizrt products connect to newsroom control systems like
iNews
iNews (short for ''Indonesia News'', formerly named SUN TV and Sindo TV) is an Indonesian free-to-air television network founded by Media Nusantara Citra, a subsidiary of Global Mediacom unit of MNC Asia Holding. It broadcasting 24 hours a d ...
,
ENPS
Electronic News Production System (ENPS) is a software application developed by the Associated Press's Broadcast Technology division for producing, editing, timing, organizing and running news broadcasts. The system is scalable and flexible enoug ...
, and
Octopus Newsroom. The software allows users to edit graphic templates, locate and edit archived video content, build playlists for
on-air use, as well as distribute online content and maintain content on social media sites.
The company typically provides entire deliveries that comprise
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
, hardware, consulting, installation, and support. Its head office is situated in
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
Vizrt customers are typically broadcasters and publishing houses. Vizrt is a privately owned company by Nordic Capital Fund VIII.
History
TV 2 Norway
TV 2 (''TV to'') is a Norwegian terrestrial television channel. Its headquarters are located in Bergen. TV 2 began test broadcasting on 13 November 1991, and a year later, it was officially launched on 5 September 1992, becoming Norway's first com ...
needed a solution for creating graphics in the newsroom for journalists. A spin-off company called Pilot Broadcast Systems AS was established in 1997, where the first template-based graphics system was created.
In 1999, Norway-based Pilot Broadcast Systems AS merged with the Austrian company, Peak Software Technologies GmbH (founded by Christian Huber, Karl-Heinz Klotz and Hubert Oehm), to form Peak Broadcast Systems. Peak Software was a developer of software for real-time 3D graphics and animation, virtual sets and playback control systems. The business fusion Peak Broadcast Systems, could now offer software for real-time 3D graphics creation and
virtual sets, together with playout control.
The following year marked the formation of Vizrt when Peak Broadcast Systems merged with RT-SET (Real Time Synthesized Entertainment Technology) Ltd, an Israeli virtual studio system developer. RT-SET, founded in 1994, utilized Flight Simulator technology originally developed for the
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...
, transforming it to a virtual set and on-air graphics systems that could benefit the television broadcast industry. In 1999, RT-SET had an
initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
on the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (german: link=no, Börse Frankfurt, former German name – FWB) is the world's 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization. It has operations from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm ( German time).
Organisation
Locat ...
, raising $48 million. The combined company continued to be listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (under
ticker symbol
A ticker symbol or stock symbol is an abbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly traded shares of a particular stock on a particular stock market. In short, ticker symbols are arrangements of symbols or characters (generally Latin letters ...
VIZ), until 2009 when it delisted its shares.
In 2005, the company acquired London-based Curious Software, developers of
2D and
3D animated maps for broadcast television, corporate presentations and online applications. The same year Vizrt listed on the
Oslo Stock Exchange
Oslo Stock Exchange ( no, Oslo Børs) (OSE: OSLO) is a stock exchange within the Nordic countries and offers Norway’s only regulated markets for securities trading today. The stock exchange offers a full product range including equities, deriv ...
Later in 2005, Vizrt acquired 19 percent of Adactus AS, a Norwegian company specializing in the transportation of content to mobile phone platforms. Together, Vizrt and Adactus developed Viz 3G, a graphics engine for mobile telephones and other mobile devices. Based on Vizrt's Viz Engine renderer and Adactus' MPEG-21 standards-based multimedia delivery platform, it was the first integration of a graphics engine for mobile phone video viewing applications. Vizrt acquired the rest of the shares in the company in 2010.
In 2006, Vizrt acquired Ardendo, a digital asset management company serving the television broadcast industry, based in Sweden.
In 2008, Vizrt acquired Escenic, a Norwegian developer of content management software for digital media publishing. Escenic technologies are used by many news media websites, including ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', the
Times Online
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
, ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', and
Welt Online
Welt, welts or variants may refer to:
Media
* ''Die Welt'' (''The World''), a German national newspaper
** ''Welt am Sonntag'' (''World on Sunday''), the Sunday edition of ''Die Welt''
* ''Die Welt'', former weekly newspaper in Vienna, Austria
* ...
.
In October 2010, Vizrt formalized its strategic collaboration with Stergen Hi-Tech Ltd. Stergen develops 2D to 3D video conversion technologies for the TV sports market.
In November 2010, Vizrt entered into a terms sheet with Swiss company LiberoVision AG, a developer of virtual sports enhancements. Vizrt fully acquired LiberoVision in 2012. Liberovision was then rebranded to Viz Libero. The CEP of LiberoVision, Stephan Würmlin Stadler, was appointed EVP Sports, managing Vizrt's sports production tools.
On November 13, 2013, Vizrt announced plans to sell its online production tools, formerly Escenic, to
CCI of Denmark. As of January 7, 2014, Vizrt has completed sale of 75.5 percent of Escenic's outstanding share capital.
On the same day, November 13, 2013, Vizrt announced intentions to acquire Mosart Medialab from
TV 2 Norway
TV 2 (''TV to'') is a Norwegian terrestrial television channel. Its headquarters are located in Bergen. TV 2 began test broadcasting on 13 November 1991, and a year later, it was officially launched on 5 September 1992, becoming Norway's first com ...
. The acquisition brought the Mosart control room automation system into the Vizrt product line. The system was renamed Viz Mosart and facilitated the creation of the Viz Opus control room in a box system.
On 10 November 2014, the company entered into a merger agreement with
Nordic Capital
Nordic Capital private equity funds focus on investments primarily in Northern Europe. Nordic Capital invests in selective industries with a particular focus on Healthcare, Tech & Payments and Financial Services. In addition selective investments ...
. The merger was approved by an extraordinary general meeting of the company on 18 December 2014. On 19 March 2015, it was announced that all pre-closing conditions set out in the merger agreement had been fulfilled, and the merger was subsequently consummated on 19 March 2015. The acquisition removed Vizrt from the Oslo stock exchange.
In May 2019, Vizrt acquired all shares of the company
NewTek
NewTek, Inc. is a San Antonio, Texas-based hardware and software company that produces live and post-production video tools and visual imaging software for personal computers. The company was founded in 1985 in Topeka, Kansas, United States, by T ...
for a sum of 95.25 million, disclosed in their Q2 report.
Noteworthy events
Vizrt's Viz Virtual Studio software and Viz Engine renderer were an integral part of the success of the first remote “
holographic
Holography is a technique that enables a wavefront to be recorded and later re-constructed. Holography is best known as a method of generating real three-dimensional images, but it also has a wide range of other Holography#Applications, applic ...
” live interviews conducted by CNN during the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Tracking data from the cameras in CNN's Election Center was processed by Viz Virtual Studio software. From the images captured, a specially developed Viz Engine plug-in, created a full 3D representation of the person.
CNN also uses Vizrt for its award-winning MAM system, for broadcast graphics and for streaming to mobile.
Also in 2008, Vizrt technology powered a play-along version of “
Who Wants to Be A Millionaire
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...
,” which aired on TV2 Norway. The show featured web-interactive elements. Viz Multi Platform Suite delivered real-time 3D graphics to the show's online participants. PGA Tour Productions selected Viz Ardome media asset management software to manage its HD and SD content in 2009.
Also in 2009,
ZDF
ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
(Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen), one of two large public broadcasters in Germany began broadcasting from two virtual studios using Viz Virtual Studio and broadcast graphics solutions from Vizrt. ZDF now broadcasts from Europe's largest and most advanced
virtual studio
On-set virtual production (OSVP) or also known as virtual production or virtual studio is a technology for television and film production in which LED panels are used as a backdrop for a set, on which video or computer generated imagery can be di ...
.
In 2010,
GMA Network
GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...
, a major broadcast network in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
also selected Vizrt technology to provide graphical reports like that of
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
for the coverage of the
Philippine national elections, in which they teamed up with
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
, it was continued from 2013 onwards.
In 2011, Escenic and Sveriges Television (SVT) demonstrated the world's first professional website using on responsive design in the Escenic Content Engine.
In 2012, Vizrt provided graphic, video and online tools for three major events; the
London Olympic Games,
Euro2012
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...
and the
U.S. Presidential Election. For the U.S. Presidential Election, Vizrt graphics and video tools were used by almost all of the major U.S. broadcasters including
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
,
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
,
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
,
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
,
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
. Global Broadcasters using Vizrt to cover the election included
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and many others.
In 2014, Vizrt provided virtual graphics and on-air graphics for Fox Sport's coverage of the Super Bowl and Daytona 500. Vizrt also provided graphics systems for the Olympics in Sochi for customers such as
as well as provided Viz World customers access to satellite imagery that were continuously being collected during the games.