Our policy is to never look at competing products.
We produce ALL our products on our own ideas and on our own merits.
Anything you see come out of our offices is from our own ideas and designs.
The day we have to look at competing products, is the day we quit because that will mean we no longer have the imagination, determination or ideas to continue with our own capabilities.
We are more interested in creating good, powerful and easy to use products than we are in how much money we make.
Many people who have met or seen us in person are surprised to find that our goals and the way we do things here, has nothing to do with money.
Instead it has to do with creating tools and controls that people actually need, can use, work as stated and in most cases, require no programming at all.
It is our customers and our users that give us the capabilities we design into our products, not the other way around.
It is the user and customer that needs the tool we create and THAT is who we are creating our products for.
What is the point if we are not doing this for them?

(Roberto Gaspari, CEO)

Location

Ciakware is a software house located in Genoa (Italy North West) born in 1996 from the experience of its founder, Roberto Gaspari, in the video dispenser and shop automation since 1991.

Ciakware works on different software divisions, in this section we will only talk about Video Rental Software and Automatic Video Vending Machines.

This is the historical steps of Ciakware and Roberto Gaspari:

History

1991
First release of a complete management software for video shop and video dispensers VideoBank for a customer in Genoa (Foto VideoMat) using 2 video vending machines.
We worked over a wonderful project created by software engineer Pietro Rotoloni and hardware engineer Livio Della Valle. They created the first video vending machine with magnetic cards and pincer in Italy in 1989.

1992
First release of a modem connection (14400 baud speed) to connect video dispensers with the video shop. The connection included the transfer of products, users and the dispenser’s transactions.
A text based Log File was added for the first time (a complete register of user operations on the dispenser) and multi-image graphic engine with fading slideshow.

1993
Internal rent routines for video shops were upgraded. In September, 1993 the software for video shop was named RVM Rent Video Master. Tele Assistance remote control on demand was included to allow Ciakware Technicians to direct access to customer archives/operating system.

1994
Started a joint venture with Mr. Stefano Tassello, CEO of “Gamma srl”, Abano Terme (Padova, Italy) for software agreement deal to install RVM/InVideo on VideoBank video dispensers. All RVM modules were upgraded to handle customer requests.
The “returning box” option was conceived in February. Returning box is a back position in the dispenser warehouse that can be used to exchange products from internal shop. Returning Box was applied to allow users to return shop-rented products to the dispenser, to query the dispenser from shop for products, internal select products on demand to dispenser and automatic ejection of low rent products.
The first returning box installation was made on April, 12 1994 at “Video Tape”, a video store in Bussolengo, Verona, Italy.

1995
With the supervision of Telecom, it was started the first GSM reservation network. The user, when a product is not available on dispenser, can book it typing his cellular phone number. When the product will be available the dispenser will send a GSM message to him with the message:
“Video …: the product … has been reserved to you. The reservation will expire at …
The first GSM reservation module was installed for the first time at the “InterVideo” videostore in Adria, Rovigo (Italy) and Video Ciak in Macerata (Italy).

1996
Ciakware was founded on Jan, 24 1996. The Dynamic Warehouse was added to the video dispenser module. It means that each product has no more a fixed location in the warehouse of the dispenser when returned.
The application of the Dynamic Warehouse expanded dispenser products availabily 20% more.
The first installation was made at Foto Scatena in Lucca, Italy on Jan, 12 1996.
In March 1996 the installed versions of RVM/InVideo software were 122.

1997
On February, 22 1997 was installed the first Home Reservation module at the Video Ciak video shop in Macerata, Italy.
The module called “Remote Reserve” allows remote home users to connect the dispenser server using a client software module and reserve products after watching images, trailers, etc.

The first remote client module was written in DOS 16bit environment. The successive module was written for Windows.

Ciakware was contacted by “VDE” (Video Distributori Elettronici), a new video vending machines manufacturer in Schio, Italy directed by Mr. Scapin and engineer Ilario Della Valle.
Both VDE (for hardware) and Ciakware (for software) started to project a new automatic video dispenser.
Later it was called “DEA”.
Ciakware developed a protocol between the software and the dispenser working on a PLC system.
Some DEA dispensers were purchased by customers with previous installed Ciakware software.
We wish to thank some good technicians helping us on DEA software installations: Mr. Roberto Bannoni and Mr. Luigi d’Oronzo in Rome (Italy).

First half 1998
Ciakware started a new supply contract with engineer Livio Della Valle of “Video Store”, a manufacturer in Vicenza, Italy to install the Ciakware protocol in a new video dispenser.
RVM software was entirely rewritten with a new graphic engine and a new multilingual module.

Second half 1998
Ciakware was contacted by engineer Fabrizio Manfredi, CEO of MGT srl, manufacturer in Rovereto (Italy) to install the software in a new video dispenser called Buster24h Since the Buster24 dispenser was conceived to guarantee a top level security and reliability, the RVM software was rewritten to admit simultaneous operations to give back and take products.
The RVM/InVideo software was added by automatic update/control routines. Ciakware developed the Ciakware Data Center, a system of servers for tele-assistance, products and images databank.

1999
On January, 28 1999 at the video shop VideoMatik in Milan, Italy was installed for the first time the first italian module for interactive GSM reservations using GSM Short Messages.
The interactive GSM remote reservation allows users to query the dispensers about product availability and reserve the products using their cellular phones.

VideoMatik video shop received more than 35,000 GSM messages.

A new software called “Phonebank” was released for an hardware vending machine realized by MGT and commissioned by TIM (Italian Phone provider) to give assistance on cellular phones.

2000
Between December 31, 1999 and first 15 days of January 2000 the Ciakware Data Center was active and supported by many operators for the computer hardware “millenium bug”
More than 140 cases was solved online with an additional software module.
RVM product was exported in France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Austria, Romania, United States of America (Colorado, California, Pennsylvania).
Ciakware started some experiment in 32bit Windows environment and the first test release was delivered in October.
The software was completely rewritten in 32bit environment. Every routine and algorythm was optimized.
The new product was called WinVideo.

Ciakware improved the internet band on servers.

2001
WinVideo software became freeware for video-stores without dispensers and sold in bundle with Buster24h vending machines.
We were the first to create a public forum free for everyone to get feedbacks from customers.
We strongly believe in communications and we like to show facts instead of fine words.

We can supply a lot of services connected to WinVideo, as GSM gateway, EMAIL and Web Servers, Product Datank server, Automatic Update.

We have now more than 5000+ active installations on customers using WinVideo and Buster24h video dispensers and big retail store networks (more than 50 satellites per network).

Freeware versions are unchecked, but we had 32,247 downloads in 2006.
WinVideo CGI manager has been installed on 300+ customers to allow internet reservations.

2002-today

We wrote Visualrent software. (www.visualrent.com)

We wrote entire software about other applications such as:

• Busterpharma project (www.busterpharma.com)
• Spid software (www.spid.it)
• MioFarmaco (www.miofarmaco.com)
• MioFilm (www.miofilm.com)

WinVideo has becomed the master engine of Bustertools (www.bustertools.com).

WinVideo is commercial and intellectual property by Roberto Gaspari and Miditel Services. All source codes about WinVideo, VisualRent, Spid.exe, Busterpharma are stored and hosted in our head quarters. We sell only user licenses.

We work every day on our products, improving and adding new features, riding and applying new technologies and checking always the customer feedbacks and moods.