| Type: | Private |
| Foundation: | 2005 |
| TVU Networks Corporation | |
| Location: | Mountain View, California, United States |
| Key People: | Paul Shen, Chief Executive Officer |
| Industry: | Technology |
| Products: | TVU Alert, TVU Anywhere, TVU AP ENPS Integration, TVU Aerial Newsgathering Pack, TVU Booking Service, TVU Command Center, TVU Era, TVU Grid, TVU Me, TVU MediaMind, TVU MLink, TVU One, TVU One TM1000G, TVU Producer, TVU Router, TVU Remote Production System, TVU Timelock, TVU Transcriber |
TVU Networks Corporation is a private tech company, based in Mountain View, California.
TVU Player was the company's first product. It was a live streaming TV viewer client that provided free live television programming worldwide; it was viewable from a PC or laptop with a broadband connection,[1] until its services stopped on February 25, 2013.[2]
The company introduced its first internet protocol (IP)-based hardware device on September 11, 2010. The TVU Pack TM8000 was a mobile newsgathering backpack transmitter that allowed broadcasters to deliver a live broadcast-quality HD signal, with latency of two seconds over the internet, even with limited bandwidth.[3] The aggregated cellular transmission technology used in TVU Pack and other similar devices at the time provided an alternative to traditional satellite trucks, helping change on-location live reporting for television stations.[4]
The technology behind these backpack-style cellular transmitters is commonly known within the broadcast industry as "bonded cellular" or "aggregated cellular." This term refers to the synchronization of multiple circuits or connections which work together to provide a more reliable signal than a typical consumer "wireless connection."[5] Backpack transmitters gave news crews in the field the ability to air first or exclusively.
In the two years following the introduction of the TM8000, the company released two improved iterations of the TVU Pack transmitter: the TM8100 and the TM8200.[6] With each new version of the early generation backpack transmitters the form factor and weight were reduced, and more product features were added to the software.
The company also began expanding its IP-based product line, which includes the launch of TVU. Anywhere, a mobile app for newsgathering, that works on iOS, Android devices and TVU Grid, a cloud-based solution for Point-to-multipoint live video distribution. Gray Television was the first national station group to deploy TVU Grid at launch.[7]
In 2015, the company rolled out its TVU One portable transmitter as the successor to the original TVU Packs. The new transmitter was 90% smaller than the first-generation cellular packs.[8] TVU also entered into a partnership with drone manufacturer DJI in the same year, with the two companies collaborating on integrating their products for drone applications.[9]
TVU has shifted its focus in recent years to the development of Cloud-native applications, to address the transition of the broadcast industry to IP from transitional SDI.[10] The need for cloud-native and IP products and services in the Broadcast Industry is a direct result of studios moving away from traditional fixed studio hardware infrastructure to flexible anywhere remote production.[11]