IBM, which claims to be world’s largest information technology company, has announced that several new customers in the media and entertainment industry are using IBM hardware, software, and consulting services.

The companies include Warner Bros. Animation, Blur Studios, ABC Australian Broadcasting Commission and Threshold Studios.

An official release informs that IBM is working on a number of core entertainment industry-related technology projects including editing, high-end graphics, visual effects, rendering, digital cinema, back-office system processing and digital content management.

In addition, it is helping media companies with the transition to Linux, the open source operating system used by many of today’s top content creators. IBM solutions are gaining heightened acceptance in the film industry as the industry increasingly looks for open-standards based technology offerings for the creation, management and distribution of its incomparable digital content.

Warner Bros. Animation, creators of full-length feature animated films as well as participants in live action films with visual effects, chose IBM to help create a Linux-based animation tracking system. The system is being custom developed to track various phases of movie production from live-action to 2D and 3D animation.

Australian Broadcasting Company, recently, signed a contract with IBM to preserve its broadcast history digitally. In a first-of-its-kind venture in Australia, more than 40 years of television and 60 years of radio history stored on aging analogue tape will be converted into digital data by IBM.

More than 100,000 tapes with programmes from Bananas In Pyjamas and Dr. Karl to Four Corners and educational documentaries will be converted into 500 terabytes of data.

Each programme will then be available online through the ABC’s digital network. This allows for instant access for re-use and adaptation as required. Converting the analogue tapes will also prevent sound and quality degradation, preserving one of Australia’s most important broadcast archives. The digital conversion will begin this year and is anticipated to be completed in 2006.