broadcasting joy, saving lives
It was a pretty cool experience sitting in the theater watching a movie knowing that only a few days earlier we had delivered that movie via satellite to hundreds of theaters across the country ... Bringing happiness to fans all over the country is just a small part of what we do here at Mainstream Data. On any given week we will receive and send out 2-5 feature films via a two-way VSAT satellite system. You had no idea satellites were so cool, did you?
62 Million Stories and Still Counting
We understand. It’s not about just having a photo related to whatever the story is about. It’s about getting the story right. The photo isn’t always there to just make the page look prettier (sometimes, on a particularly uninspired night with a deadline, it might be … but usually, it’s not). Because it’s not just about having the best photo that some random photo editor decides they like. Sure it’s pretty; but it doesn’t help with your story. The photo is there to help tell the story. Sometimes the photo is the story. When you’re putting together the whole package, it’s important that the photo tells the right story too. You need to be able to find the right story.
Blinded by the Sun
Maybe you've experienced the following when you're driving either to or from work: you're heading up a street that basically runs East-West, approaching a stoplight that usually makes the chaos of traffic conform to its binary demands. You're either somewhat early coming in to the office - or late departing - so the Sun has either just come up over the horizon - or is just about to set. As you approach the stoplight, mirabile dictu (or expletive - if you are a profane soul like me), all the angles are lining up such that the Sun appears to be moving directly behind the stoplight. Sure enough - when you finally come to a stop in the queue of cars - the Sun is now directly behind the stoplight. Despite your $200 pair of polarized, ultraviolet blocking, Bono-approved sunglasses - you cannot even begin to see the condition of the stoplight. Is it RED - is it GREEN - is it even THERE? Thankfully you are not first in line and like Falstaff can take the solace of a soldier in the hind ranks that you will very likely survive - this time by observing the car in front of you and moving forward when it does.
Mainstream Data to Participate in Sept. 11 Memorial Ceremony
On Sunday, millions will take at least a moment to reflect on the terrorist attacks 10 years earlier on the Pentagon and World Trade Center and how the world has changed since those events. Thousands will be gathered at the 9/11 memorial site – including Presidents Obama and George W. Bush – to commemorate the anniversary and read the names of those that were lost when the towers came down. Fifteen photography agencies and news publications will have their pool photographers there to document the event. Those photos will show up – no doubt – in much of the world’s publications later that day and in the coming days. And Mainstream Data will be there to make it all possible.
staying ahead of the game on video
Around 2007 video became “the next big thing” for media companies. While everyone was creating video – in whatever format they thought best (read: in just about every format known to man and machine) – Mainstream Data was able to step in and make video a technologically viable product. Probably as important as creating the video for these media companies was being able to get it into their customers’ hands. But with the aforementioned flood of video format types, it seemed no two systems were compatible with the same set of formats. The logical answer was to get one video into multiple formats. So that’s what we did.
the new (old) mainstream data
Welcome to Mainstream Data's new website! As I considered what I might write to inaugurate our new web site, I came to (what was for me, anyway) a startling realization: we are now older as a company than many of the people who work here. You might wonder why this came as such a revelation to me or even why it bears mention, since many companies clearly fall into the same category. Delicately put, company longevity isn't exactly the hallmark of companies in this industry; we have seen a lot of competitors come and go, always to the consternation of their abandoned customers who had to find new vendors and solutions, often on little notice. In fact, quite a few of our customers came to us seeking our stability after a challenging prior vendor relationship.