DAX (application)
Developer(s) | DAX Cloud |
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Website | www www |
DAX is a cloud based Software as a Service production workflow application used by the television and film industries for media production and digital asset management. The name DAX is derived from “Digital Asset Exchange,” and is a registered trademark of Sample Digital Holdings, LLC., the name by which the company that developed and provided the technology was known until 2012.[1] Now known as DAX, LLC, the company is headquartered in Culver City, California. Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the technology subsidiary of Prime Focus (BSE code: 532748) acquired DAX in April 2014. [2] [3] [4] [5] DAX is a leading provider of cloud-based production workflow and media asset management applications to the entertainment industry.
DAX is used to collaborate on content created throughout the course of motion picture and television production, as well as for marketing and distribution of the final product. DAX is used for storage, review and distribution of digitized production elements, including video, audio, photography and documents such as screenplays, legal contracts, budgets, schedules and basic text documents.
According to the company’s website, DAX was created in response to rising production and distribution costs, the proliferation of high-speed bandwidth and ubiquitous access of the internet. The increasing need for collaboration on motion picture and television projects that employ geographically separate teams, such as production, finance, editorial, marketing, legal, and distribution also spurred the development of DAX. The cloud computing solution enables dispersed creative and business entities to connect through the internet and view the work in progress, eliminating the use of DVD, CD media, and courier services in production and post-production. The mobile application also adapts the technology to the demands of the industry's increasing global production methods.[6]
When used for managing and storing digital assets in the cloud along with associated metadata, DAX allows watermarked PDFs, photos and video, in both streaming and broadcast-ready qualities, to be streamed or downloaded with encryption and digital audit trails to ensure security. When used for international distribution of content, partners given access to DAX view selected materials prior to licensing and, once approved, are provided with access to the desired materials. The system tracks what has been downloaded, allowing distributors to charge for what is used.
The company owns several patents on the technology, including US Patent No: 7,660,416 and 8,218,764 for “System and Method for Media Content Collaboration Throughout a Media Production Process,” and trademarks in addition to DAX, including Digital Dailies and iDailies, an application that allows video to be viewed on mobile devices such as the iPad and iPhone.[7]
In the United States entertainment industry, DAX is market dominant, used by all major Hollywood studios and broadcasters.[8] The current version, DAX 4.0, was released in April 2013 at the National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas where it earned the Studios Daily Prime Award for Ease of Use.[9]
The DAX website cites approval of its software by Hollywood studios and television networks: “Audits by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and content security departments of several major film studios have certified company practices and the system’s technical safety." [10]
DAX’s customers include such companies as CBS, 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, Warner Bros, A&E, Showtime, Lifetime, Summit, Open Road Films, Alcon Entertainment, Sony Pictures Television, AMC, CBC, CTV, Warner Home Video and many independent production and distribution companies. [11]
History
DAX Founder and current President[12] Patrick Macdonald-King has headed the company since its beginnings as a merger of three businesses: DAX Solutions (digital asset management software), Digital Dailies (the creator of online dailies), and Sample Media Services (a digital media encoding facility). Sample Digital/Digital Dailies was co-founded by Josh C. Kline and Mike McCoy in 2000. In April 2007, Sample Digital secured funding from Hyperion Media Group and merged the three businesses under the Sample Digital brand, with a focus on building an end-to-end media production workflow platform for content producers and distributors. Sample Digital presented its new platform DAX|D3 in April, 2009. In 2011, Sample Digital introduced DAX|MOBILE with iDailies exclusively for iPad, allowing the DAX platform to be accessed via iPad.[13] In 2012, the company’s product, DAX, became the company’s name and brand. DAX was a sponsor of the Cloud Computing Conference, organized by the Distributed Computing Industry Association as part of the 2013 NAB Show program, where Macdonald-King delivered the keynote address on Cloud Solutions for Content Creation [14] In October 2013, Kline was awarded a Primetime Engineering Emmy Award for his efforts in inventing and launching Digital Dailies, a service that DAX continues to build upon.[15] In March 2014, Macdonald-King sold DAX to Prime Focus Technologies and was appointed President, PFT North America.[16] [17] [18]
DAX opened its first international office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2013.[19]
References
- ^ "Dax Receives Patent for Cloud Production Workflow Application". TV Technology. January 14, 2013.
- ^ "Prime Focus Technologies to acquire DAX". Variety.com. March 10, 2014.
- ^ "Prime Focus Technologies acquires DAX". Business Standard. March 11, 2014.
- ^ "Prime Focus Technologies acquires DAX". Hollywood Reporter. March 10, 2014.
- ^ "Prime Focus Technologies acquires DAX". LATimes. March 10, 2014.
- ^ "Sample Digital Offers iPad App". Variety. March 15, 2011.
- ^ "United States Patent and Trademark Office".
- ^ "Key Considerations in Developing-Mobile Applications". Sand Hill Business Strategy. October 31, 2011.
- ^ "Studio Daily Prime Awards Winners Announced". Studio Daily. April 9, 2013.
- ^ "Dax Security Page". DAX. December 5, 2013.
- ^ "Dax Client List". DAX. December 5, 2013.
- ^ "Prime Focus Acquires DAX". VC Circle.com. March 11, 2014.
- ^ "On Location Goes Mobile". Los Angeles Times. April 19, 2011.
- ^ "Cloud Computing Conference". NABShow. April 8, 2013.
- ^ 2013 "Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards". Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. October 23, 2013.
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value (help) - ^ "Prime Focus Acquires DAX". VC Circle.com. March 11, 2014.
- ^ "Prime Focus Technologies to buy DAX". LATimes.com. March 10, 2014.
- ^ "Prime Focus Technologies acquires DAX". PostMagazine.com. March 11, 2014.
- ^ "Hollywood Production Workflow Outfit DAX Launches in Canada". Hollywood Reporter. April 9, 2013.