NEW DELHI: The void that TikTok left in the Indian short video sharing ecosystem has been plugged by a rash of similar homegrown apps, which are vying to become king of the hill. These Made in India platforms are constantly coming up with new and improved features to outdo rivals and reel in new users. In keeping with this trend, Rizzle has launched Rimix, touted as the world's first video mixing feature on short-video apps.
This feature allows users to make video mashups using two to five videos within a matter of a few seconds. Users can either choose existing videos from the Rizzle app or record their own videos, add a soundtrack of their choice, and share their masterpiece with the world.
According to a statement issued by Rizzle, Rimix is the industry’s first-of-its-kind spec that empowers users to create personalised short videos that are unique to them.
Developers at Rizzle have created Rimix as a user-friendly feature, and a person does not need extensive prior knowledge of advanced video editing tools to create mashups. Rimix has been introduced at a time when other short video platforms in the industry are trying to reinvent the 'duet' feature launched around four years ago.
"At Rizzle we constantly strive to empower all our users to become creators of content. And with Rimix, we are a step closer to our goal. Rimix allows all our users- with no to minimum to advanced video editing skills, to create videos and share their stories," said Rizzle marketing head Sapna Patel.
Rizzle’s music library has 35,000+ tracks owing to their partnerships with Sony Music Entertainment and Aditya Music. This, combined with Rimix, can bring about a wide variety of exciting user generated content.
It may be recalled that Instagram has rolled out a new feature called Remix on its Reels platform, which essentially lets users upload a video next to another user's, building on top of the original clip – similar to TikTok's duet function. What the Mark Zuckerberg-owned platform’s reaction to the similar-sounding ‘Rimix’ will be is anyone’s guess.
KOLKATA: India’s online video ecosystem has seen exponential growth in the last couple of years, especially after the pandemic. All the tech, media, and electronic giants are eying to capitalise on the booming OTT space.
Samsung is the latest addition to the list, with the launch of Samsung TV Plus, a service which offers its smart TV users free TV content, as well as ad-supported select live channels and on-demand videos, with no additional device such as a set top box. To access the service, all that the consumers will need is a Samsung Smart TV (2017 model onwards) and an internet connection.
With the introduction of TV Plus, consumers will get instant access to exciting content across genres such as news, lifestyle, technology, gaming and science, sports and outdoors, music, movies and bingeable shows, without any subscription.
TV Plus will also be available on most Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablet devices with O OS or higher software version. Services for Galaxy smartphones are expected in April 2021. The TV Plus app can be downloaded from both the Samsung Galaxy Store and Google Play Store.
The innovative service is being introduced keeping in mind the change in consumer behaviour during the pandemic led lockdown period, when consumers, especially millennials and Gen Z, began to explore their televisions more and more for new and exciting content. In India, Samsung TV Plus will immediately be live across all Smart TV models from 2017 to 2021 and users will be able to access 27 global and local channels. More partners will be on-boarded soon to make the service more robust.
“Over the last one year, consumers have been spending more time at home. Their television sets and smartphones have become the centers of their lives, for both entertainment as well as information. We also noticed that consumers now immensely value great media content, the reason why we chose to introduce Samsung TV Plus in India. Over the next few months, we expect to scale TV Plus to add more channels and content,” Samsung India services director Reshma Prasad Virmani said.
Samsung is India’s top brand of televisions for over a decade and offers a range of smart TVs, ranging from Rs 18,900 to Rs 15,79,900.
With the launch in India, Samsung TV Plus is now available in 14 countries including the US, Canada, Korea, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, UK, Italy, France, Spain, Australia, Brazil and Mexico.
KOLKATA: Short format video app Mitron has inked a licensing deal with Zee Music Company, enabling users to have access to thousands of songs from the latter’s extensive catalogue.
This is the first-ever deal for Mitron with a music company and it’s in line with the app’s efforts to provide a robust and versatile music library for creators to showcase their creativity. To celebrate the association, Mitron has launched #MummyKassam challenge where users can groove to or create videos on the newly released song from the Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan starrer Coolie No. 1, in the near future blockbuster titles such as Ranveer Singh starrer World Cup ‘83, Parineeti Chopra starrer The Girl on the Train, are expected to join the library.
Mitron TV CEO & co-founder Shivank Agarwal said, “We are delighted that Mitron users will now have access to the huge Zee Music library including blockbusters from Bollywood. We aim to provide a seamless experience to our millions of content creators to showcase their talent and make the most interesting content.”
Zee Music Company chief business officer Anurag Bedi said, “We are glad to partner with Mitron, this collaboration will give content creators access to our diverse stream of catalogue spread across regional languages. We focus on bringing together a community of people who want to do more with music.”
Mitron is rapidly ramping up its music library along with focusing on original in-app music. Mitron recently released ‘Atmanirbhar Anthem’, paying homage to the Indian technology community whilst imparting a message on the importance of the #VocalForLocal movement. The anthem is part of Mitron’s music library and available on more than 200 music streaming platforms. The app has crossed over 40+ million downloads on Google Play Store.
KOLKATA: In yet another bullish move, Indian short-format video app Mitron TV has announced the expansion of its leadership team with two senior hires. Former Bytedance executive Shyamanga Barooah has on board as head of content strategy and senior journalist Biswarup Gooptu, who spent 10 years at the Economic Times, has joined as head of partnerships & policy.
In his new role, Barooah will be responsible for developing and optimizing a tailored content strategy, whilst driving the best content practices for internal and external stakeholders. Gooptu will focus on driving public policy for the company and building government alliances.
Barooah is a seasoned media professional with over 20 years of experience in journalism, content creation and management. Prior to his current role, he was the content operation head of Helo and chief editor of News Republic, which is part of ByteDance Inc, the parent company of TikTok. He has also worked for global firms like Cheetah Mobile and leading media houses like India Today, Times Internet and Hindustan Times. A former member of a blues band, he continues to follow his passion for music.
An alumnus of Cardiff University UK, Gooptu is a media veteran with over 15 years of experience in journalism. During his stint at the Economic Times, Gooptu covered the Indian start-up ecosystem, private equity and venture capital funding amongst other beats. He has also worked with Reuters and Telegraph.
Mitron co-founder and CEO Shivank Agarwal said: “The impact of short-video consumption and digital entertainment is growing at a rapid pace, making this sector one of the most exciting in present times. At Mitron, we are in a robust growth phase and continuing to reinvent ourselves. With Shyamanga and Biswarup’s expertise, we look forward to further strengthening our proposition and scale the business to the next level.”
Mitron content strategy head Shyamanga Barooah said: "It's great to be part of Mitron's amazing journey in the short-format video space in India. I feel there is a lot of opportunity within this dynamic space, especially in a storytelling and vibrant nation like India.”
“I am delighted to be joining the company’s leadership team at such a pivotal time in its growth. This is an exciting time for Indian technology landscape and we are poised to become one of the leading short-video social media application,” Mitron partnerships and policy head Biswarup Gooptu said.
In just seven months, Mitron app has crossed 39 million-plus downloads on Android Play Store. As part of its efforts to support the government’s initiative of ‘Vocal for Local’, Mitron recently launched Atmanirbhar Apps, a one of its kind discovery platform for Indian applications. Currently, the platform hosts more than 100 apps and plans to bring 500 apps by the end of this year. Mitron was also the first in the space to launch categories to build vibrant communities of like-minded audiences. This particular initiative enabled users to discover the content of their interest and creators to engage with like-minded followers.
VideoTap – The video technology startup founded by N Dilip Venkatraman (former CEO of CNN-IBN, now CNN-News18 and IBN7, now News18 India) and Savvy Dilip (former Group CMO of ITV Network), has announced that it has been awarded 7 patents by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its dynamic, adaptive, real time and non-linear video streaming technology, which enables Personalized Multi-Functional Streaming of videos. Multi-Functional videos are powerful and offer many more functionalities than regular linear videos.
VideoTap helps video content producers across genres like marketing, e-Learning, News, Sports, e-Commerce and Advertising, to increase engagement, within the video itself and achieve higher ROI. VideoTap also provides in-video consumer behaviour analytics, which is very useful for the video content producers and publishers, to understand viewer preferences and behaviour. VideoTap offers its platform to customers on a Software as a Service (SaaS) model.
All the 7 US patents have been co-invented by N Dilip Venkatraman and Savvy Dilip, the promoters of VideoTap. The patents numbers for the US patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are US 10743053, US 10085049, US 10419784, US 10327043, US 10516909, US 10637842 and US 10659505
Speaking on this development, N Dilip Venkatraman, Founder and CEO of VideoTap, and Co-Inventor of the 7 patents said, “We are excited that our IP portfolio building exercise is off to a good start. We are in the process for filing many more patents. These patents strengthen our resolve to build world class products for world leading customers”.
Savvy Dilip, Founder and COO of VideoTap, and Co-Inventor of the 7 patents elaborates, “In linear videos the main functionality is watching, whereas in Multi-Functional videos the consumer can navigate, engage, participate, get information, personalize and trigger call to action all within the video itself. We look forward to leveraging our IP to build cutting edge products ”
Incidentally, VideoTap is the First Non-UC Affiliated Start Up to be accepted into University of California Santa Cruz’s Accelerator located in Santa Clara, California. Commenting on the patents, successful Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist, Corporate Executive, Board Member, Speaker and Writer, Dr. Sanjit Singh Dang, Chairman of UFirstCapital said, “We saw many areas of application for VideoTap’s technology and these patents are a positive development and add to their value proposition story as they go about building the product and achieving customer traction”.
VideoTap is building its IP portfolio of defensible patents, as it pursues in its mission to increase consumer engagement, by giving unprecedented control to the consumer over the video experience, and in the process increase video consumption and benefit video content producers.
imo, a free video calling and instant messaging app, has taken slew of initiatives to raise awareness and put a check on misinformation about Covid-19 pandemic. The efforts by imo were carried out at a global level. With a comprehensive dashboard furnishing verified information, the app has kept more than 20 million people apprised across countries such as India, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.
As part of its CSR initiative at the onset of Covid-19 outbreak, imo began to take steps aimed at easing the situation for its users. It collated real-time data from impacted countries and disseminated the same through a dashboard. Apart from it, the app also catered information such as prevention and control, government announcements, verified reports etc through different meta-authorized content topics. It further ensured to dispel misinformation and unverified information circulated across social media boards. The average daily exposure of the pandemic-related content was recorded to be more than 10 million.
It was due to this comprehensive approach and the app’s massive global outreach that even some government authorities took cognizance of the steps taken. The Information Communication Technology (ICT) division of the Bangladesh government launched a healthcare call centre on the app on April 29 to provide medical assistance to its nationals stranded in Saudi Arabia. Five imo numbers were included in the programme through which Bangladeshi expatriate could schedule consultations with specific doctors.
Talking about factors behind the app’s global popularity, imo spokesperson said, “A major reason for our wide acceptance is the ability to provide stable calls even in unstable or weak network areas. Compared to other IM applications in the market, users can save more than 20% mobile data while using imo for video calls and messaging. We are happy that our tech-powered innovations have helped people.”
Apart from aforementioned initiatives, the app has also made some key changes in its functioning to ease out things for personal as well as professional usage. Based on the requirements of the Covid-19 scenario, the app upgraded its multi-person audio and video call mechanism. As many as 20 people can get connected at once on an audio call and 9 people on a video call through imo. While this is particularly helpful in organizing office meetings in a work-from-home situation, it is also of use for those who wish to connect with their loved ones in these trying times.
MUMBAI: Sesame Workshop in India, the non-profit educational organization behind Sesame Street, has premiered new animated public service announcements to help families across India stay physically and emotionally healthy as the unprecedented Covid2019 pandemic continues.
The audio and video content are available in English and 11 Indian languages -Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Kashmiri, Bengali, Odia, Assamese, Gujarati, Marathi and include Elmo’s new “Washy Wash” song as well as Sesame Muppets learning how to sneeze properly and how caring for yourself means caring for each other. And with children currently out of school, Sesame content also provides early learning to children at home. Both audio and video content are available across TV, radio and digital platforms operated by Govt of India as well as private media houses. Govt. of Uttar Pradesh will be distributing content over TV, radio, DIKSHA app, WhatsApp and in Maharashtra the content will be available on DD Sahyadri. Some of the new content premiering today includes the following videos:
Washy Wash with Elmo: Families can sing along with Elmo as he washes his hands for 20 seconds – washing the germs away and helping everyone stay healthy.
Learning how to sneeze and cough safely with Grover: Grover helps children remember that when they feel a tickle in their noses or throats, they should remember to sneeze or cough into their upper sleeve or elbow—that helps keep the germs off their hands and away from other people. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!
Time to Wash Your Hands! Sesame Muppets demonstrate different situations where children and families should wash hands—after coughs and sneezes, before eating, after playing, after using the bathroom, and more.
Caring for Myself, Caring for Others: Sesame Muppets help children understand that when you take good care of yourself, you’re taking good care of others, too.
“As families across India adjust to their new realities, our Sesame programme is there to support them in staying healthy and fostering learning at home while children are out of school,” said Sesame Workshop India MD Sonali Khan. “With a little help from the funny and furry muppets, together we can help children and families, especially the vulnerable, learn healthy habits and take care of each other during this crisis.”
Sesame Workshop India, through its muppets has always been at the forefront in promoting healthy habits for life through its various programmes in India, as it believes that children can indeed be agents of change. Through its YouTube channel Galli Galli Sim Sim it has reached ~4.2Mn children and caregivers in the last one month.
The emotional, social and physical development of children has a direct impact on the overall development of the country and this assumes greater significance, as children 0-14 years comprise ~ 30 percent or approx. 37 crores of the total population of India as per the census 2011 figures.
In India, Sesame Workshop’s community engagement programmes such as Radiophone and mobile community viewings have successfully proven that children who are exposed to its content are twice as ready for school, have higher awareness of healthy foods, hygiene and show increased signs of inclusion. The programmes equip children and their caregivers, with the necessary tools required to transform every day moments into playful learning experiences, helping to set children on the right path to life.
In addition to the new videos, Sesame Workshop India offers free materials such as e-books, audio episodes, video episodes and digital games for parents and children. The new videos are part of Sesame Workshop’s Caring for Each Other initiative, which provides a rich array of Sesame content designed to comfort, educate, and entertain parents and children during the unprecedented uncertainty facing young children and families around the world. Free resources are available for families at sesameworkshopindia.org/caring/
Sesame Workshop resources are easy to use and are designed to help parents provide comfort and manage anxiety, as well as help with creating routines, fostering playful learning at home, including staying physically and mentally healthy. Mindful that the adults who care for children need support too, the resources are intended to help caregivers as well as children. Sesame Workshop is offering the content free of cost for families around the world who are struggling to adjust, adapt, and keep each other safe.
Sesame Workshop is also developing new content including animations on healthy habits, resources providing comfort, and learn-at-home activities on topics including reading, math, and science, that will be available in English, Hindi and other regional languages such as Kannada, Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Odia, Assamese and Kashmiri.
Washy Wash with Elmo:
Learning how to sneeze and cough safely with Grover:
MUMBAI: In a bid to offer unmatched video-on-demand content, leading DTH company Dish TV India Limited has partnered with MX Player that emerged as India’s #1 entertainment app of 2019 as per the annual FICCI Report. With this strategic association with MX player, Dish TV India has further strengthened its portfolio by adding one more app in the app zone on its Android-based connected devices, namely Dish SMRT Hub and d2h stream for its DishTV and d2h users respectively. Users will now be able to stream an exciting slate of popular MX Originals, TV shows, Music Videos and Movies across multiple genres and languages. DishTV and d2h already offer the most popular apps including its streaming app ‘WATCHO’.
Dish TV India Limited executive director & group CEO Anil Dua said: “Our partnership with MX Player makes it easy for our Android box users to access large content library spanning over 10 languages through this in-built app and further enhance their TV viewing experience. Offering unique and unparalleled content to our customers is always a top priority for us and through this partnership, we have taken one more step to fulfill our promise.”
MX Player head of marketing & business partnerships Abhishek Joshi said: “Our core proposition is to distribute premium original content in local and regional languages for the 100s of millions of Indians for whom smartphones are the first screen. But with the Dish TV association, we are looking at widening our existing base of viewers and extending a superior entertainment experience to Indian audiences across genres and through a screen of their choice – be it their mobiles, tablets or TV screens.”
In addition to MX Player, the Android box offers a host of features including built-in Google Assistant, Chromecast, Google Play and access to all popular featured OTT platforms like YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Zee5, Watcho, Voot, ALTBalaji and many more. Coupled with the ease of using voice commands via Google Assistant, the Android-based set-top box is compatible with any television set. ‘Dish SMRT Hub’ and ‘d2h stream’ are internet-enabled Android-based HD Set Top Box, available for INR 3,999 for new subscribers & INR 2,499 for existing subscribers.
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MUMBAI: SVF and director Debaloy Bhattacharya released the teaser of their upcoming film Dracula Sir – a much-awaited experimental genre-based drama – dealing with the popular Westernised concept of Vampires and Dracula. This is the first time a film based on the concept of Vampires has been conceptualised with a flavourof bangaliana for the Bengali audience.
The teaser starts off with Anirban Bhattacharya voicing the famous lines written by renowned revolutionary writer Nabarun Bhattacharya that says:
“Ei Mrityu Upattaka Amar Desh Noye” (This valley of death is not mine)
Ei Bistirno Shoshan Amar Desh Noye (This wide graveyard is not mine)
Thereby, hinting at a revolutionary touch to this film. This is followed by a man, a schoolteacher by his appearance (essayed by Anirban Bhattacharya) who enters a classroom in the present day, to be greeted with a blackboard that is inscribed with the words Dracula Sir, thereby introducing us to the protagonist of the film Raktim ( Anirban Bhattacharya), a simpleton with a protruding pair of canine teeth, bullied for his vampire appearance.
But he has a story to tell from 1971 that makes his journey a tale of finding love and seeking revenge. The teaser then shows us a glimpse of the past with Manjari (played by Mimi Chakraborty) telling Amal (Anirban Bhattacharya) that their fight is for freedom and finally the teaser ends with Amal screaming in pain after his canines get brutally pulled out while he is being tortured inside a prison…r
Director Debaloy Bhattacharya says: “The story is about a primary school teacher who has a protruding pair of canine teeth earns his nickname Dracula Sir. As destiny pushes him towards becoming the vampire he has always been referred to..This is my search for the Bangali Dracula without the castle, who is out to create his own myth. A man turns into a vampire and with that a whole lost world unleashes around him.'
Co-founder and Director of SVF, Mahendra Soni says: “This is the first time the Bengali audience will get to experience, cherish and talk about their own vampire in the form of a simple Bangali man, through this unique film. Anirban surpasses himself as an actor and Mimi will be in a never-seen –before avatar.
Mimi Chakraborty who makes a comeback into film after a political hiatus said: “It’s always a pleasure working with SVF and I’m happy that I’m working with them on such a unique project. My character Manjari is very different from all the characters I’ve played over the years. This is also my first film with Debaloy and second film with Anirban so I’m looking forward to the release of this film!”
Directed by Debaloy Bhattacharya, the film also stars Rudranil Ghosh, Bidipta Chakraborty, Kanchan Mullick and Samuel Alam in pivotal roles. The film is scheduled to release on 1st May 2020.
MUMBAI: Hotstar VIP has added yet another blockbuster title to its expansive movie library – this time Tamil action thriller ‘Kaithi’. The blockbuster title that is still running in select cinemas, is finally making its digital premiere on Hotstar VIP much before its TV premiere. Directed byLokesh Kanagaraj, the film starsKarthi, Narain, S.R Prabhu, Hareesh Peradi, Vatsan Chakravarthy in pivotal roles and revolves around a prisoner on parole who is enlisted by a cop to protect him and his fellow officers from a gangster’s henchmen.
Director Lokesh Kanagaraj said, “Kaithi will always be a very special film for me. From the storyline, action sequence to the background score, it makes for a complete entertainer. I’ve pushed to limits by experimenting around the plot line and the final look and feel of the movie. I’m extremely happy that it has received so much acclaim and now that it will be streaming on Hotstar VIP it reaching a much larger audience”Actor Karthi added, “It’s been a great experience working on this new-age action movie – there’s an engaging screenplay along with the perfect blend of action and emotion. Being a father myself, I could relate to the emotions that my character goes through! It’s a must watch for everyone looking for die hard action scenes and now all of it can be experienced on Hotstar VIP”
A group of cops seize a record amount of drugs but soon find themselves in danger of the mafia. An injured inspector then takes the help of a life term prisoner, who is out on parole to meet his daughter.
