DVP Media
Encyclopedia
DVP Media is a multimedia
software house
. Founded as Digital Video Productions in 1993, it was the first multimedia company to apply interactive digital video
media to industrial training applications. The first published DVP product was a 32-disc series of automotive training materials which were the result of a joint venture
with the government
of the State of Queensland
in Australia
.
Because the inability of PCs to play full-screen, full-motion, digital video was somewhat limited in the early ‘90s, the first release of this software was on the now defunct CD-i
(Compact Disc Interactive) format. CD-i was a format developed by Philips
of Eindhoven, and was known as the ‘Green Book
' standard (CD-Audio format was the 'Red Book
' standard; the ISO 9660
CD-ROM
standard was known as the ‘Yellow Book
’; the less common Videodisc
format was the ‘White Book’, and so on). CD-i used a consumer
player and a television
set for display, not a computer
. Although very useful and easy to use, and widely accepted in the automotive training industry, CD-i was a commercial flop, and subsequent releases of DVP’s automotive training products were on CD-ROM
, and more recently, DVD-ROM, DVD
, and online via the web.
DVP was sold to Telecom New Zealand
in 1996, but a management buyout returned the company to the original founders in 1997, when it became DVP Media. In 1999, DVP Media raised substantial venture capital
to expand its production and sales operations, and relocated its headquarters from Brisbane
, Australia
, to Chicago
, Illinois
, USA. After the dot-com collapse, DVP Media was again the subject of a management buyout in 2001 by three of the original founders.
Refocused on its core business, and trading as CDX Global, DVP Media became the largest and most innovative supplier of multimedia training materials to the automotive industry. Their products have very high customer satisfaction ratings and are used by almost 100% of the automotive schools and colleges in Ireland
and in Australia
, approximately 50% of those in the UK
, and 20% of the schools and colleges in the U.S.
and Canada
.
DVP Media holds the patent
for self-loading and self-configuring CD-ROMs. Prior to DVP’s invention, CD-ROM programs usually required some installation
process and then some configuration
of the PC system to suit the program. DVP invented an installation-free process wherein the program interrogates the system it is being asked to play in, and then reconfigures such things as its playback window size or video frame rate to optimize itself for the system. This is a patent that DVP is yet to defend.
In 2009, the CDX assets of the company were purchased for an undisclosed sum by Jones & Bartlett, an educational publisher based in Boston
, USA.
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
software house
Software house
A software house is a company whose primary products are software.- Types :There are a number of different types of software houses:*Large and well-known companies such as Microsoft, SAP AG, Oracle Corporation, HP, Adobe Systems, Apple Inc...
. Founded as Digital Video Productions in 1993, it was the first multimedia company to apply interactive digital video
Digital video
Digital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...
media to industrial training applications. The first published DVP product was a 32-disc series of automotive training materials which were the result of a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
of the State of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Because the inability of PCs to play full-screen, full-motion, digital video was somewhat limited in the early ‘90s, the first release of this software was on the now defunct CD-i
CD-i
CD-i, or Compact Disc Interactive, is the name of an interactive multimedia CD player developed and marketed by Royal Philips Electronics N.V. CD-i also refers to the multimedia Compact Disc standard used by the CD-i console, also known as Green Book, which was developed by Philips and Sony...
(Compact Disc Interactive) format. CD-i was a format developed by Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
of Eindhoven, and was known as the ‘Green Book
Green Book (CD-interactive standard)
The Philips "Green Book" specifies the standard for interactive, multimedia compact discs designed for CD-i players . This compact disc format is unusual, because it hides the initial tracks which contains the software and data files used by the CD-i players. It does this by omitting the tracks...
' standard (CD-Audio format was the 'Red Book
Red Book (audio CD standard)
Red Book is the standard for audio CDs . It is named after one of the Rainbow Books, a series of books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats.The first edition of the Red Book was released in 1980 by Philips and Sony; it was adopted by the Digital Audio Disc...
' standard; the ISO 9660
ISO 9660
ISO 9660, also referred to as CDFS by some hardware and software providers, is a file system standard published by the International Organization for Standardization for optical disc media....
CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
standard was known as the ‘Yellow Book
Yellow Book (CD standard)
The Yellow Book is the standard that defines the format of CD-ROMs. The Yellow Book, created by Sony and Philips, was the first extension of the Red Book. It is named after one of a set of color-bound books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats.-External links:The...
’; the less common Videodisc
Videodisc
Videodisc is a general term for a laser- or stylus-readable random-access circular disc that contains both audio and analog video signals recorded in an analog form...
format was the ‘White Book’, and so on). CD-i used a consumer
Consumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
player and a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
set for display, not a computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
. Although very useful and easy to use, and widely accepted in the automotive training industry, CD-i was a commercial flop, and subsequent releases of DVP’s automotive training products were on CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
, and more recently, DVD-ROM, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, and online via the web.
DVP was sold to Telecom New Zealand
Telecom New Zealand
Telecom New Zealand is a New Zealand-wide communications service provider , providing fixed line telephone services, a mobile network, an internet service provider , a major ICT provider to NZ businesses , and a wholesale network infrastructure provider to other NZ CSPs...
in 1996, but a management buyout returned the company to the original founders in 1997, when it became DVP Media. In 1999, DVP Media raised substantial venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
to expand its production and sales operations, and relocated its headquarters from Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, USA. After the dot-com collapse, DVP Media was again the subject of a management buyout in 2001 by three of the original founders.
Refocused on its core business, and trading as CDX Global, DVP Media became the largest and most innovative supplier of multimedia training materials to the automotive industry. Their products have very high customer satisfaction ratings and are used by almost 100% of the automotive schools and colleges in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, approximately 50% of those in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and 20% of the schools and colleges in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
DVP Media holds the patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
for self-loading and self-configuring CD-ROMs. Prior to DVP’s invention, CD-ROM programs usually required some installation
Installation (computer programs)
Installation of a program is the act of putting the program onto a computer system so that it can be executed....
process and then some configuration
Computer configuration
In communications or computer systems, a configuration is an arrangement of functional units according to their nature, number, and chief characteristics. Often, configuration pertains to the choice of hardware, software, firmware, and documentation...
of the PC system to suit the program. DVP invented an installation-free process wherein the program interrogates the system it is being asked to play in, and then reconfigures such things as its playback window size or video frame rate to optimize itself for the system. This is a patent that DVP is yet to defend.
In 2009, the CDX assets of the company were purchased for an undisclosed sum by Jones & Bartlett, an educational publisher based in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, USA.