IRES allows an editor to see what her photographers are shooting in real time, from
anywhere in the world.
IRES is designed for Ultra Mobile PCs, but also works on netbooks and laptops
IRES is also built-in to Pocket Phojo for lighter use
IRES and 3G/EVDO Networks
Even the fastest WiFi networks can't keep up with a photographer shooting at 8 frames
per second
Now imagine you have 100 photographers shooting at the same time..
IRES solves this problem by being extremely bandwidth efficient
IRES first transmits thumbnails to the editor, which takes very little bandwidth,
and can be done in real time
When the editor clicks on a thumbnail, a small (40KB) preview is transmitted.
Only the images the editor selects as the best are transmitted at full size
What the Editor Sees
Browser based interface for Macs or PCs
Thumbnails update in real time
Previews
appear in tabs
Cycle through images using the arrows
Zoom in to check focus
Multiple Photographers
IRES now has the ability to manage a group of photographers from one screen
Photographers create groups on the fly by entering the same group password, e.g.
HostageRescue1 or Superbowl
Thumbnails from everyone in the group are combined and displayed in the order they
were taken
Photographers can pick a highlight colour for their thumbnails to help show who
shot what
By using the tick box next to each photographer's name, the editor can temporarily
hide that photographer's photos
Multiple groups can be displayed at the same time by manually arranging the browser
windows
Rating Stars
The editor can rate each image from 1-5 stars, which can then trigger actions on
the server
Example: If the editor rates an image 5 stars, you could have the server automatically
download the image from the photographer, then copy it to a local network share
watched by your content management system, or FTP it to your web server
This allows one click integration of IRES with your existing back end workflow
Captions
IRES can be configured to apply a generic IPTC caption when an image is sent to
the server
The photographer can edit this caption beforehand, or the editor can edit it from
the browser
Images can also be individually captioned from the browser
Bandwidth Optimizations
When sending via FTP, it is rare to get the most out of your EVDO or 3G connection
If a packet is dropped or delayed, the whole connection pauses while the missing
packet is re-sent
IRES eliminates this problem by creating not one but 10-100 connections to the IRES
server
When sending a file, IRES splits it into chunks, which are sent simultaneously over
the separate connections
If a packet gets dropped, the other connections will still be busy sending data,
so your available bandwidth is maximized.
The IRES server handles putting the pieces of the file back together again, even
if bits arrive out of order, or need to be re-transmitted
Optimization Results
Typically IRES uploads at 30-50 KiloBytes/s over EVDO Rev-A, over 50% faster than
FTP
Biggest speed up measured was 2400KiloBytes/s vs 220 KiloBytes/s using FTP, to a
server in the UK, on a 20MBps Verizon FIOS connection.
On a Gigabit LAN connection, IRES can transmit faster than a typical laptop drive
can supply data (>50MegaBytes/s)
Security
IRES uses the industry standard OpenSSL library to provide strong security
Whereas standard FTP has essentially no security, IRES is more comparable to Secure
FTP
Connections can be encrypted with up to 256bit AES, with certificate based authentication
standard, rather than less secure passwords
IRES automatically handles the creation and exchange of encryption keys, making
administration very simple
In-Camera Photo Selection
Instead of sharing everything the photographer shoots, you can tell IRES to only
share Tagged files
To tag a file, simply use the Protect function on your camera
This gives more creative control to the photographer by letting them perform a rough
edit, and reduces the strain on the editor
Card Ingestion
While sharing images live from a camera, IRES can also ingest cards from a card reader
The Watch Folders feature allows you to set up the exact workflows you require
Examples:
Share the card reader remotely via IRES, or
Automatically copy images from the card to the internal hard drive where they can be shared via IRES
Voice Tags
Many cameras have the ability to record voice tags to quickly explain who or what
is being photographed
Photos that have voice tags show up with a play button in the editor's web browser
When the editor clicks play, the voice tag is pulled from the photographer's device
and played back in the web browser
Image Organization/Barcode Support
Use the Rename Prefix field in IRES to organize your images
Images will be automatically renamed to this prefix as you shoot
IRES supports wireless barcodes scanners from Socket, allowing pre-printed barcodes
to be scanned
You can also use macros, so a file could be automatically renamed to say: 20080904-M-1234N-001.JPG
(VIRIN Military Spec)
Other Features Requested by Customers
Fully supports RAW files - JPEG previews are extracted on the fly
The size and quality of the preview image can be specified via preferences
If you only need a small image for the web or HDTV, the preview image can be used
The size of the images sent when download is clicked can also be specified
IRES can be configured to stream unrequested images in the background when idle
Plan B
What happens if the editor falls asleep, is called away, or you never had one to begin with?
IRES is based on Idruna's widely acclaimed Pocket Phojo application, which for the past 5 years has been developed to be the perfect solution for transmitting images.
With a small amount of extra configuration, the software can be told by the photographer to push images via email or FTP.
With Canon cameras, you can even use the camera's protect button to tell the software which images need to be transmitted.
Video Support
IRES can now record and stream video from Canon LiveView equipped cameras
Nothing else can do this!
The resolution is 1024x680, at 10-20FPS
IRES can resize and recompress on the fly to lower resolutions
IRES also supports video grabbers, so you can grab video from camcorders via USB for devices lacking FireWire
IRES also supports FireWire connected camcorders, and Webcams
Case Study - Hostage Rescue, Combat Camera, Special Forces, and Police
The sister product to IRES, Pocket Phojo, has been deployed by police and military forces, and was recently used to successfully defuse a tense hostage rescue situation. The new group feature in IRES is ideal for these scenarios as it allows both a control room and on-site team leaders to monitor the combined take from multiple photographers in a covert surveillance unit, in real time, with high encryption securing the link in both directions. The photographers also benefit by being able to better concentrate on the target and their surroundings, without being distracted by having to manually transmit images.
Andy Mettler of Swiss-Image recently used IRES to cover the EURO 2008 kick-off event live from Mount Jungfraujoch.
"It was a difficult job with 200 media and 200 guests at an altitude of 3500 meters (11,500ft), which meant no 3G or WiFi was available, only Swisscom Mobile's EDGE network." said Andy.
"I gave my assistant back in the office 1 hour of training on how to view my photos and download the best ones using their web browser. The results were excellent. We had 15 pictures online when I reached the top of the
Junfgraujoch, and 4 pictures after 8 minutes of the game. Over all, the pictures were online at least 50 minutes before the pictures of other photographers. A photographer should concentrate on taking pictures, not on questions like: where can I put my notebook, where can I find a line, how fast I am? Remote Editing is the future for news and sports photographers!"
Case Study - EPA
John Mabanglo, EPA's San Francisco Bureau Chief, used IRES at the NBA Playoffs.
"The sports section of the New York Times online and in print addition
used my picture from last night's NBA Playoffs. Also, if you have today's LA Times sports section, they also used another picture from the game. Both pictures were produced using the Pocket PC running Phojo/IRES tethered to my Canon EOS1D MkII N."
To illustrate the flexibility of IRES, John's editor was a fellow photographer connected via an airline terminal's WiFi hotspot while waiting for a flight.
Supported Cameras
All recent Canon Cameras, including: Canon 1D Mark III Canon 1Ds Mark III Canon
1D Mark II, and Mark II N Canon 1Ds Canon 1Ds Mark II Canon 5D Canon 20D Canon 30D
Canon 40D Canon Rebel XT and XTi
All recent Nikon Cameras, including: Nikon D40/D50/D70/D80/D200/D300 Nikon D2X and
D2Xs Nikon D2H and D2Hs Nikon D3
Any other camera that comes with software to download images as they are taken
This list applies to the Windows version of IRES. Please refer to the Getting Started Guide for detailed information on using IRES with specific cameras and under Windows Mobile.
Supported Hardware
Windows XP or Vista Laptops
Windows XP or Vista UMPCs or netbooks
Macs running Windows via Parallels
Windows Mobile Devices with USB Host Support:
Socket SoMo
iPAQ 210/214
Trimble Nomad
Amrel Rocky
Need help deciding which hardware to use? As a software developer, we are happy to offer unbiased advice, please feel free to email us or ask in the forums.
IRES Return On Investment
A news agency using IRES at an event will have their images online well before the
competition, resulting in increased exposure and sales
IRES reduces travel costs by allowing editors to remain at the office during events
IRES increases efficiency and reduces overtime by allowing the images to be edited
as they are taken.
Normally after an event, the photographers and editors are faced with a mountain
of images to work on.
With IRES, the work is already done.
Canon charges $1000 for their WiFi attachment. A phone or UMPC running IRES doesn't cost much more,
yet thanks to 3G/EVDO support, allows the photographer to transmit from anywhere,
and in real time, plus can be used for other tasks such as email.
Customized Solutions
We customize our software for customers on a regular basis
A custom solution from Idruna will be faster and more cost effective than developing
an in-house application
We have completed customizations for the US Marine Corps, The Metropolitan Police,
Northrop Grumman, the Department of Forestry, and more
If anyone needs a solution involving capturing photographs, we are the experts.
Pocket Phojo and IRES can easily be integrated with other applications or web-based apps
Pricing and Availability
Idruna's Remote Editing System is available now priced at $499 for the Windows version, or from $389 as part of Pocket Phojo 6.0 for Windows Mobile. The software can be downloaded from http://www.idruna.com/downloads.html and evaluated free of charge for 30 days, plus Idruna has a 30 day money back guarantee policy. The software is delivered via a download link for same day delivery.
Existing Pocket Phojo customers can upgrade to Phojo 6.0 with IRES for $125, or upgrade to both Phojo 6.0 and the Windows version of IRES for only $149.
Customers wishing to run their own IRES server rather than use the ones provided by Idruna can purchase a server license, please email us at info@idruna.com for pricing.
