Australian researchers have found the needle in the film and sound haystack. New software called WebFlix makes it possible to rapidly pinpoint a precise segment of film from thousands of hours of footage.

"WebFlix will make it possible for movie-makers wanting the section of the film where 'Babe' rounded-up sheep to find exactly what they want very quickly. It could also be used for home film makers wanting to edit out an embarrassing family shot, or sound producers looking for an exact section of music," Media Ware Solutions (MWS) Business Director, David Keightley says.

The WebFlix system is the latest development from the high-tech company MWS, an innovative start-up company recently budded from CSIRO. It is designed to navigate through and edit very large files (MPEG) which are too big for current technology to manage effectively.

Webflix is one of MWS's systems that will turn libraries of video footage into easily accessed tools for marketing, entertainment and information retrieval. For industry and film production their time-saving software will help deliver advertising material directly to the consumer as well as underpin advanced video asset management.

"The digital-media market is about to start a period of rapid growth. With prices getting lower and lower, digitised video and digital MPEG video cameras will soon become the norm. This means that MPEG digital video will be stored on home computers, connected to the Internet and, just like videos now, we will need to sort, edit and browse through them," Mr Keightley says.

MWS software will be used on PC platforms and leading Unix workstations. They are hoping this will lead to them capturing a significant market share for audio/video tools both in the home and industry. The technology is Internet ready and will be compatible with existing and emerging industry format standards.

MediaWare Solutions (MWS), formed by three multimedia research staff from Mathematical and Information Sciences, is developing technologies for navigating, manipulating and editing digital audio/video content (or MPEG files).

MWS will maintain links with CSIRO under a licence agreement that includes provision for further research and development in technologies important to MWS's development.

More information:
David Keightley,
Business Director
Mediaware Solutions Pty Ltd
Email: davidk@mediaware.com.au
GPO Box 1985
Canberra, ACT 2601 Phone: 0412 072 578

Selection of pictures available on request