DataCrystal speeds up retrievals of video data

by Anjanette Mudd

WESTMINSTER ? Consider this.

There are 1,800 frames of data in only 30 seconds of video. You’re searching for one. In a two-hour movie, that broadens the field to a possible 432,000 frames. To search manually could turn out to be timely and costly if your business depends on finding that single frame.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Select your Republic Services residential cart now!

In preparation for Republic Services becoming the primary provider of residential recycling, yard trimmings, and trash, residents should now select the best cart size and service schedule for their household needs.

For industries in which video management is a key aspect of business, DataCrystal has a solution. The Westminster-based start-up, incorporated in January 2000, is developing technology that it hopes will make fast forward and rewind video search mechanisms part of the past.

An outsource solution for video management, DataCrystal is concerned with the convergence of the video and technology industries, an area that is gaining momentum as video streaming over the Internet increases, and as demand rises for faster, better ways to store and access data.

Current pricing for outsourced storage can run as high as $60,000 a month for 100 hours (350 gigabytes) of archived footage, which can be costly considering that only one minute of MPEG2, DVD quality video requires approximately 60 megabytes (1,000 megabytes = 1 gigabyte) of storage capacity.

Despite costs, demand for storage service providers is on the rise. The market is expected to climb to $7 billion by 2003, a tremendous increase from 1999 values of $10 million, according to market research firm Dataquest.

DataCrystal has received approximately $300,000 from angel investors and a round of seed financing totaling $1.2 million from the Canopy Group of Salt Lake City. Computer giant Hewlett-Packard has been a strategic partner, investing equipment in the start-up since its launch.

DataCrystal currently has three development partners and is working toward strategic alliances with Storage Technology Corp. and WorldCom, said Chief Executive Officer Yon Lew. DataCrystal also is rolling out a pilot plan for clients in the professional football industry. Lew said the plan will go into development operations some time this summer.

DataCrystal handles all aspects of media-asset management, including storing, encoding and categorizing data, but the company specializes in video indexing. There are storage management companies that provide similar services, but many only handle one part, forcing clients to seek multiple companies to manage their data.

The company’s automated video indexing solution can recognize and recall items as specific as the numbers on a football player’s jersey. And because the company provides an outsource solution, meaning DataCrystal oversees management of the data, clients do not have to deal with figuring out a difficult software program.

DataCrystal’s solution utilizes artificial intelligence, so it not only has the ability to learn, it can teach itself and improve its search capabilities.

The sports and entertainment industries are where the company is focusing its efforts, but the solution can be used in several capacities. Advertisers, for instance, could use it to find out how often their ad was shown in a live broadcast of a sporting event.

The solution also can be used as a surveillance tool.

The solution is particularly suited for professional football teams because there is such a rigid rule set in terms of search criteria. The same is true of the movie industry. The solution could be customized, for instance, to find all close-ups of Tom Cruise in the movie ?Mission Impossible.? Other uses for the solution include training and recruiting. Instead of traveling around the country, recruiters could simply view those plays in which the particular player they are scouting appears. Contact Anjanette Mudd at (303) 440-4950 or e-mail amudd@bcbr.com.