Tag Archive for: COE

How the Council of Europe is embracing the future using new agile AI-enabled digital management toolbox

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The Council of Europe recently invested in what they claim is no ordinary run-of-the-mill digital asset management system. The powerful platform is called Profuz LAPIS, developed by specialist systems integrator Profuz Digital.

The Council chose Profuz LAPIS for every part of the workflow, from content ingest and storage to advanced media searches. It’s used for extensive archiving and interactive database support and can streamline workflows in the Cloud with LAPIS, allowing numerous speaker session recordings in several languages, at various resolutions in real-time. Public access of information at the Council is allowed through LAPIS, which includes parliamentary sessions where MP’s speeches are recorded for example. Video file content is regularly required to be shared promptly across social media networks, allowing journalists and the media to gain immediate access to download, edit, cut down and report on the material.

The Council’s head of innovation, Alain Mielle, along with technology partner Audry Sales from French Value-Added Reseller SAV were recently at Europe’s largest broadcast trade event IBC in Amsterdam to discuss this agile technology at the Profuz Digital stand.

Overview of how challenges were solved

From the outset, Alain Mielle was looking for a digital asset management system that would be “future-ready” and be able to support their European customers including being able to accommodate the media and professional journalists and reporters.

The Council has thousands of hours’ worth of data and footage of recorded meetings, sessions, events that date all the way back from 1949. The idea was to find an easy-to-use solution that allowed the team at the Council to be able to add features as they went along, day to day or month to month as they worked on various projects.

Alain said he did a call to tender, and that’s when he was introduced to the Profuz LAPIS system through Profuz Digital’s technology partner SAV – a French Value-Added Reseller. He went on to describe LAPIS as not just an ordinary asset management solution, but as a useful toolbox in effect. Alain said the response he received from SAV won him over because he knew this system could truly deliver what he wanted, and it was future-proof. Alain felt that particularly with respect to AI, the LAPIS technology was the most powerful choice as it would be able deliver features such as Speech to Text, AI Translation, Face Recognition and many other upcoming AI features that would help reduce costs thereby cutting down on unnecessary time-consuming processes as well.

Alain said the system was really good and he’s has been using LAPIS now for 2 years. After receiving user feedback, modifications in certain areas have been made and refined, step by step to further enhance the system to suit the Council’s specific requirements.

What was so unique about this system?

Alain confirmed that the key advantage of having LAPIS at the Council of Europe is that it is really straightforward to manage. The interface is easy to navigate making searching effortless. In addition, the editing process has been simplified, making it efficient and painless – for example when a journalists interviews a member of parliament, Profuz LAPIS allows them to access that footage which can then be edited using LAPIS, then cut and promptly downloaded, ready to be instantly shared across social media networks without delay.

Another point to note he said is that all the intelligence behind the workflow such as calendars, voice recognition features and so forth are really the beginning of their AI services and it’s a good starting point from which to expand on to further in this area within LAPIS.

How they all got together in the first place

Alain worked closely together with tech partner SAV to implement LAPIS. From the point of implementation to delivery, it took a year, and it was a great success.

Value Added Reseller and technology partner of Profuz Digital Audry Sales at SAV explained what happened from the very first call he received from Alain. Audry said it was an advantage that Profuz LAPIS is actually an innovative toolbox effectively with many useful tools. Furthermore, it allows room for many new tools to be added later on and modified as and when required.

So when Audry went to see Alain and understood Alain’s requirements, he knew that the LAPIS system was perfect for him. Notably regarding AI, LAPIS would provide him with the flexibility and added benefit of being able to put different tools together to fit his requirements. Alain was very impressed by the sheer power of LAPIS and the fact it could move things around and offer versatility on a vast scale.

Audry said that when he won the tender, he made sure from the start that the LAPIS engineering team and Alain were in constant communication with one another throughout the process which established a solid communication link between us all. Profuz Digital developed and customised the LAPIS solution along with SAV’s vital input to make sure that integration took place successfully. “Everything went so smoothly, the solution is on air being used at the Council right now, and everyone is happy, and we’ve done training.” Audry noted.

Audry said it is important for the system to grasped fairly quickly by both AV and non-AV professionals alike. The trick is that in LAPIS, the complexity is hidden, and that the visible user interface is designed to be “user-friendly” and easy to navigate. A bit like a car, Audry remarked, that if you’re driving a sports car, you don’t want to see how the engine works, you literally just want to be able to drive it with ease and make it perform at its best.

“Our relationship with Alain at the Council and with Profuz Digital is strong and we will continue working together going forward for the long-term, the link between the Value-Added Reseller and the editor using LAPIS is very important and it is essential to maintain high levels of communication between ourselves so that nothing is missed and to make sure everything happens.” Audry confirmed.

The Council of Europe upholds human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe, and is renowned for pioneering new standards, which have progressed to become global benchmarks. It is the role of the Council of Europe to ensure that human rights, democracy and the rule of law are protected and promoted in the digital environment including AI.

Head of Innovation at the Council of Europe Alain Mielle said, “We have been very impressed with the functionalities and performance of Profuz LAPIS as our media asset management platform. In our opinion it is the “Rolls Royce” platform of this industry sector, offering a competitive and attractive price tag. It is not a run of the mill digital asset AV management system, as it offers so much more in terms of functionality and features, and we have seen significant productivity gains and positive user feedback.”

Alain added, “The LAPIS system is easily accessible, and its search capabilities are exemplary, enabling universities and research groups to access the Council of Europe’s information. We envisage exploiting its AI capabilities in the future – for example permitting journalists and broadcasters to be able to look up past speeches made by world presidents… Companies such as Profuz Digital are well placed to tackle the challenges ahead as we all face the coming AI revolution in this new digital age.”

Organisations already adopting Profuz Digital’s technology include the likes of the Council of Europe, Canal Plus France and Myanmar, London’s Wilco Media, Euro Media Group Belgium, Tarjama in the UAE, Polsat, Bulgarian National Television, Bulgarian National Radio, IT Pros Italy, Digitalmeister GmbH, Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH, University of Warsaw, Ghent and KU Leuven University in Belgium and others. Further information can be found at Profuz Digital’s website here www.profuzdigital.com

Council of Europe fully embraces the Profuz LAPIS Digital Asset Media platform, boosting Workflows for real time Data and vast Archive Management

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For immediate release – 26 June 2023, Strasbourg, France – Profuz Digital is pleased to announce that the Council of Europe has invested in the Profuz LAPIS digital asset management system. Profuz LAPIS is used as an advanced dynamic content engine that enhances collaboration within the Council of Europe, including archiving and interactive database support which plays an integral role in their business processes. The Council of Europe upholds human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe, and is renowned for pioneering new standards, which have progressed to become global benchmarks.

Profuz LAPIS is a powerful “one-stop-shop” for managing digital assets, allowing users to organise and find what is required in an instant with an intuitive filter structure that is tailored to an organisation’s exact needs. Access and usage permissions provide peace of mind that users only see assets relevant to them, eliminating the risk of unapproved content being published. Significant time is saved by the system automatically updating and reassessing assets by seamlessly integrating content data into the content engine, avoiding burdensome manual processes.

The Council of Europe already relies on Profuz LAPIS to conduct a wide variety of tasks such as content ingest, storage, and advanced media library searches, using its AI capabilities to further accelerate creative workflows and automate experience delivery at scale. With Profuz LAPIS working within the Cloud, it has enabled the Council of Europe to streamline its workflows and operations, allowing for numerous speaker session recordings in several languages, at various resolutions.

Profuz LAPIS allows unlimited connectivity with APIs and Amazon. Other features in Profuz LAPIS includes its project management capabilities and meta data functionality. The system creates groups and profiles and has a powerful interactive toolset, with future-proof capabilities and vast archive capacity which is the future of data resourcing.

Meetings are held daily at the Council of Europe and the system allows for public access of information, which includes parliamentary sessions where MP’s speeches are recorded. Video file content is often required to be shared promptly across social media networks, allowing journalists and the media to gain immediate access to download, edit, cut down and report on the material. Council staff members and external bodies are able to find, access and interact with all creative assets within their workflows, ensuring all information passes through the correct channels. Teams are able to minimise time spent switching between systems by running everything through Profuz LAPIS. It is possible to quickly find and share assets directly within their own dashboards.

Alain Mielle, (the Head of Innovation at the Council of Europe) states, “We have been very impressed with the functionalities and performance of Profuz LAPIS as our Media Asset Management platform. In our opinion it is the “Rolls Royce” platform of this industry sector, offering a competitive and attractive price tag. It is not a run of the mill digital asset AV management system, as it offers so much more in terms of functionality and features, and we have seen significant productivity gains and positive user feedback.

The self-service portals in Profuz LAPIS saves time and resources as it reduces the number of people having to be involved in its operation. It is used 24/7 and users can take advantage of Profuz LAPIS’ powerful search engine function that finds historical content quickly.

The system is easily accessible, and its search capabilities are exemplary, enabling universities and research groups to access the Council of Europe’s information. We envisage exploiting its AI capabilities in the future – for example permitting journalists and broadcasters to be able to look up past speeches made by world presidents. These functions will continue to evolve in LAPIS to help us provide valuable accessible archived material.”

Profuz Digital’s French technology partner SAV, which is a high-end audiovisual solutions specialist, introduced the Council of Europe to the Profuz LAPIS platform and played a key role in the collaboration. SAV was the initial link between the customer and the supplier by presenting the LAPIS solution to the Council of Europe and helped define the customer’s requirements. They carried out the follow-up of the project and participated in the training sessions. Today, SAV continues to provide level 1 support for the LAPIS solution.

After meeting with Profuz Digital’s CTO and developer Kaman Ferdinandov for a demonstration of the Profuz LAPIS system last summer, Alain reveals, “We were impressed with Kamen’s vision and expertise – he is ahead of the game, including AI and understands the market. We were won over by the team’s professional approach. They are reliable, super sharp, responsive and friendly too.”

In addition, the Council of Europe will evaluate the use of SubtitleNEXT – Profuz Digital’s subtitling technology – for the transcribing of audio-visual content later this year. Although French and English are the two official languages used by the two statutory bodies at the Council – the Committee of Ministers (PACE), and the Congress of the Council of Europe, German and Italian are also used for some of their work.

On the topic of Artificial Intelligence, Alain shares his thoughts, “I believe AI is not designed to replace humans but to work side by side and to enhance our work processes but there is a real need for regulation. We are seeing the tip of the iceberg of the capabilities of AI, and it will have a huge impact on the way we work in the future. As stated on our website recently, AI presents advantages but also risks to our civilisation. However, it is the role of the Council of Europe to ensure that human rights, democracy and the rule of law are protected and promoted in the digital environment. The Council’s Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) is already on the case and has been mandated by the Committee of Ministers to elaborate a framework Convention on the development, design and application of artificial intelligence, based on the Council of Europe’s standards which is conducive to innovation. Companies such as Profuz Digital are well placed to tackle the challenges ahead as we all face the coming AI revolution in this new digital age.”

Profuz Digital’s CTO Kamen Ferdinandov notes, “We are honoured to support the Council of Europe using Profuz LAPIS as its core system. With an ever-increasing volume of content, there is a growing demand to deliver more content consistently to more users within their organisation with greater agility for better content experiences. All features within Profuz LAPIS have been customised to enable journalists and IT teams at the Council of Europe to collaborate immediately. The assets are cloud-native, and automatically scale to meet traffic and processing demands, ensuring both the application and experiences remain responsive to change. We look forward to enjoying a long-term partnership.”

Ivanka Vassileva, CEO of Profuz Digital confirms, “We are so proud that the Council of Europe has invested in Profuz LAPIS and placed it on the global map as a world-leading system. It’s excellent to see it play a central role with flexible features that will continue to evolve, according to growing requirements, in order to keep ahead of advancing technologies. We look forward to working with the Council of Europe for many years to come.”

Other major bodies within The Council of Europe include the European Court of Human Rights, and the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM).

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About the Council of Europe
Find out more here https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal

About Profuz Digital
Profuz Digital develops and provides performance-leading solutions for customisable engineering system integration to empower content providers, broadcast, production, and post-production professionals to operate efficiently at the forefront of an ever-evolving digital environment. Profuz Digital’s primary focus is flexibility, futureproof customer-driven product innovation, fast deployment, along with committed teamwork.

Creators of the advanced real-time and offline captioning and subtitling software platform SubtitleNEXT and Profuz Digital’s digital asset workflow management platforms, Profuz LAPIS, designed to efficiently centralise processes and data all under one roof. Proven technology already adopted by the likes of Canal PLUS, Jornal do Centro, Council of Europe, Bulgarian National Radio and many other organisations.

The NEXT-TT system combines SubtitleNEXT’s functionalities with Profuz LAPIS into an all-in-one powerful hybrid technology-base that provides media professionals with a versatile backbone for enhanced localization services. NEXT-TT can be customised to produce targeted management and efficient workflows. It manages subtitles, dubbing and localization services for media content including the coordination of teams of translators, subtitlers, AV professionals, creative freelancers, while providing users with powerful toolsets in a secure workspace environment.

Many organisations have already adopted Profuz Digital’s technology including Titles-On, EMG, Tarjama in the UAE, IT Pros Italy, Digitalmeister GmbH, Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH, Polsat, Kino Polska, Max Live Media Access, Biovisjon, Doli Media Studio, Cube Cinema Technologies, Tring TV, Bulgarian National Television, Canal Plus Myanmar, AMC, HD Media, KU Leuven University of Leuven, Belgium, University of Rome Tor Vergata, University of Warsaw, University of Ghent, European School of Translation, Hellenic American College of Greece, the Complutense University of Madrid, and many others.

www.profuzdigital.com