www.sccmediaserver.com

Profile Index

The DAM Playbook

This vendor does not appear in the in the DAM Playbook.

DAM 10 Core Accreditation

This vendor is not 10 Core accredited.

Vendor Details
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Contact Name

Lee Funnell

Company Profile

SCC MediaServer DAM systems store millions of digital multimedia assets created at hundreds of sites throughout the world. Available in all size configurations, from very small to very large, SCC MediaServer systems provide scalable, highly available archive and workflow repositories for digital assets, fulfilling sophisticated user expectations, and providing bi-directional integrations with 3rd party systems.

Contact Telephone

+1 770 751 8500

Contact Email

lee.funnell@sccmediaserver.com

Company Website

https://www.sccmediaserver.com

Years Trading

Company Turnover Category

The turnover of the vendor can give an indication of their size. US Dollars is used as common currency to allow comparisons. Note that turnover is not necessarily any indicator of financial stability but as part of any procurement due diligence you are obliged to carry out by your organisation, any vendors who have not agreed to show their turnover here might be required to do so if subsequently appointed.

$5m - $10m

Percentage of Revenue From DAM Software

A vendor might have a large turnover and many employees, but their DAM software division is a very small element of what they offer. If a large proportion of their revenue comes from DAM solutions (licenses, support, hosting, consulting etc) then this may mean they are more specialised, but also there are risks to their overall financial stability if there is a downturn in the DAM software market.

Number of Full-Time Employees

Along with turnover, the number of full-time employees gives an indication of the size of the vendor. Note that although a firm might have many employees, not all of them might be dedicated to developing DAM solutions, so this cannot be relied on in isolation.

Office Locations

Alpharetta, GA

Product Name

SCC MediaServer

Latest Version Number

Date Of Last Release

18/09/2021

Documentation URL

https://www.sccmediaserver.com

Online trial link

https://www.sccmediaserver.com/scc-contact/index.html

Trial download or sandbox link

https://www.sccmediaserver.com/scc-contact/index.html

Clients & Customers

APN News & Media

CNN

Cox Media Group

Dow Jones and Company, Inc.

Editorial Iparraguirre S.A.

Editorial Televisa SA de CV

El Progreso de Lugo, S.L.

Gannett Co., Inc.

Globe and Mail

Gracenote (A Nielsen Company)

Grupo La Nacion

Grupo Planeta

JPI Media

Lee Enterprises, Inc.

MaineToday Media

McClatchy Company

McPherson Media Group

National Geographic Partners

Nation Media Group

NBC News Digital

Newsquest Media Group

Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions LLC

Seattle Times Company

Seven West Media Ltd.

Sound News Media

Stuff Ltd.

Times Publishing Company

Torstar Corporation

Zeroa Multimedia S.A.

Partner Network

If the vendor operates through a sales channel they may use intermediaries who have regional focus or additional specialisms in a given vertical market.

Yes

Partner Network Notes

Partners in UK, Europe, Australasia and South America

Licensing
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Licensing Model

This refers to the type of licence the DAM system software is supplied under. Proprietary means that the developer restricts access to the source code (the instructions used to generate the software). Open source means that the developer provides full access to the code so you can modify it yourself. Split model is hybrid and means they may offer both options with some restrictions removed (or added) depending on the model chosen. If split is selected, it is advisable to verify the differences with the vendor.

Proprietary

Use of Open Source Components

Many DAM systems use freely available open source components to deliver key functionality. The products themselves may not be open source, however. This question will help to identify to what extent they are open source.

Some open source components used, but core product is not open source

Hosting
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Software Delivery Methods

Installed (On-Premise)

Cloud/SaaS

Hybrid

Technology
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Client

Client refers to the type of hardware or software device that can be used to access or control the DAM system.

Web client

Desktop client

iOS mobile app

Android mobile app

Server Operating Systems supported

This only applies for installed or hybrid DAM systems and refers to what types of OS they can be run on. This question is less relevant for DAM systems where a third party will be hosting it for you.

Windows

Server Operating System Notes

Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022

Web Server

The type of web server software that the DAM system can operate with. Not all DAM systems use a web server and for pure SaaS products the question is irrelevant. If you either want SaaS or non-web DAM systems, do not choose an option.

IIS

Software Development Technologies Used

This means the programming language or development technology used to implement the DAM system. This question is more important for open source software or if you have IT policy restrictions that require you to use (or not use) some technologies. It may not be relevant if you require a hosted DAM and never intend to host the system in-house.

Java/J2EE

.NET

Node.js

PHP

C++

Classic ASP

Database Technology

The Database that the DAM system uses. All DAM systems require some kind of storage for asset metadata and they are usually based on an existing technology - but that may not always be a conventional database. If the DAM will be hosted by someone else (e.g. SaaS/Cloud) this question may not be relevant.

SQL Server

Search Technologies

This refers to third party search components that the vendor uses to provide the text search features (and sometimes other related search functions).

Lucene

Custom (developed in-house)

Search Technologies Notes

The SCC search engine is a custom in-house development project based on Apache Lucene.NET

Service Oriented Architecture

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) means the vendor's product uses a modular architecture where each core DAM function is delivered as a service which can be separated out independently from other functions. It is important for large-scale Digital Asset Management implementations or more complex integration requirements.

Yes

Service Oriented Architecture Definition

Some vendors have widely differing opinions of what Service Oriented Architecture means. Their response to this question allows you to understand if their definition concurs with your own. If you are not contemplating a large scale DAM implementation or one with many complex integration requirements, SOA may not be relevant to your needs.

Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a method of software development that uses software components called services to create business applications. Each service provides a business capability, and services can also communicate with each other across platforms and languages. Developers use SOA to reuse services in different systems or combine several independent services to perform complex tasks.

Unique SOA Services

If the vendor uses a Service Oriented Architecture, they should be able to identify a number of unique services that are isolated from each other. Note there is overlap between with question and the one about scalable asset processing. Some vendors do not have an SOA but do offer large scale asset processing capabilities.

Storage

Asset Media Processing

Metadata

Metadata Extraction

User Management

User Authentication

Permissions (Access Control)

Instance Management

Workflow

Collections (lightboxes and arbitrary selections)

Other

SOA Other Services

Rest API

Microservices

Microservices are similar in nature to Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) with the key difference being that they can be deployed entirely independently of the platform that uses them. Microservices are usually prevalent in Digital Asset Supply Chain projects.

Microservices Definition

As with Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) some vendors have different opinions of what microservices are. Their response to this question allows you to understand if their definition concurs with your own. If you are not contemplating a Digital Asset Supply Chain project, large scale DAM implementation or one with many complex integration requirements, microservices may not be relevant to your needs.

Search
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Search Features

This describes the search strategies that can be used to find assets. If you do not understand any of them, leave the options de-selected. Most DAM systems should support at least keyword search at a minimum.

Keyword

Folders

Filters

Faceted Search

Linked Asset Search

Search Notes

Leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to identify objects, people, text, scenes, and activities and filter inappropriate content within digital media.

Index/Search Text Content Of Documents

Some DAM systems can search the text content of document assets and that might be important for your DAM solution.

Yes

Document Text Indexing Notes

Provides automatic extraction and indexing of text from PDF, PS and EPS Vector, MS Powerpoint, MS Word, MS Excel), generates speech text and closed captions in one or more languages from video and audio files, recognizes and generates searchable text from scanned bitmap documents with column/article detection.

Metadata
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Embedded metadata support (reading)

Embedded metadata refers to information stored within asset files which can be searched from the DAM system. There are different standards for this type of metadata. Some image cataloguing software like Adobe Lightroom will write this data to asset files and a device like a camera may capture details also such as GPRS coordinates where an photo was shot. XMP metadata is often used with other types of files such as InDesign or PDF. If you are unsure whether this applied to you, do not check any options.

IPTC

IPTC Core

XMP

EXIF

Dublin Core

Embedded metadata support (writing)

See the reading question above for more details on what embedded metadata is. This question refers to whether embedded metadata can be written back to files if edited within the DAM system.

IPTC

IPTC Core

XMP

EXIF

Dublin Core

Embedded metadata support notes

SCC software incorporates the Adobe XMP SDK for parsing, manipulating, and serializing metadata, according to the XMP data model regardless of the file format of the data.

Controlled Vocabularies

Controlled Vocabularies are predefined lists of search terms. They can be realised in many different ways but the common factor is the user picks from a restricted selection rather than enters a keyword. Most DAM systems will usually support both controlled vocabularies and keywords.

Yes

Controlled Vocabulary Notes

In addition to custom user generated vocabularies, also incorporates IPTC NewsCodes and Refinitiv Intelligent Tagging vocabularies.

User Defined Metadata Fields

The ability to configure metadata your own metadata fields is important for DAM systems so you can assign a dedicated field for certain items of information rather than using a generic classification method or one of the vendor's own standard fields.

Yes

Cataloguing Interface Options

When cataloguing assets with custom fields, some metadata will be controlled selections, others will be free text. There are further choices like date fields, file attachments etc.

Text field

Text area (narrative)

Radio

Drop down menu

Combo-box (multi-item selection)

Checkbox

Date

File attachment

Numbers

Cataloguing Interface Notes

Verify how the vendor has implemented a given cataloguing interface control. It is preferable if they can demonstrate with examples of how they have implemented interface options for cataloguing and metadata entry.

SCC client forms are customizable and support all types of user interface fields appropriate to the type of data being entered/edited. SCC user interface also supports internationalization and localization allowing field labels and other UI to be displayed in the users preferred language.

Business Intelligence & Reporting
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Asset Usage Records

To enable reports to be generated, DAM solutions must retain records of asset usage, including searching, download and editing of records. The reporting should include the user who carried out the activity and the date/time it occurred.

Yes

Asset Usage Notes

A variety of system activity and user activity tokens, including download and delivery tokens can be enabled, creating an audit trail of asset usage. The audit trail can be kept indefinitely or automatically truncated based on age and size.

Audit Trail

A detailed audit trail that logs every user action in a central record is useful to gain insight into user behaviour. Comprehensive audit trails allow DAM system users to produce reports that address their unique needs.

Yes

Audit Trail Notes

A variety of system activity and user activity tokens, including search, edit, download and usage, insert, update tokens. can be enabled, creating an audit trail of system usage. The audit trail can be kept indefinitely or automatically truncated based on age and size.

Built-In Reports

A range of built-in reports that you can quickly generate is useful to answer common questions such as the "what is our most popular asset?".

Asset Processing
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Dedicated/Scalable Proxy or Derivative Asset Generation

Nearly all DAM systems will generate thumbnails and previews of media, including more dynamic types like video or audio. Some products use a separate server to do this which usually makes them more suitable for large scale asset ingestion and processing.

Yes

Dedicated/Scalable Proxy or Derivative Asset Generation Notes

The SCC MediaFactory engine operates as a windows service and can be installed to run on any number of workstations/servers in parallel.

Multi-Page Document Asset Previews

If you deal with document oriented assets, having a solution which can generate multi-page previews (and also zoom in on them) can save the hassle of downloading a file only to discover it is not the one you need. For assets with very similar content, this can be a useful feature.

Yes

Asset Manipulation
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Image Manipulation

Many DAM systems allow users to manipulate images by resizing, cropping etc. Choose any features which are important to your users.

Image re-sizing

Image cropping

Format conversion

Flip images

Rotate image

Change colorspace

Batch manipulate groups of assets

Image Manipulation Notes

Dynamic watermarking in client based on user permission. Also supports watermarking of exported assets.

Video Manipulation

Some DAM systems may allow video assets to be converted or modified. If that is a potential requirement for you, specify those features which are likely to be needed. EDL = Edit Decision List and refers to providing in/out points when editing video footage.

Format conversion

EDLs and editing features

Timeline metadata

Batch operations on multiple video assets

Video Manipulation Notes

Speech to text extraction and transcript generation in one or more languages. Closed caption generation in one or more languages. Add one or more timeline trimsets (endpoints) and encode to new assets. Supports read/write audio/video assets to/from Brightcove portal.

Data Import/Export
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Importing Metadata

Importing metadata is an important feature if you have either legacy assets or metadata is generated using some other tools (for example a spreadsheet). Not all systems offer this, but usually if the feature is not available, the vendor will be able to carry out batch importing for you via professional services (note: this will usually incur a cost, unlike a built-in capability).

Yes

Metadata Import Formats

This question only applies if the vendor has features to import metadata. There are common formats like CSV, XML and Excel which DAM solutions may support. If this is a requirement you are likely to make frequent use of, it is essential to verify whether the product supports the formats you typically work with.

CSV (or any delimited file)

XML

Metadata Import Notes

Also supports metadata import from XMP, JSON, IPTC (ANPA)

Exporting Metadata

As well as importing metadata, sometimes it is important to be able to export sections of it to conduct further analysis in third party applications. Not all products support this, but usually it will be possible to request the vendor provides an export via professional services (although a fee may be charged).

Yes

Metadata Export Formats

This question only applies if the vendor has features to export metadata. There are common formats like CSV, XML and Excel which DAM solutions may support. If this is a requirement you are likely to make frequent use of, it is essential to verify whether the product supports the formats you typically work with.

CSV (or other delimited file)

XML

Metadata Export Notes

Also supports metadata export to XMP, JSON, IPTC (ANPA), or any other text based construction.

Integration
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API

API means Application Programming Interface and allows third party software to control a DAM system. If you intend to integrate your DAM with another existing solution then you need to choose the API protocol that is compatible with that.

REST

API Notes

The SCC Rest API is a RESTful HTTP 1.1 service exposing SCC MediaServer resources, enabling interaction with client technologies supporting the HTTP 1.1 protocol and bi-directional TCP/IP.

The SCC Rest API allows clients to request SCC MediaServer resources, such as Objects, Libraries, Authorized Leases, thumbnails, hi-res previews, stored hi-resolution documents, perform searches, and connected MediaFactories.

These resources are expressed as URI’s with a supported HTTP method

API-First Architecture

API-First means that anything the user can do via the graphical interface is possible via the API. If a DAM has an API-First architecture it is far more likely to be easier to integrate with other solutions than one that does not.

Yes

API-First Notes

If the vendor claims an API-First architecture then they should be able to provide a definition of it. In addition, documentation which describes their support for it will typically be available. Implementing API-First is a complex undertaking so vendor development teams will definitely know whether they have this attribute or do not.

An API-first approach is a development model where design of the application starts with the API. Functionality exposed via SCC client applications is primarily made accessible via the SCC Rest API.

Hooks

Hooks are related to APIs but are initiated by the application rather than by an external application making the request. Hooks allow other actions to be initiated based on events, for example if a user downloads an asset, an action can be commenced to notify another application that this has taken place (along with the ID number of the asset, date/time etc).

Yes

Hooks Targets Supported

In most DAM applications that support them, hooks are initiated as web requests, so the system will call a given external URL and provide some parameters. Some solutions also support initiating scripts or applications which can run on the server where the system is hosted.

Web hooks

Scripts (using an existing scripting feature, if it exists)

Third party program running on server

Hooks Definition

If the vendor claims support for hooks, check how they define them and see if their interpretation concurs with your own. A reasonably detailed explanation along with citations/links should be given here.

The SCC DAM includes a ServerOPs module which enables scripted, server-side operations on objects as they are inserted, exported or modified in-place within the MediaServer database. These operations can be performed immediately or scheduled to execute at any time of the day and on any days of the week.

A simple example of a ServerOps script is to detect when a database object has been added and immediately tag it by AutoFill’ing one of its attributes with a pre-determined value.

Storage Integration

Many DAM solutions will now allow assets to be stored on the server of Cloud storage providers. This allows asset files to be distributed and/or integrated with other solutions. Some third party services use generic protocols like FTP, others are proprietary.

Amazon S3

Amazon Glacier

Box

Dropbox

FTP

Google Cloud Storage

Google Drive

Microsoft Azure Blob

SFTP/SSH

WebDAV

Storage Integration Notes

SCC provides integrated support for Amazon S3, Amazon Glacier and Azure Blob cloud storage for long-term data archival. SCC also supports additional storage technologies for transitory data exchange via third party drive mounter utility.

AI Component Integration

A number of DAMs integrate with multiple third party AI image recognition components. This question allows you to see which ones they use.

Amazon Rekognition

AI Notes

This question seek to find out how vendors have implemented their support for AI image recognition components. A number of vendors may have also developed custom-built AI solutions entirely in-house and this question gives them an opportunity to present those.

Images stored within the SCC DAM can be 'triggered', manually or automatically, for processing by the SCC AI Metadata module to make searchable based on the objects and scenes that appear within them. Detects features, objects, scenes, and actions. Recognizes people in politics, sports, business, entertainment, and media. Recognizes text and converts to machine-readable, searchable data. Enhances existing caption metadata. Flags inappropriate or unsafe content.

Content Delivery Networks (CDN) Integration

Content Delivery Networks allow digital assets to be distributed across a wide geographic area to improve performance and reduce the pressure on the DAM system for in-demand assets.

None

Content Management Systems (CMS) Integration

Many DAM solutions now provide specific integration modules that allow users to select assets from their Content Management System of choice without leaving the CMS application in order to do so.

Drupal

WordPress

CMS Integration Notes

SCC supports server-side delivery and automated send of selected objects to the CMS using standard technologies such as http/https form posts, sFTP, email etc.

SCC also supports client-side integration via SCC MediaBrowser, which is a small footprint responsive user interface, designed specifically for operation inside of a standard html "iframe" DOM element hosted within the CMS.

SCC also supports client-side bi-directional integration with the CMS via the SCC Rest API.

Creative Tools Integration

Some DAMs will integrate directly with specific creative tools so designers and creatives do not need to leave them in order to use assets from the DAM.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Creative Tools Integration Notes

SCC supports Adobe Creative Cloud integration via SCC MediaBrowser, which is a small footprint responsive user interface, designed specifically for operation inside of a standard html "iframe" DOM element hosted within an Adobe CEP Extension.

E-commerce Integration

A number of DAMs integrate with e-commerce systems so that product catalogues can be updated automatically from the DAM. There might also be features like tracking of asset usage and conversion ratios for product images etc.

WooCommerce

E-commerce Integration Notes

Integration implemented via the SCC Rest API.

Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Integration

None

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

None

Marketing Operations & Project Management Integration

None

Master Data Management (MDM) Integration

None

Mobile Apps Integration

Android

iOS

Mobile Apps Integration Notes

Targeted responsive mobile web client application.

Office & Productivity Integration

Microsoft Office

Office 365

Office & Productivity Integration Notes

The SCC DAM provides bi-directional integration with Office 365 allowing ingestion of assets sent by email, delivery of selected assets by email, and email notification based on configured trigger events.

The SCC DAM also provides an interface to Microsoft Word allowing for asset metadata to be checked out into MS Word for editing, dynmically updated, and checked in again upon completion.

Product Information Management (PIM) Integration

None

Rights Management Integration

None

Sales & Marketing Integration

SalesForce

Sales & Marketing Integration Notes

SCC also supports client-side integration via SCC MediaBrowser, which is a small footprint responsive user interface, designed specifically for operation inside of a standard html "iframe" DOM element hosted within SalesForce.

SCC also supports client-side bi-directional integration via the SCC Rest API.

Social Media Integration

Twitter

Social Media Integration Notes

The SCC DAM provides built-in aggregate search capability for any number of configured RSS and Twitter feeds.

Stock Media Providers Integration

Getty Images

Shutterstock

Unsplash

Stock Media Providers Integration Notes

SCC also integrates with the Associated Press (AP Media) provider.
The SCC interface provides a sophisticated search screen complete with text entry, pull-down lists and calendar date controls for each of the provider search fields, such as date created, text phrase, specific people, number of people, orientation, ethnicity and composition. The search screen also supports saved searches which are stored within the SCC DAM and shareable with other SCC users.

Templating & Print On-Demand Integration

None

Video Integration

Brightcove

YouTube

Video Integration Notes

Creates a bi-directional connection between the SCC DAM and the Brightcove video portal. SCC previews, metadata speechtext transcript, closed captions, AI tagging), are transferred to the Brightcove portal.

Supports multi-part transfers, which significantly reduce the transmission time for large video assets. Allows automated download and import of audio/video assets from Brightcove into the SCC DAM.

Dynamically updates SCC stored asset metadata when edited in Brightcove.

Web Analytics Integration

None

Scripting & Plug-Ins
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Scripting Capabilities

Some advanced DAM solutions have a scripting capability that allows users or third parties to add functionality which the vendor did not originally envisage. Usually programming skills will be required to use this, but some tools have visual interfaces also.

Yes

Scripting Capability Notes

Plug-In Support

In addition to scripting (or sometimes instead of), some DAM solutions will have a plug-in architecture that allows third party developers to extend the core platform.

Authentication
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Authentication Support

If you need to integrate with an existing corporate authentication service then this option will be important for you.

Active Directory

Azure Active Directory

LDAP

Okta

OpenID

Multi-Lingual Options
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Multilingual Application Interface Support

The interface means the controls to use the DAM system. This is different from the metadata support which is usually entered by end users when cataloguing assets.

English

Polish

Russian

Chinese (Mandarin)

Arabic

Other

French

Spanish

Italian

German

Dutch

Norwegian

Swedish

Finnish

Multilingual Metadata Support

See previous question. Most DAM systems with multi-lingual support will provide it for metadata.

Yes

Multilingual Support Notes

SCC applications and database utilize Unicode UTF-16 (wide character) encoding as standard for internal data processing, enabling support for all character sets and all languages with extended double-byte characters.

Version Control
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File versioning

File versioning refers to the digital media associated with an asset record. This is usually the minimum requirement for a DAM system to claim support for versioning assets. See also responses to the related question about metadata versioning below.

Yes

Metadata versioning

Metadata versioning is separate from the files associated with assets. Many DAM solutions will track updated digital assets but only retain a single current version of the metadata. Since metadata is likely to be edited many more times than assets get replaced, this can be an important point to check.

Yes

Independent Metadata And File Versioning

This questions assesses whether the solution allows versions of either the file or metadata to be reverted independently or if both are linked to a single shared version instance.

Yes

Product Screenshots
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SCC AI Metadata Module
SCC AP Media Interface
SCC Assignment Module
SCC Brightcove Interface
SCC Web Client Localization
SCC Getty Images Interface
SCC MediaBrowser Integration Client
SCC MediaFactory Workflow Engine
SCC MediaGrid Full Client
SCC Mobile Client
SCC Rest API
SCC AV Speech to Text Module

Product Datasheets
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Untitled Datasheet
Download (PDF, ~1.63 MB)

Product Videos
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SCC AI Metadata Module

Images stored within an SCC MediaServer system (already existing or newly inserted), can be 'triggered', either manually or automatically based on matching criteria, and subsequently processed by the SCC AI Metadata module to make them searchable based on the objects and scenes that appear within them.

SCC AV Speech Text Module

The SCC Speech Text Module makes use of automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology to generate accurate text transcriptions and corresponding closed captions (subtitle) files from digital audio and video media. Text transcriptions and closed captions can also be translated into any number of additional languages, regardless of the original spoken language.

Profile Last Updated: 09/03/2023

The Software Construction Company (SCC) https://www.sccmediaserver.com

The DAM Playbook

Vendor Details Top

Licensing Top

Hosting Top

Technology Top

Search Top

Metadata Top

Business Intelligence & Reporting Top

Asset Processing Top

Asset Manipulation Top

Data Import/Export Top

Integration Top

Scripting & Plug-Ins Top

Authentication Top

Multi-Lingual Options Top

Version Control Top

Product Screenshots Top

Product Datasheets Top

Product Videos Top

The Software Construction Company (SCC)
https://www.sccmediaserver.com

Vendor Details
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Licensing
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Hosting
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Technology
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Search
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Metadata
Top

Business Intelligence & Reporting
Top

Asset Processing
Top

Asset Manipulation
Top

Data Import/Export
Top

Integration
Top

Scripting & Plug-Ins
Top

Authentication
Top

Multi-Lingual Options
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Version Control
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Product Screenshots
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Product Datasheets
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Product Videos
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