The VRT-medialab has closed its doors end of December 2011. Five years ago the lab was established as a part of the VRT, Flanders’ public service broadcaster, to carry out technological research into the creation, management and distribution of media content. Its focus was on the Flemish media market, but VRT-medialab also pursued collaboration on a European and worldwide level. Because of changes in VRT’s management contract that came into effect at the beginning of 2012, the VRT-medialab has been split into two separate labs: a smaller one still within the VRT and one in the IBBT, the Interdisciplinary research institute for BroadBand Technology. The lab in the VRT will perform longer-term research, while the lab in the IBBT will carry out so called close to application projects for the whole Flemish media industry. In the course of December all of the VRT-medialab staff has made a choice between the two new labs.

GuidedChat is a game based on crowd-sourcing aimed at perfecting a language learner’s skills. The applied game mechanics are innovative as well as challenging. The teacher as well as other learners can monitor the learning progress through various game mechanics.

Check out the prototype of GuidedChat. The demonstrator can be found here.

NordicLight, a European project based on technology developed within the framework of the VRT-medialab project MediaLoep, was given green light. In September 2011 this basic technology was licenced out to spin-off Limecraft, who wil be leading the NordicLight project in cooperation with Wappa, Taglicht Media en Raindance.

During the next 36 months Limecraft and its partners will create a co-production platform for producers of audiovisual media. This platform will optimize the producer’s workflow by maximizing re-use of content and managing intellectual property.

Thank you to everyone who joined the VRT-medialab sessions during the iMinds event! Your presence was heartwarming! Below you can read the report and review the presentations that were given during the afternoon sessions.

Innovation in file-based production
by Peter Defreyne

In the last few years the broadcast industry has made the transition to file-based workflows using IT-technology. As a response to today’s shortcomings, VRT-medialab has developed CHAMP, a flexible production platform which enables programme makers to produce a multi-platform story in an easy and efficient way. In his presentation Peter Defreyne looked at the achievements and future challenges.

Taming your media chaos
by Karel Braeckman

Managing and searching large media collections brings along plenty of difficulties. VRT-medialab is familiar with this problem, currently being involved in the project MediaLoep. In the past VRT-medialab also came across with the same theme in the projects PISA and MediaMap. During the past five years many different solutions were thus explored and it seems that manual annotations are not the only weapons against media chaos in broadcast facilities. Karel Braeckman showed how new tooling, crowd sourced metadata, feature analysis and the Semantic Web can render media collections more transparent.

The live streaming video of the presentations during the first session can be viewed here.

Pictures of our booth, the VRT-medialab sessions and the reception afterwards can be viewed below:

Beyond the red button: making second screen TV apps
by Hendrik Dacquin, Bert Wijnants, Kasper Jordaens & Ilja Strobbe

VillaSquare, one of the latest exploits of the VRT-medialab MediaCRM and MediaSquare teams, is a purpose-built platform for the popular live één-television programme “Villa Vanthilt”. This platform is in many ways a pioneering second screen project and has received numerous positive feedback. Four team members explained how the VillaSquare use case came into being and discussed the underlying technologies.

Does the Flemish viewer appreciate second screen experiences such as VillaSquare? Is he willing to use tablets and smartphones to make these experiences possible? VRT-medialab and VRT’s user research department have entrusted Synovate with a study on the interest of the Flemish consumer for these devices and the role they will play in the multi screen story. The study is only available in Dutch.

VillaCRM: a direct relationship between the broadcaster and its customers
by Mike Matton

Recent technological advancements have made it easier to build and maintain CRM systems for the media sector. These systems provide a method to build a direct relationship between the media (broadcast) company, and its customers: the viewers. During his presentation Mike Matton gave an overview of the results obtained from VillaSquare, the recent test case around the Villa Vanthilt show. He as well discussed the benefits and pitfalls of establishing a CRM relationship.

MediaSquare and the curious case of Villa Vanthilt
by Ike Picone, senior researcher SMIT

Did the Flemish viewer appreciate VillaSquare, the second screen platform that was launched especially for the één-programma Villa Vanthilt? Do they consider it a successful tool for interactive television and community-building? Ike Picone and his SMIT collegues have carried out a study on VillaSquare. The results suggest that differentiation towards specific target groups will be needed when further developing such services. The study is only available in Dutch and can be downloaded here. 

The live streaming video of the presentations during the second session can be viewed here.

*Also tested on humans

A well-deserved pat on the back for VRT-medialab! The VRT live-programme “Ook getest op Mensen”  (VRT - Het Televisiehuis) won a lot of praise for its contemporary and innovative format during the EBU Creative Forum in Berlin on 12 September 2011. The jury was extremely impressed with some of the innovative applications which resulted from the successful cooperation between the programme makers and VRT-medialab’s internet team.

The exceptional strength of this application consists in the fact that it is developed in HTML5 thus making it compatible with different types of tablet-PCs and smartphones. These and similar applications are often defined as second screen applications because of their compatibility with PC-tablets and smartphones – devices which are more and more often being used as “second screen” whilst watching TV.

For the live TV-programme “Ook getest op mensen”, VRT-medialab developed two second screen applications. The first application, (diabetes test), aimed at determining the risk of developing diabetes type 2. As much as 30.307 TV-viewers participated in the test, of which 10% used a smartphone or a PC-tablet. The second application test developed by VRT-medialab focused on the power of perception and the reliability of eyewitnesses.  Alike the diabetes test, this eyewitness test could be carried out on both a smartphone and a PC-tablet as well as on a PC. 

These applications enabled the programme makers to disclose the test results in a quick and easily accessible way. In this context, a dozen members of the audience acquired a tablet-PC to carry out the test.  Furthermore, the viewers at home could also take part in the test by means of a URL which was announced during the programme. The test results of both the studio audience as the viewers at home were processed in real-time and discussed during the TV-programme.

An extract of the “Ook getest op mensen” episode featuring the eyewitness test can be viewed here:

Additional information on both the diabetes and eyewitness test is available in the paper “Social Network Platform” (published in the framework of the 2011 IBC Conference of 8 to 13 September in Amsterdam ). Download this paper.

More and more consumers own personal devices such as smart phones (Apple iPhone, Android phones, etc.) and tablets (Apple iPad, RIM playbook, etc) which have actually become regular media devices. The major advantage of these devices is that they offer the consumer a high quality experience of audio, video and text. This evolution strongly influences the way media is consumed e.g. the digital edition of newspapers and magazines.


But besides this evolution in the consumption of media, there is a more fundamental trend noticeable: the devices are an excellent means of digital communication. By this, we mean things everyone is familiar with; SMS, email, chat and surfing the worldwide web. But also the interaction in social networks is becoming increasingly important. The consumer interacts in a more and more digital way by means of his or her personal device. For broadcasters and publishers an unprecedented opportunity presents itself, within the scope their products (newspapers, magazines, programs etc.) to offer the consumer the opportunity to express himself digitally.

To explain how broadcasters and publishers can respond to this opportunity and how they can establish a digital relationship with the “digital” consumer we created a video. By means of an interactive offer on the so-called “second screen” (smart phone or tablet, the first screen being the flat screen in the living room) personal extensions to programs or program schedules are facilitated. This can result in a richer media experience for the consumer, hence a greater involvement with the media brand which, in turn, opens opportunities towards advertisers.

It is beyond doubt that the emergence of the digital consumer offers golden opportunities for the media sector.

Saturday september 11th

In the session “Interoperable Media Services”, Luk Overmeire (VRT-medialab) participated in a panel discussion on the challenges in the integration of production systems and the importance of standardization and common approach in this respect. In his presentation he discussed the different phases in the adoption of SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) and the experiences in the VRT integration architecture. He also identified the future challenges and requirements and placed them in the context of the joint EBU/AMWA FIMS (Framework for Interoperable Media Services) taskforce. AMWA (Advanced Media Workflow Association) and EBU (European Broadcast Union) presented the first results of their Request for Technology with the participation of companies in the media industry (IBM, Sony, …) that have responded on the RFT.

Sunday september 12th

On sunday, researcher Hendrik Dacquin presented the outcomes of a usability study that was performed in order to improve the ease of use of the current search and archive tools at the VRT. In cooperation with Peter Heytens from CUO/IBBT over 14 persons were observed in their naturally occurring context. As an outcome  3 personas were defined and a detailed task analysis for each persona was crafted. Based on these results the information architecture of the appliances were developed and that will be the solid fundament for a complete redesign.

Paper: “Editing on generic storage over 10 gigabit ethernet: a final cut pro use case”

Researcher Peter Defreyne wrote a paper about “Editing on generic storage over 10 gigabit ethernet: a final cut pro use case”, which was accepted for IBC. This paper was published, but not presented.

At present, broadcast companies are increasingly implementing and optimizing file-based workflows for standard and high definition media production. In this respect, the Flemish public broadcaster in Belgium, VRT, has built the Digital Media Factory (DMF) for news production and generic programs in 2007. The workflows are based on the concept of central storage. This paper describes the use case where multiple Final Cut Pro HD editing clients use the central storage cluster as real-time media storage. This is often referred to as in-place editing, or editing on generic storage, which can be considered a recent trend in media production. The challenges for the storage and network infrastructure will be investigated. The insights and experiences presented are valuable to all technical practitioners aiming to optimize their file-based post production infrastructure.

You can download and read the document via this link (PDF file).
Remarks, suggestions,... are welcome via the form beneath.

Hoping for a lively response and that you enjoy the read!

VRT-medialab welcomed Naïma Zemmouri (HR-manager General Services, Media and Policy), Rudi Depraetere (Social Policy VRT), Ivo Hendrix (ACV), Herman De Backer (ACV-Transcom VRT) and Rik Van Caenegem (ACOD) on Tuesday.
Beside a comprehensive introduction of VRT-medialab and Research and Innovation in Flanders, some demonstrations were held. Presentations about file-based video editing, optimized search engines, 3D-TV, consumerization of media production tools and new internet formats were given.

An interactive session about Future Media in Flanders closed this visit.

Beneath, you find a photo report of this visit.

After quite some years of loyal service, we’ve redesigned the VRT-medialab website. Not only the graphics have changed, but also the way how we offer all our information, has been optimized.

All our research projects can be viewed via ‘Projects’ and related publications are also available. If events are being organized together with VRT-medialab, you can find all usefull information on our website.
If we are present with VRT-medialab on conferences, presentations or other big events, you can read a review via ‘News’ and watch a photo gallery (if possible).

If you got any questions, suggestions, remarks,... please contact us via our contactform you can find under ‘Contact’. Leave your correct contact data and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

The Belgian Broadcast Days 2010 review is only available in Dutch.

The article about the visit of Luc Van den Brande and Piet Van Roe to the VRT-medialab is only available in Dutch.

In addition, Jean Paul Schupp was the manager in charge of Innovative Projects and Product Development. In December 2009, he was appointed manager of VRT-Medialab.
Jean Paul was one of the founders for major innovative projects in Flanders: the development of interactive digital TV, the founding of the Interdisciplinary Institute for Broadband Technology, the cross-media approach within the media and the introduction of new participatory internet models.

Jean Paul Schupp was also the VRT-representative in the Board of Directors of MediaNet Vlaanderen.

Harry Sorgeloos is now in charge of the VRT Medialab.

In “Het Ingenieursblad” of February 2010 you can read an interview with Jean Paul Schupp, manager and head of the VRT Medialab. This interview is in dutch.

Read the article online or Read the full interview

On the 10th of December, VRT-medialab organised the workshop “3D TV - a distant perspective?” in cooperation with MediaNet Vlaanderen and Barco (host). The tempting and varied program drew a lot of interest: 150 people participated in this highly appreciated event. 
In the conference theatre, they could judge the added value of 3D by viewing “The Big Ask Again” during the key note speech of Kommer Kleijn. Luk Overmeire and Matthias De Geyter (VRT-medialab) explained the fundamental principles and main technologies of 3D TV. During the extensive and active demo session, up to ten Flemish media companies demonstrated their state-of-the-art 3D technology. A comprehensive set-up which even surprised David Wood (EBU), who commented not yet having seen anything like this before. He moderated the closing panel discussion on the future of 3D TV in Flanders, in which the main Flemish media players participated: Belgacom, Outside Broadcast, Telenet, Videohouse, VMMa en VRT.
If 3D TV will make its real breakthrough in the coming years, remains an open question but the majority of the audience in the room already believed in it. It will depend on the delivered quality, or as Ronald Meyvisch (Outside Broadcast) quoted: “3D TV: Waw of Auw?”.

The agenda of the 3D TV workshop: 3D TV workshop agenda.
The presentations of the workshop can be found here: 3D TV workshop presentations.
The video recordings of the different sessions can be viewed here: 3D TV workshop video recordings.
Read a summary of the panel discussion :panel discussion
Photos of the event can be viewed at photo link

More info follows.

The rabbit at the Memorial Van Damme.
Kasper Jordaens (VRT-medialab) demonstrates the integration of real and virtual 3D images.