BERLIN -- Opix has announced the release of Opix Media City 3.5, successor to the popular 3.0 version of the media asset management software that was launched one year ago. Available in both English and German, Media City 3.5 delivers optimal functionality, ease of use and greater security in media asset management.
New System Features
Greater performance and data protection with the new Sybase Adaptive Server database kernel: The underlying database of Media City 3.5 is the Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise 12, which replaces the older version 11. In short, the Adaptive Server 12 provides considerably better performance and higher protection against data loss in the event of disaster recovery than its predecessor.
Smarter User Access Privileges with Opix User Collaboration Management: In release 3.5, Opix has developed a smarter approach to managing user privileges that does beyond the simple distinction between remote and local users. For example, the data requirements of two external users, e.g. a customer and a supplier are likely to be very different and this should be reflected in the level of authorization and database access rights granted to them. With the help of Opix User Collaboration Management, users can now be divided into groups and assigned to work on a particular customer or project. The users are then given profiles (by checking boxes) that controls their access privileges.
New Application Features
Easier production processing with new job type: With Media City 3.5, jobs can be created using templates stored in a separate directory. The job templates are assigned to a certain customer and contain samples from a library of templates or specifications which can be searched for.
Reserve/Release files: This is a workflow control mechanism that prevents an object or component from being edited simultaneously by more than one user, to avoid a user unwittingly overwriting the work of another. The user who is trying to retrieve the file sees clearly that the file has been earmarked by another user, by whom, and the time and date the file was reserved. The reservation of a file can be overwritten by another user who requires the file, and in this case the database server also records if a reservation of a file has been overwritten and by whom. Taking this a step further, a user may also reserve and block, i.e. “claim” a file for use. By doing so, the reservation itself cannot be overwritten, meaning that once you have claimed a file no other user can open it. It is possible to search for all files that are in use by a specific user. Note: this is not a check-in/check-out function per se, as a reserved file is not copied or removed from the file server, as one would expect under a “check out” command. A check-in/check-out function in this respect is planned for the next major release of Opix Media City.
Faster search results with the new object search window: The new configurable object search window gives faster results and provides a better overview of the objects being searched. It is now possible to search all metadata including ObjectsPlus fields. The search terms can be saved and reused.
Improved batch data import: To speed up batch data imports, the batch process is no longer aborted if file names carry the same name. Batch processing, therefore, doesn’t require any user intervention when importing data. The new release 3.5 adds a sequential number to the file in addition to the file name.
Synchronization of customer jobs with greater security: Creating a job file with the same name as the job order is automatically produced. This is automatically stored in the same physical place on the file system as the files contains in the job. In the event of a database failure, the job files can be retrieved by inputting the order number.
Job envelope with customizable fields for each customer: The number of freely configurable fields in the job envelope has been increased – there are now 19 additional fields available. Furthermore, these fields can be assigned to specific users depending on their task in the production workflow. This means that selected fields can be temporarily (or permanently) overwrite-protected from certain users until that person is authorized to work on the object.
Watch for the release of Opix Media City Enterprise Edition in October. More information will be available in our October newsletter.
For more information on upgrading to the latest version of Opix Media City or information on other Opix products, visit www.opix.de or call a sales representative at Cebic, the U.S. distributor of Opix, at 303-987-3679.
