Content+Technology ANZ July-August 2016

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VOLUME 13 ISSUE 4 JULY-AUGUST 2016

MEDIA + PRODUCTION + MANAGEMENT + DELIVERY

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ABE2016 Empowering Content Production & Delivery Technology

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POST PRODUCTION

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2016 ABESHOW Exhibitors include

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4 Amber Technology 4 Aspera 4 Blonde Robot 4 Ericsson 4 Grass Valley 4 Imagine Communications 4 Magna Systems & Engineering 4 Onair Solutions 4 Panasonic 4 Quantum 4 Quinto 4 Rohde & Schwharz 4 Ross Video 4 Sony 4 Techtel 4 Tekinsite 4 VizRT

The ABESHOW is moving from Manly to the Harbour.

This year’s Exhibition, Conference and Workshops will be held from August 9 –11 at a new venue, Doltone House, Darling Island, Pyrmont.

Hear from industry experts on hot topics such as IP production and delivery, 4K, HDR, HEVC, OTT, cloud broadcasting and more.

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VOLUME 13 ISSUE 4 JULY-AUGUST 2016

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

REGULARS 02 EDITOR’S WELCOME 04 NEWS ABC Election Graphics a Clear

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62 INDUSTRY FOCUS 64 EVENTS

Winner with DD8, OTT Gains for Broadsignal, Seven Confirms Rights for 2017 Rugby League World Cup, MediaHub Implements Disaster Recovery for Imparja, Changing of the guard at ARRI Australia

FEATURES 11 TAKING STOCK DaySequerra Acquires

40 POST-PRODUCTION Deluxe’s Iloura

Orban, Accedo Secures US$10M in Funding, HTC Teams for USD$10 Billion VR Fund, Akamai’s State of the Internet Report

12 STANDARDS ITU Launches Standards

Creates VFX for Game of Thrones, In conversation with Avid CEO Louis Hernandez

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Effort for Immersive Experiences, SMPTE AXF Format Standard Declared a Success, New Standard for High Dynamic Range TV

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13 SHOW PREVIEW: ABE 2016 24 ACQUISITION Peter Beeh and Sony PMW-F55 on Bentley TVC, The ABCs of NDI – NewTek’s Video Over IP for Everyone, High Resolution Waveform Monitors in UHD / 4K Production

28 SPORTSCASTING Sony Builds Six OB Trucks for Racing NSW, Commonwealth Games HQ Launched, Rio Olympics

38 NEWS OPERATIONS Grass Valley

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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 4368 4569 Mob +61 (0)414 671 811 papers@broadcastpapers.com

44 MEDIA IN THE CLOUD FATS Digital Streamlines Archiving with Cinedeck and Digistor, Weta Workshop Expands Aspera Deployment

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AUDIO TVNZ on Sound Footing with Calrec, In conversation with sound designer Dave Whitehead

53 RADIO MML Contract PAT to Rebuild with LAWO, Broadcast Australia to Update with Nautel

56 CONTENT DELIVERY The IP CEO Imagine Communications’ Charlie Vogt, Are you ready for cloud playout?, NHK Builds 8K media player

Upgrades the news for ABC and Nine Adelaide, Google Backs “Immersive Journalism”

ADVERTISING MANAGER: Adam Buick Tel +61 (0)413 007 144 adam@broadcastpapers.com PRODUCTION MANAGER: Lucy Salmon Tel +61(0)412 479 662 production@broadcastpapers.com DESIGN & LAYOUT Wide Open Media Tel +61 (0)2 9282 9359 info@wideopenmedia.com.au PRINTING: Lindsay Yates 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.

EDITOR’S WELCOME

A Pokémon in the Eye of Content Delivery

By Phil Sandberg A YEAR AGO, IF YOU’D SAID “Pikachu” to me, I would have said, “Bless you”. But, the launch of Pokémon Go on July 6, 2016, signals a shift, not just in gaming, but in the delivery of content more generally. The augmented reality (AR) game uses mobile phone location data to trigger an overlay of digital creatures on the user’s physical environment as viewed on the screen of their mobile device.

This in itself is not earth shattering. There are many examples of AR applications in tourism, marketing and the like. In fact, development company Niantic, in the building of Pokémon Go, drew upon experience gained with the roll-out of Ingress, a sci-fi “real world gaming” platform which drew in players from some 200 countries around the world.

by pushing for Pokémons where their stores are located, the success of Pokémon Go doesn’t mean will be getting our video content via Pokémon TV.

So, why Pokémon and not Ingress? The reasons are threefold:

business model – finding that convergence of app, device, users and brand/

• the user demographic, nostalgic Gen-Xers and younger, is of a sufficient size and is tech savvy; and

ersburg

While there may be opportunities for marketing and publishing content

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franchise. There is already speculation around a Games of Thrones version of

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• The technology to create and deliver the game is not only available, but pervasive;

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Its daily active user base has already overtaken Twitter and average user times exceed that of Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and WhatsApp. It is also giving both traditional broadcast and OTT video a run for their money.

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Pokémon Go looks likely to dwarf that success many times over. In its first week, the app was downloaded over 10 million times in the United States, Australia and New Zealand alone. It is now available in more than 30 countries and is estimated to generate USD$1.6 million in revenue per day through in-app purchases.

the app and there are certainly possibilities for tie-ups between augmented reality developers and the owners of content such as sports, travel and historical, to name a few.

• the brand, something users have either grown up with during its first run, or have been exposed to via repeats on broadcast TV

At the very least, you should buy shares in Specsavers.

These factors have led to Pokémon Go achieving almost instant “network effect”, the critical mass phenomenon that has propelled Facebook and other social networks – and attracted investors.

Thanks for Reading

So, what does this mean for the traditional content providers? While stories have emerged of bricks and mortar retailers trying to entice more foot traffic

Phil Sandberg - Editor/Publisherpapers@broadcastpapers.com T: +61-(0)414671811

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ABC Election Graphics a Clear Winner with DD8 THE ABC ENGAGED DD8 to deliver election graphics for its ratings winning coverage of the recent Australian election. Elections have long been a jewel in the ABC’s crown and this year was the first time the network handed over the design of its election graphics package, as well as its implementation and delivery.

DD8 was picked by the network to provide a full service for “the most comprehensive multi–platform election coverage in its history” from design to delivery, supporting the ABC team creatively and technically throughout the process.

That process began with the design of the Australia Votes logo four months prior with the graphics package evolving throughout the long election campaign.

The look was a clean, unified package that put information first. The DD8 team collaborated closely in creative workshops with Eric Napper, Andrew George, and Anthony Green to create a new direction and to plan out the specific requirements including extreme flexibility.

A custom application, built with real-time flexibility, allowed the ABC’s political journalists to tell their stories as they unfolded. The flexibility of the data driven package enabled changes to be made in response to swings on the night. The DD8 team worked alongside the ABC crew in real time collaborating with entire ABC team on the night.

DD8 made the most of the impressive atrium space in the ABC’s Ultimo, Sydney, headquarters to present an augmented walkthrough every half-hour with presenter Michael Rowland.

Federal election is one of the ABC’s biggest commitments and we were so pleased to work with DD8 as Australia Voted in 2016. DD8 helped us execute the most comprehensive and advanced election coverage we’ve ever committed to.

“We really wanted to work with a company that understood and respected the data and would help us bring that story to life on the screen. DD8’s commitment to an end to end solution was the perfect fit. We had months of planning with the team to rebuild our election look from the ground up – all the way to the rooftop - with some dazzling augmented reality. That was one of the highlights of night.

This included statistical graphics mixed with new cartographic data representing electorates of Australia. The beauty of the augmented package being the director could call whatever was needed at any time with the most up to date information.

“Having DD8 on hand during the long election night broadcast was invaluable. As with any live TV, there were challenges and changes as the night went on. They were all handled with grace and ease by their team and it provided for a seamless on-air programme that was watched by 5.3 million Australians.”

ABC Supervising Producer of News Content Andrew George said, “The

Visit www.dd8.tv

OTT Gains for Broadsignal SYDNEY-BASED DIGITAL MEDIA OUTFIT, Broadsignal, has recently

opportunities.”

completed a number of projects that have established its skills globally with the delivery of linear and VOD video through a variety of new OTT and IPTV platforms.

The company is also working on a project with a Dutch digital platform, metrological, and in the United Kingdom with Youview. Both platforms have sophisticated set-top Broadsignal’s Gerald Travers, “OTT content owners can now adopt a variety of business models.” boxes that combine free catch-up services with pay-TV content.

The company has worked in the digital delivery space for over four years, and has recently completed a project for a new niche music channel that will soon be available on the Roku platform worldwide. Broadsignal works closely with the Ebay-owned Magento eCommerce content management system, has relationships with Content Delivery Networks in the Australian and NZ market, and can integrate its project work with Amazon Web Services for any cloud deployment.

NEWS + PEOPLE

The Broadsignal team combines software engineering skills for app development, with global video delivery capabilities, and has experience with CDN video delivery technology and various payment gateways.

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Gerald Travers of Broadsignal said, “There is a surge of new OTT Platforms that allow the global or national delivery of video content. OTT content owners can now adopt a variety of business models that make it viable to be available on new telco platforms or go directly to the consumer, including programmatic advertising, subscription and transactional-ondemand. Increasingly, there are hybrid models that take something from each of these. This is encouraging content companies to participate in the new OTT digital media market.

“We see the roll out of Telstra TV using Roku as another platform for content owners in the Australian market, but there are also global

Travers said, “While all of these platforms have specific software requirements, there are now great efficiencies in how this can be achieved across a range of platforms.”

Broadsignal has also completed an application for Australian arts and culture channel, Ovation, to be delivered via Google’s Chromecast device as well as smart-TV apps on the LG, Panasonic, and Samsung range.

Currently the company is working on an Apple TV application and a new Samsung smart-TV app which incorporates its new Tizen operating system for upcoming smart-TV ranges.

Visit www.broadsignal.com.au

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ASIAPACIFIC NEWS CHINA IMAX CORPORATION AND IMAX CHINA have announced the completion of the formative agreements to establish the IMAX China Film Fund with partner China Media Capital (CMC). The China Film Fund, which will initially be capitalised with $50 million, will co-finance approximately 15 Mandarinlanguage films over three years. The fund will target contributions of between $3 million and $7 million per film

VIETNAM

INDIA NEXGUARD HAS ANNOUNCED that ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited is deploying

ATEME RECENTLY ANNOUNCED it is providing its Kyrion encoders to drive 70 major content channels for FPT Telecom in Vietnam. The encoders will be deployed on the premises of content providers where they will encode content and stream it back to the FPT operations centres in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

its NexGuard forensic watermarking system at its Mumbai facilities.

Specifically aimed at deterring piracy, the watermarking technology enables forensic watermarking of its video content with a unique identifier during post-production, making its worldwide distribution traceable

NEWS + PEOPLE

and secure.

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SINGAPORE MEDIACORP’S OTT SERVICE, Toggle, has launched ‘Toggle Red Button’, based on Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV), to bring live broadcast TV and Toggle’s video-on-demand (VOD) services into a single environment.

The service is delivered via HbbTV-enabled smart TVs.

JAPAN ASIA SATELLITE Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (AsiaSat) and Japan International Broadcasting Inc. (JIB) recently announced an expansion of their partnership. JIB is now using AsiaSat 7 to broadcast NHK World TV HD, an English language news and lifestyle TV network, and for the continued distribution of its SD channel in the Asia-Pacific.

HONG KONG THE COMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY (CA) has approved the application of Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) for changes in its shareholding structure arising from the disposal of shares in Young Lion Holdings Limited. The ultimate and other intermediary voting controllers of TVB’s voting shares remain unchanged. Dr Charles Chan Kwok Keung will remain the ultimate voting controller of 26 percent of TVB’s voting shares.

INDONESIA OPERATOR OF THE LARGEST bouquet of panAsian channels, Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE), along with content creation and distribution company Viva Communications and Filipino DTH satellite provider Cignal TV have partnered to launch Celestial Movies Pinoy (CM Pinoy) in the Philippines. CM Pinoy is the first fully localised Chinese movie channel in the Philippines. The channel is available exclusively on Cignal TV in its basic tier, reaching over 1 million subscribers.

AUSTRALIA VICE, THE GLOBAL YOUTH BRAND, is to partner with Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) to launch a new channel in Australia. The lifestyle and culture TV channel will feature to-air on SBS in late 2016. The channel will

NEW ZEALAND

be owned and operated by SBS, with a focus

THE 14TH OF JUNE SAW the New Zealand

on lifestyle and culture content for young

Prime TV network cease transmission of its

viewers, and featuring Australian produced

two regional broadcast feeds, which allowed

programs.

different advertising in different parts of the country, in favour of one national feed. The move required some New Zealand viewers to retune several channels on Sky, Freeview and hybrid set-top boxes.

NEWS + PEOPLE

programming from VICELAND, and screen free-

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NEWS + PEOPLE

Seven Confirms Rights for 2017 Rugby League World Cup MEDIAHUB AUSTRALIA has chosen InStream from General Dynamics Mediaware, coupled with Enensys IP Guard supplied by Magna Systems, as its end-to-end, multi-channel linear TV channel ad insertion solution for the regionalisation of GO! and 9Life channels.

MediaHub head of operations, Scott Jolly explained, “We were looking for a sophisticated playout solution that would significantly reduce our total cost of ownership as we transition to becoming an all-IP facility.

After discussions with Magna Systems and InStream demonstrations from the Mediaware team, we decided on InStream Splice with Mediaware’s time delay, logo insertion, and audio normalisation software as it met our requirements perfectly. The end-to-end InStream software suite operating on our blade servers, combined with Enensys seamless IP switchers for redundancy, will save us a considerable amount of time and money moving controlled, and synchronised with MediaHub’s existing automation system.

Enensys’ IPGuard provides automatic 1+1 redundancy of IP networks, or network appliances that output IP streams such as encoders, multiplexers, and DVB-T2 gateways, providing 100 percent protection of the solution in case of power outage. IPGuard is composed of two products – IPGuard E2: 1+1 Smart IP switch for data port redundancy, and IPGuard S5: Seamless IP switch for 1+1 stream redundancy.

Ian Fellows, director of marketing at Magna Systems commented, “MediaHub are committed to transitioning to an all-IP infrastructure, and InStream from Mediaware satisfied all of the requirements for cost efficient ad insertion into multiple WIN regional markets. WIN is conducting an exhaustive technology refresh that includes IP-based Cisco encoders so the combination of InStream Splice and seamless IP switching from Enensys was an ideal fit.”

Fellows continued, “Scott and his team immediately saw the value in the InStream Splice solution for WIN. With a single InStream Server system in 1+1 configuration system licensed for the 22 individual services, InStream can handle 32 markets, and the complexity of regional time zones, simply and seamlessly.”

Scott Jolly concluded, “Magna Systems and Mediaware have provided us with a cost-effective, efficient, frame-accurate ad insertion solution which now allows us to overlay any content into the transport stream without reducing the quality of the stream itself. Use of off-the-shelf hardware and transportable Mediaware licences will keep costs down, and we have been impressed with how the Magna Systems and Mediaware team have ensured the solution satisfies MediaHub’s requirements.”

Visit www.mediaware.com.au and www.magnasys.tv

MediaHub Implements Disaster Recovery for Imparja Television DESPITE WHAT MANY might think, it does actually rain in Australia’s red centre and, when it does, the results can often be devastating. This was the case recently when Alice Springs-based broadcaster Imparja TV was flooded. Such was the damage that Imparja’s broadcast playout partner, MediaHub Australia, had to step in with a disaster recovery initiative to keep the broadcaster on air.

MediaHub CEO Alan Sweeney explained, “Imparja’s sensitive television scheduling systems were extensively damaged by localised flooding in Alice Springs causing an inability to provide the programming schedules to us, their broadcast playout facility partner, based in Sydney.

Fortunately we are prepared for any such event and stepped in to keep things running.”

The extreme weather event caused extensive flooding which in turn affected network connectivity and had a knock-on effect on the File Transfer Protocol systems that provide the vital link for the provision of data between Imparja and MediaHub. Sweeney continued, “The team at Imparja really stepped up but due to the flooding were unable to provide the programming schedules that, once processed at MediaHub, enable the transmission of their signal to over one million resident viewers via an extensive broadcast footprint of over 3.6 million square kilometres spanning six states and

territories. To rectify this MediaHub Australia utilised existing past programming schedules and reformatted and recreated them for playout for the duration of Imparja’s technical emergency. This meant no loss of broadcast or air time.”

As a result of MediaHub’s intervention what is normally a highly automated system was turned into a manually managed project with a finite window in which the scheduling operation could be completed successfully. Processes were put in place to build the required schedules, incorporating both automated and human data entry.

Alan Sweeney concluded, “This was a real rescue and recovery mission.

Staff at MediaHub Australia and at Imparja worked extremely well together to ensure the continuous transmission of the Imparja Television service and as a result of MediaHub staff’s technical proficiency and agility, Imparja TV’s transmission to its viewership was seamless and unaffected even with their facilities being largely inoperative due to extensive flooding. This meant that during a time of hardship for many people affected by the severe weather, important and vital regional news was broadcast as per normal.”

Visit www.mediahubaustralia.com

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Changing of the Guard at ARRI Australia AFTER MORE THAN TEN successful years at the helm of ARRI Australia, Stefan Sedlmeier, one of the industry’s most well-known and respected figures, is leaving for pastures new.

Sedlmeier said, “It’s time for a new challenge and a new direction in my career. With that said the last ten years running ARRI Australia have been some of the happiest and most rewarding of my life. I have to thank all my staff both current and past as they have been instrumental in my time at ARRI Australia. I must also thank the wonderful clients I have dealt with, all of whom have been amazing but are simply too many to name individually and the industry associations in particular the ACS, SMPTE and AFTRS. I’m truly honoured to have worked alongside you all.”

Sedlmeier arrived at ARRI Australia in 2006 and has been credited with not only turning the company around but also ensuring successful launches of some of the industry’s most ground-breaking products including the ALEXA, ALEXA Mini and AMIRA digital cameras in Australia and New Zealand.

Stefan is already forging his post-ARRI path with an appointment as the newest member of the SMPTE Australia board.

Sedlmeier concluded, “I say to all my friends and colleagues in the industry, whilst I leave ARRI I’m not leaving Australia so please stay in touch. I certainly intend to.”

Meanwhile, well known industry stalwart, Brett Smith, has joined ARRI Australia as its new General Manager. Smith, who brings with him over 30 years’ experience in the film and TV industries, will be responsible for the sales, service and support of all ARRI product lines including ALEXA, AMIRA and ALEXA Mini cameras, Alura lenses and the full range of lighting across Australia and New Zealand.

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Smith said, “It’s an honour to be given this opportunity. The ARRI Australia team is so well respected throughout ANZ for its unequalled service expertise and depth of product knowledge. The result is strong relationships with local customers and partners, and an ongoing and active support for societies like the ACS, AFTRS, NZCS and SMPTE.”

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Smith has had an extensive career in film and television most recently with Tiffen where he was Asia-Pacific manager and solely responsible for significantly growing sales of the company’s film and TV acquisition products across the region.

Outgoing ARRI Australia MD, Stefan

Sedlmeier.

Smith concluded, “ARRI’s product range, brand and commitment in the market are second to none.

Whether they are helping an owner operator DOP, dealing with a rental house or providing cameras and equipment for some of the largest TV and movie productions in the world the level of quality, dedication and professionalism is always of the same incredibly high standard.

New General Manager, Brett Smith.

This is something I intend not only to carry on but improve wherever possible. I will also continue to grow ARRI’s already strong relationships with local customers and organisations across Australia and New Zealand, provide a mentoring role to young innovators and create new opportunities for all the new products and product evolutions ARRI launches.”

Those members of the industry wishing to contact Stefan Sedlmeier can reach him on +61 (0)400 410 310.

Brett Smith can be reached at ARRI Australia on +61 2 9855 4300 or on his mobile +61 (0)417 663 803.

Visit www.arri.com.au

TAKING STOCK Moves in the business of content + technology

www.content-technology.com/mediabusiness

DaySequerra Acquires Orban DAYSEQUERRA, a leading provider of high-performance audio solutions for radio, TV and internet broadcasters, has entered into an agreement to purchase Orban from its parent CRL Inc., effective immediately. Orban will be reorganised into a new DaySequerra subsidiary, Orban Labs Incorporated, and will be located at the DaySequerra facility in New Jersey. All current Orban administration, marketing, sales and product development functions will be transferred to DaySequerra.

“Orban has advanced the state-of- the-art in audio processing for broadcast and streaming since 1975,” said Bob Orban. “Over the decades, Orban products have been at the heart of broadcast facilities as vital tools for attracting and keeping audiences. Our expert engineering and development team has deep knowledge of Orban’s intellectual property and some members of our team have been with Orban for more than 30 years. I personally look forward to working with DaySequerra; our team will continue

to innovate under the new Orban Labs banner and will drive leading-edge product development in the years ahead.”

“Orban is the world leader in broadcast audio processing and Bob Orban has developed some amazing surround and loudness audio technologies. The fit with DaySequerra is a natural,” said DaySequerra’s President, David Day. “The synergistic opportunity that this acquisition represents is just fantastic – opportunities like this don’t happen very often. We look forward to working with Bob’s team and Orban Europe to develop and bring to market the nextgeneration of intelligent audio processing in the broadcast, consumer and automotive spaces.”

The acquisition of Orban by DaySequerra is subject to approval by the shareholders of Circuit Research Labs, Inc. formerly OTC/ BB NASDAQ. Visit www.daysequerra.com

Akamai Issues Q1 2016 State of the Internet Report AKAMAI TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (NASDAQ: AKAM) has released its first

quarter, 2016 State of the Internet Report. Based on data gathered from the Akamai Intelligent Platform, the report provides insight into key global statistics such as connection speeds, broadband adoption metrics, notable Internet disruptions, IPv4 exhaustion and IPv6 implementation.

“Live sports will be at the forefront this summer as we prepare for the games in Brazil, with expectations that this year’s events will be watched by more online viewers than ever,” said David Belson, editor of the State of the Internet Report. “Global connection speeds have more than doubled since the summer of 2012, which can help support higher quality video streaming for bigger audiences across even more connected devices and platforms.”

quarter of 2015 to 6.3 Mbps, a 23 percent increase year over year.

• Global average peak connection speed increased 6.8 percent to 34.7 Mbps in the first quarter, rising 14 percent year over year.

• Global 10 Mbps, 15 Mbps, and 25 Mbps broadband adoption also grew significantly in the first quarter of 2016, posting year over year gains of 10 percent, 14 percent and 19 percent at each threshold, respectively.

• The number of unique IPv4 addresses connecting to the Akamai Intelligent Platform declined 0.2 percent to 808 million.

• Belgium remained the clear global leader in IPv6 adoption with 36 percent of its connections to Akamai occurring over IPv6, down 3.1 percent from the previous quarter.

Highlights from Akamai’s First Quarter, 2016 State of the Internet Report, include:

• Australia remained in 48th position in Q1, with average connection speeds of 8.8 Mbps.

• Global average connection speed increased 12 percent from the fourth

Visit www.akamai.com

Accedo Secures US$10M in Funding, Appoints James Ackerman as Chairman ACCEDO HAS PARTNERED with SEB Private Equity, a Stockholm-based private and growth equity fund, to accelerate its growth and further position itself as a “Video Experience pioneer”. Accedo’s offering includes a global solution team, managed services, and products such as Accedo AppGrid and Accedo Application Sphere.

The transaction allows early investors of Accedo, including Industrifonden and Acacia, to exit as part of their investment strategy, and adds a total of up to $10M in additional capital to be deployed for a continued growth and innovation.

Accedo has also appointed industry veteran James Ackerman, formerly of A&E, BSkyB, OpenTV, Documentary Channel and Broadway Systems, as a new Chairman of the Board.

“It’s rare to see a transformation of an industry such as what we’re seeing in the TV industry at the moment. The traditional value chain is evolving with

new and existing players embracing OTT technologies to reach consumers and monetise video content in new and innovative ways. I believe that Accedo is perfectly positioned to continue to drive that change, help customers embrace the future opportunities and turn TV Viewers into video lovers. I’m thrilled to be working with Michael Lantz, Fredrik Andersson and the rest of the Accedo management team to fulfil Accedo’s potential,” said Ackerman.

SEB Private Equity invests capital from top-tier third party institutions and is a part of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken’s (SEB) investment management business. In the tech and media industry, recent investments by SEB Private Equity range from mature companies such as Sintec Media and eFront, and early investments in growth-oriented companies such as WeWork, iZettle, GrubHub, LearnVest, Boku and Yello Mobile.

Visit www.seb.se and www.accedo.tv

HTC Teams for USD$10 Billion Virtual Reality Investment Fund operations in Beijing and San Francisco.The group says it will invest in Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed reality startups of any size from anywhere around the world.

The VRVCA says, “We believe that VR is a transformative technology that will revolutionise entire industries, one that will leave a lasting impact for many future generations to come. In order to achieve that dream, we are working tirelessly to ensure that the VR startups today get the resources they need, so that they can grow into the industry titans of tomorrow.”

HTC, with partner company Valve, recently released Vive, a virtual reality system designed from the ground up for room-scale VR, allowing trueto-life interactions and experiences thanks to an adjustable headset displaying graphics, two wireless controllers with HD haptic feedback and 360° motion tracking. Vive incorporates smartphone functionality and features a front-facing camera that blends physical elements into the virtual world.

The VRVCA will hold six funding meetings per year with bases of

Visit www.vrvca.com

TAKING STOCK

TAIWAN-BASED SMARTPHONE developer, HTC, has joined with 30 venture capital funds to form the Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance.

With a potential investment pot in excess of USD$ 10 billion, the purpose of the Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance (VRVCA) is to foster longterm growth in the VR industry through identifying, sharing and investing in innovative VR technology and content companies.

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TECHNICAL STANDARDS www.content-technology.com/standards

ITU Launches Standards Effort for Immersive Experiences A NEW ITU STANDARDS effort on ‘Immersive Live Experience’ aims to bring the sensation of live events to remote audiences, replicating the experience of being present at the event venue. It is thought this next evolution of the live telecast will create a multimedia environment in which viewers will experience realistic perceptions of sound, lighting and space.

The new standards effort will be led by the ITU standardisation expert group responsible for multimedia codecs, systems and applications, ITU-T Study Group 16.

Immersive Live Experience (ILE) is a collective term for a set of advanced technologies that allow synchronous transmission of lighting, spatial and environmental information together with audio and video streams. ILE enables the reconstruction of an environment at remote sites using life-sized 3D presentations of people and objects and recreation of the sounds and sensations of on-site participation.

ITU-T Study Group 16 will develop international standards to enable the

SMPTE AXF Format Standard Declared a Success THE SOCIETY OF MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION ENGINEERS (SMPTE) has announced the SMPTE Archive eXchange Format (AXF) standard (SMPTE ST 2034-1:2014), published in 2014, has now been successfully adopted and executed, smoothly supporting the transparent and independent exchange of complex file-based assets and metadata between storage management applications from different vendors.

Designed for operational storage, transport, and long-term preservation, AXF was formulated as a wrapper, or container, capable of holding unlimited collections of files and metadata related to one another in any combination. Known as ‘AXF Objects’, such containers can package, in different ways, all the specific information that different kinds of systems would need to restore content data by any AXF-aware system.

AXF is already being used to store and protect complex media assets in formats such as Material eXchange Format (MXF), Interoperable Master Format (IMF), and Digital Picture eXchange (DPX), as well as more generic, enterprise information technology (IT) file-based assets such as geophysical databases. By supporting the interchange of SMPTE AXF Objects, the SMPTE AXF standard enables interoperability among disparate content storage systems and ensures content’s long-term availability, no matter how storage or file-system technology evolves.

Front Porch Digital (now part of Oracle) and Burbank, California-based Digital Preservation Laboratories became the first vendors to exchange SMPTE AXF Objects created by their respective storage management applications and to read and recover the file-based payloads and encapsulated metadata. They were successful in their first attempt. Front Porch was a major contributor to the development of the standard and among the first to market with software built on AXF. AXF has been adopted by multiple vendors and is installed in more than 100 systems worldwide, storing many petabytes of content that now are protected for future recoverability, independent of the systems that stored them.

TECHNICAL STANDARDS

Visit www.smpte.org

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coordinated development of ILE technologies for the transport of relevant multimedia information, as well as their presentation methods for realistic event reconstruction. A key part of this study will be the standardisation of end-to-end architectures for ILE and mechanisms for the interoperability of ILE services offered by various entertainment providers.

The new standards effort will support the implementation of the wide variety of technologies required to enable ILE, such as technologies for real-time object-extraction; spatial-location sensing; sound-direction identification; media transport of extracted objects, including spatial-location information; synchronous transmission of video, sound and lighting; and 3D virtual presentation.

An ITU workshop planned for September 2016 will explore ILE use cases and associated ILE standardisation demands.

Visit www.itu.int

ITU’s New Standard for High Dynamic Range TV ITU HAS ANNOUNCED a new standard for High Dynamic Range Television that is said to represent a major advance in television broadcasting. High Dynamic Range Television (HDR-TV) brings an incredible feeling of realism, building further on the superior colour fidelity of ITU’s Ultra-High Definition Television (UHDTV) Recommendation BT.2020. ITU’s Radio communication Sector (ITU-R) has developed the standard – or recommendation – in collaboration with experts from the television industry, broadcasting organisations and regulatory institutions in its Study Group 6.

“High Dynamic Range Television will bring a whole new viewing experience to audiences around the world,” said ITU Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao, welcoming the announcement. “TV programming will be enhanced with brighter pictures that add sparkle to entertainment and realism to news coverage.”

Visit www.itu.int

CBC and Triveni Team for ATSC 3.0 Simulcast JUNE 2016 SAW TRIVENI DIGITAL TEAM UP with Capitol Broadcasting Company, owner and operator of WRAL-TV, WRAZ-TV, and WILM-TV in North Carolina, to broadcast the first live commercial ATSC 3.0 simulcast in the United States.

For the ATSC 3.0 simulcast, Capitol Broadcasting Company used Triveni Digital’s new GuideBuilder XM signalling and announcement system to manage metadata, streamlining the delivery of advanced EPGs/ESGs and localised, enhanced emergency alerts. In addition, Triveni Digital supplied an integrated ROUTE encoder capable of converting multiple DASH streams into ROUTE. QoS is managed by Triveni Digital’s StreamScope XM, which enables channel sharing broadcasters to perform detailed analysis of ATSC 3.0 streams and data structures to allow error detection, isolation, and resolution.

Visit www.trivenidigital.com and http://www.capitolbroadcasting. com/2016/06/29/wral-begins-broadcasting-in-next-gen-tv-technology/

ABE2016 Footsteps to the

HARBOUR We are proud to be housed in the first six-star green-star rated building in New South Wales, providing clientele with an environmentally conscious venue alternative with the same style sophistication synonymous with the Doltone House brand.

Situated directly across the road from The Star, Doltone House Darling Island Wharf including Signorelli Gastronomia and Biaggo Café, is a spectacular waterfront venue on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, with views of the iconic Sydney Harbour

DARLING ISLAND WHARF

Australian Broadcast Exhibition

PREVIEW

August 9 –11 Doltone House, Darling Island, Pyrmont, Sydney Bridge and magical city skyline. The modern, sleek and stylish ground floor space incorporates several inviting meeting rooms and a main event space, with seating capacity for 800 guests.

Empower Your Content Production and Delivery Technology at ABE 2016 ABE, the biggest industry tradeshow for Australia and New Zealand in 2016 returns under the theme of ‘Empowering Content Production & Delivery Technology’.

Keynote speaker: SMPTE Executive VicePresident, Matthew Goldman.

VISITORS WILL HEAR FROM INDUSTRY EXPERTS on hot topics such as IP production and delivery, 4K image acquisition, HDR, HEVC, OTT, cloud broadcasting, and more. ABE2016 will provide a unique opportunity to evaluate the latest technology developments from all points in the content production and delivery chain.

Entry to the exhibition is free and there are day and three-day conference passes starting at AUD$66.

According to ABE show Organiser, Paul Maroni, “This year’s ABE is panning out to be the best yet. New location, new look, new management, new conference organiser and some exciting new exhibitors. The move has given ABE the opportunity to expand and broaden the portfolio of media production and delivery technologies to see and feel at this year’s show.”

Keynote speaker for the conference is Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE) Executive Vice-President Matthew Goldman. Mr Goldman currently serves as Senior Vice President of Technology at Ericsson and has held senior roles at TANDBERG Television and DiviCom. He is also a Senior Member of the IEEE and a SMPTE Fellow, and is the holder of a number of technology patents. His work has also been recognised by the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards The title of his keynote presentation will be ‘Delivering TV Consumer delight: The need for constant evolution and the challenges associated with the TV landscape today’. In the context of the delivery of immersive content and seamless consumer experience, Mr Goldman will answer some of the key questions that Broadcasters today need to consider to stay competitive in the ever changing landscape.

Among the other speaker highlights at this year’s event is former Head of Technology at TVNZ, and now VP of APAC Sales with Avid, Peter Ennis, who will present ‘The Next Generation Newsroom’.

ABE2016 speaker, former Head of Technology at TVNZ, and now VP of APAC Sales with Avid, Peter Ennis.

With the broadcast news industry undergoing a huge transformation, and story-centric coverage driving news engagement across multiple platforms, Peter will invite attendees to discover how Avid is meeting these new challenges.

Peter will also draw upon his experience with Al Jazeera where he served as Executive Director of Technology and Broadcasting (CTO), and Ireland’s TV3 where worked on that broadcaster’s move to digital terrestrial TV. Klaus Weber, Grass Valley’s Senior Product Marketing Manager, Cameras, will present on the topic of high-bandwidth IP networks and Direct IP Camera Solutions changing the landscape of live production.

“With an IP interface on the camera, broadcasters are able to connect these cameras directly to commercial-off- the-shelf (COTS) switches on an IP network, transporting the full camera protocol through an IP network to the base stations connected to another COTS switch on the same IP network,” says Mr Weber. “These systems enable control of all the cameras through a centralised control room. By facilitating complete transmission protocol between the camera heads and camera base stations over IP networks, broadcasters can capture events anywhere with no OB van required, reducing staff costs and opening up the possibility of managing multiple production locations all from one central studio.”

Exhibitors at ABE2016 include Amber Technology, Aspera, Blonde Robot, Ericsson, Grass Valley, Imagine Communications, Magna Systems and Engineering, OnAir Solutions, Panasonic Broadcast, Quantum, Quinto Communications, Rohde & Schwarz, Ross Video, Sony Australia, Techtel, Tekinsite and VizRT. For registration and full conference schedule, visit www.abeshow.tv

To register for ABE2016, visit www.abeshow.tv

ABE 2016 PREVIEW

This year’s ABE Show exhibition and conference (August 9-11, 2016) will be held at a new venue – Doltone House, Darling Island Road, Pyrmont, right across the road from Sydney’s Star Casino and Hotel.

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ABE 2016 PREVIEW

ABE2016 Conference Schedule CONFERENCE HOURS Tuesday-Wednesday 9.00am-

Gapfiller or Retransmitters for

Opportunities” – Anthony Kable,

Over the Air synchronization –

Sony Australia

Rohde & Schwarz

5.00pm;

++ 13:50 Planning for the future,

Thursday 9.00am-12.00pm

EXHIBITION HOURS

Management and Distribution –

services today and prepare for

++ 10:45 HEVC/HDR/Colour Gamut

Aspera, an IBM Company

based playout – Pixel Power &

2.00pm

TekInsite ++ 14:40 The challenges of audio

TUESDAY 9TH AUGUST

processing in the file Domain

++ 08:00 Day 1 – Registration ++ 08:50 Welcome ++ 09:00 Software-Defined Playout – Deluxe ESG

++ 09:50 Keynote – Delivering TV Consumer Delight – Matthew Goldman, Senior Vice President TV & Media Ericsson, Executive Vice President SMPTE 2015++ 10:45 The ‘X’ - helping paving

++ 15:30 Cloud-based video

Elemental Technologies ++ 16:00 Live OTT/ABR - Telestream and Magna Systems ++ 16:30 Customer Provisioned Networking (CPN) – Net Insight ++ 17:00 Exhibition Time

Appear TV and Magna Systems & Engineering Grass Valley’s Broadcast Data Center concept - Neerav Shah,

++ 08:00 Day 2 – Registration

Senior Vice President, Strategic

++ 08:50 Welcome

Marketing, Grass Valley. ++ 11:35 Solving interoperability challenges in IP workflows – Tektronix ++ 12:00-13:00 Lunch and Exhibition Time ++ 13:00 DVB-T2 SFN real world applications – Ericsson ++ 13:25 DVB-T2 Networks –

++ 11:35 The Next Generation

Avid Technology (Amber) ++ 12:00-1300 Lunch and Exhibition Time

++ 09:00 High Bandwidth IP Networks Change the Landscape of Live Production with Direct IP Camera Solutions

++ 16:30 Hybrid Cloud Powering the Next Broadcast Workflow – Quantum ++ 17:00 Exhibition Time ++ 18:00 End of Day 2

THURSDAY 11TH AUGUST ++ 08:00 Day 3 – Registration

++ 13:00 NDI video-over-IP production protocol explained – Robert Stacy, VP of APAC, NewTek (Blonde Robot) ++ 13:25 OTT and Cloud PVR – Imagine Communications ++ 13:50 Software Defined Video Networking: IP for broadcast and production facilities -

WEDNESDAY 10TH AUGUST

++ 11:10 The move to IP and

workflow – Panasonic Broadcast

President Sales, Asia Pacific,

++ 15:05 Coffee Break

++ 18:00 End of Day 1

the way for all-IP delivery –

++ 11:10 P2 Cast Cloud based ENG

Technology

& Techtel

2016

Ericsson

Newsroom – Peter Ennis, Vice

time and cost – Mark Cousins,

MediaHub

Standardisation Updates –

– Emotion Systems and Amber

processing reduces deployment

++ 09:25 True IP Playout –

for Content Ingest, Processing,

how to deliver cutting edge

++ 14:15 Software and Cloud-

6.00pm; Thursday 10.00am-

++ 16:00 Cloud-Based Workflows

++ 09:50 444/HDR – Ross Video ++ 10:15 Coffee Break

future flexibility - Telestream

Tuesday-Wednesday 10.00am-

Techtel

Fernando Solanes – Director Solutions Engineering at Evertz ++ 14:15 HD and UHDTV – HDR, HFR and HEVC create immersive viewing experiences – Rohde &

++ 08:50 Welcome ++ 09:00 New Media Channel Case Study – Sebastian Heck, Creative Technology, Hillsong Church Australia ++ 09:25 Get Control of your Media Asset Zombies – Quantum ++ 09:50 MAM for Sports ++ 10:15 Coffee Break ++ 10:45 Skype for Broadcast – Blonde Robot ++ 11:10 New Media Workflow and Production – Ross Video ++ 11:35 Studio Automation

Schwarz ++ 14:40 IP-based playout – Imagine Communications

++ 12:00 Lunch and Exhibition Time

- Klaus Weber, Senior Product

++ 15:05 Coffee Break

++ 14:00 Conclusion of Show

Marketing Manager, Cameras,

++ 15:30 Incorporating Object

Schedule accurate as of time of

Grass Valley ++ 09:25 “Live HDR: Obstacles and

Storage into Modern Broadcast

printing. For updates, visit

Workflows - Spectra Logic and

www.abeshow.tv

ABE 2016 PREVIEW



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Video Technologies PMS 356

PMS Cool Gray 8

To register for ABE2016, visit www.abeshow.tv

ABE 2016 PREVIEW

ABE2016 Exhibitors Unit 1, 2 Daydream Street Warriewood NSW 2102 Tel: 1800 251 367 broadcast@ambertech.com.au www.ambertech.com.au ++ Representatives: Ross Caston, General Manager Media Systems; David Thompson, Key Account Manager Media Systems; Steve Shelley, sales engineer Media systems; and Sean Frazer, Solutions Engineer Media Systems. ++ Guest experts: Peter Ennis, Avid; Adam McCloud, EVS; MC Patel, Emotion Systems; Lyndsey Thompson, SAM; JP Bousquet, Telestream.

Our Media Systems team work with traditional broadcasters and media production companies, plus media production in law enforcement and defence, sporting and live events, education, houses of worship, government and corporate sectors.

We develop turnkey packages for creating, delivering and managing media content.

With layers of expertise across our sales and technical support teams, Amber Technology offers high level industry experience and 24/7 project support for our customers.

At ABE2016 we will be showcasing the diverse projects we have worked on with our brand partners.

Amber Technology is exclusive distributor for: ++ EVS – globally recognised as the technology leader for video production. EVS’ premium media technologies help broadcasters, rights owners and producers optimise live assets, engage audiences and increase revenue streams by monetising content across multiple platforms. ++ Silvus – breakthrough provider of MultiAntenna MIMO technology for wireless communications in harsh conditions. ++ Aviwest – world leading provider of video contribution uplink systems for live streaming over bonded 3G/4G cellular networks. ++ Emotion Systems – audio solutions for media files – MXF, QT/MOV, LXF, GXF, MPG (PS), WAV, AIFF Amber Technology is also a Premium z Reseller for:

production, production, editing and finishing, playout and delivery, and infrastructure and image processing. ++ •Telestream – award winning file-based products that allow you to easily create, ingest, transcode, caption, inspect, deliver and play any type of video. Only Premium Telestream reseller in Australia.

ASPERA, AN IBM COMPANY ++ Representative: Sean Curran, Sales Director Australia and New Zealand sean@asperasoft.com Tel: +61(0)413520025 At ABE2016, Aspera will highlight Aspera Files.

Built on Aspera FASP technology, Aspera Files is a multi-tenant SaaS solution running on IBM Cloud which transforms cloud-based content sharing and collaboration by eliminating

++ Avid – digital solutions for capturing, creating, editing and distributing digital media. We are the largest Avid Elite Reseller in ANZ.

the problems of sharing large files and large

++ Snell Advanced Media (SAM) – delivers smart, agile technology across live

metadata directly from its native storage

www.asperasoft.com moving the world’s data at maximum speed

directories with fast and secure transfer of the even the largest content and associated environment (on premises or in-cloud).

ABE 2016 PREVIEW

AMBER TECHNOLOGY

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ABE 2016 PREVIEW

ABE2016 Exhibitors Meanwhile, Aspera FASPStream is a new turnkey application software line designed to enable live streaming of broadcast-quality video globally over commodity Internet networks with glitch-free playout and negligible start-up time – reducing the need for expensive and limited satellite-based backhaul, transport and distribution.

Aspera’s FASPStream software line represents the first open video transport solution that is capable of high-quality, live streaming over commodity Internet WANs. Built from the ground up by Aspera, the software utilises the FASP bulk data protocol to transport any live video source (local multicast, unicast UDP, TCP, or growing file source) and provides timely arrival of live video and data independent of network round-trip delay and packet loss. Less than five seconds of start-up delay is required for 50 Mbps video streams transported over 250 milliseconds round-trip latency and three percent packet loss, sufficient for 4K streaming between continents.

Now with over 150 third party plug-ins, Orchestrator 2.5, Aspera’s comprehensive workflow orchestration platform, adds new plugins for Dalet, Xytech, SGL FlashNet, Marquis, Emotion, ShowMgr, ARRIS CMM, DATDV, Snell, Fortium, Ateme, Minnetonka, MOG, and Baton.

BLONDE ROBOT Unit 1/8 Theobald St Thornbury VIC 3071 Tel: 03 9023 9777 sales@blonde-robot.com.au ++ Representatives: Dan Miall – CTO @ Blonde Robot, ++ Dan Fletcher – General Manager @ Blonde Robot, Pawel Bybel – Pre-sales Manager @ Blonde Robot ++ Special guests: Robert Stacy – VP of APAC Sales, NewTek, Jeromy Young – CEO Atomos Blonde Robot is a professional product distributor for Australia and New Zealand.

Blonde Robot specialise in distribution of consumer electronics and professional content creation products from the world’s most innovative manufacturers.

For ABE 2016 Blonde Robot will be showcasing the following key brands for content creation professionals.

ABE 2016 PREVIEW

++ Atomos - Atomos partners with brands like Apple and AVID to create professional touchscreens for leading camera brands such as Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Nikon, Arri, JVC & Red.

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++ With a single connection, video professionals add recording direct from the camera sensor to Hollywood-ready formats like Apple

ProRes and Avid DNxHR onto affordable and high capacity HDD/SSD media. ++ Alongside professional recording, the calibrated touchscreen is an audio and video monitor with an array of shot setup scopes and a playback device with on-board controls for instant shot review, tagging and playout to larger monitors, making it a Swiss army knife for Production, Post-production and Digital signage. ++ NewTek - NewTek allows you to create a compact, professional studio anywhere in the world at a fraction of the price of other products without any compromise. ++ With the Tricaster, the most complete, all in one production solution, you can create any show with ease without the need for other equipment. With the 3Play, you turn any sports game into an event with instant replays and highlight reels at a moment’s notice. And with the TalkShow, you can bring any guest in via Skype from anywhere around the world with unrivaled quality control and management. ++ Sachtler - Sachtler is a worldwide market leader of premium camera support systems for broadcast and cinematography production. Together with the hottest available today, the fast, robust and reliable Sachtler tripod heads, tripods and pedestals engineered in Germany help cameramen all over the world to provide stunning footage. ++ LitePanels - Litepanels is the market leader in LED lighting systems for the television, broadcast, video and film industries. It’s ground-breaking, award-winning lighting products are developed with a clear focus on performance, reliability and efficiency to deliver the very best results for all customers.

ERICSSON Level 8, 11C Talavera Road North Ryde, NSW 2113 adam.cleary@ericsson.com At ABE 2016, visitors can experience Ericsson’s portfolio of solutions, services and insights across: ++ Media processing to enable all processing and workflow functions to address any media format transformation and business processes; ++ Media experience to create the most seamless, personal, intuitive and delightful experiences for TV consumers; and ++ Ericsson’s latest DVB-T2 standard technology enabling the capability to transmit at higher data rates.

GRASS VALLEY Unit 8, 372 Eastern Valley Way Chatswood, NSW 2067 Tel: 1 300 721 497 www.grassvalley.com Grass Valley offers cutting edge IP solutions based on open standards to help improve broadcasters’ business agility. At ABE2016, visitors will see the GV Node Real Time IP Processing and Edge Routing Platform, a foundational component of the company’s Broadcast Data Center model. GV Node provides the bridge between the broadcast and IP worlds by delivering critical functions required by the broadcaster but not available in traditional IP solutions. GV Node combines the functions of a hybrid (audio + video) router with a full range of signal processing functions, including multiviewers, along with IP aggregation allowing all of the up to 144 video signals per GV Node to be made available on high-speed IP aggregation links.

Grass Valley will also show its LDX 86 Series Cameras with a direct IP interface on the camera itself, enabling live remote productions over IP networks for the first time. The direct IP interface is available for the XF-Transmission on the LDX Series and LDX 86 Series cameras through a GV-eLicense software upgrade, enabling broadcasters to connect LDX Series cameras directly to commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) switches on an IP network, transporting the full camera protocol through an IP network to the XCU base stations connected to another COTS switch on the same IP network. The system enables control of all the cameras through a centralised control room. The LDX Series cameras with Xensium-FT CMOS imagers also deliver the visual quality of better pixels and an outstanding dynamic range of 15 f-stops with a new HDR capability.

ABE attendees looking for playout solutions to maximize content will see Grass Valley’s iTX Integrated Playout Platform that enables broadcasters and service providers - large and small - to reliably deliver their most valuable content across global platforms. iTX provides automation, master control, branding, graphics, captioning and subtitling in a modular, softwarebased environment.

During the ABE conference, Klaus Weber, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Cameras, will present on the topic of high-bandwidth IP networks changing the landscape of live production with Grass Valley’s Direct IP camera solutions; Neerav Shah, Senior Vice President, Strategic Marketing, will present on the topic of the move to IP and Grass Valley’s Broadcast Data Center concept.

To register for ABE2016, visit www.abeshow.tv

ABE 2016 PREVIEW

Migration is a matter of survival

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Fe]]SR e` Nc cSQebS X^^_fNdX_^ͨ @NV^N RSΌbXcZ N ŮbcdΌ]_fSb advantage and safely takes its customers to where their competitors haven’t gone yet. With Magna, you can rest assured that we’ll get

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ABE 2016 PREVIEW

you there securely – we owe it to our reputation.

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ABE 2016 PREVIEW

ABE2016 Exhibitors IMAGINE COMMUNICATIONS Suite 2, Level 1, 13b Narabang Way Belrose, NSW 2085 Tel: +61 (0)2 9479 4900 Imagine Communications (Stand 9) will present a range of solutions – deliverable today – that demonstrate the gains derived from moving operations to software-defined architectures and virtualised environments.

The ongoing fusion of the media and entertainment and IT industries is a prominent topic for Imagine Communications at ABE2016.

Alongside virtualised and cloud playout, multiplatform distribution and integrated advertising management, Imagine Communications will be showing new solutions that include Ultra High Definition (UHD) production tools and a powerful next-generation monitoring solution.

ABE 2016 PREVIEW

The EPIC Multiviewer (EPIC MV), a softwarebased UHD-ready multiviewer that was unveiled by Imagine Communications at NAB Show 2016, will make its Australian debut during ABE2016. Powered by the company’s Zenium technology, EPIC MV provides a seamless integration of IT and traditional broadcast operational monitoring and orchestration technologies. The first product to be built on the EPIC operational management platform, EPIC MV achieves new benchmarks in

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versatility, scalability and adaptability and is IPbased and compatible with UHD/4K formats.

Imagine Communications’ CloudXtream portfolio is a series of cloud-based solutions that empower service providers to introduce highly personalised services that redefine the video consumption experience. This portfolio, on show at ABE2016, includes capabilities for live, linear, on-demand and cloud DVR video delivery models and enables dynamic ad insertion (DAI) capabilities for any of those models. CloudXtream, paired with HPE storage and compute resources, helps service providers generate new revenue, extend reach to new consumers and devices and realise dramatic operational savings and substantial storage optimisation improvements.

The software-only version of the Versio family of integrated playout devices will also be demonstrated at ABE2016. This solution can be deployed on premises-based equipment, private datacentres or in the public cloud supporting all media types, including baseband, SMPTE 2022 and compressed.

Visit www.imaginecommunications.com

MAGNA SYSTEMS & ENGINEERING Unit 2, 28 Smith Street Chatswood, NSW 2067

Tel: +61 (0)2 9417 1111 sales.au@magnasys.tv www.magnasys.tv Started in 1968, Magna is a seasoned company that has been providing a competitive advantage for its customers in the broadcast and telecommunications industries through timely adoption of innovations with minimal risk of disruption for nearly 50 years.

Summed up as “Secure Innovation”, Magna “derisk” a first-mover advantage and safely takes its customers to where their competitors haven’t gone yet.

With that in mind Magna will be presenting its message of Secure Innovation across a number of areas at this year’s ABE. The first will be in IP workflow streams where we will be demonstrating specific IP workflows and processes key to the success of the current and future broadcast industry.

Secondly, we will cover and demonstrate in detail the increasingly central role that Media Asset Management plays in broadcasting, not only in today’s environment but in a way that cements it as the key to the very future of the broadcast industry.

Finally, we will be demonstrating a range of the very latest in storage solutions and detailing how they link seamlessly and efficiently with

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IP workflow demonstrations, or as we call them “Broadcast without the BNC” will also be covered in the ABE conference as will Media Asset Management solutions.

All of Magna Systems and Engineering’s Sydney office staff will be in attendance throughout the duration of ABE and to book a meeting or demonstration please Call Val Scharvi on +61 2 9417 1111 or e-mail val.scharvi@magnasys.tv

ONAIR SOLUTIONS Unit 2, 7 Inglewood Place Baulkham Hills, NSW 2153 Tel: +61 (0)2 8882 7766 sales@onair.com.au www.onair.com.au New to the ABE Show in 2016, OnAir Solutions has been providing radio, TV and IP solutions in various forms since the early 2000s.

OnAir is a full service provider, offering product sales, support and on-site installation based from its Sydney office, warehouse and cable production facility.

We offer a range of services from system design and project support, to developing custom

turnkey solutions. Our skills include broadcast, media and IP/IT domain together with a full support activity.

With an existing catalogue of news and live production systems we have been offering comprehensive support services to broadcasters in Australia and New Zealand for many years.

Moving on from that base we are now growing our catalogue in new but related directions.

New solutions are being introduced to broaden our base, including solutions from ATEME, Panasonic, Rohde & Schwarz and WellAV. As well as extending our live production base, we now expanding to include product for Post Production applications.

For classic broadcast applications we have playout systems, QoS monitoring systems and transmission product in the form of encoding and decoding.

ABE 2016 in the new show format is the ideal venue for us to make our first ABE appearance and to showcase the new products we are now able to offer.

We will have new solutions on the booth, setup in working configurations. We look forward to seeing you at the show.

PANASONIC AUSTRALIA Broadcast and Professional Video Division| Business Systems Group 1 Innovation Road Macquarie Park, NSW 2113 Tel: +61(2)9491 7400 broadcast.sales@au.panasonic.com Panasonic Corporation is a global electronics company with business units across a diverse range of market sectors such as home appliances, health care, power generation, storage batteries, in-car multimedia, avionics, welding & robot systems and digital cameras.

Each group has its own distinct R&D, production, and sales functions to satisfy specific customer needs.

At ABE 2016, Panasonic Australia will be showcasing a variety of its award winning products from the broadcast, professional and cinematography video ranges.

On display there will be: ++ P2 Cast Cloud Based P2HD Accelerated ENG workflow system ++ AJ-PX270EN AVC-ULTRA P2HD 3MOS Handheld Camcorder with 3G-SDI & Wi-Fi Option ++ AJ-PX5000EN AVC-ULTRA P2HD 3MOS Shoulder Camcorder with 3G-SDI & Wi-Fi Option

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traditional and IP-based broadcast workflows and practices.

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ABE2016 Exhibitors ++ AK-HC3000 4K Studio Camcorder Systems

sales@quinto.com.au

++ AG-DVX200EN 4K Large Format Handheld Camcorder

Quinto will be showcasing many new products from its wide product portfolio during ABE 2016, with emphasis on:

++ AU-V35LT1G 4K Large Format VariCam Digital Cinematography Camera ++ AW-HE130KEJ 3MOS HD Integrated Camera with 3G-SDI, HDMI & IP Streaming Panasonic Broadcast, Professional and Cinematography solutions will connect you with your field services, seamlessly integrate newsrooms systems with the camera crews and provide a path to the future of 4K, HDR and Video Over IP.

QUANTUM ANZsales@quantum.com ++ Representative: Jon Tinberg, Marketing and Channel Sales Manager, ANZ Tel: +61(0)417 254 360 Quantum is a global leader in workflow storage for the media and entertainment industries.

Quantum storage solutions are the foundation of modern, collaborative IP based workflows that enable teams to produce content in today’s demanding media environments. Quantum’s StorNext 5 file system and StorNext Storage Manager have been explicitly designed for video files, and developed over the last 20 years to the point that they are the de facto standard in media and entertainment. Their unrelenting reliability and performance allows Quantum customers to ingest, process, and store massive video feeds without loss or degradation.

Quantum’s unique ability to combine multiple tiers of storage in a single file system – across flash, disk, tape, object storage and the cloud, allows Quantum to design a storage architecture for their customers that delivers the highest performance, greatest capacity, at the lowest overall cost. This is why Quantum storage solutions are the go-to choice for the current generation of 4k and 4k+ workflows across broadcast and post-production, as well as animation and special effects.

Quantum will be demonstrating their range of solutions, including the Xcellis Workflow Directors, QXS Hyrbid Disk, and Lattus Object Storage, with a new interactive virtual storage rack. Come by our booth at the ABE Show, and experience storage in new ways.

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QUINTO COMMUNICATIONS

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4/7 Salisbury Road Castle Hill NSW 2154 Tel: (02) 9894 4244

++ ELEMENTAL - Live Streaming & Server Transcoding Solutions including CLOUD based Services (HDR & 4K) ++ EVERTZ - “SDVN” Infrastructure (Software Defined Video Networks) for IP ingest, distribution, monitoring, control and playout ++ S-A-M (Snell Advanced Media) - New Generation KULA 1M/E- 2M/E SD/HD/4K Production Switcher

problems, Loudness monitoring and a lot more such as the virtual monitoring on iOS systems.

The Ingest & Playout Videoserver VENICE for SD, HD and 4k as well as the CLIPSTER DCI and IMF Mastering solution are on display supported by the R&S SpycerboxCell Online Storage system up to 8k.

In the RF domain the SLX8000 successor, the new Low Power Transmitter TLU9 for DVB-T/T2 from 10W-200W will be demonstrated, as well as the Broadcast Test Center BTC to generate and simulate all Broadcast scenarios for Satellite, Cable and Terrestrial networks.

++ VITEC Video Innovations - EZ TV IPTV Platform & portable streaming appliances

ROSS VIDEO LIMITED

++ AUTOSCRIPT - EPIC SERIES STUDIO PROMPTER with Integrated Talent feedback Monitor

Contact: Amanda Leighton (Regional Sales Manager) Mobile: +61 (0)412 866 700

++ ABONAIR - Portable Camera Back Microwave Links with multi-zone Technology

On show from Ross Video at ABE2016 will be Carbonite Black Solo, a compact switcher with 6 SD/HD-SDI connections and 3 HDMI inputs, and 6 floating frame synchronizers with format converters that can be assigned to any input.

For outputs there are 5 SDI and one HDMI, all completely assignable.

++ PROVIDIUS - Portable IP/ASI/RF/OTT Analyser with record and playback Other products to be showcased on Quinto stand include: Marshall (monitors & cameras), AJA (Converters), Blackmagic (monitors, converters), JVC (Cameras), plus many more products.

In addition to Quinto technical sales staff being on hand to assist you, Quinto will also have technical specialists on the stand from Elemental, EVERTZ & S-A-M to demonstrate their technologies and to answer all of your questions, so we look forward to seeing you at the show.

ROHDE & SCHWARZ (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD Unit 2, 75 Epping Road North Ryde NSW 2113 Tel: +61 (0)2 8874 5100 sales.australia@rohde-schwarz.com www.rohde-schwarz.com.au ++ Representatives: Mr Nils Ahrens, Mr Ben Potts, Mr Simon Roehrs Under the topics of DVB-T2, Full HD, UHD, HEVC, HDR and HFR, Rohde & Schwarz will display a number of new products such as the IP based Headend AVHE100. Full HD-HEVC encoding and multiplexing and decoding will be shown, while UHD-HEVC is already successfully operating in many ON AIR installations.

Furthermore the Content & Quality Monitoring system BMM810 will show quality impairments on compressed signals (SD, HD and 4k) together with Lip-Sync issues or Audio / Video Delay

The single ME has 4 full featured keyers, a transition keyer for DVE and Media wipes, and 1 UltraChrome chroma keyer. The 2 MiniME’s are perfect for use in small event productions and for secondary produced outputs, and have two keyers of their own, providing Solo with 8 key layers in total. A fully configurable MultiViewer is also included. XPression Live CG software is included for creating and pushing static graphics into Solo.

Ultrix is a compact router that handles all of the SDI data rates from 270Mb/s to 12Gb/s. In addition to BNC I/O, Ultrix offers SFP slots that can provide other types of I/O like Fiber, HDMI and IP. Ultriscape is a software enabled multiviewer.

No special output boards, crosspoints, or multichannel connection cables are needed.

The Ultrimix software option provides advanced audio integration and processing, including the ability to embed and de-embed audio on all of the inputs and outputs of the router.

Ultricore provides complete control, configuration and monitoring over both Ultrix and NK Series Routers.

Inception News is a browser-based newsroom content and editorial system encourages content collaboration, and it’s designed to work anywhere, from the newsroom to the field.

It offers flexible and modern workflows and places social media integration right into the center of news production.

To register for ABE2016, visit www.abeshow.tv

ABE 2016 PREVIEW

POWER WHAT’S NEXT Contrary to popular belief, change is not constant—it accelerates. It’s almost impossible to predict the impact of advances like 8K, UHD, OTT, or EST, not to mention computing, networking, and storage. On the StorNext® 5 platform, you can incorporate change into your planning, leverage rather than react, and turn advancements to your advantage.

Learn more from Quantum ANZ at 1 800 999 285, 0800 105 999 or ANZsales@quantum.com or visit StorNext.com/candt_anz © 2016 Quantum Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Quantum® can show you how to POWER WHAT’S NEXT.

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ABE2016 Exhibitors Inception was designed to improve workflows with both assignment and story centric models, in addition to the traditional rundown model.

The ability to choose a workflow or adapt from an existing rundown-centric workflow makes operations more flexible and efficient.

SONY AUSTRALIA Level 3, 165 Walker Street North Sydney, NSW 2065 Tel: 02 9887 6666 pro.sony.som.au Sony Australia will be showcasing HDR at ABE. Leading the charge in demonstration area will be our new PVM-X550 55-inch 4K OLED picture monitor. This high performance TRIMASTER EL OLED monitor offers a 3840x2160 resolution and will demonstrate professional quality black performance, colour reproduction, quick pixel response, and accurate signal processing.

The PVM-X550 supports High Dynamic Range display and a wide colour gamut supporting DCI-P3 and most of the ITU-R BT.2020 standard.

Alongside the PVM-X550 will be the BVM-X300 30-inch 4K OLED master monitor, the flagship model in Sony’s professional monitor line-up.

This monitor with all the critical functions of the PVM-X550 and enhanced performance has quickly become the industry standard display for HDR colour grading.

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Providing HDR images will be the HDC-4300 camera. With the HDC-4300 for the first time, one camera platform is all you need to handle HDR, 4K, HD and super slow motion.

Delivering uncompromised image quality, the HDC-4300 integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructures and accessories as well as

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the world’s most advanced HDR and 4K live production workflows.

Sony will also be displaying the new compact URX-P03D 2-channel portable receiver which forms part of a complete UWP-D audio system offering the sound quality of digital audio processing combined with the reliability of analogue FM modulation.

To learn more about integrating live HDR production or working with HDR in postproduction come and visit us at ABE or book a meeting in advance by contacting Lisa Wade-Lehman on 0428 410 974 or at Lisa.Wade-Lehman@ap.sony.com

TECHTEL 26 Whiting Street Artarmon NSW 2064 Tel: 02 9906 1488 info@techtel.com.au ++ Harmonic VOS – Harmonic VOS is the groundbreaking, software-based platform for unifying the entire media processing chain, from ingest to delivery. Unparalleled in its elasticity and flexibility, VOS software is designed to deploy, scale and operate in any cloud, public or private, running on top of leading deployment environments such as OpenStack, AWS, Azure and more. The result is a whole new way to simplify your infrastructure, reduce costs, and drive new revenue-generating services. ++ Net Insight SYE (Live OTT Service) – Enhance your Live OTT service with an audience in sync, enabling combined OTT streaming and social interaction for the first

time with an intuitive user experience. Live OTT provides functions like instant channel change and low delay, typically a couple of seconds, better picture quality over time, multiple PiP in sync and stateful ABR. ++ Bridge Technologies – The VB120 BROADCAST PROBE offers cost-effective and powerful monitoring in any broadcast operations involving most commonly available signal formats. The VideoBRIDGE Controller (VBC) offers central management and status displaying of all monitored services. It forms a window into the performance of the television distribution operation. ++ Spectra Logic – BlackPearl provides a single interface to tape and disk using cloud protocols. ArcticBlue leverages BlackPearl's hybrid storage architecture and Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) media, creating the first object storage based disk platform that delivers maximum longevity, efficiency, and cost effectiveness with the performance of online disk.

TEKINSITE VIDEO TECHNOLOGIES Tel: (02) 9533 3085 sales@tekinsite.com.au www.tekinsite.com.au ++ Representatives: Domenic Pupo (MD).

Guests: Mike O’Connell, Executive VP, Pixel Power Inc; Klaven Siow, Applications Engineering Manager, Tektronix SEA. TekInsite Video Technologies specialises in supply and distribution of premium quality equipment and technology for video and

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television from leading suppliers that include: ++ Tektronix - Video Test & Monitoring Solutions for IP and SDI including Waveform Monitors, SPG's, File-Based QC Systems, MPEG Test Instruments, Network Delivery Monitoring Systems; ++ Pixel Power - On-Air Graphics and Playout Workflow Solutions including StreamMaster Virtualised Play-out System, Graphics Rendering for File-based workflows, Channelin-a-box, Automation Systems; ++ Ensemble Designs - Signal processing and infrastructure gear including Routers, Scan Converters, Multiviewers, Up/Down/Cross Converters, Protection Switches, SPGs and more; ++ Plura Broadcast - High-performance Multifunction LCD Video Monitors engineered specially for digital broadcast and professional video production; ++ Quantum Data - Test Systems for HDMI, DVI & MHL including Generators and Analysers ++ BON Electronics - Wireless HD Transmission Systems, High-Bright Field & Studio Monitors.

New products at ABE2016: ++ Tektronix – latest innovations in SMPTE-2022 IP Video Test & Monitoring and Precision Time Protocol Synchronisation; Adaptive Bit Rate Monitoring for OTT Delivery Networks; 4K/UHD-TV Monitoring; Aurora, Hydra and

AutoFix File Validation Suite. Klaven Siow will present the Tektronix paper entitled “Solving interoperability challenges in IP workflows”. ++ Pixel Power - StreamMaster software-based Master Control Playout with Real Time Graphics for IP Systems, designed to support virtualisation– a channel without a box - but can also be supplied with SDI I/O to support hybrid and transitional environments. Mike O’Connell will be presenting the Pixel Power paper entitled “Cloud Playout is Ready Today.

Could you or Should You Make the Move”. ++ Ensemble Designs – DualPath Video and Audio Multiplexing option for NXT Compact Routers that lets you deliver 2 live signals through a single path.

VIZRT Suite 2 Level 1, 35 Mitchell Street McMahons Point, NSW 2060 Tel: +61 (0) 2 9922 2676 Today’s broadcasters are transitioning to become digital news organizations, playing alongside the digital-only media houses, online newspapers, and the new media space. To capture attention, a news story needs to reach the audience anywhere and on all platforms first.

At ABE 2016, Vizrt will demonstrate the latest

innovation, Viz Story. Viz Story allows media companies to quickly create compelling video stories with state-of-the-art 3D graphics and sophisticated editing tools then easily distribute them online and to social media. The new tool makes content rapidly available to audiences on any device. Journalists do not need to burn graphics into videos and assets that can be reused and edited throughout the entire production of a story.

One PC control room solution Vizrt will also demonstrate Viz Opus, the complete broadcast control solution running from a single system. The newest version features a new switcher-like interface familiar to traditional directors. It includes the ability to import playlists from traffic, providing commercial playout, and master control capabilities for importing and playing out rundowns.

Efficiently combining graphics, video and metadata The latest enhancements to the Viz One Media Asset Management system will be demonstrated. Viz One manages all your assets using -metadata, search, proxy-editing, load balancing, and integrations with all major systems. The technology comes from 15 years of experience in the MAM industry and is used in more than 200 installations worldwide.

Viz Story • Video editing with template-based graphics • Quickly repurpose content for online and social media • Voiceover your story from the web-browser

See Viz Story at ABE Show, 9 - 11 August www.vizrt.com

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• Fast and easy creation of Facebook square videos with Text on Video

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ACQUISITION www.content-technology.com/acquisition

Peter Beeh and Sony PMW-F55 on Bentley TVC Aerial shooting is quite a skill and one that requires a great deal of experience and the very best equipment at all times.

into line. With all of that in mind we also needed to be able to shoot at a range of frame rates and needed a camera that would record at higher frame rates with a good quality codec. RAW recording was not an option as the producers needed to turn around the some of the footage shot quickly, with minimal time in post and there were also some very long lens shots required. All in all there aren’t many other cameras that could give us all of the above. The F55 was perfect for the job.”

Beeh often remarks on the F55’s compact form factor and well matched 35mm sensors when describing how well the camera worked not only on this project but others too.

He continued, “The F55 has a good XAVC codec that simplified data management, allowed for some shots to be turned around very quickly and other shots to go through a much more comprehensive post path to deliver a more nuanced finish. It was a job featuring fast action and high speeds and the F55’s global shutter was essential in delivering quality images without the risk of rolling shutter.”

Working in remote, hot and dusty environment, Beeh was also quick to praise the F55 cameras for being well built, tough and reliable.

WITH THAT IN MIND, aerial cinematographer Peter Beeh chose the

“There’s more to this camera too. The F55 centre crop function allowed us to use high quality cine glass for most of the shoot and then activate centre crop to be able to record direct to camera with a much more telephoto feel. The camera also delivered pictures that could be distributed quickly to media during the three day event and then used for a more finessed clip released a month after the shoot.”

Sony PMW-F55 camera to use on his latest project, a TVC for Bentley cars showcasing the 16MY Bentley Continental GT Speed being taken to its top speed of 331 km/h by Australian racing legend, John Bowe, on the derestricted Stuart Highway, Australia deep in the Northern Territory.

Beeh explained, “The Stuart Highway covers a distance of 2,834 km from Darwin in the Northern Territory to Port Augusta, South Australia – approximately the same distance as London to Istanbul or New York to Denver. It was hot and it was dusty. This was a shoot with a good, but not a huge budget, so we needed a camera that delivered very high quality images at a price that wouldn’t break the bank.”

For this particular shoot, Beeh looked after the F55 rigged within the Shotover F1 stabilised camera system while fellow DP Matt Gormley was in charge of the second F55 kit used for the more traditional groundbased shots. The first day with the Shotover rig was devoted to aerial shots and on the second day Beeh and his team remounted the stabilised head onto a simple tracking arm fitted to a tabletop ute. The ground tracking shots were shot at speeds of up to 180km/h with focal lengths of up to 400mm.

Beeh continued, “The ground camera run by Matt allowed him to move quickly and nimbly between setups. The compact form factor of the F55 was very helpful for this. The second camera was installed in a Shotover F1 stabilised camera system. We spent a day doing aerials and a day with the head fitted to a tracking vehicle. Again the form factor of the F55 allows it to fit well within a highly spec’d head like the Shotover F1.”

ACQUISITION

The look of the TVC was very specific and the team used their knowledge of the F55 and what it was capable of to make sure they got what they wanted.

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Beeh added, “We wanted a large sensor feel and wanted to use cine primes and zooms so the F55 was ideal. As a two camera shoot we wanted a camera system where we could expect the images will match well without having to spend large amounts of time in post bringing them

All in all, according to Beeh the results were excellent and exactly what he has come to expect from the Sony PMW-F55. He concluded, “It was hot, windy and dusty. There was high vibration and we were always moving fast. The F55 is the most flexible large sensor camera on the market. It is the ideal camera to have sitting on the shelf – so to speak – because it can be treated like a quality broadcast camera or, with a few menu changes, much more like a cine camera. The global shutter was a big reason for using the camera on this job but in truth the camera performed flawlessly. I have been operating an F55 since the cameras were released and it has never skipped a beat despite being dragged back and forth across the nation and to many overseas locations.”

Visit www.sony.com.au

ACQUISITION

The ABCs of NDI – NewTek’s Video Over IP for Everyone Aiming to help this flow of video, NewTek recently introduced NewTek Connect Pro, a multi-purpose software tool designed to connect the IP video formats of new and existing video production hardware and software, allowing them to work together. As well as NDI, ASPEN and SMPTE 2022, Connect Pro also supports streaming IP formats found in cameras from JVC, Panasonic, PTZ Optics, Sony, and Vaddio.

According to NewTek’s Andrew Cross, “Our call with NewTek Connect Pro was to create the converter box of all the standards in the IP world and so we built something where you can come in with, for instance, existing cameras.

By Phil Sandberg ANNOUNCED BY NEWTEK AT IBC 2015, Network Device Interface (NDI) is an open protocol enabling IP video workflows across standard fixed and wireless Gigbit Ethernet networks. NDI is a bi-directional standard that allows video systems to identify and communicate with one another over IP, and to encode, transmit, and receive multiple streams of broadcast-quality, low latency, frame-accurate video and audio in real time. The NDI encoding algorithm supports all video resolutions and frame rates up to 4K and beyond, as well as multi-channel, floating-point audio up to 16 channels and beyond. NDI also includes tools to implement video access and grouping, bidirectional metadata, tally, and more.

“One of the ironies of all of this discussion about IP is that most cameras can do IP today. You watch JVC cameras, your Panasonics, your Sonys, all of them will do a transport stream out. It's just in the wrong format for all this new IP stuff, so we allow it to cross convert from those into NDI. We allow you to bring in SDI capture cards, HDMI capture cards. It can cross convert between

Support for the standard has come from the likes of Adobe Pro Video, AJT Systems, Archion, Autocue, Evertz, JVC Professional Video, LiveU, Panasonic, PlayBox, and Vaddio.

With IP-video platforms evolving around SMPTE 2022-6, VSF TR-03 and VSF TR-04 standards (backed by AIMS, the Alliance for IP Media Solutions) and the Evertz-backed ASPEN standard, where does Network Device Interface fit into the broader IP ecosystem?

“If you think about it, once every office building anywhere in the developed world is wired for Ethernet, it's all going to be 1 GigE. So, part of NewTek's vision – and I think what's going to happen in the industry - is that more and more people are going to want to do video but we want to enable them to work in the facility that they have, not need to rewire it, because the difference between a TV station and an office building is the TV station's already wired for video.

“What we're focused on is making a solution that just works for people wanting to do it on regular 1 GigE. So, I would say we've got AIMS and ASPEN at the top of the pyramid and our goal is to fill from them on down.”

“If you take AIMS and ASPEN, while they really do serve the needs of broadcasters very, very well and I should say we're collaborating with them, the problem is that the small guy in the basement is not going to be able to build something around them. So, that's kind of the difference.

“I bring that up because we have to see ourselves as highly complementary to what they're doing and we really don't want to position ourselves as competitive with them at all. In fact, we are part of ASPEN and Evertz has done integration with NDI because it recognises that in a TV station you have the big studios and you have the small studios. Your small studios and your small plants are going to run something like what NewTek has, and the big studios are going to run theirs, and the video should be able to flow between them.”

Dr. Andrew Cross, President and CTO, NewTek.

any of these things.”

Moving from cameras to the edit suite, NewTek also recently announced NDI for Adobe Creative Cloud, a software plug-in which enables users of Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Adobe After Effects CC and other Adobe Creative Cloud applications to send real-time video and audio to any NDI-enabled receiving product, such as production switchers or capture cards, across a standard Ethernet network.

“One of the great things about the IP world is that, in some ways, we have standardised on one thing which is the cable and the packets that go over it,” says Andrew Cross. “And, while we're all talking about all these different formats you can have a single Ethernet cable and it can do NDI, ASPEN and AIMS all at the same time. We're virtually standardised in a way we haven't ever before, but one of the great things about having that is it means that people can use the right technology for their needs.

“If you think about the internet, there's not one technology. You can use PNGs or JPEGs or java script and python, and the cool thing about the Internet is that, by having these different technologies, people can choose the thing that serves their needs the best. And, I think the same has got to be true in our space. We hope to change the discussion from one about formats into one about how we solve problems. That's our goal with it and we'll find out, but I know our customers have a need for it so that's going to be exciting.”

Visit www.newtek.com/ndi.html

ACQUISITION

According to Dr. Andrew Cross, President and CTO, NewTek, “The best way I can describe it is there are multiple IP standards. At the top of the pyramid, you have AIMS and ASPEN, which are the two 10 Gigabit video, high bandwidth, over 10 Gigabit Ethernet. And, what we saw was a need to make something that's accessible for everybody else who wants to do video.

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ACQUISITION

The importance of High Resolution Waveform Monitors in UHD / 4K Production

By Alan Wheable FISTC, MITOL, Senior Technical Author at Omnitek.

THE HUMBLE WAVEFORM MONITOR has always been the tool of choice for anyone working in the video industry. Waveform monitors are used for everything from system design, manufacturing, installation setup, outside broadcast, grading, through to quality control. And that’s only to touch on a few areas.

There has been a significant change in demand since existing HD and 3G-SDI waveform measurement technology was developed. There is now a demand for equipment that can cater for all the possible physical interfaces, myriad video formats, new colour spaces and High Dynamic Range. This is just a few of the challenges facing the industry.

With more and more manufacturers developing 4K products and significant program makers demanding all program content be created at 4K with high dynamic range, there is an increased need for equipment to support new production workflows.

supporting all of the different video formats that will be present in the industry for many years to come. It needs to be able to display waveform, CIE gamut charts and vectorscope instruments to pixel level. This is regardless of the physical link over which it is delivered, and needs to be future-proofed to accommodate the emerging needs of the industry.

The new high resolution waveform monitor available as standard on the Omnitek Ultra XR and as an option on the Ultra 4K Tool Box supports video formats from SD up to 4K/UHD at frame rates up to 60Hz and supports both BT.709 and BT.2020 colour spaces. BT.2020 extends the viewable palette of colours (for 4K/UHD formats above 60Hz) and improves dynamic range and the CIE Gamut display allows this to be viewed.

The region of interest functionality of the waveform display allows it to be expanded to see any digital level issues, image construction issues and colour space issues that may otherwise go unnoticed on some other T&M equipment.

This is especially important to anyone working with different colour space material or the conversion of program content from one domain to another.

The Omnitek Ultra XR debuted at NAB 2016 is configured specifically for content creators, colourists, post-production editors and other processors of DI, and working with ultra high resolution UHD images delivered over QL 3G, DL 6G or 12G SDI and HDMI links.

The Ultra XR provides all the traditional tools needed to work with DI – high-resolution waveform display, vectorscope, CIE chart and so forth – but engineered specifically with 4K/UHD in mind. The Ultra XR supports 12-bit 4:4:4 SDI input formats in YCbCr and RGB, along with Wide Colour Gamut RGB – ITU-R BT.2020 and High Dynamic Range (HDR) inputs – ST2084/PQ and Hybrid Log Gamma.

Working with HD and 3G-SDI waveform technology may have been a solution in the early days of UHD/4K to display the waveforms from individual square division feeds, but it does not help if you cannot see the combined image at an appropriate size, resolution and correct colour space, or the waveform monitor doesn’t have the required physical connections.

It can be challenging to ensure the quality of UHD/4K program material if the required tools are not available. The importance of waveform monitor technology in UHD/4K content creation and distribution increases with the need to ensure conversions between link types (for example between QL 3G-SDI, 6G-SDI, 12G-SDI, HDMI and IP), between encoding methods (such as square division and 2 sample interleave), between different bit depth formats and between colour spaces (i.e. BT.709 and BT.2020) are correct before even touching on the complexities introduced by images with high dynamic range.

Rather than providing confidence that the picture is present at the correct levels, the waveform display must now be expandable to pixel level to observe any digital level issues (e.g. when converting between 8-, 10-, and 12-bit video), image construction issues (e.g. when converting between link types and encoding methods) and colour space issues that may otherwise go unnoticed on T&M equipment with small, low resolution displays.

ACQUISITION

Ideally the waveform display needs the ability to view the waveform of the composite image as well as the waveforms of individual links to make it easy to identify issues with 2-sample interleave and square division images that may otherwise go unnoticed in an environment using existing HD/3G infrastructure to deliver 4K/UHD material.

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Although some T&M equipment may boast 4K/UHD waveforms, these are often low resolution displays, with sub-sampled waveforms, that give a level of comfort and familiarity but will hide any underlying issues.

What is required is waveform monitor technology that has been designed specifically to meet the exacting needs of 4K/UHD environments while

The Ultra XR has the same small form factor as the Ultra 4K Tool Box which makes it ideal for any environment, especially where space, power, and weight need to be kept as low as possible. The range of input, output and monitoring connections mean it can easily integrate into all environments.

The Ultra XR supports SD, HD, 3G and 6G-SDI as standard, with 12G-SDI as an option. The ability of the Ultra XR to monitor different physical links, as well as square division and 2-sample interleaved sources ensures the signal can be viewed and checked regardless of how it actually arrives. This flexibility makes the Ultra XR an ideal fit for existing installations as the technological landscape continues to evolve.

Intuitive user control and monitoring is provided via HDMI, SDI, or web browser connections. The use of an optional mouse and keyboard allows the control surface to be configured exactly as required, and presets can be used to quickly recall previously saved settings.

In addition to the high resolution waveform monitor, provided on the Ultra XR, traditional instruments such as vectorscope are included. Although this basic tool provides a level of usefulness in 4K/UHD applications, other tools such as CIE Gamut charts (supporting SMPTE C, EBU, BT.709, BT.2020, and DCI colour spaces) are provided to ensure the colour space rendition of the image is always correct.

All the waveform instruments can be viewed as tiles, or as full screen, which is ideal for grading and quality control applications where detail is vitally important.

The demand for the best possible user experience has fired up display screen and camera manufacturers to develop equipment that offers the ability to do this. One of the challenges for content providers is to be able to deliver this ‘user experience’.

The tools within the Omnitek Ultra XR and 4K Tool Box are available now to help deliver the best possible user experience.

Visit www.omnitek.tv

ACQUISITION

Gulliveo – a ‘Getty Images’ for Video GULLIVEO IS A NEW ONLINE B2B marketplace looking to facilitate the sale of video between broadcasters, producers, advertising companies, and others seeking to buy and sell high quality, video footage.

Described by Gulliveo’s Business Director for Asia, Michael Blohm, as a “Getty Images for Video”, the online content broking service includes categories such as technology, health, animals, comedy, movies, history, lifestyle, sports and politics.

So, in terms of how the marketplace works, it’s a web based platform and potential sellers of video content create an account and upload the video?

“Yes. Whoever wants to sell videos or just video clips, second rights or even third rights. Some material has been used already, load it up, bring it on the platform and buyers will content them direct. Gulliveo will get in the end a commission, but all the selling, purchase process will be online between both parties.”

And, in terms of resolution, it can be HD, 4K? “Whatever quality you load up. It starts, of course, with SD. The buyer will get the clip in the same quality.”

Update for Blackmagic Production Camera 4K BLACKMAGIC DESIGN HAS ANNOUNCED the availability of Camera 3.4 update for the original Blackmagic Production Camera 4K. This new update adds SDI record trigger, RP-188 timecode output and improved 6G-SDI output compatibility. Camera 3.4 update is available for download now from the Blackmagic Design website and is free of charge for all Blackmagic Production Camera 4K customers.

Customers using the original Blackmagic Production Camera 4K can now download the update and get features that were previously only available on newer cameras like Blackmagic URSA and URSA Mini, making it more compatible with external monitors and recorders.

Camera 3.4 update adds support for SDI start/stop record trigger which allows external video recorders, such as Blackmagic Video Assist, to start and stop recording in tandem with the camera automatically. This makes

What types of footage are online at the moment?

“It will be everything, like how to kickbox, or a TV show from Germany or a tennis tournament five years ago from Shanghai, and there’s also upcoming events, so they load up a trailer and try to sell the live rights.”

Michael Blohm, Business Director Asia for online video marketplace, Gulliveo.

Where do potential users need to go?

“It’s Gulliveo.com. Everything is explained there, how it works, with examples.

Everybody can watch every video there. There are always small resolution videos on it. You can click through everything and that’s it. If you want to buy something, you need to register, pay with Paypal for every credit card. If you want to sell something you need a Paypal account, but it’s very easy going when you look on the website, it’s self-explained.”

Visit www.gulliveo.com

operating both the camera and an external recorder even easier than before.

Customers also get SDI RP-188 timecode output support which allows output of camera timecode via SDI so customers can now record files with the same exact timecode on both their camera and an external recorder.

For example, customers can record RAW files on their camera while also using a Blackmagic Video Assist to record ProRes or DNxHD files with matching timecode at the same time. This makes it possible to use the ProRes or DNxHD files for editing, and automatically re-link the camera original wide dynamic range RAW files with matching timecode for grading and finishing in software such as DaVinci Resolve.

Visit www.blackmagicdesign.com

Panasonic Releases Camcorder for Pro Videographers

The HC-PV100 is designed to meet the needs of professional on-site acquisition, with the versatility to support the busy sole operator. It has triple manual rings, with a focus ring, zoom ring and iris ring on the lens barrel enabling speedy and intuitive camera work. Two-channel XLR audio input terminals ensure high quality sound (pending the attached microphone quality), with support for everything from external microphones requiring a phantom power supply to audio equipment with +4 dB output. An illuminated LED ring on the side of the camcorder shows when it is recording, convenient for one-person operations when the cameraman is also the presenter.

When capturing low light evening events, the HC-PV100 ensures successful results with a 1/3.1-inch Back Side Illumination (BSI) Sensor, and a built-in LED video light providing a bright 300 lx at 1 metre.

The camcorder’s dual SD card slots provide continuous recording. When the first card reaches full capacity, the system automatically switches to the second card, and hot-swap recording allows cards to be exchanged while shooting. Simultaneous recording captures data at the same time onto both SD cards as backup against data loss.

Other features include a colour conversion and a diffusion filter, optical 20x zoom/F1.8 lens, and blur suppression from wide angle to zoom shots via the 5-Axis HYBRID Optical Image Stabiliser (O.I.S.+).

Visit www.panasonic.com/au

Panavision Integrates Cooke’s /i Technology

Other manufacturers that have adopted the /i Technology protocol include:

COOKE OPTICS HAS ANNOUNCED that Panavision has joined the list

Cinematography Electronics; CMotion; Codex; Element Technica; Fujifilm;

of /i Technology Partners, pledging to build support for the /i Technology

Global Boom International Ltd (GBI); IB/E Optics; Mark Roberts Motion

protocol into its portfolio in the future.

Control; Optitek; Ovide; Preston Cinema Systems; RED Digital Cinema;

Cooke’s /i Technology is an open metadata protocol that enables film and

Service Vision; Sony; The Foundry; The Pixel Farm; Transvideo; Vision

Aaton; ANDRA; Angenieux; ARRI; Atomos; Avid; Birger Engineering; Canon;

digital cameras to automatically record key lens data for every frame shot

Research (Ametek); and Zeiss.

and provide it to post-production teams digitally.

Visit www.cookeoptics.com

ACQUISITION

PANASONIC HAS ANNOUNCED the HC-PV100, a palm-sized full HD camcorder that provides the videographer with a full suite of features – including professional controls, audio and lighting features, plus dual SD card slots for continuous recording and a versatile 20x zoom, as well as a convenient handle for shooting.

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SPORTSCASTING Sport coverage worldwide

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Sony Builds Six OB Trucks for Racing NSW RACING NSW IS A STATUTORY BODY created for the purposes of controlling, supervising, regulating and promoting the NSW thoroughbred horse racing industry. In the past, race meeting broadcasts were provided via external operators contracted to the NSW thoroughbred race clubs. However, Racing NSW recently launched a project to build and manage its own outside broadcast facilities and vehicles, with a view to providing the organisation greater control over the quality and capabilities of its broadcast product. A tender was issued to build six OB vans – one metro and five country – along with a grip truck to provide outside broadcast facilities for coverage of thoroughbred horse racing events in NSW. The winning tender landed in the hands of Sony Australia.

Racing NSW Manager – Special Projects, Graeme Hinton explained, “The tender document was very specific and bidders were very much evaluated on their experience as it pertained to the scope of this project. All bidders had to show real life examples of their work on other outside broadcast facilities, as well as client testimonials and references. There was also a great deal of emphasis placed on technical expertise and experience. With this in mind, Sony Australia was ultimately successful as it has an outstanding track record for providing outside broadcast solutions, both in Australia and internationally. The Sony manufacturing unit has also proven itself to be a key supplier of industry-standard live production equipment, including cameras and switchers, and has a history of producing innovative broadcast system design using Sony and third party technologies.”

The new trucks are used for covering horse racing events across NSW, with the metro truck used for race coverage of Sydney metropolitan racing events at Randwick, Rosehill, Canterbury and Warwick Farm, while the country vans are distributed regionally throughout NSW to cover provincial and country race meetings. All the trucks are used for the dual purpose of on-course broadcast, delivery of broadcast quality production to SKY Racing, and to provide video footage to stewards for in-race and post-race judicial reviews.

Sony’s manufacturing service is unique not only to Australia, but the entire Southern Hemisphere, as a company able to provide a complete outside broadcast facility solution entirely in-house. No other supplier or integrator is able to provide the unique combination of products and services, including high quality broadcast equipment, manufacture of cameras, switchers and monitors, full systems design, installation, commissioning, training and integration, and coach-build facilities.

The country OB vans are provided by Racing NSW for regional and provincial

Hinton continued, “The coach build capabilities of Sony are particularly impressive. As a result of the unit’s understanding of broadcast product development and integration, it’s also able to design and construct a mobile solution perfectly suited for television outside broadcasts.”

shelves, task lighting and power for equipment charging, and a hydraulic tail

SPORTSCASTING

The 16-camera metro van was based on a Volvo FE series cab-chassis that was 12.5 metres long and 2.4 metres wide, with operational areas that included a two-tier video production area, an audio production area, a server and replay area, camera CCU and technical area, and an integrated clamshell external walkway awning system.

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Sony’s Asia Pacific Solutions Proposals Manager, Tom Garvan explained, “The clamshell arrangement platform and awning maximises the operational space available by eliminating internal hallways and walk-throughs, and the built-in solid awning provides weather-resistant access for production staff to the key operational areas. This design allows for fast, easy deployment and pack-up of the facility – at a much lower price point than conventional expanding side facilities.”

race meeting coverage. Each country van is based on a Mercedes Benz Sprinter LWB van, and includes an all-in-one operational area that integrates six Sony HSC-100R camera chains, Fujinon ZA22x7.6BERD lenses with servo control units, Fujinon HA42x9.7BERD lenses with stabiliser and servo control units, and six Blackmagic HyperDeck Studio recorders. The grip truck is based on an Isuzu cab-chassis and integrates equipment storage facilities, rack and lift.

Graeme Hinton concluded, “We are very pleased with all of the new Sony trucks as the high-quality images they produce create a professional HD product for broadcast. The Sony HDC-2400 cameras, together with the HawkEye ORS system allow stewards to efficiently review race footage in native HD quality with an easy to use and intuitive multi-screen interface.

The Sony cameras provided also allow for seamless integration with the existing triax cabling infrastructure installed at the racing venues, and enable conversion to a fibre infrastructure in the future. Finally, the coach itself has automated systems for power and air-conditioning management, with a touch screen interface showing full status and control of these systems. All-in-all we have seven of the highest quality state-of-the-art OB trucks at our disposal.

The results we get from them are truly excellent.”

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

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Launch for 2018 Commonwealth Games’ Host Broadcaster HQ THE GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS of the Host Broadcaster delivering the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018) television broadcast have been officially opened by Queensland’s Minister for the Commonwealth Games, the Hon Stirling Hinchliffe MP. The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games will be held from April 4-15, 2018. Led by NEP Australia, with the support of production partners the Seven Network (Seven) and Sunset+Vine (S+V), the Host Broadcaster will produce High Definition multi-camera television coverage across 11 days of sporting competition plus the Opening and Closing ceremonies (with the Opening Ceremony also to be produced in 4K Ultra HD) for delivery to rightsholding broadcasters around the world.

The Host Broadcaster is also responsible for the International Broadcast Centre (IBC), which is the nexus of all Commonwealth Games broadcasting activity, handling incoming video and audio from the venues and distributing it to broadcast rights holders’ home countries. The IBC, located at the Gold Coast Exhibition and Convention Centre (GCECC) at Broadbeach, will also manage outgoing worldwide transmissions from rights holders based on site.

During Games time more than 1200 broadcast technical and operational experts will work from the IBC and venues to deliver event coverage. 1,100 hours of live television will be transmitted via 25 outside broadcast vehicles and control rooms. 350 cameras will be deployed at venues in and around the Gold Coast, with more than 100km of broadcast cable laid.

Gold Coast 2018 is NEP Australia’s fourth Commonwealth Games contract. The company delivered the Host Broadcast for Glasgow 2014 in partnership with Sunset+Vine. NEP also designed, installed and operated the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) for Delhi 2010 and provided IBC and venue broadcast equipment and personnel for Melbourne 2006.

Sports television production company Sunset+Vine, part of The Tinopolis Group, has previous Commonwealth Games and Paralympic Games experience, most recently Glasgow 2014 in partnership with NEP Australia.

The company was Host Broadcaster for the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 and was recently awarded ICC’s Live Events Production Services contract 20162019 which included the recent ICC World T20 Championships.

The Seven Network is the GC2018 Australian broadcast rights holder. Under the Host Broadcast partnership with NEP Australia and S+V, Seven will provide digital applications, specialty cameras and personnel, production and planning resources, and management personnel.

The Host Broadcast team currently numbers 20, comprising the key management group and broadcast training manager, two venue-planning teams and administrative staff. It will expand to 30 members in early 2017, 60 over the course of next year, and reach a Games-time workforce of more than 1200.

In addition to the Minister, guests at the launch – held at the Host Broadcaster’s Bundall Road (Bundall, QLD) HQ – included Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) Chairman Peter Beattie AC, and CEO Mark Peters; NEP Australia President Soames Treffry; Seven West Media’s, Event Director – Rio Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Chief Revenue Officer, Kurt Burnette and Seven Network’s Head of Sport, Saul Shtein; sports commentator and Olympian Giaan Rooney OAM, who also

Queensland’s Minister for the Commonwealth Games, Stirling Hinchliffe, at the launch of NEP’s Commonwealth Games broadcast HQ.

acted as event MC; and a number of Queensland university students who will be gaining hands-on work experience through the Host Broadcast training program.

To ensure Gold Coast 2018 achieves the best-ever coverage across all platforms, the Host Broadcast team is drawing on its collective experience from previous Commonwealth Games, Olympic and Paralympic competitions.

NEP Australia President Soames Treffry said, “As our previous Commonwealth Games experience has shown, detailed forward planning is key to getting a project of this complexity off to a flying start. We hit the ground running, with our core team in place more than two years from the Gold Coast 2018 Opening Ceremony.”

Seven’s Head of Sport Saul Shtein said, “Seven is delighted to be joining with NEP and Sunset+Vine in what will be the biggest event to hit our shores since the Olympic Games in Sydney. We are looking forward to being a partner in the production of the global television coverage and bringing these Commonwealth Games to all Australians.”

The 121-week project schedule is well underway. Current priorities include: Surveys to determine camera positions across 20 venues in and around the Gold Coast (including basketball from Cairns and Townsville, and shooting and track cycling from Brisbane).

Confirming Host Broadcaster space requirements at each of the venues.

Determining broadcast compound layouts.

Sourcing suppliers.

Connecting to Queensland universities and colleges for the Host Broadcast training program.

The project’s training program includes work experience opportunities for 200 Queensland students during the Games, who will work alongside some of Australia’s leading broadcast professionals. This will provide students with invaluable broadcast industry experience for their future careers in television.

Visit www.gc2018.com

H.265 Live Streaming Over 3G/4G Networks

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SOLITON SYSTEMS, developers of mobile H.265 HEVC live streaming and video contribution solutions over 3G/4G networks, has partnered with Redwood’s Technology Solutions to launch Soliton’s Smart-telecaster Zao to the Australian and New Zealand market.

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Aimed at the sports streaming, remote news gathering and public safety markets, Smart-telecaster Zao’s mobile H.265/HEVC hardware encoder delivers full HD quality with at least 50 percent more efficiency in carrier bandwidth usage compared to traditional H.264 solutions. Made in Japan, Zao also features dramatically reduced power consumption.

Coupled with Soliton’s RASCOW bonded technology Smart-telecaster delivers HD quality even in low 3G or 4G bandwidth environments.

RASCOW is a protocol developed by Soliton to automatically balance the

load between various network base stations during live broadcasting.

This allows stability in video transmission, even under network congestion or weak network signals. The 4G Bonding algorithm has been improved compared to the traditional 4G bonding systems. The overall result is high image quality, with less latency and optimal audio quality.

It is even possible to have two-way communication between the camera team and the home base editorial people with minor delay via the Zao. Due to its light weight and portability, the Zao can be carried either in a small backpack or can be mounted on a camera or drone for connection via HD-SDI or HDMI to the camera. Zao supports 3G, 4G, LTE, WiMAX, Inmarsat BGAN, Wi-Fi, and wired LAN. Visit www.solitonsystems.com and www.redwoodstech.com

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SPORTSCASTING

Clear-Com Intercom at Summer Games FROM THE FIRST EVENT COMPETITION on August the 3rd, to the Opening Ceremony on August the 5th, through to the Closing Ceremony on August the 21st, Clear-Com has been selected by a number of broadcasters from around the world as their choice for essential communications during the 2016 Summer Games.

During the Games, Clear-Com’s range of intercom and audio connectivity products will be used by a number of broadcasters in a variety of applications, including: • At the International Broadcast Centre, the majority of broadcasters will be using a Clear-Com system.

• TV Globo (Brazil) has just completed the build on its first 4K OB truck.

Communications is based entirely on Clear-Com Eclipse HX-Omega digital matrix network and will be used at the European football/soccer stadiums, as well as other sports venues throughout Brazil. In addition, TV Globo will use six Eclipse frames at their main headquarters, and two at the IBC that will be interconnected via IVC-32-HX boards using IP technology, and use MADI and fibre as a redundant interconnection. TV Globo has also secured approximately 30 Agent-IC Mobile App licenses, connected to the Eclipse HX systems for roaming crew members using iOS devices.

• SportTV (Brazil), a Globo Network channel, will dedicate 16 live channels broadcasting multiple events over eight connected Clear-Com Eclipse HXOmega matrix frames.

• ESPN (Brazil headquarters) will rely on Clear-Com’s Eclipse HX-Omega digital matrix systems for communications, as Clear-Com installed in TV Globo’s well as Clear-Com’s HD3 OB truck.

MADI and IVC-32 IP boards for audio connection between the Eclipse matrix systems and IP-based intercom systems.

• Fox Sports Brazil, Rai Italy’s Rio de Janeiro studio, and Esporte Interativo (Brazil) rented OB mobile units from the OB truck rental supplier, Salvatore de Lucca, for local broadcasting. Each unit is outfitted with ClearCom Eclipse HX-Median digital matrix intercom systems and support equipment.

Clear-Com’s Brazilian distributor, Savana Comunicações, located in Rio de Janeiro, was instrumental in facilitating the relationships and the equipment installations with the broadcasters listed above. In addition to use at the sports venues, a Clear-Com FreeSpeak II system will be used throughout the Olympic City by TV Globo.

Visit www.clearcom.com

BarnOne Frames Head to Rio BARNFIND TECHNOLOGIES has announced more than 100 Barnfind BarnOne frames will be employed for mission-critical transmissions this August during the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

According to Wiggo Evensen, Barnfind CEO, there will be between 10 to 12 broadcasters and sports/event-related companies that will be using the flexible BarnOne frames to ensure their operations run smoothly.

“Broadcast sports is an extremely important market segment for Barnfind.

Our unique built-in router and our ability to handle any SFPs enables clients to change signal transport configurations on the fly, making the platform ideal for events with multiple locations. Barnfind gear has been used in many different instances such as race tracks like MotoGP and F1, and we are pleased to report that sales in that area have increased tremendously over the past two years,” explains Evensen. “Our flexible stage-boxes can handle any signal format in any mix.”

The BarnOne platform is based on the universal SFP (Small Form Factor Pluggable) offerings. Barnfind accepts all kinds of SFP manufacturers

following the MSA standard, which means the company also allows clients to integrate other SFPs into the BarnOne platform other than those the company offers in its own portfolio. With BarnOne, users can reduce their footprint from 3-6RU to 1RU BarnOne. The platform offers all functions in one frame including fibre transport, PtP, WDM, CWDM, DWDM, routing, embedding, IP/ASI conversion, distribution, add/drop/pass, HDMI, SNMP and offers easy integration to other third-party control systems.

“Our popularity among many camera manufacturers is also increasing,” added Evensen. “They realise the Barnfind solutions are very valuable for CAM-CCU (video, audio, tally, intercom and RCP) transport. Barnfind’s new high-low SFP system is unique in its ability to handle up to 18 cameras and CCUs on one single fibre which has resulted in significant interest and many sales.”

Visit www.barnfind.no

SPORTSCASTING

Sports Federations Sign with Olympic Channel

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OLYMPIC CHANNEL SERVICES (OCS) has announced it has reached cooperation agreements with 27 International Sports Federations (IFs) to collaborate on content for the Olympic Channel.

announcement of these cooperation agreements with our IF partners is

IOC President, Thomas Bach, who recently chaired a joint Olympic Channel Board of Directors meeting at the newly inaugurated OCS facilities in Madrid, said, “The Olympic Channel will mark a major shift in how the Olympic Movement connects with young people all year round. The International Federations have embraced the Olympic Channel and we look forward to working with them on the exciting programming and promotional opportunities. The newly formed Olympic Channel team is making steady progress, with the emphasis on ensuring the product is right and the quality of the programming matches our ambition.”

Content production has begun, the technology and platforms are being

Mark Parkman, General Manager of Olympic Channel Services, said, “Preparations for the launch of the Olympic Channel are on course and the

promoting a healthy and active lifestyle.

another important step forward. We expect to make further announcements regarding collaborations with other IFs and stakeholders in the near future. tested, and there is a growing sense of energy and excitement here among the Olympic Channel team as we prepare for launch this year.”

The creation of an Olympic Channel was one of the key recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020. The Channel will broadcast live sports events, news and athlete stories, as well as historical Olympic footage and official films from the IOC’s archives. There will also be a focus on educational and youth-oriented programming, sustainability, sports science and nutrition, and Visit www.olympicchannelservices.com

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NEWS OPERATIONS www.content-technology.com/newsoperations

Nine Adelaide’s HD News Studio Goes Robotic AFTER 56 YEARS HOUSED at its original site, it came time for Nine Adelaide to

thorough and complete,” said Dyson.

expand into a new greenfield site. The brief encompassed building an entirely new news production studio that would provide a better on-air product in HD, along with ease of use.

With a fully automated HD robotic camera and switcher combination, news production is tighter, and camera movements are predictable and repeatable.

“With our studio cameras now being robotic, our news crews are able to stay out on the road longer gathering news. Which, of course, is their primary task,” said Dyson.

As part of the Nine Network, Nine Adelaide produces 90 minutes of live news each day to 1.2 million viewers, with live interconnect into the Today Show and morning national news segments. Nine Adelaide also produces a variety of local content. Programs that include Police Crime Stopper specials, Renovation Rescue, Easter Appeal for the Adelaide Children’s Hospital, as well as its annual Christmas Pageant to be broadcast nationally.

“We wanted a news station that would be state-of-the-art and take us to the next level of television quality and automation,” said Don Dyson, Operations and Technology Manager for Nine Entertainment. “The system had to be fully HD, have a vision mixing system that was compatible with modern technologies, and integrate with robotic cameras for our news production. Plus, our studio cameras had to be compact without compromising on picture quality. Whatever we chose had to have proven reliability within the television industry, be locally supported, and offer a high level of future proofing.”

Having worked with Grass Valley since the early days of analogue television, it came as a natural progression for Nine to put Grass Valley toward the top of the list of suppliers.

Nine Adelaide’s system comprises: – Karrera 3 M/E switcher with 3 M/E panel.

– 6x RS-LDX Elite C80 LDX compact cameras with integrated robotic heads and Canon broadcast lenses.

– 6x floor-mounted Telemetrics EP6 elevating pedestals (5 dolly- based).

– Telemetrics Studio Control System with touchscreen.

– 2x Telemetrics Remote Control Panel controller systems.

– 6x 17-inch CueScript teleprompters, with hood.

– 6x 22-inch CueScript prompter talent monitors mounted using Telemetrics confidence monitor mounts.

“Grass Valley has always provided equipment that is user friendly, reliable, fully supported, and capable of producing a superior quality output that suits our needs,” said Dyson.

But, the Adelaide facility would be Nine Network’s first venture to consider Grass Valley cameras.

“After much testing here in Adelaide, as well as other Nine Network stations, we found the RS-LDX Elite Compact Camera met all our needs, plus we were very happy with the picture quality. Grass Valley also had a solution for studio robotic cameras via its partnership with Telemetrics – that interfaced seamlessly with its Karrera vision switcher and our Mosart automation system,” said Dyson. “Plus Grass Valley supplied the CueScript teleprompting and talent monitoring system, so it was all very much one-stop shopping.”

NEWS OPERATIONS

“The Grass Valley implementation was first class,” continued Dyson. “Being the first time we’ve used robotic cameras, Grass Valley set our system up in Sydney and we were able to look at it in operation before installation. We have specific needs on camera heights and operation, and Grass Valley made changes to suit Nine Adelaide’s requirements.

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“Installation and commissioning went off without a hitch. The Grass Valley team arrived and assembled the six robotic cameras, ran all the studio cables and tuned the cameras and robotics, all with assistance from a Telemetrics engineer sent from the US. We installed the Karrera vision mixer and, after checking the installation, Grass Valley went about methodically configuring and commissioning the vision mixer system.”

Although Nine Adelaide had a Grass Valley Kayak vision mixer in its original location, the enhanced features of the Karrera were new to Nine’s operators.

“The Grass Valley cameras and Telemetrics robotics were completely new to us, so learning these new systems was an exciting challenge. Grass Valley provided both operator and technical training for all our staff, which was

“Karrera has taken the quality of our news production to the next level, even more than just the upgrade to HD. It is a straightforward and logical switcher to use, and with advanced features over our previous Kayak.

Overnight, we saw a dramatic improvement in our program quality output. Our directors, who were used to the Kayak, found stepping up to the Karrera a relatively easy process.

Five days of training helped immeasurably.

Having the ability to personalise the Karerra by way of button layout, assignments and colours, our operators have found the Karerra to be very user friendly.”

With five cameras in their main news studio and one in their TOS (talent operated studio), the RS-LDX Elite Compact Camera provided a cost effective solution without compromising picture quality. After testing in several light conditions, Dyson and his crew were very happy with the dynamic range, sensitivity, and signal-to-noise in the lighting scenarios they trialled.

In the main studio, cameras are in a fixed location, and during the news they often televate or pan/tilt/zoom to predetermined shots.

“With talent who are taller, or if the director requires a slightly different camera angle, using the Telemetrics remote panel and touchscreen makes getting the shots as simple as lining up the shot, recording the shot via the touchscreen display, and it’s ready for air,” according to Dyson.

Cameras are colour balanced through the Telemetrics remote panel in either the main production control room or master control room. In the TOS, talent simply walk into the room and plug in their IFB earpiece. The crew can remotely set up the camera and changes of background pictures on their 103-inch monitor via AUX outputs from the Karrera mixer.

“We took 12 months to design and build our new studio facilities from the ground up,” explained Dyson. “Since we were venturing into new automation systems, cameras, and robotics, Grass Valley sent a camera specialist to Adelaide for our first few days for on-air support, which was greatly appreciated, and reinforced to us that Grass Valley fully supports their products.”

The system installed in Adelaide will be used as a template for additional systems to be rolled out across the Nine network.

“Nine Network news producers and directors from all over Australia have come to Adelaide to see our system in operation. The RS-LDX Elite Compact Camera with the Telemetrics robotics system will go into Sydney and Melbourne initially, with Queensland and Perth to follow shortly after,” said Dyson.

“We’re always aiming to be the number one news services so we must constantly look to new technologies to give us the edge over competitors. Our recent purchases from Grass Valley certainly help us achieve this objective.”

Visit www.grassvalley.com

NEWS OPERATIONS

ABC Selects Grass Valley for Nationwide News Equipment Upgrade GRASS VALLEY HAS ENTERED into a contract with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to provide one of the largest single system technology upgrades ever undertaken in Australia. The long-term project represents a major technology refresh and replacement in its studios across all Australian states.

The cornerstone of the system will be Grass Valley’s GV STRATUS video production and content management system solutions that include EDIUS nonlinear editing software, K2 Summit 3G media servers and other Grass Valley core technologies. NETIA will provide NETIA Radio-Assist 8, while the Associated Press will provide its AP ENPS 7 scripting system. Both will be deeply integrated into the GV STRATUS system.

The process involved a multi-year tender process and negotiation covering nine separate aspects based on a detailed and exhaustive evaluation of available technology and vendors. After careful consideration, as well as both a testing phase and a proof of concept phase, Grass Valley was selected

as the exclusive solution provider.

The installation will be implemented over two and a half years in each of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s major news and current affairs facilities. Grass Valley will be responsible for all facets of the design, planning, implementation, commissioning, training and ongoing support of all systems.

With a number of critical aspects to the implementation, the project is a partnership between Grass Valley as the systems integrator, NETIA, and the Associated Press. This is the first time these two technology providers have been involved in such a major partnership with Grass Valley, which will include a total refresh/replacement of systems for TV news, radio news, and scripting creation. Grass Valley, along with its two partners, will be rolling out the new technology across Australia beginning in August of 2016 after a detailed design phase has been completed.

Visit www.grassvalley.com

Cuescript Brings its Latest Prompting Technology AT IBC 2016, CueScript (Stand 12.F41) will present the latest versions

and cranes. It can be used with a collapsible hood and prompter glass or

of its CueiT prompting software, as well as a wide range of professional

as a straight reading system without any additional hardware, and features

prompting units.

a 2000nit screen that is easy to read even in bright daylight conditions.

full bi-directional ability within a script. It is available in three versions: CueiT Premier for the entry level market, CueiT Production and CueiT News. The production and news versions of CueiT are supplied with

In addition, CueScript will demonstrate the next-generation in talent monitors with the CSTM24. This 24-inch HD-SDI talent monitor weighing in at 4.5kgs features a double arm mounting system with no restriction to

the CueScript CueB, an external device that produces composite and

the camera support, either manual or robotic.

SDI video. The CueB can be connected either via USB or ethernet. The

CueScript will also be supporting IBC with prompting systems for IBC TV

flexibility of the ethernet connection further enhances the integration of

News, and will also provide systems for the IBC Awards on the Sunday

the system into production facilities.

evening.

CueScript controllers, whether desk or presenter foot controls, can be connected either by local USB, Ethernet or CanBus. No special devices are required to connect multiple controllers; in theory, users can connect an unlimited number of controllers over Ethernet and at any distance, while

Joining CueScript on Stand 12.F41 at IBC 2016 will be a number of industry partners, including ENPS, Avid, Ross Video, Miller, Shotoku and Panasonic. In addition, CueScript will have a complete line up of systems

up to 128 controllers can be connected over CanBus using standard coax

on the Ross Video stand with CueiT software integrated into the system

cable.

workflow, and Miller, Libec, Shotoku and Cartoni will also be displaying

CueScript will also present its latest prompting units, including the CSF10

CueScript systems on their stands.

lightweight yet fully featured prompting system designed for use with jibs

Visit www.cuescript.tv

NEWS OPERATIONS

CueiT prompting software is Unicode compliant with multi-language and

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NEWS OPERATIONS

Google Funding Backs Euronews’ Immersive Journalism Project EURONEWS HAS ANNOUNCED that it will launch virtual reality news reporting with funding from the DNI Innovation Fund. The project, under the framework of Google’s Digital News Initiative, will see Euronews producing regular multilingual 360 degree interactive videos around international current affairs.

Euronews will become the first international newsroom to fully incorporate 360 degree interactive video news into its regular production workflow across all of its language editions. The productions will also include virtual reality versions of Euronews’ “No Comment” format. These programmes encourage the audience to come up with their own interpretations of the story and embody Euronews’ “All Views” Identity.

All Euronews’ teams – whether in the main newsroom in Lyon, in offices around Europe, or correspondents worldwide, or the newsroom of its sister channel Africanews, based in Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo – will be involved in pioneering the first regular multilingual 360° interactive video production process at an international news organisation.

The Google Digital News Initiative chose to fund Euronews 360 in February as one of its 128 selected projects in Europe, and will be a source of financial backing for the Euronews 360 degree video initiative for three years.

The DNI fund is a collaboration between Google and European news publishers to support high quality journalism and encourage a more sustainable news ecosystem through technology and innovation.

Google’s funding will allow Euronews to produce an ambitious amount of intricate unique news as well as, introduce a specific workflow, involving their editorial, technical, journalists, producers, editors, graphic designers and sales teams.

Euronews’ teams will experiment with various interactive video formats to create a variety of content from “All Views” best suited to users worldwide. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the collected data will help Euronews develop its expertise in the format.

To secure the long-term financial viability of this development, and to ensure that it becomes an important component of Euronews’ digital business portfolio, sales teams will include the Euronews 360 tool in their multiplatform campaign propositions to advertisers.

According to Euronews’ Duncan Hooper, Editor in chief, digital platforms, “We are delighted to be implementing this new interactive video production method, giving our audience the power to view the story from their own perspectives. Through our collaboration with the DNI we will be able to take advantage of the latest technological innovations, which now make it possible – and relatively simple – to harness virtual reality in the service of news and in your home.

“360° interactive reports immerse viewers to give them a greater sense of atmosphere. This sensory experience is also interactive – unlike a conventional report, everyone can choose their point of view. The core mission of all Euronews’ teams is to offer their audience fact-based news that is as neutral as possible. This new dimension of journalism allows them to get even closer to unadulterated reality.”

The 360 degree video process will kick off this northern summer with the launch of availability in the production of No Comment 360, which is the iconic Euronews programme tailored to this new medium that allows the audience to select their interpretation of a video that speaks a thousand words. The newsroom will then also produce reports in Euronews’ editorial sphere (international news, culture, sport, high tech, etc.) voiced by the 13 language editions.

The 360° interactive videos are now easily available to the public on smartphones, tablets or computers – and with virtual-reality headsets for a more advanced experience.

Euronews’ 360° videos will be incorporated in the daily newsflow produced by the teams, on all of Euronews’ digital platforms without distinction: on euronews.com, on the 20 YouTube channels, and on the 13 Facebook accounts.

This package will be supplemented by VR360-dedicated platforms Vrideo and Littlstar, which attract enthusiasts of the immersive experiences enabled by virtual reality.

Visit www.digitalnewsinitiative.com and www.euronews.com

EBU Backs Campaign to Create UN Special Representative for Journalist Safety THE EUROPEAN BROADCASTING UNION (EBU) has lent its support to a Reporters Without Borders (RSF) campaign to create a Special Representative to the United Nations Secretary General dedicated to the safety of journalists.

prominent public figures calling for a Special Representative at the UN with responsibility for enforcing international law and ensuring crimes against journalists do not go unpunished.

Delegates at the EBU’s recent General Assembly in Montenegro heard how there had been a failure to reduce the frequency and scale of targeted violence that journalists face on a daily basis. In the last 10 years, 787 journalists and media personnel have been killed in the course of their work including many from EBU Member broadcasters. Last year alone, 67 journalists were killed worldwide.

Support for the RSF campaign is the latest measure by the EBU to try and improve the safety of journalists in the field. Members are offered a variety of tools including dedicated training; unique apps such as ZeroRisk; the creation of safezones and networking opportunities between broadcaster’s safety personnel. The EBU also campaigns with UNESCO and the Council of Europe against impunity for those that attack the media and works to improve awareness of safety concerns.

RSF is leading a coalition of media outlets, NGOs, journalists and

Visit https://rsf.org/en/protectjournalists-campaign

NEWS OPERATIONS

Autocue’s QStart Teleprompting Software Now Free

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AUTOCUE, A LEADING teleprompting company and a Vitec Videocom

action buttons. Scripts can be easily imported from .doc, .rtf and .txt files.

brand, is looking to show how teleprompting can save productions time and money by making the unlimited version of its QStart teleprompter software free to everyone. Effective July 1, 2016, Autocue’s Windows/OS QStart software is free to all users with or without hardware.

In addition, QStart offers script markers and assignable hot keys for added

Unlike many free teleprompters online, Autocue’s QStart is downloadable software that can be used offline. This entry-level teleprompting application is based on the renowned QMaster software that is used for leading broadcasts and public events around the world. Autocue’s QStart is easy to use, featuring multi-language text and menus, and icon-based

speed and flexibility.

Autocue’s QStart software is designed to save time by reducing the number of takes for faster production and post-production. Users will have the opportunity to control the speed of the text by keyboard or mouse.

Alternatively, Autocue offers a wide range of wired and wireless hand and foot controllers to allow precise operator or talent control.

Visit www.autocue.com

NEWS OPERATIONS

DFT’s Scanity HDR Upgraded DIGITAL FILM TECHNOLOGY counts major archives worldwide among its customers, including the British Film Institute, The Korean Film Archive, The Film Archive of Thailand, National Library of Norway, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, Library and Archives Canada, The Slovak Film Institute, Film Institute Netherlands, National Audio-visual Archive of Finland and The Royal Thai Archive.

At this year’s NAB, the company is announcing new technology developments for its latest Scanity HDR film scanner. A full wet-gate system will be demonstrated at the DFT’s stand. Specifically designed for Scanity HDR, it provides a real-time solution for ingest and management of difficult-to-solve historical film transfer issues – such as dust and scratch removal – at the same time surpassing prior transfer standards. The wet-gate is ideal for archive owners that require a scanner that’s able to handle a range of problematic and historically-aged film issues.

New 16/8mm small gauge film gate: DFT will also demonstrate its new small gauge film gate strategy, showing the optional ‘16plus’ LGA for its Scanity and new Scanity HDR models.

New software release: DFT’s Scanity HDR, developed in response to the demands of both the post production and the film archive and restoration industries, will be demonstrated with the latest Scanity software release. Scanity HDR offers a host of user friendly features that serve a variety of film scanning applications, including – but not limited to: film archive scanning for mass digitisation, EDL/conform scanning, low resolution browsing for archive and restoration, short-form commercials, and 4K UHD ready and digital intermediate scanning.

Scanity HDR has a number of advantages over other scanner solutions, namely its touch-less patented capstan drive Lens Gate Assembly (LGA) system. This provides both automatic shrinkage compensation and gentle film handling, whilst delivering image stability.

Key features include a black and white HDR function, a new triple exposure (executed once) in realtime 2K or 4K data ingest. This means the scanner speed remains constant, creating time and cost benefits and allowing access to previously unseen details from the high- and low-lights of the film.

Visit www.dft-film.com

New Avid Media Composer AVID HAS ANNOUNCED a new version of Avid Media Composer which enables video editing professionals to work faster and more easily, is now available.

The new version of Media Composer enables video professionals to take on HDR projects. Along with Avid Resolution Independence and high-resolution workflows, Media Composer’s support for HDR workflows enables editors to overcome today, and tomorrow’s technology challenges. This version of Media Composer also enables editors to work up to 64 audio tracks – 250% more than previously available.

Visit www.avid.com

Edit Bridge to Interface with Multi-Vendor Systems Marquis Broadcast has recently announced Edit Bridge, its integration application for Adobe Premiere Pro CC and Avid Interplay, has been developed to interface with multi-vendor systems such as Apple Final Cut Pro X or Grass Valley’s Edius. The application will be shown at NAB for the first time, on booth SL8730.

“Edit Bridge was awarded the IABM’s Design and Innovation Award in the Post Production category at the prestigious IABM awards ceremony held at IBC last year,” confirmed Chris Steele, Managing

PreRoll Post from Imagine Products is aimed at making LTO tape archiving easier and more efficient. The system automates indexing of camera originals, complete with thumbs, proxies, and metadata, while backing up full-resolution media to local disk, long-term LTO tapes, or optical disc.

Apple or Windows users can now use PreRoll Post to create nonproprietary backups of any file or folder using the open-source Linear Tape File System (LTFS). The archiving application streamlines the process of placing any file type onto an LTO-7, LTO-6, or LTO-5 tape, or onto Sony’s Optical Disc Archive.

Edit Bridge offers a solution to enable competing manufacturers’ products to work together, allowing users to search Avid Interplay from within the Premiere Pro or After Effects interface, view thumbnails, find media and select it for editing. Content is either streamed directly, or copied and re-wrapped to Premiere Pro or After Effects for immediate editing. Delivery of the completed story and associated metadata back to Avid ISIS is achieved with Avid interplay check-in.

“The new Edit Bridge Client now provides the same connection into Avid Interplay for non-Adobe specific workflows.” confirmed

PreRoll Post takes advantage of LTFS, which is supported by many tape drive manufacturers. LTFS mounts a tape as a volume within the operating system. This makes it possible to read and write from the tape as if it were a hard disk – without proprietary software formatting.

It also makes PreRoll Post hardware-independent, enabling use with any LTFS-compliant tape drive or Sony ODA.

Steele. “Users can now source content from Interplay by browsing

Visit www.imagineproducts.com

Visit http://www.marquisbroadcast.com

and searching within the panel before triggering a drag and drop import into the chosen application. The Edit Bridge Client has been designed to support both Windows and Mac platforms.

NEWS OPERATIONS

Imagine Products’ PreRoll Post Upgraded

Director, Marquis Broadcast.

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POST PRODUCTION www.content-technology.com/postproduction

Deluxe’s Iloura Creates VFX for Game of Thrones’ Battle of the Bastards Before and after, VFX from HBO’s Game of Throne episode Battle of the Bastards.

what was added. Amazing.”

DELUXE ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES GROUP (Deluxe) has announced that its Australian animation and visual effects studio Iloura delivered a significant suite of work for the recent Battle of the Bastards episode of HBO’s tentpole series Game of Thrones. Working on the epic battle sequence for the Season 6, Episode 9 crescendo, Iloura’s team of visual artists used a mix of VFX and handcrafted animation techniques to realise the vision for the bloody showdown.

Iloura’s work was led by VFX Supervisor Glenn Melenhorst on the pivotal sequences that bring to a head the heated feud that had been brewing between hero Jon Snow and his army of Wildlings, and the Boltons, led by Snow’s nemesis Ramsay Bolton.

The battle required many photorealistic horse and rider collisions, 3000-strong armies, a mix of close-ups featuring live-action and CG humans and animals and massive crowd simulations, as well as hundreds of assets: CG armoury, weapons, flags, saddlery, body parts, and environmental assets such as blood, mud, smoke, fire and mist.

Iloura was selected to work on the episode after presenting the show’s VFX Producer and Supervisor, Steve Kullback and Joe Bauer, with a series of tests presenting photoreal CG horses and riders colliding with other horses, rendered from various points of view. With Games of Thrones' huge fan base, its exceptional production values and the scrutiny that is placed on the VFX across the series, it was essential that Iloura prove its strength via its rigging and muscle pipeline and the robustness of its animation team.

“Battle of the Bastards is shocking in its audacity,” said HBO’s VFX Producer for Game of Thrones Steve Kullback. “More shocking still that we pulled it off and so much credit for that goes to Iloura. We are up close and personal in this battle with CG horses and collisions right in front of the lens and we constantly needed to review Iloura's shots side by side with the photography because it was hard to remember and even harder to see the difference between what was shot and

To meet the animation challenges, Iloura’s artists researched and reviewed video references of horse behaviour in scenarios such as steeple chases, jousting, racing and associated accidents to garner an accurate representation to achieve the shots. Witness cams of horses captured on set proved to be valuable resources for the animation team as they provided multiple angles of reference for the same actions. Further, Iloura tapped its large library of animated clips to quickly assemble a blocking pass for shots, which became the foundation for animation that ended up on screen. Overall, the animation work consisted of motion capture, rotomation and key frame for horses as well as soldiers, building into a library of custom interactions and motion behaviours that could be used for both close-up shots as well as crowd shots built in Massive.

The initial brief was for the Wildling and Bolton armies to face off and then collide, but once production began, it became increasingly apparent that more complexity would be required. Each army comprised smaller factions with custom armour, weapons, flags, banners, saddles, bridles etc. Further, every asset needed a clean, pre-battle version as well as a muddy version, a bloodied version and a very-muddy-very-bloody variant.

To achieve the high-density shots and photoreal quality required, Iloura revamped its pipeline considerably and integrated systems. Its internal publishing tool, BOSS, was improved to help with the number of assets, animation publishes and traffic going through the pipeline; Massive was integrated into the render and shading pipeline, and large sections were reengineered to allow for more control and flexibility, with the pipeline moving completely to Alembic with rigging, animation and lighting achieved in Maya, FX in Houdini and compositing in Nuke using deep pixel compositing.

Game of Thrones’ Battle of the Bastards episode aired in the US on June 19 on HBO. A VFX breakdown video can be found here: https://vimeo.com/172374044 Visit www.iloura.com.au

Marquis Launches Parking V5 Business Continuity for Avid MARQUIS BROADCAST has announced it will launch Parking V5, its range

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of Avid storage management products, at IBC2016 on booth 7.G05.

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Project Parking archives, moves and restores Avid projects and analyses and manages media to optimise edit storage utilisation. Project Parking is certified and supported by Avid and used around the world to help manage Avid edit storage. Also in the Parking range, is Workspace Parking: Marquis’ ‘set and forget’ disaster recovery solution for Avid workspaces designed to get editors back up and running in minutes. The Parking family of products backs-up and protects over 30 PetaBytes of both ISIS and NEXIS storage worldwide.

New functionality in Parking V5 includes the addition of Avid workspace synchronisation. Workspace Parking Sync synchronises production critical workspaces to different locations. This new process allows entire workspaces or selected folders on a source Avid system to be synchronised to workspaces in a second location. As the Workspace Parking Sync identifies changes on

local workspaces, it pushes these to the remote system, including all file creations, modifications and deletions. Backup locations can also be defined per job rather than per Workspace Parking instance and users can create an exclusion list of file patterns for Workspace Backup.

In the context of a major outage, Workspace Parking Sync offers the best value insurance policy against loss of time critical ‘in production’ workspaces and assets. It is the first time an intelligent business continuity solution has been developed for Avid shared storage. In the event of failure in a primary location, the editor can connect to an identical workspace in a second location and production work can continue without any outage. The client simply selects the frequency of the synchronisation typically 30 minutes based on available bandwidth.

Visit www.marquisbroadcast.com

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POST PRODUCTION

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POST PRODUCTION

All Aboard for MediaCentral Avid Technology CEO, Louis Hernandez Jr, talks to C+T about the progress of the Avid MediaCentral Platform, Apps and embracing the competition.

By Phil Sandberg.

WITH A RAPIDLY EXPANDING user base and partner ecosystem, the Avid MediaCentral Platform is an ‘open, extensible, and customisable common services foundation’. The platform provides a series of application suites, a marketplace, collaboration tools, flexible licensing and deployment options, resolution independence, third-party connectivity, and comprehensive solutions for content creation, management, and distribution. According to Avid Chairman, President, and CEO Louis Hernandez Jr, the platform has undergone significant growth in uptake throughout the APAC region.

third-parties. But, the best are probably going to be those that are developed

“I think in Asia, we have 35,000 or so total MediaCentral users, which is the big underpinning to happen everywhere and that's up 51%,” says Hernandez. “That's just booming all over the world. But, how people are using it and the degree to which they're embracing the full power of it is dependent on other components.

by our clients, by sophisticated folks who are convinced that the vendor

Is there a deadline, do you think, to make the change or be left behind?

“I don't know what the timeline is but I think if you already aren't in a major realignment internally, you're probably severely at risk, unless you're in a very protected niche or funded by a source that is not dependent on market forces, which is increasingly going away, I think you've got to be knee deep in some kind of realignment right now.”

And for Avid?

“I think the big step for Avid in the industry is to move away from the heritage of automating siloed steps because that was the most efficient way to do it, it's not. Just like manufacturing, just like all the industries I've invested in, they're all just – very similar attributes.

“You put together a repeatable process and you automate each step and then you try and combine the steps. This is what other industries have done, this is what the media industry is doing. And it's hard for people when you're used to going from step A to step B and you think automating each step is how you're using technology when, if you were to whiteboard the whole thing and the whole connection's digital, you can make it much faster and more powerful.

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through the app store many of which are ours directly, many of which are

What’s the progress of MediaCentral adoption throughout APAC?

“Once our clients get comfortable with running the heritage products, they start to explore what else they can do, maybe playout, maybe distribution, maybe an asset manager. They start to see how efficient it can be and the savings are real, they're dramatic for some of my clients. The economic reality in the media industry now is not unlike many other industries; when the rate of change accelerates, it becomes more disruptive, it becomes technically more disruptive and economically more disruptive and everybody's adjusting.”

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not going to surprise you that there will be thousands of apps available

“The question is ‘how does the industry make it economically sustainable also so we can create all the great stories’, and we can make it easier to distribute, but we need to have an economic way to sustain it. I believe there is one and it's through automating those things that don't make it unique.”

So, what is next?

“In terms of what's coming next, just picture anything you could want to do in a media company, from an individual to a large enterprise all integrated on the one system, all available through apps through Avid, whether or not they're ours or somebody else’s. And if you were to map that out, it's

community couldn't offer them what they wanted so they built it themselves.

They just didn't have a way to share it. I think those are going to be cool.

“I wouldn't be surprised if we're eventually launching hundreds of apps per quarter and, as you sign up to your UX, it just tells you all the apps that, based on your product, you may be interested in hearing about.

“I think in the future you'll have where, if you have a test environment, you could download the apps for 30 or 60 or 90 days for free, try it out in your environment in a test case. If you like it, you either buy it or we turn it off. It'll be a different world and this is the way everything's going.

“I want you to come on the platform, you look up Editor, you see six Editors, you choose the one you want, you can get them all from the app store.”

Who's likely to be next on that list?

“When we've certified alternates to our own product, it has been based on three criteria. One is market demand for new areas that we can be in the market for. Second is speed of integration and likelihood of success and, third, the biggest economic impact on clients.

“So, why Editors? Well, it's one of our key heritage products. Look at how much we dominated in film this year. I mean, we blew it away this year, we blew it away on every award piece, and so, obviously, we think we have the best editor. But, we know that we're not your best partner if that's all we cared about. We care about the whole thing. So you choose. Let each of us decide.

“With Avid, it has to decide where it actually wants to compete and it only wants to compete in areas where we think we're better. And if somebody else is better, we'll just have it with another preferred certified partner. So, those are areas we've decided that's not our expertise, let's just go get the best partner.

“And, where we do compete, it's because we really think we can add something of more value. We don't think there's a better storage system than us anywhere in the world. We don't think there's a better editor than us anywhere in the world, but we know that the editor's not the problem.

If you want to use somebody else's editor, go ahead because we're not a good partner if we're restricting you and we're not then addressing your big problem.”

Visit www.avid.com

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AJA VIDEO SYSTEMS has released KONA IP, the next generation of AJA’s KONA line of PCIe capture cards, and simultaneously rolled out a free v12.4 Desktop software update for KONA, Io and T-TAP which adds support for Adobe CC June 2016 releases, Avid Media Composer 8.5.3, and updated Avid DNxHR support in AJA Control Room.

KONA IP is and is already supported by content creation software and solutions companies including Avid, Adobe and Grass Valley. KONA IP works with AJA Desktop software, including AJA Control Room, Control Panel, and SDK tools. A founding member of the AIMS Alliance and participating member of the Aspen Community and Sony’s IP Live Alliance, AJA designed KONA IP to be a flexible platform that offers support for SMPTE 2022-6 IP-encapsulated uncompressed 3G-SDI video, audio and VANC data. Through future firmware updates and codec package offerings KONA IP will also support compressed codecs like J2K and advanced IP protocols including VSF TR-04, VSF TR-03 and more.

KONA IP features include: • SMPTE 2022-6 support, offering uncompressed video and audio, with support planned for additional IP standards in the future.

Flanders BoxIO Dual Channel LUT Box FORBIDDEN TECHNOLOGIES PLC, the developer of professional video editing software, Forscene, has announced a new partnership with Australian technology solutions provider, Digistor. Under the nonexclusive agreement Digistor will become Forscene’s first Australian service provider and boost the software’s representation in the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Digistor has supplied technology solutions to the VFX, post-production, broadcasting and digital media industries in Australia for over 25 years. They provide design, installation and support to clients including

• HDMI output for local monitoring.

Network Nine Australia, Channel Seven News, ITV Australia, Endemol

• Multi-channel input and/or output to read or send multiple IP-based encapsulated 3G-SDI video streams to and from software applications.

Shine Australia and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from

• Two 10GigE SFP cages supporting several standard SFP+ modules, for routing of video over IP and 10GigE networks.

offices based in Sydney and Melbourne. With many of their clients expressing interest in cloud-based workflows, Digistor was impressed

• Support for major third-party NLE, compositing and streaming applications.

by a demonstration of Forscene’s capabilities at NAB earlier this year

• Software compatibility with AJA Control Room and Control Panel software.

and proposed the partnership.

• Compatibility with AJA’s NTV2 SDK, for integration by AJA Developer Partners.

Forscene provides professional post-production software in the cloud

• Eight-lane PCIe 2.0 video and audio desktop I/O card.

Meanwhile, AJA’s 12.4 Desktop Software for KONA, Io and T-TAP is available as a free download and offers the following updates: • Support for KONA IP, Avid Media Composer 8.5.3, and the latest version of Adobe Creative Cloud • Ancillary data capture functions in Media Composer with KONA 4 and Io 4K. • Updated DNxHR codec to AJA Control Room and other capture plugins.

• Improved DNxHR capture performance.

• New Open GL compatibility in 64bit versions of AJA Control Room for enhanced performance when capturing and playing back high resolution and high frame rate files.

Visit www.aja.com

and has demonstrated exponential time and cost savings to clients in all video industries – including broadcast entertainment, news, and sports.

The software allows video producers to access centralised material from a web browser or app on any device and to collaborate from anywhere in the world using a full range of post-production tools. It is the only unified platform that offers review, logging, editing, and publishing entirely in the cloud.

Visit www.forscene.com and www.digistor.com.au

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KONA IP Capture Card from AJA

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MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & DAM FATS Digital Streamlines Archiving with Cinedeck and Digistor THE HISTORY OF A NATION’S BROADCAST VIDEO and film projects can only be unlocked through skilled preparation and digital archiving.

However, cost can be a barrier to bringing old media to new audiences.

Mike Solomons, Technical Operations Manager for Australian company, FATS Digital, explains. “There is a big push to digitise archive material because it is ageing and deteriorating rapidly, especially early generation broadcast videotapes which can arrive here looking like a roll of sticky tape.

“And while content of cultural significance and popular programming is often prioritised there are many film and videotape collections that remain untouched because of the cost factor. Our job is to make restoration and digital archiving more affordable and the more efficient we can make our workflows, the more cost effectively we can offer our services. In this case we wanted to build a dedicated ingest facility rather than tying up other multi-purpose workstation suites just for ingest, which isn’t the best use of our facilities.”

In response, FATS Digital selected a Cinedeck production server through local technology solutions provider, Digistor. The server also delivers improved economies of scale for film and video transfers by allowing more material to be digitally archived more quickly.

FATS Digital offers a range of media services including video file encoding/ transcoding and transfer, blank media sales, digital cinema services, DVD and Blu-ray authoring, media duplication and replication, graphic design and packaging. The company also undertakes the restoration of film and video using scientific dehydrating ovens and cleaning equipment before playback and conversion.

“Support from Cinedeck through Digistor has been excellent and the few times we have had quereis they were addressed essentially immediately,” said Solomons. “Our aim was to find a multi-port device to sit at the centre of a suite that could take signals from any of our playback devices and convert them into any format. All our clients have different requirements and we need to be able to effectively deliver files in any format without having to spend extra time transcoding.”

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & DAM

After 12 months of researching products and providers Solomons followed up on a Cinedeck webinar to request sample files for evaluation.

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“We needed to evaluate Cinedeck files for compliance, so we asked for material in many formats such as ProRes, DNx XDCAM and JPEG 2000,” said Solomons. “We were specifically concerned about Apple ProRes files as not all ProRes files are created equally when output from a Windows platform. Some Windows platforms create ProRes files that technically differ from those created in a Mac environment. However, the ProRes coming out of the Cinedeck systems behaved exactly like a file coming from a Mac-based solution.”

“What tipped the scales in the end was Cinedeck’s ability to directly capture to any codec and wrapper desired. It could directly ingest to JPEG 2000, ProRes, IMX, XDCAM or DNx formats while making a proxy file at the same time – simultaneously from four channels. Each of those channels could be doing something different. It offered full flexibility, so it was not just doing just one type of work. It could be doing HD JPEG 2000 on one channel and SD NTSC ProRes on another channel at the same time.

“Cinedeck also provided the flexibility to source audio and timecode.

Timecode could be sourced from RS422, SDI, LTC and VITC which is very helpful as some archive tapes are not in particularly good condition or recorded with a non-standard timecode arrangement. It’s the same with

audio which we can embed from SDI, AES or Mike Solomons, Technical Operations Manager, FATS Digital. analogue sources. All that flexibility also comes with RS422 machine control on all four ports simultaneously to enable us to set the in- and out-points on the ingests.”

FATS Digital worked with Digistor to order a fully optioned Cinedeck ZX 40 four channel rack mounted server, the first such configuration to be installed in Australia. They have also allowed for expansion to add further servers in the future.

The ZX is available as a modular build of Cinedeck software tool sets and hardware configurations to deliver cost effective, custom-built configurations to meet specific ingest, playback and transcoding needs for 4K, UHDTV-1, 2K, HD and SD. It also features the unique patent-pending ability to insert edit deep into any compressed flat file wrapper.

At FATS Digital the Cinedeck is principally used for digital archiving in a dedicated suite with four operators covering 14 hour shifts over five days.

The rack mounted system utilises a quad split on the output of the four channels feeding a 40-inch ultra HD monitor for full time video and audio monitoring. The finished file is then spot checked before backup and distribution.

“The Cinedeck is very flexible and we make settings decisions based on each task to ensure there are no mistakes. We don’t use presets as every project is different – even in same project there are variables,” said Solomons.

“While it is powerful we didn’t need a lot of training to use the Cinedeck as we understand these systems so it was more about simply learning a bit of theory and the interface which is based around a touch screen. In the end I wrote a detailed internal workflow instruction manual that was concise and included screen shots.”

Keeping multiple client projects on track using one system has not caused problems for FATS Digital, and Solomons keenly acknowledges the advantages of dealing with a small, tightly focused company in Cinedeck.

“Support from Cinedeck through Digistor has been excellent, and the few times we have had queries they were addressed immediately. At one stage we put in a third party GPU acceleration card to enable GPU-based proxy files – when this caused a problem the Cinedeck engineers wrote updated code overnight. They are also open to suggested modifications and are very forward in their help.

“Essentially we made our decision to invest in Cinedeck’s system based on the full suite of codecs and wrappers it could produce and the flexibility of the way it captures video and audio while providing full machine control.

It is a proven full, turn-key device and we are currently making changes to our setup to allow for expansion into another unit.

“Currently we are in the midst of five large projects encompassing digitising broadcast libraries, sporting archives, 16mm and 35mm film archives. We are delivering the content within South East Asia and worldwide for re-broadcast, publicity, publication and monetisation,” said Solomons Visit www.digistor.com.au and www.fats.com.au

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & DAM

Weta Workshop Expands Aspera Deployment IBM RECENTLY ANNOUNCED that Weta Workshop has upgraded and

that provides a centralised transfer history database, and detailed auditing

expanded its implementation of high-speed transfer software from Aspera

and reporting.

to meet growing demand for high-volume transfers of large 2D and 3D

By upgrading, Weta Workshop can now transfer multiple large 3D design

design and video files.

or video files that often exceed seven to eight gigabytes each in under an

Weta Workshop is best known for its design and effects work on film

hour. The speed of delivery is particularly important when the Workshop

projects such as The Lord of the Rings motion picture trilogy, King Kong,

needs to send alterations to production teams on set; Aspera enables the

The Chronicles of Narnia, Avatar and a large number of other blockbuster movies and television series. Over the years, Weta Workshop has expanded its business from traditional manufacturing processes to include digital

team to share 3D design files quickly and reliably with clients anywhere in the world, guaranteeing the files are always delivered on time.

The initial decision to deploy Aspera’s high-speed file transfer technology

3D modelling solutions for large and small-scale props, costumes,

came after a discussion with the heads of technology at sister company

animatronics, miniatures, set dressing and exhibitions. This is primarily

Weta Digital – an early adopter that has used Aspera since 2005 as a

due to technological advances in 3D printing and milling techniques.

Additionally, the business needed a way to quickly move higher volumes

reliable way to transfer large data files that are at the core of the visual

of video-based content captured by their behind-the-scenes team. This

effects business.

shift in production process required changes to their digital collaboration

“Aspera is the only trusted method of exchanging files with digital media

workflows, based on the need to move even larger assets and larger

companies. We followed Weta Digital’s lead and selected Aspera, and we

volumes of data between members of the design and manufacturing teams

haven’t looked back since. We’ve had a truly great experience,” said John

and overseas clients and collaborators.

McMullen, IT manager at Weta Workshop. “Plus, the support we’ve received

To accommodate the increases in file sizes and transfer volume, and

over the years has been exemplary.”

preserve the security and reliability of their existing file transfer workflows, Weta Workshop decided to expand its network pipeline and upgrade its

“For Weta Workshop, Aspera is the bridge that connects globally dispersed teams and clients, improving collaboration and accelerating the approval

licensing of Aspera Connect Server to take advantage of the additional

process so designs can be finalized and ready for manufacturing or

network bandwidth. Connect Server is used to quickly and securely send

use in production whenever needed,” said John Wastcoat, VP Business

large files from the Workshop’s New Zealand headquarters to production

Development, Aspera. “By deploying Aspera, they have essentially future

teams and film sets in the US, Canada, Australia and the rest of the world.

proofed their workflows with the ability to increase transfer volume, speed

Clients use the free downloadable Connect Browser Plugin to initiate uploads and downloads. The company’s IT team monitors all transfer

and throughput to match any increases in their business.”

activities through Aspera Console, the web-based management application

Visit http://asperasoft.com and http://wetaworkshop.com

ULTIMATE VERSATILITY OTT Monitoring Caption Compliance

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MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & DAM

Mediaproxy_Ad_Content_Plus_Technology_ANZ_July_3.pdf 1 20 Jul 16 3:05:22 pm

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MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & DAM

Quantum’s StorNext Primes Workflows DURING IBC2016, QUANTUM will showcase its StorNext platform

Lattus object storage, LTO tape and Q-Cloud services.

across the entire media life cycle. The company’s stand will feature

Xcellis has the ability to support embedded applications, which run on the system to deliver functionality while streamlining operations. During the IBC2016 show, Quantum will demonstrate this capability, the execution of applications via virtual machines, and how this approach both reduces the need for dedicated application servers.

demonstrations of content transcoding and delivery with object storage, the use of hybrid flash and disc storage in combination to enable frame-based animation creation and stream-based editing on a single storage system, and embedded applications running natively on high-

configuration of performance and capacity. The solution supports online work-

Quantum’s demonstrations will also focus on an Xcellis-based solution that includes combined hybrid flash and disc storage to meet the requirements of animation and visual effects (VFX) workflows. This takes advantage of flash technology to deliver the performance needed for frame-based animation workloads while also providing the connectivity and access essential to streambased editorial processes. Not limited to large sequential files, Xcellis optimises the way storage works so performance is high for both large and small files.

in-process, ingest and delivery, and archive through Quantum’s portfolio of

Visit www.quantum.com

performance workflow storage.

Quantum will also showcase its Xcellis workflow storage system and demonstrate how the converged capabilities of this solution empower users to boost their efficiency in delivering the products and services that drive their businesses. Based on the StorNext 5 platform, Xcellis facilitates flexible

EXEcutor Servers from PlayBox

Sonnet Reigns in Thunderbolt 3

PLAYBOX TECHNOLOGY (PBT) makes its IBC2016 debut unleashing its EXEcutor line of broadcast servers. Designed with broadcasters, production and post-production facilities in mind, the EXEcutor Broadcast Server range was manufactured and rigorously tested by PBT to meet industry exacting standards.

SONNET WILL BE EXHIBITING a number of new products and developments

The EXEcutor Broadcast Servers provide a customisable, robust and dependable

The new Fusion Flash Drive connects to any computer with a Thunderbolt 3

backbone for television stations, production studios, and post-production

port via a user-replaceable captive 0.5-meter Thunderbolt 3 cable. The device

companies. By providing facilities for ingest and media management, titling and

is also bus-powered.

graphics, as well as playout and scheduling, the EXEcutor Broadcast Servers can provide a ‘TV channel-in-a-box’ solution, or be configured to provide any combination of component services using PlayBox software. Resolutions from SD to 4K are all supported, including the ability to stream multiple channels

at this year’s IBC. On show will be Fusion Thunderbolt 3 PCIe Flash Drive, a pocket-sized solid-state drive (SSD) storage device capable of transferring data at speeds of over 2100 MB/s. The Fusion Flash Drive is an ultra-fast alternative to portable SATA-based hard disk drives, SSD storage, and USB thumb drives.

Sonnet will also show the Echo 15+ Thunderbolt 2 Dock, a docking station for computers with Thunderbolt ports. The Echo 15+ enables users to connect multiple devices to a central hub, and connect to all of them with a single cable.

simultaneously.

The Echo 15+ includes the user’s choice of an 8x DVD±RW drive, a Blu-ray

Also new at IBC is the EXEcutor Virtual Control Panel (EVCP), PBT’s own virtual

BD-ROM/8x DVD±RW drive with Blu-ray player software for OS X, a 4x BD-R/8x

control panel to complement the server-line. The EVCP Control Panel is web-based, DVD±RW Blu-ray burner drive, or a new low-cost model without an included optical drive (which can be added later) but with the option to mount an additional internal allowing cross-platform and remote management of all functions of the master EXEcutor Broadcast Servers.

drive.

Visit http://playbox.tv

Visit www.sonnettech.com

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & DAM

TMD Media Services at IBC

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DURING IBC2016, TMD will feature OnPoint, a simple and intuitive PAM

ingest tool for the flexible digitisation, capture, and management of content

solution for creative services and post houses. OnPoint is part of TMD’s

for broadcast operations and media owners.

range of media services products, which can be used as a standalone

Paragon for archiving now supports MAID storage systems and LTO-7

workflow solution for a workgroup, combined as a cost-effective approach

data storage technology, and Paragon+ for content management provides

to media management, or configured for a complete enterprise solution as

intelligent, media-aware workflow management. Each media service can be

part of a Mediaflex Unified Media Services (UMS) platform.

used as a stand-alone solution, or be combined using TMD’s Mediaflex-UMS

Post houses and creative services departments must be able create large volumes of content, whether this is re-versioning of long-form material or short form promos, often quickly and with sensitive content, which presents a significant scheduling challenge. To simplify this process, TMD’s cloud-native OnPoint production management provides workflows for the creation and fulfilment of lists. It supports the browse and selection of clips, restoring for edit, integration with craft editors such as Avid and Adobe Premiere Pro.

platform.

The packaged media services products are part of a revitalisation of TMD’s Mediaflex product, the new Mediaflex-UMS platform, which delivers the multiple benefits of a service-oriented architecture in a truly cloud enabled environment. Because Mediaflex-UMS can be fully virtualised, it can run and scale flexibly on premise, in a data centre or in the cloud.

TMD’s sales staff will be on hand to demonstrate the new media services products, Mediaflex-UMS, and the advantages of building systems architectures

TMD will also demonstrate the range of media services products designed

around intelligent metadata on stand 2.B59 and on BroadStream Solutions’

to meet individual business process requirements and the requirements of

stand 8.B35.

specific operational teams. Available media solutions include Aperture, an

Visit www.tmd.tv

AUDIO

AUDIO

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AUDIO Digital soundwaves

www.content-technology.com/audio

TVNZ on Sound Footing with Calrec FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, Television New Zealand (TVNZ) has served up an outstanding array of programming to Kiwi viewers – and for almost half of that time, the national broadcaster has placed its trust in Calrec Audio. TVNZ has just installed its latest investment in Calrec, a brand-new Artemis Light audio console and a Concord processor upgrade on the network’s existing Artemis Beam desk.

“We’ve enjoyed a long and successful partnership with Calrec, going back to 1996 when we brought in two analogue Calrec C2 consoles for our live television production studios,” said Paul Hedges, General Manager, Production Services and Facilities, at TVNZ. “When it came time to upgrade, we had no doubt the Artemis consoles would meet our needs.

“Calrec’s feature set, roadmap for the future, and fit for our productions continue to be very compelling. Plus, we really value the personal relationships we have established over the years with the sales, marketing, and support at Calrec and their distributor, Synchrotech. They have always been quick to respond when we have any support issues, and they’ve done an outstanding job of meeting our technical and budget needs.”

A government-owned national broadcaster, TVNZ serves viewers throughout New Zealand and other Pacific regions with daily news and current affairs programming, as well as a broad range of live and recorded entertainment shows.

TVNZ brought in the Artemis Beam for its news studio in 2014 as a replacement for the Calrec analogue consoles which had delivered almost two decades of reliable daily service. This was part of a strategic plan to expand production capabilities with a new Artemis Light console for a second studio. TVNZ installed the Artemis Light earlier this year for production of a wide variety of lifestyle programs, including live-audience comedy shows and variety shows featuring interviews, product demonstrations, and live music performances.

The Calrec consoles have doubled the resources available to both studios, enabling TVNZ to handle a line-up that would have required hiring additional personnel or purchasing extra resources.

The upgrade to the Concord processor has brought newfound flexibility and power to the Calrec configuration, enabling TVNZ to handle highly complex programs with ease. The network produces an audience-based show that required stems and clean mic splits to be recorded to an external device.

Steve Houston, audio engineer at TVNZ, works with a Calrec Audio console.

With Concord a complicated patch can be set up, tested, and saved for recall week after week, and yet at a moment’s notice the production can revert back to a basic show mode.

“The Artemis Light is a perfect complement to our existing Artemis Beam console, bringing flexibility and agility to our operation,” Hedges said.

“We can change quickly and easily from one production to another with zero downtime and zero patching errors, and the ability to share resources between the studios and save output configurations is invaluable.

“Plus, from our many years of experience with Calrec, we know we can count on absolute reliability for critical programming. Live news production forms a large part of the TV One schedule and it’s vital we have a robust production audio console. Another example is our twice-weekly live lottery draw in the other studio. There’s always a lot of scrutiny when people have a chance to win big cash prizes, and a failure on air would be a huge issue – but we have complete confidence in Calrec.”

“We have worked hard for many years to earn TVNZ’s trust, and the new Artemis deployments there are just the latest examples of how our technology can evolve to serve a customer’s ever-changing needs,” said Anthony Harrison, International Sales Manager for Calrec. “We can’t wait to see what the next 20 years holds for our partnership with TVNZ. Whatever it is, we know it will be exciting.”

Visit www.calrec.com

BAE Audio 500 Series Graphic EQ ANALOGUE GEAR MANUFACTURER, BAE Audio, has announced its new G10 equaliser is shipping. The unit, first unveiled at the 139th AES Convention, combines a punchy, transformer-based signal path with the versatile 10-band graphic EQ configuration and 2520-style discrete op-amps – making it suitable for tweaking drum or guitar sounds, or even processing an entire mix. It is available as a 500 series unit.

AUDIO

With 10 carefully selected bands offering up to 12dB of boost or cut on tap, the G10 is designed to offer a level of tone sculpting that can help any audio sit perfectly in the mix. The easy-to-use slider-based interface helps users intuitively visualise the EQ curves they are applying. Switchable high-pass and low-pass filters, tuned at 80Hz and 12kHz respectively, help make the G10 a truly complete sound shaping solution.

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“We had been asked by many of our customers to put our spin on the 10-band graphic EQ,” says BAE Audio CEO, Mark Loughman. “In keeping

with our pedigree, we did it with superior components and build quality, and combined that with an innovative implementation of input and output transformers in the path. As a result, the G10 is a versatile EQ that can do wonders to enhance your sound during tracking, mixing, or mastering.”

The BAE Audio G10 implements an op-amp like those used in well-loved ‘70s American boards. Unlike some other 10-band equalisers presently on the market, the G10 includes balanced input and output. The G10 also features input and output transformers that imbue any audio passing through it with a unique tonal character.

“The transformers give the G10 an incredibly tight sound that has plenty of punch without harshness,” Loughman says. “It has a colour and personality to it all its own and provides a nice counterpoint to the Britishdesigned BAE EQs that you probably already have in your lunchbox.”

Visit www.baeaudio.com

AUDIO

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AUDIO

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AUDIO

White Noise, Hot Sounds From a small Mac Plus studio at New Zealand’s University of Waikato to international feature films such as The Hobbit, District 9, Elysium, and Chappie, Dave Whitehead has been refining the craft of sound design for over 23 years.

C+T ‘sounded him out’ at BroadcastAsia2016.

By Phil Sandberg With sound design, how bespoke is your work on a project by project basis? How different your approach with each one?

Sound Designer Dave Whitehead of New Zealand’s White Noise Ltd.

“I believe you have to give each film its own voice. I mean, it's got to have an original voice and it's got to come from a place where you're not referencing another film.

“I'll get given a reference from someone and they’ll say ‘Have a look at this’.

And, then I'd look at it and then I'd try and throw it away, then try and use that as maybe something to spur me on and spur my own ideas on. But, I think they have to be different in the sense of – it's more fun for you if you make it different.

“If you're trying to find a new process, like trying to advance the technology, for instance, on Chappie, it was an interesting process. We had a digital character, a robot that is walking around, and we decided ‘okay, can we extrapolate data from the effects to control this character?’ And, we did.

“We designed an application. A friend of mine living in New Zealand, David Lawrence and came up with an application to upload a VFX text file, data file, and it spat back a MIDI file. And, so then we would import that into Pro Tools and that would be the data for one of his limbs.”

So, instead of an instrument, the MIDI data was driving a sound effect?

“Exactly. So, we made contact banks of, say, the feet. We'd have a content bank of dirt feet, for the metal feet, for little ratchets, for servos, for those little earpieces. And, each one of those came up as a MIDI track. So, the data was completely correct as it came from the VFX and so the motion was perfect.

“There was too much data, though. We had to thin it out, but that's an example of a situation with Chappie where we have a problem to solve which is we've got the printable character who is a robot. Let's try and use the actual data to make the robot come to life.

“The other thing I did was put a guitar pickup on the console to get electrical impulses coming from the faders moving and reacting to the MIDI. So, it was like the robot created itself.

Using MIDI like that, what sort of parameters are you drawing on?

“So, the VFX data, we asked them to limit the export to 0-127 which is MIDI.

of lions and pigs, and the like. How much have things progressed from those films to The Hobbit?

“As sound designers, you all have libraries. I've got the first recording I made which was rain outside my window that I recorded with a Shure VP-88.

I'd recorded stuff before that, but that was the first one that was a great recording - and a bumblebee - and they are still in my library with metadata and I can call on those.

“But, the fidelity nowadays has changed and, so, we've got extended frequency range on microphones, speakers have got better. The technology is changing and also, a lot of times, we were recording on DAT, 44.1KHz 16-bit, so those libraries are grainy, but still some of them are irreplaceable and there are some things that I still use to this day.

“We recorded every day when we were on those Hobbit films, in some way or form. If we're not doing it then, we're getting our assistants to record it.

We need some mud splats, we need some dry ice being rubbed across the metal, anything to get detail. Sometimes, we can add too much detail, but with a film like that you've got to try and give the re-recording mixers and the director everything that they need so that you're creating a canvas for them.

velocity situation. For each of the limbs, when the MIDI data changed direction to positive or negative, that's when you had a note change.

With those films being in 3D, is that a consideration for you as well?

“I'm actually thinking of putting it up as freeware. It's one of those things that a

“I guess it does once you see it in 3D, because a lot of times we're obviously just working with 2D pictures and once we had a screen that we could go and see it in 3D, ‘oh boy, are we going to need something extra for this moment’.

small market of people that would use it, but it could be of use to someone.”

You’re a Pro Tools user?

AUDIO

When Lord of the Rings was made, the sound designers made use of recordings

“Pro Tools is my canvas and I paint, but then I'm providing it for them to paint themselves once everything's in place.”

From there we decided whether it was an on-off situation or whether it was a

50

“So, this is where Dave will insert a dirty big ‘raaaaaar’, and you run away from the CGI dragon.”

“Pro Tools is my canvas. I've used it for years and years and years. It's just part

“And, of course, with Atmos being here now as well, we're starting to be more conscious of separating components that we want to be going into the top

of my work life. I don't have to think about it. It's an extension of my process.

speakers and moving around the room.”

AUDIO

So, is Pro Tools your entire toolset?

So what are you working on now?

“I explore a lot of options. I use things like MidiSynth and iZotope’s tools. I

“We just finished Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi called Story Of Your Life. He did

use anything I can to make the sound I need to make and I will explore. I have

Sicario and he's about to do Blade Runner. I'm working currently on Fedor

synthesizers, external ones, Midi Voyager. I have my old JP80-80 synthesiser.

Bondarchuk, who's a Russian Director, his science fiction called Attraction - at

I use whatever I can, but Pro Tools is the inbox for me. That is where it all

least that's the working title. And, then later in the year, Bong Joon-ho, his film

comes together. I don't have to think about it.

“As well as the synthetic sources, there's still quite a lot of original recording from original sources. I have a recorder everywhere. Some directors hate synthesised material as well. Neill Blomkamp prefers to have organic material and so we always try and start with organic sources. For Elysium, we had a Dobro guitar and a vibrator shoved between the strings swinging it around my head. That was one of the spaceships, the Raven. They was an original source, different pulses and vibrations, and it came up with an amazing synthetic sounding sort of a spaceship.

“So yeah, I record nearly every day. Its means storage has to be great and so

called Okja. He did Snow Piercer and The Host.

“So, all those films I'm working on from my studio and I've been doing a lot of international work from my studio which brings up the encryption question like, you know, and I have to say MediaSeal was quite amazing. That was one of the most secure methods I've come across recently, but we encrypt drives that we work on as well so that you have to put in passwords to open the drives.”

What's your feeling towards storage in the cloud?

“I'm not so into the Cloud, for that sort of thing. If the studio's providing that Cloud, right, then I think I'm comfortable with it. I'm not comfortable putting media up there. It's someone else's house, pretty much. I mean, if it's not in

we have, at the home studio, a 12TB RAID.

my house, it's in someone else's and whose house it is, I don't know whose

“That is metadata named, just full descriptions and all that sort of thing.

it is.

I use Soundminer as well. Justin Webster who has The Cargo Cult has

“The one thing I do like is this collaboration feature within Pro Tools. And

something called Slapper and Conformaliser, which has been huge for us. It

this is something new for me which I haven't actually explored it yet. The

helps us conform our massive sessions. But, Soundminer, since I've moved

Russian project, I'm going to start using it to send my 7.1 pre-mixes as work-

to my home studio which is where I work, I use that. I can search and find

in-progress weekly. And, I think it's going to be great for me to push a button

something. For a film though, I like to give it an original voice. People don't

and he knows that there's something to download and then he uploads it and

use stock footage in feature films, so, you don't want to use stock sounds.”

he's got fresh stems.

So, how do you approach a new project?

“First off, I will make extensive lists of the script, looking at art work, from concept art. You can make a lot of sounds from the concept art itself and I

“I mean, this is really cool for working off shore. I think that's going to change a lot of the ways that we work. At least, it's going to make things easier. I don't have to export all those tracks, zip up a file, send it, all that sort of junk. And, delivery. I mean, in the past it was using Dropbox, using HighTail, and all that

encourage, directors or producers to give me that stuff so I can actually start

sort of stuff. I just think it's going to simplify things.”

early planting seeds. But, you can write an effects list just off those and then

Dave Whitehead, along with Australian-born sound designer, Michelle Child, operates White Noise Ltd. Visit www.whitenoise.co.nz

when you see the film itself, then you start getting specific.”

Research Finds Audible Differences with High-Resolution Audio LISTENERS CAN HEAR A DIFFERENCE between standard audio and

Reiss. “Our study finds high-resolution audio has a small but important

better-than-CD quality, known as high-resolution audio, according to

advantage in its quality of reproduction over standard audio content.

a new study published in the June issue of the Journal of the Audio

Trained listeners could distinguish between the two formats around sixty

Engineering Society (JAES) by Dr. Joshua Reiss of the Centre for Digital

percent of the time.”

Dr. Reiss explained, “One motivation for this research was that people in

The meta-study compared data from 18 studies involving 450 participants

the audio community endlessly discuss whether the use of high-resolution

listening to samples of music in different formats. In total, the studies

formats and equipment really makes a difference. Conventional wisdom

involved over 12,000 different trials where participants were asked to discriminate between formats. Overall, listeners could distinguish between the formats, especially if they had been trained to hear a difference. This is the first time that formal meta-analysis techniques have been applied to audio engineering research.

In addition to training, the research suggested that careful selection of stimuli, including use of long duration samples, may play an important

states that CD quality should be sufficient to capture everything we hear, yet anecdotes abound where individuals claim that hi-res content sounds crisper, or more intense. And people often cherry-pick their favorite study to support whichever side they’re on.”

He continued, “We gathered 80 publications in the field, and analyzed all available data, even asking authors of earlier studies for their original

role in the ability to discriminate. Studies that did not show an ability to

reports from old filing cabinets. We subjected the data to many forms of

discriminate were generally more prone to biases or flaws in their design.

analysis. The effect was clear, and there were some indicators as to what

Reiss concluded that “the perceived fidelity of an audio recording and

conditions demonstrate it most effectively. Hopefully, we can now move

playback chain is affected by operating at a resolution higher than the CD

forward towards identifying how and why we perceive these differences,

standard.”

and better experimental design.”

“Audio purists and industry should welcome these findings,” said

Visit www.aes.org

AUDIO

Music, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL).

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AUDIO

Audinate’s Dante Controller 3.10 A RECENT UPDATE TO DANTE CONTROLLER brings new features for

and channel names, sample rate, latency setting and lock status.

end-users, allowing them to better manage larger networks with high

Version 3.10 also supports the new Device Lock feature for Dante-

channel-count devices while enabling Dante Controller to take full

enabled equipment, as well as end-user applications such as Dante

advantage of upcoming firmware changes.

Virtual Soundcard and Dante Via. This feature allows users to remotely

Dante Controller 3.10 software allows users to manage Dante networks

lock supporting Dante hardware and software devices employing a user-

from laptops connected via Wi-Fi. By connecting a wireless access point to

selected 4-digit PIN. When locked, a device’s configuration cannot be

a Dante network, adjustments can be made from any location in a facility,

changed until it is unlocked.

unencumbered by cables.

In order to support Device Lock capability, manufacturers of Dante-

The new Advanced Filter in Dante Controller 3.10 can be used to refine

enabled products will need to update their firmware to the new release,

the range of devices displayed, allowing users to narrow and refine views

which has been released to OEMs.

when managing large Dante networks. Filter parameters include device

Visit www.audinate.com

AoIP Consoles For All NEW FROM AEQ is the Capitol IP, an eight channel digital mixing console.

The control surface has been redesigned from the Capitol console with new silent buttons, more programmable keys and a new arrangement of the monitoring section controls. IP connectivity in the Capitol IP console is implemented through a single module with 16 input and 16 output channels incorporated in its core, however this configuration excludes MADI connectivity. The rear panel is similar to the former model with two pre-cut holes for both ethernet connectors. Capitol IP consoles can have a single multichannel access – IP or MADI. Depending on the client’s configuration requirements, the unit may be ordered with either ethernet connectors or the MADI optical connector.

Also new from AEQ is the Forum IP. Designed for on-air use, forum IP can incorporate up to 20 faders. Based on its predecessor, Forum, the re-designed control surface includes new softer switches, additional programmable keys, and improved access of controls for the monitoring section. Forum IP can be equipped with AoIP input/output cards for up to 64 input and output channels, and is compatible with the latest AES 67 standard through Audinate’s Dante technology. Using optional connectivity, the Forum IP can receive and send signals to and from other consoles, routers, and and other I/O terminal equipment from more than 200 manufacturers.

Multichannel connectivity can also be provided through MADI. Visit www.aeq.eu

NUGEN Launches Stereo Pack Elements Bundle NUGEN AUDIO RECENTLY ANNOUNCED its Stereo Pack Elements bundle comprising three products: Stereoplacer Elements, Monofilter Elements, and Stereoizer Elements.

Stereoplacer Elements is a pan control which allows panning of frequencies while leaving the stereo image intact. This allows improvements in any area of the sound stage with control that is simply unavailable within a traditional mix setup.

AUDIO

Monofilter Elements grabs hold of bass and secures it solidly within mixes.

Intuitive controls allow you to quickly anchor the bottom end while retaining the character and perceived spatial characteristics of a mix.

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Eyeheight AudioLoudnessSuite Plugins EYEHEIGHT RECENTLY ANNOUNCED an addition to its product range with the introduction of the first two modules in its AudioLoudnessSuite: the AudioLoudMeter and CorrectLoudWidget. The plugins are designed to operate with widely used video editing applications, allowing programme audio to be conformed quickly to European or North American approved standards. The new modules are being offered on a six-month free-trial licence.

The Eyeheight AudioLoudMeter is an audio loudness metering plugin which evaluates mono, stereo and 5.1 surround.

Also new is the Eyeheight CorrectLoudWidget – a loudness analysis and correction plugin. Target and true peak values can be changed according to internationally defined standards. For Europe, the EBU target is -23.0 LKFS and the true peak level is -1.0 dBU. For the USA, the ATSC A/85 target is -24.0 LKFS and the true peak level is -2.0dBU. Visit http://eyeheight.com/wp

Audient iD4 – Compact Audio Interface FOLLOWING ON FROM THE SUCCESS of the iD14, Audient has announced iD4, a compact and affordable bus-powered audio interface aimed toward singer/songwriters and on-the-go producers. iD4 includes one Audient console mic pre, AD converters, a JFET D.I, dual headphone outputs, console-style monitor control and Audient’s virtual scroll wheel technology, ‘ScrollControl’. ScrollControl allows the volume encoder to becomes a virtual scroll wheel, so users can use the iD4’s knob to manually adjust DAW hosts’ plug-in parameters, write automation, even down to scrolling through your iTunes library. iD4 comes with two features designed to simplify the recording process.

Monitor Mix and Monitor Pan. The Monitor Mix feature lets you monitor

Stereoizer Elements is a stereo image manipulation tool suitable for natural expansion, reduction and introduction of stereo width at any stage of the audio production process.

a blend of both iD4s inputs and your DAW playback, providing near-zero

Developed for and tested by professional audio engineers, Stereo Pack Elements adds natural sounding width and depth to any audio recording, mono or stereo, leaving the inherent character of the original source intact.

you to pan both the mic pre input and D.I input. Other features include

Visit www.nugenaudio.com

latency monitoring while recording. The Monitor Pan feature enables

USB2.0 bus power, 24bit/96khz operation and an all-metal enclosure.

Visit https://audient.com

RADIO The original broadcast media

www.content-technology.com/radio

MML Contract PAT to Rebuild with LAWO PROFESSIONAL AUDIO AND TELEVISION (PAT) recently announced that it has supplied, configured and commissioned a large LAWO and VSM system for the rebuild of one of Australia’s most iconic radio stations, 2GB. Phase two of the project will see LAWO and VSM technology brought online to replace ageing infrastructure for 2UE and 2CH. After a thorough evaluation process, the decision was made by Macquarie Media Limited (MML) to purchase a LAWO solution for all on-air studios, news booths, newsrooms, transfer booths, and MCRs for its Pyrmont facility.

The new MML facility will house 2GB, 2UE, and 2CH under one roof. MML required a complete rebuild of 11 services, including the primary 2GB, 2UE and 2CH stations. All primary services needed to feature fully redundant transmission paths that were independent to the LAWO NOVA73 redundancy.

The new MML installation was deployed with a VSM control system for overall core control – a solution that has proven successful for the control of LAWO NOVA73 core routers at SBS in Sydney and Melbourne. MML opted for 16-fader LAWO sapphire consoles for seven on-air studios, while the news and transfer booths are equipped with LAWO eight-fader crystal consoles.

The newsroom will soon be upgraded with LAWO VisTools touch screen terminals, which will include virtual faders and customised user interfaces.

Three LAWO compact frames and a LAWO NOVA17 will be the I/O backbone for the newsroom, combining virtual user terminals with more traditional I/O hardware.

including system wide labelling, DSP, talkback, and metering of presets.

Instead of an external intercom system, MML decided on a native Lawo intercom solution. With the levels of redundancy available in the system it

In the MCR, Macquarie Media Limited chose a fully redundant LAWO NOVA73 Star2 topology, offering two redundant LAWO NOVA73 core routers, controlled by a powerful and flexible VSM system. System flexibility was achieved by virtualising DSP resources on the LAWO Nova17 frames in MCR acting as both DSP resources and breakout I/O via VSM. VSM also provides system wide alarms, tallies, metering, and the management of apology rules in case of signal path failure. Macquarie Media Limited and PAT aimed for flexibility in the system design, while still maintaining user friendliness through a decentralised redundant approach.

became apparent that LAWO’s VSM intercom system was the suitable choice,

With a large focus on outside broadcast content, Macquarie Media Limited required an OB system that was built beyond the traditional limitations of fixed systems. PAT developed an advanced OB system, which was tailored for each codec to be permanently connected to an OB line while remaining within the same DSP footprint. This saw the system increase from 16 virtual OB lines to 68 physical OB lines, while still offering all the standard features,

providing the possibility to take an entire LAWO NOVA73 router off-line

using the LAWO NOVA73 Core routers for crosspoint control of the intercom, with user control being based on VSM software and hardware panels.

Patrick Salloch, Managing Director of PAT, explained, “MML decided on LAWO’s Star2 Topology at the heart of the system due to the extremely redundant design, which offers maximum security for the technology investment. 2GB, 2CH, and 2UE not only have an extremely large audience base in Sydney as many programs syndicated nationally. A fully redundant core infrastructure was imperative to ensure maximum up-time, while also during maintenance or upgrade work.”

Throughout the coming weeks 2UE and 2CH will transition to the new LAWO system.

Visit www.proaudiotv.com.au and www.lawo.com or www.mrn.com.au

Australian DAB+ Reaches 3.5M Listeners DAB+ DIGITAL RADIO is continuing to grow in popularity, gaining

“We included digital radio in the new Honda Civic because car buyers

168,000 listeners to reach 3.52 million in the five metropolitan capital cities, according to the latest digital radio report by GfK. Peak industry body, Commercial Radio Australia, said the numbers were helped by solid growth in in-car listening, with another 91,900 new vehicles sold with DAB+ installed during the first quarter of 2016.

increasingly expect higher quality entertainment choices in the car, and

“Over 30% of new cars sold in the 12 months ending March were fitted with DAB+ digital radio, and the good news is we are now seeing digital radio available in more mass market cars and not just in the luxury end of the market,” said Joan Warner, Chief Executive Officer of CRA.

a DAB+ digital radio in the first three radio survey periods of the year. Of

appeal to our market.”

The GfK report showed that 26.3% of Australians had listened to radio via these, 2.62 million had tuned into DAB+ simulcasts of AM and FM stations, with 1.42 million having listened to digital-only stations. Digital radio was most popular in Melbourne, where 1.17 million people, or 27.5% of the population tuned in, followed by Sydney with 1.11 million listeners, or 25.8% of the population.

Visit www.digitalradioplus.com.au

RADIO

Honda has become the 28th car brand to support digital radio in Australia, including DAB+ for the first time in the new Honda Civic released in midJune. With the total number of vehicles sold to date in Australia with DAB+ radio reaching 553,000. Honda Australia Director, Stephen Collins, said,

we felt the superior sound quality and extra choice of stations would

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RADIO

NETIA Integration with iNEWS NETIA HAS ANNOUNCED that New Zealand TV and radio broadcaster, MediaWorks, is working alongside Avid, NETIA, and NETIA distributor Syncrotech Systems to provide consolidated news assets on both radio and television platforms. MediaWorks is deploying the NETIA Media Assist software package throughout its radio departments. The solution will help MediaWorks streamline workflow, optimise management of its media assets across multiple sites, and improve productivity in bringing content to air and to digital platforms.

After seeing the Media Assist suite at the BroadcastAsia2015 show, MediaWorks invited NETIA experts to its headquarters for a proof-of-concept demonstration. Just three weeks later, NETIA held on-site workshop sessions at the Auckland facility and demonstrated the integration of NETIA Media Assist with Avid iNEWS. “Media Assist will help Newshub and other MediaWorks news operations units to streamline their workflow and take full advantage of news assets across their broadcast operations,” said Alexandre Martinez, pre-sales engineer at NETIA. “Using NETIA software in conjunction with iNEWS, MediaWorks will be able to reduce its reliance on manual operations, boost content transfer between its radio and TV departments, and ultimately realize an optimal return on its assets.”

NETIA’s radio automation modules cover the digital audio workflow, supporting production and playout of radio news programming. The modular structure of NETIA software makes it easy to integrate into existing

operations and facilitates ingest, editing, scheduling, broadcast, multicast, archiving, data security, and administration via a single user interface.

The new solution at MediaWorks will allow journalists from central and regional sites in New Zealand to connect to servers within MediaWorks’ Auckland headquarters. Media ingested and edited locally by journalists at regional sites will be pushed to the NETIA server in Auckland.

MOS integration of NETIA and iNEWS will enable radio journalists to work on NETIA audio assets from within the iNEWS client workstation. Media Assist tools, including a browser, player, and NETIA’s Snippet editing tool, are accessible from within the iNEWS workstation session as ActiveX plug-ins.

Any rundowns with audio assets created in iNEWS can be used to create audio playlists on Media Assist, which will manage playout.

Visit www.netia.com

Klotz Appoints Pacific Live Media for ANZ KLOTZ COMMUNICATIONS HAS ANNOUNCED the appointment of Pacific Live Media as its exclusive partner for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.

Pacific Live Media will be responsible for all sales and support activities for Klotz Communications’ complete product range including the recently launched DC 3 console, and the Touchstone controller.

“We are excited about the appointment of Pacific Live Media and look forward to working with Chris and his team. Chris has been in the radio space in Australia for nearly two decades and is very familiar with the market place and our technology. We’ve launched a series of products over the last 18 months which allow our customers to upgrade their VADIS system to the next generation of hardware and software. With his technical expertise and his knowledge of the radio industry Chris is the perfect choice to guide users through this transition,” commented Andre Sauer, General Manager and Partner of Klotz Communications.

With the recent launch of the DC 3 console and the new DX interface devices, Klotz Communications has a complete suite of products, which are backwards compatible with VADIS systems, and allow a seamless and gradual upgrade of existing systems without the need for large capital expenditure. The DC 3 control surface allows an in-situ replacement of older DC 2 surfaces, and the DX interfaces take care of the upgrade from IPX/SPX networks to the TCP/IP protocol. The new VADIS G2 engine and its interface cards are compatible with older generation VADIS technology.

“Klotz product has always been synonymous with quality and reliability, the large installation base and reliability over that period is a testament to their product integrity. It is an honour to be working with them in the region, and we look forward to engaging with the Radio industry as Klotz partner,” commented Chris Dredge, Managing Director of Pacific Live Media.

Visit www.klotzcommunications.com and www.pacificlivemedia.com

Lawo R ELAY Virtual Radio Mixer INTRODUCED AT THIS YEAR’S NAB SHOW, Lawo’s RELAY Virtual Radio Mixer software is designed to make maximum use of today’s laptop and desktop PCs. Taking advantage of computer virtualisation technology adapted from the IT industry enables RELAY users to pack an entire studio’s worth of broadcast gear onto a single PC.

RELAY software lets engineers replace physical consoles, and entire racks of accessory gear, using a single desktop or laptop PC – with significant cost savings. With RELAY, all mixing is done natively on a standard Windows laptop or PC. Its multi-touch interface gives talents a familiar way to mix audio, behind the scenes, software apps from RELAY partners supply virtualised codecs, phone hybrids, audio processors, cross-point routers, streaming encoders and other broadcast tools that run entirely in software, interfacing with the mixer via standard WDM or ASIO interfaces.

RELAY is aimed toward grab-and-go remote kits, field journalists, fast setup of

RADIO

on-location studios, webcasting, a replacement for ageing studio hardware,

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or as a permanent personal studio at home. Bundles include RELAY VRX4 and VRX8 (4- and eight-fader mixer) software, paired with a compact Lawo

OnAir 4 audio interface to supply mic, line, AES3 and RAVENNA / AES67 I/O. A heavy-duty RELAY backback with space for a laptop and other on-air accessories like mics and headphones is also included.

Visit www.r3lay.com and www.lawo.com

RADIO

Blubrry Partners with StreamGuys to Expand Audiences PODCASTING PIONEER, BLUBRRY, has partnered with StreamGuys to enable podcasters to expand their audience and reach through internet radio streaming. Leveraging powerful tools from StreamGuys’ comprehensive software­-as­-a­-service (SaaS) toolset, the new Podcast2Radio option lets Blubrry customers effortlessly convert podcasts into linear internet radio streams delivered to new audiences through StreamGuys’ robust, cloud­-based content delivery network. This increased distribution is complemented by rich analytics and statistics from StreamGuys that enhance the ability for Blubrry users to measure and track their growing listener base.

The new Podcast2Radio service provides a powerful new medium for distribution of podcasters’ already­-produced content, expanding their reach to internet radio listeners across an even broader range of consumer devices and platforms. StreamGuys’ alliances with internet radio aggregation directories such as TuneIn and SHOUTcast, further the field of prospective listeners, and increase the opportunities for podcasters’ content to be found.

“As more content producers adopt on­-demand podcast distribution, it becomes harder for podcasters to be discovered and grow their audiences,” said Jonathan Speaker, COO of StreamGuys. “With the Podcast2Radio service, podcasters can massively increase their distribution and multiply their exposure without any additional effort. We’re excited to partner with Blubrry to help their customers reach a whole new set of listeners.”

“Our partnership with StreamGuys makes it exceptionally easy for customers to instantly extend their reach through internet streaming,” said

Todd Cochrane, CEO of Blubrry parent company, RawVoice. “StreamGuys’ robust, cloud­-based infrastructure meets the high standards for reliability and scalability that our customers demand, while its extensive analytics capabilities bring additional value to our customers. As pioneers and innovators ourselves, we’re thrilled to be working with the like­-minded experts at StreamGuys.”

Taking advantage of the new Podcast2Radio offering will be straightforward and simple for Blubrry customers. Once users sign up for the service through the Blubrry portal, it will automatically turn their latest podcasts into a looping, continuous, linear stream through a specialised configuration of StreamGuys’ Remote Encoder Lite high­-quality, multi­-format encoding software. As new podcasts are added to customers’ RSS feeds, Podcast2Radio automatically adds them to the internet radio stream in place of older content, all without playlist editing or other manual user intervention.

StreamGuys’ analytics and statistical toolset also provides Podcast2Radio users with deep insights on audience growth. Access to StreamGuys’ SGmon live monitoring service gives podcasters granular metrics about concurrent listeners, while weekly SGreport emails provide detailed use statistics including unique listeners, geographic location, listening duration, and much more. Such data is invaluable to podcasters, particularly those looking to monetise their content by directly offering advertising opportunities to potential sponsors.

Visit www.blubrry.com and www.streamguys.com

Broadcast Australia to Update with Nautel Transmitters announced receipt of an order of four NX50 50kW AM transmitters. The order is the first in a master purchase agreement between Broadcast Australia, Nautel, and Sonifex to upgrade legacy 50kW transmitters throughout Australia. The order for the transmitters follows the recent deployment of four NX10 10kW MW-AM models as well as four NV20lt 20kW FM transmitters.

Offering 90% efficiency at 50kW operation, the NX50 reduces the amount of input power needed for transmission and facility cooling. NX Series transmitters, as with other Nautel models, are also designed for reliability, engineered to withstand the harsh environmental conditions that exist at many broadcast sites throughout countries such as Australia. The first four NX50 transmitters will be deployed to metropolitan and regional sites in

New South Wales and Victoria, replacing ageing Nautel Ampfet series from the late 1980s.

“We’re pleased to work with Broadcast Australia on a project of this magnitude,” said Sonifex General Manager, Karen Olliver. “We have supplied BA with Nautel transmitters for other, lower power AM sites and many FM sites across Australia. Nautel’s reputation for reliability, support and advanced instrumentation for monitoring and control is first class.”

“Broadcast Australia has long used Nautel transmitters beginning in the 1980s, and is a valued partner,” said John Abdnour, Regional Sales Manager for Nautel. “Upgrading to the highly efficient, feature rich NX series will serve Broadcast Australia stations for decades. We’re proud to continue our work together.”

Visit www.nautel.com and www.sonifex.com.au

RADIO

NAUTEL LIMITED and in-country partner, Sonifex Australia have

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CONTENT DELIVERY Terrestrial, Mobile, Broadband

www.content-technology.com/delivery

Ustream Looks to APAC Expansion HAVING JOINED THE LIKES OF ASPERA and SoftLayer as part of the

Speaking to C+T at BroadcastAsia2016, Scott Grizzle, Manager, Sales Engineering,

IBM family, online video and live streaming company, Ustream, is looking to expand its reach throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

with Ustream, said, “We are a complete OVP, online video platform, for both online

Ustream provides cloud-based video streaming to enterprises and broadcasters.

actually transcode the video to give you multiple resolutions, but then we also

The company streams live and on-demand video to about 80 million viewers

deliver it with our SD-CDN approach, which is a software defined CDN, where we

per month for customers such as NASA, Samsung, Facebook, Nike, The Discovery

have our own, and then we work with Akamai, Level 3, Limelight, Fastly, NTT and

Channel, as well as Korea’s Arirang TV. Ustream is part of the recently-formed IBM Cloud Video Services unit that combines assets from IBM's R&D labs and strategic acquisitions such as fast file transfer company, Aspera, cloud hosting platform, SoftLayer, cloud-based video services provider, Clearleap, and object-based storage software and appliance developer, Cleversafe.

At the heart of the Ustream portfolio is the open Ustream Development Platform

and for live and VOD content from ingest to delivery with our player. We will

KT Telcom, and a few more..

“What we’re able to do with our player is, it’s an intelligent player that gives us information on what the quality of the stream is, what’s the health of the stream and we do this player by player, so every player is giving us information to our logic server. If the player has any issue or a logic server sees no [work] issues, we will dynamically switch the CDNs. The viewer never knows we’re changing CDNs

which enables clients to create custom video apps to run video on any device

on them. So, a healthy stream will reduce buffer, but it also allows us to have a

and embed video into any application, securely and reliably. Clients can use the

massive audience on a single channel.

company’s real-time social sentiment analytics to gauge audience reactions to the

“Obviously, IBM has a big, decent presence down here, SoftLayer, IBM is

live streaming content. IBM is integrating Ustream's development platform into its Bluemix to allow clients to provide distinct video services to developers.

In addition, the Ustream portfolio comprises several video solutions, including Ustream Demand, which enables marketers to collect and automate leads into marketing workflows and manage live and on-demand videos from a single dashboard; Ustream Align, which enables secure internal employee communications; and Ustream Pro Broadcasting which offers live video streaming at scale.

developing. We want to start doing more work with Clearleap in this area.

Ustream always had Ustream Asia which was more of Japan and Korea in that aspect. We realised we needed to start moving down south. We have a lot of customers in Australia already, but we needed to start making a bigger presence.

We realised we needed to come here and get our presence known and see what the market is like and test the waters.”

Visit www.ustream.tv

Ericsson Provides Captioning for Aussie Parliament ERICSSON HAS SIGNED an exclusive multi-year contract with the Commonwealth of Australia, represented by the Department of Parliamentary Services, to deliver live captioning services for the Australian Parliament.

Ericsson will provide live captioning from its broadcast and media services hub in Sydney for all sitting hours within the Senate, House of Representatives, Federation Chamber and Parliamentary Committee hearings recorded as video.

The service will go live in August 2016, and will be available via the Australian Parliament’s online service.

Thorsten Sauer, Head of Broadcast and Media Services, Ericsson, said, “At Ericsson, we believe that video content should be made as accessible as possible – especially content that is of national importance. Our continued investment in technology and innovation and our unrivalled expertise in delivering the highest quality captioning will ensure we provide an exceptional level of service to the Australian public, a service that they expect and deserve.”

Earlier this year, Ericsson signed an exclusive contract with the New Zealand

broadcasters, ABC and SBS. In November 2015, Ericsson also announced a multi-year news captioning contract with ANC, Australia’s leading 24-hour multi-channel, multi-platform news service provider. As part of the contract, Ericsson provides captioning services for SKY NEWS-produced bulletins on

Parliament to deliver remote live captioning services. In March Ericsson

Qantas flights.

announced multi-year captioning contracts with Australian public service

Visit www.ericsson.com

CONTENT DELIVERY

Hisense Debuts 4k Wide-Angle Laser Television

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ON THE EVE OF THE UEFA EURO 2016 Final, event sponsor Hisense, China’s largest TV manufacturer in terms of sales volume, debuted what it says is the world’s first 4K wide-angle laser cinema television.

LED backlight LCD televisions now dominate the market, with their larger, more expensive screens. 100-inch 4K LCD televisions are typically priced at 600,000 yuan (approx. US$90,000) per unit. The laser television launched by Hisense

features 217 patented technologies, what Hisense says are outstanding optical engines, and high-resolution lens which deliver lightness and colour saturation achieving or surpassing those of LCD TVs. The Hisense television is priced at just over US$10,000 per unit, 1/10 the sales price of LCD TVs with same size screens.

Visit www.hisense.com

CONTENT DELIVERY

NHK Creates 8K Media Player with Blackmagic HyperDeck AS JAPAN’S RESOLUTION RACE continues to outpace the rest of the world, NHK Media Technology has created an 8K60p video media player, the HyperCUBE MHP-8000, using four Blackmagic HyperDeck Studio 12G disk recorders.

NHK Media Technology is an affiliate of Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), specialising in broadcasting technology as well as programming and sales. The organisation has built a strong capacity in developing non-broadcast technology, including broadcast design and operations.

Blackmagic’s HyperDeck Studio 12G disk recorder.

According to Kazuki Naito, manager of Business Development Division with NHK’s Broadcast Engineering Department, “Currently, 8K players on the market are very expensive. I’ve heard there simply is not the demand for it yet and there are complex ways to utilise the technology. I wanted to create an 8K player at a lower price to counteract these issues and hopefully get this technology out to the broader market.

“Our company has been originally focusing on video synchronisation technology. Using that technology and the combination of the 4K media players that are already available on the market, we were able to create one that could play up to 8K30P. After this first step, we were just about to develop a new one that could play up to 8K60P, and that’s exactly when

“Around the same time, SHARP released an 8K TV that has four HDMI inputs, which was very lucky for us. By using that TV, we did not to have to use additional converters, so we were able to keep the product price low,” continued Naito.

The mechanism of HyperCUBE is based on four “Sync Controllers,” which was also invented by the company to keep all four HyperDeck Studio 12G to be in sync. It allows the 8K player to display by syncing each of the four outputs equally by a quarter size of the screen. The operation itself is very simple as it is a fully automatic playback.

externally. HyperDeck Studio 12G could satisfy those demands and was also

“As for the connection, it is very simple since it’s only controlled by connecting the Sync Controller and each HyperDeck via RS-422. It was very important to make it simple and usable for anybody since we understand that there could be a situation that doesn’t allow technical staff to be involved: for example, a place for just exhibiting footage. That’s why I tried to design a simple solution that does not even have a power button and automatically plays when you connect the power cable and insert an SSD card,” said Ino.

very customisable. It is amazingly very well-made.”

Visit www.blackmagicdesign.com

HyperDeck Studio 12G was released.”

Hideo Inou, NHK Media Technology’s Engineer of Business Development Division, said, “Originally, there were not enough 4K60P media players available on the market, but our main concept of product development this time was to make it possible to create an 8K media player at the lowest cost possible. One challenge we faced was the need to have it be controllable

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I

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CONTENT DELIVERY

Imagine the Transformation Imagine Communications CEO, Charlie Vogt, speaks to C+T about the impact of IP-based technologies on the broadcast industry.

By Phil Sandberg Some three years ago, when Charlie Vogt left his position as head of Voice-Over IP infrastructure provider, Genband, to become President and CEO of Imagine Communications, it became clear to him, after witnessing the transformations in the telco environment with IT, SDN and cloud virtualisation, that the broadcast industry would go through the same transformation.

“I think the industry is certainly bracing itself for, not a technology refresh, but a technology transformation. I think that the internet and mobility and IP has created an environment where our traditional TV network and broadcast station partners have got to think much differently about their business models, and how they're going to market, and the technology that is going to be required to enable all that, we think, is going to be the focus for the next decade.”

On the subject of early adopters, what metrics are you getting back from the ABC-Disney IP install?

“The Disney win was a significant opportunity for us to really take what we were doing to transform playout in automation and be able to IP-enable and cloud-virtualise what we were doing with our own internal servers, automation, graphics and that's gone extremely well. It's created a lot of opportunity for us around the world. We've launched many shows and programmes in North America. We're now expanding that ecosystem across the globe and we're working with ABC and Disney affiliates in the APAC

global brands to be able to create that sort of consistency around the world.

But, it doesn't prohibit a local broadcaster or a local TV network or a service provider like GlobeCast to be able to move into that sort of environment for this region specifically.

“Over the next 12 to 18 months, I think this region is going to experience a lot of what we participated in with a lot of the North American companies that kind of helped jump-start things. I'm actually encouraged and I feel like most of the major operators and broadcasters in this region are certainly embracing change. I feel like they know that they need to embrace this change to be able to compete because prices are not going up.

“The competitive landscape is not getting easier. The business models are changing and they're not going to be able to compete based in a traditional SDI world. They're just not. This notion that every five years you completely replace your entire playout and automation architecture is a complete

and 2017 will be very beneficial periods of time for us because Disney

disadvantage not an advantage. And, we want our software to be deployed

wants to standardise on a platform around the world, which I think is the

and never leave the network.

right strategy. The economies of scale, the operational efficiencies, the level

“Now that we've been able to untether our software from the hardware,

of consistency and the ability to control more content on one common

companies can look at upgrading their compute server storage, independent

architecture around the world gives them, I think, a lot of advantages.”

of the software, and we can continue to enhance that software for years to

So, no unforeseen issues have popped up?

come. I think that that's going to be a significant advantage in the long-

we've solved them. Our latency between New York and LA is less than 100 milliseconds. Nobody thought that was possible and we were able to accomplish a lot of that working very closely with ABC and Disney over the last year. And, you don't move into this kind of technology environment with

CONTENT DELIVERY

“The power of IP and the power of software-defined networking really allows

regions and the EMEA regions and we expect that the second-half of 2016

“We've had all kinds of challenges over the last 18 months but, together,

58

Imagine Communications CEO, Charlie Vogt, and SVP Asia-Pacific, Joe Khodeir, at BroadcastAsia 2016.

term for broadcasters and TV networks and service providers, that we can continue to enhance things over time and not find ourselves in an RFP mode and displacing it and disrupting the network. You wouldn't do that with your Oracle SAP CRM – and that's what this industry really needs to migrate to and I think that will be the power long-term.”

technology that's working great in the lab until you're able to actually prove

How do you see the level of IP awareness throughout APAC?

it in a live environment.

“Two years ago, nobody was talking about IP and cloud virtualisation. Today,

“So, we've learned a lot. We've cut our teeth. I feel like it's prepared us for

whether they're ready to deploy it, everyone is certainly thinking about it,

a more global opportunity with other companies who want to move in that

everyone is certainly assessing it. Like any new technology, I think there

direction, so the learnings have been amazing.”

needs to be a phase of adoption and early adopters and reference counts.

Do you see those types of North American companies going down the IP path

“What we've been focused on is aligning ourselves with those customers

before their regional operations in APAC and elsewhere?

who want to be early adopters who have some trigger point, whether it's a

“I don't think so. I think everybody's in the same sort of environment.

facility change or a technology refresh cycle that aligns with them looking

The biggest difference with an IP software-defined, cloud virtualised

more aggressively at IP playout and cloud playout.

environment and the way these networks have been designed for 40 years

“I've certainly met with enough customers from each one of the countries in

is that you're creating, for the first time, a true homogeneous global network

the region, from Vietnam to Philippines to Myanmar to Malaysia to Cambodia

infrastructure that can be deployed in a very common architecture around

to Australia to get excited about the fact that it's not 10 years from now, it's

the world where you had all these unique instances in the way you deployed

not five years from now. In the next 18, 24, 36 months, I think you're going to

playout and automation in all these different regions.

see a pretty significant migration.”

CONTENT DELIVERY

What's your message to those broadcasters in how to manage that transition?

years ago that the industry was going to move into an IP domain and we

“Everything that we're doing is really focused on a hybrid solution. Today,

needed to foster those relationships with Cisco and HP and Microsoft and

it's really less about the religion of moving to IP and moving to a software

others, selfishly initially, to make sure that what we were doing from a

defined work flow environment or moving some part of their network to

technology perspective would work on those platforms.

a virtualised cloud environment. I don't think there are any doubters. But,

“One of the first things that we did 18 months ago was untether our software

nobody has an unlimited amount of capex and so, to me, it's how much

from proprietary hardware. It sounds easy, but it wasn't. And, to be able to do

you can afford to migrate on an annualised basis, the resources and the

that and still perform in low-latency environments was phase one, and I think

intellectual property required to make the transition. There's certainly

what came out of that was some unique relationships with Hewlett Packard

alignment with where the industry needs to go. But, then you've got a look

and Microsoft where we're taking advantage of their technology and our

at the different pieces, from the people pleasing part to the spending part

technology and an aligned go-to-market strategy to where we're leveraging

to the natural operational capabilities to transition so much of your network

each other's resources around the world to help those customers who want

into that sort of environment that it's going to create a hybrid environment

to be those earlier adopters.

for the next three, four, five years.

“I'm really excited about what we've been able to prove out in Microsoft

“I think every opportunity that the larger networks have to move more and

Azure's cloud. We've validated a lot of our compression technology, a lot of

more of their network to an IP playout environment, they will do. We're

our playout technology, our ad management technology. We've been able to

starting to see more and more hybrid SDI baseband and IP networking

turn up and spin up new channels and new services inside of Azure.

architectures being developed. So, everything that I think we predicted was

“With regards to HP, they've certainly put their arms around Imagine on a

going to happen is beginning to happen. Now, we're exiting some of the

globalised basis and we've got lots and lots of activity that we're working

early proof-of-concepts and entering into some of the first office applications

with them around the world. In Asia Pacific, there's a lot of instances where

which will, eventually, migrate into full-scale deployments.”

we're working very closely with the HP team to bring best-in-breed servers,

Moving onto your alliances with HP and Microsoft, what's new coming out of

storage, compute, Imagine playout and networking equipment into these

those relationships?

new architectures. I'm pretty excited about it.”

“The IT partnerships stem from the philosophy that I had two-and-a-half

Visit www.imaginecommunications.com

CONTENT DELIVERY

“I've certainly met with enough customers from each one of the countries in the region, from Vietnam to Philippines to Myanmar to Malaysia to Cambodia to Australia to get excited about the fact that it's not 10 years from now, it's not five years from now. In the next 18, 24, 36 months, I think you're going to see a pretty significant migration.”

59

CONTENT DELIVERY

Cloud Playout – ready today?

By James Gilbert, Pixel Power.

I BELIEVE THAT ALL THE TECHNOLOGY Is now in place for a real, premium cloud-based playout service. By that I mean something with all the functionality you expect of a best of breed playout centre, including the ability to take live and unpredictable events, to automatically add branding content, and fully integrated 3D graphics and DVE. The point of this article, though, is not to question whether linear channel playout in the cloud is possible. The aim is to start a debate on whether this is the right time for you to make the move to the cloud. So beyond the technology I will suggest the considerations you need to make before investigating a cloud solution. I will talk about the upsides and the downsides, and make some suggestions about when, how and what you should move to the cloud.

TRADITIONAL PLATFORMS The traditional playout chain, in most cases, is an assembly of best of breed equipment. Typically the broadcaster or service provider will choose the automation platform that best meets their operational requirements, then they will add to that the necessary hardware to make it all work: servers, graphics, switchers, audio shufflers, subtitles and more.

Building this is a significant capital cost, not least because most of the hardware (apart from the automation PCs) is bespoke broadcast equipment.

Designing and implementing the system is complex and testing is timeconsuming.

Support is a challenge, not least because it may not be immediately clear precisely where the fault lies, and therefore which vendor needs to respond.

Change control is very important: the possibility of an upgrade or change in API in one device causing significant problems somewhere else in the system is very real.

Finally, it is extremely inflexible. Such a system tends to be built for a fixed number of channels and a single format. If you consider that even today some broadcasters are still going through the process of migrating channels from SD to HD, which in practice means wholesale replacement of much of the hardware, and significant changes to the software in the rest of the system.

With this in mind, how can you protect a future that might involve Ultra HD in some form?

In a bid to overcome at least the high capital cost of a best of breed playout system, a number of vendors came up with so-called channel-in-a-box systems. This was always a slightly misleading name as they were never just one single box. Although the switching, immediate content playout and perhaps the graphics might come from a single rack cabinet, there had to be external devices for large-scale storage, scheduling and routing, logging and archiving.

I say “perhaps the graphics”, because while it was common for channel-ina-box vendors to offer integrated graphics, they tended to be somewhat primitive, 2D computer-style graphics rather than the rich complexity that we have become accustomed to.

Perhaps for this reason, above all others, channel in a box solutions have not achieved the massive penetration that was predicted in the early days. Its use is largely confined to thematic channels where the schedule is fixed and mostly repetitive, and where low advertising revenues preclude too much in the way of fancy presentation.

CONTENT DELIVERY

IP

60

But, all the while Moore’s Law has been at work, and the IT companies have been using it to vastly increase the power of standard hardware. Remember that the IT industry is significantly larger than the broadcast business, and the R&D budgets of companies like Intel, Apple or Cisco rival the size of the entire broadcast market.

So, we are moving to a state where much of the functionality can be accomplished in standardised hardware running clever, application-specific software.

This might be overt: Pixel Power has migrated its top-end graphics devices

from the bespoke hardware we once needed to achieve any sort of real-time performance, to software running on COTS computers. Other applications may be more covert: a video server remains a specialised piece of hardware, but if you take the front panel off the chances are there will be rows of enterprise-quality disk drives with a PC-based controller.

One of the key difficulties in using standard IT hardware is that it does not talk ‘broadcast’. Because of the nature of audio and video signals, we in the broadcast business have always had to create our own standards for moving audio and video content from place to place; such as SDI and AES. IT equipment talks IP over Ethernet.

Just as the processors have been getting faster, so too has Ethernet. Gigabit Ethernet is now absolutely standard in any computer you buy today. 10 gigabit Ethernet is widely available, and 40 gigabit Ethernet has moved from labs to practical implementations. These are data rates comfortably fast enough to move real-time uncompressed broadcast audio and video signals.

VIRTUALISATION If all the functionality can be accomplished in software running on standard computers, with content stored on standard servers, and all interconnections over standard Ethernet, then we are at the tipping point.

It means that we no longer need dedicated devices. There need not be a box called audio embedder, or bug inserter, or even routing switcher. These can all be software processes, and therefore they can run on virtualised machines, which are spun up and shut down as necessary, either in a server farm or in a data centre.

That data centre may be on-premises, either in what would otherwise be the broadcast machine room or as part of the enterprise IT set-up, or the servers could be in a third-party data centre, or in the cloud, where the operation becomes infrastructure as a service.

Infrastructure as a service is transformational because you no longer spend capital budget buying hardware to do a job. Instead, you pay for processor time and data storage, as you use it.

This has benefits both ways. If you are not using a process you do not pay for it. But if you suddenly find yourself with a peak in demand – perhaps a whole series has arrived and needs to be transcoded – then you can quickly and easily increase resources through extra processors to get the job done.

Some argue that, on that basis, playout is not a good candidate for virtualisation, as it is a pretty continuous processing load. I would argue that a well-designed playout system should be incorporating functionality such as creating new branding material and trailers automatically, which definitely results in peaks in processor demand.

The cloud service provider – or the internal accounting for your on-premises data centre – should map your use of processing and storage to your broadcast activities, so your operational expenditure should track what you do. But this also calls for a change in business model from the vendors of software-defined broadcast equipment.

We, as vendors, have to find a way of licensing software modules by use, not by the year or as a capital purchase perpetual license. This way all your playout costs become operational expenditure. This allows you to be very agile around trial services or pop-up channels, because you only pay when you are on the air.

MOVING TO THE CLOUD If the technologies are all now in place for cloud-based playout, then why are we not all rushing towards it?

The answer is that it is a major change and challenge for any organisation, and its impact is felt across all areas of the business: engineering, operations, finance, sales, production, scheduling, ingest and more. I will touch on just a few issues.

Clearly, moving to the cloud represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to change the way we do things. First – and this may come as something of a

CONTENT DELIVERY COSTING Remember that virtualisation and the cloud are not synonyms. Although the cloud is by definition a virtualised system, many will choose to run virtualised playout in an on-premise data centre. The difference comes down largely to a preference between capex and opex.

While the pricing of cloud services is transparent – AWS has a clear price list on its website – it is actually really quite difficult to predict costs starting from nothing. It probably requires a new set of financial modellers to make reasonably accurate calculations, and therefore predict the commercial viability of new services.

Another important cost to consider is moving content up and down between the broadcast base and the cloud. That means the installation of redundant signal paths, and almost certainly the use of a file transfer acceleration service like Aspera or Signiant.

Figure 1. Traditional broadcast playout.

In addition, you need to design into the cloud system a good proxy system to minimise the need to move full resolution files up and down. Each download from the cloud is costed by the gigabyte, and moving a lot of full-resolution HD files quickly sees the costs mount up.

It is also important to remember that “the cloud” is a broad description for services offered by a number of vendors, and already it has effectively become a commodity product. As such, the offerings of the major players will continue to evolve, and competition will be on functionality and cost.

There may be opportunities in future to move operations from one cloud provider to another to get a better deal. Your user interfaces in the broadcast centre, and your operational practices and workflows, will not change even if the location of the underlying processing and storage has moved.

Finally, a real and key issue when building the commercial case is staffing.

Moving to an infrastructure which is IT-based means that either staff have to retrain or you need to replace some staff. Given that humans are generally resistant to change, this can be a significant challenge and cost.

Some tasks will be outsourced along with the processing. Broadcasters will need to make a value judgement about the risks and the cost benefits of deskilling in this way.

SECURITY Logically, the big public cloud providers are going to recruit and retain the best computer security people in the world because it is absolutely central to their business. It is widely known that the CIA uses Amazon Web Services: American intelligence services are reported to have said it is more secure and capable than legacy systems.

But that level of endorsement does not necessarily stand up in the media world. Intellectual property contracts, often negotiated over many years, may well insist on the basis that the content must be under the direct control of the rights holder. Further, they may insist that if you hold the broadcast rights for, say, Australia, then the material must be held in Australia.

shock – we have to stop thinking that broadcasters are somehow different, that our challenges are unique.

Yes, of course we deal in relatively small numbers of very large files compared to, say, an airline which deals in very many more, but much smaller, data entities. But that aside, most of what we do is a standard set of processes. We need to move away from bespoke development and toward standardised systems overlaid with a good workflow engine allowing us to set up our specific requirements.

CONCLUSION

If you are considering the cloud, how do you choose a service provider?

There are no universal standards so interworking between vendors may be difficult. But that, too, will improve, with bodies like AIMS driving forward the adoption of common standards. It is in the industry’s broad interest to ensure that they offer the flexibility in workflows that will offer real benefits.

In general terms they know nothing about broadcasting, and that is probably a good thing. Your interest is simply in getting the best deal for processing time and storage space.

It means, though, that you will need to negotiate carefully around SLAs. They will not intrinsically understand our need for at least four nines – 99.99% availability – and you may have to explain this carefully and clearly.

This is not to say that the cloud companies are not looking to broadcasting and content as a strong future source of business. Amazon Web Services acquired encoder specialist Elemental late last year, for example, with a clear eye on providing tightly integrated services.

I have set out just some of the considerations you need to make when contemplating the cloud.

Today you are limited in your choice of vendors and cannot necessarily always choose the best of breed for your business. But that will certainly improve with time.

We are at the beginning of the revolution, and the economics are completely new. Until we have some practical experience to put into some sophisticated cost models it is not easy to work out the real cost. Cloud providers need to make a profit, of course, but they are competing over a commodity service, so in time prices will probably fall.

Everyone has to make their own business decisions based on the economics, the impact on staff and security.

Visit www.pixelpower.com

CONTENT DELIVERY

Figure 2. IP-based playout.

Inevitably these entrenched attitudes are having to change. OTT streaming, for instance, increasingly uses cloud services just to cope with the peaks and troughs in consumer demand and the needs of encoding and packaging. BBC iPlayer is the most popular OTT streaming service in the world: it moved to AWS a couple of years ago.

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CLASSIFIEDS + EVENTS what's on AUGUST

IBC 2016

SMPTE ANNUAL TECHNICAL

WOMEN IN MEDIA 2016

ABE2016 – EMPOWERING CONTENT

9 - 13 September, 2016

CONFERENCE 2016

22-24 November 2016

PRODUCTION & DELIVERY

Amsterdam RAI

24 October- 27 October, 2016

Aerial UTS Function Centre

www.ibc.org

Loews Hollywood Hotel

Sydney, Australia

Los Angeles, USA

www.questevents.com.au/women-

www.smpte.org/ATC

media-2016

TECHNOLOGY 9-11 August, 2016 Doltone House, Darling Island, Pyrmont

OCTOBER

Sydney, Australia

AES LOS ANGELES CONVENTION

www.abeshow.tv

29 September - 1 October 2016

NOVEMBER

INTEGRATE

Los Angeles Convention Center

CASBAA CONVENTION 2016

23-25 August 2016

www.aes.org/events/141

COUNCIL (NEMBC)

7 November - 10 November, 2016

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Sydney, Australia

2016 NATIONAL RADIO CONFERENCE

Studio City Macau

http://integrate-expo.com

Friday 7 October, 2016

BEIJING INTERNATIONAL RADIO,

Melbourne Convention

NAB SHOW NEW YORK 2016

Sydney, Australia

TV & FILM EXHIBITION (BIRTV)

& Exhibition Centre

9 November- 10 November, 2016

www.nembc.org.au

24-27 August, 2016

www.commercialradio.com.au

Javits Convention Center

Sydney Showground, Olympic Park

CIEC, Beijing, China

www.birtv.com BROADCAST INDONESIA 31 August - 3 September

IEEE BROADCAST SYMPOSIUM 12 October- 14 October, 2016 Hartford Marriot Downtown

Jakarta International Expo, Indonesia

Hartford, CT, USA

www.broadcast-indonesia.com

http://bts.ieee.org/

SEPTEMBER ASTRA 2016 CONFERENCE 6 September, 2016

broadcastsymposium BROADCAST INDIA 2016 20 October- 22 October, 2016

The Star Event Centre

Bombay Exhibition Centre

Pyrmont, Sydney, Australia

www.broadcastindiashow.com

http://astra.org.au/conference

NATIONAL ETHNIC AND MULTICULTURAL BROADCASTERS

25 - 27 November 2016

www.casbaa.com/event/cc16

Novotel Central

New York, USA

DECEMBER

www.ccwexpo.com

IABM ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL

2016 CBAA CONFERENCE

BUSINESS CONFERENCE AND

10-13 November, 2016

AWARDS 2016

Pullman Hotel, Albert Park

1 December- 2 December, 2016

Melbourne, Australia

www.theiabm.org

www.cbaa.org.au/conference

SIGGRAPH ASIA 2016

SCREEN FOREVER CONFERENCE

5 December-8 December, 2016

15-17 November, 2016

The Venetian Macao

Crown Conference Centre

Macao SAR, China

Melbourne, Australia

https://sa2016.siggraph.org

SPORTSCASTING, NEWS &

https://screenproducers.org.au

LIVE PRODUCTION EXPO

INTER BEE 2016

7 December- 9 December, 2016

26-27 October, 2016

16 November- 18 November, 2016

Shanghai New International Expo

Centre at CentralWorld

Etihad Stadium, Docklands

Makuhari Messe

Centre

Bangkok, Thailand

Melbourne, Australia

Tokyo, Japan

Shnaghai, China

www.casbaa.com/event/tiv2016

www.sportscasting.com.au

www.inter-bee.com/en/

www.gixnabshow.com

CASBAA – THAILAND IN VIEW 2016 6 September, 2016 Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention

ABE2016

NAB GIX

AUGUST 9 –11 DOLTONE HOUSE, DARLING ISLAND, PYRMONT, SYDNEY To register, visit www.abeshow.tv

Empowering Content Production & Delivery Technology

Advertiser Index CLASSIFIEDS + EVENTS

ABE Show 2016...............................IFC

64

AJA…………………………………………..3

F u j i n o n F i j i f i l m ……………62,63

Magna Systems & Engineering….17

Redwood’sTechnologySolutions….39

IHSE GmbH Asia Pacific………………8

Media Proxy…………………………….45

Rohde & Schwarz………...................57

Imagine Communications……………35

On Air Solutions…………………….10,43

Amber Technology………………….41

IRT Communications………………..12

ARRI……………………………………....IBC

Jands………………………………………..49

SAVE THE DATES

Blackmagic Design............................ 5

Lawo………………………………………29

EMC………………………………………..47

Lumina Broadcast Systems………31

AUGUST 9 –11 The ABESHOW is moving

Pacific Live Media……………….37,55 Professional Audio & Television……OBC Pacific Live Media............................17

Ross Video………………………………..18 SnellAdvancedMedia.............. 32,33 Techtel……………………………….….7

TekInSite……………………………….….22 2016 ABESHOW Quinto Communications……....…….9 Vizrt……………………………….….23 Exhibitors include Quantum….........................................21

4 Amber Technology

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