Content + Technology ANZ Dec 2013

3 5:47:15 PM

PP: 255003/06831

VOLUME 10 ISSUE 6 DECEMBER 2013

MEDIA + PRODUCTION + MANAGEMENT + DELIVERY

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VOLUME 10 ISSUE 6 DECEMBER 2013

Also see C+T in PDF at www.content-technology.com

Cover Story – Audio Post on the Cutting Edge

43 REGULARS 02 03

EDITOR’S WELCOME NEWS Australia Completes Digital Switch, Globecast’s New Management Team, Gerry Smith Retires

12

60 62 64

OFF-AIR CLASSIFIEDS AND EVENTS TIME SHIFTER Whoozat!: Behind the Scenes of World Series Cricket – Part 2

TAKING STOCK Avid CEO Louis Hernandez Jr., Market Share! Do You Want More?, Financial Results in Brief

18

FEATURES

56

18

ACQUISITION Gear Head ‘Unbroken’ with Arri Alexa, Fleet Review Shot on F5, Charles Sturt Uni Upgrades

9

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD TMD at The NFSA, DAMsmart in Fiji, NineMSN Adopts Brightcove Cloud

23

SPORTSCASTING HD OB in Adelaide, Globecast at Bathurst, Glasgow 2014 Diaries Chapter 6

43

AUDIO Audio Post on the Cutting Edge, Vale Ray Dolby, ACMA Protects Wireless Mic Users

29

NEWS OPERATIONS Videocraft Wins Channel 7 Election, Reporting on China 40 Years Ago

49

RADIO SCA Extends IBMS Use, DAB Listening Increases, From the Judges’ Bench

34

POST-PRODUCTION Content is King in

54

TRANSMISSION Telstra Test 4K and Panasonic Multi-Camera Rig, 4K UHDTV Opportunities, Transmitter Efficiency

the Blacksand Castle, Meet the Colourist, Apple Goes Maverick

30

CONTENT+TECHNOLOGY: ISSN 1448-9554 PP:255003/06831 Broadcastpapers Pty Ltd (ABN: 34 095 653 277) PO Box 259, Darlinghurst, NSW 1300 Australia www.broadcastpapers.com PUBLISHER: Phil Sandberg Tel: +61-(0)2-9211 8205 Fax: +61-(0)2-9211 8208 Mob: +61-(0)414-671-811 papers@broadcastpapers.com

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SUB-EDITOR: Keith Ford PRODUCTION MANAGER: Lucy Salmon Tel: +61-(0)29211 8205 production@broadcastpapers.com DESIGN & LAYOUT: Wide Open Media Tel: +61-2-9690 2835 info@wideopenmedia.com.au PRINTING: Pegasus COPYRIGHT NOTICE: All material in Broadcastpapers’ Content+Technology Magazine is protected under

Australian Commonwealth Copyright Laws.

No material may be reproduced in part or whole in any manner without prior consent of the Publisher and/or copyright holder.

DISCLAIMER: Broadcastpapers Pty Ltd accepts no responsibility for omissions or mistakes made within, claims made or information provided by advertisers.

5/12/13 3:40 PM

EDITOR’S WELCOME

Analogging Off

By Phil Sandberg AS THE AUSTRALIAN BROADCAST INDUSTRY reaches the end of 2013, it also reaches the end of another era – that of analogue broadcasting. After almost 13 years of dual analogue/digital free-to-air broadcasting, the country has finally unplugged from the past to embrace the all-digital future.

Through the remarkable, cooperative efforts of broadcaster, receiver manufacturer, Government and community stakeholders, Australia has made the adaptation to a new eco-system that will deliver wider innovation going forward – including the use of Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV).

With the final metro markets making the switchover, the next step is to manage the restack of spectrum, allowing capacity previously used by analogue services to be made available for other wireless-based services.

Let us hope the subsequent auction process meets the Federal Government’s twin aims of topping up the coffers and paving the way for new broadband services because, without a coherent, forward looking broadband policy, access and the development of new online business models will be choked, not to mention the ability of business in general to embrace gains in productivity. Now, that is not to say that there was no scope for budget cuts in the former Government’s policy and the roll-out of the National Broadband Network. Items such as the millions earmarked for “Digital Hub” NBN free advice centres were, perhaps, non-essential.

The real issue is not just what current savings can be made, but also how to best future-proof the network to minimise unnecessary later expense.

Some six years ago, I wrote of C+T’s inner-city Sydney experience of moving a phone and ADSL service to an adjacent office space, a process which took six weeks after the first sub-contractor failed to turn up and saw us gaffertaping an extension cable from our original office into the window of the new digs. In 2013, it seems, nothing much has changed.

Getting an ADSL2 bundle activated at my home office on the NSW central coast was even more arduous. The two-month process went like this:

17:00

18:00

19:00

20:00

21:00

22:00

23:00

Order taken by phone for bundled ADSL2 Internet, Telephony and IPTV;

2.

Modem, T-Box, T-Hub and SIM card arrive;

3.

Order fails to go through due to no ADSL2 capacity at local exchange despite assurances at initial order. This information only forthcoming after ringing Telstra;

4.

Order put through again with ADSL1 included in bundle;

5.

Second modem and T-box arrives;

6.

Order fails due to exchange trying to put through ADSL2 again;

7.

Phone connected, works fine. No internet, order put through again;

8.

Third modem arrives. Still no Internet, order put through again. I wonder if number of orders mean I am no longer on the bundle plan;

9.

Fourth modem arrives. Courier pats wallet, laughs and says, “You’d be surprised how often this happens.”

10. Internet is connected but interferes with phone service and vice versa; 11. Four technician visits finally resolve issue – all working fine; 12. Bill arrives – yep, not on bundle, charged separately for all services.

Phone bill alone more than monthly fee for bundle.

13. Hopefully rectified. Watch this space.

Foxtel has announced that, in 2014, it is to take the next logical step of offering bundled telephony, broadband Internet and IPTV services in a wholesale deal with its part-owner Telstra. Like other broadband/telephony retailers, Foxtel will maintain control over its sales and technical support.

Over the years, it has developed very effective CRM processes because it knows it can’t take its customers for granted. Telstra’s customer-facing operation, meanwhile, is a dysfunctional hydra of outsourced script-readers.

Labor’s drive to implement the NBN rollout can be seen, in part, as a response to the failure of the telco market, unlike the free-to-air broadcast industry, to come together and deliver a standardised, future-proofed and equally accessible eco-system. The one company with enough scale and clout to take a leadership position on developing such an eco-system, Telstra, labours under its own weight to effectively deliver copper-based services, let alone anything to do with fibre.

16:00

1.

And, as to the underlying infrastructure, copper, like PAL television, is a throwback to the analogue era. Let’s leave it behind.

Thanks for Reading Phil Sandberg Editor/Publisher papers@broadcastpapers.com T: +61-(0)2-9211 8205

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NEWS + PEOPLE For the latest news visit www.content-technology.com

Australia Completes Switchover to Digital TV At a circle -closing ceremony in the TCN9 transmission room, former Nine engineer Peter Cox, who was present at the 1956 launch of television in Australia, turned off the network’s Sydney analogue transmitter leaving black on the monitors and snow on an old, wall-mounted 4:3 JVC TV set.

A final warning to get yourself a digital receiver.

NEARLY 14 YEARS after the launch of the first DVB-T broadcasts in Australia, the country has completed its transition digital-only television with the final switching off of analogue signals in Sydney, Melbourne and remote central and eastern Australia.

Sydney and surrounding areas officially switched off analogue TV services on December 3 at 9am AEDST, followed on December 10 by Melbourne and surrounding areas, and remote central and eastern Australia.

According to Peter, the event was nostalgic, but the analogue era was one that had to come to an end, citing the improvements in picture quality that come with digital transmission.

Quiet at last, the NEC analogue transmitter at TCN9, Sydney.

The Sydney switchover area also included a total of over 1.7 million households, as did the Melbourne switchover region. Government estimates at the end of September reckoned 94-95% of Australian households had converted to digital.

The remote central and eastern Australia switchover area included 87,900 households in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory.

Visit www.freetv.com.au

A man who has seen it all – former Nine engineer Peter Cox was tasked with turning off the network’s analogue signal in Sydney.

Backward Steps for Industry Training TRAINING FOR Australian television has taken a backward step with the news that Sydney’s TAFE Technical Operators Centre (TTOC) has been mothballed for 2014, while Victorian TAFE budget cuts have resulted in the closure of Box Hill Institute’s Broadcast Television course in Melbourne.

for a range of specialised roles including technical managers, camera operators, audio and communication technicians and broadcast engineers.

Put on hold due to industry stakeholders missing a funding deadline set by the Federal Government’s National Workforce Development Fund (NWDF), the TTOC is a vocational training facility that focuses on real-world experience

“This doesn’t mean TTOC is gone. We run an identical college in Malaysia in ASTRO turning out up to 36 Graduates a year. They now have 60 Graduate Operators and plan to continue this to create a pool of 150 – 180 Tech operators

According to TTOC General Manager, Peter Musgrove, “The horse has bolted for 2014, the Industry just didn’t hit the NWDF deadline.

over the next 3-5 years. We have also been approached to start a school near Singapore, Hong Kong and Jakarta.”

While the TTOC will not operate in Australia during 2014, Musgrove says the door is still open for the following year. “Australia is still in great need of these graduates,” he says, “but the Industry has to get serious about funding the model.”

Meanwhile, at Melbourne’s Box Hill Institute, reductions to Victorian TAFE budgets have seen the closure of its Broadcast Television course.

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NEWS + PEOPLE

ASIA NEWS CHINA TELESTE AND ELEMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES,have announced the deployment of a live digital TV video processing system for Gansu Broadcast and Television Network, Inc. The integrated solution, delivered by Shanghai OTEC Technology Co Ltd., enables the Chinese regional operator to manage 85 local CATV sub operators and 100 channels from a single system.

INDIA VENDHAR TV, a new Tamil-language general entertainment channel serving India’s Chennai region, has deployed two Snell Kahuna multiformat production switchers to drive its news and entertainment programming.

Vendhar TV installed a two-M/E Kahuna switcher in its news studio to support its four daily 30-minute news bulletins, together with a one-M/E switcher in the program studio for live production and postproduction of a wide range of entertainment programs.

MALAYSIA STAGETEC ASIA has sold eight RTW TM7 TouchMonitors to Astro Production Sdn. Bhd. The TM7s were equipped with several software modules, including: the SW20001, SW20002, SW20004, SW20005 and SW20006 units. The company wanted to monitor its audio levels consistently. The company will use the TM7 TouchMonitors to ensure that all of its production facilities, including its fleet of OB vans, are using the metering and analysers with uniform loudness levels across its facilities.

NEWS + PEOPLE

SINGAPORE

INDONESIA

AUSTRALIA

NE

SINGAPORE BROADCASTER MediaCorp

INDONESIA’S NEWEST satellite television

PAY TV OPERATOR Foxtel has launched

SKY

has discontinued its Teletext analogue service which provided general information on news, stock prices, airport, weather and other textbased information.

provider, IMTV (PT Indonesia Media Televisi), a Lippo Group company, has selected NAGRA’s conditional access technology to secure the content being delivered over its network. IMTV offers a combination of pay-TV and freeview channels with a focus on local and localised content and aimed at the growing middle-class population in Indonesia. NAGRA MediaAccess is being used to protect the operator’s premium content.

closed captioning of selected on-demand movie services, greatly increasing the choice of captioned content available.

licen depl

Mr. Philip Koh, Managing Director for Convergent Media, MediaCorp said, “Given the antiquated technology, the availability of alternative sites for information and the declining usage of Teletext, we have decided to discontinue the service and channel resources to newer services to better serve our customers and reach a wider audience.”

Foxtel now captions the vast majority of new release movies aired across the 14 On Demand movie channels, plus instant access On Demand movies to iQ subscribers. Over 90% of these films are now released the same day as DVD. In addition, Foxtel now captions around half of the free on demand content access via the ‘Featured’ section of iQ and My Star set top boxes.

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SKY’ ”At S to p futu cust

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JAPAN JAPANESE FASHION post-production facility, INFAS.com, has bought a Quantel Pablo Rio 4K and Pablo Rio 2K to support its increasing demand for 4K production. The Pablo Rios will spearhead its planned move into 8K production and in the future will be connected via second generation Genetic Engineering. INFAS.com provides S3D and 4K post production services on commercials for leading fashion houses, music videos, feature films and TV programs.

“One of our new employees lost three relatives in the disaster, which is very sad.

“As such, we’ve put a message out to our global team that any member of staff makes a donation to the disaster, IMD will also match that donation.

“The industry here seems to have really banded together. Majority of Post Houses, especially welovepost and Optima Digital have opened their doors 24hrs to accept relief goods, medicine, water, blankets, clothes for victims.

“TV Stations are also raising a lot money, especially ABS-CBN, GMA and TV5. TV5 raised 30 million pesos in a telethon, which was great to see.”

Joshua Rea, APAC Market Development at IMD

Pic by Bruce Reyes-Chow www.aboyandhiscamera.com

“Today, death toll continues to rise as more helpless bodies are found under debris, by the shore, along the road… those who survived are struggling to live, continually seeking help for food, clothes and shelter. Endless and outpouring support and donations from everywhere keep going on but rehabilitation of the affected areas will take a while. Filipino solidarity is once again put to test but our strong faith to the ONE up there will help us fight and survive …”

Jay Fuentes, Vice President , GMA Network, Inc.

NEW ZEALAND SKY HAS HANDED BACK analogue UHF licenses to the NZ Government in favour of deploying ultra-fast broadband services.

SKY’s Chief Executive Officer, John Fellet, said, ”At SKY we are backing ultra-fast broadband to play an increasingly important role in the future to deliver quality video content to our customers.

“We examined several potential uses and business cases for this spectrum, but have concluded that between satellite and ultrafast broadband our business needs will be met. It is not necessary to convert our analogue licenses to digital.”

“During the storm, we lost some fly-away facility for our remote coverage on the onslaught. We lost transmission capability on the hardest hit, Tacloban station, but we were eventually able to restore it.

“Our CSR group under the ABS-CBN Foundation (Sagip Kapamilya) is continuously exerting effort in collecting and accepting donations from everybody with the help of other government agencies and other NGO’s for the repacking and delivery of said goods to the affected areas.

“Both us, technical group and creative group have worked hand in hand to mount telethons among other activities to help in our little way and gather donations for the benefit of those affected.”

Arvin de la Vega, Head, Post Production at ABS-CBN Donate today at www.redcross.org.ph

NEWS + PEOPLE

ce

PHILIPPINES – TYPHOON HAIYAN/YOLANDA

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NEWS + PEOPLE

New Management Team for Globecast Australia FOLLOWING WHAT IT DESCRIBES as a period of sustained growth, Globecast Australia has undertaken a strategic review of its management team to “best effect a structure for continued efficiency and innovation”.

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, Simon Farnsworth, the following positions will comprise the senior tier of the business: + Christine Holman has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer & Commercial Director. Christine brings a strong commercial acumen to the business, as well as a deep understanding of finance.

Warren Joins Solutions Design Team AVID HAS ANNOUNCED that Pip Warren has joined its ANZ Solutions Design Team. Employed with Avid for over five years as a Broadcast Consultant throughout the Asia Pacific Region, often assisting with delivery, Pip has been involved in many of the large enterprise installations in Asia and Australasia, providing workflow guidance, design, training and ongoing operational support for a wide range of clients such as the Nine Network, Network 10 and the Seven Network in Australia, TV3 and TVNZ (New Zealand), Sun TV (Indonesia), TV5, ABS-CBN (Philippines), PTS (Taiwan), and RCTI (Indonesia).

Visit www.avid.com

Tim

+ Greg Littrich has been appointed to the newly created position of Director of Field Operations responsible for Satellite News Gathering and Globecam.

Wohler Names Stanton APAC Head of Sales

+ Paul Suters continues as the Director of Engineering and Operations and assumes responsibility for the company’s IT function.

WOHLER TECHNOLOGIES has announced the appointment of Andy

+ Peter Smart will continue as an advisor to the Chief Executive Officer. + John Graham has been appointed as Commercial Manager, based in Melbourne, and responsible for driving sales growth, domestically and globally for Globecast Australia’s internationally recognised Globecam brand.

As a result of this restructure, the role of Business Development Director has been made redundant, and as such Peter Doueihi has left the company.

Visit www.globecast.com.au

M o du

Stanton as Head of Sales for the company’s monitoring product line in the Asia-Pacific region. Stanton will handle Wohler’s direct sales activities while strengthening and expanding the Wohler dealer and integrator network across Asia-Pacific markets.

Stanton began his career as an engineer at the Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 1975 and has since worked in broadcast, postproduction, and new media enterprises. Based in Thailand for more than 20 years, Stanton has experience working in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Australia, China, Korea, and Japan.

M

Tran

Visit www.wohler.com

Gearhouse Broadcast Wins The X Factor AFTER A SUCCESSFUL TENDER earlier this year, Gearhouse Broadcast walked away with the contract to provide full production facilities and crew for one of Australia’s biggest talent shows – The X Factor. The show, which ran nationwide on the Seven Network recently topped over 1.8 million viewers.

Gearhouse provided production company FremantleMedia and the X Factor with a 12-camera production set up that also includes a high-end EVS capture and replay solution, all run from a purpose-built control room adjoining Fox Studios Sound Stage 5 in Moore Park.

FremantleMedia’s Tim Clucas said, “The X Factor is a live show so our technical and production partner had to be flexible. I’m delighted to say Gearhouse Broadcast are this and more. They work exceptionally well in a live production environment and their support and service is always excellent.”

Visit www.gearhousebroadcast.com

NEWS + PEOPLE

Gearhouse designed and purpose built a control room specifically for the X Factor that included TBC studio furniture, creating a more permanent and comfortable environment for the production team. The cameras used included the latest Hitachi SK-HD1200 and DK-H100 HD models, the first

time these cameras have been used on an Australian entertainment show.

It is also the first time a Steadicam build has used a Hitachi DK-H100 head, giving the weight, space and power savings much needed to counter the effects of adding a bi-directional Boxx RF system. Gearhouse also provided monitors throughout the venue both back stage and on stage, Evertz multiviewers, a Sony mixer, and the show’s talkback system.

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NEWS + PEOPLE

Telestream Picks Pocock TELESTREAM, the provider of video transcoding and workflow solutions, has announced new investments and activities in Asia to support strong business growth in the region. Brian Pocock has joined the company as Regional Sales Manager for ASEAN, Australia, New Zealand and greater China with responsibility for the company’s enterprise product business.

Pocock brings years of international broadcast systems experience to Telestream. He ran news systems at South African Broadcasting Company (SABC) for many years. Later, he shifted his experience to the manufacturing side of the business, focusing on system sales in EMEA and Asia/Pacific for companies such as Avid, Quantel, and Grass Valley.

Corsair Appoints Hall as BDM CORSAIR SOLUTIONS HAS ANNOUNCED the appointment of Mark Hall to the position of Business Development Manager.

“I am excited to join the team at Corsair Solutions. The direction they are heading and the company culture they foster has made the decision to join much easier. Innovative products such as the tvONE CORIOmaster video wall processor and VBrick IPTV system are exciting market leaders and I am looking forward to meeting with customers to promote them,” said Hall.

“It is a pleasure for me to join a company that is not only so well respected in Asia, but also held in such high esteem throughout the industry for its cutting edge technology,” said Pocock. “I look forward to working with the extended Asia sales team to continue to grow our business in the region.”

Mark’s history in the broadcast and AV industries spans almost 20 years. Most recently, he held the position of Sales and Marketing Executive at Quinto Communications in Melbourne. He has also held positions in sales, training and support with various technology companies.

Brian can be reached at brianp@telestream.net.

Visit www.corsairsolutions.com.au

Visit www.telestream.net.

Videopro Appoints Marsh as BDM VIDEOPRO BUSINESS SOLUTIONS is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Marsh as Business Development Manager at the Videopro Business Solutions office in Brisbane, starting on the 4th of November, 2013.

Chris will focus on developing Videopro’s relationships with key accounts and seeking new business opportunities to support its rapid growth.

Chris comments, “I am very pleased to be joining the Videopro team. The company has an enviable reputation in the industry and is recognised as an innovative market leader with a positive and proactive corporate culture.”

Visit www.videopro.com.au

Cutting Edge Adds Fuel’s Simon Maddison CUTTING EDGE SYDNEY has announced that VFX guru Simon Maddison has accepted an opportunity to join Cutting Edge Sydney as VFX supervisor and creative lead. As one of the key figures in the establishment and subsequent success of Fuel VFX, Simon brings to Cutting Edge an immense level of experience and creative clout. Most recently, Simon’s commercial work has included the latest Virgin ‘The Romance is Back’ spot, as well as effects driven commercials for Sony, McDonalds, Optus and Gucci. Recent feature work includes Iron Man 3, The Avengers, and Jon Favreau’s Cowboys and Aliens. Visit www.cuttingedge.com.au

Prime’s Gerry Smith to Retire AFTER 14 YEARS WITH PRIME TELEVISION, CTO Gerry Smith is “pulling up stumps” and returning to New Zealand.

“My time at Prime has been fun, I have immensely enjoyed some of the challenges that have come along during that time and also enjoyed working with my colleagues within Prime and within the wider Broadcasting community. It’s my intention to depart from the industry before I need a zimmer frame to get to and from work.”

Gerry has been involved in the technical side of broadcasting all of his working life. Prior to joining Prime Media Group in late 1999, he was Head of Engineering for the TV3 and TV4 Networks in New Zealand. In his time at Prime Media, Gerry was responsible for the implementation of the Group’s centralised technical operation. and conversion to digital transmissions.

Adam Scott Broadens Spectrum AUSTRALIA’S Spectrum Films, has appointed industry expert, Adam Scott, as its new General Manager. Director of Broadcast Operations at Foxtel since 2009, Scott will join Spectrum in January, 2014. Adam has over 25 years of broadcast and post-production experience, having worked for Park Road Post, Star TV HK, ESPN Star Sports Singapore and ABC Inc. in New York. Adam will ensure world-class support for clients and oversee Spectrum Films’ development as the company celebrates its 50th year of operation in 2014. Visit www.spectrumfilms.com.au

NEWS + PEOPLE

SpotXchange Names MD for Asia Pacific VIDEO ADVERTISING PLATFORM, SpotXchange, Inc. has named Matt Von der Muhll as MD for SpotXchange Asia Pacific. Von der Muhll was only recently promoted to the role of Country Director for SpotXchange, Australia, and his rapid rise to a new leadership role reflects the continued growth and expansion SpotXchange is experiencing in Asia Pacific.

in 2011 where he was responsible for growing publisher and strategic partnerships in the region. Under Matt’s direction, SpotXchange has accelerated its revenue growth such that Asia Pacific is SpotXchange’s fastest growing region with first half 2013 revenue growing over 70%. Matt also launched the SpotXchange Video Advertising Platform in Asia Pacific.

Von der Muhll joined SpotXchange as Director of Media Partnerships

Visit www.spotxchange.com

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In early 2013, Louis Hernandez was named CEO of Avid. C+T caught up with him to discuss the changes implemented since then.

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SERVING ON THE AVID BOARD for almost six years, Louis Hernandez had a head start on most people in his position. Elected lead director two years ago, he says he has “more history” than your average CEO. LH Before I actually took the CEO position, I was a consultant to the company, really looking at their strategy, and that allowed me to get to know the company, its products and also get to know many of the customers more intimately, so we did a lot of research during that time on what was changing within our industry, where the pressure points were, where the pain points were within the industry, and that all led to the announcements that we made at IBC.

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C+T What were those pressure points?

LH The good news is rich media consumption is going up, humans have basically decided that that’s the better form of communication and so it’s going up in almost every industry, not just media companies. The digitisation of the connection between creating content and the consumption of that content allows you to bring these people together closer, faster and more powerfully than before, and that creates a whole set of opportunities and a set of challenges.

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TAKING STOCK Some of the challenges are it also has lowered the bar on content creation, which increases competition for revenue and for viewership, listenership etc.

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It has also, I think, caused a fusion of the content side of these production houses and the distribution side. I was speaking to a board of one of the largest media companies in the world and one of the vice chairmen said that their number one issue as a company is how to think about managing their operations. Where these two sides used to have to co-operate, now they have to integrate because it’s all digitised.

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Avid, historically, has participated on the creative side, but the pressures are really across the entire enterprise now. In the beginning Avid re-imagined how to create content. It now has to re-imagine how to connect that content to the consumer more efficiently.

The other thing we observed is that there’s a lot more pressure on optimising the value on an asset. This is why metadata and MAM systems, etc., become so much more important, because we have to be able to access, quickly and easily, these assets. The goal for doing this is to repurpose, to optimise the value, ultimately is optimise the yield rates on this content you’ve invested in. That’s why it’s so critical.

So the need for great content that is inspiring is still there, as well as the need to be more efficient in creating it and the need to optimise its value.

That means protecting it and then optimising it.

And those are basically the three things that have informed Avid Everywhere.

Essentially it’s attempting to address those biggest issues in one single integrated system that provides the efficiency of a common platform that anybody can share, including third parties or competitors, but with the flexibility to tailor, through applications, to meet your specific needs, in either an on premise or on demand.

C+T How would you characterise Avid’s approach to media asset management as opposed to what everyone else is doing?

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LH Avid has historically been on the creative side, but now we’ve announced a series of modules for the monetisation of those assets, protecting the assets, repurposing the assets, enabling multiple channel and device distribution at the click of a button. The key, though, is instead of having different vendors, it all sits on the same platform so it’s much more efficient, and if you do want a third party vendor, our connectivity tool will work for them as well. So it should be the efficiency of a common platform and the flexibility to pick and choose. If you take this enterprise-wide approach, you can imagine that you want to access not each application, not your MAM system and then your Pro Tools and then whatever, you want to access the platform. Once you’re on the platform and you’re authenticated, any of the applications that your company has available would be available to you: both your MAM and your composer, editorial all the same. You’d want to edit during the creative and monetisation process. We’ve announced things like an automated ingest tool that we’ll be launching and metadata standard, tying into the MAM system for somebody else’s, and then two marketplaces, so that you could take from your MAM selected assets that third parties may need to work on during production or monetisation that you can post in an encrypted way, only available through authentication keys, so that you can at a very low cost share assets with other folks.

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So when we think about MAM, we think it’s a mistake simply to look at a point solution. We think you have to look at it in the context of the overall enterprise-wide system.

C+T Do you see this approach as enabling those at the smaller end of the market to become part of the “enterprise”?

LH Exactly. So, at the simplest level, think about a world where there’s people who have ideas to create content for the enjoyment and pleasure of another person. Avid just wants to bring these people closer more efficiently, more powerfully, whether or not you’re an individual or a large organisation.

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The power of the platform is that, much like an IOS, everybody shares a common tool and you pick and choose the modules that are relevant to you: so a large media company will want the entire connection; maybe an independent professional would want the public marketplace, the editorial tool, a shared MAM system perhaps, and that’s it. Other people would want the protection module, the distribution module, they would want the analytic tool that allows you to understand who and how it was consumed, all on the same platform. So you really can tailor it to your needs.

Continued page 15 XX

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Market Share! Do you want more?

Media staff & strategy by Karl Jansson I was speaking with a client the other day as he was reflecting upon employing more staff but was hesitant to do it as he wasn’t sure about the market.

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Some of his questions were along the line of, “Should I try and capture some of my competitor’s business by employing more staff so that my company can reach more new customers whilst improving our position with current customers?” Good question!

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SURE, AS A CONSULTANT in the business of identifying the best broadcast professionals in the market today, I could certainly present a brilliant short list for him, but it’s pointless unless I have his full commitment because this was an investment that had to pay off for his sake as well any new staff member he brings on board. Although employing staff is normally based upon skills and experience, you should also look at what inspires the potential incumbent as well. Any new staff member has expectations, a career path and more importantly a family or potential commitment that relies upon their pay cheque and any personal goals they may have, so any new appointment needs to be intentionally long term.

SO HOW DO PEOPLE INFLUENCE MARKET SHARE? Regardless of whether you want to improve your servicing of current accounts or bring on board new ones, the potential success will depend upon a human somewhere along the way, not a robot. Sure, new products will increase sales but it takes a team to engineer and design it. So when you read the following recommendations, bear in mind the human factor, both on the supply and buyer sides.

YOUR CUSTOMERS 1. Gone are the days of leaving a voice mail with “I’ll come back to you within 24 hours”. The world is Twitter-efficient, so check out the response from your competitors, then improve upon both the time and method.

2. Use customer’s ideas. As common sense as this sounds, you’d be surprised how the market is INTERPRETED, rather than LISTENING to it.

Know what your customers want both now and in the future.

3. Sell more to existing customers. Ok it may include quantities, but more importantly should be through new products or after market applications as a result of actioning point 2 above.

4. Look back at inactive accounts and ask the why they don’t buy anymore?

Use a new approach because let’s face it, you probably invested a lot to bring them on board in the first place. Plus if there are any grievances, you need to re-establish a degree of good will before negativity leaks onto the market.

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TAKING STOCK

1. If you’ve been using direct mail as your primary marketing tactic, try using other channels like television, radio, online or print advertising with high quality industry magazines such as this magazine, C&T! Also experiment with different marketing and selling channels like cold calling, loyalty programs and social media marketing.

2. Target a new market segment. Look at whether you are targeting the buyer’s level from a point of delivering your message in their language.

Are you targeting the executive or engineer? Not only the language but also the method of delivery! For example, online forms of marketing will usually target technology based individuals.

3. Look at diversifying existing products or services to open up new opportunities. This is probably the most economical and time efficient way to refresh your range, whilst new developments continue to evolve unhindered to a targeted release date.

YOUR COMPETITORS When you review your market share you’ll come across direct, indirect and phantom competitors. Direct competitors are the businesses who offer the same product or service as yours to the same customer base. Indirect competitors are other business who offer a similar service, but which is not in their core business model, and phantom competitors are either unrelated events or businesses which can affect your business. For example, when a competing manufacturer announces new products, some consumers will hold their buying decision. As the business owner, you’ll have very little control over a phantom competitor.

Make a list of these companies and place them into the above three competitor categories. Keep an eye on them spec building products for specific customers. If your competitor has cut back to working 9 to 5, then it could be a good time to snap up some valuable staff by offering them an interesting and flexible workplace, with flexible hours.

Set up a SWOT committee (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) and review your own as well your direct competitors. Work on fact not opinion, so wherever possible try and experience your competitor from a customer’s perspective.

Sometimes the easiest way to get more customers is to simply buy them.

Watch for competitors that are up for sale and purchase their customer lists.

LIMITED CASH FLOW? If your company lacks sufficient resources for effective marketing and distribution, you might consider a strategic alliance with a larger company.

The influx of cash might allow you to fund aggressive attempts to seize market share from negotiating better deals with your suppliers. Then you can lower your prices significantly to lure customers from competitors.

Although you may have limited cash flow you may be rich in ideas and expertise so become the industry expert in the services you offer, and what the other businesses are offering. Find out what your competitors are offering and offer more services, or better services. Taking a consultants position with customers could develop additional business.

The above is just a broad brush approach to how to increase your market share but hopefully it has been useful in the short term as a stimulus. Feel free to contact me directly if you need any additional information.

Karl Jansson is MD of “BroadcastJobz.tv”, a new Global website for the broadcast and new media communities seeking work or employers seeking industry specific professionals.

Contact: Karlj@BroadcastJobz.tv or Mbl: +61 (0)408 274 413

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C+T Can you outline the Avid Customer Association?

LH Its been called the largest, most ambitious global collaborative media network in the world, because literally every one of our clients are invited to attend. There’s a global board, and we announced some of the founding members from some of the largest media companies in the world. There’s seven advisory councils run for and by our clients but paid for and administered by Avid, and we feel that because all these changes are going on and the amount of investment we’re making, we need to work more closely and more inclusively than ever, and that’s what this is designed to do.

The first annual global meeting we announced is going to be April 4th and 5th, the two days before NAB starts, where all of our clients around the world will descend in Los Vegas to talk about best practices, to talk about standards, to talk about strategy, to talk about metadata standards, and they will be the first to view the Avid Everywhere modules.

C+T During your career, you’ve had a focus on start-up companies. What can start-ups teach our industry?

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LH From my vantage point with what I can do as a technologist is when I look at industries, it’s what can I do to create more stability for this industry and allow them to contribute more to our social stability. I know it sounds high minded but that’s actually how I start. And so when there’s an industry going through a lot of transition, typically, technology is a good enabler to solve a lot of the gaps that get created by changes – and by the way, it’s a wonderful time to be a technologist because people are more accepting now, versus when I started, of the benefits that technology can bring, where they were more sceptical, I would say, before, it’s a great time right now to be a technologist. Avid is really about connecting people in ways that make their lives better. In the process, I hope it brings economic and social stability, and so that’s really where I start, and then I have to get on the ground, that’s on the road 80% of the time to really talk to the community: what exactly are your problems, what are your needs, and that’s where Everywhere came from. Visit www.avid.com

Results in Brief TVNZ HAS REPORTED an After Tax Profit of NZ$14.4 million for the year, $0.4 million ahead of its Statement of Intent forecast.

Television advertising revenue dropped by $6.6 million (2.1%).

Television advertising revenue dropped by $6.6 million (2.1%).

BRIGHTCOVE INC. (NASDAQ: BCOV), has announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, delivering solid third quarter results highlighted by 29% growth in total revenue compared to $22.1 million for the third quarter of 2012.

Subscription and support revenue was $26.5 million, an increase of 23% compared with $21.5 million for the third quarter of 2012.

Professional services and other revenue was $2.0 million, compared to $568,000 for the third quarter of 2012.

ERICSSON (NASDAQ:ERIC) reported that sales for comparable units, adjusted for foreign exchange, increased 3% year-on-year and declined -2% QoQ. Sales amounted to SEK 53.0 b, down -3% YoY. Operating income, including JV, increased to SEK 4.2 (3.1) b. Operating margin, including JV, was 8.0% (5.7%). Net income increased to SEK 3.0 (2.2) b. EPS diluted was SEK 0.90 (0.67) and EPS Non-IFRS was SEK 1.31 (1.04). *SINGAPORE’S MEDIACORP ANNOUNCED an operating profit of SD$25.7m on total revenue of $621.3m for the year ended 31st March, 2013. Both earnings and revenue were weaker than the previous year on account of a weak advertising market, as well as investments in capabilities and new product lines. Net profit was $55.7m, which includes a gain on disposal of investment of $28.6m.

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TECHNICAL STANDARDS www.content-technology.com/standards

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ATSC Finally on Road to Next Level THE U.S.-BASED ADVANCED TELEVISION SYSTEMS COMMITTEE (ATSC) has received detailed technical proposals for the Physical Layer of

and proposals enabling a smooth transition from existing systems for both broadcasters and consumer.

the ‘ATSC 3.0’ broadcast TV transmission standard.

A series of meetings was held in October where each respondent was asked to give tutorial presentations to the ATSC Specialist Group evaluating the proposed systems.

Expected to move to ‘Candidate Standard’ status over the next two years, ATSC 3.0 will be designed to include higher capacity to deliver Ultra HighDefinition TV services, robust reception on mobile devices and improved spectrum efficiency.

“These highly technical proposals are thoughtful, innovative and professional. While a wide range of technologies were proposed by respondents, there’s some commonality among many of them. Submissions are very detailed, and generally each of the submissions is hundreds of pages in length. They reflect the thinking of the best minds in the broadcast industry, and we salute the many engineers and business people who have already invested significant resources to develop technologies for ATSC to evaluate,” said ATSC President Mark Richer.

ATSC 3.0 DEFINED The ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer will define the modulation and error coding technologies to provide a foundation for the next terrestrial broadcast system.

A primary goal of the ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer is to provide TV service to both fixed and mobile devices. Multiple types of TV receivers, including fixed devices (such as traditional living room and bedroom TV sets), handheld devices, vehicular screens and portable receivers will be considered in the work on ATSC 3.0. Spectrum efficiency and robust service will be key areas of evaluation. Increased data rates to support new services such as UltraHigh-Definition services will be considered.

Robustness of service for devices operating within the ATSC 3.0 service area should exceed that of current ATSC systems and that of mobile phone and other wireless devices. Consideration will be given to technologies

MPEG Tackles Dynamic Range Control THE MOTION PICTURE EXPERTS GROUP (MPEG) has selected

TECHNICAL STANDARDS

technology for program level and Dynamic Range Control (DRC) from submissions that were received and evaluated in response to its Call for Proposals issued at its last meeting. This new technology and corresponding standard, which is expected be issued in January 2015, addresses industry demand for high-quality dynamics compression and regulatory requirements for loudness control.

The selected proposal includes a codec-independent DRC that is designed to work with all MPEG audio codecs and will be extended during the standardisation process to work with the MPEG-H (ISO/IEC 23008-3) 3D Audio standard. The DRC offers various new feature such as improved DRC gain resolution, flexible configuration, and decoderside modifications of the DRC effect. Time-domain and sub-band domain DRCs are also supported. The program level control supports loudness normalisation, which includes dynamically compressed and down-mixed audio.

An amendment to ISO Base Media File Format (ISO/IEC 14496-12) that is currently in progress will also be extended to support the DRC standard by providing support for not only the new DRC features, but also to support other important related areas such as loudness measures.

Visit http://mpeg.chiariglione.org

“We expect ATSC 3.0 to reach Candidate Standard status in the first quarter of 2015, with a final standard for member vote later that year. A final standard is possible in 2016,” Richer explained.

FUTURECASTING Early developers of ATSC transmission technology, Harris Broadcast and LG Electronics’ R&D subsidiary, Zenith, have proposed as their candidate for the ATSC 3.0 physical layer a system they call ‘Futurecast Universal Terrestrial Broadcasting (UTB)’.

The Futurecast UTB System is designed to increase data throughput by 30% while maintaining reception coverage and to improve multipath performance (compared with the current DTV standard) for fixed and portable TV reception. For mobile TV reception, Futurecast UTB includes energy-saving features for consumer receivers and enhanced indoor TV signal penetration due to flexible coding choices. Advanced modes also deliver high data rates or very robust transmission capabilities.

In addition to increased data capacity and improved robustness, the Futurecast UTB System includes error correction coding and signal constellations. The system’s optimised pilot patterns promise enhanced performance over traditional OFDM modulation approaches. The system supports single-frequency networks and/or multiple transmitters, and its use of a single RF transmission’s flexible physical layer profile assures optimum quality of service. The extensible system is designed to support evolution to future broadcast systems even beyond ATSC 3.0.

Visit www.atsc.org , www.lge.com and www.harrisbroadcastlive.com

Access Demonstrates Enhanced Support for DLNA CVP-2 Standard ACCESS CO., LTD, recently demonstrated its NetFront Living Connect solution for ‘studio confident’ media sharing supporting the new Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) Commercial Video Profile-2 (CVP-2) guidelines during the DLNA Members meeting held in Hawaii.

The CVP-2 guidelines were developed by the DLNA in conjunction with the service providers to improve the digital delivery of movies and network television to the home. The CVP-2 guidelines enable secure playback across multiple devices while providing advanced protection for the copyright owners and content providers.

This standard allows operators to leverage standardised technologies such as HTML5 remote user interfaces (RUIs), HTTP adaptive delivery and authentication, on top of its already available DTCP-IP-based link layer protection, to stream premium content into homes. CVP-2 also includes new 3D Media formats, ‘diagnostic’ and ‘low power’ mode capabilities to improve the service delivery to the customer. Support for CVP-2 will be available in Access’ NetFront Living Connect Technology Component and NetFrontTM Browser NX 3.0. Access’ approach enables operators and middleware companies to choose relevant functionality for their activity. The solution can be deployed on multiple devices, including Video Gateways, STB, Smart TV’s, Video Player devices, tablets and smartphones.

Visit www.access-company.com

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Cinegy First for AMWA MXF AS-11 Certification CINEGY HAS ANNOUNCED it is the first company to be given official certification for MXF AS-11 by the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA). The AMWA is best known for its work on AAF (Advanced Authoring Format), MXF (Media Exchange Format) and most recently also FIMS (Framework for Interoperable Media Services).

The MXF Application Specification 11 (AS-11) is a set of rules that constrain MXF for a specific application like a common broadcast playout format. AS-11 is a vendor-neutral subset of the MXF file format for the delivery of finished programming by or from producers and program distributors to broadcast stations. It also defines a minimal core metadata set required in all AS-11 files, a program segmentation metadata scheme, and permits inclusion of custom shim-specific metadata in the MXF file. UK leading broadcasters including the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 formed the Digital Production Partnership (DPP – www.digitalproductionpartnership.co.uk ). AS-11 was created specifically at their request as the mandated, common distribution format. Broadcasters around the globe are also in discussions about adopting AS-11 as well.

Originating in June 2012, the AMWA Application Specification AS-11 MXF Program Contribution enables the processes of file exchange to become simpler, allowing content providers to create one version for delivery rather than many.

Visit www.cinegy.com and www.amwa.tvv

MPEG Media Transport Final Draft MPEG HAS ANNOUNCED the MPEG Media Transport (MMT) standard has been promoted to Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) status. This standard enables the efficient delivery of emerging types of services in heterogeneous environments such as hybrid or multiscreen. MMT inherits technical advantages of the MPEG2-TS standard, such as a self-contained multiplexing structure, strict timing model and reference buffer model in the emerging IP environments. At the same time, this standard delivers the flexible splicing of content, name based access of data and AL-FEC (application layer forward error correction) enabling multiple Qualities of Service within one packet flow. This standard also supports the carriage of MPEG-DASH segments and MPD for uni-directional environments such as broadcasting. MMT will be formally referenced as ISO/IEC 23008-1 in ISO/IEC. Visit http://mpeg.chiariglione.org

New Edition of AVC MPEG HAS ANNOUNCED several amendments to ISO/IEC 14496-10 Advanced Video Coding have been finalised at its 106th meeting including: ‘3D-AVC’ – which carries video texture of an AVC high profile compatible base view along with one or several depth maps and allows more efficient compression of additional views, such that the bit rate of either multiview or multiview-plus depth representations can be further decreased; ‘Multi-resolution frame compatible’ (MFC) – which enhances framecompatible stereo formats to full resolution by encoding a very compact difference signal; and ‘Additional Colour Space and Tone Mapping Descriptors’ – which enables signalling of metadata as needed e.g. for wide-gamut chroma formats.

Visit http://mpeg.chiariglione.org

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ACQUISITION www.content-technology.com/acquisition

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Gear Head ‘Unbroken’ with Arri Alexa ‘UNBROKEN’, the Angelina Jolie-directed chronicle of Olympic runner Louis Zamperini’s time as a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II, is currently being shot in Australia with ARRI ALEXA cameras supplied by local rental house, Gear Head.

According to Gear Head principal, David Knight ACS, the ‘Unbroken’ rental contract was won on the basis of the company’s professional reputation and a solid collaboration between Gear Head and ARRI globally.

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Knight explained, “At Gear Head we survive on our reputation and relationships within the industry. So when the rental contract for ‘Unbroken’ became available my business partner and Gear Head GM, Nigel Gorham, reached out to the film’s DOP, Roger Deakins CBE BSC ASC, and began the pitching process.”

‘Unbroken’ is the biggest movie of its kind to have its equipment supplied by an independent rental house in Australia, something Knight graciously acknowledges along with the extra responsibility it carries for the local industries’ reputation. As a result Knight, Gorham and the entire Gear Head team made sure all of Roger Deakins’ expectations were met and exceeded on all fronts.

The fourteen palettes of equipment supplied

by Gear Head for ‘Unbroken’ is comprehensive but the cameras are the real stars as they include an ALEXA XT Studio, two ALEXA XT M, both rare models in Australia, and two ALEXA XT all recording ARRIRAW with onboard XR Codex recorders and using the in-gate ARRI FSND filter system. The production is also using two complete sets of ARRI Master Prime lenses amongst an array of accessories that include matte boxes, filters and rain deflectors.

Knight added, “Film production of this scale is

AFA’s deliv kind cam help pres cam that now truly a global and international business, which often requires more resources than may be available locally – hence the need to partner with companies in the UK and the USA to ensure everything that’s required is brought together at the right time. We have also committed to supporting the production 24/7 for the thirteen weeks of principal photography and this includes all backup support working with the Gear Head team.”

All the ARRI equipment for ‘Unbroken’ was tested and prepped at Gear Head’s Marrickville offices in Sydney with the team working very closely with Roger Deakins, first assistant Andy Harris, and a very experienced local camera team that includes Ricky Schamburg.

David Knight concluded, “In our minds, Gear Head

is an extension of the camera department team and thus we all live and breathe the production.

That said, I simply cannot stress enough that we could not have made this happen without the collaboration of Stefan Sedlmeier and ARRI Australia, Martin Cayzer and ARRI UK, and Otto Nemenz in LA. This unique collaboration was unquestionably the key to getting the right equipment solution and giving the production diversity of choice with a credible supplier in the Australian market.”

‘Unbroken’ began principal photography on 21 October on the Gold Coast and will move to Sydney’s Fox Studios and various locations throughout NSW during its thirteen-week shoot.

Visit www.arri.com.au and www.gearhead.com.au

ACQUISITION

Levy’s previous awards include:

been nominated for an American Society of Cinematographers’ Outstanding Achievement Award in the category of Half-Hour Episodic Series for his work on Showtime’s ‘House of Lies’ (“The Runner Stumbles”), starring Don Cheadle.

+ Australian Cinematographers Society – Cinematographer of the Year for ‘Predator 2’ (1991)

This is Levy’s fourth nomination, having been nominated for ‘House of Lies’ (2013), ‘The Life and Death of Peter Sellers’ (2005) and ‘24’ (2002). He has been a member of the Australian Cinematographers Society since 1983 and of the American Society of Cinematographers since 2000.

+ Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Half-Hour Series for pilot of ‘Californication’ (2008) + Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie for ‘The Life and Death of Peter Sellers’ (2005) Stephen Hopkins, with whom Levy has worked extensively, directed these

productions. His other work includes the TV series ‘24’ and the feature films ‘Lost in Space’ (New Line Cinema, Dir. Stephen Hopkins) and ‘Broken Arrow ‘(20th Century Fox, Dir. John Woo). As well as working on high profile U.S. TVCs, Levy’s noted music video work include videos for Ricky Martin, Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, Mick Jagger, INXS, Jimmy Barnes, Little River Band, and Joe Cocker.

The ASC will announce the winners of its 28th Annual Outstanding Achievement Awards at a gala on February 1, 2014, at the Hollywood & Highland Ray Dolby Ballroom.

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ACQUISITION

AFA Shoots International Fleet Review 2013 on Sony F5

AERIAL FILM AUSTRALIA (AFA) recently used of one of the world’s most advanced stabilised gimbals for aerial cinematography – the Shotover K1 – combined with a Sony PMW-F5 camera to shoot the prestigious Royal Australian Navy International Fleet Review from above Sydney Harbour.

AFA’s aerial cinematographer, Peter Beeh, explained, “The Shotover K1 gimbal delivers highly stabilised aerial images and is designed to take almost any kind of modern digital camera package. In particular it can carry large sensor cameras and cinema camera payloads. The producers asked me if AFA could help with this shoot and what camera I would suggest. As it was a night time presentation, the producers were particularly interested in using a large sensor camera in order to benefit from better low light performance, especially given that we would be showing wide angle city and harbour scapes.

“After extensive testing, and keeping in mind that the material would need to be used in a live feed and also for archiving purposes, I tested numerous cameras in detail. After all were assessed, the Sony PMW-F5 clearly proved to be the best overall camera for this shoot.”

As the biggest event seen in Sydney Harbour for many years, the Royal Australian Navy International Fleet Review 2013 attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors. For Peter Beeh and AFA the brief to help shoot a live broadcast of the event stressed three main criteria.

Beeh added, “The ABC’s producers wanted high quality images and the best possible low light performance. We also had to be able to deliver a live HD feed and CCU camera control. The PMW-F5 met all those requirements and on the low light performance measure it simply excelled. The night time pictures were just jaw dropping, outperforming all other cameras on the broadcast including the leading studio OB rigs.”

Even for an experienced aerial cinematographer such as Peter, night-time shoots can pose many challenges. Beeh’s decision to use the Sony PMW-F5 and Shotover K1 combination however paid dividends on the night.

Beeh continued, “I knew a large sensor camera would be better than a traditional 2/3’ camera, but the improvement in performance in low light conditions had to be seen to be believed. The pictures from the F5 just sparkled. The Shotover system also introduced a fabulous new shot dynamic.”

Built on the success of Sony’s PMW-F3, the F5 was developed in close consultation with DOPs across the globe and is well known as a camera that offers cinematographers a wide range of recording options in HD, 2K or 4K. Commenting on the versatility of the Sony F5 during the Navy review Peter Beeh concluded, “The F5 camera is highly flexible and we were able to use it very much like one would a conventional video camera in an outside broadcast context. However, we were also able to record some additional shots separate to the broadcast and treat it much more like you would treat a cine camera to achieve a higher quality finish, including the ability to work with high frame rates up to 240fps. This was particularly useful for me on this shoot because rigging the camera into the Shotover mount takes a couple of hours and there wasn’t time to change cameras. I’m delighted to say that the ABC was thrilled with the results and we received plenty of positive feedback from the production.”

Visit http://aerialfilmaustralia.com.au/shotover-k1 and http://pro.sony.com.au

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ACQUISITION

Charles Sturt Uni Upgrades with Sony and Videocraft CHARLES STURT UNIVERSITY (CSU)’s Wagga Wagga Campus delivers a course in broadcast television production, titled ‘Bachelor of Stage and Screen (Television Production)’.

This course has run in various guises for over 20 years and has become a provider of operationally ready graduates for the television and related industries.

The Wagga Wagga Campus houses a threecamera purpose-built multi-cam studio, 12 edit suites, three audio suites, 20 field camera kits and a six-camera HD outside broadcast truck.

With the studio facility due for a technical upgrade, CSU took the opportunity to bring it up to HD production standards, a process that involved a significant amount of Sony equipment and one of Sony’s Australian dealers, Videocraft.

CSU’s television production team explained, “We replaced the entire video chain in the studio including cameras, vision mixer, router, prompters, interfacing, and recording and playback systems. The new equipment was

After the assessment period CSU purchased three complete camera chains based around Sony HXC-100 cameras utilising digital triax, Sony RCP-1500 CCU remotes, HDVF-EL75 OLED viewfinders, prompter systems, mounting hardware and a Sony MVS-3000 vision mixer.

The CSU Television team explained, “The Sony HXC-100 cameras were chosen based on a number of factors; triax rather than multi-core cabling was a key requirement as was perceived quality and longevity of the equipment. A bonus

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is the fact that the RCP-1500 CCU panels are common to a wide range of Sony professional cameras and thus students will have familiarity with larger systems commonly in use.”

Sony worked closely with Videocraft to ensure the deal went as smoothly as possible with Videocraft also providing CSU support with digital interfacing, monitoring and recording systems.

Visit www.sony.com.au and www.videocraft.com.au

The Digital Imagineers Company General Manager, Stephen Aspinall, explained, “We recognised a requirement for our clients who want a filmic look and lenses that still allowed us to operate in the field in fast-paced, ever changing environments. As a company we have a policy of utmost professionalism whether it is our

people, facilities and especially our equipment.

DSLRs were never a consideration for us as we believe they are lowering production standards and whilst we considered other options however, a lack of products that allowed fast, high quality operation in the field held us back. Until the Cabrio lens range was released that is.”

As the company does a significant amount of work on mine sites and in remote regions, these two logistical and geographical factors also played a part in the decision to purchase Cabrio lenses.

Aspinall added, “Sometimes, due to the nature of a shoot, you can’t just change the lens or get

closer to the subject when you need to. The Cabrio lenses got around these issues by giving us the ENG grip we were looking for and also the zoom functionality we required.

“As a result, to compliment our Sony PMW-F55 camera we purchased a 19-90mm Cabrio and an 85-300mm Cabrio as they give us a full focal length range with just two lenses and we no longer have to carry a case of prime lenses around. What’s more we can frame up far more easily with the zooms, which reduces time spent setting up shots.”

Visit www.fujifilm.com.au

Autofocus Upgrade for Canon EOS C100 CANON HAS ANNOUNCED an optional feature upgrade for the EOS C100 Digital Video Camera that will support Dual Pixel CMOS AF autofocus technology, enabling continuous autofocusing with compatible Canon EF lenses. This optional upgrade is expected to be available in February 2014.

ACQUISITION

The upgrade will provide the EOS C100 digital video camera with improved autofocus (AF) functionality made possible through Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology. First employed in the EOS 70D digital SLR camera, the new AF technology helps facilitate greater shooting efficiency across a variety of shooting situations.

“EOS C100 users who work with moving subjects will welcome this optional upgrade to take advantage of the ability for Dual Pixel CMOS AF to achieve a smoother, more natural autofocus,”

says Paul Stewart, Manager – Pro Motion Imaging, Canon Australia. “This will be particularly useful for professionals in video markets such as documentary, sports, events and wildlife.”

subjects positioned in the centre of the imaging area. The complementary use of the contrast signal achieves advanced AF stability that helps reduce the occurrence of image blur.

Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF makes use of the company’s CMOS sensor technology with a new structure that both captures light and performs phase-difference detection autofocus.

Also, the inclusion of an AF Lock function contributes to expanded shooting flexibility through focus preset, which allows users to set a desired focus distance in advance, and the ability to alter the range or composition after establishing focus.

While focusing on the EOS C100 camera is primarily performed manually, the feature upgrade will enable smooth continuous AF, a capability that can be particularly beneficial when operating with a small production crew, electronic news gathering, or documentary-style shoots.

The Dual Pixel CMOS AF functionality offered through the feature upgrade supports continuous AF with all compatible Canon EF lenses for

This optional feature upgrade increases the speed of the EOS C100 camera’s One-Shot AF function by approximately two-times, enabling users to focus on a subject located at the centre of the screen with the push of a button.

Visit www.canon.com.au

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The Digital Imagineers Company Focus with Cabrio Lenses PERTH-BASED COMMUNICATIONS and production agency The Digital Imagineers Company are known for creating a diverse array of high quality stories from corporate communications to network television programmes. When it was time to upgrade their cine lenses they turned to Fujinon and specifically their Cabrio range.

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required to be of an operationally equivalent standard to that commonly in use in the industry while fitting within our budgets, and it needed to be reliable given that refits are approximately 10 years apart.”

Following an initial in-house design stage, Sony National Account Manager, Randall Titus, and Videocraft Sales Manager for the ACT and Southern NSW, James Gilchrist, worked closely with the CSU team in researching and proposing various products to meet the university’s requirements.

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ACQUISITION

Q-Ball Tracks Talent at 2013 ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!’

REMOTELY CONTROLLED pan/tilt/zoom equipment from Camera Corps will track contestants in the winter 2013 series of the reality television show ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!’ on ITV in the UK and channel 3e in Ireland. ITV is producing the programmes in full 1080-line high-definition with technical infrastructure supplied by Gearhouse Broadcast.

“This is one of the largest shows in the world, with more than 600 staff working in shifts round the clock for three weeks,” comments Gearhouse Broadcast COO, Kevin Moorhouse. “It is transmitted from one of the hottest and wettest locations on the planet, in the tropical rainforest of New South Wales.

“Camera Corps has worked with us very efficiently and effectively over many years to ensure that we capture consistently high-quality video, indoors or out, with full protection against rain, high humidity, high ambient temperature or low light. We get consistently high picture quality from the Q-Ball and HD-MiniZoom cameras, including all the detail viewers expect when watching in HD.”

which allow HD-SDI from the camera heads to be carried much greater distances than can be achieved over standard copper cable. A popular element of the series is the bushtucker trial which invites contestants to reach out one way or another to the wildlife of New South Wales. One of our tasks is to ensure the local insects and snakes don’t set up home inside our camera housings. The Q-Ball is very effectively sealed against incursions of that kind.”

Developed and produced by Camera Corps both for rental and for sale, the Q-Ball has delivered close-up video from many very high-profile broadcast events in recent years, including the BBC Proms, Summer and Winter Olympics, international football, motor racing, water sports, tennis, football and rugby.

Visit www.gearhousebroadcast.com, www.cameracorps.co.uk and www.vitecvideocom.com

Camera Corps integrated more than 90 remotely controlled cameras to follow the action inside and around the camp. These include 16 Q-Ball robotic pan/tilt/zoom heads, 20 HD-MiniZooms with infra-red night illumination, 30 MiniShots, 26 Hitachi DKH-32 and three Toshiba IKH-R1. The Q-Ball heads incorporate a 10:1 zoom optics and a low-noise pan/tilt drive with precise speed control which allow the director to request live followshots.

Technicians David Sisson and James Todd from Camera Corps will be working alongside the Gearhouse Broadcast production team to install, operate and reposition the robotic systems throughout the show.

“The cameras will be operated from remote pan/tilt/zoom joystick panels located in the control room,” David Sisson adds. “We will also be installing Camera Corps ‘Simply SMPTE’ electro-optical and single-mode fiber links

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Panasonic Releases New ENG Camcorder and Memory Card Recorder files to be transferred to a network server, contributing to a smoother ENG workflow based on networking and IT operation.

Panasonic is also releasing the AJ-PD500 memory card recorder. This P2HD recorder supports network-based workflow while interfacing with conventional broadcast systems. It’s the first recorder to provide microP2 card slots together with ordinary P2 card slots.

COMBINING HIGH-END IMAGE QUALITY with cost-efficient operation, Panasonic’s new AJ-PX5000G ENG camera recorder meets the new needs of broadcast workflows for the networking age. In addition to conventional P2 card slots, the AJ-PX5000G is the first camera recorder to offer microP2 card slots, which dramatically reduce media costs.

Recording codecs start with AVC-Intra and include, again for the first time in a camera recorder, the AVC-LongG50/25 codecs with low-bit-rate operation and Full-HD 1920 x 1080, 4:2:2, 10 bit image quality. Even longer record time is possible by using AVC-LongG12 (8 bit 4:2:0). Dual codec recording is also possible with low-bit-rate and high-quality AVC-LongG6 codec (Full-HD 1920 x 1080), for breaking news, though not available at

realease. In the near future, the AJ-PX5000G will also support the AVC-Intra200 codec for visually lossless images that approach the level of uncompressed master quality.

Featuring the newly developed 2.2-megapixel 2/3-type MOS image sensor, this advanced camera recorder achieves high F12 (59.94 Hz)/F13 (50 Hz) sensitivity and excellent images with an S/N ratio of 62 dB. More near future enhancements to the AJ-PX5000G, which comes with 3G SDI/HDMI terminals as a standard feature, includes enabling progressive full frame 1080/60p (59.94Hz) and 1080/50p shooting. Operation will also possible using AVC-Proxy images. A wired/wireless LAN connection will enable metadata input and playlist editing, while a 4G connection will eventually allow proxy

Convergent Design Ships Odyssey7Q CONVERGENT DESIGN recently began shipment of the first production units of its new flagship product, the Odyssey7Q, a full-featured 7.7” OLED monitor and video recorder.

ACQUISITION

A comprehensive set of monitoring features is included: Waveform, RGB Parade, Zebras, 1:1 Pixel Zoom, Focus Assist (Peaking), Vectorscope, Histogram, LUT Support, False Color and more. The 7.7’ OLED has a 1280×800 RGB pixel array, wide colour gamut, and 3400:1 contrast, with virtually no motion blurring and true blacks. Bluetooth LE supports simple remote control through iPhone and Android apps.

As a recorder, Odyssey7Q supports a range of recording formats. Uncompressed RGB HD video is included, with compressed HD video soon to be added in a free firmware update.

For RAW capture, ARRIRAW (4:3 and 16:9), Canon 4K Raw and Sony FS700 2K RAW are available as purchase or rental options. New 2.5-inch Premium SSD media supports read/ write bandwidths in excess of 500 MBytes/sec per drive, enabling Canon 4K Raw at 60 fps on a single recorder.

The Odyssey7Q also features a Multi-Stream

monitoring mode, which allows up to four HD Video signals to be input and displayed simultaneously in quadrants onscreen or switched between in full-screen view. A purchase or rent record option (Multi-Stream HD) allows up to four HD Video feeds to be recorded to simultaneous individual files, or even to allow a ‘live-switch’ edit be captured.

A range of battery accessories, mounting options, and sunshade, are available to support the Odyssey7Q. While Convergent Design has significant preorders for the Odyssey7Q, it is on target to fulfil all current orders before the end of 2013.

Visit www.convergent-design.com

Recording codecs from the AVC-ULTRA family include AVC-Intra100/50 and AVC-LongG, which appears for the first time in this model, ensure high-quality images and low-bit-rate (50/25/12/6 Mbps) operation. Lower-rate AVC-Proxy recording enables previewing, metadata input, and playlist editing (soon) over a network. In addition to handling DVCPRO HD/DVCPRO50/DVCPRO/DV codec recording, optional functions will support AVC-Intra200 codec recording in the near future, with images and sounds that approach uncompressed master quality, and AVCHD playback.

The 3U half-rack size unit houses a wide range of interfaces, including Gbit Ethernet LAN, USB 3.0 (HOST), parallel remote, and RS-422A, while easy use is assured by JOG/SHTL/ MENU dial operation. AC/DC power operation enables versatility — from outdoor use to mounting in an OB van or studio installation — for a wide range of broadcast applications.

Visit http://pro-av.panasonic.net

miniCASTER Releases Beam for Film and Live TV MINICASTER BEAM is aimed at the film and television live production sector. The WHDI (Wireless Home Digital Interface) technology makes it possible to transmit uncompressed HDTV and video data up to 1080p in the license free 5GHz band and non line-of-sight, thus produces a high quality real-time video stream.

With this technology miniCASTER offers a new freedom of range – distances up to 100m can be covered with a latency of less than 1ms.

The transmitter is connected to the camera; the RX-device is connected to an external monitor.

More freedom of movement is provided by the small and light design – with substantially lower weight than previous systems. The modules mount on cameras and to set using 3/8-inch screws.

The miniCASTER Beam comes as uni- or multicast device. The unicast solution allows up to four different camera signals to be transmitted simultaneously, the multicast device allows up to four viewers getting the camera signal called the ‘directors view’ at the same time.

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Central Audio Visual Brings HD OB to Adelaide LYNCHPIN OF THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN AV production and hire scene, Central Audio Visual, has taken delivery of a new Mercedes HD OB truck built by Sony’s Solutions Engineering division in Newcastle and facilitated by Sony Adelaide distributor Pro AV Solutions.

Fitted with all new equipment, the truck includes Sony HDC-1700 HD fibre output cameras, Fujinon 77X HD lenses, Vinten Tripods, Sony MVS6530 switcher, and Sony OLED monitors.

Other equipment includes two EVS-XT servers, Miranda router, Riedel intercoms, a DiGiCo SD10 96-channel mixer for 5.1 surround sound and Genelec monitoring speakers. There is also both SMPTE triax and fibre cabling throughout.

Central Audio Visual is a family owned business

with over 28 years in the business. The company operates the largest audio visual facility in South Australia, with a purpose built warehouse and production suites only a five-minute drive from Adelaide’s CBD.

dollar investment and is available to free-to-air

According to Managing Director Glenn Spear, the new truck represents an over AUD$2 million

Contact Central Audio Visual via +61 (0)8 8352

broadcasters, pay TV operators and high-end corporate production both within and outside of South Australia.

4499 or visit www.centralaudiovisual.com.au

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Sky NZ Nabs Olympic Rights THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) has awarded SKY Network Television Ltd the right to broadcast the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, and the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016.

SKY has acquired the broadcast rights on all media platforms in New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Independent State of Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

IOC President, Thomas Bach, said, “The IOC is delighted to have reached this agreement with SKY. With 13 medals, the New Zealand Olympic team enjoyed one of its strongest ever performances at London 2012. We look forward to working with SKY to ensure that fans in the region will enjoy fantastic broadcast coverage of their athletes competing in Sochi and Rio.” IOC Finance Commission Chairman Richard Carrión, who led the negotiations, said, “We worked very successfully with SKY for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games, and therefore are pleased that we are able to continue our partnership. SKY will deliver extensive coverage on its platforms in New Zealand, including free-to-air coverage, whilst also ensuring that coverage is available in neighbouring territories in the Pacific Islands.”

Richard Last, SKY’s Director of Sport, said, “It’s massively rewarding to announce SKY Sport will be screening the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Our customers love watching worldwide sporting events and it doesn’t get any bigger than the Olympics.”

Visit www.olympic.org

ABC Radio Pads up for Five More Years ABC RADIO HAS ANNOUNCED a new five year broadcast agreement with Cricket Australia. Under the new deal ABC Radio will broadcast all tests matches, international ODIs and T20s games for men’s and women’s cricket across a mix of analogue and digital radio in Australia.

Kate Dundas, Director ABC Radio, said the new agreement brings its own challenges, but she is confident the pillars of cricket on the ABC, built up over a long period of time, will continue to resonate with listeners.

“ABC Grandstand’s cricket commentary is the sound of summer,” she said. “No other broadcaster can boast the history, tradition or the close ties to Australian cricket developed over 83 years. Switching on ABC Radio during summer is intrinsically linked to the psyche of cricket lovers in Australia.”

Starting with the first Ashes Test, ABC Radio will broadcast live, ball by ball, commercial free commentary on all 61 ABC Local Radio stations and ABC Grandstand Digital Radio in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, as the Australian men’s team fights to win back the Ashes.

Audiences will hear familiar voices and world class commentary from the Grandstand team, lead by Jim Maxwell, who celebrates his 40th year at the ABC, and guest experts, including Kerry O’Keefe.

This summer ABC Grandstand will also be the home of International Women’s Cricket,

as Australia take on England for the women’s Ashes. Commentary and reports will be broadcast live on ABC Grandstand Digital Radio.

Under the new agreement, ABC Radio will also broadcast live, ball-by-ball coverage of the domestic finals for Sheffield Shield, One Day Cup, BBL and the Women’s Domestic T20.

Ben Amarfio, Cricket Australia Executive General Manager – Media, Communications & Marketing said, “We appreciate that there’s been a lot of public interest throughout the negotiation process, which goes to show just how passionate Australians are about cricket and the overall coverage of the game. We are very pleased to be extending Australian cricket’s long association with ABC Radio, which for so many people across the country is the ultimate sound of summer.

“ABC Radio’s high-quality ball-by-ball coverage will continue taking the game to millions, playing an important role in our ongoing efforts to make cricket Australia’s favourite team sport. We are particularly pleased that the ABC will be broadcasting women’s cricket, helping promote the talents of our leading female players to audiences across Australia. We look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership.”

ABC Radio was unable to secure the online streaming rights, which were retained by Cricket Australia.

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Globecast Australia Gives SNG Truck a Spin at Bathurst V8 SUPERCARS were not the only vehicles in high gear at this year’s Bathurst 1000 races with GlobeCast Australia also launching its latest SNG truck at the iconic event.

The truck can perform the job of two vehicles in one. With its C-band and Ku-band amplifiers on board, it can change from a standard definition domestic uplink, to a high definition C-band international sports uplink in minutes. Designed with complete system redundancy, the addition of another power source and an external antenna sees the vehicle capable of transmitting to two satellites simultaneously – completely redundant from each other. Further improving the reliability of transmission, the vehicle enables simultaneous broadcasts across the country and the wider Asia Pacific region without the added cost of a second uplink.

The vehicle also features the latest NS3 modulation, MPEG4, 4:2:2, 10-bit HD encoders and AVL technology, with all equipment backedup by UPS units. The truck has a dedicated production space, with monitoring, routing, and ample space to add additional equipment.

GlobeCast also had 114 GlobeCam cameras deployed across the event. The cameras included

The new SNG truck’s dedicated production space.

109 GlobeCam cameras inside 26 cars and five fixed cameras on the Mount Panorama track.

Simon Farnsworth, Chief Executive Officer of GlobeCast Australia, said, “GlobeCast Australia is continually improving our state of the art broadcast technology to ensure our customers are able to meet growing viewer demand for immediate and total access to news and sporting events. The introduction of this SNG vehicle to what is the largest digital satellite news and sport gathering fleet in the region provides unprecedented service to our customers.”

Visit www.globecast.com.au

GlobeCast Australia CEO Simon Farnsworth at the Bathurst 1000 to launch the new SNG truck.

Netball Australia Selects Global TV NETBALL AUSTRALIA has appointed Global Television to produce end-to-end coverage of the Coles Netball Test Series matches in 2013 and 2014. The news follows Global’s successful delivery of the 2013 ANZ Championship Series, which saw Australia’s most popular women’s sport control its own broadcast coverage for the first time.

Global will work with Netball Australia to build on that coverage, bringing fans wherever they are the best viewing experience and showcasing the skill and athleticism of the Australian Diamonds.

Innovations will include Global’s exclusive

Jitacam – a crane-suspended, ceiling-mounted camera – and fresh style of presentation.

Global’s coverage will be designed for multiplatform distribution across broadcast (FOX SPORTS and SBS), online, and mobile (Telstra).

team are delighted to continue our relationship with netball in Australia. We look forward to giving fans on all platforms the best seat in the house to watch these wonderful athletes perform.”

Netball Australia’s Head of Broadcast, Michael Rowe, said, “Global’s reliability and high production standards lifted the bar during the recent ANZ Championship season. Fans and broadcast partners can look forward to an equally engaging product during the Coles Netball Test Series.”

For the 2013 ANZ Championship, Global produced a live, end-to-end broadcast of every round that delivered for the sport, fans and broadcast partners, FOX SPORTS, SBS, and Telstra, alike. Each of the 69 games plus the finals were telecast live on FOX SPORTS as well as a Match of the Round game live on SBS 2 and weekly highlights packages on FOX SPORTS and SBS.

Global Television’s Director of Television and Commercial, Soames Treffry, said, “The Global

Visit www.globaltv.com.au

Sky Sports UK Launches Real-Time Clip Sharing on Twitter SKY SPORTS OF THE UK and the UEFA

SPORTSCASTING

Champions League have launched real-time clip-sharing of live sports coverage of soccer matches via Twitter using technology from Grabyo. The launch follows that of Grabyo Studio in September on player Transfer Deadline Day, which generated over 570,000 clip views.

Sky Sports is using Grabyo’s cloud-based clipsharing platform to increase awareness of and engagement in Champions League coverage on Sky Sports and NOW TV, the internet TV service powered by Sky. The broadcaster will be sharing in-game clips, the best goals, build-up and post-

match interviews – all in real-time – with NOW TV promoting them more widely via Twitter’s Promoted Tweets. The live clips will make their way into the Twitter feeds of Sky Sports News followers.

The clips are compiled using Grabyo Studio, which features a browser-based interface for broadcasters to flexibly edit and share real-time TV clips.

Clips can be previewed and edited before being shared across: + Twitter – clips play inline as Twitter cards, without leaving Twitter

+ Facebook – clips play inline in the news feed and/or as a tab on the broadcaster’s Facebook Page + Web pages – Grabyo’s gallery is a responsive iFrame which can be embedded in any site There is also Integrated video ad-serving for monetisation.

The Grabyo viewer app enables TV viewers to grab a moment they’re watching on TV using their phone, tablet & PC, add a comment and share it across Facebook and Twitter.

Visit www.grabyo.com

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The Glasgow Diaries: Chapter 6

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By David Bowers

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Life is meant to be a continual learning experience, and sometimes sharing knowledge enhances your own in unexpected ways. This happy truth has come back to me several times in recent weeks as we develop the Host Broadcaster legacy program.

AS PART OF THE Host Broadcaster Training Initiative (HBTI), with the Organising Committee and leading Scottish universities and colleges, we are creating real-life work experience opportunities for up to 200 media students. A young person entering the broadcasting industry simply couldn’t have a better start than time at the coal-face of such a major event.

Already the sense of anticipation from students is clear, and they have not been shy in sharing their views on what they’d like to see from the Games coverage and how they can contribute – even though roles haven’t even been advertised yet.

It has been an eye-opener to see the diverse means by which these digital natives prefer to get their news and information, and what they expect from content providers.

Their enthusiastic input has been refreshing to those of us who’ve been round the traps before as we look to make the most of every channel.

We’re aiming to match young people with jobs that suit their aspirations and skill sets.

And towards that goal, industry partnership organisation Creative Loop is connecting us with key educational institutions to identify students with the potential and passion to make the most of these opportunities.

Placements will span the gamut of Host Broadcaster activity – from production to technical/engineering – and be situated across a range of Games venues including the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) and Main Press Centre (MPC).

While the roles will be junior they will be closely supervised by senior Host Broadcaster team members, giving students fantastic experience of how a major live television event is put together.

It will be a real-world introduction to the TV business and will help trainees make their way into the industry once they complete their studies.

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Logging is one area where students will gain experience. It’s used widely throughout the TV industry and is a backbone operational skill that trainees may yet be aware of. The ability to quickly and accurately grab and tag material, add key words, and archive footage to make it readily available to production teams, is highly sought after. Experience in this area could open the door to skilled, well-paid jobs once students enter the workforce.

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Meanwhile trainees who show interest and ability in EVS replay will see material they handle transmitted internationally as part of the Host Broadcaster feed.

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There will also be openings for vision mixers, camera and sound assistants, and junior director and producer assistants.

The MPC will offer particularly cutting-edge experience as we’re basing three remotecontrolled cameras there to capture multiple daily media conferences.

A senior producer/trainer and students based at the MPC will direct these press briefings from an island.

And rather than build a stand-alone control room at the MPC, these cameras will be connected by fibre to the IBC, where they’ll be manned and remotely switched by a senior camera operator assisted by three students.

The Merchant City precinct of Glasgow, which will host outdoor concerts during the Games.

audiences. To that end, giving our RHBs maximum flexibility is key, and witnessing our young colleagues’ media habits has reinforced how important it is to accommodate multi-platform viewing. This is why our advanced content archives at the IBC will be mirrored in high and low resolution, allowing RHBs to remotely access and prepare content for play-out in either format.

I’ll be speaking to students about sports broadcasting over the coming weeks. And in the interest of sharing the love, I volunteer Chris Farmer, our Host Broadcaster audio/commentary system control manager, to give a similar talk in the new year.

I’m looking forward to working with the students who take part in our program. Having digital natives alongside us reinforces how consumers – particularly younger people – actually use new communications channels and what they expect from them, and will help us bring the Games to the broadest possible audience.

Our goal as Host Broadcaster is to make the best possible pictures and sound we can, so our Rights Holder Broadcasters (RHBs) around the world can knit them into their own coverage for their home

David Bowers is head of engineering and technical operations for SVGTV, which holds the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Host Broadcast contract.

UK Regulator Prepares for Glasgow Spectrum Demand

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UK REGULATOR OFCOM HAS PUBLISHED its final plans for ensuring that the spectrum demands for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games are met. Nearly 3000 accredited media will descend on Glasgow between 23 July – 3 August 2014 for the Games, bringing with them an unprecedented need for spectrum.

Demand will be fuelled by the increasing use of

wireless technologies by broadcasters.

To meet the extra demand during Games time, Ofcom has developed a plan to secure additional capacity. This will be achieved in three main ways: + By borrowing spectrum on a short-term basis from public sector bodies, such as the

Ministry of Defence; + Ensuring that civil spectrum is used efficiently by making unused frequencies available.

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Six Cities Bid for 2022 Winter Games THERE HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE in the number of cities bidding to host the Olympic Winter Games, with twice as many joining the contest for 2022 compared to four years earlier.

Six cities have bid this time: Almaty (Kazakhstan), Beijing (China), Krakow (Poland), Lviv (Ukraine), Oslo (Norway), and Stockholm (Sweden).

The strength of the field, which includes a strong mix of both traditional and developing winter sports markets, highlights the keen interest cities around the world have in the Games and the lasting benefits and legacy they can bring to a region.

As part of the assistance the IOC offers bid cities, the six applicant cities will be invited to participate in an observer programme tailored to their needs during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

Meanwhile, a delegation from the International Olympic Committee has concluded a successful Orientation Seminar with representatives of Tokyo 2020, including the Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Hakubun Shimomura, who is also responsible for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games for the National Government; Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose, and Japanese Olympic Committee President and IOC member, Tsunekazu Takeda.

The two-day meeting, which came a week ahead of IOC President Bach’s and Coordination Commission Chairman John Coates’ first visits to Tokyo, and two months after Tokyo’s election as host of the 2020 Olympic Games, helped the Japanese organisers to successfully negotiate the crucial transition phase, as well as allowing them to get a flying start preparing to deliver the Games over the next seven years. ll

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THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE has appointed Kit McConnell as its new Sports Director.

Mr McConnell currently holds the position of Head of the Rugby World Cup and RWC Tournament Director at the International Rugby Board. In his 10 years with the IRB, he has assisted with the delivery of three successful Rugby World Cups. His responsibilities ranged from the management of the RWC Board, stakeholder relations and RWC event delivery to the management of the RWC tender processes and the development and implementation of all RWC-related strategies, including the redevelopment of the eventdelivery, commercial and financial models.

Mr McConnell is no stranger to the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement. From 2000 to 2002, he was the IOC’s Manager of Sport Operations, where he was responsible for the coordination of sport planning with organising committees and relations with international federations. Before that, he coordinated the planning of all sports, including relations with each respective international federation for the Sydney 2000 Organising Committee.

Mr McConnell brings great expertise to the IOC in the area of planning, managing and delivering major sporting events and has strong ties to the International Federations. He will succeed Christophe Dubi, who will take on the role of Olympic Games Executive Director next year.

Mr McConnell will take up his post in early 2014.

Visit www.olympic.org

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Rugby’s McConnell New IOC Sports Director

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Telstra, Cisco Provide High Speed WiFi to ANZ Stadium AUSTRALIAN TELCO, TELSTRA, will supply Sydney’s ANZ Stadium with in-stadium wireless connectivity for the next five years after becoming the venue’s exclusive technology partner for WiFi and content distribution. The partnership will allow spectators to make greater use of mobile technology within the venue.

Kathy-Anne McManus, Media Practice Lead, Telstra Enterprise & Government, said Telstra will provide ANZ Stadium with a robust and reliable solution, as well as providing the option for additional digital media functionality – creating a whole new experience for spectators.

“This technology will further enhance ANZ Stadium’s reputation as one of the world’s great sports and entertainment venues,” Mrs McManus said. “We’re proud to be introducing technology that will improve the customer experience when visiting ANZ Stadium, and ultimately allow fans to engage with IPTV and other online content.”

Telstra has selected Cisco as its preferred technology supplier for its Cisco Connected Stadium WiFi solution, which has been deployed in sports venues around the world.

“The Telstra solution was chosen due to its ability to address the unique challenges of providing high-density Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) coverage to crowds in sporting venues. The WiFi network takes full advantage of Telstra’s digital media capability to create a truly dynamic and engaging environment for fans,” added Mrs

McManus.

Daryl Kerry, Managing Director of ANZ Stadium, said the stadium wanted to go beyond just providing internet access for spectators and instead was looking to create a truly engaging and memorable experience for fans.

“We’re excited to provide a multitude of media delivery options and ways for our fans to get the most out of the events at the Stadium. Telstra’s communications solution suits all of our requirements now, and provides an exciting road map of opportunities as we go forward,” Mr Kerry said.

“The first stage of the rollout will connect sponsor content to WiFi devices throughout the stadium, allowing information, announcements and video content to be displayed to fans.”

The ANZ Stadium WiFi network will be implemented in the coming months, and will be available to the public from the start of 2014 NRL season.

Visit www.telstra.com

The P.A. People Refit Royal Randwick THE AUSTRALIAN TURF CLUB (ATC) had a vision to create a new paradigm in on-course facilities when it was conceiving its new Grandstand at Royal Randwick. They knew that a central part of that vision would be the technology employed throughout the new venue. The ATC engaged leading consultant Norman Disney & Young (NDY) to capture that vision as a performance specification, and successful builder Brookfield Multiplex chose Sydney based firm, The P.A People, to deliver the new networked television distribution and audio systems.

in a demanding environment, with the added benefit of having previously delivered projects utilising similar systems to those proposed for this development. Having The P.A. People on board and their ability to bring firsthand experience to the table was imperative in maximising the outcome for the ATC,” said David Kyle from NDY.

“The Australian Turf Club wanted to set a benchmark both nationally and internationally for its grandstand both from a raceday and non-raceday events perspective,” said Mark Flanagan, Executive General Manager Property Development of the ATC noted. “In addition, we wanted to ensure that punters attending the races were receiving all the information, and more, they could receive either at home or at a pub. A centralised system, which allowed us to be flexible with our offering as trends changed and as the masterplan for the spectator precinct developed, was also at the forefront of our thinking.

“This is the fourth major IPTV system we have deployed from Exterity,” said Josh Jones, Senior Project Manager for The P.A. People, “and this is easily our largest system. It has settled down without any significant issues.”

“The P.A. People combined with NDY have delivered everything we were hoping in the system, which is also easy to use and manage. We believe we now have the pre-eminent Audio Visual systems in the world to service our clients and use as a base for future expansion of the system.”

There are around eight hundred screens attached to the IPTV network over the entire site, with over sixty channels and thirty signage pages able to be displayed. The system deployed is from Scottish specialist supplier Exterity.

The majority of the networked audio system comprises products from US group Harman. Over 1,000 individual JBL loudspeakers across ten different models, 80 Crown amplifiers, and 12 BSS networked digital signal processing engines – form the backbone of the system.

Operating on its own dedicated HP Procurve Ethernet network, The P.A. People believe the facilities in the new Royal Randwick grandstand represent the largest integrated networked AV system in Australia.

Visit www.papeople.com

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At the time the tenders were let, little was known about the ATC’s fit out requirements. The performance specification called up a number of TV channels that would be required, and an indicative number of TV screens that were proposed. On the audio side, required acoustic performance criteria for each space and an indicative number of zones were nominated, along with an overview of functional requirements and environmental constraints.

The third element of the puzzle that formed part of the contract was a 1,000 port Ethernet network specifically designed to support both the IPTV and networked audio systems.

From that point forward, The P.A. People engaged with the services team from Brookfield, the consultants from NDY, two teams of architects, and the ATC, to design and develop the systems that feature in the finished project.

“Norman Disney & Young considered The P.A. People the leading choice for this project, with the requisite skills, knowledge and flexibility to deliver

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NEWS OPERATIONS www.content-technology.com/newsoperations

Australia Network Expands Its Reach in India

Videocraft Wins the Federal Election with Channel 7 APPROXIMATELY SIX WEEKS from this year’s original Federal

AUSTRALIA’S INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION CHANNEL, the Australia Network, will be available to an additional 25 million viewers in the Indian sub-continent later this month.

Following an agreement recently signed between the ABC and India’s public broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, Australia Network will be delivered Direct-to-Home (DTH) via satellite on DD Direct, operated by the Doordashan television service – a division of Prasar Bharati.

To mark the launch of the new service, the ABC’s agenda-setting panel discussion program, Q&A, broadcast live from Delhi on Monday 18 November.

Also, ABC International has launched a new website for India, AustraliaPlus. com/India – the new digital home of the best of Australian content covering arts and culture, business, education, health, lifestyle, news and current affairs, science, sports, technology and travel. The website offers content in both English and Hindi, as well as an Indian news feed from Doordashan.

The website’s launch closely follows the introduction of ABC International’s Chinese mobile phone App into the China market last month.

“As 2013 nears an end, we are seeing an enormous growth in the sharing of content between India and Australia through a number of channels,” the CEO of ABC International, Lynley Marshall, said. “Our partnership with Doordashan means that Australian content will find a whole new audience in India.

“What is also exciting is that through our new Indian website, as well as closer connections being developed with some of India’s leading media companies such as The Times of India and New Delhi TV, there is significantly more opportunity to share ideas and produce content that is relevant to audiences in both countries. Examples of this are projects already in pre-production such as the marking of the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli Campaign and a cricket series highlighting the best from our shared archives.”

Ms Marshall said the initiatives reflected the growing demand for more information about contemporary Australian life, the growing connections in business, education and tourism and the people to people links.

Australia Network is currently available in key metropolitan markets across the Indian sub-continent via a number of regional cable and satellite television operators.

Visit http://australiaplus.com/India

election date of the 14th of September, a new date, the 7th of September was announced, reducing the lead time for broadcasters.

The new date would be an extremely busy weekend due to many OB companies being occupied with sport finals season commitments.

The Seven Network immediately sprang into action and, according to Technical Services Manager, Gary Porter, an alternative strategy was devised. Porter said, “We were fast approaching this deadline and needed to find an alternate source of supply in Sydney to deliver a custom-built system to expand our facilities for the evening. It became apparent when reviewing the quotes we received from vendors that Videocraft understood the mission critical nature of the task at hand and could provide both the equipment and support staff to meet our requirements.”

Seven required three ‘hubs’ consisting of a hybrid MCR/TD Tech position plus a producer position to augment its facilities and relieve the pressure that would be placed upon the Master Control and TD positions for such an event.

Porter continued, “The facilities were to be built up external to our existing systems, interconnected as required, with a 72×72 router, multi-viewer monitoring and full technical monitoring. The hubs were each responsible for one of our switchers assign lines ensuring that live remote sources to the studio were preconditioned and ready to go to air. This involved establishing communications with the remote locations, performing quality control checks and making any adjustments required to ensure a flawless transmission.”

Seven also required an additional EVS to be installed to ensure that any critical moments from remote sites would be captured using a sixchannel XT3 and available for immediate turnaround.

Having chosen Videocraft to supply the additional services, Porter added, “Videocraft delivered a complete solution tailored specifically to meet our design criteria and therefore the demands of the evening, which provided us with an easy to use platform that our operators were comfortable with. Videocraft also supported us in the lead up to the night ensuring all the gear was performing as to be expected and supplied onsite support for the installation and on the day itself to manage and support the equipment. Finally Videocraft’s attention to detail was evident in the products they delivered to us which reduced the integration time required.”

Visit www.videocraft.com.au

AS THE NEWS UNFOLDS, France’s INA (National Audiovisual Institute) content will be selected and made available to AFP's international clients via the VidéoForum platform that markets the videos of AFPTV and its partners. First television appearances of major figures, key events, historic locations, shots illustrating economic or technological upheavals, scenes from everyday life, interviews with celebrities from the world of the arts and entertainment: these are some examples of relevant images that will enable AFP's international clients to bring additional insight to their coverage.

with AFP’s international commercial strength, we are confident that this new offering, to be launched in the very near future, will be a success.”

AFP Chairman and former INA Chairman, Emmanuel Hoog, said, “This new stage in our partnership will enable AFP to offer its international clients video content enriched with a historical perspective. With INA’s expertise in the area of audiovisual archives and the quality of the content on offer, combined

For several years, INA has been distributing AFP’s news archives via Inamediapro.com, the world’s largest online digital archive bank, to both media and non-media clients.

INA Chairman, Mathieu Gallet, said, “This new agreement is very much in line with INA’s strategy of reaching out to all audiences by distributing its content as widely as possible. For Ina it is an opportunity to reinforce its position in international markets where AFP has a very strong presence; at the same time, our collections complement what AFP has and enable AFP to propose a richer offering to is clients.”

Visit www.afp.com and www.institut-national-audiovisuel.fr/en/home

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AFP to Distribute INA Video Archives

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Reporting on China 40 years ago: Restrictions, Frustrations and Reading Between the Lines

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In early October 1973 I flew to Hong Kong on my way to setting up the first ABC bureau in Peking the Chinese capital city now known as Beijing.

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China was still embroiled in the Cultural Revolution, a violent countrywide rebellion inspired by the then-demigod Mao Tse-tung, where many thousands died and millions were imprisoned.

CHINA HAD VIRTUALLY CLOSED ITSELF off from the world for a decade.

No tourists were allowed and only a handful of foreign journalists were permitted to be based in Peking, compared to more than 1,000 today.

I was excited to be the first Australian journalist ever to be based in Mao’s China and at the same time nervous at the prospect of being cut off in Peking from the familiar outside world.

Today, China welcomes thousands of tourists and business people daily, but on that autumn day in 1973 only six of us had permits to enter China, the Middle Kingdom. The other five were diplomats.

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We w bure Chin Paul Raffaele (just over shoulder of female translator) during then Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam’s visit to China.

the delight and blight of my life for the next 18 months.

A brilliant, dedicated man, Ma was in charge of the section that handled the few resident foreign correspondents. There were no Americans and I was the only foreign broadcaster - which meant no BBC.

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THE CONFUSION OF ARRIVAL CREATES BUREAUCRATIC PANIC

Ma was all smiles that first day and on every day that my despatches were “positive” on the subject of the new China. But when I transgressed the official truth he instantly changed to a scolding headmaster bent on correcting the errors of his latest pupil.

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At Lowu station I walked past a British soldier cradling a sub-machine gun and began the 100-step journey across a covered bridge separating China from Hong Kong. I felt like a character in a John le Carré novel.

I remember a conversation with Ma during the row that erupted when the ABC showed Antonioni’s documentary film of life in China. The Chinese government hated it and put pressure on the ABC not to show it.

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At the other end I could see a Chinese soldier gripping an AK-47 in front of a giant red and gold wall painting emblazoned with a revolutionary saying: “We have friends all over the world”. I remember wondering if it was a welcome or a warning, or both.

Soon after it was broadcast, I asked for permission to travel in the countryside.

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The morning was hushed as I reached the end of the bridge. There were few people about.

It was Shenzhen, a quiet fishing village with just a few hundred inhabitants and a single two-storey building housing the immigration and customs departments.

Now, it is home to several million people, and a role model in China’s astonishing expansion into a world-beating industrial powerhouse.

After a three-hour train ride through rural China followed by a flight, I arrived at Peking airport. No one was there to meet me.

My earlier cables to the foreign media section of the foreign ministry seemed to have been overlooked. I stood beneath a giant portrait of Mao while a caretaker arranged for a taxi to come and get me.

The taxi took me to the Hsin Chiao Hotel in the middle of the city, originally built to house Soviet advisers who had long gone. The reception desk was empty but the taxi driver roused the manager from his bed.

Bewildered and increasingly frantic, he explained that all visitors to China were tabulated, tagged and sorted into their respective slots with welcoming officials at the airport, taxis and hotels allotted to greet them on arrival.

Manifestly, that had not occurred in my case.

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An hour’s voluble telephone conversations and a succession of shadowy bureaucrats produced official recognition that I truly existed and so I was finally given a key to a room in the almost deserted hotel.

It gave me entrance to a small room which for the next eight months was to be both home and office for me and my wife, who arrived a few weeks later.

OFFICIAL HANDLER WARNS: ‘THE MASSES MIGHT STONE YOU’ The following morning I presented myself to Ma Yuchen, who was to be both

Ma looked at me as much in sorrow as in anger and remarked: “Mr Raffaele, how can I give you permission for such a journey when I can’t guarantee your safety from the masses? They know the Australian Broadcasting Commission has shown the Antonioni film against our express wishes. If they catch you, they might even go as far as to stone you.”

Ma went on to become China’s ambassador to Great Britain and then China’s eminence grise in Hong Kong following the 1997 takeover. I enjoyed our verbal jousting immensely.

WHITLAM’S VISIT INSPIRES WELL-REHEARSED RAPTURE One of the most memorable events took place a few weeks after I set up the bureau in Peking.

To the strains of a Chinese military band playing Click Go The Shears, Gough Whitlam, the first Australian prime minister ever to visit China, emerged from his jet to a rapturous welcome by thousands of colourfully dressed Chinese.

Hordes of girls in traditional costumes screamed rehearsed phrases of greeting, competing with a score of bands and innumerable fluttering red and gold banners.

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From the airport the parade of big black limousines passed down the broad Chang An avenue, past the Forbidden City, cheered on by the many thousands of Chinese shouting eternal greetings to their Australian friends.

Such was the expertise of the Chinese propaganda machine that our reports, unhindered by any of the usual technical and bureaucratic delays I would later experience, dwelt fulsomely on the great and eternal spirit of friendship between China and Australia.

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Few of us would ever know that the same effusively choreographed welcome would be turned on the following week, with an appropriate musical accompaniment, for an African dictator whose amusements included feeding his enemies to his pet crocodiles.

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NEWS OPERATIONS On that first day of the visit, at the welcoming banquet in the Great Hall of the People, Whitlam and all of us were introduced to the charismatic premier Chou.

We later raised glasses of mao tai in a toast to Chairman Mao, who was one of the greatest monsters in history, directly responsible for the deaths of more than 40 million Chinese.

Then, we listened in amazed delight as the band of the People’s Liberation Army band played a stentorian version of On The Road To Gundagai.

THE CORRESPONDENT’S LOT: DECIPHERING OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS For most of the time I spent as the ABC’s man in China there was more frustration than glamour.

Movement around the country and coverage of day-to-day events were heavily restricted.

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on Sennheiser Wireless Mic systems.

We were not allowed to leave the confines of the Peking boundaries without official permission and that was very rarely ever given.

We were denied access to key sources of information such as the leadership, bureaucracy and local journalists. We were forbidden from talking to any Chinese in the street and visiting local homes.

But life had its pleasant and memorable moments. I often wandered through the Forbidden City, usually the only person in the huge complex and often the only person on the Great Wall when I went for a visit.

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My wife and I often visited the tumbledown antique shops in the historical Liu-Lichang Lane, sometimes purchasing a rare scroll, more often admiring Ching dynasty bric-a-brac.

We tried to find out what was happening among the leadership, usually without success.

We read the People’s Daily devotedly with its obscure references to historical events centuries ago which we knew to be hints of what was a titanic battle between premier Chou and Madame Mao for control of China after Mao died.

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We attended the boring diplomatic functions where the more imaginative among us sprouted wild and improbable political rumours that were swiftly replaced by others.

We did the best we could, our stories necessarily based on educated guesswork and half-truths, compounded on Western political logic that was more often than not inappropriate.

Scoops at home were their bread and butter. Yet I don’t recall anyone ever filing a single scoop while I was based in Peking.

I spent nine months convincing the North Korean ambassador to approve a visit to a country even more isolated than China.

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My colleagues were top journalists, famed in their countries, such as John Burns of the Toronto Globe and Mail, Gerd Ruge of Die Welt, and the irrepressible Claire Hollingworth of the UK’s Daily Telegraph.

There were other chances for scoops.

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TRADE IN YOUR OLD

When he agreed I became the first Australian journalist to enter North Korea, and I was also the only Western correspondent in the North Vietnamese capital when Saigon fell in 1975 and South Vietnam surrendered to the legions of Ho Chi Minh.

Though unforgettable, none were more memorable than that exhilarating week in Peking 40 years ago when the ABC bureau opened for business and Whitlam and his cohorts came to visit.

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This article was first published on the ABCNews web site on November 4, 201.

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and see former ABC China correspondent Paul Raffaele’s first television report from the Peking bureau in 1973 on the use of bicycles as a form of transportation in China.

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NEWS OPERATIONS

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NEWS OPERATIONS

ChyronHego Releases Channel Box 2, Version 5.0 CHYRONHEGO HAS RELEASED a new version of Channel Box 2 software for its channel branding and promo system. With new architecture and a host of new features, Channel Box 2 Version 5.0 offers a faster and easier way to deliver branding elements such as headlines, sports scores, financial data, weather reports, snipes, social media commentary, and automated promos.

Version 5.0 represents a major software upgrade and is localised in thirteen languages including Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Swedish. Users can accelerate design time to air with tools such as the Scene Designer with a dynamic real-time canvas, and an Advanced Data Object tool to point-and-click data to air. Also new in Version 5.0 is an asset validation and quality control system to ensure error-free scenes, and an embedded C# development environment leveraging the latest .NET Microsoft technology that allows for interactive control panels.

Visit www.chyronhego.com

Second ‘TV on Wheels’ Now In Publication NEP'S CTO, George Hoover, and co-author Jim Boston have published the second edition of their book, ‘TV on Wheels: The Story of Remote Television Production’. First published in 2002, ‘TV on Wheels’ covers the history, planning logistics, operations, and technology that define the remote broadcasting industry. This edition is also available as an e-book.

“George is revered in the industry and he’s literally written the book on remote broadcasting. We congratulate both George and Jim on the new edition of ‘TV on Wheels,’ truly the definitive book on this exciting and complex world.,” said Kevin Rabbitt, CEO, NEP. Based on the success of the first edition in the education market, Hoover and Boston anticipate a large percentage of the book sales will be to college and university broadcasting technology departments. To that end, ‘TV on Wheels’ has been redesigned with a more academic focus.

A percentage of the proceeds from sales of ‘TV on Wheels’ will go to the Sports Video Group’s Sports Broadcasting Fund, established in early 2012, which offers financial assistance to those in the sports broadcast production community and their families who may face illness, death, or disaster.

Visit www.nepinc.com

Astrium Announces Skywan 5G Satellite Modem Platform ASTRIUM, the world’s second-ranking space company, has announced the launch of Astrium Services’ next generation Skywan 5G satcom modem. The Skywan modem family is a satellite communication platform for customer centric networks. It is a bi-directional MF-TDMA plus DVB system that supports voice, video and data applications. The Skywan modem family is part of ND SatCom’s product range.

The next generation Skywan 5G brings new benefits to its network operators. Total cost of ownership is significantly reduced thanks to the fact that only one type of device is needed for all roles in the network.

Skywan 5G enables star, mesh, multi-star or hybrid topologies with communications-on-the-move (COTM) support.

No matter what type of network is requested, the hardware design of Skywan 5G reliably fits all existing topologies within the VSAT realm.

Each unit can act either as a hub or master station. Geographical redundancy of the master station is already built-in. The device is so

Brainstorm Supports Octopus Newsroom BRAINSTORM MULTIMEDIA'S latest version of BrainNews now

NEWS OPERATIONS

supports Octopus Newsroom systems. BrainNews is a scalable, MOScompatible, template-based system that integrates graphics into news environments, allowing journalists and producers to customise and combine pre-defined 3D graphics within their news workflow without the constant input from graphics departments.

flexible that the customer can change the topology at a later point, use the unit for other networks or even split or pool networks together. Peak IP rates on LAN ports up to 20Mbps in transmit and receive direction is supported to cover current demands for network speed.

Measuring in at only 1RU, the Skywan 5G is the smallest hub device on the market that can also support its outdoor equipment using its own power supply. It offers the option of being either mounted in a rack or to be used as a table top device.

A Skywan 5G network requires no standard hub but enables highspeed communication between remote network sites. With Skywan’s meshed network topology support, connectivity can be established between any two stations in the network with a single satellite hop.

Up to 20Mbps bi-directional communication is supported by the TDMA system.

Visit www.astrium.eads.net

T

Ofcom Research Into UK News Consumption OFCOM HAS PUBLISHED RESEARCH into news consumption across the four main communications platforms: television, radio, print, and online. The report examines the consumption of news content, and attitudes toward that content across different platforms.

The integration into Octopus Newsroom Systems allows Octopus’ clients to run BrainNews into their workflow. This allows clients to use BrainNews and Aston 3D-based graphics and templates, which can be chosen and called by journalists to edit details, incorporate these graphics into their rundown lists, or even use the BrainNews Controller to send them to air, using the Octopus environment.

The report then details various findings relating to the consumption of news; the sources and platforms used, the perceived importance of different platforms and outlets for news, attitudes to individual news sources, and with this, an overview of local media consumption.

It also provides details of Ofcom’s cross-platform news consumption metric – ‘share of references’.

According to Héctor Viguer, Brainstorm’s Engineering Director, “BrainNews is a flexible product that integrates with the most common Newsroom systems, and following this strategy we are very pleased to announce its integration with Octopus Newsroom, one of the most significantly growing newsroom systems there are.”

The research draws on a variety of data sources, with the primary reference being a news survey commissioned by Ofcom and conducted

by Kantar Media in April 2013, comprising an omnibus survey of 2,862 people across the UK, including boosts of 350 in each devolved nation.

Visit www.brainstorm.es

Visit www.ofcom.org.uk

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Take your newsroom anywhere.

To help you accelerate reach, ratings, and revenue, Avid® Interplay® Sphere lets your journalists produce stories from where they are happening by giving them a direct connection to the most holistic set of news solutions in the industry today.

Learn more. Get the Universal Connectivity Executive Brief.

Visit avid.com/connectivitybrief © 2012 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice.

Avid, the Avid logo, and Interplay are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. The Interplay name is used with the permission of the Interplay Entertainment Corp, which bears no responsibility for Avid products. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

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POST PRODUCTION www.content-technology.com/postproduction

Content is King in the Blacksand Castle

By Keith Ford TVNZ (Television New Zealand) Blacksand, the production and post-production arm of the national broadcaster, has undergone an overhaul of workflow and server configuration with the introduction of the Avid ISIS 7000.

WHILE BLACKSAND HAD ALREADY been working in an Avid environment, previously it was running an older Unity for the post-production facility and a LANshare for the promotions department: both systems that are no longer being manufactured by Avid.

Guy Brinsdon, Post-Production Manager at Blacksand, explains, “We ended up looking at many suppliers, Quantel, Grass Valley etc., but being an Avid facility we already had Avid trained people and it made sense to stick with Avid.

We put in an ISIS 7000, which we have about 50 Media Composers, Symphony, and a couple of DS’s running off it. We also have four Pro Tools suites running off it. Obviously that tied together the whole creative arm of TVNZ, so that incorporates the Promotions Department, the Commercial Team, and Post-Production Teams. It has been a huge breakthrough for us moving onto a shared environment. We also integrate with Ardome.”

Viz Ardome is a MAM from Vizrt, which TVNZ uses for their transmission or player environment, essentially as a source for making promos. The problem is that integrating Ardome and ISIS is not terribly commonplace. Blacksand was aware that a couple of broadcasters were doing it, but were unsure of exactly how well it would work.

POST PRODUCTION

“Nevertheless we charged on with going down the ISIS route because we knew that having a fully integrated production server was going to give us a lot of benefits,” said Brinsdon.

“For the making of promos, and we make around 45-50 unique promos every week, which equates to about 300 versions a week, we had to figure out a good, slick way of moving a lot of content from Ardome, our transmission environment, through into the production environment.

in the coming weeks, then we start pulling that content across into the ISIS. We are able to create a “pick list” from the schedule, which Ardome then transfers for us overnight. We do this a few times during the week in preparation for our upcoming promo production. This process gives us transfer speeds of 3x realtime, which is fantastic. That level of integration has been a big advance for us because previously we were conforming off the master programme tapes, in the old fashioned way. Pretty laborious and costly; not a good use of anyone’s time.”

Importantly for Blacksand, they have had a large level of integration on the post-production side for quite a while; for the last four years media operators and ingest operators had been predigitising everything in advance of edits. Editors had already grown accustomed to starting an edit session with everything ready to go.

“They basically hit the ground running. Because we knew that that’s how it worked, there were no problems when we transitioned the Promo Department onto the same workflow. We had to stagger our production timelines through that transition period. Obviously we couldn’t just install it and change it over a weekend because we were making promos weeks in advance,” Brinsdon said. “We had a five week migration period, with producers still working on the old

system and then migrating across as promos were allocated on the new system. They just jumped from the old system to the new system as required and then finally, after five weeks, we could shut down the LANshare and over a weekend made the final migration. The following Monday morning they were on the new system.

“Pretty similar for the post-production area too, although we migrated that over a shorter period of time. Really it was just a week we started migrating media. Basically just mirroring what was on the Unity onto the ISIS and then did a full project migration over a weekend. We then ascertained what projects were required for that Monday morning and checked them into interplay so they were all ready to go. That was all pretty painless actually. We didn’t lose any media and we lost very little time.”

Also included in the upgrade was Avid’s Interplay system, though the transition into that environment was less straightforward.

“The transition within an Interplay environment, that obviously was new for everyone, and that wasn’t without its problems. It’s a lot to get your head around and I think for editors they struggled to understand the Interplay database and how it was structured and what it looked like, because it didn’t represent the Media Composer

“The way that they’ve managed to get it working, the IBMS scheduling system integrates with Ardome very well and that produces an advanced schedule of upcoming programmes. Then from that list we can see what we are going to be promoting

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POST PRODUCTION project structure,” explained Brinsdon. “It took them a little while to get their heads around the differences between media composer projects, the layout and how we create Bins etc, to what is represented in Interplay. When we went to the new system we recognised also that we needed a specific media manager so we put in place a full Media Management team that now looks after the entire system across all areas of Blacksand.”

pictures with TCIP, ungraded. They would cut the promos and then when the final graded master was delivered they would then do a conform and produce a promo and output to tape which was then delivered to transmission. Now they are just picking up the finished graded sequences from a shared folder on ISIS and cutting their promo from finished masters.

For campaign launches or high profile promotions we can now pull those sequences from the creative teams through into post-production and put them into Symphony or into our DS, do a nice grade and send it back. We couldn’t previously do that because we were on an isolated system.

That’s a big advantage for us.”

Visit www.avid.com

Workflow benefits from the new, shared storage environment between the promo department and post-production have resulted in increased efficiency. Guy finished by laying out an example of this with Shortland Street.

“Probably the biggest benefit now of having that level of integration for us is that, for instance, we sound mix a weekly daily soap called Shortland Street, which is a 7pm high rating TV2 show. Its five episodes a week, and we mix every day for that show. So the media comes into us, the audio comes in with guide vision and we mix and then the following week the finished pictures get delivered to us from the production company.

We pull all those online, we sync up all the mixed audio and we output to HDCAM, which become the transmission masters.

“What we are also able to do is now transfer that into a shared workspace on ISIS so that the Promotions Department can now pick up those sequences,” he added. “The change for them is in our old system they were delivered offline

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POST PRODUCTION

Meet the Colourist: Ben Eagleton BEN EAGLETON IS A MULTIPLE award-winning colourist who has built an enviable reputation and client following throughout Europe, Asia, the USA and Australasia. Best known for his commercial and music video work, he has also graded three features films plus numerous short films and documentaries.

Located in Sydney, he has an expert knowledge of Resolve and Baselight, and is available globally for freelance work , either in person or via remote link.

What gives you a buzz about colour?

Apart from the time that I accidentally stuck my finger into a high voltage circuit in the back of a Rank Cintel, the buzz that I get from colour is being able to take a raw image and manipulate it to create something striking and interesting. Often it doesn’t feel like a job, a lot of the time it’s just fun.

Do you like investigating what technology can do, and how you can push it to deliver something unique? Or do you prefer to go on instinct?

I don’t think that the two are mutually exclusive. I love playing with and investigating new technology to see what it can be used for, but ultimately I’ll use whatever tools or techniques are available, (be they old or new) to create the look I’m after.

What are the current challenges in getting the look you want?

I think the challenge has always been to push the boundaries in search of something new and interesting. In that way, nothing much has changed over the years, except that now we’ve got a lot more tools at our disposal with which to push those boundaries.

Do you find the new generation of “raw” cameras give you more control?

More control than what? More control than earlier data or video cameras certainly, but not necessarily more than nicely shot film.

With the gap closing between production and post, do you get asked to provide consultancy at the production phase of a project?

I’ve tried a bit of on-set grading, but in reality, everyone is so busy on a commercials shoot that they don’t have the time or the correct environment in which to give the grade the attention that it needs. I do occasionally work with cinematographers prior to shoots though and I’m currently in the process of developing some tools for them to use on set.

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Do you see many new projects originated on film today?

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I haven’t graded a film job for over a year, although I was talking to one of my directors recently about this very subject. He shoots all over the world and was saying that the last few jobs he’s shot in the US have been on film and on the insistence of the agency! I still think that outdoors in a bright environment, 35mm film is hard to beat, (unless you’re shooting 70mm of course). But in low light, film struggles against the better of the current spectrum of data cameras. However, with the current grading tools available, it’s easy enough to make good data cameras look like film.

You chose Baselight for your new facility – why did you do this?

I’ve used Resolve for many years and, in fact, bought a couple of them back when they cost lots of money. I was happy with the Resolve, right up to the point that I started using Baselight. It’s not that Resolve is a bad system, it’s just that when you use Baselight you realise how much more flexible, subtler and sophisticated it is.

I first tried Baselight properly whilst working in New York and although I had to completely re-think my approach to grading it soon became evident to me that it was a fantastic system … so many ways to achieve so many looks and the way the Blackboard is integrated is just brilliant.

There simply isn’t any comparison to any other control surface on any other system that I’ve used, be it third party or other.

Visit www.beneagleton.com

DDB NZ Boosts Creativity with Autodesk Smoke DDB NEW ZEALAND’S production team consists of producers and editors that predominately work on television and radio commercials.

For video projects, its team found the workflow between multiple applications for editing, effects and colour proved difficult when frequent editorial changes had to be made.

POST PRODUCTION

“We quite often are required to make editorial changes quickly and it became very difficult to work shot by shot,” says Steve Gulik, Senior Editor, DDB. “Performing the edits was messy and involved constantly going back and forth. Also, it was hard to time work with audio, and these disruptions meant time was wasted.”

In addition to workflow improvements, the DDB team was also looking to enhance its 3D visualisation capabilities with improved 3D graphics and text, which was hard to achieve with its existing video production and post pipeline. Looking at Autodesk Smoke software as a possible solution, DDB downloaded a free trial. Once comfortable with the technology, Autodesk Partner DVT Solutions helped DDB set up the hardware and software solution with assistance from Autodesk Technical Expert, Rob O’Neil, who provided hands-on training to the team.

With Autodesk Smoke, the production team is able to complete entire projects within one application. It has eliminated the wasted time of exporting and creating versions when moving between multiple applications.

“Our production team is usually given raw footage which we must edit, grade and produce visual effects and graphics,” says Gulik. “Smoke

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enables us to take projects from the raw footage right through to the final output. Its intuitive user interface and enhanced workflow capabilities mean quicker turnaround and a higher standard achieved for our clients.”

Smoke’s finishing tools for 3D compositing, colour correction, and

Smoke and is very keen to increase his team’s use of the software for upcoming projects this year. The company is looking forward to adding more seats of Smoke to help expand its creative department.

“Smoke is a one-of-a-kind tool, and we are excited to continue using it to deliver great results for our clients and increase our business profile.

Smoke has helped increase our creative capabilities and reduce the need to outsource work; we will certainly be using the software for high-end production work in future.”

Visit www.ddb.co.nz and www.autodesk.com.au

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Sony’s Professional OLED Line on a Diet SONY’S NEWEST OLED MONITORS combine lightweight, slim, and portable designs with the technology’s high colour accuracy, contrast and picture quality. The recently released PVM-A250 (25-inch), and PVM-A170 (17-inch) achieve approximate 40% reduction in depth and weight compared to previous Sony models.

To achieve this svelte form factor, Sony re-engineered the entire design, from the chassis to the OLED panel module’s structure, through to the signal processing board. The result is savings in space and logistics expenses, especially important in the confines of a broadcast vehicle. Power consumption is also reduced by 9% in the PVM-A250 and 14% in the PVM-A170.

Protecting the new monitors’ panel, connectors, and cabinet is a unique body design and an optional panel protection kit. The kit also helps maintain image quality by reducing outside light reflection.

Other operational improvements include an I/P conversion system that delivers optimised signal processing according to input signals.

Users can also upgrade the monitors via ethernet.

Sony’s professional Trimaster EL OLED monitor line has expanded from master monitors to picture monitors since its first launch in 2011. The Trimaster EL technology and Sony’s uniquely developed OLED panel reproduces accurate blacks and colours, and features exceptional dynamic range and motion response.

Visit http://pro.sony.com.au

Tighter Integration & Performance for Cineware and After Effects CC MAXON has announced upgrades to Maxon Cineware, now available in the latest version of Adobe After Effects CC. The enhancements symbolise the ongoing strategic relationship between Maxon and Adobe to deliver improved integration and performance between Maxon’s 3D application, Cinema 4D, and Adobe’s software.

Since the June introduction of Adobe After Effects CC, creative professionals have benefitted from the integration provided by Cineware, which establishes a bridge between the two applications, allowing users to open any 3D file that Cinema 4D supports directly within After Effects.

Compositing passes can also be selected directly in After Effects for editing. This version of After Effects CC also debuted Cinema 4D Lite, a limited version of Cinema 4D integrated within After Effects.

Updates to Cineware include: + Options Dialog Box – New settings are available in the Cineware Options Dialog Box allowing users to select which version of Cinema 4D (R14 or later) should be started automatically. + Rendering Enhancements – New rendering capabilities are available in the After Effects CC Cineware viewport for users wishing to use an edition of Cinema 4D other than Cinema 4D Lite, including the Physical Renderer. + Maxon’s Physical Renderer gives artists real-world camera functions for added cinematic and creative possibilities. It works with Intel’s optimised Embree Raytracing Engine, for rendering speed improvements without compromising image quality.

Visit www.maxon.net

Canon Enters Pro 4K Display Market with New 30-inch Model CANON HAS ANNOUNCED the company’s entry into the 4K video production display market with the introduction of the DP-V3010, a 30inch display for professional use. The DP-V3010 features an image engine developed by Canon for display use, along with a proprietary RGB LED backlight system and an IPS LCD panel.

The DP-V3010 corrects in-plane non-uniformity to achieve precise uniformity for colour and brightness. The 10-bit panel driver and image engine cooperate to glean 1,024 gradation levels for each RGB colour.

Featuring an IPS LCD panel with 4096 x 2560 pixels, the DP-V3010 can display DCI 4K resolution (4096 x 2160 pixels) without resorting to enlarging or reducing processes. Additionally, with a panel aspect ratio of 16:10, the display is also suited to PC-based editing tasks such as high-resolution still-image processing and visual-effects production work. When adjusting image quality, users can display sliders in the lower portion of the screen so as not to hide the image being worked on.

Canon image-processing technology and the high-contrast IPS LCD panel combine to achieve a contrast ratio of 2000:1 or greater (based on the DCI standard). Ensuring the display of night-time shots and other dark scenes, the display also accurately reproduces the gradation in dark areas of the image.

The IPS LCD panel and a optical design make possible a wide viewing angle. With minimal changes in colour or contrast due to viewing angle, the DP-V3010 is particularly effective in editing rooms and similar settings in which multiple users may be required to check image quality.

Visit www.canon.com.au

Matrox Support for Latest Release of Adobe Creative Cloud MATROX VIDEO has announced full support for the latest release of Adobe Creative Cloud software across the entire family of Matrox MXO2 I/O devices and the Mojito MAX I/O card.

The Matrox editing products provide broadcast video and audio input, output and monitoring to enable traditional tape-based workflows including deck control for frame-accurate batch capture and print-to-tape. They’re also the only I/O solutions on the market enabling users to encode H.264 files for delivery to the web, iPad and iPhone up to five times faster than software alone.

MXO2 devices also provide cross-platform Mac and Windows support and can connect anywhere; both Mac and PC, via Thunderbolt, PCIe or ExpressCard/34 using the same unit.

Visit www.matrox.com/video

New Monitors and Firmware from Flanders Scientific FLANDERS SCIENTIFIC HAS RELEASED the 50-inch CM500TD LCD monitor and the CM250 OLED monitor. FSI’s built-in 16 channel audio level meters have been redesigned – part of the upgrade includes an adjustable peak hold feature. The previous 11-key combination to get the 3D LUT into update mode was overly complex. FSI report the update incorporates a new UDisk option in the System Menu. Just leave this set to the default (ON), and the monitor will always be in update mode.

The updates will ship with all new units and are available as free upgrades for current FSI monitor owners.

Visit www.flandersscientific.com

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POST PRODUCTION

Apple Writes its Own Rules with OS X Mavericks ACCORDING TO WIKIPEDIA, Samuel Augustus Maverick was a Texas lawyer, politician, and land baron. His name is the source of the term “maverick,” first cited in 1867, which means “independently minded”. Various accounts of the term’s origins hold that Maverick came to be considered independently minded by his fellow ranchers because he refused to brand his cattle.

Unbranded cattle which were not part of the herd came to be labelled “mavericks”.

Incidentally, he was the grandfather of U.S. Congressman Maury Maverick, who coined the term gobbledygook.

Apple, for its part, has chosen to identify its new operating system with the former term, not the latter! Prompting yet another round of downloading, updating and debugging, Apple has announced its new OS X Mavericks. In a bold move, the new Operating System is completely free.

The new OS iteration offers 200 new features, and brings iOS applications to the desktop, including: + iBooks, which gives you instant access to your iBooks library and works across all your Apple devices. + Maps brings mapping technology to the desktop and allows planning a trip from your Mac, then sending it to your iPhone for voice navigation on the road. + iCloud Keychain, which safely stores your website usernames and passwords, credit card numbers and Wi-Fi passwords and pushes them to your trusted devices. + Enhanced multi-display support makes using multiple displays easier and more powerful, with no configuration required. + Interactive Notifications allowing you to reply to a message, respond to a FaceTime call or delete an email without leaving the app you’re using. + Finder Tabs help unclutter your desktop by consolidating multiple Finder windows into a single window with multiple tabs. + Finder Tags is a new way to organise and find files – both on your Mac and iCloud.

Mavericks also includes new core technologies that boost performance and improve the battery life. Timer Coalescing and ‘App Nap’ save energy and reduce power consumption. Compressed

memory automatically shrinks inactive data to keep your Mac responsive. Mavericks also delivers performance enhancements for systems with integrated graphics through OpenCL support and dynamic video memory allocation. Any Mac capable of running OS X Mountain Lion can also run Mavericks.

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Taking advantage of the new operating are the new Mac Pro and MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Available in December, the new Mac Pro features the latest Intel Xeon processors with up to 12 cores, dual workstation-class GPUs, six Thunderbolt 2 ports, PCIe-based flash storage and ECC memory.

The Mac Pro has taken quite a design leap from the once traditional ‘pro’ style tower, and is built around a unified thermal core allowing the system to share thermal capacity across all its processors. A single fan draws in air and makes the new Mac Pro as quiet as a Mac mini. The result is a pro desktop machine with unprecedented performance packed into a design that’s a mere 25.1cm tall and an eighth the volume of the previous Mac Pro tower designs.

Configurations include 4-core, 6-core, 8-core or 12-core Intel Xeon processors running at Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9 GHz. Two workstationclass AMD FirePro GPUs with up to 12GB of video memory provide up to seven teraflops of computing power and up to eight times the graphics performance of previous generations.

OpenGL and OpenCL are optimised in OS X Mavericks to leverage the full computing power of the CPU and dual GPUs. Apple has eschewed the PCIe expansion platform in favour of Intel’s Thunderbolt interface which combines PCI Express (PCIe), DisplayPort (DP), and DC power into a serial signal. The six Thunderbolt 2 ports will essentially allow up to 36 high-performance peripherals, including the latest 4K displays. A self-configuring IP over Thunderbolt software feature in OS X Mavericks provides a fast link between Thunderbolt-enabled Macs.

Apple has also updated the MacBook Pro with Retina display with new Intel processors, the latest graphics, longer battery life, faster flash storage, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display features fourth generation dual-core Intel i5

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Mavericks Inside. The new Mac Pro.

processors up to 2.6 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz. New integrated Intel Iris graphics deliver up to 90% faster performance than the previous generation. The 13-inch model can be configured with dual-core Intel i7 processors up to 2.8 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz. It will deliver up to nine hours of battery life, two hours more than the previous generation.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display features fourth generation quad-core Intel Core i7 processors up to 2.3 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.5 GHz. The 15-inch model includes Intel Iris Pro graphics, or Iris Pro and GeForce GT 750M discrete graphics with 2GB of video memory.

The 15-inch model can be configured with faster quad-core i7 processors up to 2.6 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.8 GHz. It will deliver up to eight hours of battery life, an hour more than the previous generation.

MacBook Pro with Retina display also features PCIe-based flash storage with up to 60% faster read speeds than the previous generation. Dual Thunderbolt 2 ports deliver up to 20Gbps of bandwidth to each external device, allowing users to connect to multiple displays and high performance devices, and an HDMI port offers quick connectivity to HDTVs and projectors.

Visit www.apple.com/au

POST PRODUCTION

Blackmagic Design Releases Support for OS X Mavericks Blackmagic Design has released new software updates with full support for Apple’s OS X Mavericks. Customers can immediately download Blackmagic Design software updates, also free of charge, from the Blackmagic Design web site.

The updates include OS X Mavericks compatibility and interface enhancements for the new operating system and are available for

DeckLink, UltraStudio and Intensity Desktop Video products.

software in sync with major OS updates. Our

“We’re very excited to be releasing software updates for our desktop video solutions on the same day that OS X Mavericks is available,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “Blackmagic Design works hard to make sure our customers can use the latest features and up to date

to be able to easily download our software and

customers can be assured that they will continue enjoy performance improvements when they upgrade to OS X Mavericks and Blackmagic Design products.”

Visit www.blackmagicdesign.com

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The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

By Tony Taylor, TMD The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) was established in 1984, with its roots dating back to the 1930s. Today, the collection holds almost two million works including films, television and radio programmes, videos, audio tapes, records, CDs, phonograph cylinders, wire recordings, and websites, together with documents and artefacts.

THE CHALLENGE FOR THE NFSA – and similar audiovisual archives worldwide – is to deal with digital content alongside material that is currently, and may always be, archived in physical form. At the simplest level, a unified content management system for an audiovisual archive such as the NFSA has to deal with four broad categories of content:

+ Retain the existing indexing system to handle analogue items, acquire an off-the-shelf asset management system for digital items, then see how far the two could be integrated

+ Digital material that is ingested directly into the system

The first option was considered too expensive and inherently risky. Instead, the NFSA moved to a public procurement process in 2006 and 2007, which allowed the market to propose solutions under the other two cases.

+ Audiovisual material which arrived at the archive not in a digital form, but which has subsequently been digitised and ingested + Audiovisual material which is not yet in digital form but will be in due course, perhaps after restoration or preservation work is complete + Material which can never be digitised, usually because it is a physical artefact – the NFSA collection includes everything from directors’ handannotated scripts to the wedding dress from Muriel’s Wedding.

The conventional broadcast asset management system is really only viable for the first of these four cases. But when the NFSA needed to implement a new collections management system, it needed to address all four. It is still actively collecting analogue items spanning a century and more of moving images and recorded sound. Private collections are offered to the NFSA, other material is becoming available, and of course artists are still creating analogue material, not least movies shot on film.

Even when content is digitised you cannot throw the originals away. While it is possible to create a lossless transfer from an analogue original to a digital file, the NFSA is still responsible for looking after the analogue master, against the possibility that someone might want to re-examine or re-transfer it in future.

The scope of the NFSA’s collections also meant that, at current rates, it would take more than 30 years to digitise the analogue collection as it stood at the time, even without new analogue material joining the archive.

DEVELOPING A STRATEGY In 2005, the NFSA identified three options: + Build a new system from scratch, which managed both analogue and digital items in one system

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+ Acquire a new integrated asset management system capable of handling both analogue and digital assets.

The successful bidder was TMD, with a solution fully meeting option three.

We developed Mediaflex from the start to be a platform capable of handling both physical and digital assets, so it was a natural fit. The world’s largest broadcasters have tens of thousands of hours of content in analogue form, which is only digitised either because someone needs it or because it is degrading so fast that it is the only route to preservation. So we already had the ability to treat physical and digital assets alike.

Mediaflex also incorporates a workflow layer to automate some of the processes, and a business layer, which delivers the commercial benefits that the NFSA sought. Finally, it is a flexible platform: during the course of implementation the NFSA archivists created more than 500 additional fields to ensure the metadata fully met their unique requirements for multiple collections.

IMPLEMENTATION AT NFSA Mediaflex is built on a multi-layer approach, which allows users great flexibility in describing and tracking content. For example, a single title might exist in a number of forms: an original release, a director’s cut, edited versions for television and airlines, trailers and promos, and so on.

But there is a significant step between a solution that promises all the required functionality and a practical implementation. Developing the system to meet all the NFSA’s requirements remained a challenge, which needed good collaboration between TMD and the NFSA. To ensure that this collaboration was effective, through good communication

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & MEDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT

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MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & MEDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT when it could be (or is planned to be) done.

It also supports the digitisation programme, leading to greater efficiencies in processing and an improvement in productivity. In part this is due to the workflow engine, which is a fundamental part of Mediaflex. The original tender did not specify a workflow-based system, but the NFSA is now actively using it to manage and control many of its main collection management tasks.

Being able to access digital content from the desktop enhances curatorial work on the collection. It also significantly improves the acquisition process by tracking what was received, how far down the workflow of cataloguing, restoration and digitisation the material is, and where the original items are to be preserved and archived.

ACCESS

of ideas and requirements, we seconded our chief technical officer, Carlton Smith, to the project. He ensured that the specific requirements of audiovisual archives – such as curatorial requirements around restoration and accession – were fed back into the product development cycle. The result was not just a highly successful implementation at the NFSA, but a new standard product for TMD: the Mediaflex Collections module.

The implementation at the NFSA took two years. A key part of the project was the bulk transfer of records from the old in-house system into Mediaflex.

We see data migration as a critical skill in implementing asset management, and we successfully transferred the content relationship structure from the old system into Mediaflex, establishing the core information set as the foundation of the future-looking system.

The system is now in routine use, delivering all the benefits of access and accountability it was set up to provide. For the first time, analogue and digital content is managed within a single system. For any title, the NFSA staff and external researchers can identify what items are held within the collection, what format they are in, and how accessible they are.

The system provides substantially better facilities for managing preservation, storage and retrieval. Where items need restoration or preservation work, the system can track what is needed, who might carry it out, what it will cost and

Internally, reporting is now much more flexible and streamlined. Senior archivists, for example, can identify gaps in the collection using the system’s reporting tools, and use that to drive targeted acquisition and preservation programmes.

It also allows the NFSA collection to be valued. All Australian governmentfunded heritage collections are required to report annually on the value of their collections, and how that value is changing. This is a key business requirement that has been vastly simplified through the implementation of a unified collections management platform.

The implementation of TMD Mediaflex has given the NFSA a collection management system which amply covers the collection today and is scalable to provide the platform well into the future, supporting collection growth in all formats and ever greater access to the collection over multiple digital means.

Importantly, while this was a project for a large, cultural audiovisual archive, the same challenges face leading broadcasters with a large back catalogue.

They have the same questions of when to restore and digitise material, and providing wide access to physical and digital content, and will see in the NFSA project a significant demonstration that such challenges can be solved.

Visit www.tmd.tv

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DAMsmart Appointed by Fijian Government for Digitisation and MAM

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to digitise the National Archive’s film and video collection, and to commission a Media Asset Management (MAM) system for the ongoing management and control of the newly created digital assets.

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & ASSET MANAGEMENT

Access to the content can now be offered to registered researchers from any location, over the internet. The ability to deliver proxy files to web browsers means that many more people have access to the digital part of the collection. Content that is not yet in digital form can still be searched through exactly the same research tools. This delivers a key requirement for the NFSA’s business goals: wider accessibility by the public to its national cultural heritage.

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The Fijian National Archive collection comprises of in excess of 2,400 assets, including 16mm film, U-matic and Betacam SP videotapes. The collection exhibits a range of degradation issues such as hydrolysis and vinegar syndrome, with much of the collection suffering from mould infestation, all of which is to be expected of an ageing collection maintained in the tropics.

The Fijian Ministry of Information, National Archives and Library Services are responsible for maintaining and preserving the cultural heritage of the Pacific Island state.

Opeta Alefaio, Director of National Archives of Fiji, said, “We have a responsibility to future generations to preserve our rich heritage to a global standard. The tropical conditions inherent to Fiji have put pressure on our AV collection, and while it has been well managed, we recognise an impending need to migrate the collection to a digital format to mitigate the growing risk associated with obsolete videotape and film media.”

DAMsmart will provide its own professional on-ground packing and temporary collection relocation services. DAMsmart’s media conservation

and preparation services will be used to repair, refresh and optimise the media prior to migrating the content. DAMsmart will create a digital collection that incorporates two file types: IMX50 for production purposes and H.264 proxies.

DAMsmart will commission a MAM configured using CatDV Media Asset Management software, from UK based company, Squarebox, for collection access and control. CatDV will be integrated with a StorageDNA LTO archiving platform for storage and management of the high-resolution files. The system will be commissioned on-site, where the digital collection will be archived directly into the MAM. Joe Kelly, DAMsmart ‘s General Manager, said, “This project is not just about digitisation, we have the responsibility of preserving a nation’s moving image history. There are a number of significant challenges the collection presents mostly associated with the degradation of the original media. Our appointment to this project further demonstrates why DAMsmart is the premier digitisation solution provider in the region. We have the technology, knowledge and extensive experience to adapt to the individual needs of every collection and deliver the best possible result.”

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The Ministry invited several providers, including DAMsmart, to participate in a tender to provide the Fijian Government with a solution to enable contemporary access to, and preservation of, the content.

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Visit www.damsmart.com.au

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Brocade Helps Oz Film Industry Move to Shared Virtual Future A SPECIALIST NETWORK SERVICE PROVIDER running on Brocade networking infrastructure is helping transform the way Australia’s television and screen media production industry accesses and leverages critical IT resources. Having been a catalyst in the development of a distributed production model leveraging shared facilities; Cinenet is now instrumental in the industry’s move toward cloud-based operations.

The Adelaide-based company was established with a vision of creating a shared, connected infrastructure for studios, producers, editing facilities, visual effects providers, sound facilities, and DVD producers to create and exchange large digital assets.

“This is a high-tech industry, but it is in just about everybody’s interest to be able to share critical – and expensive – IT resources. That, however, is easier said than done since the industry deals with very large data sets that place huge demands on the network,” said Cinenet director, Tony Clark.

Clark added, “For example, each frame in a digital production can easily require two gigabytes of source material, so the total data volumes are

Avid Releases New ISIS 7500 AVID HAS INTRODUCED the new Avid ISIS 7500 online shared storage system, offering real-time editorial collaboration and the highest storage capacity and performance for large-scale broadcast and post-production environments. The next-generation ISIS 7500 represents the continuing innovation of the company’s industry standard storage systems. It provides new capabilities to help large media organisations more easily and efficiently deliver higher quality content by streamlining and accelerating editorial workflows.

“Media organisations are facing relentless pressure to increase content production while simultaneously improving operational efficiency and controlling costs,” said Chris Gahagan, senior vice president of Products and Services at Avid. “With double the storage capacity of ISIS 7000, ISIS 7500 brings high capacity and performance to large-scale facilities, ensuring the real-time workflows needed to accelerate production and complete projects faster.”

massive. A finished digital print is around 250 gigabytes, but distributing it to 500 cinemas across the country is still a huge job, which is why we – and in fact much of our industry – rely heavily on our Brocade network infrastructure to keep things moving.”

Cinenet’s core network nodes – located in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney – are based around Brocade MLX Series routers with extensive and diverse connectivity to many major data centres using high-speed optical fibre network links. These nodes represent the hubs that support much of Australia’s TV and movie production.

According to Clark, Cinenet selected Brocade routers and switches due to the extremely high level of utilisation the network has to cope with. With 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) links being used at maximum capacity for hours on end, Cinenet’s infrastructure must be capable of non-stop operation with all router and switch ports running at wire speed.

“The Brocade MLX platform has proven to be an extraordinary piece of hardware. We have deployed a Brocade MLX router at our Brisbane point-ofpresence site, but some of the older units on our network have been running close to five years without skipping a beat,” said Clark.

Based on this highly robust foundation, Cinenet is now facilitating the direct connection of customers to the AWS data centre in Sydney through its highbandwidth virtual private LAN service. This virtual private LAN can transfer data to the data centre at approximately one-fifth the cost of Amazon’s Internet data transfer charges. This cost efficiency represents a significant benefit to Australia’s film industry as it moves toward its cloud-based future.

“We have been delighted to watch the Brocade platform provide true business benefits for Cinenet,” said Greig Guy, Country Manager, Australia and New Zealand for Brocade. “The streamlined network configuration allows Cinenet to build and collapse scale as required, with virtually limitless performance. We applaud its use of Brocade solutions to innovate and deliver an exciting industry offering.”

Visit www.brocade.com and www.cine.net.au

ISIS 7500, the successor to ISIS 7000, provides superior scalability; support; performance; an open workflow-centric platform; protection; and real-time collaboration.

A new 128 TB configuration, powered by the new i8000 storage blade and ISIS 4.6 software, enables media organisations to scale the system with up to 3 petabyte (PB) of raw storage.

Through patented technology, ISIS ensures client media due times, delivering incomparable, predictable performance and more media streams per ISIS engine in even the most editing-intensive environments. As client counts increase, ISIS sustains real-time multistream performance across the system.

With ISIS shared storage, multitudes of content creators and contributors can work together – sharing the same media assets facilitywide or everywhere with Interplay Sphere – to turn around projects faster. Connect and collaborate with up to 330 others simultaneously with ISIS 7500.

With patented data distribution and redistribution technology, ISIS 7500 maintains real-time performance in the event of a disk failure with automatic drive rebuild, giving media organisations total peace of mind in the most demanding media production environments.

With the new high-performance, higher capacity ISIS storage blades available in ISIS 7500, which provide 128 TB capacity, facilities can optimise performance, scalability, and storage density at a more affordable price. More importantly, the new i8000 storage blades lower total cost of ownership (TCO), delivering twice the storage capacity of their predecessors, using the same physical footprint as smaller capacity configurations.

Visit www.avid.com

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & ASSET MANAGEMENT

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NineMSN Adopts Brightcove Cloud to Deliver Ad-Supported Videos NineMSN is using Brightcove’s Video Cloud to deliver advertising-supported video experiences for more than 80 premium content web sites.

With Video Cloud, NineMSN is able to consolidate its video initiatives under one online video platform to deliver video to viewers throughout Australia on smartphones and tablets.

“VIDEO CLOUD’S ABILITY to deliver breaking news, long-form content and catch-up content across all devices without compromising the viewing experience has made an immense difference to our business,” said Damian Cronan, Chief Technology Officer at Mi9, the company owned by Nine Entertainment Co which also has a long term strategic partnership with Microsoft.

Using Video Cloud, NineMSN also has access to the desktop and mobile DRM-level content protection it requires to protect the brand’s premium content. This functionality, coupled with the ability to create content that is accessible across HTML5 and Flash-based devices, means the NineMSN viewing experience is reliable and consistent across all devices. By taking advantage of Video Cloud’s ability to integrate with advertising platform, FreeWheel, NineMSN is able to deliver more interactive advertising.

“We have been with NineMSN since the launch of the Nine Newsbreak iOS App and have witnessed the strides in innovation NineMSN has taken,” said Mark Blair, Vice President of Media Solutions at Brightcove. “With the changing ways that people are consuming content, broadcasters and publishers are constantly seeking out new opportunities afforded by the multi-screen viewing trend. We look forward to growing an already successful partnership with NineMSN as they continue to innovate around online video.”

NEW BRIGHTCOVE STREAMING MODULE Brightcove recently gave a demonstration of the company’s new Video Cloud Live streaming module at an event in Sydney.

The Video Cloud Live module is an add-on for Video Cloud Pro and Enterprise platforms, allowing even non-technical users to create live events and stream them across the world with only minimal latency. It amounts to around 15-20 seconds behind real live, and a little more on mobile devices.

According to explained Principal Technical Consultant at Brightcove, Mark Stanton, “Some innovations that we have really brought to the market are around moving the transcoding up into the cloud. The key thing here is that it radically simplifies the equipment that you need on site to do a live stream. It reduces the amount of bandwidth that you need on site to be able to get high quality streams out to users and it means that people who are not broadcast techs are able to actually conduct live streams.

“Live streaming has traditionally been quite complicated. In a traditional set-up you have your camera that goes into an encoder. Then you have multiple streams coming out. The reason why you have multiple streams is that you might have a user on 3G connection on an iPhone and they’ve got a small resolution, or low amount of bandwidth and they’ve got some specific format requirements for that device. Then you might have a user with an iPad on Wi-Fi connection and you might have a user who even wants to throw a picture from their iPad to their big screen using an Apple TV or similar. Just there on the mobile device stat you have a whole bunch of different formats that you want to be producing,” he added.

“Then you have a similar set for desktops. So what you end up with is a whole bunch of outputs that you need to be able to push out. Then we also provide a cloud to the re-network that makes sure that the people get the right stream. They just get a cloud, they click play, we detect what device they’re on, we give them the right format, we detect their bandwidth and we serve it out from a location that is close to that end user. The users in Sydney will get from a server in Sydney. If they’re in Perth they’ll get it from a server in Perth. So it makes sure they get a really high quality output and that’s global as well. It also removes some of the scale issues.”

The demonstration itself ran through the setup of an event, with the laptop running the stream using the Telstra 4G network. The interface is entirely browser-based and was able to be set up very quickly.

Stanton got the stream going, then directed the audience to pull out their smartphones, tablets, or laptops and go to a URL. Many did so, and started streaming the video with little to no problems.

“So what’s the new way and what have we done to make this simpler? The key thing here is that you will notice there is only a single line going out, there’s one RTMP feed and that’s the critical point,” said Stanton. “You don’t need heavy duty encoding hardware to be able to produce all these outputs from. You can just use a laptop and some free software on your laptop. So there you’ve greatly simplified the equipment that you need to use. But also those encoders require a special skill set, so you are bringing down the technology knowledge that’s required. Also you are reducing the amount of bandwidth that you need going out.”

Visit www.brightcove.com

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & DAM

SGL Integrates with Sony’s Optical Disc Archive SOFTWARE GENERATION LTD (SGL) has announced integration to Sony’s Optical Disc Archive technology via its FlashNet archive manager.

The integration gives SGL users access to a greater choice of storage devices in DR, production, news and sports workflows. Sony’s Optical Disc Archive stores data in a compact cartridge with twelve optical discs for file-based archiving.

SGL FlashNet allows Sony’s scalable Optical Disc Archive users to store valuable media safely. This combination opens workflow possibilities, from disaster recovery solutions to management of archive material, over disparate geographic areas. With SGL’s experience of managing multiple storage devices within production, news and sport, Sony’s Optical Disc

Archive can sit anywhere within a workflow, not only as an ‘end of process’ archive.

Raj Patel, Product Manager, SGL says, “We’re very pleased to make this announcement further highlighting our commitment for providing additional storage methods for FlashNet customers. Our products and services are designed and produced in conjunction with all of the leading broadcast vendors in all arenas, providing seamless operation in any broadcast environment. This ensures that the archive appears as a transparent storage area available to every user in all departments from within their day-to-day applications.”

Visit www.sglbroadcast.com

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AUDIO Digital soundwaves

www.content-technology.com/audio

Audio Post on the Cutting Edge

By Keith Ford Australian post-production company, Cutting Edge, has been operating for more than two decades, but until recently only had full-time audio post-production in their Brisbane facility. That has all changed with the addition of Simon “Slash” Hicks to their Sydney operations.

SIMON’S EXPERTISE is in sound design, editing and mixing, and is considered a true all rounder. He has a strong focus on managing project efficiency from workflow set-ups and technical requirements; he’s handled the design, implementation and installation of several facilities; has extensive knowledge of Pro Tools, various control surfaces and mixing desks, Dolby Mixing and Mastering, tapeless workflows, and meeting industry broadcast standards to achieve the highest QC. He doesn’t discriminate when it comes to audio and is equally happy working on TVC’s, TV series, features, documentaries and promos having completed work on Coca-Cola, Rebel Sports, Nike, KFC, The Bra Boys (feature), Mr Sin – The Abe Saffron Story, Erky Perky 3D animated series, A Traveller’s Guide to the Planets, The Block 2011 & 2012, and Julia Zemiro’s home Delivery.

As things stand, Hicks essentially is the Audio Post Production department in Sydney. Being the only member may seem lonely, but the

Chippendale office is a hive of activity with plenty of interaction between disciplines.

“It’s very collaborative actually and that was one of the things that enticed me to come here,” said Hicks. “I’ve done my time for the big corporations and the multinationals, I thought to myself I’ll just freelance for a while. Then a call came from out of the blue, and the guy I actually met at the time, Michael Burton, ended up being one of the owners. And he is, he’s the guy that owns the store, runs the store, he’s on the floor, he’s passionate about it, technically aware and I just immediately connected with that, it was good.

Very good.

“You could use words like ‘family’ and ‘team’ and all that sort of stuff, but at the Chippendale facility it does actually feel like that, as opposed to there being different sections with different brands and different identities all off doing their own thing. This is very much what do you need, how do you need it, can I do something for you.”

One of the main upsides of being the first and

only member of Audio Post is that Hicks got to design his own set-up, specifically tailored to the way he likes to work.

“I’d like to think the way I have got it set up is actually the most efficient way for this environment to be set up. So that if someone does come in, whether it be a freelancer or a client’s made a request for a specific engineer, it’s very easy, pull up the I/O’s, show them exactly where things are and off they go,” said Hicks. “I try to keep everything very much in line and as simple as possible, not too many things hanging off.”

The system is primarily based around Avid Pro Tools, using both versions 10 and 11, running an HDX card for 256 tracks.

“We’ve got the latest Digidesign hardware, there’s the HD I/O, the Omni and the HD sync, and one of my little toys that I prefer to use, a Urei compressor,” explained Hicks.

“So it’s quite a powerful funky little system actually. The desk is a C24, I’m a sucker for faders, I’m very much a tactile mixer, and I like having my hands on something real,” he adds. “I can’t stand just sitting there doing things with the mouse and just click click, I guess that makes me quite old school. I think I’ll always have some sort of control surface to reach for.”

Since moving to Cutting Edge in August, Slash has already completed work on a series for the ABC, the company’s co-production with Blacklab Entertainment children’s series WAC, broadcast on ABC3; various TVC’s; and a number of documentaries. He and the team have projects lined up that will keep him busy for at least a couple of months, and the company is looking at expanding their audio capabilities.

An example of this philosophy is their upgrade to include 5.1 mixing.

“At the moment though, we’re quite comfortable with how things are running. We’re always keen to expand to meet client’s needs, and to take the time to show them around Chippendale’s newly refurbished facility. It generally leaves them with a great impression of our capabilities.”

Visit www.cuttingedge.com.au

AUDIO

“That’s really exciting actually, I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a passion of mine – that development – and in terms of the studio, and 5.1 mixing; every audio guy loves getting his head in to that space.

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AUDIO

Vale Ray Dolby

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SEPTEMBER WAS MARKED BY the passing, at the age of 80, of Ray Dolby, the American inventor recognised around the world for developing groundbreaking audio technologies. Dr. Dolby had been living with Alzheimer’s Disease in recent years, and was diagnosed in July of this year with acute leukemia.

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Ray Dolby was born in Portland, Oregon in January 1933 and his family eventually moved to the San Francisco Peninsula. From 1949 to 1957, he worked on various audio and instrumentation projects at Ampex Corporation, where he led the development of the electronic aspects of the Ampex videotape recording system. In 1957, he received a BS degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Upon being awarded a Marshall Scholarship and a National Science Foundation graduate fellowship, Dr. Dolby left Ampex for further study at Cambridge University in England. In 1960, Dr. Dolby became the first American to be named a Fellow at Pembroke College. Dr. Dolby received a PhD degree in physics from Cambridge in 1961 and years later was elected an Honorary Fellow (1983).

While at Cambridge he met his wife, Dagmar, who was there as a summer student in 1962. During his last year at Cambridge, Dr. Dolby also served as a consultant to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.

In 1963, Dr. Dolby took up a two-year appointment as a United Nations advisor in India, and then returned to England in 1965 and founded Dolby Laboratories in London. In 1976, he moved to San Francisco where the company established its headquarters, laboratories, and manufacturing facilities. His pioneering work in noise reduction and surround sound led to the development of many state-of-the-art technologies, for which he held more than 50 U.S. patents.

+ Grammy from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (1995)

Dr. Dolby’s awards and honours included:

+ Berlin Film Festival Berlinale Kamera Award (2012)

+ The National Medal of Technology from President Clinton (1997)

+ San Francisco Film Society George Gund III Award (2013)

+ The Order of Officer of the British Empire (O.B.E.) by Queen Elizabeth II (1987)

Dr. Dolby also received medals from the following professional institutions:

+ Honorary Doctorate – of Science (Cambridge University 1997) + Honorary Doctorate (University of York 1999) His industry awards included: + Oscar statuette from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1989) + Oscar Class II (plaque) from A.M.P.A.S. (1979)

+ Several Emmys from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, including for the invention of the Ampex video tape recorder and his work for Dolby Laboratories. (1989, 2005)

+ Audio Engineering Society (AES) Silver (1971) and Gold (1992) Medals + Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Edison Medal (2010) As a former Marshall Scholar, Dr. Dolby was also awarded the George C. Marshall Award in 2003. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in the U.S. and the Royal Academy of Engineers in the UK in 2004.

Dr. Dolby is survived by his wife, Dagmar, his sons, Tom and David, their spouses, Andrew and Natasha, and four grandchildren.

Words of Wisdom from Dr Dolby IN 1996, C+T PUBLISHER PHIL SANDBERG interviewed Ray Dolby on the eve of the Audio Engineering Society Convention in Melbourne. His keynote address to the convention was entitled “Progress in Audio: The Pursuit of Perfection? Or What Else?”

When quizzed about the “What Else?”, Dr. Dolby replied, “Sometimes you find audiophiles who are really quite fanatical about lower distortion, better frequency response , better signal to noise ratio, and they’re really quite zealous about this. The reality is, though, that that’s not the way progress always happens.

“Once you get certain factors under control so they’re no longer obtrusive or noticeable, like distortion or uneven frequency response, then you have an asymptotic situation. You can try as hard as you want, but you’ll never make any perceptible improvement, and this is a futile exercise.

AUDIO

“So, really, progress comes in other forms. I would say accessibility is an important one. In other words, how can you reduce the cost of manufacturing and distribution of these new technological developments so that more people can use them.

“Many things have been improved up to a high standard. Let’s take whiskey or wine. Would you really want to improve whiskey any more than its present state of development? No. I think things levelled out in that environment a couple of centuries ago. In other words, all the bugs have

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been worked out out of the process and the product is as perfect and as good as it can be. So, the only progress that can be made is to make things cheaper and more accessible.

“It’s not worth it to spend twice as much on the process to make it just that little bit better.”

Dr. Dolby agreed that the average listener could probably not hear or even cared about those incremental differences.

“One reason it took me so long to develop C-type and SR noise reduction and S-type was my perception that A-type and B-type satisfied 99 per cent-plus of all people and to introduce a new standard just for the sake of gratifying that last one per cent seemed a bit dubious to me. But, of course, that last one per cent is the one that clamours the hardest, has the loudest voice, and eventually you have to listen to them, and that’s what caused me finally to to introduce more powerful noise reduction systems, even though I don’t think most people can appreciate the difference.”

Finally, with phrases such as “Dolbying” or “De-Dolbying” having entered the lexicon of the audio engineer, the late Doctor said he he had come to terms with his name being transformed into a verb.

“I’m used to it. Dolby is a very easy word to pronounce and say, and in many languages, and that’s been a factor. It doesn’t appear to have any bad meanings in any languages that we know of.”

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AUDIO

ACMA Moves to Protect Wireless Mic Users

DirectOut Technologies Unveils MADI Redundancy Switch

CONSUMERS WILL BE PROTECTED from being sold wireless microphones or audio devices that can’t be used in Australia when changes to regulations come into effect on the 1st of January, 2015. From the 1st of January, 2014, it will be illegal for suppliers to import or manufacture wireless microphones that operate in the 694-820 megahertz (MHz) frequency range.

The ACMA has revised regulations to require suppliers importing or manufacturing wireless microphone using this range to include a warning label alerting buyers that it will be illegal to use such products after the 31st of December, 2014. The measure, a year in advance than previously planned, is necessary because from the 1st of January, 2015, it will become illegal to operate wireless microphones in the 694-820MHz frequency range. This frequency has been earmarked to deliver 4G wireless to service Australia’s growing demand for faster, greater coverage mobile broadband services.

Many community groups and small businesses use wireless microphones in their day-to-day work, including school, theatres, gyms, and places of worship. These ‘budget challenged’ groups will be hardest hit by the change, unless their units can be altered to work within the allowable bandwidth.

Some devices can be re-tuned to use a different frequency range. The range available in different areas will also depend on television broadcasting arrangements, which are changing and can vary in different locations.

Checking user manuals or contacting suppliers to find out if a particular device can adhere to the new restrictions is advised. If it can’t be re-tuned the only advice as to what to do with antiquated units is to find the nearest Planet Ark Recycling centre and literally dump the devices in the bin.

For suppliers the changeover will certainly be trickier. Transmitters that have been imported or manufactured before the 1st of January, 2014, can continue to be sold in Australia. However, these transmitters must include a brief written statement about their limited use after 31 December 2014.

Under consumer protection laws, businesses cannot make statements that are incorrect or likely to create a false impression. If buyers believe a supplier has misled them or withheld information, they may take action against the supplier, including lodging a complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission or their state or territory fair trading agency. Again, the advice for suppliers boils down to dumping unsellable stock into the closest Planet Ark recycling bin.

Visit www.acma.gov.au

Calrec Callisto Console CALREC’S CALLISTO is a console designed for broadcast professionals who need to produce broadcast audio, but may not require the full resources of the Apollo and Artemis audio consoles.

Callisto was designed to keep the user interface simple and straightforward with a focus not just on features and capabilities, but also on user experience. Disciplined power distribution means the console is up to 30% more efficient than a comparable Artemis Light.

AUDIO

Users control the console via a 17-inch multitouch screen, with an interface that uses established finger gestures to navigate the system.

Visit www.calrec.com

THIS YEAR’S PLASA saw DirectOut Technologies present its MADI auto-changeover switch, EXBOX.BLDS, for mission-critical performance and production systems.

EXBOX.BLDS employs ‘D.O.TEC BLDS’ (Buffer Loop Detection System) signals to provide instant and seamless changeover between two synchronised MADI sources and connections.

The freely downloadable BLDS Generator creates a .WAV file containing a low level, virtually inaudible signal which is carried in one channel of the MADI stream. Monitoring incoming connections, the EXBOX.BLDS detects the loss or corruption of the BLDS signal and instantly switches, within one sample, to the backup signal. The MADI inputs can also be selected or switched manually using a front panel push button or via four GPI (switch) inputs on the front panel. Four GPOs are also provided to deliver status to external control systems or indicators.

The device can be updated with new or customised firmware via the integral USB port. Remote control of advanced features is also possible.

EXBOX.BLDS will be available from December 2013.

Visit www.directout.eu

Avid Introduces Dugan-VN16 Option Card LIVE SOUND PROFESSIONALS have trusted Dan Dugan’s automatic mixers for decades. Avid’s Dugan-VN16 option card offers integration of Dugan’s automixing technology directly into an SC48, FOH Rack or Mix Rack-based system. The card automatically detects active mics and adjusts volumes accordingly, minimising feedback, comb filtering, and background noise.

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Unlike a noise gate, which can introduce distracting sonic artifacts, the Dugan-VN16 dynamically adapts to the room environment, turning up mics as people speak and turning them down when they aren’t, while crossfading channels to maintain consistent system gain.

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Features include: + Manage and mix up to 16 open mics reliably. + Get more system I/O flexibility with 16 channels of ADAT optical I/O. + Switch modes to employ 16 channels of automixing, eight channels of automixing and eight channels of ADAT I/O, or 16 channels of ADAT I/O. + Expand systems to handle up to 128 live mics by connecting additional outboard Dugan automatic mixers to the card. + Configure settings and mix remotely using the Dugan Control Panel software (included) or the optional Dugan Control Panel for iPad. Visit www.avid.com

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Reverb, Dynamics for Broadcast, Film, Music and Mastering

DSF-B Digital Broadcast Surround Microphone Package

TC ELECTRONIC’S ORIGINAL SYSTEM 6000 became an industry standard for reverb and dynamics processing. TC Electronic has continued to develop algorithms for the platform and today it offers a range of tools for all audio professionals. In 2010, an updated MKII version was released and, based on this hardware reincarnation, TC Electronic has released application-specific versions, including the the Music 6000, Film 6000, Mastering 6000 and Broadcast 6000.

THE DSF-B DIGITAL BROADCAST PACKAGE provides simultaneous digital surround and stereo soundscapes of large-scale live outside broadcast events such as sports stadiums, concert hall venues and live audience TV shows. The DSF-B package consists of a DSF-2 microphone system (DSF-2 mic and controller) and the DSF-3 digital surround processor.

+ The Music 6000 comes loaded with both the Multichannel and Stereo Reverb licenses, holding 18 algorithms. These licenses include the M5000 delay, chorus and phaser as well as hundreds of presets. Also included the Stereo Mastering license which includes MD3 and MD4 multiband compressors as well as Brickwall Limiter 2.

Key Features:

+ The Film 6000 holds the Multichannel and Stereo Reverb licenses plus a new eight-channel reverb, ‘Rev8’. Each frame runs Rev8 twice, thereby comprising a true 16-channel reverb. Also new is the AM6 Annoyance Radar Meter that complies with the TASA standard. Previously, AM6 has only been available as a Pro Tools TDM plugin. Included is UnWrap HD, the LM6 Loudness Radar Meter, VariPitch8, and Toolbox 5.1.

+ Removes need for multiple arrays. + Generates multi-channel audio from a ‘single point’ source. + Perfect downmix compatibility with mono or stereo. + Microphone parameters controlled remotely including orientation, angle, pickup pattern and rotation. + Consists of DSF-2 microphone, DSF-2 controller and DSF-3 processor.

The DSF-3 Control Application, DSF-3, adds features such as: + Snap/tilt – rear, front surround axis can be individually tilted to focus on sound sources above or below the microphone. + Variable polar patterns – front, centre and rear. + Zoom Control.

Linear Acoustic UPMAX v4 Surroundfield Controller

+ The Broadcast 6000 comes equipped with algorithms such as LM6 Loudness Radar Meter, ALC6 Automatic Loudness Control, UnWrap HD, Dmix, AM6, plus a wide range of dynamics, EQ, and surround algorithms.

LINEAR ACOUSTIC RECENTLY ANNOUNCED the UPMAX v4

Aluminium Sennheiser HD 25 Model Marks 25 Years INTRODUCED IN 1988, Sennheiser’s HD 25 headphones attained iconic status as the choice of music professionals the world over.

Sennheiser celebrates the 25th birthday of its HD 25 headphones with the launch of the HD 25 Aluminium.

Sennheiser has combined the sound signature of the HD 25 with metal earcups, lathed from single blocks of aluminium. While this gives the headphones a unique appearance it also minimises resonance.

The HD 25s made their commercial debut in 1988. Originally developed for outside broadcasting, featuring rotatable capsules designed for one-ear monitoring. Soon the HD 25s established themselves as a standard for sound recordings in film, broadcast and television, used by sound engineers for monitoring work.

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Surroundfield Controller. The compact, lightweight, and rugged unit produces 5.1 channel audio from two-channel sources and is suited for OB trucks and post-production facilities.

Offering AES and auto-sensing HD/SD-SDI I/O, the UPMAX v4 combines the UPMAX upmixing/downmixing algorithm with AutoMAX auto-detection for transitions between stereo and native surround input sources, and produces an upmix that is completely downmix compatible.

The UPMAX v4 comes standard with a built-in ITU loudness meter, dual redundant power supplies, internal relay bypass, SNMP monitoring, and eight channels of analogue outputs for monitoring.

Visit www.linearacoustic.com

Broadway Broadband Takes the Edge Off PRIMACOUSTIC’S one-inch Broadway Broadband panels now come with a bevelled edge finish. The bevelled finish edge replaces the square edge previously found on all one-inch thick Broadway Broadband panels.

The company’s thicker two-inch and three-inch panels will continue to be available in either the square edge or bevelled edge finish.

Primacoustic Broadway is a range of high performance fabric covered acoustic panels designed for use in applications where superior acoustic performance is desired and safety is of utmost concern.

Made from high density 6lb per cubic foot glass wool, Broadway panels have up to six times greater density than typical foam panels for balanced absorption throughout the audio listening range. Each panel is fully encapsulated with micromesh and edges are resin hardened to assure safe handling during installation. Panels are then covered in a tough yet acoustically transparent fabric. The one-inch panels with bevelled edge are shipping now.

Visit www.ambertech.com.au

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PILA

Visit www.tslproducts.com

+ The Mastering 6000 includes Multichannel and Stereo Mastering licenses, comprised of MDX 5.1, MD 5.1, EQ 5.1, Toolbox 5.1, MD4, MD3, Brickwall Limiter 2 and Matrix 88. The new version also comes with UnWrap HD, LM6 Loudness Radar Meter, MDW HiRes EQ (by George Massenburg), and VP8 for multichannel pitch correction and modulation.

Visit www.tcelectronic.com

AUDIO

+ DSF-B Digital Broadcast package.

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Sth Cross Austereo Extends Pilat IBMS to Manage Radio Ads PILAT MEDIA HAS ANNOUNCED that Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) is expanding its implementation of the Pilat Media Integrated Broadcast Management System (IBMS) to encompass its distributed network of radio stations.

The expansion of SCA’s IBMS implementation will provide an integrated business management solution that centralises all metadata and workflows across its TV and radio business. SCA sales representatives will now be able to create unified campaigns that cover both TV and radio, offering a better customer service experience by generating a single invoice to the client.

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“For over a decade, IBMS has been an integral part of Southern Cross Austereo’s national and regional television sales campaigns in a competitive environment where the best sales tools and systems are essential to maximising revenue,” said Raoul Prideaux, SCA’s Director of Engineering and Technology. “This expansion will allow SCA to integrate radio and TV sales for the first time into one centralised system across our whole network, enhancing overall operational efficiencies and optimising airtime inventory.”

Oz Digital Radio Listening Reaches All Time High AUSTRALIAN DIGITAL RADIO listening figures from Survey 7, 2013 show that more than 1.6 million people, or 12.7% of radio listening each week in the five state capitals, is via DAB+ devices. Time Spent Listening (TSL) to radio via a DAB+ digital radio device is 12 – hours more than double that of TSL to radio via the internet.

Figures released by Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) from the Q3 2013, GfK Marketscope report, which included a Sony Father’s Day promotion, show 87,555 DAB+ devices sold, compared to Q2 with 68,417 sold, bringing the total number of digital radios sold since the 2009 launch to 1,406,151.

CRA Chief Executive Officer, Joan Warner, said, “These listening and sales figures for digital radios are very encouraging and we look forward to a successful digital radio Christmas promotion in the coming weeks.”

Marketing Manager for Personal Entertainment at Sony Australia, Abel Makhraz, said, “Radio has been very successful at driving great reach and exposure for the Sony brand. The recent DAB+ Sony Father’s Day promotion, was highly successful at generating broad awareness of digital radio and educating consumers about Sony’s products in the category.”

DAB+ has become the worldwide digital radio standard with Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, Malta, Ireland, Netherlands, Hungary, Gibraltar, Denmark and Switzerland all adopting DAB+. Interest in the Asia Pacific is at an all time high with Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia all hosting DAB+ Technology and Transmission Workshops utilising Australian expertise and equipment. In the coming weeks, representatives from the oldest commercial radio broadcaster in Korea, MBC, will visit Sydney to study Australia’s successful implementation of DAB+ digital radio.

Truck and bus manufacturer, Fuso, now includes DAB+ digital radio as standard across their range. This raises the number of Australian vehicle manufacturers now including DAB+ digital radio as standard or an option, in selected vehicles, to 11. Other manufacturers include Ford, Land Rover, Jaguar, Mercedes, Toyota, Lexus, BMW, Audi, Hino and Isuzu Trucks.

Visit www.digitalradioplus.com.au

During the past year, Pilat Media has worked closely with SCA to integrate the support of radio campaigns within its existing IBMS implementation.

This includes the ability to centralise airtime, programming and traffic while supporting the independent transmission needs of each radio station, in addition to the integration of specific radio requirements such as Live Reads and management of the associated copy, rate cards, scheduling, and reconciliation.

“With SCA’s very prominent and diverse radio and TV presence across Australia, it takes a comprehensive and powerful solution to support the multifaceted requirements and management integration needs associated with such an operation,” said Damien Thomson, Pilat Media’s General Manager, Australasia. “SCA’s IBMS implementation combines the best of both TV and radio broadcasting management in one central system, streamlining operations, optimising efficiencies and revenues, and accommodating future growth.”

Visit www.pilatmedia.com

Frontier Silicon’s Patrick Hannon Elected President of WorldDMB THE 19TH WORLDDMB GENERAL ASSEMBLY in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, saw the announcement of Patrick Hannon, VP of Corporate Development at chip manufacturer Frontier Silicon, as the incoming President of WorldDMB 2013-2015. Patrick takes over the leadership baton from outgoing President, Jørn Jensen of NRK, Norway. WorldDMB members also elected two Vice-Presidents: Joan Warner, CEO of Commercial Radio Australia, and Joachim Kraus, Digital Radio Co-ordinator of ARD, Germany, as well as a new Steering Board.

A recurring theme at this year’s event was the topic of Digital Switch Over (DSO), as more countries are making announcements and planning for a DSO. Keynote speaker at the event, Mark Dierikx, Director-General for Energy, Telecommunications and Competition from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs announced that the Dutch policy on digital radio includes switching off analogue radio, with a switch-off date of no later than 2023, providing certain criteria are fulfilled.

Delegates also heard about the significant progress that has been made in the automotive sector with most major automotive brands now offering line-fit DAB. In the UK, 40% of new cars now have DAB as standard, and there are solutions available for all major manufacturers to convert existing cars to digital radio.

There was a major focus on the integration of digital radio into mobile phone handsets, a significant strategic objective for WorldDMB, which is offering technical support on a consistent user interface and coordinating initiatives in this area.

Incoming WorldDMB President, Patrick Hannon, said, “DAB / DAB+ is rapidly extending its footprint across Europe. The last two years have seen significant launches in Germany and the Netherlands, and, in the more mature markets (UK, Norway, Denmark and Switzerland), Digital Switchover is now firmly on the agenda. The progress in all these territories is building significant momentum across the continent. A similar story is emerging in the Asia Pacific region, where Australia is leading the way. Our key objectives now are to continue the roll-out of DAB into new markets and to accelerate the uptake of digital radio in cars and mobile phones. I look forward to working with all WorldDMB members to ensure we meet these goals.”

Visit www.worlddab.org

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Sth Cross Austereo to Deploys 31 Nautel Transmitters AUSTRALIA’S SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO has placed an order for 31 Nautel VS, XR, and NVLT transmitters, which will be used throughout the country to replace aging equipment. The order includes (1) NV10LT, (3) NV7.5LT, (11) NV5LT, (4) NV3.5LT, (1) XR6, (3) VS1, (5) VS300 and (3) VS2.5 Radio transmitters.

National Radio Engineering Manager Steve Adler said, “Southern Cross Austereo is delighted to be partnering with Nautel to replace our existing broadcast transmitter fleet. From 300 watts to 20 kilowatts, Nautel have a solution to cover all our AM and FM transmission needs.”

Nautel’s representative in Australia is Innes Corporation. Innes General Manager, Karen

Olliver, said, “SCA is one of Australia’s leading and innovative group broadcasters. Their engineering always represents cutting edge technology.”

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Final deliveries, installation and commissioning will be coordinated and implemented by broadcast engineering consultant, Trevor Harwood, of TJH Systems, Adelaide.

“We’re very pleased to work with Southern Cross Austereo and our partner in Australia on this project,” said John Abdnour, Regional Manager/ Asia-Pacific for Nautel. “SCA is joining hundreds of broadcasters around the world who rely on feature rich and efficient Nautel transmitters.”

Visit www.innescorp.com.au and www.nautel.com

Ethe base (-60 10 m the u setti time Steve Adler, Southern Cross Engineering Manager places the order with John Abdnour, Nautel Regional Manager-Asia/Pacific.

Australian Entrepreneurs Unveil Personalised Radio App (through partners like BBC, NPR, TED), and music.

Omny reads this content out to you, so you get the latest news stories, your daily agenda, and other updates without ever having to look at your device’s screen, a feature that Omny sees as a huge plus for the safety of pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists.

AVAILABLE FOR FREE EXCLUSIVELY from the Australian iOS App Store, ahead of an international roll-out, personal radio app Omny is set to take on the likes of iHeartRadio, Pandora, and iTunes Radio.

Omny is more than a music app. It pulls in all sorts of data, content, and music to create a personalised radio station. Upon launch the app already pulls content from weather forecasts, Facebook feeds, email account(s), radio shows

Omny co-founder, Ed Hooper, said, “Whether walking, driving or even cycling, Omny helps you keep your eyes on where you are going.”

Omny uses an algorithm that learns as you go, so it’s a personal radio station that is unique from user to user. Simple swiping and liking gestures tell Omny which content you like most.

Backed by Adventure Capital and Optus Innov8, Hooper, and fellow co-founders Long Zheng and Andrew Armstrong, have been working on Omny for nearly eighteen months.

“Omny will change the way we consume media,” Hooper said. “It’s the kind of app that will appeal to people of all generations, because of its utility and simplicity. From the moment you wake up, you can now be listening to a radio station that is tailored perfectly for you. You can combine music, radio shows, podcasts, calendar updates, online news services, emails, social media and more to create your own personal radio station that you can listen to anytime, anywhere.

“Music services like Spotify and Pandora focus on music, and do this really well. But that’s all they do.

We created Omny to be more like a radio station, keeping us entertained as well as informed. We also wanted it to be helpful, providing personal updates and information to help people stay organised and live their lives better. But the really cool part is, Omny is intelligent. Not only can you listen to what you really want to hear, but the app will understand your preferences more and more as time goes on.”

Visit http://omnyapp.com

Regional Broadcaster Goes Green on the Air-Waves EDGE FM IN WANGARATTA is the first broadcaster in Australia to install a Nautel NVLT Series transmitter with a second installation in progress for Deniliquin sister station, 102.5 Classic Rock.

RADIO

Innes Corporation General Manager, Karen Olliver, said the new NVLT’s were first unveiled

by Nautel at the 2012 NAB Show and offered broadcasters an unprecedented level of functionality, efficiency and value.

“These transmitters achieve up to 72% overall efficiency with the potential to saves thousands of dollars in power costs over the life of the product,” she said. “They also

include sophisticated local and remote control, instrumentation and monitoring through Nautel’s state-of-the-art Advanced User Interface.’’

The 10kW transmitter was recently installed atop picturesque Mount Stanley in Victoria.

“We’re delighted to have worked together with our client to bring the first of this new series into the Australian market,” Mrs Olliver said.

Edge FM General Manager Frank Davidson said the decision to purchase the Nautel NV10LT was based on the potential for considerable power savings compared to the existing transmitter.

“We also saw the purchase as further testament

to our long standing business relationship with John Innes for over 35 years,’’ he said. “The added benefit of having the latest technology and reliability that is synonymous with Innes Corporation and Nautel was also a factor in our purchase decision.”

Nautel’s NVLT Series transmitters are available from 3.5kW up to 40kW. Based on the NV Series architecture, they feature integrated directto-digital exciters, parallel power amplifiers, parallel power modules, and switching power supplies.

Visit www.innescorp.com.au and www.nautel.com

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Sonifex Adds Ethernet & USB to Silence Sensor SONIFEX BUILDS on its Redbox RB-SD1 unit with the Redbox RB-SD1IP – a silence detection unit with added ethernet and USB port access. The RBSD1IP offers all the functionality of the standard RB-SD1 with several extra, and rather favourable capabilities.

Ethernet connectivity provides the ability to control the unit via a browser based GUI. The network capabilities allow you to finely control silence level (-60dBu to 0dBu in 3dBu steps) and silence duration (1 second through to 10 minutes). You can also remotely lock or unlock the front panel controls on the unit and use either the hardware configured settings, or the web based settings. In addition to the front panel LEDs, the GUI home page offers a realtime view of signal levels and alarm statuses.

Using the web-browser GUI, left and right channels can be treated independently and remote relay triggers can be configured as one of many events. You can also choose to lock or unlock the use of the remote pins to control the unit, and firmware updates can be performed via the webbrowser GUI. SNMP V1 is implemented so the unit can be controlled by existing network management systems. The addition of six extra GPIO pins on the rear panel allows customisable functionality, including the use of the RB-SD1IP network interface to generate SNMP traps on behalf of other non-networked hardware.

The USB interface can be used to upgrade firmware from a USB flash drive, or the flash drive can hold pre-recorded audio to play in defined circumstances, such as if both main and auxiliary signals fall silent.

Visit www.sonifex.co.uk

Radio Offerings from AEQ NEW FROM AEQ is the Capitol digital console offering eight assignable faders, 22 input channels as standard and up to 86 via MADI. All system signals are configurable for monitoring in control, studio, CUE headphones and VU-meters and a play-out system can use the USB audio I/Os of the mixer instead of resorting to computer based audio cards.

Available options include fully integrated two line digital telephone hybrids, MADI optical fibre interface, and redundant power supply.

Joining the Capitol is the Bravo digital audio console, aimed at small and medium-sized radio broadcasters. The console incorporates 12 faders, four mic/line switchable channels, eight stereo double line channels, two integrated telephone hybrids, two stereo program buses, headphone outputs, stereo CUE bus with built-in loudspeakers, and onair signalling with monitoring mute.

Finally, the TH-03EX, a digital hybrid arriving in two versions to suit one or two telephone lines, and either analogue or digital AES/EBU inputs and outputs. The two-line models include a mix-minus bus for multiplex communication while on-air or on-hold in the studio.

Pressing the MPX button automatically establishes a conference between the two telephone lines. With this feature it is only required to occupy one audio feed between the hybrid and the mixing console.

Visit www.aeq.eu

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From the Judge’s Bench: Bringing Big Data to Traffic News

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Since their inception, Content+Technology Publisher Phil Sandberg has served on the judging panel for the IBC Innovation Awards.

Here he presents a 2013 entry that caught his eye.

With 90 per cent of U.K. travellers getting their traffic and public transport news from radio and TV news reports, INRIX Radio helps the BBC deliver an invaluable service that helps U.K. travellers save time, money on fuel and frustration every day.

Crowd-sourcing provides the BBC with coverage for more roads extending well beyond the limits of the Highways Agency’s sensor networks. As a result, the service fulfils the needs of the BBC’s local and Network radio services delivering a reliable and accurate stream of information simultaneously and consistently across all BBC channels. It also helps BBC broadcasters provide a more detailed understanding of traffic conditions to their listeners going beyond journalistic observation to pinpoint the start and length of queues, deliver insight on actual traffic speeds as well as shifts in travel times.

THE RESULT OF OVER A DECADE of collaboration between INRIX and the BBC, INRIX Radio is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that uses crowd-sourcing and sophisticated data analytics to deliver the first traffic news service powered by Big Data. Intelligently synthesizing real-time traffic flow data from actual vehicles and mobile devices travelling along the U.K.’s roads with the journalistic incident information, the service provides the BBC with an independent comprehensive, always on source for up-to-the-minute traffic information every day. In 2012, INRIX Radio powered more than 420,000 BBC traffic and public transport reports over the radio – that’s nearly 35,000 a month!

What makes INRIX Radio traffic news content so rich is real-time analysis of data from hundreds of public and private sources that includes road sensors, weather, event, and incident information as well as Twitter reports and data from a crowd-sourced network of nearly 100 million vehicles and devices.

By also accounting for common traffic-impacting factors, such as, type of road, day of week, season, local holidays, current and forecasted weather, accidents and road construction even school schedules and other unique local events, BBC broadcasters benefit from a service that is always on and tuned in helping ensure drivers get timely insight that helps them save time and avoid frustration traveling every day.

Here’s some U.K. transport statistics worth considering:

In developing the service over the years, INRIX and the BBC’s shared vision for INRIX Radio demanded it address several challenges including:

Traffic congestion is a large and growing problem that taxes our economies, our environment and our quality of life. In recognition of this growing problem, the BBC decided in 2000 to seek a new approach to traffic news reporting that would increase the quality of information as well as expand coverage to more roads and modes of transportation to help travellers better plan their trips staying tuned to news regarding accidents, service outages and other unexpected delays.

+ Support for new channels to the audience + Deliver consistency across channels + Increase the distinctiveness and quality of output

At the same time, INRIX was pioneering a new approach to understanding what was happening on the roads for the purposes of delivering better traffic information to drivers using sophisticated real-time analysis of data from the actual vehicles and devices that travel U.K. roads.

+ Improve the value for money provided to licence fee payers

By treating vehicles as nodes on a network, INRIX was developing a radical new approach to collecting data for the purposes of determining real-time speeds and travel times eventually leading to models that go beyond real-time traffic information to the creation of traffic forecasts based on predictive analytics. Before becoming known by the buzzwords commonly associated with this approach today, crowd-sourcing and Big Data in the transportation and traffic reporting markets was born.

Over the years, the service has evolved to address these challenges delivering the following benefits to broadcasters and their listeners:

Today, INRIX Radio represents more than a decade of collaboration between INRIX and the BBC to develop a robust yet simple to use “drag and drop” traffic report creation and editing tool fuelled by a powerful travel information network. By eliminating time journalists waste scouring multiple sites, chasing numerous sources, the service sets a new standard for report creation, editing and broadcasting that the BBC uses daily to deliver traffic and public transport service news to listeners in a matter of minutes.

Dependable, reliable traffic information - Delivering highly accurate realtime traffic information requires rapid synthesis and real-time analysis of volumes of complex data. Many factors impact traffic congestion ranging from time of day, day of week, holidays, weather, local events like concerts or football matches, accidents, road works and other traffic causing incidents.

As a result, the team had to develop technologies that could not only fuse but accurately interpret data from multiple complementary and potentially contradictory sources into a single best-source-of-truth 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with no down time.

In 2012, a significant update to the intuitive Web-based interface was released. In addition to the comprehensive summary and snapshot of local conditions (including traffic speeds and travel times) detailed real-time traffic maps were added in anticipation of extra traffic expected on the UK transport infrastructure during the Olympic Games and as a response to feedback from editors and reporters.

BRINGING BIG DATA TO TRAFFIC NEWS

RADIO

+ Improve quality and content to meet increasing audience expectations whilst still being fully compliant

Just as important as the ease which the service allows reporters to create their reports is the underlying content that fuels the service. In addition to information from traditional road sensors, CCTV cameras and incident reports, INRIX breakthroughs to gathering traffic information uses crowdsourcing to analyse real-time data from actual vehicles and devices covering more than 260,000 miles of roads in real-time nationwide.

+ Set new standards of openness and transparency + Do more to serve all audiences

Coverage for all roads and all modes – Vital to the service for the BBC, INRIX Radio helps them cover everything from highways to local roads, even unnamed roads in rural areas. It also covers all public transport modes extending to include even river ferries, the Thames Cable Car and the Blackpool Tram.

Easy to Use, Easy to Report Application – As a single source, browser based interface driven service for content aggregation and report creation, the UI provides broadcasters with a list of traffic and travels news bulletins customizable to specific cities or desired coverage areas (letting a station in the mid-lands provide updates on travel conditions for the closest airport for example) providing broadcasters with the ability to literally drag and drop these traffic news bulletins into an application that transforms the alert into a unique, scripted piece of news content with time signature in seconds.

This application within INRIX Radio is complemented by pronunciation guides giving reporters across their 39 local market stations instant access to accurate pronunciation of roads and landmarks in their reports. It also now enables journalists to view traffic cameras.

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Ravenna Gains Inroads AS IBC 2013 OPENED ITS GATES, codec manufacturer, WorldCast Systems, signed up for Ravenna partnership. WorldCast Systems, and specifically its audio codec division, APT, elected to support the Ravenna IP-based real-time media networking technology.

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Nicolas Boulay, CTO, WorldCast Systems remarked, “Based on our market knowledge we believe that Ravenna has significant potential to become the audio standard not only for in-house audio distribution but also for transmitting audio over wide area networks. Ravenna’s ability to provide multi-channel audio on a single network connection combined with its realtime capabilities and inherent time synchronisation is of great interest to us as a manufacturer of multi-channel AoIP codecs.”

Andreas Hildebrand, Senior Product Manager of ALC NetworX, complements: “We are pleased to see WorldCast Systems, one of the most renowned manufacturers of ACIP-compatible codec devices, joining the RAVENNA group. The massive interest of companies providing ACIP-compatible codec products just comes naturally as both protocols are based on IP using similar transport techniques.”

While experiencing strong support from over 20 partner companies from the professional broadcast market, Ravenna also gained interest from SOC providers, Archwave. The company has now expressed major interest in Ravenna by entering into an official partnership and collaboration agreement with ALC NetworX, the company behind Ravenna.

Archwave provides ASIC solutions allowing manufacturers to provide I/O capabilities in their audio products. Under the collaboration agreement, ALC NetworX transfers Ravenna implementation know-how to Archwave in order to speed-up development of a low-cost Ravenna SOC solution based on Archwave’s DM1500E / DM2500N BeBop platforms.

Arie van den Broek, CEO of Archwave remarks, “For a longer period, Archwave has been investigating for a powerful and proven audio-over-IP technology for porting to our ASIC-based platforms. After careful consideration we came to the conclusion that Ravenna’s foundation on open technologies, its strong user-base in the most demanding markets and its future vision, were the deciding factors for choosing a state-of-the-art technology platform.”

“By expanding the range of currently available FPGA-based highperformance Ravenna solutions with a selection of cost-efficient, yet powerful ASIC-based modules, we are offering customers a wide and flexible choice for Ravenna implementations, serving existing markets and unlock new market segments such as Sound Reinforcement and M.I. as well.

“The collaboration with ALC NetworX will enable a fast route-to-market, while Ravenna’s standards-based architecture will retain the pathways open to support other standards like AES67 or AVB as well. We are excited about the cooperation with ALC and Ravenna partners to drive a powerful audionetworking technology to a broad market acceptance.”

Andreas Hildebrand added, “We are delighted to see a growing interest in Ravenna even beyond the Professional Broadcast market. With Archwave, a company with an extraordinary market reputation in providing highly competitive SOC solutions to audio device manufacturers has joined the Ravenna community.

“While Archwave’s current business focus is on price-sensitive market segments, we also expect significant benefits for pro-audio device manufacturers by lowering the entry costs through the use and integration of Archwave‘s SOC solution.”

Visit www.alcnetworx.com and www.worldcastsystems.com

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Investigating 4K Video Over Media Links/DVN2 Technology

By Jon Cozens, Telstra DVN2 Lab Manager THERE WAS A CLEAR AND WIDESPREAD INDICATION at this year’s NAB show that ‘4K video’ is close to becoming production ready. Although 4K is a somewhat generic term covering more than one line standard and is also yet to achieve a ratified signal interchange standard, mainstream manufacturers were showing 4K capable cameras, switchers, displays, and post production tools.

Broadcaster interest was high in such solutions, as 4K offers a number of advantages for original production. Specifically, ‘shoot once, repurpose many times’ i.e. material shot at 4K can be displayed at native resolution on a cinema sized screen, and rescaled for all applications and displays down to web streaming to mobile phone with optimised quality for each resolution.

Naturally enough, at Telstra we were curious to understand how 4K (in this example 3840 x 2160i50) video might be carried cross our DVN2 broadcast contribution network as discrete 1080i50 streams and whether the performance of the network was equal to the task.

For this first investigation, we limited scope to a short range test, transiting only the Melbourne DVN2 nodes. For obvious reasons we would like to understand the behaviour of the signal over greater distances, and should the opportunity arise we will carry out further tests over interstate connections.

Also out of scope was any investigation into visual limitations of the 4K signal at this frame rate. Our interest was focused on the ability of the network to carry high bit rate concurrent streams.

For the test we used Sony Broadcast’s PMW-F55 4K camera, which presents its output as 4 x 1080i50 streams via separate BNC connectors. This gives a

consolidated bandwidth requirement of roughly 6Gb/s across the network with tight timing constraints between the streams.

For video input and output we chose Media Links’ MD8000-VIF line card, a single channel HD-SDI capable uncompressed encoder/decoder and Ethernet encapsulator. For the four input streams we needed four input boards, and of course a corresponding number for the output stage. The output was displayed on a WUXGA resolution screen, the signal being presented as HDMI via a four channel HD-SDI to HDMI converter.

A point of significance is the use of the production DVN2 core to carry the test traffic. It was felt that the greatest amount of learning would be achieved both about the successful carriage of the test payload and the behaviour of the network under these specific operational constraints.

We found that this combination of components was entirely equal to the task, and delivered the four separate streams within the timing constraints necessary for the display of 4K video. The received images were agreed by all involved to be of acceptable quality given the scope of the test. No measurements were carried out on the output signal, as 4K capable test and measurement equipment was not available to us at the time.

At this stage we can say with reasonable confidence that the DVN2 network shows promise as a transport mechanism for 4K signals in this multi stream format. It is worth emphasising that this capability is a long way beyond the original design parameters of the network and is testament to the foresight of my colleagues on the design team.

Visit www.telstra.com.au

completed the world’s first LTE Broadcast session on a commercial LTE network. Ericsson’s LTE Broadcast Solution was successfully activated and tested on Telstra’s live network with the transmission of concurrent video feeds and large files to enabled devices.

During the demonstration, the devices received different video feeds, including a sports match replay, sporting network news, horse racing coverage, and news. Additionally, the devices received a large file using the single LTE Broadcast channel.

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Mike Wright, Telstra Executive Director, Networks, said, “The trial is an important step in testing this technology to see how it provides network efficiencies while providing consumers the content they want in a highquality experience. Our goal is to ensure consumers can get the content they are looking for easily, and to explore the wider benefits that might be obtained using broadcasting technology.”

Thomas Norén, Vice President and Head of Project Area Radio, Ericsson, added, “LTE Broadcast provides the ability to send the same content simultaneously to a very large number of devices in a target area. Mobile operators can use this ability and monetise media and network assets for new services. Revenue generation and cost-saving opportunities are significant and provide an attractive value proposition for mobile operators.”

Ericsson’s LTE Broadcast solution will offer high quality broadcast video

over LTE networks and enabling service providers to optimise the use of the existing spectrum and networks.

Qualcomm Labs’ LTE Broadcast SDK and Middleware enabled these features on the trial devices running on Qualcomm Snapdragon processors and integrated modem platforms.

“This is a significant milestone towards making LTE Broadcast a commercial reality,” said Mazen Chmaytelli, Senior Director of Business Development, Qualcomm Labs, Inc. “We are pleased to be working closely with Telstra and Ericsson to deliver an enhanced mobile experience using Qualcomm Labs’ LTE Broadcast SDK and Middleware running on Qualcomm Snapdragon processors and integrated modem platforms.”

Unique content can be delivered concurrently to a large number of subscribers. For example multiple video feeds with different angles for close-up views or replays during live sporting events, or sending updates and content to digital signage or billboards. Consumers can also enjoy preloaded updates of software or the morning paper, so they needn’t wait for downloads in high-traffic situations.

Ericsson’s Mobility Report 2013 predicts that video traffic in mobile networks will grow by around 60% annually until 2018. LTE Broadcast enhances LTE unicast delivery to ensure the most effective delivery of content to large numbers of consumers in a particular area.

Visit www.ericsson.com and www.telstra.com.au

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Carrying Multiple Synchronous HD Video Feeds Over Media Links/DVN2

By Jon Cozens, Telstra DVN2 lab manager Representatives of the DVN2 engineering team at the recent SMPTE show in Sydney were given a presentation on a new video camera technology from Panasonic. This camera delivers a 180-degree field of view which has been previously unachievable with other broadcast cameras.

SUCH A WIDE FIELD OF VIEW is particularly useful in sports broadcasting as it enables the display of an entire sports field without camera panning or alternatively shooting from great distance.

The result is achieved by combining the signals from a remotely managed array of four cameras, each contributing a normal 16:9 720p frame, into a 5120 x 720 composite image using proprietary software edge matching techniques. The system comprises four camera heads on robotic PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) mounts within a rigid chassis, a camera control unit (CCU), a PC workstation for image processing, and a camera shot box.

A typical deployment scenario for this system would be having the camera ‘head’ (in this case the chassis housing all four heads) at a sports venue or other OB site, with the processing workstation and control components located in the production facility. In order for this to be feasible, the network carrying the connections between the camera head assembly and the rest of the system must exhibit extremely low latency and be capable of delivering both video and TCP/IP. Although the example we saw at the show is a prototype, a major sports broadcaster notified us that they wanted to evaluate the camera so we requested assistance from Panasonic to investigate DVN2 compatibility with its signals.

The camera system was delivered to the DVN2 transmission lab at Barry Street in Carlton on August 5 2013. The lab facility houses both the DVN2 production model and a development / PoC test area which was used for this investigation.

The tests were kindly supported by Sandro Ricci and Rob Myers from Panasonic and Alex Cozens from Media Links Australia. The following steps were taken: The camera system was assembled and demonstrated to the DVN team. Of particular note is the effectiveness of the control software that manages both the PTZ mounts and the stitching of the 4 individual camera feeds into the final image. Seeing all four cameras pan, tilt and zoom as one is very impressive, as is watching the processing software make its own decisions about where the

Sandro Ricci with a prototype rig

edge of each of the four pictures is so as to match them precisely.

Having demonstrated the camera interconnects working over short cables, the next step was to introduce some representative DVN2 links and see what effects if any were introduced. We used video interface boards (UVTX and UVRX) that support both uncompressed and J2K compressed HD links for the video feeds so we could get a good understanding of the effects of video compression on the system.

Running 4 x uncompressed links at 1.5Gb/s (approx.) gave good results which was pleasing if not particularly surprising. One of DVN2’s defining characteristics is its extremely low latency so where video compression is not used, the network has a very high degree of signal transparency even where multiple synchronous video feeds are carried.

The next challenge was to introduce J2K compression to the four streams to see whether the image processing or the codec latency would have any effect. Once again, the results were very good, with no evidence of signal degradation or any effects that could be attributed to link latency.

The final test we ran was a ‘worst case scenario’ where we ran two of the four links with J2K compression and two without. This was our best chance to produce unexpected behaviour from the system, however the amounts of latency and signal degradation we were able to introduce were sufficiently low that no unwanted effects arose.

The scope of these tests was necessarily limited due to time and equipment availability constraints. No measurements were taken as the objective was to get an initial feel of how the system might behave should a production requirement to support this camera arise.

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In this context, the tests were a great success and we have a high degree of confidence that a production deployment is feasible subject to more rigorous testing as appropriate.

On a personal note, in a lab environment it is easy to take leading edge technology for granted. However, every so often you are reminded that what you are seeing is completely new. In this case, watching live video of a seagull flying right across the Melbourne CBD panorama as a single image was one of those rare but rewarding moments.

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I would like to thank the Panasonic team for making this test possible at short notice and with very limited equipment availability. Thanks are also due to Media Links Australia for their valuable input and technical support.

Visit www.telstra.com.au, www.panasonic.com.au and http://medialinks.com

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4K UHDTV Opportunities

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By Snell

4K UHDTV is a high-resolution picture format (3840 × 2160 pixels per frame), which is emerging as the standard for new multimedia services. It has huge artistic advantages compared to conventional SD and HD production, both for content acquisition and special effects (such as zoom), as well as archive and repurposing.

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development and differentiation to broadcast and media organisations, many of which have already started experimental production and services, or announced their 4K UHDTV plans.

For example, Netflix has announced plans for a 4K UHDTV movie service in 2014; BBC and Sky TV have carried out several 4K UHDTV live field tests for sports events during 2013; and Japanese broadcasters have committed to start 4K UHDTV services in time for the soccer World Cup in 2014.

Standards are progressing rapidly, with ongoing work in SMPTE, EBU and others. So the relevant questions now for industry players are how much and how quickly they need to invest in 4K UHDTV technologies and equipment to match consumer demand when the new services start.

In the following discussion, we identify some key issues that broadcast and media organisations need to take into account when planning their transition to 4K UHDTV, which help answer those questions.

CONSUMER PULL OR MARKET PUSH? The most obvious advantage of 4K UHDTV is the much higher resolution than HDTV, which enables producers to capture much more detail in their scenes. This provides a more immersive experience, bringing to life spacious wildlife panoramas as well as offering the most detailed action at a sports game. The opportunity to capture a wider field of view enables producers greater freedom in camera placement, thereby enabling more artistic license, and hence closer engagement with viewers.

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With 4K UHDTV, enhanced post-production effects, such as very high quality zoom, become possible, where a viewer may concentrate on a specific part of the action chosen by the program director, or, in the case of interactive services, chosen by the viewers themselves.

Currently, the main driver for 4K UHDTV comes from the display industry, where manufacturers are looking for the next exciting innovation to tempt consumers to invest in new displays.

Although during 2013, there were many additions to the range of 4K UHDTV displays being offered to consumers, including those from Toshiba, Sony, LG, and Panasonic, and the prices have reduced to less than $1,000, consumer demand is still slow. In fact some analysts predict that major take-up of 4K UHDTV will not be until 2020.

There are several reasons why consumers are hesitating. Firstly, many TV viewers have only just purchased HD displays so aren’t ready for

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a new investment. Secondly, until the recent announcement of a small Seiki 39” display, 4K UHDTV displays offered to consumers were 55” or bigger, making them impractical for many consumers’ living rooms. And thirdly, and rather importantly, there isn’t yet enough content available in 4K direct to the home or via media players for the viewer to watch.

With estimates of the cost to broadcasters of creating a 4K UHDTV channel in the range of $10 million to $15 million, i.e. five times that for a new HD service, according to Deloitte, the decision to upgrade existing equipment and infrastructure will not be taken lightly. Cost will therefore inhibit the launch of 4K UHDTV services, thereby delaying purchase decisions by consumers.

However, manufacturers such as Sony have launched 4K UHDTV media players, which enable consumers to view material from a hard disk. Only a limited amount of content is available via this mechanism at the moment, and only in a few geographical areas, but these types of initiatives help stimulate the market.

HOW ARE MANUFACTURERS SUPPORTING 4K UHDTV? Many broadcasters and production companies have identified the artistic opportunities that 4K UHDTV brings in terms of field of view, resolution (picture detail), sharper pictures, extended colour gamut, and improved motion portrayal (progressive scan at higher frame rates). Broadcast and media companies can use 4K UHDTV as an opportunity to create new services and differentiate their existing services.

4K UHDTV gives a stimulus to viewers to start

new subscriptions. Improved quality of content delivered to large displays in the home gives program producers new artistic scope and freedom to create stunning new material.

Supporting the desire for new production capabilities are camera manufacturers such as Canon, Sony, JVC and others, who are already offering a good choice of 4K cameras.

Monitoring down converters are available from Snell and others to enable easy integration of 4K UHDTV into facilities.

4K production methods are already well established in the digital cinema domain (although this is a slightly different format: 4096 × 2160 rather than the 3840 × 2160 of 4K UHDTV), and don’t require the complex rigs needed for 3D production. Snell is leading the way in 4K UHDTV Production Switching, with Kahuna 360 supporting 4K UHDTV at no price premium.

Furthermore, thanks to the adoption of 4K in the film industry and for digital cinema, there are already some 4K effects and editing tools available, which combined with lower costs of data storage, make 4K UHDTV post-production feasible on reasonably powerful workstations.

This enables broadcasters and media organisations to quickly take advantage as new 4K UHDTV technologies emerge.

4K UHDTV has the advantage of offering a very high quality master, which can be repurposed for different audiences. Post-production companies using Snell’s Alchemist On Demand software standards converter have already proved high quality motion compensated conversion of 4K material to different frame rates. Such tools

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enable broadcasters and content owners to maximise revenue from costly 4K productions.

Transfer of 4K movies into screen productions can also be much simpler, due to the similar resolutions (3840 × 2160 pixels per frame for UHDTV and 4096 × 2160 for Digital Cinema).

Many movie companies are scanning their back catalogues into 4K formats, anticipating new opportunities with future 4K UHDTV delivery mechanisms thereby creating new media services. Also new movies, especially those made for TV, as well as drama series, are now being mastered at 4K resolution (and above).

Availability of compelling 4K UHDTV content will attract consumers, enabling broadcasters and media companies to demonstrate revenue generating service innovation. The chain to the consumer is facilitated by advanced compression technology, including the emerging High Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC).

Both Eutelsat and ASTRA have announced the launch of a 4K UHDTV transmission capability.

Eutelsat’s demonstration channel, allows broadcasters to experiment with 4K UHDTV services at 40Mbps compressed using MPEG-4, or on ASTRA at 20 Mbps.

Testing by Netflix and other content owners has suggested that bandwidths as low as 15Mbps could be used for 4K UHDTV service delivery.

INVESTING IN 4K UHDTV Investing in new technology and new workflows is always accompanied by risk. In August 2012, ITU published ITU-R Recommendation BT.2020, which specifies the technical parameters for 4K UHDTV, but there remain many practical questions to consider.

Firstly, the 4K UHDTV standard allows for frame rates from 23.98p up to 120p. Organisations buying 4K UHDTV equipment need to know that the products they buy will support the full

range of possible frame rates, so that they are ready for any service that is defined. However, current experiments by broadcasters at 50p and 59.94p have been very successful, so whereas content producers have the option of initial acquisition at frame rates up to 120Hz, there is a high likelihood that consumer services will be based on 50p or 60p.

Moving to a new standard allows possibilities to use 10or 12-bit colour depth.

While this could lead to a much more exciting user experience, there are issues of backwards compatibility with current 8-bit systems, and at possibly 120 frames per second, it’s clear that uncompressed 4K UHDTV material has high storage requirements.

Even a 30 minute 4K UHDTV@50p program at 10-bits per pixel will occupy more than 900 GB uncompressed, compared to around 90 GB for a 30 minute 1080 50i program at 8-bits per pixel. Fortunately, the costs of storage continue to decrease while capacity of storage solutions rises.

In parallel, new compression methods are emerging which provide very efficient encoding of video signals with minimal picture degradation. The recently completed High Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC) standard is just one possible codec to help reduce 4K UHDTV storage requirements. Tests with HEVC indicate that much higher compression ratios for the same picture quality are possible, compared to existing codecs such as JPEG2000 or H.264.

One study reported efficiency gains of 35% and above for HEVC compared to H.264 for entertainment applications.

4K UHDTV transmission is likely to be compressed, at least initially, as even today’s high bandwidth links to consumers’ homes have insufficient capacity to cope with the amount of data required to transmit programs. However, as improved compression technologies emerge along with more efficient transport mechanisms and higher bandwidths to the home, transmission issues will diminish over time.

4K UHDTV is a very promising new opportunity for broadcast and media organisations, and content owners. It opens up the possibility to develop new revenue streams from innovative new services, with much scope for new artistic freedom for program producers. Many elements in the equipment chain from production to consumer are already available or are in development by manufacturers, bringing the move to 4K UHDTV within the reach of many organisations.

Visit www.snellgroup.com

Leader Launches Multi Waveform Monitor with Magna Systems LEADER HAS LAUNCHED its LV 5490 multi-waveform monitor into Australia and New Zealand with the help of its international distribution partner, Magna Systems and Engineering.

others in its class.”

The LV 5490 is a waveform monitor supporting 4K video and can display up to four channels of 3G-SDI input signals simultaneously. Of the eight total available channels, four are dedicated input connectors with cable length measurement capability; the other four channels are configurable as inputs or outputs with pattern generator functions. There is also a built-in nine-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) LCD monitor with wide viewing angle and high colour reproduction.

The LV 5490 accepts 3G/HD/SD SDI signals where the 3G-SDI signal can be dual link or quad link. With 4K video inputs in 3G-SDI (dual link) up to four systems can be displayed. In quad link 4K video inputs, up to two systems can be displayed. The LV 5490 can also display up to four SDI signals and two sets of HD-SDI dual link signals or a 3D assist function at the same time.

Magna Systems and Engineering business development manager, Lawrie Hitchens, said, “We have had tremendous interest in the LV 5490 waveform monitor. This really is a very clever product and definitely a cut above many

The LV 5490 also houses an external monitor output and SDI router function, pattern generator function and the waveform, vector and picture can all be displayed individually or in combination.

With a focus assist function, CINELITE II included as standard and an SDI signal data analysis function that allows for cable length measurement, CRC error, embedded audio error, event log, data dump and timing display, the LV 5490 multi-waveform monitor targets A&NZ broadcasters faced with increasing monitoring requirements.

Visit www.magnasys.tv

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Efficiency the Key Factor for Broadcast Transmitters

By Rohde & Schwarz Energy consumption accounts for over half of the operating costs of high-power broadcast transmitters.

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adjusting the constellation diagram and taking advantage of the fact that the outer constellation points can be moved further outward. Adding all the carriers and changing their amplitude reduces CR. This approach does not work for rotated constellation diagrams as specified in DVB-T2.

efficiency. Today’s high-power broadcast transmitters typically consume four to five times more energy than they actually transmit on-air.

Improving transmitter efficiency has a greater financial impact than simply reducing energy bills. Cost-of-ownership can be reduced, for example, and because efficient transmitters dissipate significantly less energy more of them can be accommodated in a single rack, which reduces the cooling burden and saves valuable space. Reducing energy bills also reduces carbon emissions.

Figure 1

Several approaches have been proposed to improve transmitter energy efficiency. The purpose of this white paper is to explore some of the technology options and give guidance for selecting the best high-power transmitter from the new generation on the market.

As mentioned earlier, an average amplifier efficiency of 30% leaves a good deal of room for improvement. To date, design engineers have come up with several approaches for optimising energy efficiency. They include:

The specific signal characteristics of COFDM and 8VSB broadcasting signals account for much of the difference between the energy required by the transmitter and the energy that is actually transmitted on-air. Both COFDM and 8VSB signals have a high average power level as well as signal peaks that must be amplified.

An amplifier working at its saturation point delivers its highest energy efficiency. But the characteristics of high-power broadcast signals mean that the amplifier cannot work at its saturation point because it reaches saturation only when the amplifier is operating at peak power. It hardly needs to be said that an amplifier is less efficient when it operates at a lower power level.

This relationship between average and peak power is represented by a ratio called the “crest factor” or peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR).

By defining the relationship between average and peak power this ratio becomes useful for analysing efficiency. Lowering crest factor values is a direct path to greater potential efficiency.

3 Algorithmic signal analysis has the potential of reducing CR by about 2%. An algorithm created by Rohde & Schwarz, for example, analyses the signal and reduces the peak values without affecting signal quality.

+ Crest factor reduction, which has at least three approaches (Tone reservation, Active constellation extension (ACE), and Rohde & Schwarz crest factor reduction method) + Switched mode power amplification (SMPA) + Drain voltage regulation / envelope tracking + Doherty amplification technology Although reducing CR is the most straightforward approach, it has the complications of possibly affecting signal quality and not being applicable to ATSC signalling. There are currently three solutions for reducing CR without negative impact on signal quality:

THREE ADDITIONAL APPROACHES Switched mode power amplification (SMPA) is an unproven technology in which the transistor is operated with a pulse code. In other words, the amplifier is constantly being switched on and off. In the “off” mode, zero power is required.

In the “on” mode, the amplifier works with full saturation and maximum efficiency is achieved.

This can lead to high efficiencies but the challenge to successful implementation of SMPA is that the normal amplitude modulated signal must be converted into a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal. This calls for very high switching frequencies that have the unwanted effect of generating spurious signals in the spectrum. These signals must be filtered out in the RF spectrum. This transforms the system into a narrowband solution, which reduces power efficiency. Figure 2 illustrates SMPA.

1 Tone reservation improves CR by targeting subcarriers without signal information – they are reserved for being switched on and off or modified. This results in a slight increase in bandwidth and improves efficiency by approximately one percentage point.

Because both the modulators and amplifiers must be developed for SMPA, it is the most complicated of all technologies discussed in this white paper. New transistors are also required and these have not been field-tested for broadcasting applications. The expected increase in power efficiency is 10% to 15%.

2 Active constellation extension involves

Drain voltage modulation (also known as

CREST FACTOR When operating a broadcast amplifier in normal class A/B mode, the amplifier’s theoretical power efficiency is 78%. But this theoretical figure is significantly affected by the crest factor. It is widely accepted that 8 dB is an excellent crest factor value for broadcast amplifiers. Converting 8 dB to its linear value of 6 and using the formula below makes it clear that highest possible average power that can be amplified with a broadcasting amplifier in class A/B mode is just 1/6 the peak power:

Figu

Figu

enve supp A lar softw the s the c mod the p com syste pow illus

Doh appr teste effic H. D not b trans show of pe peak whic amp

The Figu Figure 2. Theoretical block diagram of an SMPA systema

TRANSMISSION

Crest Factor (CR) = peak power/average power Figure 1 illustrates how CR affects amplifier efficiency. The point at which the vertical line (CR = 8 dB) intersects the transistor’s characteristic efficiency curve determines the amplifier’s efficiency.

Therefore, taking all losses (such as those caused by combining components) into account, an excellent average value for amplifier efficiency is 30%.

Figure 3. Envelope tracking

Figu

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TRANSMISSION past to 39%, thereby offering energy savings of almost 50%.

.

Figure 4. Block diagram of a transmitter system with Doherty technology

+ Space efficiency + Time efficiency in terms of operation

ng

+ Service efficiency + Investment efficiency Every aspect of system and semiconductor technology has advanced since the previous generation of high-power broadcast transmitters.

Network operators can take advantage of the full range of these innovations by seeking out products that are the result of extensive hardware and software optimisation.

l

Two examples are the utilisation of LDMOS power transistors with 50 V supply voltage and new signal processing and system control concepts.

d

gh d

n nto

his and ting

Figure 5. Doherty amplification

envelope tracking) adjusts the transistor’s supply voltage to match the respective signal.

A large amount of additional hardware and software components are needed to analyse the signal, modulate drain voltage and adjust the characteristics of the transistors. These modifications increase hardware costs and reduce the power density of the amplifier. Because more components are needed, the availability of these systems is diminished. The expected increase in power efficiency is about 10% to 15%. Figure 3 illustrates the envelope tracking concept.

Doherty amplification is the most effective approach to date because it has been fieldtested, is available today, and achieves superior efficiency performance. Developed by William H. Doherty in the 1930s, the technology has not been adapted for high-power broadcast transmitters until recently. The basic idea as shown in Figure 4 is to separate the amplification of peak and average power by using a main and peak amplifier and operating them separately, which results in a 10% to 15% improvement in amplifier efficiency.

The principles are illustrated graphically in Figure 5. The main amplifier constantly works

Figure 6. Theoretical Doherty efficiency

in saturation after reaching the back-off point.

This is achieved with load modulation. (In the illustration, the back off point is -6 dB.) Backoff is achieved using load modulation. In our example, a load resistor with double the load is used. Meanwhile, the peak amplifier does not operate (i.e. works in Class C mode) until the back-off point is reached, meaning that the peak amplifier requires no energy before reaching this point. At the back-off point, the peak amplifier starts reducing the load resistance of the main amplifier, which now provides more power but is still working in saturation.

The peak amplifier further reduces the load resistance until the normal value is reached. Now half of the nominal output power is supplied by the peak amplifier and the other half by the main amplifier. Because the peak amplifier does not consume energy before the main amplifier approaches its saturation point, and because the headroom required for the main amplifier is very low, the level of efficiency that can be reached with a Doherty amplifier is 10% to 15% greater than that of a Class A/B amplifier. Figure 6 illustrates how Doherty amplification attains it high operating efficiency.

Doherty technology was created as a narrowband solution with a possible relative bandwidth of about 10%. This is because a λ/4 matching line is required to handle load modulation. This operational drawback can be avoided, however, with intelligent amplifier design. Doherty technology is now used extensively in mobile base stations where it has proven itself robust and reliable. After examining each of these possible solutions for improving the power efficiency of a broadcast transmitter, Doherty technology is considered to be the best approach.

Doherty technology makes it possible to improve the efficiency of a broadcast amplifier with COFDM modulation from an average 20% in the

Integrating 50 V LDMOS power transistors is not a trivial task. The system manufacturer must work closely with its semiconductor supplier to ensure that the right features are included. A matching circuit must be intelligently designed to guarantee long-term stability of the amplifier board. The RF coupling network after the transistors in the signal path should deliver minimal attenuation; and new power combiners and harmonics filters must be developed with the focus on reducing attenuation.

Signal processing deserves just as much design focus as the transistor circuit itself. Power supplies should be designed with redundancy to allow the transmitter control unit to adapt dynamically to the transistor supply voltage.

This capability and an automatic, adaptive pre-correction capability will boost transmitter efficiency, which is particularly important at low output power.

The transmitter’s voltage regulation circuit also offers system design teams opportunities to increase efficiency. In particular, intelligent design can allow transmitter efficiency to be optimised for all digital TV standards. To manage this, the signal can be decoupled by the directional coupler at the transmitter output and routed back to the exciter where it is analysed. The exciter itself can be redesigned to deliver lower crest factors for all COFDM standards.

When viewed from a cost-of-ownership perspective, space efficiency ranks second in importance to energy efficiency. The ability to pack more transmitters into fewer racks because of lower power density is just the beginning.

External liquid cooling systems by their very nature require less space than air-cooled systems but intelligent design can maximise the inherent advantages.

The Rohde & Schwarz R&S THU9 liquid-cooled high-power transmitter integrates Doherty technology and all of the other design concepts mentioned in this white paper.

Visit www.rohde-schwarz-av.com

TRANSMISSION

an s e

l d.

While amplifier design has the greatest impact on energy efficiency, network operators must also consider the performance of the entire transmitter system when evaluating a high-power broadcast transmitter purchase. In addition to energy efficacy, network operators usually consider four other factors:

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CLASSIFIEDS + EVENTS what’s on JANUARY

BVE February 25-27 Excel, London, UK www.bvexpo.com

INTERNATIONAL CES January 7-10 Las Vegas www.cesweb.org

MARCH

BES EXPO 2014 January 14-16 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India www.besindia.com

CONVERGENCE INDIA January 21-23 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India www.convergenceindia.org

CSTB 2014 January 28-30 Moscow, Russia www.cstb.ru

Advertiser Index AJA ..................................................IFC Amber Technology ......................15 ARRI Australia ............................. IBC Avid Technology (Australia) Pty Ltd .............................................33 Blackmagic Design ........................ 5 Digital Rapids Corp Ltd ..............41 Fuji Film ...................................60-61 Harris Communications Ltd ...OBC Interra Systems ............................39 IRT Electronics Pty Ltd................17 Jands Pty Ltd .................................45 Lumina Broadcast Systems......... 3

Magna Sysytems & Engineering .. ...........................................................11 NAB Show 2014 ...........................63 OB Group........................................62 On Air Solutions .....................21,53 Professional Audio Technology.... .....................................................47,51 Riedel Communications GmbH & Co. KG..........................................25 Rohde & Schwarz ........................35 Sony Professional Media ............. 8 Studiotech Australia ..................... 4 Syntech International Pty Ltd ....... .............................................. 13,19,31 Techtel Pty Ltd ..............................12

INTEGRATED SYSTEMS EUROPE February 4-6 RAI Amsterdam www.iseurope.org

AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING DIGITAL MEDIA SUMMIT February 24-25 Darling Harbour Sydney http://acevents.com.au/ broadcasting/index.html

To view these videos, make sure you have installed a QR code reader app on your tablet or smartphone, use the app to scan the associated QR code with your device’s camera, relax and enjoy informative the content from C+T and selected organisations.

CABSAT 2014 March 11-13 Dubai World Trade Centre www.cabsat.com March 15 Mudgee, NSW, Australia www.mudfest.com.au

CHINA CONTENT BROADCASTING NETWORK (CCBN) March 20-22 China International Exhibition Center (CIEC) Beijing, China www.ccbn.tv

FILMART

MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS February 24-27 Barcelona, Spain www.mobileworldcongress.com

Load the Code

March 4-7 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia www.abu.org.my

MUDFEST SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

FEBRUARY

SNELL AND THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB

ABU DIGITAL BROADCAST SYMPOSIUM

March 24 – 27 Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre www.hkfilmmart.com

Marketing Manager, Harris Broadcast (UK), speaking at the recent SMPTE Australia Section Meeting on Audio Loudness, or visit: http://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCUlpcworPCM6Atu4paH1x-Q Proudly sponsored by Techtel and Harris Broadcast.

Alternatively, visit vimeo.com/67555547 recently_added/video-claudio_miranda

SHOOTING OBLIVION IN 4K WITH SONY F65

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VERAMATRIX VIDEO ABS-CBN CARDLESS SECURITY CASE STUDY

Alternatively, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz1kpNPQnxQ&f eature=youtu.be

To see the interview with Claudio Miranda ASC, scan the QR code or visit: http:// pro.sony.com/bbsc/video/ related-recently_added/ video-claudio_miranda

SMPTE LOUDNESS MEETING Scan the codes to view presentations by Glenn Carrick, Chair, Free TV Australia Audio Group, and Adam Birch, Global Product

AUTOMOBILE GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES IN THE ASIA PACIFIC A video presentation by Joan Warner, CEO of CRA and Chairman of the WorldDMB Asia Pacific Committee, was shown at the recent 5th WorldDMB European Automotive Event in Hamburg, Germany.

Alternatively, visit http:// www.youtube.com/ watch?v=72bVJ2PABdA

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TIME shifter Whoozat! Behind the Scenes of World Series Cricket Part 2: Benaud’s Shopping List Following on from the last edition of C+T, which covered the inception of World Series Cricket (WSC), the research, and initial stages of preparation, this time around the focus will be on setting up the commentary box, electronic scoring, and sound effects, as well as any number of technical obstacles.

A KEY FIGURE IN WSC, and cricket

solved that problem.

commentary in general since he first picked up a mic in 1960 (four years before his playing career ended), was former Australian captain and cricket legend Richie Benaud. He came to the production crew with a shopping list that technical manager for WSC, Warren Berkery (WPB), said was “intended to lift the Channel Nine commentary box operation up from the sideline card table to be at least on par with, or even better than, the BBC’s cricket facility.”

“The cricket commentary box and the development of helicopter news services created new demand for the 1935 design classic microphone, which still remains in high demand today for actuality broadcast in high ambient noise situations.”

Finding its way to the top of the shopping list was a piece of equipment that is almost iconically related to cricket commentary: the lip-ribbon. Many will not know the name, but the lip-ribbon microphone is still a mainstay of cricket coverage.

“The STC lip-ribbon is a BBC designed close talk microphone that virtually excluded extraneous background noise, allowing for commentators to work in a crowded general use production area, avoiding the need for a soundproofed booth,” explained Berkery. “One problem, however, was that STC, Standard Telephones and Cables in the day, had ceased manufacturing. Little bit of a problem. GTV 9 bought a pre-owned OB van out of England, so in the cable ducts of the OB1 they found two lip-ribbon microphones, so the problem was half solved. New supplies were found to be available, however, through a company called Hampstead Hi-Fi in London.

I had a brother-in-law in London, and a cash purchase out of Channel Nine sports accounts

Next up on the wish list was a scoreboard service.

The possibilities available for computer graphics in the seventies were limited to put things mildly.

They were a far cry from the vibrant displays that adorn today’s sporting coverage, though with the preponderance of intrusive lower-third graphics around now that may not have been a bad thing.

“The BBC in 1977 relied on a Letraset style graphic display manually up-dated ball by ball and captured for television via a black and white Vidicon graphics camera. A computerbased system was an obvious requirement, but what, from where? A. Kallicharran c Steele b Underwood – 0 was a par for the course cricket scoreboard entry. Multiply by 11, add headers and trailers: a big ask for a CGU (character generator unit) in ’77. However, there was the Chyron III and it cut the mustard. The Letraset and the Vidicon stayed in London,” said WPB. “Also on Richie’s list was cricket statistics. The game runs on statistics, so the BBC statistician, Irving Rosenwater, came to Oz for World Series Cricket complete with his suitcase holding more papyrus than the Domesday Book. Irving served WSC well and tutored budding statisticians

Wendy Wimbush and the youthful Max Kruger in the rites of cricket statistics. Max is still on the job, and despite the explosion of computer technology, Max still sees fit to carry his suitcase loaded with papyrus and he’s a recognised international guru of cricket statistics.”

Many who grew up with relatively modern cricket coverage would struggle to envision a time when sound was a problem. Today’s cricket often goes beyond merely recording the sounds of the game. “Snicko” provides an insight into whether or not a batsman has made contact with the ball and select players even provide intermittent commentary from on the field. During a Big Bash League game Shane Warne, playing for the Melbourne Stars, even described the exact ball he was going to bowl to Kiwi International and Brisbane Heat Player, Brendon McCullum, before skittling his stumps. It’s a far cry from the early days of WSC where the foundations for this were being laid.

“Cricket sound effects pre the 1977 era was via a parabolic reflective microphone alongside the two cameras at the northern end of the ground. Acoustic delay was in the order of about a quarter of a second and the sound was not distinct, shall we say. GTV9 Melbourne’s audio engineer, Colin Stevenson, had pioneered microphones buried in the pitch, adjacent to the stumps, with underground cables back to the outer and onto the OB van mixer,” Warren explained. “And the buried microphones worked.

But the microphones worked too well. In addition, a second audio operator was squeezed into the OB van to avoid the risk of pickup of acoustic expletives during the course of play.

Over the ensuing years the mics were built into the stumps, and RF connected to the OB van or monitor.”

TIME SHIFTER

“On site, VTR (Video Tape Recorder) record/replay was also a big ask in ‘77. On site slow motion record/replay was out of the question, but nonetheless, Ampex’s VPR-1 VTR, which I think was probably the first one in Australia, and the HS-100C videodisc were written into the WSC equation,” Berkery added.

The Chyron 3 CGU used for WSC

Cricket commentary legend Richie Benaud

In the next issue of C+T, Time Shifter will continue its look at World Series Cricket, this time with a focus on the glorious process of getting all of the wonderful equipment around the country.

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