Content+Technology ANZ May-June 2013 by Content+Technology

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VOLUME 11 ISSUE 3 MAY/JUNE 2013

MEDIA + PRODUCTION + MANAGEMENT + DELIVERY

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STRATEGY PLAYS OUT

PREVIEW

ISSN 1448-9554

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B e c a u s e

i t

m a t t e r s .™

VOLUME 11 ISSUE 3 MAY/JUNE 2013

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

Cover Story – MediaHub Strategy Plays Out

54 REGULARS 02 03

EDITOR’S WELCOME NEWS Broadcast ONE Buying Gencom, New CEO for Virgin Media, New Chair for NBN Co., EVS Expands Management Team

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CLASSIFIEDS AND EVENTS OFF-AIR TIME SHIFTER Daddy Cool Takes Flight with Restored Eagle Rock

TAKING STOCK Spectrum Auction Results, Recruitment Industry News, Belden’s New Business Segments, Kodak Settles with KPP

FEATURES 18

BROADCASTASIA PREVIEW Conference

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & DAM NFSA Takes DFT’s Scanity for 16mm,

RADIO SBS Takes It Outside, DAB+ Radio

Preview

ACQUISITION To 4K or Not 4K?, JVC 750 Review, Sony on Heard Island

POST-PRODUCTION Animation Meets

AUDIO TVNZ Improves Workflow with Calrec, NUGEN Loudness for SCA, Adobe Integrates TC

SPORTSCASTING Ten Gets Winter Games, Glasgow 2014 Diaries Part 3, Global Picks Up Sony Cams, AFL Goes Live with Dejero

on the Road, Radio Traﬃc in Thailand, Technology Updates

NEWS OPERATIONS CNN Teams with TNN, IP from VizRT and Chyron, Importance of Video Grows for Online News

NAB DAM Round-Up

TRANSMISSION Adaptive Bitrate Streaming to the Rescue, AmberFin and Venera QC Collaboration

Post, Avid Media Composer 7, Future Reality Opens Adobe Lab

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

SUB-EDITOR: Keith Ford PRODUCTION MANAGER: Lucy Salmon Tel: +61-(0)29211 8205 production@broadcastpapers.com DESIGN & LAYOUT: Wide Open Media Tel: +61-2-9690 2835 info@wideopenmedia.com.au PRINTING: Pegasus, Sydney 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

4K – More Than OK? By Phil Sandberg ASIDE FROM CLOUD TECHNOLOGIES, the buzz at this year’s National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas was 4K and the ecosystem of technologies that has started to form around this higher resolution production and delivery format. The 4K fire was sparked by certain camera manufacturers not so long ago with new fuel being added recently by their consumer electronics cousins in the form of new, higher resolution displays which, unlike HDTV displays before them, have already been subject to a descending price curve. Upon debut, Sony’s BRAVIA KD-84X9000 4K 84-inch TV retailed for around USD$25,000. At NAB, the company showed oﬀ its XBR-55X900A (55-inch) and XBR-65X900A (65-inch) 4K Ultra HD LED TVs priced at USD$4,999 and $6,999. The company also announced a 4K Media Player, the FMP-X1, and a U.S. video distribution service. The FMP-X1 4K Media Player comes bundled with 10 feature films and video shorts in 4K resolution for USD$699. Later this year, users of the same 4K Media Player will be given access to a fee-based video distribution service oﬀering a library of 4K titles from Sony Pictures Entertainment and other notable production houses. Meanwhile in Korea, the LG UD 3D TV, also 84-inch, launched at 25 million won, or around USD$22,000. At its Australian launch, the price was just over USD$16,000. For its part, Samsung has launched the 85-inch S9 which can not only display 4K resolution material, but also features voice recognition (understanding around 300 commands), social media feeds, YouTube, Skype, web browsing, third party apps and integrated sports content – all for a pricier USD$40,000.

By way of example (and in no particular order): Utah Scientific announced an extension to its UTAH-100/UDS routing switcher family with a new range of routing switchers oﬀering 6 Gbps UHD-SDI signal capabilities to support new 4K signal formats (both

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Leader Instruments announced that its LV5330 multi-SDI monitor has added support for the S-Log gamma correction system used in Sony’s F65 digital cinematography camera (8K sensor chip with 4K output); Orad next generation video graphics platform, the HDVG4, can generate 4K signal as well as HD 1080i, SD, and IP stream output, automatically taking into account the diﬀerent aspect ratios and formats; and Snell’s Kahuna 360 multi-format switcher can now accept incoming 4K UHDTV feeds, mix them with 1080p and output as either 4K or 1080p. And that is just a few of the vendors with an eye on a possible 4K future.

4K - A GAME CHANGER? While there is no doubt that HDTV is going to be around for some time to come. Globally, after all, the process of analogue to digital switchover is far from complete and, while 4K is a more realistic upgrade destination for broadcast facilities than, say, 3DTV, it will take a back seat until the current migration is well and truly bedded down. However, could 4K be enough of a driver to prompt a change in a country’s broadcast transmission standards? Korea’s KBS has been broadcasting a DVB-T2 6MHz channel from its Kwanak transmitter site in Seoul, carrying a 4K UHDTV service at 36.5Mbps. The HEVC encoder output is fed to Enensys’ T2 Gateway and then to the Enensys NetMod modulator for reception by DVB-T2 receivers and display on 4K UHDTV panels. C+T spoke to KBS representatives at this year’s ABU Digital Symposium in Kuala Lumpur who stated that the broadcasts could not have been conducted using ATSC, the U.S. DTV transmission standard adopted by Korea and championed by its CE receiver manufacturers.

With the acquisition and display parts of the 4K delivery chain falling into place, a number of manufacturers used NAB 2013 to demonstrate they are ready to fill the gaps in that chain.

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single- and multi-link) used in ultra-high-definition (UHD) TV production;

With the ATSC standards process yet to address 4K, the question is could the commercial imperative of receivers manufacturers be enough to sway broadcasters in the country to consider a move away from the U.S. standard? Time will tell. Thanks for reading Phil Sandberg Editor/Publisher papers@broadcastpapers.com T: +61-(0)2-9211 8205

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

BROADCAST ONE, one of South-East Asia’s premier RF broadcast and communication Systems Integration companies, is to acquire the shares of all companies in the Gencom Technology Group.

Oz Govt Loan for New ABC Melbourne HQ THE AUSTRALIAN MINISTER for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has announced that the Government will

The Gencom Technology Group includes operations based

support the construction of a new Melbourne

in Auckland, New Zealand; Sydney, Australia; Singapore; and

headquarters for the Australian Broadcasting

Johannesburg, South Africa.

Corporation (ABC).

Under the new ownership, the Gencom Group operation will remain

“Subject to approval of Parliament, the

essentially unchanged and continue to oﬀer products and system

Government will provide the ABC with a loan

integration across the APAC region. The two companies will continue to

of $90 million to assist the construction of

operate independently.

a purpose-built facility at Southbank, Melbourne,” Senator Conroy said.

According to Broadcast ONE owner and CEO, Darren Kirsop-Frearson,

“The new headquarters will house the ABC’s radio, television and digital

Minister Conroy, “The new facility will help the ABC meet its needs into the future.”

“The acquisition meshes perfectly with our plans to expand across the

production operations, as well as its broadcasting and support services.

APAC region and provide a well-rounded solutions oﬀering.”

“The ABC is currently spread across three sites in Melbourne: two at

Outgoing Gencom CEO, Ray Sanders, said, “I look forward to seeing

Elsternwick and one in Southbank. By consolidating operations, it will allow

Gencom proceed under new leadership and I will be working alongside

the ABC to achieve operational savings and productivity benefits.”

Darren to assist him in his new endeavours.”

The Government’s loan will support the construction and fit-out costs of the

Visit www.broadcastone.com.au and www.gencom.com

new facility. The ABC will fund the remaining project costs from its existing resources and will repay the loan by 2020-21.

NEWS + PEOPLE

Broadcast ONE to Acquire Gencom Technology

NEWS + PEOPLE

EVS Expands Management Team

Tom Mockridge to Become CEO of Virgin Media LIBERTY GLOBAL, INC. (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK) has selected Tom Mockridge to become CEO of Virgin Media Inc. (NASDAQ: VMED; LSE: VMED) upon the closing of its proposed acquisition of Virgin Media. Mr. Mockridge has served in several senior management roles over the course of more than two decades with News Corporation, most recently Chief Executive of News International. Mr. Mockridge will succeed Neil Berkett, who will retire after the closing of the transaction. As CEO of Virgin Media after the closing, Mr. Mockridge will report to Mike Fries, as well as to a newly formed operating committee comprised of Mr.Fries, Diederik Karsten, Executive Vice President, European Broadband Operations, and Balan Nair, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Oﬃcer.

EVS HAS APPOINTED three new senior members of staﬀ to further expand its global senior team. Henry Alexander has been appointed as senior vice president entertainment and news division. Stephane Jauroyou joins as EVS’ VP of sales for the Asia-Pacific region, excluding China, and Robin Adams comes on board as VP Channel for EMEA. Jauroyou, a former EVS employee, will be responsible for reinforcing EVS’ sales operations in the Asia Pacific region. With over fifteen years experience in the media and entertainment industry, he will be responsible for further establishing EVS’ presence in the APAC region. Henry Alexander, meanwhile, joined EVS in 1997 as area sales manager for Benelux and now rejoins EVS as part of its executive committee. He’ll be in charge of product management and business development in EVS’ entertainment and news markets. Lastly, Robin Adams joined EVS in February. His role is to build and maintain strong relationships with key system integrators across EMEA with a focus on the TV Entertainment, News and Media market segments.

Visit www.lgi.com

Visit www.evs.tv

Digistor Appoints Palmer as Training Centre Manager

Conroy Appoints Murdoch Associate to Chair NBN Co

DIGITAL MEDIA INTEGRATION SPECIALIST, Digistor Pty Ltd, has appointed Sarah Palmer as Manager of the Digistor Training Centre. The Digistor Training Centre provides an extensive list of classroom-style training at the company’s facilities in Sydney and in other states, plus training at customers’ own premises customised to specific needs.

THE AUSTRALIAN MINISTER for Broadband, Communications and

With over sixteen years digital media business experience, Sarah is poised to grow and develop Digistor’s Training Centre course and service oﬀerings. Sarah previously worked for Adimex as Operations Manager and left the industry in 2006 to pursue creative pursuits.

This is despite Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation being identified with a lack of diversity in the Australian media via the Convergence Review and Independent Media Inquiry, which culminated in the Labor Government’s failed media reform legislation.

Sarah’s experience includes introducing the CINEMA 4D product range to the Australian market through Adimex and working on the Australian launch of many digital media products. She has owned or managed a number of businesses in retail and distribution.

Ms McKenna has already served on the board of NBN Co for three years. She is also a director on the board of Ten Network Holdings, DMG Radio Australia, Illyria Pty Ltd and the Australian Ballet.

the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, and the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Senator Penny Wong, have announced that Siobhan McKenna has been appointed Chair of NBN Co.

Courses and customised training is now oﬀered for Adobe products; MAXON CINEMA 4D; Autodesk Smoke,3ds Max, Maya and Mudbox; Avid Media Composer and ProTools, Nuke, Apple Final Cut and more. Digistor’s newly refurbished Training Centre located in Artarmon will be the venue for in-house Sydney training courses with seminars and a selection of courses to be held in other states on demand. Visit www.digistor.com.au

Illyria Pty Ltd is the investment company set up by Lachlan Murdoch, which owns 50% of DMG Radio Australia. Murdoch is currently a Director of Network Ten, Executive Chairman of DMG Radio Australia, and on the board of News Corporation. The three-year term of the current Chair, Mr Harrison Young expired on 14 March 2013. Mr Young has decided not to stand for reappointment. Visit www.nbnco.com.au

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SmartView Duo is the perfect compact SDI rack monitoring system for post production, broadcast or live events. It features two beautiful 8” LCD screens which can be remotely adjusted via ethernet. It even includes tally. What’s more, it easily handles SD, HD and 3 Gb/s SDI video formats.

Greater SDI compatibility You can rely on SmartView Duo to support multiple SDI video standards, including SD, HD and 3 Gb/s SDI formats. It was designed to meet the needs of both broadcast and post production professionals. On top of this, it supports advanced video formats like 1080p HD and 2K SDI.

SDI monitoring everywhere you need it SmartView Duo lets you build your own master control room to monitor all cameras for live production. Use it in editing desks to display all your video sources. Incredibly compact, it’s also great for broadcast vans. You can even install SmartView Duo into portable monitor racks to build lightweight ﬂyaway kits. Intelligent Ethernet control Forget about using little screwdrivers in an attempt to match all your monitors. Now you can conveniently adjust and match every monitor remotely from your laptop or desktop. Simply connect SmartView Duo to your ethernet network and use the included Mac or PC software.

Mount it anywhere in racks SmartView Duo can be mounted anywhere in equipment racks, even in the extreme top. That’s because SmartView Duo rotates completely upside down for optimum viewing angle. It will instantly sense the screen rotation and automatically ﬂip the images without any need for adjustment.

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NEWS + PEOPLE

ASIA NEWS CHINA TSL PROFESSIONAL Products Ltd. (PPL), has recently made sales to Beijing TV (BTV), the Chinese government owned-and-operated television station, and Shanghai Media Group (SMG). BTV has installed six PAM2 MK2 Audio Monitoring Units in its production facilities, while SMG has taken delivery of five Touchmix Combo Systems, which are to be used as backup solutions for each studio’s main audio consoles. Visit www.tsl.co.uk

INDIA TV5 NEWS has installed the Teranex 2D Processors at its Hyderabad head oﬃce in Andhra Pradesh, India, for PAL to NTSC standards conversion, aspect ratio conversion and colour matching. Transmission in India is over a PAL SD SDI embedded signal, however TV5 also has an NTSC playout feed for the US. Visit www.blackmagicdesign.com

THAILAND LOCATED IN Nakorn si Thammarat, Thailand, Walailak is a public university that oﬀers programs ranging from medical science to arts. The University recently installed a Ross Video Carbonite 1M Production Switcher for classroom training and broadcasting. The Ross Carbonite switcher is being used in Walailak University’s broadcasting program. Visit www.rossvideo.com

MALAYSIA KUALA LUMPUR-BASED broadcaster, Measat Broadcast Network System Sdn Bhd, has appointed SALZBRENNER STAGETEC Media Academy as consultants to support their switch from level-based loudness management to loudness metering based on the ITU 1770 standard for their Astro Pay-TV channels. Visit www.stagetec.com

SINGAPORE ACTUS DIGITAL has announced that Singapore-based pay TV operator, StarHub, is now using the enterprise Actus platform for recording and monitoring of channels. Prior to Actus, StarHub had been using DVDs to capture and analyse broadcast content, a system that proved resource-intensive.

NEWS + PEOPLE

Visit www.actusdigital.com

KOREA

HONG KONG HONG KONG free-to-air television

KOREA TELECOM (KT) SkyLife, one of South Korea’s leading satellite Pay-TV providers, is working with Ericsson on diﬀerent test transmissions aimed at the introduction of next-generation TV experiences, including an Ultra-High Definition TV (UHDTV) trial and High Eﬃciency Video Coding (HEVC) tests to determine how the new standard can be deployed in multiple applications. Visit www.ericsson.com

broadcaster, TVB, recently purchased and installed multiple Chyron Channel Box HD graphics solutions from Magna Systems and Engineering for the technical and on-air graphics presentation requirements of its TVB Jade, TVB Pearl and J2 television channels. Visit www.magnasys.tv

PHILIPPINES ACCORDING TO standards body, the DVB, “Contrary to speculation and earlier reports that the Philippines had endorsed ISDB-T as its digital TV standard, no final decision has actually been made.” DVB’s Executive Director, Peter Siebert was recently invited to meet with the Oﬃce of the President in Manila. Visit www.dvb.org

PAPUA NEW GUINEA ITV CHOICE, part of ITV Studios, has launched on HiTRON, the leading pay-TV platform in Papua New Guinea. The deal marks the first time that ITV Choice has expanded its reach to include the Pacific rim, and further extends the channels footprint in the Asia Pacific region. Visit www.itv.asia

NEW ZEALAND

GLOBAL TV, one of Indonesia’s biggest private national TV stations, recently purchased and installed a new Artec XBLBroadcast Logger video logging system from Magna Systems and Engineering. Magna has also upgraded the automation, storage, and video server capabilities for MNC Channels, the in-house playout centre for Indonesia’s biggest satellite pay TV operator Indovision.

PRODUCTION HOUSE NHNZ’s latest series,

Visit www.magnasys.tv

Visit www.mkride.com and www.nhnz.tv

Middle Kingdom Ride, following two daring brothers tackling the world’s first motorcycle circumnavigation of China, has been picked up by Travel Channel’s international group. Middle Kingdom Ride is a co-production between NHNZ, G219 productions Ltd and CICC, and distributed by OTF. 65 incredibly challenging days.

NEWS + PEOPLE

INDONESIA

NEWS + PEOPLE

Thorne Supports Qube Cinema in ANZ QUBE CINEMA HAS ANNOUNCED the appointment of Lewis Thorne as its oﬃcial Level 2 technical support specialist for Australia and New Zealand. Thorne brings many years of experience in the digital cinema industry to his new position, strengthening Qube’s presence in the region. Users of Qube Cinema’s digital cinema servers, Integrated Media Blocks (IMBs), and postproduction mastering and distribution products now have full local technical support. “Lewis has a thorough knowledge of Qube’s XP-D and XP-I digital cinema servers and the Xi 4K IMB,” said Raja Enok, director of sales and marketing for Qube Cinema in Asia. “He’s been involved in the field testing of the XP-D server and Xi IMBs, and has worked with independent cinema owners in the area for a long time.” Both the XP-D and XP-I are DCI certified, using Qube’s version 3.0 server software, which provides a common user experience for setup, operation and maintenance for either server while integrating seamlessly with all theatre management system software including the Cinedigm TCC. The XP-I and Xi 4K IMB are compatible with Series 2 DLP projectors. XP-D users can easily upgrade to the XP-I and Xi IMB to accommodate 4K resolution, higher frame rates and 3D content. The DCI upgrade for Qube servers in the field will be coordinated by the Independent Cinema Association of Australia’s Network Operations Centre (ICAA NOC) and be conducted by Thorne in conjunction with each cinema’s usual maintenance provider. “Lewis is well-known to many ICAA cinema owners and understands the support requirements of independent cinemas and their equipment,” Enok explained. “We’re excited to see things growing so quickly in Australia and New Zealand.” Visit www.qubecinema.com

Lourenc Heads Sydney Production for Staging Connections STAGING CONNECTIONS HAS APPOINTED Technical Director, Daniel Lourenco to the Head of Production, Sydney. Having started with Staging Connections in 1998 as a Trainee, Daniel has progressed in his career from a crew member, through to Technical Director, and will now lead the team as Head of Production. Daniel’s career with Staging Connections has seen him work around the world on landmark events for prominent local and international organisations. “I am very excited to be given this opportunity and welcome the challenge going forward. Having been on crew for Staging Connections for over six and half years I recognise the expertise and value they, as a collective, bring to the business,” said Mr Lourenco. Visit www.stagingconnections.com

Pete Fullerton Moves to Quinto New Zealand QUINTO COMMUNICATIONS HAS ANNOUNCED the appointment of Peter Fullerton as Sales Manager for their New Zealand oﬃce. Pete will be based in Auckland, and will provide pre- and post-technical sales support to the wide range of Quinto’s New Zealand customers. Prior to moving to Quinto, Pete was a key account manager with local NZ dealer, Gencom and he has also worked for Panasonic and Television New Zealand. According to Quinto’s CEO, Tom Pavicic, “We are delighted to have Pete working with us at such an exciting time in the growth of our company. Pete’s extensive experience of the local New Zealand market will be a great asset to all.” Visit http://quinto.com.au

Harris Broadcast Appoints APAC Region Leadership HARRIS BROADCAST HAS DIVIDED its APAC sales management team into North APAC and South APAC sub-regions. JiShun Mei will now act as vice president of sales for all product lines in the newly created North APAC region, while Joe Khodeir has been appointed vice president of sales for all product lines in South APAC. The structure change brings a new focus and accelerates development of growth opportunities in the region. Each will have specific growth targets and opportunities across the entire Harris Broadcast portfolio.

NEWS + PEOPLE

JiShun and Joe will report directly to Richard Scott, senior vice president, global sales and services. The North APAC region will, with immediate effect, cover Greater China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. JiShun will continue to be based in the Harris Broadcast Shanghai office. The South APAC team will cover all ASEAN countries, Australia and New Zealand, and Joe will continue to be based in the Harris Broadcast Sydney office.

“Joe and JiShun both have a track record of success and strong leadership over many years in the region,” said Scott. “Both have demonstrated outstanding levels of leadership and customer intimacy and are indeed well respected executives in the region. Their skills and experience are highly complementary and I am confident that our business will thrive under their leadership.” In addition to their roles leading the regional sales managers, JiShun and Joe will also serve as leaders for the technical pre-sales teams, which are shared across the newly created sub-regions. Visit http://harrisbroadcast.com

Newtec Appoints Mario Querner as VP Asia SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST, NEWTEC, has appointed former Technicolor, Alcatel-Lucent, and ECI Telecom executive Mario Querner as the company’s new VP Asia. He has more than 25 years of international business experience in telecommunications and media working in both Europe and Asia. He will lead the business activities for Newtec in Asia and the Pacific. Serge Van Herck, CEO, Newtec, says, “We are very pleased to make this appointment. Mario brings extensive knowledge and business connections in the Asia region with him, along with his own powerful ideas for further expanding Newtec in the continent.” Mario Querner added, “I am happy to join Newtec during this exciting time. This year, Newtec has launched a number of new, advanced products, such as the high throughput MDM6000 satellite modem and the M6100 broadcast satellite modulator both of which support the latest DVB standards including S2 Extensions and Carrier ID (DVB-CID). In addition, we have new broadband solutions for consumers and enterprise markets. “My objective for Asia is to bring these new products to our existing and new customers, in broadcasting, telecom and government organisations. We already have an excellent team in place and we will continue to work with our partners to address the challenges ahead.” Visit www.newtec.eu

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Mixed Reception for Spectrum Auction Like many Governments around the world in this current economic climate, the Australian Federal Government has pinned not insubstantial revenue hopes on a return from the sale of radiofrequency spectrum vacated by terrestrial TV networks as part of the switchover from analogue to digital television. THE AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY (the ACMA) recently announced the outcome of its first digital dividend spectrum auction which resulted in three bidders — Optus Mobile, Telstra and TPG Internet — securing spectrum, but which has also left some 15 MHz paired of the 700 MHz spectrum unsold. Those bids received have resulted in total revenues of nearly AUD$2 billion. Four companies initially applied to participate in the auction. However, Vodafone Hutchison Australia withdrew before the auction on 23 April 2013. This surprised telco industry analysts, as did the move by fixed broadband player TPG to potentially become Australia’s fourth Mobile Network Operator (MNO). “We are surprised Vodafone did not partake in the auction for 2.5GHz spectrum, preferring instead to rely on its 1800MHz spectrum for highspeed broadband services,” said Nicole McCormick, Senior Analyst, Industry, Communications & Broadband, for analyst firm Ovum. “We think it would have been a sensible long-term spectrum insurance policy for Vodafone to have picked up 2.5GHz spectrum for data traﬃc management purposes in the metro areas. “Rather, TPG – already Australia’s largest MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) – secured spectrum at 2.5GHz. While potential plans to become Australia’s fourth MNO would be ambitious, we do not view this as unrealistic. TPG has demonstrated expertise in running a lean business model and it has the platforms (e.g. billing) in place to support an extended mobile business – something which defunct One.Tel did not have.” Meanwhile, according to the ACMA’s Chairman, Chris Chapman, “The auction process itself ran smoothly and resulted in the allocation of spectrum to the companies that valued it the most.”

Ofcom expects to introduce AIP for national DTT by around 2020. For local TV and DAB, there is little or no excess demand for the spectrum and therefore Ofcom currently has no plans to implement AIP for these services.

A BROADER SPECTRUM Of course, TV and Radio broadcasters and the telco fraternity are not the only users of radiofrequency spectrum and the UK Government has been looking at freeing up spectrum used by other parties in a bid to raise revenue. UK regulator Ofcom has published a call for inputs relating to spectrum use by licence exempt devices in the 2,400 MHz band. This band is close to radio spectrum in the 2,300 MHz band, which the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) plans to release for new civil uses. The MoD has therefore commissioned work to audit licence exempt uses in the 2,400 MHz band, in particular to identify the full range of possible uses of this spectrum.

Optus Mobile’s final bid was just under $650 million for 2×10 MHz in the 700 MHz band and 2×20 MHz in the 2.5 GHz band. Telstra bid $1.3 billion for 2×20 MHz in the 700 MHz band and 2×40 MHz in the 2.5 GHz band. TPG Internet bid $13.5 million for 2×10 MHz in the 2.5 GHz band.

The MoD’s plans are part of a UK Government commitment to release 500 MHz of spectrum for new civil uses by 2020. The MoD is likely to release this spectrum in 2014.

While selling oﬀ spectrum has the potential to net Governments much needed extra revenue, regulators are also looking at ways to generate ongoing fees to help top up depleted treasury coﬀers.

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The consultation also considers whether Ofcom should apply charges at a higher level. In many cases, it sets charges by establishing the ‘opportunity cost’ of the spectrum, which is the value that alternative users might be prepared to pay for the spectrum. The regulator refers to this as Administered Incentivised Pricing (AIP).

Demand in Clock Round 1 of the auction led to three unsold lots in the 700 MHz band. In the 2.5 GHz band, demand exceeded supply in the first round but reached equilibrium at the end of Clock Round 3, at which point the clock rounds closed. This level of demand during the clock rounds meant prices payable by bidders are only marginally above reserve prices.

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latory management of the relevant spectrum. Ofcom will consult on the level of these cost-based charges later in 2013. Currently, UK digital broadcasters do not pay cost-based fees for their spectrum licences.

UK Regulator Ofcom has published a consultation on introducing spectrum charges for digital broadcasting in that country. It considers whether spectrum charges should be levied on national digital terrestrial TV (DTT), local TV and digital audio broadcasting (DAB) and proposes to introduce spectrum charges for all three services from the end of 2014. These charges will be set at a level to recover the costs Ofcom incurs in regu-

Ofcom has also announced plans for a pilot of ‘white space’ technology in the UK which will use gaps in radio spectrum, called ‘white spaces’, which exist in between frequency bands. In the UK instance, these bands have been reserved for digital terrestrial TV broadcasting and wireless microphones. Use of these white spaces will allow devices to transmit and receive wireless signals for applications such as broadband access for rural communities, WiFi-like services or new ‘machine-to-machine’ networks. Ofcom has invited industry to take part in the pilot, which is intended to take place in Q3 2013. The locations for the trial will be chosen once trial participants have been identified. Following a successful completion of the pilot, Ofcom anticipates that the technology could be fully rolled out during 2014, enabling the use of white space devices across the country.

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Recruitment Industry News! Media staff & strategy by Karl Jansson The editorial in this edition is going to be a little different, as I thought you might like to see where the recruitment industry is heading, whether you’re looking for a job or you’re an employer. There are significant changes ahead that may affect you. Recruitment agencies have been around for centuries, and the standard model was one of being a one-stop shop regardless of your industry. That means that someone in there may have, at some time managed an assignment for a company in the broadcast community, in between an assignment for a bank and a health food company. That was yesteryear!

RECRUITMENT AGENCIES COULD HALVE OVER THE NEXT 3 YEARS!

Introducing www.BroadcastJobz.tv, your interactive consultant! It provides all the services mentioned above, plus as an advertiser, you don’t need to be a wordsmith to write an advertisement. Your advertisement is formatted for you. For urgent staﬀ needs, we have an SMS facility that will automatically contact candidates for you, so replies are received within minutes and hours not days or weeks. So too is the fairness of providing a service that is more than just a job board that you would normally pay hundreds of dollars for each advert, with no guarantee of any suitable candidates.

That means that the number of generic employment agencies could halve in number over the next 3 years, unless they become industry specialists in one area of the market.

At BroadcastJobz.tv you pay an initial $200 AUD as a line of credit, and with that you can place as many jobs on-line as you like, no restriction.

Being an industry specialist within the electronic media, and particularly for the broadcast community for more than 15 years, I’ve forged some solid long term business relationships, as well I’ve met a few mates along the way. To-date, it has been personally rewarding.

If, as the advertiser, you review all applications and realise that no applicants are suitable then the advertisement is free! If say three candidates are a match then $33 AUD is logged against your credit.

All the above-mentioned services are inclusive, so no additional costs!

From experience, my services have always been on call by clients who have diﬃculty in locating the right person for the job, whether by experience or by reputation. For me it’s a no brainer, because I’m a trained ‘Search’ (Headhunting) consultant so locating the most appropriate candidates and forming up a short list.

All we ask is that to place any future job advertisements you bring your credit line back to $200 AUD or more. It’s that simple.

However, I’ve noticed that not all of my global network contacts are able to justify a cost to engage my professional services, and I know that their time is better served managing issues within their own business. So where do they go? Generic websites pull in a myriad of varied responses in bulk and once sorted through, you then have the task of devoting time to ascertain whether any applications are suitable.

Unlike generic job sites, where an industry category is all you have to select, we drill down through the departments into position titles, and with well over 600 already logged in, we know that when a candidate receives a job alert it will definitely be of specific interest. For the advertiser you’ll be dealing with quality responses, not generic replies.

All the skills and industry knowledge I’ve acquired as a dedicated Search consultant have been integrated into this website. It really has been over 15 years in the making.

With such specific attention to detail we are able to oﬀer additional market information for the region such as salary reviews per position plus much more as well.

Read on, I’ve employed a unique industry based consultant prepared to work for you, 24/7!

There’s much more inside, so regardless of whether or not you’re seeking a change of employ or seeking staﬀ, register today. This is a global industry reference portal for everyone.

AS AN EMPLOYER, WOULD YOU LIKE A DEDICATED BROADCAST CONSULTANT WORKING FOR FREE?

Karl Jansson is the principal of “BroadcastJobz.tv”.

So, what if a dedicated industry consultant could be provided without the professional service fee? That’s right, no professional fee? That means that from the initial brief, you’re provided a timeline, showing when interviews should start and finish, second interviews, and so on through to a short list, and when a decision should be made in order to appoint on time. Also what if your consultant keeps all candidates up-dated, not a generic contact to all applicants, but individual personalised emails from the initial ‘Thank you’ to several more updating them on their application?

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Today there are less agencies operating under that model, and as a result of their generic approach to clients, they unfortunately won’t survive the next 18-24 months.

Ok, so generic websites are really not the answer because you end up doing most of the work yourself, and the industry consultant would clearly be the better choice! But, what about the cost?

of your privacy that is maintained throughout the assignment. This consultant will only allow employers with a definite interest in your background and experience to be introduced to you. You then have a choice to accept or decline the invitation to send all of your details to them. You are kept up to date, every step of the way!

Sorting applications can be a little tedious, so your consultant will do this as well!

AS A CANDIDATE, WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO BE KEPT INFORMED OF YOUR APPLICATION AS WELL WHERE IT LANDED? Not a problem, by employers using our 24/7 consultant you’re assured

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

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Aus Govt Ad Spend Lowest Since 2008 THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL Government has announced that, for the fifth year in a row, it has spent over AUD$100 million less than the previous Government’s advertising spend of $254 million in 2007. Special Minister of State, Mark Dreyfus, has released the latest Campaign Advertising by Australian Government Departments and Agencies Half Year Report, which details media expenditure for advertising campaigns undertaken by agencies subject to the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, and covers the first half of the 2012-13 financial year. “In 2007 Labor committed to cleaning up the taxpayer funded spending spree that was the Howard government system, and last year’s figures show we’re continuing to deliver on that commitment,” Mr Dreyfus said. “Government advertising is now subject to approval by the Independent Communications Committee.” Government advertising expenditure between July and December 2012 was $40.5 million, and expenditure for the 2012 calendar year was $111.9 million. Visit www.finance.gov.au

Belden Forms Global Business Segments

SPX to Close Dielectric Communications

BELDEN INC. (NYSE: BDC) has announced that the company is now organised across four global business segments: Industrial Connectivity Solutions, Industrial Information Technology (IT) Solutions, Enterprise Connectivity Solutions, and Broadcast Solutions. Industrial Connectivity Solutions – Highperformance industrial cable and connector products that transport mission-critical signals enabling reliable network communication and machine-to-machine connectivity. Christoph Gusenleitner now leads this business segment. Industrial IT Solutions – High-performance, reliable and secure hardware and software systems that address mission-critical networking demands. This segment is led by Dhrupad Trivedi. Enterprise Connectivity Solutions – Eﬃcient network infrastructure systems that transport voice, video and high-speed data in enterprise IT applications. Glenn Pennycook enters a new role as leader of this segment. Broadcast Solutions – Advanced hardware, software and connectivity systems for media companies to create, manage and deliver highquality content around the world. This portfolio will continue to be managed by Strath Goodship, Dave Jackson, and Jimmy Rayford. Visit www.belden.com

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U.S. COMPANY SPX has announced that it will close Dielectric Communications, its broadcast transmission equipment business by mid-2013. SPX purchased Dielectric Communications in 2001, which was established in 1942 when Dr. Charles “Doc” Brown’s Dielectric Products Corporation started developing transmission lines for early wartime radar systems. In a statement to customers, Mark Fichter GM Dielectric Communications, said “After careful consideration, SPX has decided to discontinue the broadcast television and radio and wireless antenna operations of its Dielectric Communications business unit worldwide, due to extremely diﬃcult global economic conditions in the broadcast marketplace, and SPX’s ongoing eﬀorts to further focus its future growth strategy on its Flow Technology business.” Fichter says the company will continue to operate in a limited capacity through the end of June 2013. Visit www.spx.com/en/dielectric/

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Kodak Settles with KPP EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY has announced a comprehensive settlement agreement with the U.K. Kodak Pension Plan (KPP), its largest creditor, with respect to its Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganisation. Under the agreement, which will be filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Kodak’s Personalised Imaging and Document Imaging businesses will be spun oﬀ under new ownership to KPP. The settlement agreement provides, among other things, for the spin-oﬀ of Kodak’s Personalised Imaging and Document Imaging businesses to KPP for cash and non-cash consideration of $650 million. Certain proceeds will be used to support the emergence of Kodak from Chapter 11 and the growth of its

Commercial Imaging business. The agreement also settles approximately $2.8 billion of claims by KPP against Kodak and certain of its affiliates. “In one comprehensive transaction, Kodak will realise its previously announced intention to divest its Personalised Imaging and Document Imaging businesses and settle its largest legacy liability,” said Antonio M. Perez, Kodak Chairman and CEO. The agreement will be implemented as part of Kodak’s Chapter 11 plan in the United States. At consummation of the spin-off, Kodak and its worldwide affiliates will be released from their obligations to KPP.

AUSTRALIAN-BASED ATOMOS, creator of the Ninja-2 and Samurai field recorders, and the Connect converters, has used NAB 2013 to announce the opening of a new U.S. oﬃce. ”Our phenomenal growth over the past year means we can make this kind of investment to better support our customers in the Americas,” said Jeromy Young, CEO and Founder of Atomos. “The new oﬃce will provide technical support for the region, as well as some product development.” Visit www.atomos.com

Visit www.kodak.com

Triveni Digital Goes Independent TRIVENI DIGITAL HAS SPLIT from parent company, LG Electronics, having been purchased by a group of Triveni Digital employees, led by company president Mark Simpson. The transaction, which closed in late February, makes Triveni Digital a fully independent company.

LG founded what would later be called Triveni Digital in 1997 as a research and development (R&D) lab. Triveni Digital developed into a vendor of systems that enable television service products for program guide and metadata management, data broadcasting, and video quality assurance.

Simpson said, “We believe the industry is entering an exciting transition phase. Content consumption and viewing habits are changing rapidly, just as new technologies are emerging to address this pent-up demand.”

As part of the buyout agreement, Triveni Digital will continue to develop technologies for LG Electronics’ industry-leading hospitality TV business. Visit www.trivenidigital.com

IMAX Corporation Reports Q1 2013 Financial Results IMAX CORPORATION (NYSE:IMAX; TSX:IMX)

compared to 261 as of March 31, 2012.

has reported first quarter 2013 revenues of $49.9 million, adjusted EBITDA as calculated in accordance with the Company’s credit facility of $13.9 million, adjusted net income of $5.6 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, and reported net income of $2.9 million, or $0.04 per diluted share.

In the first quarter of 2013, the Company signed contracts for 25 theatre systems, of which 17 were in new theatre locations and 8 were additional signings for laser systems and conversions to digital systems. In the quarter the Company installed 17 theatre systems, of which 10 were in new theatre locations.

The total IMAX theatre network consisted of 738 systems as of March 31, 2013. There were 283 theatre systems in backlog as of March 31, 2013,

Atomos Opens US Oﬃce

Visit www.imax.com

Revenue Growth for Technicolor in Q1 THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS of Technicolor (Euronext Paris: TCH) have met to review the Group’s revenues (unaudited) for the first quarter of 2013. In the first quarter of 2013, Group revenues from continuing operations amounted to €775 million, up 2.1% at constant scope and current currency, and up 2.2% at constant scope and currency compared to the first quarter of 2012 revenues. Gross debt at the end of March 2013 amounted to €1,222 million at nominal value and €1,107 million on an IFRS basis, a decrease of respectively €14 million and €8 million compared to the end of December 2012, mainly resulting from €36 million of debt repayments partly oﬀset by the impact of the appreciation of the US dollar. The level of cash was lower compared to end of December 2012 mostly due to debt repayments and the payment of the €38.6 million EU antitrust fine in March 2013. Technicolor has put in place a new €50 million receivables backed committed credit facility with Natixis replacing the previous facility which expired in April 2013. This new facility, at improved terms versus the previous one, matures in April 2016. Visit www.technicolor.com

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Ericsson to acquire Microsoft Mediaroom

ERICSSON (NASDAQ:ERIC) HAS REACHED

worldwide.

an agreement with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to acquire its TV solution Mediaroom business. This will make Ericsson the leading provider of IPTV and multi-screen solutions with a market share of over 25%. Closing expected during the second half of 2013.

The total media solution portfolio of Ericsson in the TV and video space combined with a further increased focus on consumer needs will be the foundation for providing services to end users. The importance of video distribution capabilities for the customers and their consumers will be increasing as more and more LTE networks are deployed and filled with smartphone users.

Mediaroom is situated in Mountain View, California and employs more than 400 people

Microsoft Mediaroom is the TV technology behind many of the world’s leading television service providers like AT&T U-verse, Entertain of Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, TELUS Optik TV, and Swisscom. Mediaroom-powered TV services are oﬀered on more than 22 million set top boxes deployed throughout the Americas, EMEA and APAC. Visit www.ericsson.com

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TECHNICAL STANDARDS www.content-technology.com/standards

MPEG Hosts Multimedia Ecosystem Event DURING ITS 104TH MEETING, held from April 22-26 2013, MPEG has hosted the MPEG Multimedia Ecosystem event to raise awareness of MPEG’s activities in areas not directly related to compression. In addition to standards for compression technologies, MPEG has developed mediarelated standards that enrich the use of multimedia such as MPEG-M for Multimedia Service Platform Technologies, MPEG-U for Rich Media User Interfaces, and MPEG-V for interfaces between real and virtual worlds.

consumption (Green MPEG). Green MPEG is envisaged to provide interoperable solutions for energy-eﬃcient media decoding and presentation as well as energy-eﬃcient media encoding based on encoder resources or receiver feedback. Responses to the call are due at the 105th MPEG meeting in July 2013.

Also, new activities such as MPEG Augmented Reality Application Format, Compact Descriptors for Visual Search, Green MPEG for energy eﬃcient media coding, and MPEG User Description are currently in progress. The event was organised with two sessions including a workshop and demonstrations.

The MPEG eXtensible Middleware (MXM) API technology specifications (ISO/IEC 23006-2) have reached the status of International Standard at the 104th MPEG meeting. MXM specifies the means to access individual MPEG tools through standardised APIs and is expected to help the creation of a global market of MXM applications that can run on devices supporting MXM APIs in addition to the other MPEG technologies.

MPEG has issued a Call for Proposals (CfP) on energy-eﬃcient media

Visit http://mpeg.chiariglione.org

Thomson Coordinating H2B2VS THOMSON VIDEO NETWORKS HAS launched the H2B2VS project, aimed at investigating the hybrid distribution of TV programs and services over heterogeneous broadcast and broadband networks using the upcoming HEVC video compression standard. A project of the Eureka/Celtic-Plus research initiative for telecomms and new media, H2B2VS is also endorsed by the French “Images & Réseaux” research cluster. The 30-month project was launched in February 2013. The H2B2VS project addresses broadcasters’ requirements for hybrid distribution as well as its impact on other technologies such as DASH, content protection, and content distribution networks, with the goal of proposing solutions to ensure the best quality of experience for end users. Partners will share their recommendations from the H2B2VS project with relevant standards bodies. Visit www.thomson-networks.com

VESA Updates Dual-Mode DisplayPort Standard THE VIDEO ELECTRONICS Standards Association (VESA) has announced the latest release of the DisplayPort Dual-Mode Standard. This release supports the next generation of Dual-Mode DisplayPort enabled personal computers and Dual-Mode DisplayPort cable adaptors, expected to be available to consumers later this year. Among several refinements to improve interoperability, the updated standard enables a higher data rate for DisplayPort-to-HDMI cable adaptors, providing support for HDMI 1.4 display resolutions such as 1080p 3D at 60Hz, and Ultra HD (4K x 2K) up to 30Hz frame rate, as well as 1080p with deep colour. Visit www.displayport.org and www.vesa.org

Call for Proposed ATSC 3.0 Technologies THE ADVANCED TELEVISION SYSTEMS Committee (ATSC) has announced a call for proposals for the “physical layer” of ATSC 3.0, its nextgeneration broadcast TV standard that in the years ahead could replace the current digital broadcasting systems used in the United States and around the world. While work is already underway to enhance the existing ATSC TV system with Internet compatibility and caching capability for storing programs (a backwards compatible suite of enhancements dubbed the “ATSC 2.0” standard), the future needs of viewers and broadcasters will be the focus of the “ATSC 3.0” initiative.

TECHNICAL STANDARDS

The focus of the call for proposals is on the ATSC 3.0 physical layer

technologies to define the modulation and error coding technologies that will provide a foundation for the next terrestrial broadcast system. Multiple types of TV receivers, including fixed devices, handheld devices, vehicular screens and portable receivers will be considered in the work on ATSC 3.0. Spectrum eﬃciency and robust service will be key areas of evaluation. Increased data rates to support new services such as Ultra-HighDefinition services will be considered. Initial responses to the call for proposals are due on Aug. 23, 2013. Detailed technical descriptions of proposals are due on Sept. 27, 2013. Visit www.atsc.org

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PREVIEW The 18th International Digital Multimedia & Entertainment Technology Exhibition & Conference

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BroadcastAsia2013 Conference to Uncover Transformational Trends BROADCASTASIA2013 International Conference, Asia’s most established conference for the film and TV industries, returns this June with 120 speakers from 31 countries/regions, its largest ever speaker line-up. More than a hundred case studies will be presented from 18 June to 21 June 2013 at Marina Bay Sands Singapore. Over The Top (OTT) technology will dominate this year’s conference programme. Industry leaders from across the globe will share vital insights on where the opportunities lie in harnessing OTT technology, and divulge valuable tips from its widespread adoption in the broadcast industry. The conference will also see an interesting set of keynote addresses, case studies, panel discussions, and workshops. The line-up will feature the likes of Nicholas Wodtke, Vice President of Content & Services of Samsung; Fedor Ezhov, SPB TV’s COO; Fintan McKiernan, CEO of Ideal Systems; Felix Chandra, CEO of IMTV; Tae Sung Park, CEO of Vidiator; Sreedhar Subramaniam, President & CEO of ABNxcess; and Brian Lenz, CIO of Astro.

NEW FEATURES FOR 2013 BroadcastAsia2013 will feature five new tracks and four new sessions – Country Focus, Broadcasters Exclusive Interviews, CIO/CTO Panel, and Captains of Industry Dialogue. The new ‘Captains of Industry’ dialogue will be led by top-level speakers from radio and television broadcaster Media Prima Berhad; telecommunication operator Starhub; software security and media technology company Irdeto; independent production company, activeTV Asia; and video and broadcast technology company, Grass Valley. The dialogue will provide perspectives from various aspects of the industry. This year, the conference tracks are organised into two broad categories: content-based tracks and infrastructure-based tracks.

SHEDDING LIGHT ON OTT OPPORTUNITIES

BROADCAST ASIA

With the rise in mobile devices ownership around the world, consumers are progressively turning to their mobile devices to access content. As OTT development in Asia is still in its infancy, companies from broadcasters and content providers to device manufacturers are able to embrace the opportunities available to deliver more content to consumers. The OTT video market surpassed US$8 billion in 2012 and is expected to exceed US$20 billion by 2015.

In Singapore, MediaCorp partnered with OTT platform provider, Tvinci to provide multi-screen content through its mobile content service, Toggle, as a paid service. Telco operators, such as SingTel and StarHub, are also jumping into the OTT bandwagon by oﬀering consumers the

Wohler – from Monitoring to Transforming FileBased Media BROADCASTASIA2013 will see Wohler Technologies highlighting its expanding product range on Stand 5G4-03. New Wohler products at BroadcastAsia2013, include:

option to watch their favourite content across multiple platforms at their convenience. However, monetisation of OTT services may be the greatest challenge which mobile OTT providers will face. Delegates at the BroadcastAsia2013 International Conference can hear expert views on ‘Making OTT a Business Reality in Asia’, from Seow Yoke Kong, VP Technology Services of Mediacorp and Ido WIesenberg, Co-founder and VP Business Development of Tvinci. In a keynote address, Benjamin Grubbs, APAC Head of Partner Marketing at YouTube will discuss the future of TV and share insights on why OTT is a game-changer. Danny Wilson, President and CEO of Pixelmetrix will elaborate on ‘Ensuring Eﬀective Delivery of Content through OTT and Multi-Screen’. A half-day interactive OTT workshop led by Stephen Lee, Business Development Manager of Conax AS and Ather A. Baig, Senior Manager IP operations of Pakistan Telecommunication will conclude the conference on day four. With the increasing convergence of technologies between the telecom and broadcast sectors, attendees will hear from leaders of both industries, who will be speaking across BroadcastAsia2013 and CommunicAsia2013 Summit on successful OTT deployment.

BROADCAST TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE Delegates at BroadcastAsia2013 can also gain insights into strategies for leveraging a range of advanced technologies to cope with transformations in the broadcasting industry. Some of the technologies that will be covered include Ultra HD, DVBT-2, Pay-TV, Hybrid Interactive TV, Cloud Broadcasting, and 4K technology. CTO/CIO Panel titled ‘Developing Next-Gen Technology Solutions for the Changing Landscape’ will touch on topics like the future of media services in the cloud and also the expected major challenges the industry will face in the years to come. The panel will consist of Michael MacDonald, Group CTO and Executive Solution Consultant of Huawei; John Carlucci, CTO Americas of Alticast; Peter Docherty, Founder and CTO of ThinkAnalytics; and Brian Lenz. Visit www.broadcast-asia.com

The Wohler RadiantGrid Intelligent Media Transformation Platform, which offers an efficient solution for transcoding, standards conversion, and audio processing.. iON, Wohler’s next-generation monitoring solution, makes Wohler’s technologies for signal management and confidence monitoring available on a single software platform that users can access and control remotely from any device, with video and audio content streamed in real time. The Wohler AMP1-MADIe is an in-rack portable MADI unit with Ethernet control and configuration. It can be connected in series with a 56- or 64-channel MADI stream for individual volume adjustment and audible monitoring of any eight selected MADI channels at once. The AMP1-16M Dual 3G/HD/SD-SDI Audio Monitor de-embeds and provides metering and monitoring of any or all of the 16 audio channels in the selected 3G/HD or SD-SDI stream. Wohler’s new DVM-5210, a 5-RU system with two 10-inch screens is the latest in Wohler’s family of video monitors, along with the DVM-4290, a 4-RU system with two 9-inch screens; the DVM-3270, a 3-RU system with two 7-inch screens; and the DVM-2443 with four individual 4.3-inch screens and decoders. The Wohler HDM-170 and HDM-215 are cost-effective, reliable 17-inch and 21.5-inch HD/SD-SDI video monitors that feature full HD-resolution displays with 178-degree viewing angles and dual split or picture-inpicture monitoring modes. The RMQ Series quad-split video monitors allow users to watch video and monitoring data in up to four display windows on a single 1920×1080 LED backlit screen. Lastly, Wohler’s RMV16 multiviewer accepts inputs including analogue composite video, component, SD-SDI, HD-SDI, and even 3G, and it can provide outputs in VGA, DVI, and HDMI formats. The 1-RU model supports up to 16 inputs and eight outputs. Visit www.wohler.com

PREVIEW

NETIA Updates Radio-Assist

The Snippet range of editing tools available within the Radio-Assist automation products is now available for iOS devices. Sharing the same look and ergonomic principles as the Snippet desktop interface, the new iPhone- and iPadcompatible iSnippet tool allows field reporters and other remote users to enjoy the Radio-Assist audio editing capabilities — familiar from the desktop — on their portable devices. The new teleprompter module for the Radio-Assist suite gives presenters and journalists convenient visual access to news scripts, which scroll continuously across the presenter’s screen and are

linked with the playout system in the studio. At BroadcastAsia2013, NETIA will showcase the latest version of its media asset management (MAM) platform. The latest version of the NETIA CMS includes new features within its metadata management module. Enriched with a new metamodel editor, this graphical tool enables the user to manage and customise the metadata model structure. The new release of NETIA CMS includes a recording feature with which users can schedule specific recordings or continuous channel ingest. Video is stored in the MAM database along with corresponding transcript text files, generated by a speech-to-text engine. A new monitoring feature facilitates the searching and browsing of these recorded channel feeds, either according to a timeline or through a full-text search. Visit www.netia.com

Version 7.0 for Volicon Observer VOLICON WILL BE DEMONSTRATING the latest update to their Observer system, version 7.0, at BroadcastAsia2013 (Booth 5G2-02). Version 7.0 of Volicon’s Observer TS MPEG transport stream logging and monitoring system has been enhanced to accommodate an even broader array of inputs and to provide improved system density for HD and SD programs. At BroadcastAsia2013, Volicon will demonstrate how the Observer 7.0 system allows users to log MPEG transport streams continuously, as well as monitor A/V content Additionally,

New SatCom Products Take Centre Stage HILTRON WILL PROMOTE its full range of satellite communication products and services at Broadcast Asia 2013. Exhibiting on stand 5A1-01, centre of attention will be the HMAM-IOT advanced satellite antenna mount, HCS4 satellite communications control system, and HMCS D-SNG satellite-link monitor and controller. Based on Hiltron’s established and successful HMAM motorised antenna mount, the HMAM-IOT satellite antenna mount enables cost-eﬃcient uplinks to be operated via inclined-orbit satellites. The Hiltron Control System version 4 (HCS4) is a versatile controller with a wide range of applications in satellite communication. The HCS4 can be used to power, control, and monitor optical-fibre transceivers. Hiltron’s HMCS is a software-based compact monitor and controller, which enables digital satellite newsgathering truck staﬀ to operate a complete satellite link.

Observer 7.0 allows users to stream and export content to all stakeholders in the media enterprise. Because Observer TS logs the full transport stream, the user is able to go back an hour, a day, a week, or a month to examine and/ or export content and eﬀectively eliminate chronic issues with service handoﬀs. Lowbit-rate proxies, WMV or H.264, and DVRlike frame-accurate controls allow for easy content review, even when operating over an enterprise network or WAN. Visit www.volicon.com

DIGITAL RAPIDS WILL BE SHOWCASING the company’s newest media transformation and workflow solutions at BroadcastAsia (Booth 5D2-01), in partnership with systems integrator Gencom. The enterprise-class Digital Rapids Transcode Manager 2.0 automated media processing software goes far beyond transcoding, blending media file transformation and workflow processes while offering efficiency and agility for applications from post-production and archive to multiscreen distribution. Simplifying the convergence of core television and multi-platform streaming operations, the new StreamZ Live 8000EX integrated broadcast/ multiscreen live encoder combines the multiformat flexibility and output quality of the StreamZ Live family with robust features for the unique demands of broadcast, cable, telco and satellite television deployments. The StreamZ Live 8000EX features simultaneous encoding for broadcast television (H.264 or MPEG-2) and adaptive bit rate streaming for delivery to other platforms. A new version of the software for the StreamZHD multi-format ingest and encoding system will be shown, featuring further quality and performance enhancements for Digital Rapids’ H.264, MPEG-2, and DVCPro encoding, plus expanded support for transforming advertising insertion markers for multiscreen protocols. Offering a deep feature set, StreamZHD provides superior quality, flexibility, format support and efficient automation for transforming media for applications from post production and archive to live and on-demand multi-screen distribution. Visit www.digitalrapids.com

Quantel Showing Workflow and Finishing QUANTEL WILL BE EXHIBITING solutions for fast-turnaround production and high-end colour and finishing at BroadcastAsia2013 (Stand 5L3-01). For broadcasters, Quantel will demonstrate Enterprise sQ fast-turnaround production systems. Files, video and metadata are handled in an integrated workflow that’s first to air, mobile, tablet and web. Enterprise sQ integrates with major file-based acquisition systems, NRCS, automation, MAM and archive systems. Quantel will also be showing QTube global media workflows. QTube allows media professionals to find and use stored media – wherever it is and wherever they are. Its global workflow is scalable, providing users with frame-accurate editing of video and audio. For post houses Quantel’s new Pablo Rio colour and finishing software is on show.

Pablo Rio is Quantel’s software colour correction and finishing system that runs on high-performance PC hardware. Pablo Rio handles everything demanded of a modern post facility – from realtime 4K and HFR to S3D. Pablo Rio now supports the latest NVIDIA Kepler architecture-based Tesla K20 GPU accelerators and the AJA Corvid Ultra video card. Visit www.quantel.com

BROADCAST ASIA

NETIA IS UNVEILING VERSION 8.2 of the company’s Radio-Assist digital audio software suite at BroadcastAsia2013 (Stand 4B3-11). This latest release of NETIA’s flagship software boasts two powerful enhancements, which will be showcased throughout the show.

Digital Rapids StreamZ at BroadcastAsia

ACQUISITION www.content-technology.com/acquisition

Heard Island Expedition Shot with New Sony PMW-200 HD Camera WHEN QUEENSLAND-BASED MARINE

on foot, shot as much as I possibly could.

Biologist and filmmaker Dr. Dean Miller was approached to shoot one of the most remote places on earth with the new Sony PMW-200 HD camera, his reaction was a justifiable mix of excitement and trepidation.

“The day after it was back to blizzards, and with just one day remaining things were getting tight. We managed to get back on the island for another four hours and somehow shot enough footage for the rest of the story. Without doubt the greatest moment on the island was when the weather cleared giving us beautiful blue skies and revealing Big Ben, Australia’s highest peak, only active volcano, and birthplace of our glaciers.

Miller explained, “Heard Island in the Australian Sub-Antarctic is extremely hard to get to and only very few people have ever seen it, let alone stood on it. When you get an invitation to take part in an expedition to visit somewhere as special and untouched as this, you simply say, ‘yes please’ and ‘what’s involved?’” The assignment, one Miller describes as his “hardest to date”, involved a 10,000km open ocean voyage through the notorious Southern Ocean to get to the tiny island and a three-day window to explore, research and shoot when they got there. Miller continued, “I only had three days to get as much usable footage as I could to tell the Heard Island story. In fact, the shoot ended up being much harder than we first thought it might be. After sixteen days at sea in ferocious conditions we finally arrived but could not get anywhere near the island. Blizzards held the ship oﬀ the coast and we got only the smallest of glimpses of Heard for thirty hours, which meant thirty hours less time I had to shoot. Once the storm cleared we had a nine hour window before the next storm was forecast, so we landed and while also covering over 10km

‘It is something I will never forget and was one of the most stunning scenes I have ever witnessed. Everything I thought I knew about cameras, filming, wildlife and the weather all had to come together for those 13 little hours.” Accompanying Miller on his expedition into the unknown was the latest Sony PMW-200, the upgrade for the PMW-EX1, a camera that Miller had used extensively all over the world. Miller added, “I know the EX1 back to front and was excited beyond belief to test drive the PMW-200. I took one camera, and one camera only, so it had to work first time, every time. I knew we were onto a winner as soon as I saw the PMW-200 was small enough to be carried along with my survival equipment, but large and powerful enough to shoot the amazing HD footage that the broadcasters required.” Sony’s PMW-200 supports the 50 Mbps MPEG HD422 codec and MXF recording, and with its

three 1/2-inch Full HD Exmor CMOS sensors (1920×1280), the PMW-200 is able to achieve high resolution (1000 TVl), high sensitivity (F11@2000 lx), low noise (56 dB), and wide dynamic range. Dr. Miller concluded, “The PMW-200 does it all in my opinion – great lens, great range, fast and slow motion and an awesome time-lapse function with plenty of options. This camera can pull oﬀ wildlife shooting with ease because it is so easy to setup and very simple to use. On Heard Island the PMW-200 performed flawlessly. The higher 50 Mbps bit rate is a real bonus and is one of many winning features of the PMW-200. The screen has been improved which is great and it was super easy to navigate menus and buttons, just like the EX1.” Visit www.sony.com.au or www.sony.co.nz

Eight Days a Week Productions Takes a Closer Look with ARRI ARRI’S MASTER MACRO 100 lens has progressed further on its journey as the macro lens of choice for many of Australia and New Zealand’s top DOPs and camera operators wanting the ultimate in image quality for table top cinematography, TVCs, product shots and close-up inserts on feature films.

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One of the companies to have purchased the Master Macro 100 lens of late is Eight Days a Week Productions run by owner operator Borće Damćevski who, in his role as a DOP, is particularly well known for his extensive work shooting a whole host of TVCs for high profile brands, including L’Oreal and Nestle.

Damćevski said, “I’ve been an ARRI Australia customer for many years and have had great success with their excellent team and neverfailing ALEXA camera. A while ago I decided to

purchase the Master Macro 100 to compliment my range of equipment and I simply haven’t looked back. In eﬀect the Master Macro is two lenses in one for me, as I use it as a normal 100mm lens and as a macro. Also the Master Macro 100 is very versatile as it can be used on a wide variety of film and digital cameras and thus it always helps me achieve beautiful images.” With a 1:1 magnification ratio, a maximum aperture of T2.0 and an optical design developed specifically for macro work, the Master Macro has been engineered to deliver sharp, contrasty images with vibrant colours for extreme closeups of the highest visual quality. Damćevski, who actually purchased the very first Master Macro lens in Australia, also added, “I love using the Master Macro lens to shoot TVCs because it was specifically created for cine

applications. It has a wide T-stop range and helps dramatically reduce flare giving brilliant, vibrant colours, low geometric distortion and minimised chromatic aberration. I also have a set of Master Primes which the Master Macro is super colour matched to – another big plus for this amazing lens.” ARRI Australia MD, Stefan Sedlmeier, said, “We are delighted with the success of the Master Macro lens. Eight Days a Week Productions are a great example of how this lens can be used to achieve the highest quality images. Our goal at ARRI Australia is to continue to service and support all of our customers in every way we can and this includes in-house lens testing at our Lane Cove HQ, something all of our Master Macro 100 customers have enjoyed.” Visit www.arri.com.au

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ACQUISITION

It’s Not All About Resolution Credit: Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S.

According to ARRI Managing Director, Franz Kraus, the hype over 4K and resolution have obscured other factors in the overall quality of images. WHY ISN’T ALEXA A 4K CAMERA? First of all, the importance of resolution when shooting a project of almost any kind is greatly over-hyped at the moment. To put it in perspective, when ARRI writes the specifications document for a new camera, we include a single line about resolution and some 60 pages on all the other aspects that make a professional, reliable and future-proof product that will provide a solid return on investment. A transition to 4K is certainly underway, but it has not yet permeated the market. 4K workflows on set are cumbersome and 4K in post is still prohibitively expensive and time consuming. Almost all feature films are posted in 2K, including movies that originated in 4K or higher, such as The Hobbit and Prometheus. Productions sometimes choose a 4K camera with the idea of maintaining a 4K workflow through post, only to discover that it is far too costly and revert to 2K. There are very few 4K DCPs, and even these have been mostly upsampled from 2K material. Movie theatre owners have only just upgraded to 2K, so the last thing they want to do is replace their new 2K projectors with 4K models. Many broadcasters are still in the process of upgrading to HD; it will be a long time before they switch to 4K, which is why a lot of TV series choose to capture and archive in ProRes 422 today, even though the higher quality formats are readily available. So, in the worlds of both feature films and television, 4K isn’t actually here yet. There is still time to put in place all of the other vital elements, besides resolution, which is exactly what we’re working on right now.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO IMAGE QUALITY? A 4K camera does not automatically produce a better moving image than a 2K camera, because resolution is just one of several factors in overall image quality. Dynamic range or latitude is particularly important because if you lose detail in the shadows and highlights, no amount of resolution will get it back for you. Colour fidelity and separation are important for skin tones, and other factors include sensitivity, contrast, image processing or compression, digital noise and frame rate. These must be carefully balanced against each other to get the best result; prioritising just one of them over and above the others would be detrimental to image quality. Perhaps the key point is that images should be pleasing. If resolution was all you needed, then everyone would be making films with the cheapest 4K cameras available, but they’re not. Filmmakers want cameras that make human faces look good without a significant amount of work in post. A huge majority of shots in narrative films are those in which the eye is drawn to human faces. High resolution might be the most important image quality element for certain types of landscape shots, but for shots of the human face, other elements are more significant.

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Suﬃcient resolution for the intended output medium is certainly a key parameter, but many cinematographers have told us that exposure latitude, highlight handling and natural skin tones are actually more important. By using a sensor design with relatively large photo sites for the ALEXA, we were able to create a camera that outputs the best overall image quality.

WILL ARRI MAKE A 4K CAMERA? We are currently developing the next generation of cameras and, yes, they will be of higher resolutions than today’s ALEXA. However, higher resolution is not the overriding goal – we aspire to the highest possible

image quality combined with real-world practicality, which is what has made ALEXA such a success for the last three years. These priorities have to remain in place for higher resolutions to be of any use at all. When the market can better support 4K workflows and distribution, and when higher resolution does not come at the cost of lower image quality, we will be ready with a camera system – one that can provide a dependable return on investment for our customers.

ISN’T BUYING A 4K CAMERA NOW A FUTURE-PROOF INVESTMENT? If you look at the speed with which 4K cameras are being introduced, it seems probable that any camera you can buy now will be replaced by newer and better 4K cameras when 4K is truly a reality. Besides this, ALEAXA images already are future-proof, because the very high overall image quality gives you such good source material that you can do anything with it. ALEXA images can be output to HD, 2K or up-sampled to 4K with stunning results. For instance, Skyfall and Amour have been up-sampled to 4K and released as great-looking 4K DCPs, and Skyfall has also been released as a fantastic IMAX 4K DCP, up-scaled from the uncompressed 2.8K ARRIRAW Digital Source Master (DSM). ALEXA images will look superb on future 4K displays, but future displays won’t just have higher resolution, they will have higher contrast ratios, so ALEXA’s exceptional dynamic range will come into play as well, since increased contrast is perceived as increased resolution. In addition, ARRIRAW is an open format – it is unencrypted. Anyone can open the files and apply any kind of image processing at any time in the future, even if ARRI no longer exists. Other manufacturers are exerting more control over how their files can be handled, which imposes sanctions on how people archive for the future. Crucially, ARRIRAW is also uncompressed, so there are no compression artefacts for visual eﬀects or colour timing. With our new XR module, which comes with all ALEXA XT cameras but is also available as an upgrade for existing ALEXAs, you can shoot uncompressed ARRIRAW incamera at up to 90fps for 4:3, or 120fps for 16:9. Visit www.arri.com.au

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For 4K, Oblivion is Just the Beginning OBLIVION, STARRING TOM CRUISE, is one of the first major motion pictures shot with Sony’s F65 camera to be released worldwide. DOP on Oblivion, the Life of Pi academy award-winning Claudio Miranda, ASC, recently told a packed Sony press conference at NAB that the movie was captured in Sony’s 4K RAW format with a good deal of the movie’s VFX work also in 4K, leading to the very sharp final 2K image seen in the cinema release. Miranda went on to say that after exhaustive testing, both he and director Joseph “Joe” Kosinski chose the F65 when production commenced back in March 2012, as they liked the way the camera looked and that it suited the feel they were going for in the movie. By pushing the camera’s boundaries and limits Miranda felt he captured cleaner, more resolute images and made the most of its very wide colour gamut. The DOP was also impressed with the F65’s workflow stating that with the right preparation for the amount of data shot, the production team easily managed the data pipeline and as a result, they were able to take full advantage of the camera’s much-heralded dynamic range and how well it holds in the highlights. Miranda concluded by saying that he thought Oblivion would give people serious food for thought about Sony’s flagship F65 4K camera in part due to its amazing performance in low light and also because some of the movie’s key scenes, including the sky tower sequences, were all achieved in-camera, with extensive use of on-set front projection. He also made particular reference to shooting in Iceland, a country of amazing natural beauty and how the team best used the F65 to reproduce textures in capturing its stunning landscapes in full 4K resolution. Visit http://pro.sony.com.au

Claudio Miranda, ASC, with the Sony F65 on the set of Oblivion.

Load the Code To see the full interview with Claudio Miranda ASC where he talks about shooting Oblivion with Sony F65 4K cameras, scan the QR code or at right visit http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/video/relatedrecently_added/video-claudio_miranda To watch the Oblivion discussion panel, with Claudio Miranda, ASC, DIT Alex Carr, and Technicolor’s David Waters at this year’s NAB which was hosted by Jon Fauer, ASC, scan the code at right or visit http://vimeo.com/65295112

GY-HM650E the perfect camcorder for next generation newsgathering. With dual codec recording, clips can be transferred to remote locations immediately with built in FTP. Light, versatile and extremely easy to use, this camera offers superb low light performance, a long (23x) wide angle zoom lens, and MXF file interoperability from acquisition to air. View further information: jvc.com.au/professional Buy now - jvcsales@gencom.com

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JVC HM750 Review By Paul Mullan, Black Magic Media

IN THE NICHE BUSINESS of motorsport production, Black Magic Media is no diﬀerent to any other production company. The art of survival has become more important than the art of television itself, as smaller lightweight cameras are brought out to compete with traditional broadcast cameras. Having travelled the path of Betacam SP, DVC Pro50 16:9 through to SD XDCam 530 and finally HD XDCam700 over the last twenty years, I’ve been aware all the time of the challenge of staying competitive with entry level operators and ‘pro’ grade camcorders at a fraction of the price. With Black Magic’s major focus in 2013 again the six round Australian Rally Championship with 12 x hour-long episodes for Channel Ten and OneHD, we set about looking at alternatives. We had long been using the JVC GY-HM100 to fill in holes around the main SD camera coverage quite satisfactorily however with the prospect of gathering everything in HD, the issue of what cameras required a little creative thinking. Our budget would never stretch to the hiring of traditional crews so within our financial limitations the decision was made to trial the JVC GYHM750, as it was a light, cost eﬀective alternative. The results of the 750 were outstanding. We used the cameras during the International Silver Fern Marathon Rally in New Zealand and later the Variety Bash. In both cases the cameras exceeded expectations. My first thoughts were that I would need to make significant compromise in shooting to bring about a comparable end product, but that wasn’t the case. The 750 is refreshingly light after the heavy XD700 but it still has the ergonomics of a shoulder based camera and traditional lens. It uses a normal camera base plate but has the advantage that it can be used on a lightweight Miller Solo tripod. In operating terms it has all the features required for our kind of coverage including colour view finder and flip out LCD plus a host of similarities to cameras tens of thousands of dollars more expensive. Even the usual preset position for colour balance has two options simply by pressing the white balance switch usually reserved for A and B position adjustment only. Recording to SD Card has revolutionised our world and can be done in parallel or series depending on whether immediate back-up is required. No longer having to rely on a proprietary piece of hardware

and software to access footage has meant we can quickly ingest, edit and upload for WebTV, a component of production that is in as much demand as a television program itself. Interestingly, we have two clients who rate their WebTV content higher than the mainstream television delivery format. Another concern was shooting from helicopters. Traditionally trying to hold a steady hand held shot from a chopper with a lightweight camera is a disaster and combined with the fact most small cameras are CMOS, this too makes the pictures often unsteady and look amateurish. The 750 is a chip camera and has enough weight on the shoulder to produce great pictures from a chopper, not only matching the heavier XDCam, but providing more flexibility due to it’s smaller size. It poured for several days on the Silver Fern Marathon and the cameras were soaked right through and covered in mud from rally cars. Despite only a light ‘dust/spray’ cover, at no stage did any of the cameras fault due to weather. I sent them back in for checking after the event but they were clean as a whistle, a factor attributed to no moving internal parts. Is there a downside – maybe it’s a 1/3-inch lens (but still a 20x Fujinon) and maybe because it’s a maximum of 35mbps, but really, how many broadcasters actually deliver double figure quality to the end viewer anyway? The next step for us is looking at upgrading the HM-100s that have been in service for some time and for that we are about to trial the 600/650, a camera that is considered a perfect all round news style camcorder. Why do I say this? Well the BBC has just ordered 500 units, so that’s got to tell you something. Visit www.jvc.com.au/professional

Mark Wareham ACS Upgrades with Fujinon Cabrio Lenses AS ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S best known cinematographers, Mark Wareham, ACS, is dedicated to his craft and this dedication also means always buying the right cameras and lenses to get the job done. Recently, Wareham upgraded his range of lenses to include two new Fujinon Cabrio lenses. As Wareham explains, “The 19-90mm Cabrio lens really was a revelation and worked so well on all the shoots we used it for. You can really see the vast and dramatic improvement in Fujinon lenses over the last few years. They also work well with proper motion picture cameras as opposed to lenses made for DSLRs which give you a totally diﬀerent feel. I used the Cabrio on a Sony F5 and a Canon C300 “commando-style” cameras with excellent results and was very excited to hear that there was also an 85300mm lens becoming available so I got a demo and placed an order.”

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Wareham was particularly impressed with the Cabrio lenses’ sharpness, light weight and flexibility.

He added, “I now have the broad 19-300mm range, 2.9-4.0, with just two lightweight zoom lenses. They are an excellent compliment to my existing range of lenses and perfect for shooting docos, TVCs or high turnaround TV series – seriously I can see shows like Home and Away and 60 Minutes eventually changing to these types of lenses as the 19-90 is perfect for drama. I love the versatility they give me as I am not having to continually

Mark Wareham ACS with his 19-90mm Fujinon Cabrio lens on the set of a Coles TVC shoot.

change lenses when using a handheld camera, Steadicam or crane. I’m also no longer weighed down by big, heavy lenses.” Visit www.fujifilm.com.au

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Blonde Robot Distributing DJI Innovations

Grass Valley Launches LDX Series FOLLOWING ON FROM the announcement of the new LDX series of

BLONDE ROBOT has announced that it has signed DJI Innovations as its newest principal for distribution in Australia. DJI Innovations, particularly well known for manufacturing high performance, reliable, and easy-to-use small unmanned aerial systems for commercial and recreational use, took this year’s NAB Show by storm with its new Phantom quad-copter that featured heavily on the GoPro booth amongst many others. Blonde Robot director and co-founder, Eamon Drew, said, “DJI is founded and run by people with a passion for remote-controlled helicopters and experts in flight control technology. The new Phantom quad-copter is an amazing piece of kit that we are taking into the mainstream for everyone to use. Phantom has an external removable camera mount so you can mount light and handy cameras, like GoPro for example. “Combine this with DJI’s advanced autopilot technology and optional upcoming unique gimbal stabilisation system and a GoPro on a Phantom can film and deliver images of comparable quality to those shot on manned helicopters.” The Phantom quad-copter makes the most of its compact and highly integrated design fitting easily into a standard backpack. Phantom also has an integrated flight dynamics system, the Naza-M + GPS multi-rotor autopilot system, which results in a craft that is easy to fly as a beginner and flexible enough to please expert pilots. In a first for such a portable unit it utilises GPS to enable the Phantom to land safely from the exact point it took oﬀ from.

broadcast cameras at NAB 2013, Grass Valley has held an Australian launch event, highlighting the benefits of the new models. The new models are the LDX Flex, Premiere, Elite, and the top-of-theline WorldCam. All four of the new models are comprised of the same hardware, with software forming the basis for diﬀerentiation. Each model can be upgraded to whichever level is desired, either on a 7-day basis with an e-license or permanently with a perpetual license. Among the changes is the new Xensium FT (frame transfer) imager, only the company’s second foray into CMOS. The new Xensium FT does away with the rolling shutter eﬀect that has plagued past CMOS imagers. Other technology featured during the launch included: The XCU Plug and Play Base Station 3G Triax and Fibre Adapter EyeCatcher HD Colour Ocular Viewfinder Reflex SuperXpander Quick Mount System Fibre/Triax and Triax/Fibre Converters 7” and 9” LCD viewfinders; and The LDX Connect Gateway. For more, visit www.grassvalley.com

Visit www.blonde-robot.com.au

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NEWS OPERATIONS www.content-technology.com/newsoperations

CNN and Thai News Network Sign Affiliate Agreement GLOBAL 24-HOUR NEWS NETWORK CNN and Thai News Network (TNN), Thailand’s first 24-hour Thai-language news channel, have signed a multi-year broadcast affiliation agreement, expanding on the existing multi-platform partnership CNN has with TNN’s parent company, True Visions Group. The agreement will provide TNN with access to CNN’s live breaking news coverage and premium news and feature programming, as well as CNN’s compelling video portal tailor-made for its affiliates. The affiliation will also allow TNN to benefit from the high quality editorial training and information sharing which CNN provides all its broadcast affiliates. “CNN and Turner International Asia Pacific are delighted to be building further on our long-term partnership with True Visions Group, enabling TNN to provide the people of Thailand and Thai-speaking viewers across the world with best-in-class international news coverage,” said Mr. Steve Marcopoto, President & Managing Director, Turner International Asia Pacific. “By entering into this affiliation agreement with CNN, TNN demonstrates its determination to deliver the best Thai-language international breaking news coverage to its viewers,” added Mr. Sompan Charumilinda, Executive Vice- Chairman of True Visions and Chairman, Thai News Network (TNN) Co., Ltd. Visit www.cnn.com/international

Al Jazeera on the Move with Windows Phone 8 AL JAZEERA MEDIA NETWORK has launched new, innovative Windows Phone 8 apps for its growing mobile audiences. The new apps will provide users with full-featured news from the most popular sections of the Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera Arabic websites – with free access to 24 hour live broadcasts and the latest current aﬀairs programmes. The Windows Phone 8 apps were built in close partnership with Nokia and Microsoft. The apps receive up-to-minute information as well as an innovative My Topics feature that allows Windows Phone 8 users to personalise the way they receive the news – following people, places, organisations and the topics they care about the most. The Windows Phone 8 apps also introduce parallax scrolling to provide deeper interactivity, engagement, and context for every story through video, related content and high quality imagery that is pannable using common gestures already familiar to Windows Phone users. “We are delighted that Al Jazeera’s multi-award winning news and current aﬀairs coverage is now available on Windows Phone 8 devices,” said Moeed Ahmed, Head of New Media at Al Jazeera Media Network. “The launch of the Windows Phone 8 apps comes after our successful Blackberry 10 and Android Tablet launch. [This] announcement reemphasises our commitment to ensuring that people can consume our content whenever and wherever they want – whether it is on a tablet, mobile device, PC or Connected TV,” said Ahmed. Visit www.aljazeera.com

VizRT Brings IP to Broadcast News THE CREATION, DISTRIBUTION AND ON-AIR DISPLAY of broadcast graphics are perhaps the most complex, labour and time intensive parts of the news production process. That’s why it’s important for news department staﬀ to work collaboratively and in many cases simultaneously to get the story out before the competition does. According to VizRT, the key is a fully networked operation that leverages the benefits of the Internet Protocol (IP) to send files in a highly deterministic and reliable way. An IP infrastructure also costs less to deploy and often necessitates less manpower to do so. After extensive field research and customer feedback, the company says it has embarked on a new product roadmap for its next-generation Viz Engine — the core of its real-time compositing technology — that takes into account all of the advantages of IP while conserving spacing and processing capacity. If news producers want to get the story first they have to move to a workflow that requires the least amount of eﬀort and the most flexibility.

NEWS OPERATIONS

Petter Ole Jakobsen, VizRT’s Chief Technology Oﬃcer, says the industry needs to migrate to a platform that can do more with the same resources. IP is the most enabling part of the puzzle.

Yet Jakobsen has even bigger ideas for IP across the product line. The IPbased Viz Engine requires only a network connection and IP input/output. He envisions a day when IP triggers are used to control a media server to play out a rundown of stories, complete with complex transitions, without the need or a traditional production switcher. VizRT’s timeline editor application is used to place desired graphics and video clips on a timeline. Users then drag the video and graphics elements that are built as MOS objects over to the playlist in Viz Trio. This process saves significant time and manpower while getting the story to

air faster. And using this strategy often times results in less on-air technical errors. The IP-based Viz Engine can also work in a hybrid mode, SDI in and IP stream out, providing simultaneous output to air as well as to online and mobile environments. VizRT’s IP strategy also allows reporters to edit clips on-site and transfer them back to the station using any IP-enabled transmission device The IP-based Viz Engine handles streaming media and audio and video clips while compositing the graphics in real-time into an IP stream. The IP-based Viz Engine and the Viz Media Engine media asset management (MAM) solution represents a complete, end-to-end solution that allows broadcasters to manage all of their content — from ingest to distribution. This workflow enables them to increase speed and volume, and adapt content for delivery to multiple platforms. Journalists and producers of live newscasts can search for and access VizRT graphic templates and media content from Viz Content Pilot that open up within a newsroom computer system. Graphics templates are created using the Viz Artist 3D design software and transferred as files across an IP network. Journalists access the Viz Content Pilot template interface from within the newsroom computer system, and then use Viz Media Engine to retrieve the content they want from a VizRT or third-party media asset management system. It will also be possible to use the systems to produce any number of diﬀerent graphics (based on any parameter – geography, time of day, weather, etc.) – which again opens up the door for regionalised sponsorships/commercials allowing for a easily accessible new revenue stream for customers. Visit www.vizrt.com

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

Visit avid.com/connectivitybrief © 2012 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, speciﬁcations, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Avid, the Avid logo, and Interplay are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. The Interplay name is used with the permission of the Interplay Entertainment Corp, which bears no responsibility for Avid products. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

NEWS OPERATIONS

Importance of Online Grows in Video News Consumption A REPORT FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP), produced by Deloitte with research by GfK, provides what is claimed to be the first in-depth study into video news consumption. The report entitled “White Smoke, the new era for video news”, demonstrates the increasingly critical role of video in online news sites. The report, based on a survey of respondents in UK, Germany, and Spain examines demand for video news content and the implications for broadcasters, publishers and other organisations oﬀering online news. The research findings include: Most (86%) UK consumers have accessed news online frequently; of these nearly half (47%) watch video news clips on a regular basis; 85% of UK consumers believe video brings a news story to life; and 77% feel it improves their understanding of a story, suggesting that a video-rich news experience could result in a more informed and interested viewer. The research also found that a third of respondents (32%) would go elsewhere if video content was not available at their preferred news source. In addition, the research found that respondents who watch news videos online also place the greatest importance on keeping up-to-date with news. The research also showed the important role online plays in breaking news stories. While TV predominates as the first source (41%) for breaking news, online is the key source for greater depth on a story, with 69% turning to their PC, smart phone or tablet.

The report advises online publishers, especially TV broadcasters, that their online video news strategy should not simply replicate the editorial strategy for TV news. The findings clearly indicate that online video oﬀers opportunities for engaging diﬀerent types of viewers, particularly the young: while 16-24 year-olds appear the least engaged with news in general they are the heaviest users of online video news. Two-thirds watch video news once a week, the highest proportion of any age group. Deloitte’s expectation is that consumption of video news online should increase over time, driven by the continuing spread of smart phones, strong growth in tablets, as well as steadily increasing broadband speeds, via fixed and mobile connections. Further the rising resolution of smartphone and tablet screens will enable video to become more vivid. The research also found that tablet owners are enthusiastic consumers of video news online. In the UK, 91% of respondents have watched a news video on a tablet. As well as clearly indicating that smart phone and tablet proliferation will drive the need for online publishers to include video news content, it also showed that the format of video news needs to be appropriate for these mobile platforms. Sue Brooks, director of video transformation at AP, said, “Tens of millions of people recently watched the smoke turn white signifying the election of the new Pope on TV and many more

were watching live online. That is the nature of today’s news where video plays a vital role in bringing a story alive, not just for TV broadcasters but for any online publisher. “But, this is a shift in news consumption that is still in flux, and the ubiquity of smart phones and tablets will ensure that this remains the case for some time to come.” Matthew Guest, Deloitte media director, said, “This research has shown that video is no longer a luxury option for a professional news site; it is becoming an obligation. Most consumers, in most markets regard video as essential to the news experience – in conjunction with text and images. Video increases loyalty, adds diﬀerentiation between services among a crowded online news marketplace. Video enables news organisations of all kinds to engage with the social media generation in a way that text-only websites, newspapers, and TV do not. “The news industry must challenge itself to think about the way consumers will enjoy content on all of these platforms, providing news to consumers when they want it, in the format and on the device they prefer. Online video provides another option for doing this and an exciting opportunity to engage the younger audiences that are often – and inaccurately, based on our survey – perceived to be uninterested in news.” View the report at http://marketing.ap.org/videonewsinsights

Mosart Updates Newscast Automation MOSART NEWSCAST AUTOMATION 3.4 has a range of new features and functions, including a redesigned graphical user interface (GUI) with full user configurability.

NEWS OPERATIONS

Story elements such as cameras, clips, and graphics can be assigned to buttons for simple and quick access. A range of interface overviews also can be assigned to buttons, making the GUI a shot box for touch screens and adaptable for a range of TV productions. Story scripts from the newsroom computer system are shown directly in the Mosart GUI, and Mosart operators can store clips and graphical elements in a pool ready for execution on request.

Newscast Automation 3.4 now also includes interfaces with Harris Nexio and Grass Valley K2 video servers; Calrec and Stagetec audio mixers; Casper, Xpression, and Pixelpower graphics; and Brainstorm virtual studio and Camerobot systems. Mosart’s industry-

Content repurposing/reuse and media asset management (MAM) integration are enhanced with Mosart’s delivery of news as-run information to continuity control systems such as Snell’s Morpheus. Through the news as-run integration, continuity and MAM systems are now able to reuse individual stories or events from earlier recorded Mosart productions. Mosart can also be user-configured to query MAM systems for metadata information.

package for larger multi-studio broadcasters, and consists of Mosart Media Router and Mosart Template Sharing. The package provides highly efficient, streamlined sharing of resources and coordination across several control rooms. Scarce resources such as video server ports and graphics engines can be shared for optimal use of infrastructure. Workflow for journalists and production staff is optimised across the broadcasting facilities through template sharing and an automated template database, making it possible to create templates that can be called by the journalists from the Newsroom Computer System (NRCS) throughout the organisation and can be used in multiple control rooms. Mosart’s system also integrates with studio management systems to provide the ultimate in efficiency and economy.

Mosart multi-studio solution is a software

Visit www.mosart.no

leading open-systems compatibility is extended with new support for Octopus and Annova’s OpenMedia in addition to ENPS, iNEWS, Dalet News, and NorCom’s NCPower. Mosart’s Virtual Audio Fader Panel gives the director and production staﬀ more control and a better overview of audio faders and levels — both those on air and those coming up next.

NEWS OPERATIONS

Rugged Mobile Server Notebook GETAC TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, a manufacturer of rugged computers, is introducing the X500 Rugged Mobile Server and will be distributed exclusively by Synnex Australia. Designed for mobile command centers, the new briefcase-size X500 is a commercial oﬀ-the-shelf, high-performance, mobile, rugged server that provides quick deployment and can be transported into emergency, disaster, and temporary set-ups across Australia and overseas.

a quad core X500 ultra-rugged notebook, and adds a RAID expansion chassis, complete with RAID controller board and up to five shockprotected storage drives that can be accessed or swapped through one of two quick access doors. Embedded inside the RAID expansion chassis is a RAID controller card for enterpriseclass server applications. The X500 supports RAID levels 0, 1, and 5 and includes software designed to make it easy to view, monitor, and configure the storage in a mobile server.

The X500 rugged mobile server is built from

The X500 is powered by an Intel Core i7-820QM

1.73 GHz quad core processor with 16GB of RAM. Additionally, the server features the NVIDIA GeForce GT330M discrete VGA graphic controller with 1GB of memory and comes standard with an integrated 15.6 inch 800NITs QuadraClear sunlight-readable display. The X500 Rugged Mobile Server weighs less than 8.6kg, is MIL-STD-810G certified for ruggedness and shock protection, and its IP65 rating covers it for water and dust. Visit http://apac.getac.com or www.synnex.com.au

New AP Images Platform new platform to give customers better access to its vast collection of news and archival images, one of the largest in the world. The new platform for AP Images, can be found at www.apimages.com. It oﬀers quicker search speed with type-ahead functionality, infinite scrolling, curated collections, and a design with image rollovers and larger thumbnails providing

users with a much improved experience. It also makes image downloads faster, sharing photos simpler, and a user’s workflow more eﬃcient with the ability to tag images with multiple project names. “This platform makes it easier for our customers to capitalise on our broad distribution network and extensive collection of imagery,” said Fernando Ferre, vice president of AP Images. “We

have listened to feedback from our clients and redesigned our user experience to include more of what they are looking for when searching for, purchasing and using our content.” Ferre added, “Our new storefront also enables us to market our comprehensive oﬀering in new ways and to target and convert new customers.” Visit www.ap.org

23-26 July 2013 SYDNEY EXHIBITION CENTRE DARLING HARBOUR

Visit Ross Video at Stand J19

NEWS OPERATIONS

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP) has unveiled a

SPORTSCASTING Sport coverage worldwide

www.content-technology.com/sportscasting

IMG Sport Video Archive Launches Download Service IMG SPORT VIDEO ARCHIVE, a division of IMG Worldwide, has launched a new online platform allowing access to the world’s largest dedicated sports library via the internet for the first time. The research tool will allow customers to search, browse, watch, clip and download some of the world’s greatest sporting moments. As of May 1st 2013, the latest available action from Wimbledon, The Open Golf Championship, the Barclays Premier League, IRB Rugby World Cup, and the Australian Open, is available online. IMG’s clients will have their own branded pages within the IMG Sport Video Archive site which uniquely allows access to full-length coverage as well as highlights of major events. The content has been digitised from its original film, SD, and HD formats to be made available online. The archive consists of match footage, programming and interviews. New content will also be continuously uploaded every week with other major sports and federations also coming onboard. While the priority is to upload the most recent footage, the archive dates back more than 100 years. Richard Wise, Senior Vice President, IMG Media, said, “A tremendous amount of research and development has gone into this new resource including working very closely with our partners throughout the process. The result is a service that has a very user-friendly browser navigation system for our clients and customers. This in turn means that searching and viewing the specific footage they require will be a much easier process. We are confident the new website will prove an extremely popular addition to the service we already provide. Our aim has always been to create the world’s best sports archive and this is a major step in achieving our goal.” Part of IMG Media, the largest independent producer, packager, and

Representing over 40 of the world’s biggest sporting federations, governing bodies and events, IMG Sport Video Archive is based in London, with oﬃces around the world including New York, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo. Among the highlights featured within the IMG Sport Archive: Seve Ballesteros’ three Open titles, Bjorn Borg’s and Roger Federer’s five in a row Wimbledon wins, Jonny Wilkinson’s 2003 Rugby World Cup winning drop goal, David Beckham’s goal from the halfway line in 1996 and action from The ATP, The Ashes, the Ryder Cup, and the U.S. Open and US PGA Championship golf events. Visit www.imgsportvideoarchive.com

Evertz Dreamcatcher 4K Slo Mo Replay

THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) has awarded Ten

SINCE ITS LAUNCH AT NAB 2012, the Evertz Dreamcatcher slo-motion replay system has been used in a number of large sporting events including professional football, professional golf, auto racing, and baseball.

IOC President, Jacques Rogge, said, “Australia is a sports-loving nation with passionate Olympic fans, and therefore we are very pleased to be able to announce this agreement with Ten to ensure fantastic broadcast coverage of the Olympic Winter Games.” IOC Finance Commission Chairman, Richard Carrión, said, “Ten is an experienced sports broadcaster with a clear passion for the Olympic Games. The agreement ensures there will be extensive free television coverage of next year’s Olympic Winter Games, as well as the very best broadcast coverage on other media platforms, including online and mobile.”

SPORTSCASTING

Users of the site will have instant access to the extensive catalogue of footage and customers will also be provided with news and content updates via quarterly e-newsletters and social media platforms.

Ten Secures Oz Rights for Winter Games Network Holdings the rights to broadcast the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, in 2014. Ten Network Holdings has acquired broadcast rights on all media platforms in Australia.

distributor of sports programming in the world, IMG Sport Video Archive provides premium content solutions for a wide variety of mediums, including television productions, advertisements, movies, DVD and home videos, corporate presentations, mobile phones, training, websites, trade shows, education, and museums.

Ten Network Holdings CEO and Managing Director, Hamish McLennan, said, “We are delighted that Ten will be Australia’s Olympic network in 2014. The agreement with the IOC delivers on our strategy to increase our investment in premium sport. Australia will field its largest-ever Winter Olympic team at Sochi, and we are confident that some of those 56 athletes will be among the Games’ star performers. We are also confident that Australian viewers and advertisers will embrace our coverage of the Sochi Games.” Visit www.olympic.org and www.ten.com.au

Now, with the advent of 4K UltraHD cameras, Dreamcatcher has the ability to provide the broadcaster with the ability to “zoom” into the 4K UltraHD raster to provide a totally unique replay experience in both 4K and the more conventional HDTV television standards. According to Alan McIlwaine from Quinto Communications, Evertz’s distributor for Australia and New Zealand, “Dreamcatcher brings a host of new production techniques to sporting events including its impressive Mosaic feature that allows for multiple angles to be synchronised and played out at a single button press, oﬀering the production team the ability to show the captured event from new perspectives. With its 4K capability and a host of new production features we believe Dreamcatcher can oﬀer viewers exciting new images, whilst future proofing its technological lead.” Based on Evertz’ VUE, Dreamcatcher is the first to utilise multi-touch interfaces to simplify the way operators prepare instant replays and highlights packages. Dreamcatcher’s interface allows operators easy access to various controls (such as router control) while providing an integrated multi-viewer system. Visit www.quinto.com.au

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SPORTSCASTING

The Glasgow Diaries: Chapter 3 By David Bowers

ACH! IT’S HERE SOMEWHERE... I follow the muffled chiming of my mobile phone and find it beneath a pile of compound drawings – just as it goes to voice mail. THE MISSED CALL IS FROM one of our Sydney-based broadcast engineers, checking in before Australia heads off for the ANZAC Day long weekend. The rest of the team is also preparing for yet another trip to Glasgow for the next stage of review with Ian Hirst and Caroline Ramsay, my colleagues looking after production and venue operations. Even before the Sydney contingent arrives our steadily expanding Host Broadcaster team has outgrown the project office and we are in the midst of expanding to our adjoining premises at 227 Ingram Street. Our task list is growing exponentially so we are keeping strictly to the timeline our project management software mandates. What may look like chaos to the casual observer is well under control, really! Phone exhumed, I return my attention to the latest release drawings, formally called R2, which are the third such release on the critical path:

R0 Base layouts and overall outdoor elements required for design. R1 Indoor elements. Sport details. Positions for cameras and commentators. Mixed zones. Display boards. Utility locations and access.

R2 Detailed elements for broadcast components, roads and access. Major cable routes. Seating and stand locations. All press and broadcast position details.

R3 Refine elements and add broadcast lighting overlay. R4 Final drawings release. The hectic pace within our oﬃce mirrors that across Glasgow. Early last Sunday morning a telecommunications crew were laying fibre optic cable in front of my building.

SPORTSCASTING

The extent of activity is also apparent from the air, and on precious clear days I have been fortunate enough to fly over the city and vicinity to finalise the flight plans for the event weeks, which I have just submitted to the Organising Committee.

Survey for microwave link from Glasgow University to the SECC (Main IBC). Kelvingrove lawn bowls green in the foreground, the Hydro (background left) and Clyde Auditorium

These need to be set far in advance given the extensive activity that will be taking place in the skies – both visible and invisible. In addition to helicopters capturing aerial footage of the city and events such as the marathon, at Games time we will also have an aircraft that will act as a repeater platform for the motorbike-mounted cameras as well as a repeater back-up for the helicopters if they fly out of the ground-receive zone. Accordingly, establishing the sites for cameras and clear radio frequency (RF) coverage for communications and video transmission is critical. With local RF experts I have spent the past two months surveying promising locations, though it’s been a little deceptive as many of Glasgow’s trees are only just getting their leaves. By summer they’ll provide market umbrella-like shading – something that will impact both aerial pictures and signal reception. The extensive local understanding of RF-related topics has been invaluable: knowing the premium locations as well as areas to avoid due to mobile phone signal congestion, radar interference, and the spots where police high power data links operate. From an initial list of preferred and backup sites, we finalised the RF surveys this week in conjunction with the venue technical managers and the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee. One of the most central RF coverage points will be the City of Glasgow College site that overlooks Glasgow Green with a spectacular view of the River Clyde and into the distance where much of the marathon course will run. Meanwhile, many of the venues are rapidly taking shape and will soon be ready for us to begin readying them for broadcast activities. Among them is The Hydro, Scotland’s largest purpose-built indoor arena, scheduled to oﬃcially open in early September. A striking, 12,000-seat circular auditorium on the river bank, it will be used for gymnastics during the Games. Next door is the Scottish Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC), which will serve as the hub of the International Broadcasting Centre. The Host Broadcaster project team has established a precinct in the exhibition car

Home for weightlifting during the Games, Clyde Auditorium – also known as the Armadilo!

SPORTSCASTING park that will eventually evolve into the broadcast hub for the event. We are about to embark on the first round of site visits for outside broadcast (OB) supplier and specialty camera systems. Over a two-week period we will walk through each of the venues with our nominated suppliers to cover oﬀ all aspects of our needs. To name just a few: parking, power, camera locations, cable paths, security, access, and accreditation procedures. The International Swimming Centre in Tollcross is one example of a specialised venue where the Host Broadcaster will subcontract overhead, poolside track-mounted, and underwater cameras to specialist providers. Camera mounting and mechanical requirements however need to be scoped out well in advance, hence our site visit today. The changes since my first visit five months ago are dramatic. On the way home I drop by the excellent Maggie May for a wee pint and discuss the day’s activities with my colleagues. This all-in, big early eﬀort is great to be part of – a career highlight for me, and still 14 months to go! David Bowers is head of engineering and technical operations for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Host Broadcaster contract.

Glasgow Games gymnastics venue, the Hydro.

BBC Lines Up Live Streams from Glasgow BBC AUDIENCES THROUGHOUT Scotland and the UK will be kept in

“In this endeavour, we will work closely with colleagues in Salford

the picture with live streams from the Commonwealth Games venues.

and London and with BBC teams and other broadcasters across the

Delivering the Royal Television Society’s Campbell Swinton Lecture in Glasgow recently, BBC Scotland Director Ken MacQuarrie said the broadcaster will be taking up the baton from the coverage of 2012’s Olympic Games in London.

Commonwealth to ensure that the programming of, and around, the He told the audience 2014 is a particularly important year for the broadcaster. He said, “It is the year in which we will commemorate the outbreak of the Great War, we will cover the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and, of course, we will report on every twist and turn of the debate surrounding the [Scottish] Independence referendum.”

SPORTSCASTING

He said, “In many ways, the Games came of age in a digital world, defined to large extent by the BBC’s approach to coverage. We will adopt a similar approach to the Commonwealth Games, during which 15 separate streams will be beamed from 17 locations around Scotland.

Games will be second to none.”

SPORTSCASTING

Global Television Acquires 31 Sony HDC Cameras IN ITS LATEST SONY EQUIPMENT PURCHASE Global Television has acquired a further 31 Sony HDC series high definition cameras, taking its Sony HD camera inventory to nearly 250 and cementing Global’s industry-leading HD camera chain oﬀer. Global’s new Sony cameras will be deployed on diverse broadcasts including the National Rugby League for the Nine Network and Fox Sports, and Big Brother 2013 for Nine. The agreement, which extends Global and Sony Australia’s longstanding partnership, was reached at NAB 2013 and encompasses 10 HDC-2400, three HDC-2500 and 18 HDC-P1 point-of-view (POV) cameras. Marc Segar, Director of Technical Services at Global Television, said, “With Global’s ever-expanding slate of challenging and complex outside broadcast and studio OB productions, we need the latest and most robust HD camera chains. Sony’s HDC series more than meets that brief, allowing us to deliver 24/7 productions such as Big Brother and the fast live-to-air sporting action that is NRL to the exceptional standards our clients and viewers expect.” Garry Rhodin, General Manager of Sony Australia’s Professional Solutions Division, said, “It’s part of the Sony ethos that we continually try to develop our customer partnerships as well as our technology in order to provide the very best in equipment, service and support for the long term. This latest sale of HD camera chains to Global TV is a very good example of that philosophy in action. As a result we look forward to supplying Global with their HD acquisition requirements and more, for some time to come.”

cameras – which allow high quality night-time images, essential to documenting round-the-clock events in the Big Brother house. They bring the total number of Sony HD cameras used on the program to 35.

Global Television will use its new HDC-2500s for slow-motion capture during NRL games. Five of the HDC-P1 POV cameras will also be deployed on NRL, enhancing Global’s existing camera resources.

Global Television also recently installed a Sony MVS-8000X vision mixer into HD4 – used on NRL and other major outside broadcasts – making the HD Supertruck one of Australia’s most powerful OB vehicles.

For Big Brother Global has added 10 HDC-2400 and 13 HDC-P1 POV

Visit www.globaltv.com.au and http://pro.sony.com.au

Buckley Heads Foxtel Sport and Victoria FOXTEL CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, Richard Freudenstein has announced that Ben Buckley will join Foxtel as Executive Director – Sport and Foxtel Victoria from 3 June 2013. Ben replaces Peter Campbell who will leave the network to join the Australian Football League. “Ben Buckley is one of Australia’s most experienced and highly regarded sports executives,” said Mr Freudenstein. “His skills, passion and relationships will be hugely valuable to Foxtel at a time when the sports rights market is becoming increasingly complex. “Ben also knows Victoria well and has broad and deep connections there. He will be a natural leader for Foxtel’s business in the State. I am delighted he will be joining our team. “We are sorry to see Pete Campbell leave Foxtel after almost 14 years. He has been a great executive and has many achievements to his credit, most notably his oversight of Foxtel’s award winning London Olympics coverage. We wish Pete well and look forward to working with him in his new role at the AFL,” Mr Freudenstein said.

SPORTSCASTING

Most recently, Mr Buckley held the position of Chief Executive Oﬃcer of Football Federation Australia (FFA) during which time the A League grew significantly, the Socceroos reached their second consecutive World Cup and Australia won the right to host the biggest football tournament in Asia, the Asian Cup in 2015.

Sony’s Sony HDC-2500 camera.

Prior to joining the FFA he held senior commercial, strategy and marketing roles with the Australian Football League (AFL) from November 1999 to November 2006. Mr Buckley holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree and was a professional player in the AFL with North Melbourne Football Club from 1986 to 1993. Visit http://foxtel.com.au

The expanded camera inventory joins Global’s new second-generation Sony Trimaster EL OLED displays in the Big Brother control room and technical positions. OLED displays work without a backlight and oﬀer deep black levels and extremely high contrast ratios, even in low ambient light conditions – essential to ensure viewers don’t miss a second.

Data Modelling Soccer Players FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, sports equipment supplier Adidas has been working behind the scenes to identify a new specific type of soccer player it calls ‘The Engine’, an archetypical box-to-box player who covers every blade of grass, seeks goal scoring chances, tracks down his opponent and displays relentless energy from the first minute to the final whistle. Adidas recently revealed a partnership with leading sports data provider, Opta, who have confirmed this player type through an algorithm. Opta has produced a mathematical algorithm which defines the perfect ‘Engine’ player and will be used to track this player’s performance. Some of the players believed to fit ‘The Engine’ stereotype are Bayern Munich’s Javi Martinez, FC Barcelona’s Dani Alves, AS Roma’s Daniele De Rossi & Paris Saint Germain’s Ezequiel Lavezzi. With the help of Opta and their database of statistics and insights, the algorithm will be used to pinpoint ‘The Engine’ performances week in, week out. Certain indicators such as work rate, pitch coverage, and on/oﬀ ball statistics will be measured and players will be scored out of 100. Adidas and Opta will analyse data from key matches from the UEFA Champions League and the Confederations Cup and highlight ‘The Engine’ players via an index entitled ‘The Engine Scale’ – results will be announced to media and fans through a series of info graphics and other statistic-based imagery as they become available on twitter. Visit www.optasports.com

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SPORTSCASTING

AFL Kick Goals with Digistor and Dejero conditions to which AFL training and events are subject. “The Dejero Platform gives us the flexibility to transmit live breaking news from any location or transmit live games, such as the Women’s Football League via our website without having to invest in further infrastructure. Moving to the new Live 20/20 + transmitters, with the bonded 4G/3G combination, was essential to enable HD transmission of content,” says Young

TO PLAY AFL you need to be strong, fast, flexible, highly skilled and have an uncanny sense of what’s going to happen next. The game’s technology must share those attributes and that’s why Dejero’s Live+ Platform is the best player to power the league’s portable live broadcast capabilities. Sold and supported in Australia by Digistor, the Live+ Platform was developed by Canada-based Dejero, a leader in bonded 3G/4G/LTE, WiFi, and LAN transmission. Dejero is renowned for its live broadcast product suite, and in 2010 its Live+ Platform was road-tested, literally, during a successful live broadcast to the web of the Olympic torch’s journey across Canada. Like Canada, Australia is a vast country and the AFL needs to achieve high definition portable live broadcasting from every corner of it. Dejero’s Live+ Platform’s bonding technology works like a club recruiting the best available talent: it aggregates all available bandwidth, takes the fastest speeds from all carriers, and allows portable and live HD or SD broadcast from anywhere in Australia at any time. Dejero has also developed iPhone and iPad apps that allow broadcasters to skip the need for a camera crew and still create live content. “With Digistor managing the Dejero platform we now have the ability to transmit at the best possible quality,” says Andrew Young, AFL’s Head of Information Technology. Now, if an AFL pre-season story breaks in Cairns at the same time as the monsoon season begins, the Dejero Live+ Platform means the AFL can broadcast the story live to the web as it happens. The small and mobile platform, which is as eﬀective in motion as it is when stationary, is housed in a robust case. That means it can tackle the all-weather

“It’s a ruggedised unit that Dejero has customised so that all the inputs and outputs are on the outside of the box, but all the components that run the software are built on the inside,” says Peter Brownstein, Digistor’s Southern Region Manager. “It means a cameraperson or journalist can take it out on site without being too concerned about issues of fragility. And if the weather starts to turn in the middle of a story, the platform’s well-protected, so they can continue to broadcast live.” Because it uses Dejero’s platform, there’s no need for the AFL to send out expensive broadcast trucks in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth or wherever a story is breaking, and its web portal and aﬃliates can instantaneously oﬀer live news to end users. While this is happening, the Dejero Live+ Platform can also make a recording of the live broadcast using its store and forward technology . “This store and forward means you can do a live transmission, but also record locally at full resolution.” says Brownstein. “So if there are any issues with the transmission delivery, you’ve always got a back up recording you can send to the broadcast centre immediately afterwards in full quality. And if you have content created on an external system, on a memory stick, for example, you can send them through the Dejero Live+ Platform, across their bonded network back to the broadcast centre for use immediately.” Visit www.digistor.com.au

Load the Code! Scan this QR code to watch video about how Telstra is using Dejero and other technologies to deliver content to AFL fans, or visit http://www.youtube.com/ watch?feature=player_ embedded&v=Ehc5R3-00bM#!

Ecosystem for Monetising Online Sports

SPORTSCASTING

THE VIMOND SPORTS EXPERIENCE is a suite of modular and flexible player and application frameworks that forms a complete ecosystem for monetising sports online, enabling broadcasters to take full advantage of their sports broadcasting rights. With the Vimond Sports Experience, broadcasters are able to give fans a way to watch live and on-demand sporting events across multiple devices through an extensive and featurerich universal player, creating an interactive viewing experience they cannot get from traditional television. Value-added features — such as statistics, polls, maps, chat, and sharing — help keep viewers involved and collaborating across the screens.

The live sports ecosystem enables broadcasters to oﬀer their online TV subscribers totally interactive video players that have been created for specific sports, such as ice hockey or soccer. In addition to allowing subscribers to watch live or on-demand matches online with full DVR and time-shifting capabilities, the Vimond Sports Experience is equipped with a wide range of other features. Viewers can switch cameras to see additional angles or live streams; chat with other viewers; publish comments

to Facebook; review team statistics, match line-ups, and other facts; and more — all within Vimond’s player framework, with tabs and overlaying information fields. The Vimond Sports Experience is the end-user-facing counterpart to the modular, flexible framework Vimond developed specifically for sports rights holders. It is part of a broad suite of application frameworks in the Vimond front-end layer known as the Vimond Experience. The back-end Sports Experience framework acts as a layer between Vimond’s APIs and the portal, tying everything together and enabling programmers to create rich experiences for sports fans in weeks instead of months. Because the Vimond Sports Experience framework contains a library of sports-oriented features that are already implemented on Vimond APIs, broadcasters can quickly and easily style a sports site with the exact look and features they want, rather than having to build the site from scratch and then figure out how to implement its features. The Vimond Sports Experience framework supports all player formats, including Flash, HTML5, and Silverlight. Visit www.vimond.com

SPORTSCASTING

IOC Discusses Suspension of IOA THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) has held what it describes as “fruitful meetings” with a delegation from the Indian Sports Ministry, headed by Indian Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, and representatives from the National Federations of India who are also members of the suspended Indian Olympic Association (IOA). A representative of the Olympic Council of Asia was also in attendance. The IOC Executive Board suspended the IOA on 4 December 2012 due to its failure to comply with the Olympic Charter and as a protective measure against government interference in the IOA’s election process. The main purpose of the meetings was to explore the possibility for the suspended IOA to hold free, fair, democratic, and transparent elections on the basis of a revised IOA constitution and the Olympic Charter, with no outside interference, that could pave the way for the IOC to consider lifting its suspension of the IOA. Sports Minister Singh gave strong guarantees and a clear commitment that the government of India will fully respect the principle of autonomy of the Olympic Movement. In addition, a mutual understanding was reached to establish close co-operation between all parties concerned. It was agreed in particular that the drafting of the new sports bill will be undertaken in close co-ordination with the IOA and the National Federations, and with prior consultation with the IOC to ensure that it will be fully compatible with the principles and rules of the Olympic Movement. Following these meetings and subsequent consultation with all the parties involved, the IOC is considering the necessary measures to be taken before lifting the suspension. In particular, it is envisaged that the IOA should hold an extraordinary meeting of its members to review its constitution in order to improve its governance and ethics. This would be followed by a fresh general meeting to elect the new oﬃce-bearers of the IOA, based on the newly revised constitution and the Olympic Charter.

Magna Signs Tightrope Media Systems and Zeplay Instant Replay MAGNA SYSTEMS AND ENGINEERING, a supplier of products from a range of over 60 quality brands operating in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Indonesia, has signed broadcast automation and digital signage innovator Tightrope Media Systems as a principal for distribution in Australia and New Zealand. Founded in 1997, Tightrope Media Systems provides station automation, video servers, internet VOD, live streaming and perhaps is most well known for its ZEPLAY multi-channel instant replay machine used in stadiums, arenas, and OB vehicles. Magna Systems and Engineering Group Engineering Manager, Barry Pegg, said, “ZEPLAY is ideal for live events as a single ZEPLAY unit can store up to 160 hours of HD footage (40 hours per channel), all enclosed in a 4RU, 21” deep chassis. This makes it perfect for flypacks and mobile production. “ZEPLAY also provides macro programmable GPI inputs and outputs, so you can run tally and easily integrate with your existing production system. The ZEPLAY controller also features a t-bar that allows you to play a clip at +/-200% speed, and a jog/shuttle wheel with magnetic stops for a tactile control. “ZEPLAY’s unique software interface allows you to customise and save your layouts for a more optimised and eﬃcient workflow. All in all it’s a very powerful and clever unit.” The engineering and operation expertise of Magna Systems and Engineering extends to broadcasting, telecommunications, satellite earth stations, post-production facilities, and station automation. Visit www.magnasys.tv

Visit www.olympic.org

Eyeheight Colour Correctors Triumph in London Marathon EYEHEIGHT COLOUR CORRECTORS were at the forefront of British sports during coverage of the recent 2013 London Marathon. The contest began with a 30-second silence in honour of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. A total of 34,278 runners completed the 26 mile main course, watched along the route by more than 700,000 spectators. This year’s events were won by Tsegaye Kebede (Men’s Elite Race), Priscah Jeptoo (Women’s Elite Race), Kurt Fearnley (Men’s Wheelchair Race) and Tatyana McFadden (Women’s Wheelchair Race).

Designed to handle 525/625, 720, and 1080 line content, Eyeheight’s CC-2M colour corrector is an auto-sensing system allowing independent real-time adjustment of red, green and blue component levels, master gain, lift, gamma and hue. A preview output provides a configurable split screen showing the processed and unprocessed image. Up to six CC-2M colour correction cards can be housed in a 1 rack unit FB-9E chassis and operated from an FP-9C control panel with self-legending illuminated pushbuttons. Visit www.eyeheight.com

BROADCAST ASIA 18th – 21st June 2013 Marina Bay Sands, Singapore See Digital Rapids at the Gencom Technology Ltd Stand 5D2-01

SPORTSCASTING

“The London Marathon is one of the largest outside broadcast events in the British sports calendar,” explains Eyeheight’s Sales Director, Martin Moore. “It is a challenge for the contestants and would be a nightmare for the television colourists unless they had the right production tools. Six CC-2M channels housed in two chassis were used to ensure consistent colour matching between traditional cameras at fixed locations plus a variety of minicams following the action. The CC-2Ms were chosen for their proven quality, ease of use, and compactness.”

POST PRODUCTION

Sponsored by

Campion and Fontenay Reunite for Top of the Lake ACADEMY AWARD WINNING WRITER/DIRECTOR, Jane Campion, called upon respected feature film colourist, Olivier Fontenay, to work on her latest creation, Top of the Lake – Campion’s first television production in over 20 years. Their creative collaboration dates back over a decade. Fontenay and Campion have shared the journey through the progression from film to Digital Intermediate mediums together. Their story began with feature film In the Cut (2003) – shot and graded on film, which transitioned into Bright Star (2009) – shot on film and Digital Intermediate (DI) colour graded. Then together they took the next step into the digital world with Top of the Lake (2013) – shooting the production digitally and finishing in DI. Top of the Lake was a unique venture for both Director and Colourist – they are individually well regarded in their respective crafts, working on their first fully digital project collaboratively as well as stepping into the format of high-end television drama. Together, along with the rest of the production and post-production teams, they have provided audiences with a visually stunning and powerful production. “Olivier’s unrelenting passion and commitment to the director and the project doesn’t stop until the job is done,” said Emile Sherman, Producer See-Saw Films. Developing his craft in France, Fontenay has more than twenty years’ experience in the film industry with a copious amount of knowledge on and oﬀ set, he has embraced the transition from traditional film grading to digital grading. "Working with Jane & Garth has been a journey through love, passion and sensitivity. It's always a privilege to be part of a project such as this I can't wait for the next one," said Fontenay, Head of Colour, Deluxe EFILM.

Top of the Lake begins with a mystery – a twelve-year-old girl walks out chest deep into the freezing waters of an alpine lake. The girl is Tui (Jacqueline Joe), daughter of the local drug lord, Matt Mitcham (Peter Mullan). She is discovered to be five months pregnant and won't say who the father is. Then she disappears.

Deluxe EFILM's Sydney based studio undertook the post-production

Visit www.efilm.com.au

Bluefish444 Support for Creative Cloud BLUEFISH444, has announced its support for Adobe Creative Cloud, including a Windows plug-in for Premiere Pro CC enabling 4K SDI preview. Bluefish444 Epoch | 4K Supernova video cards are now supported by the Adobe Mercury Transmit plug-in. Epoch | 4K Supernova enables Adobe video editing tools new 4K SDI functionality building on the existing 2K/HD/ SD workflows already provided by the Create and Epoch video card range. New 4K SDI functionality brought to Adobe Mercury Transmit by Epoch 4K | Supernova includes: 4K/2K/HD/SD HD-SDI Outputs on a single video card QFHD 3840×2160 23fps-30fps 4:2:2 YUV 8/10-bit HD-SDI 4 x Level A & B 3G BNC Outputs Visit www.bluefish444.com

Fujifilm Showcases CCBOXX FUJIFILM HAS SHOWCASED ITS CCBOXX Image Processing System

POST PRODUCTION

at NAB 2013. Consisting of a hardware unit that delivers high-speed and high-precision image processing and an accompanying iPad app, the system accurately presents the colours that would appear on cinema screens on an on-set monitor, and oﬀers intuitive operations by using the iPad as a controller.

– including conform, grade, QC and deliverables – on the six-part television series which has just finished a highly successful run on UKTV in Australia and New Zealand, Sundance Channel in the US, and will be broadcast on BBC Two later in the year.

NAB 2013 also saw Fujifilm introduce its new concept CCBOXX Mini, which can work with multiple monitors and cameras. The CCBOXX Mini enables multiple monitors to be individually calibrated for proper viewing. Visit www.fujifilm.com.au

Self-Serve Workflow with MediaSilo AT THE 2013 NAB SHOW, MediaSilo unveiled the company’s new selfserve workflow automation platform, which gives creative professionals a simple way to build the video workflows they want. With the platform, users can select and link key tasks in a cohesive end-to-end solution tailored to their needs. Workflows can include automated tasks and human tasks, with an online user interface for task management. Users can launch a workflow just by dropping a file into the platform’s new desktop application. MediaSilo has partnered with a premier editing software supplier to build a lightweight and efficient digital dailies solution for use with videoediting applications. Engineered specifically to meet the requirements of a top U.S. entertainment network, the integrated solution facilitates ingest, logging, rough-cuts, and collaborative review of content without the need for costly on-set server systems and associated technical staff. The MediaSilo platform’s new Paper Cut feature enables fast and easy creation of rough-cut video clips based on transcripts of video managed by MediaSilo. The user simply drags transcript snippets from one or many videos to the Paper Cut pod to create a rough-cut edit. The Paper Cut player provides a preview of the resulting clip, which can be exported as a Final Cut Pro sequence file and viewed as an edited rough-cut in Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or Avid Media Composer. The MediaSilo iPad App gives users access to their media assets from anywhere. Creative professionals and teams can use this native iOS app to access the MediaSilo cloud library, locate the content they need, and download it for offline review. Newly introduced enhancements include content annotation and approvals. Visit www.mediasilo.com

POST PRODUCTION

Smoke 2013 Extended AUTODESK HAS ANNOUNCED AUTODESK Smoke 2013 Extension 1 professional video editing software. As part of the product roadmap and influenced by extensive feedback from editors, the release will feature numerous enhancements to help improve functionality, add flexibility and increase speed. The Smoke 2013 Extension 1 release will introduce support for Blackmagic video IO devices: DeckLink (PCIe video boards); UltraStudio (Thunderbolt boxes) and the Intensity product line; as well as a powerful new set of trim tools. Key features include: New support for Blackmagic DeckLink, UltraStudio and Intensity series video IO devices New Trim View and new dynamic trimming tools for faster editing New support for SonyRAW footage from Sony F5 and F55 cameras Improved conform workflow with Apple Final Cut Pro X allows more accurate translation of speed changes and ability to conform ARRI Alexa ProRes files Improved feedback mechanisms help editors better track background processes, monitor renders and identify errors Improved performance in MediaHub when navigating large data sets Improved 3D compositing performance in Action when working with 3D objects, shaders and textures Visit www.autodesk.com

Future Reality Opens Adobe Laboratory AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR FUTURE Reality has announced the establishment of its Adobe Demonstration Laboratory to support the launch of the Adobe Anywhere collaborative workflow platform and new Adobe video tools. “Our laboratory in Lane Cove, Sydney, has been running as the only Adobe Anywhere pilot site in this region with multiple workstations configured with Adobe software,” said David Edgar, Managing Director of Future Reality. “We have been working closely with local broadcasters, production and post-production facilities on this new and exciting technology and we are now fully equipped to offer training, sales and support. “The next version of Adobe video tools has been developed with features created in direct response to the needs of filmmakers, broadcasters and video professionals and we are ready to introduce teams or individual freelancers to these advances,” said Edgar. Launched at NAB, Adobe Anywhere empowers teams using Adobe professional video tools such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Prelude to work together accessing and managing centrally stored media and assets across virtually any network. Adobe Anywhere’s unique open platform architecture allows the use of existing infrastructure and integration with standard IT hardware, software, and network processes, thus reducing the need for additional capital expenditure and resources. Adobe Anywhere complements Adobe Creative Cloud and enables deep collaboration features for enterprise-ready production workflows. Two key components of Adobe Anywhere include the Adobe Mercury Streaming Engine and the Adobe Anywhere Collaboration Hub. With the powerful Adobe Mercury Streaming Engine, video professionals can eliminate hours of time spent transferring or duplicating large files and give team members instant access to files from anywhere. The Adobe Anywhere Collaboration Hub removes the boundaries between project files and allows multiple people to use different applications to access work on the same project files at the same time. And, to support the Adobe Anywhere open platform, Adobe is collaborating with industry-leading companies including EMC Isilon, HP, NVIDIA, Quantum StorNext, and Supermicro.

Particle Simulator for Autodesk Autodesk 3ds 3dsMax Max THINKBOX SOFTWARE HAS ANNOUNCED Stoke MX, a particle simulator plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max designed to simplify and accelerate the creation of high-volume particle clouds driven by velocity fields. Fast and easy to use, Stoke MX supports a large number of emitter and velocity sources, and introduces new workflows. Previously unavailable capabilities include multi-threaded particle advection, rapid memorybuﬀered playback, and asynchronous multi-threaded particle file saving, which enables significantly higher performance compared to existing workflows. “The flexibility of Stoke is phenomenal so we are super excited to see what artists can do with it,” said Chris Bond, founder, Thinkbox Software. “Stoke enables a completely new way of working. Instead of being stuck in a rigid linear simulation workflow, artists can essentially layer their particles and work backwards to mix, enhance or alter simulation data quickly and easily without having to re-simulate. It opens up a lot of possibilities.” Visit www.thinkboxsoftware.com

Visit www.future.com.au

AJA Supports FilmLight AJA VIDEO SYSTEMS HAS announced an OEM relationship with FilmLight through which its KONA 3G capture and playback card will support multichannel ingest and playout for FilmLight’s FLIP real-time image processor. FilmLight will bundle AJA’s KONA 3G as part of FLIP. Leveraging KONA 3G, FLIP users will be able to preview the colour grading of live raw footage with a range of HD video I/O channel combinations and can set FLIP to record or playback multiple HD-SDI streams. FilmLight’s FLIP applies lookup tables, grades and filter eﬀects to the live output of a camera while shooting on set. Inserted directly in the single or dual-link HD-SDI feed between camera and monitor, it utilises GPU accelerated hardware, Baselight grading, and Truelight 3D LUT technology to apply looks to raw footage to preview how the final grade will appear in post. KONA 3G is AJA’s professional video and audio desktop I/O card with 10-bit uncompressed video 3G/HD/SD SDI I/O, HDMI 1.4a output for stereographic monitoring to consumer 3D displays, 4K I/O, 8-channel AES digital audio I/O (16-channel AES with optional K3G-Box) and 16-channel SDI embedded audio I/O. Visit www.filmlight.ltd.uk and www.aja.com

POST PRODUCTION

Editors can now make more precise timing decisions quickly with the new trim view in Smoke 2013 Extension 1.

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & DAM

Oz Film & Sound Archive Takes DFT Scanity for 16mm THE NATIONAL FILM and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) has acquired a motion picture film scanner for the digitisation of its extensive holdings of 16mm film in the national audiovisual collection. The new equipment will add to the NFSA’s existing capability for scanning small-gauge film, and complement its commitment to traditional photomechanical film preservation. 16mm film was introduced in 1923 and is one of the most common film gauges, favoured particularly by independent filmmakers, documentary producers, and as a format for non-theatrical distribution. The national audiovisual collection holds 91,000 16mm titles – more than all other film formats combined. These include more than 6 million feet of television (including valuable news footage from the 1950s to the ‘70s), home movies, and documentaries and short films by well-known filmmakers such as David Bradbury, Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson, Tracey Moﬀatt, Albie Thoms, and George Miller and Byron Kennedy. Michael Loebenstein, CEO of the NFSA, said, “16mm film, once a format to liberate filmmakers from the confines of industrial production and the first ‘democratic’ distribution medium, has become the ‘poor cousin’ of legacy formats. As the stewards of the Australian screen heritage, NFSA makes a substantial investment in the future

accessibility of an important part of our collective audiovisual memory. The timing is fortunate as in 2013 we celebrate the centenary of Film Australia and Australian documentary film – a legacy that to a great extent survives in the 16mm format.” Traditional photochemical film solutions are being phased out and becoming more expensive, with limited suppliers, so scanning 16mm materials is a key element in a long-term preservation strategy. Scanned materials are not discarded; they continue to be preserved in their physical formats, in optimised cool storage The scanner selected by the NFSA is a DFT Scanity supplied from Future Reality Australia, following a tender process and an extensive period of research and market-testing. The selection criteria included the ability to handle fragile, shrunken film, and eﬃcient scanning of soundtracks and images at high resolution – crucial requirements for archival digitisation. “We’re delighted to be part of this important preservation initiative, and congratulate NFSA on their selection of the first Scanity in the region,” said David Edgar, Future Reality Managing Director. According to Ian Gilmour, NFSA Manager Engineering/Research, the NFSA is looking forward to working with DFT and Future Reality. Michael Loebenstein added, “This scanning equipment will also potentially increase the

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & DAM

Broadpeak Introduces umbrellaCDN

BROADPEAK, a provider of content delivery

best fit for numerous content delivery situations.

network (CDN) technologies and videoon-demand (VOD) servers, has launched umbrellaCDN, a solution that oﬀers content providers and pay-TV operators complete control over the allocation of video content to multiple CDNs. Utilising umbrellaCDN, users can select the best CDN for live or VOD content at all times.

umbrellaCDN resolves these issues by helping content providers transition to a best-of-breed approach that supports multiple CDNs. After deploying umbrellaCDN, content providers and operators can select the ideal CDN for their content delivery needs and therefore are not dependent on a single CDN provider. No installation is required within reception devices, enabling the solution to be deployed quickly and at a low total cost of ownership.

“Content providers and operators are constantly looking for new ways to improve the video delivery process,” said Jacques Le Mancq, president and CEO of Broadpeak. “umbrellaCDN perfectly complements our existing CDN solutions by enabling content operators and providers to balance traffic between multiple CDNs.” Content providers traditionally rely on a single CDN due to the difficulty involved with dynamically balancing traffic between different CDNs. However, a single CDN is generally not the

NFSA’s capability to support digital screenings of the national collection at both the NFSA’s Arc Cinema in Canberra, and its regional touring screening programs, and oﬀers new opportunities for restoring and re-releasing historical titles for the broadcast, home entertainment and broadband markets. The implementation of 16mm digital workflows also moves us further towards future support for the digitisation of 35mm film.” Visit www.nfsa.gov.au and www.future.com.au

Marquis Medway V3 MEDWAY V3 is the latest version of Marquis Broadcast’s flagship media integration product. According to Chris Steele, product manager, Marquis Broadcast, “Medway V3 can be described as an ‘interoperability engine’ that delivers costeﬀective integration between leading broadcast content applications, ensuring products such as Edit Platforms, either standalone or using Shared storage and third-party MAMs and automation systems can work seamlessly together.

Content providers can create parameter-based rules according to a wide range of criteria. Rules are managed through three distinct modes: quality of service, where the chosen CDN is the one that oﬀers the best quality; load balancing, whereby sessions are divided between several CDNs; and quotas, with a maximum number of sessions allocated to each CDN.

The new version of Medway includes various enhancements to continue to improve the eﬃciency and ease of digital workflows. New features include: support for lossy and lossless JPEG 2000 encoding and support for H.264 encoding for proxy creation. Medway V3 also supports AS-02, the AMWA standard for versioning of sequences.

Visit www.broadpeak.tv

Visit www.marquisbroadcast.com

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & DAM

New QC and CC Director from Nexidia AUDIO AND VIDEO SEARCH company, Nexidia, has unveiled Dialogue Search, Nexidia QC, and CC Director. Nexidia Dialogue Search (DS) is a tool that searches for any spoken word or phrase across workgroups or massive media libraries in seconds. With DS, media organisations can utilise their media libraries more easily by finding unique assets that fit their needs simply, precisely, and quickly without being overwhelmed by irrelevant results. DS integrates directly with asset management systems and editing applications, and no training is required. Nexidia QC is a new automated closed caption and video description application that helps ensure compliance, caption alignment, and language identification for broadcast and IP distribution. QC verifies that video description content was actually aired, which automates verification and logging for legal compliance. It also verifies that the captions aired match the program broadcast and determines the level of caption coverage for the program. Meanwhile, Nexidia CC Director is an application that automatically repurposes on-air closed captioning for broadcast and IP distribution. Live and file-based caption information is reused to recaption clips and programs for delivery to the Web, tablets, and other Internet-connected devices. Nexidia CC Director is designed to enable dynamic, low-latency caption retrieval from a caption catalogue storing years’ worth of captions. The captions are available within minutes of broadcast and can be retrieved without metadata or even the broadcast date. Visit www.nexidia.tv

Front Porch Digital Updates DIVA DIVADIRECTOR V5.1 IS Front Porch Digital’s newest update to its DIVAdirector media asset management (MAM) system. It is a permission-based Web application that enables complete access to file-based content stored by DIVArchive content storage management (CSM) systems. With cloud operations starting to dominate the industry, DIVAdirector 5.1 addresses LYNX-specific workflows and requirements such as site awareness, with a single DIVAdirector system showing the enterprise content view of assets stored in diﬀerent archive systems with integrated user permissions controlling access. LYNX from Front Porch Digital is an enterprise-scale cloud implementation of CSM which comes in two versions. LYNXdr is a hosted disaster recovery service that allows global media enterprises to centralise critical assets and consolidate operations, and LYNXlocal is a simple extension to LYNX that operates locally as an appliance. Meanwhile, new features and capabilities in the DIVArchive V7.1 CSM system make it ideal for a broader array of applications. The new AXF Explorer oﬀers an intuitive interface for parsing Archive eXchange Format (AXF) objects, with straightforward operations that are performed using drag-and-drop procedures just like in the Windows operating system. DIVArchive V7.1 also enables a complete range of video transcoding and workflows and is directly integrated with Telestream’s Vantage Transcode and Vantage Transcode Pro. Visit http://fpdigital.com

Primestream Tunes Up FORK Suite for managing and automating broadcast workflows. With new modules, features, technological improvements, and integration with third-party broadcast workflows, FORK 4.0 is more responsive, powerful, extendable, and adept at managing large-scale and multi-site installations. New modules include the customisable FORK Logger metadata-tagging tool that allows for logging live and recorded video, as well as workflows for Avid Media Composer and archiving integrations with Quantum StorNext. Improvements to FORK’s underlying technology increase the software’s stability, reliability, and functionality. The Primestream FORK Logger 1.0 is a new cross-platform module that’s part of the FORK Production Suite 3.5. The module is a powerful metadatatagging tool that allows for logging live or pre-recorded video. Its tightly integrated and configurable user interface enables content loggers to tag video with defined metadata into the FORK environment, making assets easier to manage, automate, and monetise.

Meanwhile, FORK Xchange Suite 2.0, an add-on to Primestream’s FORK software platform, contains new capabilities for creating subclips and markers, as well as an upload manager, extended metadata functionality, multitrack audio control, and more new features that make it easier for media enterprises to manage content eﬃciently among multiple FORK Production sites. Version 2.0 of FORK Xchange Suite also gives broadcasters instant Web access to content on their FORK Production servers from any Windows, Mac, or tablet device. Lastly, DigIT 1.0 is a server-based software application that helps broadcast, government, entertainment, and corporate IT departments to monitor their broadcast IT operations. The application can monitor individual servers in addition to the FORK production server, making it much easier for IT administrators to manage any kind of broadcast-related IT activity. Facilities can monitor mission critical servers and applications, quickly identify performance bottle necks, and recover and prevent from system failures. Visit www.primestream.com

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & DAM

PRIMESTREAM’S FORK 4.0 IS the newest version of its FORK Production

RADIO The original broadcast media

www.content-technology.com/radio

SBS Radio Takes It Outside with Lawo SBS (SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICES) Melbourne has recently commissioned a 12 fader LAWO sapphire console for its Melbourne Radio OB truck. The 12-fader console with overbridge was custom configured by Professional Audio Technology to the specific technical requirements of SBS Melbourne and will replace currently ageing analogue technology. With the console, Professional Audio Technology also provided a sapphire console frame with Mic I/O and GPIO’s and a DirectOut Andiamo.XT to handle all analogue line and AES I/O for the OB truck. SBS Radio Operations Supervisor for Melbourne, George Papakotsias,

and Broadcast Maintenance Supervisor for Melbourne, Wing Wah TO, travelled from Melbourne to commission the new system at Professional Audio Technology’s Sydney facility. Also present during the commissioning process was PAT’s Technology Specialist, Alan Liddelow, who commented, “This is the first LAWO sapphire console we have commissioned in Australia and I have to say, both we and the client are impressed with the sapphire console. It not only looks great, it provides the user with such flexibility one would expect from a production console, while still providing the familiarity of an on-air console.” Visit www.proaudiotechnology.com.au

DAB+ Digital Radio Keeps Trucking On TWO OF AUSTRALIA’S LEADING truck manufacturers: Isuzu and Hino, showcased DAB+ digital radio in selected models at the Brisbane Truck Show. Commercial Radio Australia CEO, Joan Warner, said, “Truck drivers can spend up to 10 or 12 hours in and out of their vehicles and Isuzu and Hino manufacturers have recognised DAB+ digital radio can offer their driver’s a great listener experience. The truck cabin is the driver’s office and Isuzu and Hino truck drivers have upgraded their ‘office’ to include digital quality sound, scrolling text with song information, and the ability to listen to up to 37 new, digital only stations.” Ten manufacturers now include DAB+ digital radio as standard or an option in selected vehicles: Ford, Land Rover, Mercedes, Toyota, Lexus, BMW, Audi, Hino, Jaguar, and Isuzu Trucks.

Throughout 2012, 34% of radio listening in Australia was in the vehicle and this continues to rise year on year. Full power DAB+ digital radio is available in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, with low power trials being conducted in Canberra and Darwin. Ms Warner said, “At present only truck drivers in the five metropolitan capitals can experience digital radio. A quarter of a million people are employed in the road transport industry and could benefit from digital radio expanding into regional areas, allowing them to pick up digital radio throughout their journey across the country.” The industry is running a nationwide digital radio regional awareness campaign which was launched in March and has so far resulted in thousands of people signing the petition to have digital radio rolled out to regional Australia.

Meanwhile, digital radio sales and listening figures recorded another significant rise with 94,024 DAB+ digital radio devices sold in the first quarter of 2013, bringing the total number sold since the 2009 launch to 1,250,179. In addition, listening figures from Survey 2, 2013 show 12.3% of people are now listening via a DAB+ device each week. The first quarter sales figure for 2013 is up from Q1 2012 when 88,004 digital radio devices were sold. Oﬃcial Nielsen radio survey results for metropolitan Survey 2, 2013, show that nearly 1.6 million people are listening to digital radio each week in the five state capitals, bringing DAB+ listening up to 12.3%. Time Spent Listening (TSL) to radio via a DAB+ device is double that of TSL to radio via the internet. Visit www.digitalradioplus.com.au

29(5 <($56 2) %52$'&$67,1* For more than h 40 years, TASCAM products d have h been b a mainstay off the h broadcast b d industry, d with h recording devices and CD players to suit a huge range of applications. Here’s a small selection...

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RADIO

HARMAN’s Studer Sets Radio Roadmap for Rural Thailand THE THAI GOVERNMENT Department of Rural Roads is responsible for maintaining the roads that connect to the country’s main highways — this enables them to set up bypasses where necessary to improve traﬃc flow. To assist them in responding quickly to provide information across the vast network of roads, the Department has now set up its own radio station — initially for internal broadcasting before it becomes a full FM/AM broadcast channel, streaming information for the benefit of the general public. To help facilitate live broadcasts and flag up immediate alerts, HARMAN’s Studer’s Bangkokbased distributor 101 Technology (part of the Mahajak Group) has supplied a compact Studer OnAir 1500 production desk. Fitting a tight budget, the desk will be multi-functional, enabling the station to handle live broadcasts and record live sessions — while operating as a dedicated production mixer. 101 Technology reports that this is the first OnAir 1500 to be sold in the country. The company’s Wiboon Lertkultanon explains, “We put all the Studer OnAir 1500 launch information up online. The people involved in the radio station knew of Studer’s reputation and I was contacted immediately after they saw it on our website.

“In fact, the OnAir 1500, configured with 12 faders, was designed to provide the versatile hybrid solution for radio broadcasting and production that the studio required, a compact and cost eﬀective production room console. The additional integrated USB playback and record functions make the OnAir 1500 a highly comprehensive desk. “After initial concerns about the budget they found they could do everything they needed with the OnAir 1500 and still have funding remaining for room decoration,” reports Wiboon. “The fact that the desk could double as a production mixer was a bonus since they don’t have the budget to build another production studio yet.” The compact form factor provided another compelling reason for adopting this platform. Converted from a small meeting room, the studio measures just 4m x 3m and can accommodate a host and two guests. Notes Wiboon, “The idea of separating the surface from the DSP held the key to space saving. Also the ease of the flash drive plug and play is another highlight.” Assigned to the faders are a host and two guest mics, solid state player, CD players, automatic play out, and two oﬀ-air feeds, a telephone hybrid and production workstation (plus GPIOs).

The host microphone can also send out to record in the production workstation and the mixer takes the input from the production workstation back to the studio monitor. The outputs feed: Internal broadcast; Radio broadcast; Internet Radio Streaming and Production workstation which runs Adobe Audition, enabling it to record and edit files. Visit www.harman.com and www.mahajakskm.com

THE NEW MOSAIC NEW STYLING | NEW FEATURES | SAME LOGITEK PERFORMANCE

Logitek’s ﬂagship console is now even better with enhanced styling and functionality. The Mosaic provides anywhere from four to 24 faders in a durable, attractive tabletop enclosure. OLED screens are used throughout the console and have been added to the Softkey module for easier source selection. We’ve made access to controls more intuitive and have illuminated key controls for use in any type of studio lighting.

For more information, please contact Phone +61 2 8882 7777 | Email sales@logitek.com.au | www.logitek.com.au

A division of OnAir Solutions

RADIO

Available now, the Mosaic is perfect for operation with our JetStream Networked Audio platform.

RADIO

Lawo EDIT: The Editing Software For Radio Broadcasting production tasks proceed more swiftly and eﬃciently. The software also reconciles an intuitive user interface with operating philosophies now prevalent in the radio sector and is easily adapted to the personal preferences of users.

LAWO HAS broadened its product range with the launch of EDIT, a software solution for radio production. EDIT is a powerful tool for the generation of the full spectrum of editorial content in radio broadcasting. Whether reporting, interviews, or the creation and continuous updating of recurring pieces, EDIT oﬀers a dedicated toolkit for each task. With its clever system of user guidance and variety of working modes, EDIT ensures

Prism Sound Launches New Versions of SADiE 6 PRISM SOUND HAS RELEASED two new versions of its SADiE 6 software. SADiE 6 Professional and SADiE 6 Lite are designed to bring this audio production and recording software to a much wider audience by allowing users to access the software at a lower price point. Graham Boswell, Sales Director of Prism Sound, says, “SADiE has always excelled in roles where the most sophisticated editing capabilities are required and where reliability and robustness are paramount. However, we have recognised that not every user needs a full complement of features and functionality, so we have tailored specific versions of SADiE 6 software to suit diﬀerent budgets and applications.”

RADIO

SADiE 6 Lite presents the core capabilities of SADiE in an entry-level package, while SADiE 6 Professional can handle unlimited tracks and incorporates one year’s free support including all major updates. Both SADiE Lite and SADiE Professional include SADiE’s array of flexible and non-destructive editing tools such as the Playlist, Trim, and Region editors. They also provide a slimmed down core set of iZotope VST plug-ins and the wellestablished palette of SADiE channel strip processing.

Visit www.prismsound.com

EDIT boasts a whole array of sophisticated features, such as the voice-over production solution, Reporter Box, or the simultaneous use of multiple data formats in one and the same project. Native integrated sound processors from the mc² mixing console series assure audio signal processing of reference quality. Also included is a loudness function in accordance with EBU R128 and ATSC A/85 that can be used not only for real-time metering, but also for the loudness analysis of archive material (whether clips or entire takes). EDIT can be used with the full range of commonly encountered audio hardware as well as being fully compatible through its standardised interfaces with database solutions in the radio sector. Various versions of the program are available for diﬀerent areas of application.

ASI and WinMedia Announce Agreement AUDIOSCIENCE, INC. (ASI), who designs and manufactures advanced DSP based digital audio peripherals, has announced that WinMedia, a France-based multifaceted Value Added Reseller has agreed to standardise on ASI Broadcast products for their Radio Automation Solutions. By incorporating ASI’s audio cards and WinMedia’s pre-set packages and tailormade solutions this provides greater choice for the broadcaster’s precise needs. “This is a very important day for the WinMedia’s sales force, because with this agreement, we could oﬀer to our distributors, a worldwide pricing based on USD. The range of ASI card coverage all the needs of our modules, production, ingest, live and automatic playout, multi-area splits, logger, podcast and streaming,” says Stephane Tesoriere, CEO of WinMedia Group. Visit www.winmedia.us and www.audioscience.com

Visit www.lawo.de

Government Boosts Support for Regional Services THE GOVERNMENT is providing $2.7 million over four years to help communities in regional and remote Australia access an increased range of radio services on the Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) service. “The VAST service is being deployed across Australia to provide digital television and radio services in remote and regional areas, replacing the Aurora satellite platform, which will cease transmission at the end of 2013,” Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy said. VAST currently provides more than 90 radio services from the national, community and commercial broadcasters, an increase from the 65 radio services provided on the current Aurora satellite service. “The funding of $2.7 million will assist community groups and local councils upgrade their radio transmission equipment so they can retransmit radio channels from the new VAST service,” Senator Conroy said. This additional funding is on top of the $2.7 million the Government is providing to the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (AMRAP) over five years. “AMRAP is a highly successful and important program that assists musicians and community broadcasters increase the amount of contemporary Australian music they put on air,” Senator Conroy added. Visit www.dbcde.gov.au

Factum and Teracom Cloud-Based DAB+ FACTUM AND TERACOM have recently been successful in its eﬀorts to make the transition from traditional DAB+ HW to a solution based on virtual machines. The Swedish network operator Teracom is now on air with a complete DAB+ head end system running on a virtual platform. This is the first time that a complete DAB+ system is capable of being realised without dedicated hardware. Instead, it is now running as a piece of software on an existing IT infrastructure for virtual machines. Product Manager at Teracom, Per Borgå, comments, “Running a complex system like DAB+ multiplexers on existing virtual infrastructure gives benefits that are clear and easy to measure. It is now easy to add regionalisation and new services without the additional cost for setting up dedicated hardware. Adding digital radio to our existing IT infrastructure also means we can share backup strategies, clustering, 24/7 performance monitoring and more, with other critical services in the Teracom network.” The Factum DAB system generation 7 can be running on all existing virtual platforms, and has been intensively tested with Microsoft Hyper V, Oracle Virtual Box and VMWare. Visit www.factum.se and www.teracom.se

RADIO

Ampegon Going Green with PV Power Plants AMPEGON, supplier of radio broadcast transmitters and antenna systems, is opening a new business in Green Technologies. Ampegon is developing a unique solution to transfer vast areas into photovoltaic (PV) power plants without consuming valuable additional space. The company promotes an optimised utilisation of fallow land at transmitting stations and antenna fields. Based on the large turnkey experience with radio broadcasting stations and solar power know how acquired by Parter Capital Group, such business is a perfect fit for the expansion of existing transmitter sites but also for new PV power plants. Since May 2012 Ampegon GmbH in Schiﬀerstadt, Germany is developing a pilot PV project including land use plan and the necessary construction permits at a short wave antenna site in the Wertach valley in the South of Germany. The pilot project for a 20 MW solar power plant is in a final planning stage and oﬀered to financial investors as well as to energy providers. Visit www.ampegon.com

Tieline Announces NETIA Partnership TIELINE HAS ANNOUNCED a strategic partnership with content management solution provider NETIA, which includes the integration of Report-IT Enterprise with NETIA’s software solutions for managing and broadcasting radio content. This partnership delivers improved workflows to both Tieline and NETIA customers for ingest of news content and enhanced tools for mobile journalists in the field. Both organisations worked closely with one of their mutual customers, ABC Australia, to integrate the ingest of recorded Report-IT audio files into NETIA’s Radio-Assist using FTP sharing. Tieline has also integrated iSnippet, NETIA’s latest Radio-Assist editing tool, into Report-IT Enterprise for iPhone/ iPad. “Clearly Tieline’s partnership with NETIA opens up an entirely new world of opportunities for mobile journalism by making it easier and faster for journalists to get their stories to air via NETIA Radio-Assist systems,” said Charlie Gawley, vice president of sales, APAC/EMEA for Tieline. Visit www.netia.com and www.tieline.com

NETIA Deploys on Mobile and CrossPlatform Devices NETIA HAS ANNOUNCED that it is giving users multiplatform access to the Radio-Assist digital audio software suite as well as media management software on portable devices. “Our robust radio automation and media asset management solutions already give desktop users a wealth of tools that support eﬃcient production and playout of audiovisual content,” said Paul Henri Oltra, vice president at NETIA. “By porting key functions onto both Windows and iOS mobile platforms, we enable the broad base of NETIA customers to realise even greater benefits from these innovative solutions.” The existing range of editing tools available within Radio-Assist automation products is now available for iOS devices including the iPhone and iPad, as well as for Windows 8 tablets. The new iSnippet tool for portable devices makes it convenient for field reporters and other remote users to take advantage of familiar Radio-Assist audio editing capabilities. A new mobile teleprompter function adds further value by enabling journalists to jump into the studio news broadcast, reading their news pieces directly from their mobile devices such as tablets. NETIA also has adapted its media management software and made it available on any mobile platform. This solution enables journalists to access, search, browse, retrieve, and play any content from anywhere. Visit www.netia.com

AUDIO Digital soundwaves

www.content-technology.com/audio

TVNZ Improves Workflow with Calrec Artemis Beam Console by Paul Hedges, Production Services Manager, TV New Zealand

TV New Zealand (TVNZ) is New Zealand’s national broadcaster. We operate six channels and an online catch-up TV service to serve the country’s 4.2 million people. OUR AUCKLAND HEADQUARTERS has two main studios, one of which is dedicated to our flagship news-production operation, as well as smaller production studios. Our news content is a major driver of commercial revenue on the most watched network in New Zealand. Our news studio handles more than 14 different live and recorded shows each week, with our top-rated 6pm One News broadcast reaching 1.53 million New Zealanders weekly. As part of our transition to digital, we needed to upgrade our analogue audio-mixing equipment in the news studio. Such a busy operation required a sophisticated, flexible, expandable system that would allow us to mix and route audio not only for in-studio productions as well as location shoots, but for scenarios we haven’t even thought of yet. Robustness and reliability are critical to our operations, so we needed a system with suitable built-in redundancy to ensure a seamless transition to backup if a failure occurs. The layout had to be logical and easy to understand. And we wanted a console that would provide some futureproofing, such as the ability to share resources with other consoles we might install down the road. After a careful selection process, we knew that Calrec’s Artemis Beam digital audio console was exactly what we needed. We replaced an older Calrec analog console with a 48-fader Artemis Beam desk to mix daily live news production, a morning magazine show, several weekly current affairs shows, and a weekly consumer advocacy show. The new console manages all incoming audio, triggering effects, and production of mixminus and IFB feeds.

AUDIO

The Artemis Beam’s routing capabilities oﬀer major benefits to our audio operations. Life is much simpler now that we can use the console to pull feeds from other studios or locations into the main production environment. While the Artemis Beam replaced a much-loved analog console, it also replaced not-so-loved, time-consuming patch bays. We used to rely on physical patching to achieve things that we can now do with routing in the new console. We were running out of fader modules on the analog console, but now we simply map faders to sources and change the configuration. Some of the work we do now was physically impossible on the old analogue console.

The new system gives us access to more inputs on the same number of faders. Having diﬀerent layers for diﬀerent shows makes it easier totransitionfrom one show to the next, especially because we often require very fast — sometimes immediate — turnaround between shows. The Artemis Beam’s routing capabilities manage our audio workflows, which accelerates setup in any situation, whether for a remote standup shot or an in-studio production. Also contributing to the speed of setup and transition is the ease in changing the layout of the console to suit individual operator preferences.

TVNZ Sound Operator Richard Sweeting at the helm of the Calrec Artemis Beam.

Using the Artemis Beam to manage audio workflow accelerates our operation in other ways, too. For example, we can load a basic template when no sound engineer is in the studio so that anyone can get a basic news break to air if we need to respond rapidly to a developing story. The Artemis Beam console is an elegant workflow-management solution for us. Being a news studio, we aremainlyconcerned with microphones, remote location feeds, and server lines for playback of pre-edited stories.The Artemis Beam uses the direct outs for generating mix-minuses, which we have found to be as simple and reliable on the new console as it was on the old. We can easily copy fader parameters for quick setups, and once we’re on the air, the desk intuitively controls gain, EQ, and leveling for all channels. The desk’s Automixer function has helped us improve the viewer experience in multihead interview situations by automatically attenuating output levels of all microphones to ensure all voices are audible. We have a range of analogue and digital Calrec consoles throughout our various facilities. Because the Artemis Beam console’s layout and logic closely followed that of our old analogue console, it was an easy switch from old to new. Our operational team members who use the console every day found it to be intuitive and very flexible. Versatility, capacity, ease of learning, and similarity to the old analogue desk were very attractive features for us. Furthermore, when we cover major events such as political elections, we can quickly and easily expand our capacity by using the console’s networking and resource-sharing abilities to join various sources, locations, and studios. In that regard, we also purchased several Calrec stage boxes that work with the Artemis Beam to extend our capabilities beyond the studio. For example, for variety, we often position reporters outside or in other parts of the building for standups. The stage boxes and CAT 6 connectivity have reduced the cost of installation in these locations, while the console itself speeds setup time. When we embarked on the digital transition and decided to make the change to a new console, we needed a plan for keeping our live news production going while changing out the old console. The technical and logistic planning had to be just right. Our in-house engineering team developed a great transition plan, which resulted in no failures to air. We also had good support from Synchrotech Systems, Calrec’s distributor in Australia. The training we received was excellent. In a short time, we all walked away with a good knowledge base. The desk was much easier to learn than we expected, and the layout and design made for a pleasurable transition. The new console went live on January 21— slightly ahead of schedule — and the fact that our operators were confident enough to go to air earlier than planned speaks volumes. Visit www.calrec.com and www.tvnz.co.nz

AUDIO

Southern Cross Austereo Hits Loudness Targets with Nugen by Steven Fox Senior Broadcast Engineer Southern Cross Austereo

Southern Cross Austereo is a regional broadcaster for both television and radio in Australia. Our television services reach most of Australia’s population centers, and we have aﬃliation arrangements with all of the metropolitan commercial networks to carry their programming to the country’s 30 regional submarkets. As of January 2013, Australian broadcasters have been subject to Operational Practice 59 (OP-59), which lays out rules for measuring loudness in soundtracks for television broadcasting, and defines loudness as something diﬀerent from audio level. The new loudness measurements are in addition to the peak metering we already had to do. Covering such a vast geographic area means we handle a diverse mix of programming with a broad range of audio content. We needed a simple tool that would help our editors quickly and easily measure and manage loudness in a wide range of material to ensure we complied with the rules. In researching possible OP-59 solutions, one of our editors found the LM-Correct loudness analysis and correction tool from NUGEN Audio. After testing it, we knew we had our solution, and now we use LM-Correct in all of our editing suites. Unlike most of the other products we tried, the LM-Correct software plug-in not only measures the loudness, but it actually corrects the audio level as required. That means the editor can measure and correct loudness within the editing suite almost in one step, and then push the job out to play. The audio-mixing process in the editing suite can be quite detailed. Without LM-Correct, editors or producers would have to package the audio and send it away for processing, but now they can mix their own audio and process it themselves with the touch of a button. The LM-Correct plug-in is a simple addition to our workflow. The editors import material into Avid Media Composer and edit as they normally would, and then run LM-Correct after the mix is complete. Because of this software package, editors have more creative freedom to mix the way they want because they know that LM-Correct will normalise the audio later to ensure compliance. For example, without LM-Correct, editors must base loudness on volume units, so they have to ride their peak levels very hard, but because of the way the NUGEN Audio product processes the audio, they don’t have to worry about doing that anymore. In fact, the quality of the audio has actually improved. One-touch auto correction is perhaps LM-Correct’s most valuable feature because it consolidates several manual processes into a single, push-button, automated function. Editors used to have to analyse and correct, analyse and correct, until they got the mix the way they wanted it, but now they simply push a button and it’s finished. Another thing that’s especially valuable is the editor-friendly interface. Other software we’ve tested provides a lot of granular detail, which is great for engineers, but not necessary for editors, who are the primary users at Southern Cross Austereo. LM-Correct’s display is well-organised and provides the appropriate amount of detail without overwhelming the editors. Since we’ve been using LM-Correct, we’ve seen a significant increase in our ability to meet OP-59 targets. With LM-Correct, our mixes hold up to scrutiny every time. Visit www.nugenaudio.com

AUDIO

Adobe Integrates TC Loudness Radar TC ELECTRONIC, A LEADING manufacturer of

over time.

loudness metering and processing equipment for broadcasters, has teamed up with Adobe to integrate its LoudnessRadar in the next versions of Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Audition on a license agreement.

“Loudness compliance is a key requirement for content creators today and moving forward,” said Simon Williams, director of strategic relations at Adobe. “Our Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Audition users will be able to have access to an innovative and easy-to-use loudness monitoring solution.”

The LoudnessRadar builds on TC Electronic’s LM6 Radar Loudness Meter and oﬀers a wide range of loudness measuring tools that are key to content creators delivering for broadcast, film and internet. In short, the LoudnessRadar provides an easy-to-read overview of loudness

“By adding the LoudnessRadar to the Adobe Premiere Pro toolset, Adobe has made it easy for video editors to get audio standards compliance right. The audio Target is always

Artist Input from Riedel on iTunes THE RIEDEL IOS APP “Artist Input Monitor” is now available at the iTunes Store. The Artist Input Monitor is the first application of a new series of utility apps for the iOS platform from Riedel Communications. The Artist Level Meters application can monitor and control up to eight freely assignable audio inputs of an Artist Digital Matrix Intercom system. The app gives the intercom administrator a new way to manage the 4-wire input levels of a

in sight, and it’s easy for all to balance speech consistently against background sound and foreground music,” says Thomas Lund, HD Development Manager at TC Electronic. Visit http://www.tcelectronic.com

Load the Code

system without having to be in front of a computer. The Level Meters can be configured wireless directly on the iPad.

Scan this QR code to access the download page for Riedel’s Artist Input Monitor app for iPad.

The Artist Input Monitor App is available in the iTunes store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ artist-input-monitor/id642301513?mt=8

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AUDIO

COVERING THE ASIA PACIFIC

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AUDIO

DPA Microphones Opens HK Office FOLLOWING A RECORD YEAR for sales in the Asia and Pacific regions, DPA Microphones is consolidating its success by opening a new regional office in Hong Kong. Headed by Ken Kimura, DPA’s general manager for the APAC region, the new office will act as a hub for sales, marketing and after-sales service. It will also enable the company to expand its sales network and develop new business channels in market sectors that have yet to discover DPA’s technology and products. Kimura, who was previously based in Shanghai, says, “Establishing our new office in Hong Kong makes sound economic and geographic sense. By basing our office here we can significantly expand our reach as well as visibility within the entire region and thereby aim our ambitions much higher.” During the last trading year, DPA’s sales have been on the increase in virtually every APAC country with some showing growth as high as 40%. This success has been achieved by DPA developing strong partnerships with its distributors and dealers so that they can fully support their customers. Visit www.dpamicrophones.com

Nine Keeping on Level with DK Meters NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA have purchased DK Technologies latest DK Series of Audio Loudness Meters from AVW Broadcast, the Australasian distributor for the Danish Company. Since the recent introduction of Free TV’s OP59 coming into effect this year the uptake and interest in the DK Meters (DK1~4) has been massive, in particular with the major broadcasters across Australia, comments Murray Hunt Director of AVW. “We have found television networks and production houses want a straight-forward, reliable solution to meet their loudness requirements, which the DK Meter does perfectly,” he said. Nine Networks Engineering Manager, Andrew Seale, comments, “The DK Meters offers a cost effective and easy to use solution that meet our networks loudness monitoring requirements under the new Free TV OP59 practice.” Visit www.avwbroadcast.com.au

PAT Supplies Global TV HD Super Truck PROFESSIONAL AUDIO TECHNOLOGY has supplied Global Television with key audio equipment for Global’s most sophisticated High Definition ‘super truck’: the newly-launched HD9. Designed and built in Australia to the standards of Global’s broadcast engineering services team, HD9 boasts a new level of integration and user features. Equipped with Lawo mc2 56 MKII audio console and Riedel communications system, this combination is a first for Global’s mobile fleet. “We have chosen Professional Audio Technology to supply us with a wide range of equipment for HD9, including the Lawo mc2 56 MKII console with HD core, the truck’s VSM control system, various DirectOut products, hybrids from Comrex, secondary monitors from Focal, and even smaller things such as fibre converters from Microsens,” commented Global Television’s Technical Services Manager, Milan Milenkovic. Professional Audio Technology’s MD, Patrick Salloch, stated, “We are delighted that Global Television has once again placed their trust in us and our manufacturers to supply such a multitude of world class equipment for HD9.” Global Television CEO, Keith Andrews, added, “Global Television’s goal is to combine the best technology with outstanding people to meet or exceed our customers’ expectations. We are excited to bring HD9 to market.” Visit www.proaudiotechnology.com.au

AUDIO

NHK Injects Emotion Into Loudness Management EMOTION SYSTEMS LIMITED is a UK company established to build signal-processing solutions for file-based workflows based on the powerful Emotion Systems platform. Its guiding principle is to ensure compliance whilst maintaining content integrity with zero damage to files and wrappers. The first software application built on this platform is eFF, which is an intelligent analysis, reporting and correction tool for audio loudness. It analyses the loudness of content and, if necessary, makes alterations to ensure compliance to the appropriate standards and adjustable local parameters. In October 2012 Emotion Systems, in conjunction with Japanese dealer Kondo Broadcast, started work with NHK, the national broadcaster of Japan. NHK had a specific requirement to process a large number of files in their archive stored in the Panasonic P2 format. P2 has a file structure which contains MXF Op Atom files. This allows a single wrapper to contain a number of video and audio files, with a size limit on any one file of 4GB. To provide accurate loudness correction and compliance for a long form programme, therefore, the software had to be capable of opening all the files within a wrapper and work with them, integrating the result across all files. Emotion had already developed the ability to integrate across multiple files in eFF, to meet a rather diﬀerent requirement. Audio postproduction houses frequently deliver finished surround sound tracks as six mono .wav files, and again the only way to certify loudness compliance was to open them all, measure them as a group, with appropriate weighting and adjust them all if required. It was therefore possible to extend this technique to address the P2 file structure; Emotion Systems and Kondo Broadcast demonstrated this in December 2012. Satisfied that the Emotion Systems technology accurately managed and corrected the files, NHK then moved on to workflow issues. The first issue was one of speed. This requirement was part of a larger project to archive tens of thousands of hours of P2 content, and NHK was concerned that the loudness processing should not have an impact on the rest of the workflow.

TSL New Broadcast Solutions TSL PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS LTD. (PPL) has released a selection of new audio, loudness, tally, power distribution, and surround sound capture and processing solutions. The new SAM1-3GM Studio Audio Monitoring Solution, a flexible system ideal for broadcasters and content producers alike, oﬀers operation in settings ranging from multi-language and surround sound/ stereo production to live sports and event broadcasting. It is also capable of a range of functionality for EVS monitoring, Master Control, Ingest operations and throughout broadcast production environments. Meanwhile, the Monitor Plus family oﬀers robust entry-level audio monitoring, with the same performance elements found in TSL PPL’s high-end confidence monitoring line. The MPA1-3G provides de-embedding capabilities and accepts any SD or HD-SDI signal up to and including 3G, will be featured, while the MPA1-ASB+ and –ASC+ units, which are available in dual- or eightstereo-input versions, are built around a brand-new hardware platform. Recent enhancements to the MPA1-ASB+ and –ASC+ units include upgraded power amplifiers and speakers for improved clarity.

AUDIO

TSL Professional Products Ltd.’s PAM PiCo is a compact standalone audio and loudness meter featuring the revolutionary StarFish surround sound display. PAM PiCo handles stereo or 5.1 metering with a vast array of user-selectable bar graphs. All four models are equipped with loudness measurement tools compatible with EBU, ITU and ATSC recommendations, AES and analogue audio inputs and moving-coil meter emulation. The latest, PAM PiCo Four, features a landscape mode, screen grab application and FTT spectrum analyser as standard.

Visit www.tsl.co.uk

eFF is designed to analyse and correct many times faster than real time with the result that eFF, on this occasion, was able to work at 13 times real-time. A second issue was that NHK had developed some Screenshot of eFF with local language support technology of their own for describing and analysing their P2 files, which meant that loudness profiles and content information of each P2 file was available as .xml files. NHK wanted the audio to be corrected based on this information and measurements. A means of ingesting the .xml information rather than analysing the content afresh was thus implemented by Emotion Systems. Third, when eFF encounters an out of specification audio file it corrects it and replicates the file, to provide a non-destructive solution. NHK were suﬃciently confident in the accuracy and reliability of the Emotion Systems solution that it was content to replace the original audio in the original file. This contributed significantly to the speed of the operation, as there is no need to rewrite the audio and video into a new location. Finally, NHK wanted the user interface to be in Japanese. Fortunately, the Emotion System platform has been designed so that this was possible and indeed, support for other language requirements can also be undertaken. Using their customised and integrated version of eFF, NHK, a world-leading broadcaster with considerable engineering expertise, are now able to ensure that their large archive is loudness compliant to their required standards. Visit www.emotion-systems.com

DPA’s Defacto Vocal Mic DPA MICROPHONES HAS INTRODUCED the d:facto II Vocal Microphone, which provides the added benefit of an adapter system, which allows for integration with many professional wireless systems. The new d:facto II guarantees users the DPA sound with popular existing wireless systems such as Sony, Lectrosonics, Shure, Wisycom and Sennheiser. The d:facto II provides improved audio performance as it is linear in frequency and phase, both on- and oﬀ-axis, while its definition and accuracy reproduces a singer’s voice. Visit www.dpamicrophones.com

Load the Code - SMPTE Loudness Meeting

Scan the above codes to view presentations by Glenn Carrick, Chair, Free TV Australia Audio Group, and Adam Birch, Global Product Marketing Manager, Harris Broadcast (UK), speaking at the recent SMPTE Australia Section Meeting on Audio Loudness, or visit: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUlpcworPCM6Atu4paH1x-Q Proudly sponsored by Techtel and Harris Broadcast.

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www.content-technology.com/transmission

GlobeCast Selects Ideal Systems to Build State-of-the-Art Facility IDEAL SYSTEMS SINGAPORE has announced that it has been

server-based channels, which are still required for many channel owners.

selected by GlobeCast Asia to design and build a new state-of-the-art multichannel broadcast facility in Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emerging media city precinct, Mediapolis@one-north. The new GlobeCast facility will be located at Infinite Studios, a brand new building, which is a 10-story purpose-built structure with a gross floor area of 24,078 square metres.

GlobeCast provides services to a broad diversity of channel owners and as such the technical requirement is a superset of the requirements of broadcasters. To address this diversity of requirements, Ideal Systems designed a homogenised broadcast platform with native integration between key components.

According to Darby Sanchez, CEO of GlobeCast Asia, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This facility in Singapore will be our new regional headquarters, from where we provide expertise in content delivery and distribution to top-tier channels from around the globe.â&#x20AC;?

The solution designed by Ideal Systems also integrates best-of-breed components from Cisco, Thomson Video Networks, Aspera, and Harmonic, with Singapore technology debuts for MediaProxy LogServer compliance logging and XenData Media Archiving.

The new GlobeCast facility will see Ideal Systems introducing a raft of new broadcast technologies to Singapore. The core technology of the new facility is a fully integrated platform based on a suite from Evertz Technologies that includes the all-new Mediator 4 as a centralised media asset management and broadcast automation system managing all of the media workflows and tasks.

The highly scalable LogServer deployed at GlobeCast Asia uses Web interfaces. The solution records media across multiple channels as the content is broadcast, containing all essential metadata including multiple language tracks as well as decoding and exact positioning of DVB Subtitling, a highly important feature in Southeast Asia.

A key part of the Mediator 4 system is Evertz Playtime Automation, which allows maximum flexibility for automating the new Evertz Overture RT â&#x20AC;&#x153;Channel in a Boxâ&#x20AC;? play-out channels as well as more traditional video

MediaCorp Selects Jampro for Turnkey Transmission JAMPRO ANTENNAS HAS BEEN awarded a major broadcast equipment contract by MediaCorp, Singapore. Jampro will provide a complete system comprised of a Jampro model JUHD broadband UHF panel antenna and an extremely complex switching and patching matrix to integrate MediaCorpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s three main towers that serve Singapore and the Malay Peninsula.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are delighted to be chosen to work with GlobeCast in the design and building of their new class-leading broadcast facility,â&#x20AC;? said Fintan Mc Kiernan, CEO at Ideal Systems Singapore. Visit www.globecast.com and www.idealsys.com

Encompass Inserts Ads with InStream GENERAL DYNAMICS MEDIAWARE HAS announced it has delivered its InStream Ad insertion and program switching solution to Encompass Digital Media Asia, the Sinagpore-based provider of content management and distribution services. The InStream Insertion Server allows the seamless insertion of regionalised advertising materials into television programming, helping Encompass create a tailored television viewing experience for its unique customer base.

Jampro will provide a broadband UHF panel antenna with dual runs of high power transmission line, a dual chain digital UHF combiner, comprising 12 constant impedance modules and cross-site patching matrix system, which allows transmission on diďŹ&#x20AC;erent antennas/towers. Included in the order is a 48-panel JUHD UHF panel antenna, which can handle multiple channels DVB-T/H or analogue, PAL signals on UHF bands IV and V.

InStream is a compressed-domain insertion and switching technology, which enables broadcasters and multi-system operators to simply customise and transmit content by market with true frame accuracy and preservation of original video quality. The core architecture allows native switching in real-time between digital video broadcast streams or files on any video frame within the standard- and high-definition MPEG-2 or H.264/ AVC group of pictures.

Visit www.jampro.com

Visit www.gd-ais.com, www.encompass.asia and www.gencom.com

Kia ora!

satellite I linking I broadcast

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The product and system integration specialists to New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

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MediaHub Strategy Plays Out By Keith Ford

Tucked away in an industrial area in the south-west Sydney suburb of Ingleburn, MediaHub resides in an inconspicuous building that belies the enormity of the task being performed there 24/7. Behind the plain façade is a playout centre handling in excess of 171 channels of broadcast television from a single control room. MEDIAHUB HAS BEEN IN OPERATION since April 2010, originally set up as a joint venture between WIN Network and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), gradually rolling out channels until they were responsible for the play out of every channel from both organisations. “From April 2010 there was a progression of channels being brought on air. So it wasn’t, whack, suddenly there’s 171 plus channels. It was a progression,” explains MediaHub CEO, Alan Sweeney. “ABC 3 came up first, then ABC 2, then ABC 1, then ABC News 24. Following that the WIN channels came on progressively over two years. “At the same time, while we were bringing all those channels on line at MediaHub, we were dealing with leading edge technology. As a result in the very early days of Media Hub, we experienced some failures.” Sweeney, who moved from the CFO position to CEO in January 2012, is upfront regarding the teething problems experienced by MediaHub when it first came online. Both of the shareholder clients were aﬀected, in some instances quite badly, and changes had to be made to the system design.

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“The technical architecture at MediaHub was so new it had never been attempted on this scale before, never done with this complexity before. “In the first six months of operations, all of that was solved, the facility requirements were so complex and unique, that vendor software was re-written in line with our requirements and additional hardware installed, and operations were stabilised. So for the first six months we had teething problems, as is experienced with any technical installation of this complexity. Then we

Snell Morpheus Automation at Media Hub.

went into 18 months of highly stable operations. This reflected the board and the company’s view from inception. Before we do anything, let’s get it stable for the two shareholder clients. And that was achieved.” This extended period of stable operation led to the board of director’s decision to take MediaHub to market in January of 2012, coinciding with Sweeney’s appointment as CEO. The company had to be confident they could provide a valuable service and show that this ambitious project represented a better way of operating. Analysis of error rates for both clients demonstrated that, under MediaHub, the rate of errors were significantly and substantially below the level being achieved when operating playout In-House. “Within three months of opening MediaHub to third party clients we had our first client signed up, which was SBS Subscription TV (World Movies and STVDIO) and NITV. Within a couple of months of that we had our second client, Thoroughvision Pty Ltd ( TVN), signed up. And within two months of that we had our third client, which was Australia Network (the ABC’s International Television Service), signed up,” said Sweeney. “And each of those clients went to air, in September for SBS, November for Australia Network, and December for TVN. “At the same time, we have been holding discussions with other broadcasters around Australia, and those discussions continue to this day and are well advanced. So there was this Sea-Change for MediaHub, away from being a shareholder-centric, inward looking company, to a market driven deliverer of product.” “It’s working really well, and the market is recognising just how eﬃcient it is. And that’s

driven by a recognition within the broadcast industry that a service organisation such as MediaHub can take all of those non-competitive areas of your business, which are very expensive, and unwieldy, with older technology and ultimately open to a refresh, and deliver it through a non-competitive, centralised portal, which is already proving that it can deliver extremely high quality play out? “A key factor in MediaHub’s success is that we have proven that the concept of a jointly owned industry playout centre is viable and that multiple broadcasters can coexist in in a shared environment significantly reducing overheads.” The actual systems being used at MediaHub have stayed mostly unchanged since the last time C+T visited the facility in 2010. The only other additions to the system have been expanding to accommodate the new channels. The original build was completed by Grass Valley, utilising a substantial amount of Grass Valley equipment. Most notable are the K2 media servers, which look after all of the file-based storage for the completely tapeless MediaHub. Along with the Grass Valley kit is product from a number of other vendors, such as Tektronix, Evertz, Junger, Wohler, Tandberg (now Ericsson), Scientific Atlanta, Cisco, and Snell. It is Snell, and its Morpheus automation system, that has formed the largest part of how the facility operates. “This is a Grass Valley build, but it is 50% Grass Valley, and 50% Snell,” explained Sweeney. “Generally speaking, you might say the design, and significant elements of hardware, are Grass Valley, and the integration of the system was done by Grass Valley, but the automation system is Snell Morpheus. The combination of quality

Alan Sweeney, CEO, Media Hub, “, Just because we’re based around a playout today, doesn’t mean we’ll be based around a playout tomorrow.”

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The new channels that have come on board however; STVDIO, World Movies, from SBS Subscription TV and NITV; two channels for TVN; and three channels across India and Asia for Australia Network, have all been put to air using new equipment from Snell. “What MediaHub has introduced for new clients, is Snell’s Integrated Content Engine Technology (ICE). And the reason we’ve done that is to maintain the investment we have made in our staﬀ, through continual training. This allows staﬀ to be interchangeable between clients and Playout Suites without fear of loss of integrity through lack of knowledge. “Also, relative to our two foundation clients, they were relatively small builds. If we were to implement another substantial build, and we will, we consider the needs and wants of the client in determining the final build recommendation and that could be a traditional Grass Valley Storage Area Network utilising Morpheus Automation, or it may be a larger Snell ICE installation. Ultimately that will be determined when it happens, because the client has input to that as well,” added Sweeney. MediaHub is also able to provide IPTV playout without the need for additional equipment. They

are already providing this as a service for TVN, with a service that streams the content over IP while also taking rights into account. TVN does not have the rights for online distribution of all the content that they broadcast and those particular races are automatically omitted from the stream. Following the move to open the business up for new clients and extra channels, MediaHub is continuing to plan well ahead. The entire facility was built with an eye to the future, from the massive, dedicated server room right through to the equally massive generators, everything has been designed to allow upgrading. The Server room, for instance, not only has ample room for more rows of racks, there is also a wall that was designed to be moved, opening up further available space. Even the control room floor has been designed in a way that will allow MediaHub to surpass what has already been put in place, which again has room free, with relatively minor adjustments. This is kept in mind when it comes to their choice of technology as well. “One of the things that we need to do in dealing continually with the front end of technology is to stay there. We have to work really hard all the time to try to understand the market, understand what the demands are from the players in that market, and then be there with the technology

to meet it, as and when it comes up. Of course, when you’re making investment decisions, there’s a fair lag between the time you’re making the investment decision and the time you actually deliver or even market demand crystallises. We’ve got to be ahead of the game noted Sweeney “Our objective, even with our existing clients, is to ensure Media Hub is not considered to be a solely backroom play out space. We will move with the overall market, and we will expand our services. So, while playout will always remain as our core deliverable for our clients, it doesn’t mean we’ll be solely based around playout tomorrow. Seamless multi platform delivery of content continues to be demanded by clients and consumers, and this capability will be a key factor in the future of any playout facility. MediaHub is a service organisation, but all our clients (existing and prospective) are continually demanding more and more services from us. “So we have started responding to all those demands introducing diﬀering levels of product, diﬀerent ranges of product, slowly and cautiously moving out to full end to end service for clients. Our objective for our client base, current and future, is to allow them to focus on the front end of their business, and allow MediaHub to deliver the rest,” concluded Sweeney. Visit www.mediahubaustralia.com.au

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hardware and automation software, matched by a team of highly skilled and trained operators is what provides MediaHub’s quality service.

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Adaptive Bitrate Streaming to the Rescue! By Manik Gupta, Product Architect, Interra Systems

The world is at our finger tips, anytime and anywhere. There are tons of online content and high speed networks. And when the network is good, content always seems good. But when network conditions slacken, content delay and buﬀering can be extremely frustrating leading to what we call poor Quality of Experience or QoE. MOST OF THE BUFFERING related QoE issues can today be addressed by a new and emerging technology called Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) streaming. This technology works on the principle of understanding the available resources (bandwidth and CPU) and accordingly adjusting the quality of the delivered content. HOW ABR WORKS Till recently, content used for video streaming was generally encoded at a single bitrate and transmitted using RTSP and RTP protocols. The major limitation with encoding at single bitrate was video freezing or delay while streaming high quality content on slower networks. Today’s on the go consumer has no patience for video buﬀer delays. So, now we have ABR to the rescue! ABR needs content to be encoded at multiple bitrates - ranging from low to very high bitrates. Lower bitrate encodings target slower connections while high bitrate encodings are streamed on high bandwidth connections. Streaming clients are expected to start with lower bitrate content. Clients can then switch from one bitrate to another depending on the network conditions and also the device’s CPU capability. This switching ensures the continuity in play and also delivers a better overall user experience for the viewer. Switching is easily facilitated as content at each bitrate is partitioned into multiple chunks where duration of each chunk generally

“The quality of content at various bitrates can take a hit due to variations in encoding.

”

varies from 2 – 10 seconds. The beginning of each chunk can be easily used to switch to a diﬀerent bitrate. ABR technology relies on the standard HTTP protocol to transfer the content as HTTP is safe and secure.

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There are diﬀerent flavours for the ABR streaming. Microsoft has defined the Smooth Streaming standard. Adobe has HTTP Dynamic streaming (HDS) while Apple has HTTP Live Streaming (HLS). MPEG/ISO standard that goes by the name of MPEG-DASH is the only international standard today.

All these standards use the same basic concept of encoding the stream at multiple bitrates. Streams are primarily encoded either using the MPEG-2 Transport standard or MP4/QuickTime format. All of the above variations have some kind of an XML file (with exception of HLS), which is shared with the streaming client before the content is played out. This XML or the manifest file contains information about diﬀerent profiles present for the encoded content. Using this information, streaming clients can request servers for content at appropriate bitrates depending on the available resources.

CHALLENGES WITH ABR Adaptive bitrate streaming can significantly raise an organisation’s complexity in terms of cost and storage. Just imagine a 30 minutes sample content

that has to be encoded at 6 diﬀerent profiles. Each profile has chunks of 10 seconds! We are potentially looking at more than 1000 files. At the same time, a content provider has to ensure that each chunk of the content has good quality or delivers the right user experience. In addition, each chunk should match the parameters as defined in the parent profile. How does one handle quality of 1000 such files corresponding to a single content? Automated file based QC solutions such as Interra’s Baton play a key role here by analysing the whole ABR content as a single file and significantly saving on time and resources.

BATON’S ABR SUPPORT ABR content is accompanied with a manifest file that describes the high level metadata for each of the profile. Manifest files normally define the bitrate, resolution, language, duration, aspect ratios for each of the profile. These manifest files (.ism,. mpd etc) can be QCed by Baton against a user defined quality specification. Baton reads these manifest files and accordingly performs QC on different profiles of the content. Finally, an integrated verification report is generated containing all the information and errors. With Baton, QC of ABR content becomes so much easy and efficient! Baton’s ABR Metadata checking ensures that each chunk of the profile matches the exact criteria as defined in the manifest file. Some metadata checks include: Bitrate : Check the actual calculated bitrate of the content versus the one supplied in manifest file for a particular profile. Resolution : Different bitrates for a content are often achieved by varying the resolution. Check the actual resolution of profile versus the one specified in the manifest. Frame rate, Display Aspect Ratio: Check values of these fields with the value provided in the manifest file. GOP Length: GOP Length is generally defined as a distance between the two (Keyframe) pictures. If the keyframes are too far apart, then one may not get a fast and a smooth switch. It is also desired that GOP Lengths remain consistent across different profiles. Check the acceptable GOP Lengths and also check for consistency of GOP structures. Audio Sampling Frequency, Audio Bitrate: Check the actual values of these audio parameters against the manifest file. The quality of content at various bitrates can take a hit due to variations in encoding. For example, in pursuit of low bitrates, encoders may quantise content with extremely high values leading to blockiness. A good QC solution should be able to objectively determine the blockiness levels for streams at different quality levels. Often content with the least bitrate is expected to have a very high level of blockiness. Encoders may also drop few frames in order to achieve a target low bitrate. Drop in frames can lead to still frames that may affect video quality leading to what we call the freeze frame artifact. Now, who would want the ball to freeze just as it was heading for the boundary at the Ashes! Not me! While ABR makes life so much easier for broadcasters trying to capture the media hungry consumers, it also adds to the overhead. Efficient file-based QC solutions, such as Interra Baton, can reduce some of the overhead and help the broadcasters and content providers to efficiently handle QC of various flavours of ABR content. As I would say – automated QC to the rescue! Visit www.interrasystems.com

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AmberFin & Venera Co-Operate on QC AT NAB 2013, AMBERFIN and New Delhi-based Venera Technologies announced a co-operative development project that will extend the reach of AmberFin’s Unified Quality Control (UQC) platform. The co-operative project will see the integration of Venera Technologies’ Pulsar automated QC system within the AmberFin iCR UQC platform for content ingest and transcoding operations. First launched two years ago, UQC still represents a unique approach to filebased media quality control since it combines multiple tools for baseband checks during tape ingest, file-based QC after ingest, and overall operatorcontrolled QC. Already incorporating most of the market’s established thirdparty QC solutions, the addition of Pulsar is strategically important since it completes the set of major QC analysis tool vendors. “The media industry has accepted the need to automate workflows to keep pace with changing technologies and user behaviour, and QC operations remain a crucial part of broadcast workflows,” commented Vikas Singhal, Co-founder and Executive Director – Business Development at Venera Technologies. “The movement towards file-based workflows and requirement for multi-screen delivery has added complexity to workflows for content providers. It is now necessary for them to adopt QC tools that can detect the issues within their content in an automated manner. “Pulsar is a leading Automated QC solution and is used by companies such as Encompass Digital Media, Disney, Adstream, ESPN, MLB Networks, Telecom Italia and MPC. Some customers have expressed a desire to use Pulsar from within AmberFin’s UQC environment,” Singhal continued. “The future integration of Venera’s Pulsar will add significantly to UQC’s flexibility and versatility,” commented Jeremy Deaner, CEO at AmberFin. “Whatever the size and scale of your enterprise operations, and whatever major QC system you have used previously, AmberFin UQC will create new eﬃciencies and enhance media quality throughout your operation.” Visit www.amberfin.com

www.veneratech.com

Rohde & Schwarz Detects Unwanted Cable Network Emissions RADIATED EMISSIONS FROM the cable TV infrastructure can cause interference in cellular LTE networks. The R&S EFL110 and R&S EFL210 cable TV analyser and leakage detectors detect these electromagnetic emissions quickly, accurately and cost-eﬀectively. Using the R&S EFL110 and R&S EFL210 portable TV test receivers, cable TV network operators can locate the loose connections or damaged shielding that can generate unwanted emissions in the UHF frequency range. If left unaddressed, these emissions can cause interference in the LTE network. The receivers are lightweight, robust and easy to operate, and the lithium-ion battery supplies power for more than four hours of operation. The new test receivers use FFT analysis to monitor the spectrum. The spectrogram display detects even sporadic interferences. And, the test receivers can also be operated as spectrum analysers. Another advantage of the R&S EFL110/210 is sensitivity. It is even possible to verify compliance with the strict limits defined by the US FCC regulatory authority. The new test receivers are capable of finding weak sporadic interference. For evaluating faults in the US cable TV network, the R&S EFL210 has been equipped with an additional test receiver that supports the J.83/B and NTSC cable TV standards. The user can immediately determine whether a cable TV signal is the source of interference. Visit www.rohde-schwarz.com.au

Visit us at SMPTE July 23-26 stand H17

Sometimes long delays are good for your business... The SLD and HLD family Synapse cards are long time SDI baseband video delays. They can store and delay up to 6 hours of SD or HD material, including all blanking, as RAW or high quality JPEG2000 visually lossless video. You can even insert a logo on the delayed output. Compared to competitive server based delay solutions, the SLD and HLD cards can be considered as very green. The power consumption of this dual slot device is about 40 Watts. This is a 10 fold saving of a comparable server based unit. s sel Another reason to select Axon as your technology partner. Many dc c major broadcasting companies around the world have made the same choice.

www.axon.tv/hld100

www.avgroup.com.au Tel: 02 97645911

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Distributed by:

CLASSIFIEDS what’s on JUNE 2013 IEEE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON BROADBAND MULTIMEDIA SYSTEMS AND BROADCASTING (BMSB) June 4-7, 2013 Brunel University, Uxbridge, West London www.ieee-bmsb.org INFOCOMM 2013 June 12-14 Orange County Convention Center Orlando, Florida www.infocomm.org BROADCASTASIA June 18-21 Marina Bay Sands Singapore www.broadcast-asia.com TELEFILM 2013 June 19-21 International Centre for Exhibition Hanoi Capital, Vietnam www.broadcast-asia.com IBC LONDON TECHNOLOGY BOOSTER 25-26 June 2013 Dexter House, Royal Mint Court, London, UK www.ibc.org

Tiﬀen Steadicam Workshops for APAC 2013 GSMA MOBILE ASIA EXPO June 26-28 Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre Shanghai, China www.mobileasiaexpo.com

TIFFEN INTERNATIONAL has announced three Steadicam Silver workshops

JULY

Lead instructors for the courses are all highly experienced, working as Steadicam operators/cinematographers for more than 20 years. They have all been instructors on previous Steadicam Gold Workshops in Asia and Europe with Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown and include Rebecca WilsonJennings from New Zealand, Park Sang Hoon from South Korea, and Harry Panagiotidis from Australia.

SMPTE AUSTRALIA July 23-26 Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia www.smpte.com.au

AUGUST PALMM PHILIPPINES 2013 August 15-17 SMX Convention Center Manila, Philippines www.globallinkmp.com BIRTV August 21-24 China International Exhibition Center Beijing, China www.birtv.com

to be held during June and July 2013 in New Zealand, Singapore and Australia. The 3-day factory-certified workshops follow on from two highly successful 5½ day Gold workshops in Australia and Malaysia over the last two years, where the objective was to enhance camera operator technique by adding stabiliser control to their employable skill set.

Between these three instructor operators is thousands of hours of on-air footage, shot on Steadicam for every type of production from Feature film and commercial work, to drama, documentary, soaps, corporate, reality, and multi-camera sports production. The New Zealand 3-Day Steadicam Silver Workshop will be held from June 5-7 in Wellington, New Zealand at Avalon Studios, and the cost is $1500 USD with all equipment, lunch, dinner, course materials provided. The Singapore 3-Day Steadicam Silver Workshop will be held from June 25-27 at Lasalle College, Singapore at a student cost of $1500 USD which includes all equipment, lunch, dinner, course materials. The Australian 3-Day Steadicam Silver Workshop will be held from July 31 Aug 2, in Sydney (venue TBA) at a student cost of $1500 USD which includes all equipment, lunch, dinner, course materials. More information about the workshops can be downloaded from Dropbox/ StudentEOI Student Registration is at www.steadicamworkshops.com For additional information please contact Brett Smith at Tiffen International, email: bsmith@tiffen.com or Robin Thwaites at rthwaites@tiffen.com

IBC Gives Technology a Boost IBC IS INVITING industry professionals from across the globe to attend our inaugural London based conference covering today’s two hottest technology topics - Connected Content and The Cloud. Unashamedly technical in its approach, this event has been launched to meet the demands of those unable to attend the Amsterdam based event, plus regular IBC delegates are sure to find this a useful booster in the run up to IBC2013. According to Professor David Crawford, Head of Business Partnerships, University of Essex and IBC London Technology Booster Chairman, “We have had a lot of feedback from vendors and buyers who see great value in the IBC Conference, but are unable to attend as their priorities lie primarily with the exhibition. Many see great opportunities arising with the convergence of services and technologies in the Cloud, and with new technologies for connecting content to consumers, but are unable to keep up with the fast pace of change. We have created the IBC London Technology Booster to overcome this diﬃculty. New attendees to this event will experience an informative and interactive approach to these topics, and regular IBC Amsterdam Conference

CLASSIFIEDS

Advertiser Index

AJA Video Systems.....................IFC ARRI Australia ............................. IBC Avid Technology ..........................27 Blackmagic Design ........................ 5 BroadcastAsia ...............................17 CMI Music & Audio ......................44

delegates will find this a crucial technology booster in the run up to IBC2013.” Day One looks at the Cloud and its implications. Under examination will be the diﬀerent models of cloud computing, how to handle large datasets in the Cloud (with a case study from Oxford e-Research Centre), and look at the opportunities the Cloud represents for broadcast. Day Two examines Connected Content and will cover topics relevant to the opportunities provided by new convergent media platforms, eﬀectively managing digital assets, and the future role of broadcast in a multicast world. To ensure delegates gain maximum knowledge and feel fully engaged, IBC aims to break down the invisible wall that so often exists between speakers and the delegates. IBC have ensured that all of the sessions are fully interactive to create rich dialogue between all parties. Attendees will be able to further increase their knowledge and continue discussion via exclusive social media forums. Visit www.ibc.org/techboosterreg

Digital Rapids ...............................37

Lumina Broadcast Systems.......15

Future Reality ................................. 3

Magna Systems & Engineering ..11

Gencom Technology ...................23

On-Air Systems ......................25,45

Harris Broadcast....................... OBC

Quinto Communications ............. 9

Interra Systems ............................43

Riedel Communications ............31

IRT Electronics ..............................16

Ross Video .....................................29

Jands................................................35

SMPTE13 ........................................59

Storm FX .........................................38 StudioTech Audiovisual Engineering ..................................... 4 Syntec International ...... 47,49,51 Techtel ............................................13 The AV Group ................... 33,55,57 The Bridge Networks (NZ) .........53 Videocraft ......................................21

DELIVERING THE PERSONALISED CONTENT EXPERIENCE

23–26 July 2013 SYDNEY EXHIBITION CENTRE DARLING HARBOUR

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OFF-AIR

TIME shifter Good Old Eagle Rock’s Here to Stay – Restoring an Iconic Oz Rock Film Forty two years after the distinctive opening guitar riff of one of Australia’s best loved rock anthems detonated across Australian radio, a rarely seen experimental colourised version of Daddy Cool’s iconic promotional film clip for Eagle Rock has recently been found and restored by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA). ORIGINALLY SHOT ON 16MM black and white film in 1971 by 23-yearold Melbourne filmmaker Chris Lofven, the newly discovered version features a 37 second section using colour filters printed onto colour film stock. This particular print, though never intended for screening, was possibly seen by teenage audiences of 0-10 Network (now Network Ten) pop music program Happening 71 throughout 1971. Television viewers, however, would not have seen the full effects of this psychedelic-flavoured sequence, as colour transmission to Australian television sets did not roll out nationally until 1 March 1975. Edited into a new HD transfer telecined from the 16mm B&W inter-negative and synched with a digital transfer from the original 1971 45rpm stereo mix, this colour sequence is now accessible to old and new fans alike. Daddy Cool front man Ross Wilson [pictured] recalls that “the sharp audio clarity and cleanness of the guitar sound without any reverb was thanks to this guy John, – I can’t recall his surname – who did this super mixing job in the States. He really is an unsung hero in the success of this recording. Eagle Rock still sounds contemporary today in no small part thanks to his work”. Knocking off The Hollies’ epic ballad Too Young to Be Married from the top of the Australian charts on 10 July 1971, the song would retain its position at #1 for an astonishing 10 weeks. With sales of more than 85,000 copies by year’s end, Eagle Rock was easily the biggest selling Australian single of 1971. The NFSA honoured Eagle Rock in 2010 when the song was added to the National Registry of Recorded Sound, which recognises the nation’s most important sound recordings. The total budget for the film Lofven recalls was “between $200 and $300”, all of which was spent on film stock, film processing and print production. Friends and acquaintances helped keep the costs down. Lofven’s next door neighbours in Balaclava were friends with several zookeepers working at the Melbourne Zoo in Parkville. With their help, Lofven and assistant director Lyne Helms organised to film a group of Wedge-tailed Eagles in the zoo’s caged enclosure. The director recalls that “the bird keepers mentioned they could get them to perform certain moves including a sort of rock from side to side as they moved forward on the ground, which happily fit in well lyrically within the song.” The iconic opening sequence as Wilson walks into the takeaway food venue where bass player Wayne Duncan is ‘serving’ was filmed at 293 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne. Until recently, the venue still operated as a fish and chip shop. Lofven had scouted for similar establishments in Balaclava and St Kilda near where he lived but none contained a jukebox essential for the clip’s planned introduction.

TIME SHIFTER

The two female companions in the takeaway shop seen clapping along as Wilson starts dancing were friends of a colleague of Lofven’s, whom the director had invited down. Lofven’s colleague can also be seen in the clip, sitting on Duncan’s white FJ Holden (alongside Lyne Helms) pointing at Wilson as he enters the shop.

Director and lead singer both laugh today at a minor disagreement they had onset over the girls’ clothing, the director winning his request that the girls wear the latest fashions while Wilson wanted them in 50s-styled attire, more in keeping with the scene’s retro setting. Closer to Lofven’s home would be the location of the film’s finale, as Wilson,

Pictures courtesy Chris Lofven.

guitarist Ross Hannaford, Duncan and drummer Gary Young bolt across from Aussie Burgers in The Upper Esplanade, St Kilda (opposite Luna Park) to jump in Duncan’s FJ one final time to drive oﬀ towards the famous Esplanade Hotel and Australian music immortality. The newly restored psychedelic version of this Eagle Rock clip had its big screen debut at The Astor Theatre, St Kilda on Saturday 25 May, 2013, at the St Kilda Film Festival, as part of the One Step Ahead: Celebrating Australia’s Music Video Pioneers session with filmmakers Chris Lofven, Ray Argall, Paul Goldman and Richard Lowenstein in attendance. The clip is available on the NFSA YouTube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/nfsaaust/

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