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KICKING GOALS WITH THE WORLD CUP
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VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3 JULY/AUGUST 2014
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Kicking Goals with the World Cup
22 REGULARS 02 EDITOR’S WELCOME 03 NEWS ABU Protecting Spectrum, The Indonesia Channel Launches, FIC Philippines Deploys Harmonic, Newtec Enables Thailand DTH Service
46 INDUSTRY FOCUS
16 FEATURES 14 ACQUISITION Steadicam Workshop from Tiffen, CSC, and BFA, Miller’s 60th Anniversary, SEA Travelogue on Blackmagic
18 SPORTSCASTING IOC Updates, Glasgow Diaries: Chapter 10, All the News from the World Cup
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24 NEWS OPERATIONS Hunan TV Choose Autoscript, NHK WORLD TV Launches in UN, 24/7 Indian News Channel
28 POST-PRODUCTION RSP Make Time Stand Still, Adobe CC 2014, Autodesk Smoke 2015, 4K Boom in Japan
32 MEDIA IN THE CLOUD Spuul Picks Aspera, Brightcove’s Mark Blair Explains How HbbTV Can Revolutionise Free-toAir TV
36 AUDIO Guangdong TV Uses TSL for World Cup, Jamuna TV Expands with Trilogy, DPA Gets d:screet
40 RADIO Sonifex Acquires Innes Corp., New Lawo Crystal Mixing Console, Ampegon Green Tech
42 TRANSMISSION MCOT Thailand Adds 5 HD Channels with PlayBox, The Role of IP-Based KVM, AsiaSat 8 Launched
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CONTENT+TECHNOLOGY: ISSN 1448-9554 PP:255003/06831 Broadcastpapers Pty Ltd (ABN: 34 095 653 277) PO Box 259, Darlinghurst, NSW 1300 Australia www.broadcastpapers.com PUBLISHER: Phil Sandberg Tel: +61-(0)2-9211 8205 Fax: +61-(0)2-9211 8208 Mob: +61-(0)414-671-811 papers@broadcastpapers.com
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SUB-EDITOR: Keith Ford PRODUCTION MANAGER: Lucy Salmon Tel: +61-(0)29211 8205 production@broadcastpapers.com DESIGN & LAYOUT: Wide Open Media Tel: +61-2-9690 2835 info@wideopenmedia.com.au PRINTING: DAI Rubicon, Singapore 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.
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EDITOR’S WELCOME
Kicking Goals with the Second Screen By Phil Sandberg IF 2014 IS REMEMBERED FOR ANYTHING, it will be remembered as the year that broadband truly crossed the tipping point from being a separate supplementary channel for delivery of content by free-to-air broadcasters to being an integrated part of their operations. The catalyst for this change was the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Cloud service provider Akamai worked with more than 50 broadcasters, including SingTel in Singapore, TVB of Hong Kong and Australia’s SBS, to stream live and on-demand video for all 64 matches to an array of connected devices across the world.
In terms of streaming viewer patterns, Akamai found that Tuesday matches saw the highest average peak of 5.1 Tbps, whereas Saturday contests had the lowest at 3 Tbps. Weekday matches averaged 4.2 Tbps, compared to the weekend match average of 3.5 Tbps. Earlier start times also drove higher peaks. 3 p.m. EDT kick-offs peaked at an average of 4.9 Tbps, followed by 12 p.m. (3.9 Tbps), 4 p.m. (3.4 Tbps), 6 p.m. (2.2 Tbps) and 9 p.m. (1.8 Tbps). Of the competitors, the German national team drove the highest average traffic peak at 5.1 Tbps, followed by Portugal (4.9 Tbps), the U.S. (4.8 Tbps) and Ghana (4.5 Tbps). The four teams also comprised the “Group of Death,”
Highlighting the potential for distributing this content, Akamai’s First Quarter 2014 ‘State of the Internet’ Report presented for the first time a new “4K Readiness” metric which the company gauges as requiring between 10 - 20 Mbps of bandwidth. While the findings do not account for other “readiness” factors, including availability of 4K-encoded content or 4K-capable televisions and players, it does highlight the percentage of connections to Akamai at speeds above 15 Mbps, with the goal of identifying candidate geographies most likely to be able to sustain such streams.
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According to the report, 11% of global connections were at speeds of 15 Mbps or above in the first quarter. Seven of the top 10 countries/regions on the 4K readiness list overlapped with those on the global high broadband connectivity list. South Korea led the list with 60% 4K readiness while Japan had 32% of its connections at that level in the first quarter, Hong Kong came in at 26%, Taiwan at 14%, while Singapore had 8.4%. Meanwhile, in countries such as Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, the percentage of 4K-ready connections for each territory was under 5%. 01:00
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Traffic during the July 13th championship match between Germany and Argentina peaked at 6.6 Tbps; and the Germany-Brazil semi-final on July 8th reached 5.8 Tbps and helped generate the highest overall total traffic peak ever recorded on the Akamai Intelligent Platform at 23 Tbps. Even the Australia Vs Netherlands game “out-ran” Usain Bolt with traffic of 3.2Tbps. 16:00
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Rowe also points to an increase in video data traffic between the two events. The Usain Bolt 100 metre dash of the London Olympics generated less than a Terabit/sec of data traffic while the Netherlands Vs Argentina FIFA match in Rio generated a high of 6.87Tbps.
Another notable aspect of this year’s FIFA World Cup was the amount of 4K coverage of the event. Using a Sony-based 4K live production system – including the PMW-F55 CineAlta 4K live camera, PWS-4400 4K multi-port AV storage unit, PVM-X300 4K LCD monitor, and MVS-7000X 4K multiformat switcher – Sony and FIFA are jointly producing the Official 2014 FIFA World Cup Film in 4K which be distributed online by FIFA via 4K content distribution services.
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According to Malcolm Rowe, VP Asia-Pacific for Akamai, it was only as recently as the 2012 London Olympics that a mere 10% of all video streams were going to mobile devices while the FIFA World Cup saw 54% of video streams being delivered to mobile devices.
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Of the APAC competitors, South Korea and Japan tied for the lowest average peak at 1.8 Tbps each. They were slightly behind Ecuador and Russia’s 1.9 Tbps.
THE 4K FACTOR
Every match of the month-long tournament was streamed to more than 80 countries around the world. According to the company, the 2014 FIFA World Cup is the largest live sporting event that Akamai has ever delivered over its network in terms of total video traffic volume – and much of was delivered not to the desktop, but to mobile devices.
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which drove the highest average peak of all FIFA World Cup groups in the first round.
It is a picture that is still forming. Thanks for Reading Phil Sandberg Editor/Publisher papers@broadcastpapers.com T: +61-(0)2-9211 8205
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ABU Supports Work to Protect Broadcasting Spectrum THE ABU SAYS IT FULLY SUPPORTS the world’s broadcasters in opposing
C-band or extended C-band satellite distribution frequencies.
changes to the allocation of digital TV and satellite distribution spectrums.
The WBU states, “The use of downlink spectrum allocated at C-Band (3.7 – 4.2 GHz) or extended C-Band in the Fixed-Satellite Service is essential to broadcasters’ operations around the world. Systems employing this FSS band have been extensively deployed over decades, primarily for the distribution of content from network centres to affiliated stations, cable head-ends and to other receiving systems.”
The ABU worked with the World Broadcasting Union’s (WBU) Technical Committee’s formulating recommendations on spectrum allocation to go before the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) in Geneva, Switzerland, next year. The WBU recommendations state that the use of radio-frequency spectrum by broadcasters remains “an important vehicle for the efficient and scalable delivery of high-quality media content and emergency alerting services to both fixed and mobile audiences”. Specifically on DTV, the WBU does not support any change to the current spectrum allocations at UHF frequencies (470 –694/ 698 MHz), stating that contiguous spectrum should be allotted in the bands assigned to the broadcast service to allow for the robust delivery of high-quality media content, data and signalling that meets or exceeds the capabilities of current fixed and mobile reception and display devices as well as those that are expected to be deployed in the future. It also does not support any change to the current spectrum allocations at
The WBU says its position has been supported by spectrum studies of both UHF and Cband frequencies that have demonstrated that major interference to broadcast operations would result from sharing these bands with International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT). These studies have been filed with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It adds, “The WBU will continue to participate actively in spectrum studies of the radiofrequency bands both assigned and associated with broadcasting, in order to ensure the continued efficient use of these bands for broadcast media content distribution.” Visit www.abu.org.my
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Playout – SD – HD – 4K Automation DR Ad-Insertion Traffic + Ad Sales MAM News Ingest Live Censorship Graphics Edge Playout
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Japan’s Q-TEC, Inc. Installs Blackmagic Universal Videohub 288 BLACKMAGIC DESIGN HAS ANNOUNCED that Tokyo based Q-TEC, Inc. have installed a Blackmagic Design Universal Videohub 288 in their Tokyo headquarters. Q-TEC have also installed Blackmagic Design Videohub Smart Controls and a variety of Mini Converters into their facility as part of an improved post production infrastructure. Q-TEC, located in Akasaka, Tokyo, is a post production house which offers a wide range of services such as Animation production, Stereoscopic 3D content production, TV programs, CG/VFX, DI, and Digital Archive. As part of this expansion, Q-TEC has built out a new post production workflow with the Universal Videohub 288 router as one of its key additions. “We have five edit suites mainly used for TV commercials and VFX work. Four out of five suites support stereoscopic 3D editing, so there is a mix of Dual Link 1.5G-SDI and 3G-SDI equipment. We also use several VTR decks. Because of that, we have to handle many cables which are very cumbersome if we use a patch bay,” explained Kazuhiro Aoki, manager of the edit group at Q-TEC. Q-TEC chose the Universal Videohub because of its affordability and performance. “We needed many cross points, and Universal Videohub is incredibly affordable, and allowed us to install a router at a low cost. Universal Videohub lets us add SDI connections flexibly, by adding more interface cards. It is not common to install something with specifications beyond what we require, but this time, we built our system to be future proof because the Universal VideoHub 288 is so affordable. There are cross points we haven’t used yet; however, we will be working on 4K workflows from now on, and we know the router can handle any job,” said Takashi Takatori of the Technical department. Q-TEC is using Universal Videohub 288 mainly for switching monitors and VTRs for capture and output by editors from their edit suites. A wide range of video formats are sent to the router, such as HD, Stereoscopic 3D or SD for DVD authoring. To control the router, Q-TEC uses eight Blackmagic Smart Controls, one for each suite and three for the machine room. “The efficiency of our work has improved since we started using Universal Videohub because we don’t have to leave the suites to change patching anymore. Also, if new staff come, they need to learn all the locations of the patches, but now with the Videohub and Smart Controls, all they have to do is press buttons,” concluded Aoki. Visit www.blackmagicdesign.com
Japan’s Ward, Inc. Selects Kyrion CM5000
NEWS + PEOPLE
WARD, INC., a provider of satellite services in Nara, Japan has selected ATEME’s Kyrion CM5000, making it the first satellite provider in Japan to adopt ATEME’s contribution technology. Ward provides satellite coordination, Satellite News Gathering (SNG) and earth station services. Ward works primarily with foreign broadcasters so it is critical that it uses encoders that support a variety of frame rates, resolution and compression formats. The CM5000 addresses all use cases of IP and Satellite Contribution within a unique platform and delivers support for all MPEG-2/MPEG-4 video compression standards and profiles. Ward’s SNG vehicles have limited rack space and the company uses multiple encoders to uplink to two or more satellite paths simultaneously, all of them redundant. Visit http://ateme.com
Symetrix Delivers Audio Processing to Hong Kong’s V City A SUBSTANTIAL DEPLOYMENT of Symetrix processors is helping to deliver flexible and reliable audio in the clubhouse area of V City, New Territories West, Hong Kong. The audio processing selected for V City’s resident clubhouse needed to be the latest and greatest available. Project collaborators, AV consultancy Dino and systems integrator Betrue, therefore called on the services of Soundclassy, which supplies Symetrix products to integrators throughout Hong Kong and Macau on behalf of distributor Sanecore. “Dino has used Symetrix on a number of previous projects, so knew the brand very well,” explains Soundclassy’s technical adviser, Bill Chu. “For the V City project, there was a need for quality and reliability, and that’s been answered with a system that features nine Dante-enabled Radius 12×8 DSPs, along with two xIn 12 and four xOut 12 audio I/O expanders and no fewer than 20 ARC-2e wall panel remotes for easy control.” The Symetrix package provides audio networking capabilities over Dante, whilst the manufacturer’s own ARC RS-485 based protocol manages control between the Radius 12×8 units and Symetrix’ ARC-2e wall panel remotes. Visit www.symetrix.co and www.soundclassy.com.hk
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ROSS VIDEO HAS ANNOUNCED that India’s MAA TV has selected a
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Carbonite production switcher to enable it to cost-effectively produce compelling HD content for viewers. MAA, which is MAA TV’s main entertainment channel, is among the top 20 TV channels in India. “We already had a Vision 1ME switcher from Ross Video,” said Mr. P. Masthaniah, AVP Technical for MAA TV. “We chose the Carbonite C1 production switcher because, when we decided to upgrade to HD, we discovered that Ross could easily deliver the products and expertise we needed. Ross Video’s competitive pricing, product reliability and excellent customer service sealed the deal. The support we’ve received from Ross throughout this entire process has been stellar. It’s been like having a partner who’s expert in live production with us every step of the way.” MAATV is also using MC1 panels from Ross Video to master control three of their channels: MAA Music, MAA Movies and MAA Gold. The MC1s are being used in conjunction with Ross Video NK routers to do L-band and squeeze back in an automated environment. “We chose the MC1 master control system from Ross for a number of reasons,” continued Masthaniah. “These include that that it’s loaded with features that are practical and very useful, is extremely competitively priced, was built to meet the demands of 24/7 operation, comes with a five-year warranty, and provides complete program path protection by using input bypass relays that protect our channel output.” Visit www.rossvideo.com
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The Indonesia Channel Launches with Globecast INDONESIA’S FIRST English language entertainment and lifestyle
most countries where high speed broadband prevails. Viewers on the go can access the channel from their mobile phones, tablets and notebooks.
channel is set to make its debut across the globe with Globecast. The Indonesia Channel has signed a deal with Globecast to launch its 24-hour channel on multiple platforms.
“Globecast is privileged to be participating in this milestone for The Indonesia Channel. We hope to bring all the features of our digital media facility to bear in providing the quality of service and operational standards that are on par with the expectations of international broadcasters,” said Darby Sanchez, CEO of Globecast Asia.
From the premises of Globecast Asia’s digital media facility at Mediapolis in Singapore, Globecast is providing its playout and media management services for The Indonesia Channel, localising its content and ensuring that proper formats are available to suit to each region’s needs. In addition, Globecast also provides its Over-The-Top (OTT) Managed solution, making sure that the content is suitable for mobile viewing.
The Indonesia Channel is privately-funded, the first-of-its-kind English channel that has a programming mix of news and general entertainment including music, movies, health, lifestyle and fashion. Dalton Tanonaka, CEO of The Indonesia Channel, said, “We seek to inform and entertain viewers around the world with cool and informative shows. We chose Globecast to deliver our content because of its international reputation for quality service.”
Viewers have easy access to watch the channel because it is available on different platforms. Firstly, the channel can be viewed from homes across Asia Pacific via the MEASAT-3 satellite. Secondly, the channel is also available across Europe via Globecast’s fibre delivery, and lastly, its presence online via the OTT model can be reached all over the world, in
Visit www.globecast.com
Chinese TV Program Produced with Lawo Equipment HONG KONG-BASED Phoenix TV, covering news, reports and
control room fitted with a Lawo mc²56 console. Further two sapphire mixing
The state-owned but privately run Chinese company, popular with the middle class and management, serves one channel with recorded shows and talk rounds whereas the information channel provides news and reports on culture and religious issues. A very successful streamed IP TV channel distributes further information. The installations are to be completed by the system integrator by end of July.
consoles are installed for the Phoenix TV news channel.
Visit www.lawo.com
entertainment programs for more than 100 million Chinese-speaking people worldwide, has been supplied with Lawo consoles for the brand-new Beijing building. The large facilities in Beijing comprise also a 600m² studio with a
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ASIA NEWS CHINA HONG KONG-BASED Phoenix TV has been supplied with Lawo consoles for the brandnew Beijing building. The large facilities in Beijing comprise also a 600 m² studio with a control room fitted with a Lawo mc²56 console. A Further two sapphire mixing consoles are installed for the Phoenix TV news channel. Visit www.lawo.com
INDIA TECHNICOLOR HAS ANNOUNCED two special landmarks in its relationship with Tata Sky, India’s leading direct to home (DTH) service provider and HD market leader – the 10 year anniversary of the partnership and the delivery of the 11 millionth Technicolor set-top box. These milestones follow an announcement in May of this year for Technicolor to ship 4K set-top boxes in volume to Tata Sky from early 2015. Visit www.technicolor.com
THAILAND GLOBAL EAGLE Entertainment Inc. (GEE), a leading provider of content and connectivity solutions for airlines, and Thaicom, Thailand’s leading satellite operator, have been selected to equip Nok Air, Thailand’s premium low cost airline, with satellite-based connectivity and content services across its entire fleet. This is a first for a South East Asian carrier, with Nok Air being the first airline to benefit from a partnership between GEE and Thaicom. In addition to Nok Air, GEE and Thaicom will jointly develop, implement and support inflight connectivity solutions for airlines in Thailand and across South East Asia. Visit www.globaleagleent.com and www.thaicom.net
HONG KONG HONG KONG CUSTOMS’ successful raids on suppliers of a pirate TV box service should serve as a warning to all potential consumers of unauthorised TV services, said Asia’s pay-TV association, CASBAA. “Buying a dodgy TV box is a bad deal for consumers,” said CASBAA’s Chief Policy Officer, John Medeiros. “The content is being illegally supplied and the signal is subject to interruption at any time.” Visit www.casbaa.com
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SINGAPORE’S Infocomm Development
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DMS 2.0 to power value-add services across its digital terrestrial TV network. Exset’s DMS 2.0 allows One TV to rollout services above and beyond television channels. Using DMSready set-top boxes from HDT (Hyundai), One TV will initially offer an onscreen home page that acts as a TV portal to information services including sport and wider news as well as One TV promotional offerings.
Authority (IDA) has announced a regulatory framework for unlicensed access to unused radio spectrum in the broadcast TV frequency bands, known as TV White Spaces.
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Visit www.exset.com
NEWS + PEOPLE
SINGAPORE
The regulations will make available for use approximately 180MHz of spectrum when it takes effect from November 2014, and follow a public consultation in 2013. It rejected complaints that the use of the 700MHz UHF band would detract from international 4G availability, although this particular band will be returned for licensed cellular use after Singapore’s analogue TV switch off in 2020. It will also allow devices to operate on a licenceexempt
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PEBBLE BEACH SYSTEMS announced at BroadcastAsia that it has been awarded the contract to supply a 16 channel Marina automation system, complete with Japanese language user interface, to Aruji TV. This system is the first from Pebble Beach Systems to be supplied to Japan, and will be installed at the broadcaster’s Tokyo playout centre by Pebble Beach Systems’ partner in Japan, Kondo Broadcast. Visit www.pebble.tv
TAIWAN HKNET COMPANY LIMITED has strengthened its Asia network with the launch of a new Point of Presence (PoP) in Taiwan. The PoP will enhance the network accessibility and capabilities of HKNet in the region, allowing the company to better support businesses in Asia and beyond.
KOREA SEOUL BROADCASTING SYSTEM (SBS) has opted for a 4K system from Rohde & Schwarz. The goal of private broadcaster SBS was to be able to broadcast the FIFA World Cup of 2014 and the soon to follow Asian Games.
The new PoP will be located in CHIEF Telecom’s data centre, the biggest carrier data centre in Taiwan with Tier III+ infrastructure. This ensures a highly-reliable and robust environment to house the network systems.
The Rohde & Schwarz solution includes the ‘Clipster’ mastering station for editing, handling and playing out 4K data in realtime. The R&S AVHE100 headend then processes the 4K content in realtime. This system solution provides realtime encoding of 4K/UHD at 60 frames per second using HEVC and a DVB-T2 gateway.
Visit www.hknet.com
Visit www.rohde-schwarz.com
MALAYSIA THE EURONEWS MEDIA GROUP, Europe’s leading international news channel, is accelerating its development in Asia thanks to an agreement with Telekom Malaysia, the second biggest operator in Malaysia. Euronews, available in its 24/7 English version, can now reach 530,000 households subscribing to the basic HyppTV package from Telekom Malaysia. Visit www.euronews.com
INDONESIA ZTE CORPORATION is helping MNC Kabel Mediacom deploy the first ultra-broadband Internet service in Indonesia, delivering connection speeds of up to 200Mbps to users for a richer and more interactive online experience. The MNC Play Media Service of MNC Kabel Mediacom leverages ZTE’s industry-leading gigabit passive optical network (GPON) technology and FTTH (Fibre to the Home) technologies. On completion, MNC Kabel Mediacom’s network will connect at least 2 million home passes and in at least ten major cities across Indonesia. Visit www.zte.com.cn
NEW ZEALAND GRAPHICS AND WORKFLOW specialist Pixel Power has delivered an automated playout and branding solution to the New Zealand Racing Board (NZRB). The technology allows NZRB to fully automate the overnight transmission of its two television channels, enabling them to broadcast 24 hours a day, while also enhancing their on-air look. The requirement was for a system that would allow for secure manual control to work around the unpredictability of live sports action, but which could also be relied upon for fully automated, unattended overnight operation. Pixel Power ChannelMaster and BrandMaster, together with Gallium Workflow, provided the perfect solution. Visit www.pixelpower.com
NEWS + PEOPLE
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Video Land Taiwan Takes Furio Cameras from Ross ROSS VIDEO HAS ANNOUNCED that Video Land, one of the preeminent sports networks on Taiwanese television, is using Furio Robotic Cameras to deliver exceptional coverage of the Amway Cup, an international pool championship. This is the first time in Taiwan that robotic cameras have been used to enhance coverage of pool games. “I want to make sure that Video Land stays number one in Taiwan,” said Thomas Wang Manager of Sport Channel, Video Land. “The Furio Robotic Cameras provide extremely steady on-air shots and movement around the pool table, and are also nimble enough to enable operators to capture all the excitement of the game through camera angles a normal camera could never deliver.” The camera’s track was laid alongside the pool table, which enabled the Furio to deliver two distinct angles from side to side without being blocked by players or being overly intrusive. The Furio was used for close-up angles of players and to follow balls into the pockets. “Our overall experience with Ross Video was amazing and the Furios definitely enable us to deliver much better quality and more exciting sports productions,” finishes Thomas Wang. “We’re really looking forward to using Furios for other upcoming sports events.” Visit www.rossvideo.com
Newtec Enables Thailand’s Newest DTH Service NEWTEC HAS ANNOUNCED that Thaicom PLC, a leading Asian satellite operator, has installed Newtec technology (M6100 Broadcast Satellite Modulators) on the platform of Thaicom-6, enabling its satellite to provide TV Broadcasting services in both C-band and Ku-band to serve customers with the best value and viewing experience. More than 30 Newtec M6100 Broadcast Satellite Modulators are installed on Thaicom-6, along with Newtec’s Automated Equalink technology, which allows Thaicom to either save money on space capacity, lower the programming cost or increase service availability. Broadcasters can gain an increase of up to 10% in throughput without changing any system parameters or set-top boxes, making it possible to upgrade some SD programs to HD or add content. Newtec’s equipment also includes Clean Channel Technology. This combination of improved roll-offs for DVB-S2 and advanced filtering technologies allows optimal bandwidth utilisation, resulting in even higher efficiency and a significant improvement in performance by 1.2dB. The extension to the DVB-S2 standard, a new specification developed by DVB members including Newtec, called DVB-S2X, is also implemented on Newtec products, or is available as a software upgrade. This new standard brings further capabilities on top of DVB-S2, including lower Roll-Offs (RO) and increased granularity in MODCOD choice.
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“We are continually advancing our solutions for broadcasters and operators and have implemented our latest technologies to ensure Thaicom can offer its customers the best possible service and viewing experience,” said Mario Querner, VP Asia of Newtec. Dr. Sakon Kittivatcharapong, Senior Vice President Ground System Operations at Thaicom, stated, “Newtec is our reliable supplier for Thaicom’s broadcasting platform. We are delighted about the advances in technology made by Newtec, which will bring quality services to Thaicom’s customers and viewers throughout our service footprints in Asia and Africa.” Visit www.newtec.eu
Viettel Expands TV Offering with Ericsson
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content continues to grow across the globe with viewers watching an average of 14 hours per week via the TV set, as reported by Ericsson ConsumerLab research. In order to meet the increasing demands of viewers and to remain competitive, operators must expand their service offerings to build market share and reduce churn. Viettel, Vietnam’s largest telecom operator, has recognised this and is deploying the Ericsson Multi-platform Video Processing solution with the Ericsson AVP 4000 system encoder to enable the delivery of cable TV alongside its existing IPTV services. Ericsson has provided Viettel with a solution optimised for scale and reliability, while also delivering cost savings due to the high efficiency of the Ericsson AVP 4000. Viettel will also take advantage of the TV competence and global presence of the company’s services offering. Ericsson will be responsible for services such as design, supply and systems integration – for systems involved in everything from acquisition to transmission at the head-end, inclusive of multiple sub systems – as well as commissioning and support of the operator’s complex ecosystem. Le Van Khuong, CTO, Viettel Television, says, “Our priorities lie in keeping our viewers happy and we evolve our services in line with this, making sure that our offerings are reflective of industry trends and shifts. The addition of cable services further strengthens our standing in the Vietnamese TV market and puts us in a great position to deliver more content to our subscribers. Ericsson’s capability and reputation for delivering first-class solutions alongside system services and support means it’s able to meet the requirements of our complex TV project.” The Ericsson AVP 4000 Encoder Family offers Ericsson’s best ever levels of picture quality in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC in both SD and HD. Powered by the company’s first ever professional video chip, the AVP 4000 Encoder Family offers the highest performance and broadest capability in the industry on a single platform across all applications. Dr. Giles Wilson, Head of TV Compression Business, Ericsson, says, “Consumers have never been so receptive to new content and new TV services. It is therefore vital for operators to expand their businesses to increase customer reach and leverage the explosion of available video content we are currently seeing. The provision of our solutions to Viettel puts it at the forefront of Vietnam’s TV industry and will enable its viewers to benefit from improved picture quality and a greater choice of programming.” Visit www.ericsson.com
CES Show to Launch in Asia THE U.S. CONSUMER ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION (CEA) has announced it will produce the 2015 International CES Asia scheduled to run May 25-27 in Shanghai, China. This inaugural event will take place at the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC) and will draw global businesses to showcase the latest products and technologies entering the Asian marketplace. CEA is co-organising the event with Intex Shanghai Co., Ltd. “We are thrilled to announce the launch of CES Asia,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA. “China is a critical driver of the global tech industry with an incredible opportunity to accelerate its innovation output. At CES Asia, attendees will experience the innovation that defines the CE industry, with exclusive access to some of the top brands from China and around the world.” The entire consumer technology ecosystem will be on display at CES Asia, which will span 8,500m2 of exhibit space. Major themes and emerging product categories will be prominently featured across the show floor and in the conference program. Visit www.cesasia.com
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Green Trading Korea Gets Cooking with Matthews’ Floatcam MATTHEWS STUDIO EQUIPMENT’S Floatcam DC-Slider recently got Seoul-based Green Trading through a challenging shoot for KBS Global Project: Food Odyssey 2014. KBS’s team covered more than 20 countries, shooting in the hottest places on Earth from the Ethiopian Danakil to the North Pole. “The film’s director needed a package that would set up, move quickly, and stand up to the conditions they would encounter, whether hot or cold locations, inside in cold storage or other buildings and more,” explains Green Trading’s Jaseu Jeong. That meant MSE’s Floatcam DC-Slider. “At a glance, DC-Slider looks like just a simple travel slider,” Jeong says. “Even the counter balance system. When we learned that it could make five different types of setups with one compact device, we knew it would be exactly what clients like KBS Television need.” A simple location where people were holding food could be a challenge for the documentary team. “At times they encountered desert and rough ground,” Jeong explains. “Once the balance of the DC-Slider was set up, with the tripod on the ground and it’s mini-jib function in use – it easily handled the location. It went with them everywhere – from very small places inside of a Pyramid to food storage lockers and more.” Visit www.msegrip.com
FOX Philippines Deploys Harmonic Solution HARMONIC has announced that FOX International Channels (FIC) Philippines has installed a turnkey playout solution from Harmonic to enable media storage, channel branding, and origination of HD and SD channels. The complete solution features a Harmonic Spectrum MediaDeck integrated media server system, equipped with Spectrum ChannelPort integrated channel playout, MediaGrid shared storage systems, ProView 7100 integrated receiver-decoders (IRD), Electra 9200 encoders, and ProStream 9100 high-density stream processors. “With its rich portfolio of proven media storage and processing products, only Harmonic was able to provide a complete and readily scalable solution for playout of FOX International Channels here in the Philippines,” said Jude Turcuato, SVP and GM of FOX International Channels Philippines. “Particularly valuable to our operations was the smooth integration of the ChannelPort system with our existing automation system.” The ChannelPort system speeds the deployment of SD and HD television channels and reduces equipment costs by integrating branding and master control switching with clip playback on the Spectrum media server platform. The ChannelPort system fits into FIC Philippines’ existing production and playout infrastructures, including a Pebble Beach automation system, allowing the broadcaster to reduce the complexity of its operations. As FIC Philippines expands its channel lineup, it will be able to launch additional channels simply with the further addition of ChannelPort modules. Visit www.harmonicinc.com
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NEWS + PEOPLE
Visual Unity Appoints Pang for Asia MULTISCREEN SOLUTION PROVIDER, Visual Unity, has appointed Brian Pang to head up its sales in East Asia. Pang, who joins the company from a fouryear stint at Digital Rapids Corporation, was also previously Technical Director for miniV.tv, a mobile tv service providing video, audio, and interactive services to mobile operators in mainland China. “Our vuMedia platform is a robust and proven working product,” says Visual Unity’s CEO Tomas Petru. “Strengthening our sales team will allow us to reach more customers and spend more time presenting our media communications technology to them. There is already enormous interest in Visual Unity products and, having secured our financial future and increased our sales staff, we are now in a really good position to exploit our sales leads.” Visit www.visualunity.com
Vishnu Athreya Moves to Turner USA VISHNU ATHREYA has been named Vice President, Program Scheduling for Cartoon Network and Boomerang, it was announced by Rob Sorcher, Chief Content Officer for Cartoon Network in the US. In this position, Athreya will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day scheduling and strategic positioning of programming content for Cartoon Network, Boomerang and branded non-linear program platforms. Athreya joins the Cartoon Network US team after a long stint as Executive Director of Programming, Acquisitions and Development for Turner Broadcasting’s kids channels in Asia Pacific: Cartoon Network, Toonami, POGO, Boomerang and Cartoonito. Based in Hong Kong, he was responsible for driving content programming strategy for Turner in Asia Pacific. He will serve as departmental lead for long-range calendar planning along with developing creative strategies for on-air stunts and special events surrounding the networks’ growing library of original, acquired and classic animated programming. Athreya will be based in Atlanta and report directly to Sorcher, who is based at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, California. Visit www.turner.com
FilmLight Hits Right Note with Samaveda
NEWS + PEOPLE
FILMLIGHT HAS APPOINTED Ram Krishna Tripathi Samaveda to provide workflow information, consultancy and training to help customers of the Baselight grading environment implement the infrastructure best suited to their specific needs and requirements. Ram joins FilmLight as an experienced and award winning colourist and editor, currently working towards a doctorate in colour perception and management. His role at FilmLight will be Product Specialist/Colourist with a particular focus on the South Asia market. He will provide FilmLight’s clients with training support and implement workflows to take advantage of the collaborative potential of FilmLight’s colour grading and management technologies. Visit www.filmlight.ltd.uk
Polycom Appoints Thomas APAC President
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POLYCOM INC. announced that Geoff Thomas has joined the company as
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President, Polycom Asia Pacific. In this role, Thomas is responsible for leading the company’s regional sales strategy and execution to drive customer success, brand affinity and profitable growth.
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Thomas joins Polycom from Juniper Networks, where he was Vice President Enterprise Sales Asia Pacific. He also has a long career history with Microsoft Corporation, where he served in several leadership roles, which included business development in emerging markets. “Geoff’s leadership and strong background in sales, emerging markets, and business development will steer Polycom’s business in the right direction in the critical Asia Pacific region,” said Peter Leav, President and CEO, Polycom. A dynamic sales and business leader, Thomas has successfully led large teams spanning several geographies, including Australia, the United States, and Greater China. His expertise lies in strategic partnerships, channels, solutions selling, and go-to-market strategy across multiple business verticals. At Juniper Networks, Geoff led the company’s enterprise business across all markets in Asia Pacific, namely Australia and New Zealand, Greater China, India, South East Asia, Japan, and Korea. Visit www.polycom.asia
Avid Makes Key Addition to APAC Team AVID HAS ANNOUNCED that Peter Ennis, a respected veteran of the media technology industry, has joined the company as Director of Strategic Solutions for the Avid Global Centre of Excellence, APAC. Ennis comes to Avid with decades of experience in the media, broadcasting, and communications technology sectors. In his new role, Ennis will use his deep understanding of the media value chain to help customers anticipate and meet key business challenges by implementing solutions based on the Avid Everywhere vision for the media industry.
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“This appointment is part of our ongoing efforts to deepen customer relationships, and provide innovative solutions that meet the needs of a rapidly evolving industry,” said Craig Dwyer, Senior Director of the Avid Global Centre of Excellence. “With Peter’s practical, in-depth industry experience, the Avid Global Center of Excellence is now even better equipped to anticipate and solve key customer challenges through the Avid Everywhere vision for the media industry.” Reporting directly to Craig Dwyer, Ennis will provide Avid clients with immediate access to the latest industry knowledge, skills, resources, and technologies. His role will be vital in helping customers and partners understand the distinct advantages of the Avid Everywhere vision, which helps media organisations and content creators connect with their audiences in powerful, more efficient ways. Ennis has more than 30 years of senior management experience in technology operations at major broadcast and media companies around the world. He joins Avid from Hahei partners, his own New Zealand-based consultancy where he worked with telecommunications companies, broadcasters, investment houses, and technology vendors across Australia, Europe, and the U.S. Visit www.avid.com
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South-East Asia Chapter for I3D&AIS THE INTERNATIONAL 3D and Advanced Imaging Society is calling for members and proposals for activities following the launch of the I3D&AIS South-East Asian Chapter. Chairman of the Chapter is Mr Percy Fung, owner and production director at Film Magic, Hong Kong, whose 38 years of professional experience includes 20 3D stereo movies as well as IMAX and Pavilion screen projects. President of the Society, Jim Chabin met with Mr Fung during a recent visit to Hong Kong and China to discuss the formation of the South East Asia Chapter.
According to Mr Fung, “This will help to propel the region’s connections to Hollywood technologies in the cinematic world and new experiences in advanced image works. The South-East Asian Chapter welcomes members and activities proposals. We are also forming an international advisory team to enhance the Chapter’s development.” Headquartered in the U.S., the International 3D and Advanced Imaging Society has chapters in Europe, Canada, Japan, Korea and China. For more information about the South-East Asian Chapter, email info@i3dsasia.org
SMPTE and Hollywood Post Alliance Reveal Plans to Merge THE SOCIETY OF MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION ENGINEERS (SMPTE) has announced plans for a new partnership with the Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA). The partnership will begin with SMPTE providing administrative support to HPA, and it is expected to culminate in the merger of the two organisations by May 2015. “HPA is known not only for its unique brand identity, but also for facilitating open dialogue among all disciplines in the entertainment industry,” said Wendy Aylsworth, president of SMPTE. “Complementing SMPTE’s work in standards and education, these qualities will enrich the experience of SMPTE members worldwide, giving them the opportunity to engage in more frequent dialogue with nontechnical and supporting industry professionals. For these and many other reasons, we look forward to extending the HPA brand to a broader global audience.” The partnership unites two leading technical organisations serving the media and entertainment business. It gives both SMPTE and HPA the opportunity
to extend their reach and expand their membership while better serving the whole industry — from the engineering and technical professionals to the creative community. “With this partnership, HPA and SMPTE strengthen our collaborative work in addressing how our communities plan for SMPTE President, the future of technology and the creative Wendy Aylsworth process,” said Leon Silverman, HPA board president. “For HPA, a closer relationship with SMPTE is also valuable in that it will enable our organisation to extend the reach of our content and our work to a global audience beyond Hollywood.” Visit www.hpaonline.com and www.smpte.org.
ARGOSY “IMAGE” EQUIPMENT RACK Designed specifically for the broadcast industry, the new Argosy IMAGE equipment rack range incorporates a variety of features to help simplify installation and maintenance whilst minimizing roll out costs. These include:
• A full range of accessories • Flat pack option available for easy shipment • Standard colour “Argosy Black” – other colours available
on request • Available in standard heights: 42Ru, 45Ru & 47Ru and depths: 800mm, 900mm, 1000mm. • Knock outs in lid for easy cable entry • Flexible design allows easy customization • Fast turnaround SERVING THE BROADCAST INDUSTRY
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Argosy products are available from stocks at locations in the UK, UAE, India and Malaysia
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TECHNICAL STANDARDS www.content-technology.com/standards
MPEG Completes Work on Two HEVC Extensions THE 109TH MPEG meeting was held in Sapporo, JP, from 7 – 11 July, 2014. At the meeting, the standard development work was completed for two important extensions to the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard (ISO/IEC 23008-2, also standardised by ITU-T as Rec. H.265).
MV-HEVC providing efficient representation of video content with multiple camera views and optional depth map information, such as for 3D stereoscopic and autostereoscopic video applications. MV-HEVC is the 3D video extension of HEVC, and further work for more efficient coding of 3D video is ongoing.
The first of these are the scalability extensions of HEVC, known as SHVC, adding support for embedded bitstream scalability in which different levels of encoding quality are efficiently supported by adding or removing layered subsets of encoded data. The other are the multiview extensions of HEVC, known as
SHVC and MV-HEVC will be combined with the original content of the HEVC standard and also the recently-completed format range extensions (known as RExt), so that a new edition of the standard will be published that contains all extensions approved up to this time.
In consideration of the recent dramatic developments in video coding technology, including the completion of the development of the HEVC standard and several major extensions, MPEG plans to host a brainstorming event during its 110th meeting which will be open to the public. The event will be co-hosted by MPEG’s frequent collaboration partner in video coding standardisation work, the Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) of ITU-T Study Group 16.
In addition, the finalisation of reference software
Visit http://mpeg.chiariglione.org
and a conformance test set for HEVC was completed at the 109th meeting, as ISO/IEC 23008-5 and ISO/IEC 23008-8, respectively.
MPEG-H 3D Audio Extended to Lower Bit Rates AT ITS 109TH MEETING, MPEG has selected technology for Version II of the MPEG-H 3D Audio standard (ISO/IEC 23008-3) based on responses submitted to the Call for Proposals issued in January 2013. This follows from selection of Version I technology, which was chosen at the 105th meeting, in August 2013. While Version I technology was evaluated for bitrates between 1.2 Mb/s to 256 kb/s, Version II technology is focused on bitrates between 128 kb/s to 48 kb/s. The selected technology supports content in multiple formats: channel-based, channels and
Accedo Joins Tizen ACCEDO, A MARKET LEADER in TV Application Solutions, has joined the Tizen Association Partner Program.
TECHNICAL STANDARDS
Tizen provides an alternative ecosystem for application developers to reach a new generation of browser-enabled devices. With Tizen, device makers and operators have the opportunity for differentiation possibilities at the user experience and service level. “We are excited about joining the Tizen Partner Program and being part of Tizen’s evolution,” commented Michael Lantz, CEO, Accedo. “Tizen’s focus on openness, standardisation, and developer outreach are key ingredients for a successful operating system. It is Accedo’s intention to be in the forefront of innovation and we believe Tizen is an important factor in our growth.” Visit www.accedo.tv
objects (C+O), and scene-based Higher Order Ambisonics (HOA). A total of six submissions were reviewed: three for coding C+O content and three for coding HOA content. The selected technologies for Version II were shown to be within the framework of the unified Version I technology. The submissions were evaluated using a comprehensive set of subjective listening tests in which the resulting statistical analysis guided the selection process. At the highest bitrate of 128 kb/s for the coding of a signal supporting a 22.2
loudspeaker configuration, both of the selected technologies had performance of “Good” on the MUSHRA subjective quality scale. It is expected that the C+O and HOA Version II technologies will be merged into a unified architecture. This MPEG-H 3D Audio Version II is expected to reach Draft International Standard by June 2015. The 109th meeting also saw the technical completion of Version I of the MPEG-H 3D Audio standard and is expected to be an International Standard by February, 2015. Visit http://mpeg.chiariglione.org
Wohler Signs on to DPP Compliance Program
GatesAir Enters Into RAVENNA Partnership
WOHLER TECHNOLOGIES is participating in the new compliance program created by the Digital Production Partnership (DPP), an industry collaboration that provides information and shares best practices to help producers and broadcasters maximise the potential of digital production.
ALC NETWORX HAS ANNOUNCED that GatesAir has joined the RAVENNA community.
“Compliance with the DPP specification is becoming a critical part of operations for many content producers, and our goal is to enable customers to create DPP deliverables with efficiency and confidence,” said Craig Newbury, vice president of sales for Wohler. Through the new DPP program, participating manufacturers will provide details of completed tests, the sample files produced, and evidence of the results obtained on file delivery or processing products that are being marketed or developed. Visit www.wohler.com
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The move comes in the wake of the publication of the AES67 Standard on High-performance Audio-over-IP Streaming Interoperability, which is fully in line with the fundamental operating principles of RAVENNA. Consequently, integration of RAVENNA offers a straightforward way for GatesAir to achieve full AES67 functionality. Rich Redmond, chief product officer for GatesAir, says, “RAVENNA enables our customers to develop a networked audio ecosystem across studio and external signal transport environments, offering an AES67compatible foundation over which wide spread interoperability can be achieved.” Visit www.gatesair.com and http://ravenna.alcnetworx.com
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ACQUISITION www.content-technology.com/acquisition
Tiffen Joins CSC and BFA in China’s First Steadicam Workshop
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China’s Hit Web Series “Ex Model” Shot on Blackmagic Cameras
24 CINEMATOGRAPHERS from all over China, plus lecturers and students from Beijing Film Academy (BFA) have successfully completed Tiffen’s first accredited Steadicam 3-Day Silver Workshops in Beijing. Conducted in conjunction with Tiffen/Steadicam distributor Jebsen Industrial, The Chinese Society of Cinematographers (CSC) and the BFA, the 2 x 3-Day workshops were held in the nearly-complete 2500sqm studio of BFA in the Haidian district of Beijing. “We’ve been working with Professor Mu (who heads up the 400-member strong CSC) and BFA Cinematography School head Professor Gao on realising a locally funded Steadicam workshop for 12 students since last August,” comments Brett Smith, Tiffen/ Steadicam APAC sales director. “Thanks to Jebsen and the Professors’ desire to integrate international training into CSC education programs and into BFA’s syllabus, we were able to run two full workshops with a waiting list: a great start to what we hope will be a long and evolving relationship with Chinese cinematographers.” The BFA workshops follow successful Gold 6-Day Workshops in Malaysia and Australia under the guidance of Jerry Holway and Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown, as well as Silver workshops at LaSalle College of the Arts, Singapore, Sydney University and Avalon Studios in New Zealand. The 3-Day workshop instructors hailed from South Korea, the USA, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. All instructors are part of a Tiffen program to embrace regional instructors alongside an international training team. The Multilingual Beijing workshops were led by Tiffen International’s head instructor Robin Thwaites, working alongside Singapore’s Wan Zhong Wei and Brett Smith. Zhong Wei shoots live television and multi-cam in Singapore, and his bilingual skills were critical to the workshop’s success. “Having an instructor who is also an operator, and easily handles Steadicam terminology in Mandarin and English, is the only way we could run such a high level, practical workshop.” explains Robin, who is responsible for setting Tiffen’s International Bronze, Gold and Silver Steadicam workshop syllabus. Based in the UK, Robin has been training Steadicam operators for more than 20 years. “We have already identified a couple of operators from the Beijing workshop who may potentially be future instructors, which is another objective of our workshops.” adds Robin.
ACQUISITION
Steadicam has been popular in China for feature and television production over many years, but the cost of training overseas has meant a relatively small number of operators with a rounded skill set. Since Steadicam combines creative shooting with a unique physical connection to the camera, the skills required for a long and productive Steadicam career are best learned in a practical environment. These inaugural workshops, and two additional workshops planned in conjunction with China-SMPTE and CCTV in September this year, will be the platform for regional workshops in 2015 and beyond. Brett concludes, “I will be in Manila next week, helping run on our first Bronze Steadicam workshop in Philippines, then it’s up to china for the CCTV training. Every workshop is all about knowledge transfer and the skills we’ve uncovered so far auger well for APAC Steadicam operators instructing on the majority of our future workshops.” Visit www.tiffen.com
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BLACKMAGIC DESIGN ANNOUNCED that Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Pocket Cinema Camera were used to shoot China’s hit web series “Ex Model”. The web series is produced by Drunken Dragon Productions, a Paris based production company co founded by Chinese producer and actress Xin Wang and French director and writer Emmanuel Sapolsky, for Youku, one of the largest Chinese video websites. Directed by Emmanuel, “Ex Model” tells the story of the young Chinese girl Xin Xin, played by Xin Wang, pursuing her dream of modelling in Paris but getting too old for it. She tries to find her way in the French city not knowing the path to success, and this personal journey generates some funny, crazy and unexpected moments. The first season of the web series, which consists of 10 episodes, is now airing on Youku and has built up more than 22 million views since its premiere on April 1st. As one of the earliest European owners of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera EF and the Pocket Cinema Camera, Emmanuel has shot many popular shorts, as well as his first feature film “The Eyes of Silence,” on his Blackmagic Design cameras. Because of his successful experiences already, he decided to continue relying on the cameras to shoot the “Ex Model” project. “In a web series like ‘Ex Model,’ you have to be able to shoot fast, with less light and not that much space, as we shoot entirely on location,” said Emmanuel. “I love the form factor and the compact size of these cameras. You can add accessories or remove them as you go, so they fit everywhere!” Shot completely on a Blackmagic Cinema Camera Emmanuel mounted the camera on a tripod and an Edelkrone slider for dynamic shots. He used aPocket Cinema Camera as a B camera, mounting it in a Movi stabilised camera gimbal or roller skate camera, which captured special and hyperactive shots, with all of the footage recorded to Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) in both cameras. “To me, the ability to record ProRes in camera is one of the two best assets for shoots because you don’t have to deal with an external recorder or some conversion in post. That is a time saver,” said Emmanuel. “Dynamic range is my other favorite feature because we can’t afford to put that much light on set. Not only because of budget, but also because in Paris, sometimes you shoot in very old places that are preserved. You can’t just come in and put some 2K HMI there without risking damage. And both the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Pocket Cinema Camera have the same stop range, so it was not hard to match the images in post.” Emmanuel also noted that the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera helped him shoot retakes and B roll even long after the shoot was over because it is so compact and portable that he could take the camera out whenever necessary. Visit www.blackmagicdesign.com
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COBHAM HAS FEATURED its new receiver platform, the PRORXD,
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Cobham Showcase PRORXD Receiver Platform and Nano HDTX which includes 1080p60 4:2:2 10-bit decoding capabilities during BroadcastAsia 2014. Two configurations, 1RU or 2RU, are each capable of decoding separate HD signals, including MPEG2 HD if required, effectively making them dual receivers. The PRORXD’s decoding algorithm has been specially engineered by Cobham to ensure full compatibility with all leading encoders. A key benefit of the PRORXD system is that it automatically adjusts its encoding bit-rate capacity to ensure optimum picture quality by compensating for variations of ‘contention’ on IP networks. This feature is particularly valuable when using Ka-band and BGAN satellite systems.
UAV START-UP COMPANY, Helico, has developed AirDog, the world’s first automated drone designed to track and video outdoor sports and activities. Aimed primarily at the consumer market, AirDog is a ‘quad-copter’ that operates via a wrist-worn tracking device and accommodates a standard GoPro sports camera. Users can automatically capture aerial video footage and still photography of themselves, having set distance, speed and height levels for AirDog to follow. Parameters can also be set via a smart phone app. After raising US$500,000 via crowd funding website kickstarter.com, Helico is now targeting the outdoor ‘extreme’ sports market and expects AirDog to be of particular interest to recreational participants of freestyle BMX, motocross and skateboarding, as well as water-sports such as surfing, kitesurfing and wake-boarding. “AirDog not only grants end-users their own affordable and personal aerial video crew, but goes one step further in providing thrilling footage from distances and angles previously inaccessible to such consumers,” explains Edgars Rozentals, Co-founder and CEO of the Latvia -based, Helico Aerospace Industries. According to Rozentals, AirDog might literally have not got off the ground, had it not been for the instrumental role 3D printing played during the prototyping phase. The company sought the expertise of Stratasys’ Latvian partner, Baltic3D, who also worked with Polish reseller Bibus Menos to meet the requirements outlined by Helico’s team. In order to produce fullyfunctional parts that could perform in the real environment, both Stratasys’ FDM and PolyJet 3D printing technologies were employed for AirDog and its AirLeash tracking device, respectively.
Cobham also featured Nano HDTX, an ultra-miniature digital video transmitter designed specifically for POV and body-worn applications. At its core is Cobham’s COFDM and H.264 encoding technology, which enables the transmitter to retain excellent image quality over a wireless link. Visit www.cobham.com
New Apple ProRes Formats for Blackmagic Cameras BLACKMAGIC DESIGN has announced the immediate availability of Camera 1.8.2 software, which adds three new Apple ProRes file formats for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, and Blackmagic Production Camera 4K. Camera 1.8.2 update is available now free of charge from the Blackmagic Design website. Blackmagic Design camera customers have always been able to record in both CinemaDNG RAW or compressed ProRes 422 HQ formats, however now this new software update adds three additional Apple ProRes file formats, ProRes 422, ProRes 422 LT and ProRes 422 Proxy. This means customers using Blackmagic Design cameras will be able to get significantly smaller video file sizes allowing much longer recording durations on the same media card, all while preserving full frame 10-bit 4:2:2 quality.
Helico expects to commercially introduce AirDog to the market at the end of October, 2014.
Because this update reduces the data rate of recording, customers can now choose lower cost SSD or SD cards while still recording high quality video in SD, HD, and Ultra HD resolutions. Using ProRes 422 Proxy it is possible to record 230 minutes of 1080HD video on a single 64GB SD drive.
Visit www.airdog.com
Visit www.blackmagicdesign.com
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ARRI ALEXA XR/XT Supports New ProRes 4444 XQ ARRI HAS ANNOUNCED support for the new Apple ProRes 4444 XQ, the highest-quality version of ProRes to date, which is designed to preserve the detail in high-dynamic range imagery through high-end video postproduction. ProRes 4444 XQ will be available in the next Software Update Packet for ALEXA cameras. Final Cut Pro X 10.1.2 fully supports ProRes 4444 XQ for editing, compositing, rendering, and exporting. ARRI ALEXA XT cameras and ALEXA Classic cameras with the XR Module will gain ProRes 4444 XQ capability with ARRI’s Software Update Packet SUP 10, which is scheduled for an open beta in July and a final release in August. ALEXA XR/XT cameras will support ProRes 4444 XQ in both HD and 2K resolutions. The ALEXA XR/XT cameras will be the world’s first cameras capable of encoding ProRes 4444 XQ. Visit www.arri.com.au
Panasonic Announces Successor to AG-AC90A AVCCAM THE NEW PANASONIC AG-AC90A inherits the high image quality from the original AG-AC90, but features enhanced network capability and a range of useful professional functions. Panasonic’s AG-AC90A AVCCAM features a high speed F1.5, BI (back-illuminated sensor) type 3MOS image sensors providing Full-HD resolution. In addition to high-quality professional PS/PH mode (1920 x 1080) recording, the AGAC90A supports PM mode (1280 x 720) and low-bit-rate CS mode (720 x 576) for delivery over a network. When combined with an Eye-Fi card, it fits right into production workflows that use networks to transfer data files to PCs and upload to cloud servers. Visit www.panasonic.com
ACQUISITION
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SEA Travelogue Shot with Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera
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BLACKMAGIC DESIGN HAS ANNOUNCED that European cultural
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television channel arte has commissioned a new series of travel documentaries exploring the vibrant colours and cultures of the former Indochina region, shot exclusively on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. Berlin based Story House Productions developed five programs, in which a small crew travelled across each of the countries that previously formed Indochina; Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. The production crew chose the Pocket Cinema Camera as it would enable them to capture beautiful images, while retaining a ‘backpacker’ look that would be the overarching theme for each of the standalone documentaries.
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The challenge for Story House was how they would translate not only the physical beauty of the region, but also the essence of the country and what it is like to actually travel there. “To achieve that feel of backpacking through a country, we relied on traditional public transport throughout filming. Each of the documentaries also offers a glimpse into the lives of eight locals,” explains Christian Schidlowski of Story House Productions.
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Christian directed the first two programs set in Vietnam and Cambodia. To ensure consistency, workshops were held with the two other directors, and DoP André Götzmann was present across all five shoots. The majority of filming was done handheld, and the team used the Pocket Cinema Camera’s film mode in order to access the camera’s full dynamic range and bring a real vitality to the footage.
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André was extremely impressed by the image quality that could be achieved by a camera with such a compact form factor. “The Pocket Cinema Camera’s size was incredibly important in allowing us to film very natural scenes. The smaller the camera, the faster people forgot its presence, which enabled me to stay in eye contact with the protagonists and get physically close to people without disturbing them. I picked up the camera in the morning and didn’t put it down until evening; it became my constant companion. I captured so many little spontaneous things along the road, in a way I’ve never been able to before. The camera let me literally soak into the country. “Whatever we shot with had to be capable of producing both stunning landscape shots, for example, shooting wide angle to demonstrate the idyllic beaches across the region, but also needed to give us stunning detail in the close up portrait shots that we used when interviewing local people. As we were traveling with such a small crew, our lighting options were extremely limited, but we knew that wherever we were shooting, we would
Sony Reinforces XDCAM with PXW-X160
ACQUISITION
SONY HAS LAUNCHED the PXW-X160, the latest addition to the Sony XDCAM Series of camcorders. The PXW-X160 features three 1/3” Full HD Exmor CMOS sensors and a newly developed 25x optical zoom G-Lens that extends from a 26mm wide angle. It can record in XAVC Intra and Long GOP, enabling 10-bit sampling for high-definition recordings with rich tonal expression, as well as MPEG HD422 at 50Mbps. It can also record in MPEG HD420 at 35Mbps, AVCHD and DV formats. The PXW-X160 has been created to satisfy the needs of broadcasters, production houses and corporate and event productions, with performance and features suited to documentaries, reality programming, events, and corporate work. The PXW-X160 is a followup to the Sony HXR-NX5P and PMW-150 models, and is expected to become a strong performer in the handheld professional camcorder market. Visit http://pro.sony-asia.com
always capture great looking images with the Pocket Cinema Camera.” From a director’s perspective, Christian was extremely pleased with the rich colour scale that the Pocket Cinema Camera captured, for example in the marketplaces in Thailand, which are a whirl of bright fabrics, street food and streets packed full of people. “As we finished in DaVinci Resolve, the footage has been fantastic to grade. It was incredibly simple to import the footage into a timeline, and apply an overall grade to each of the films to make the vivid colours of the region really pop out. We knew from the start that the camera would be the right choice for our objectives, and this remains the case, now that post production is completed.” The Asia From Above documentaries will be shown on arte, which broadcasts in France and Germany later in 2014. Visit www.blackmagicdesign.com
MSE to Feature MatthewsSLIDER at IBC
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MATTHEWS STUDIO EQUIPMENT, provider of support from clamps to MAX the Light Mover, Polly Dolly, Floatcam’s DC-Slider and more will feature their MatthewsSLIDER in Hall 11, Row G, #71 at IBC 2014. Matthews has designed a simple, sturdy and lightweight MatthewsSLIDER camera platform. MatthewsSLIDER can work upside-down for low-angle shots, can support more than one carriage at a time for A-camera and B-camera shots. It has positive lock at 90 degrees when in use on most dollies. Each carriage can support up to 175lbs (80kg) (bracing of track might be necessary). The proprietary wheels with ABEC5 stainless bearings and ceramic balls make MatthewsSLIDER very fast and extremely quiet. MatthewsSLIDER comes in four basic sizes: 29”, 35”, 45” and 70” (74cm, 89cm, 114cm, and 178cm). “We can also custom any slider to the user’s specifications,” explains Kulesh. “It can be fashioned in increments or 4.75” (12cm) between cross members up to 12’ (266cm).”
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Fully factory assembled, MatthewsSLIDER will accept any gear head/fluid head/camera combination. The package includes a Mitchell swivel base and Mitchell carriage, as well as Mitchell 2” risers, filter plate, slim design locking handle, a set of levelling legs, and extras.
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Visit www.msegrip.com
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Miller Celebrating 60th Anniversary at IBC MILLER FLUID HEADS (EUROPE) LTD., a leader in the production of camera support solutions, is preparing for the European leg of its 60th anniversary celebration at IBC 2014 (Hall 11, Stand 11.D30). Continuing its professional progression in supplying the film and television industries with revolutionary high-end tripods and fluid heads, the Australia-based camera support solutions company will introduce its new Cineline 70 Fluid Head to the European market at the show. “Since Miller’s launch 60 years prior, the company has delivered more than 100,000 tripods and fluid heads, acquired several patents and won numerous awards for its exceptional quality and design,” says Mike Lippmann, European manager, Miller Fluid Heads (Europe) Ltd. “We look forward to celebrating our 60th anniversary at IBC and are thrilled to be introducing our new Cineline 70 Fluid Head, with its smooth, advanced precision fluid drag control and perfect diagonal drag transition, to the European market.” Constructed of corrosion-resistant alloy, the robust Cineline 70 Fluid Head is a feature-rich, cost-effective solution that is ideal for use on feature films, documentaries and high-end television commercial productions that require heavy payload, frequent re-rigging and a diverse range of lenses and cameras. For easy setup changes, its eight-position counterbalance system, with “all-in-one location” rear-mounted controls, easily allows users to capture the big picture. The fluid head also features an extended sliding
I-MOVIX Showcasing X10 Product Line I-MOVIX WILL SHOWCASE its line of products based on the X10 ultra slow motion technology. The new product line emphasises modular configurability to suit any Vision Research Phantom camera, and any configuration can be customised to meet performance and budget targets across a wide range of production scenarios. The entire X10 product range has been optimised for upgradeability to allow for evolving production requirements and upcoming generations of cameras. I-MOVIX will also demonstrate the industry’s first 4K ultra-slow motion system to support both continuous super slow motion and ultra slow motion at frame rates of up to 1000fps. Combining the core X10 ultramotion technology with Vision Research’s Phantom Flex4K camera, X10 UHD supports operation in a range of modes to meet differing production requirements, and can be instantly re-configured for new 4K or HD shooting scenarios. Visit www.i-movix.com
range to promote quick and seamless rebalancing of the rig when changes in lenses and accessories result in weight distribution shifts. It is set to accommodate industry-leading camera mountings, including Arri, Sony, RED and Canon, and it features an Arri-compatible side-loading camera platform, with an optional, easy-to-fit 1225 Mitchell Base Adaptor to suit traditional Mitchell Flat Base tripods. Additionally, the fluid head offers dual side mounts for monitors and accessories. Also on display at Miller’s IBC stand will be its compact Air and DS tripod systems, the multi-award winning Compass series, the industry stalwart Arrow series and the robust 150mm ball levelling Skyline 70 fluid head and tripod systems. The company will showcase its complete range of carbon fibre and alloy tripods, as well. Visit www.millertripods.com
Sony’s Most Compact Pro XDCAM SONY RECENTLY ANNOUNCED another addition to its XDCAM Series of handheld solid-state memory camcorders is in development, and is set to be made available this year. The new model was previewed for the first time at BroadcastAsia. The new XDCAM camcorder features a 20MP 1” Exmor R CMOS sensor and the capability to record in XAVC Long GOP, enabling 422 10-bit sampling for high-definition recording with rich tonal expression. Upon its release the new camcorder is set to become Sony’s most compact XAVC-capable XDCAM camera to date, well suited to field shooting in a broad range of professional applications. Visit http://pro.sony-asia.com
SliderPLUS PRO Gets a Makeover SLIDERPLUS PRO benefits from the award winning (Videomaker’s Editor’s Choice and Spotlight Awards) SliderPLUS V2 design.
4K Super Slow-Mo from FOR-A
The unique design offsets the rail system, doubling the sliding distance. The new camera mount/carrier adds more durability and further adjustments to the system.
FOR-A CORPORATION has released the newest version of its FT-ONE full
New, stronger structure carries more weight and is able to carry heavier cameras with pro-equipment.
4K super slow motion camera. The new version of the FT-ONE offers fibre I/O connections built directly into the unit for ease of use when shooting from the field. The FT-1READ is an option available with the FT-ONE for file conversion. The FT-1READ takes the RAW data from the SSD drives, imports all recorded info, and converts it to a DPX file, which is a common file format for editing and colour grading. The FT-ONE employs FOR-A’s high-sensitivity CMOS colour sensor, ‘FT1CMOS’, and plays back full 4K (4096 x 2160 pixels). One output channel can provide QFHD (four 1080p 3G-SDI) outputs, while the other output channel provides down-converted HD-SDI for live viewing and play back. The FT-ONE captures images as uncompressed raw data on the system’s internal memory, which has a recording capacity of 9.4 seconds. This data is then stored on one of two hot-swappable SSD cartridges, each of which is capable of storing 84 seconds of full 4K resolution images at 900 fps. Visit www.for-a.com
With SliderPLUS PRO both trays are adjustable so you have maximum control over the minimal play on the rails. SliderPLUS PRO is 100% CNC machined and most of its parts are made out of mono-blocks to ensure durability. SliderPLUS PRO’s rail system retreats back during slider operation. This way, during dolly in/out shots, SliderPLUS PRO remains out of your picture. The new pop-up camera mount screw appears and disappears with a simple tap. SliderPLUS PRO lives up to the tradition, and delivers great slider movement distance in a smaller form. Even the largest version is only 63 centimetres in actual size, which is the average size of most professional tripods when folded down. Visit www.edelkrone.com
ACQUISITION
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SPORTSCASTING Sport coverage worldwide
Support Grows for Olympic TV Channel REPRESENTATIVES OF the Olympic Movement have met in Lausanne with the Olympic Agenda 2020 strategic roadmap process central to their discussions. Among the items given support by the Summit was the establishment of an Olympic TV channel. Participants supported an Olympic TV channel, recognising the potential to greatly increase the presence of sports and the promotion of the Olympic values year round and worldwide. A feasibility study for the channel is being undertaken by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), the IOC-created Host Broadcaster organisation for all Olympic Games, and a Working Group has been formed which will make recommendations on the proposed channel. The Working Group is chaired by Thomas Bach, IOC President, and includes: Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, President of the Olympic Council of Asia; Willi Kaltschmitt Lujan, IOC Executive Board Member;
www.content-technology.com/sportscasting
Atos Counts Down to Nanjing 2014 WITH THE OPENING ceremony of the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games close at hand, Atos has announced that the implementation of the Games IT systems is right on track. The Youth Olympics Games (YOG) is the most complex IT project for a sporting event ever undertaken in Nanjing to date. With global audiences watching the Games on multiple devices, anywhere and anytime, Atos business technologists are focused on delivering the massive, mission critical IT infrastructure and solutions that will deliver real-time results to a global audience of billions and empower one of the most anticipated sports events in China this Northern summer. Visit www.atos.net
Gian-Franco Kasper, President of the International Ski Federation (FIS); Richard W. Pound, Chair, Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS); Francesco Ricci Bitti, President of the International Tennis Federation; and
Cho Elected as POCOG President
Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs, Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) Board Member.
THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) has announced that
Experts advising the Working Group include Manolo Romero, Vice-Chair of Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and Gary Zenkel, President of NBC Olympics and President of Operations & Strategy, NBC Sports Group. Further consultations on Olympic Agenda 2020 are scheduled for September, when the most recent contributions, along with discussions of the Working Groups in June, will be presented to the IOC commissions. Visit www.olympic.org
IOC Awards Japanese Broadcast Rights THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) has awarded its broadcast partner Japan Consortium the broadcast rights in Japan for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang and the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in 2020 in Tokyo, as well as the broadcast rights for the 2022 and 2024. The Japan Consortium has also acquired the rights to the third Summer Youth Olympic Games, in Buenos Aires in 2018. The Japan Consortium, which includes NHK (the Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association, has acquired the broadcast rights across all media platforms, including freeto-air television, subscription television, internet, and mobile.
SPORTSCASTING
IOC President, Thomas Bach, said, “We are delighted that we will continue to work with our broadcast partner, the Japan Consortium, until at least 2024. They have a proven track record in broadcasting the Games to the widest possible audience, which is the cornerstone of the IOC’s broadcast philosophy.” NHK President, Katsuto Momii, said, “We, as the Japan Consortium, were able to acquire the broadcast rights to four Summer and Winter Games this time. Above all, the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo, which will be the first Summer Games to be held in Japan for 56 years, will draw particularly high interest for the public.” Visit www.olympic.org
Yang-ho Cho has been formally elected as the President of the PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee (POCOG). President Cho has a long-standing relationship with the Olympic Movement, having lead the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee. The IOC’s first face-to-face meeting with President Cho is scheduled to take place during the upcoming Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games. President Cho and a POCOG delegation are expected to meet with IOC President Thomas Bach, IOC Coordination Commission Chair Gunilla Lindberg, and the IOC’s Olympic Games Deputy Executive Director Christophe Dubi. IOC President, Thomas Bach, commented, “The election of Yang-ho Cho as President of the PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee underlines the importance that the Republic of Korea and the Korean sports movement places upon the success of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. We are pleased that President Cho has been elected so quickly and that he will dedicate himself to this important national project..” Visit www.olympic.org
Inter Boost Presence in Japan with MLJ FC INTERNAZIONALE have signed a new deal with mobile services provider MLJ Inc. for the continued development of the club’s digital offerings in Japanese. The deal was facilitated by MP & Silva, a leading international media rights company. Under the terms of the two-year agreement, MLJ have exclusive rights to develop and market Inter’s official Japanese mobile website for smartphones and non-smartphone mobile devices. FC Internazionale will provide MLJ with a range of exclusive content targeted at its Japanese fan base, which has grown significantly in recent years since the arrival at the club of Japan international Yuto Nagatomo. MLJ will also update the Japanese version of inter.it and manage the official Inter profiles in Japanese on leading social networks. According to recent market research, Inter has an estimated 6.2 million fans in Japan. Visit www.mpsilva.com
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The playing field for broadcasters, technology providers and sporting bodies just got a whole lot bigger.
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Announcing the Sportscasting Conference & Expo October 7 – 8, 2014. Melbourne Etihad Stadium, 740 Bourke St, Docklands
The first Australian Sportscasting Conference & Expo will bring the future of sports broadcasting to Melbourne for a two-day conference and exhibition at Etihad Stadium on October 7 – 8, 2014. There is no better location in Melbourne to showcase your products and services to professional sporting clubs and associations. A select group of exhibitors will have face-to-face access to a targeted group of decision makers who are looking for ideas and solutions to upgrade and innovate their club’s or association’s technology. If you have a broadcasting product or service that caters to professional sporting associations or sporting clubs, then this trade exhibition is C O N F E R E N C E & E X P O for you! Spaces will fill fast – contact our Sportscasting team today.
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Please email adam.buick@expertiseevents.com.au or call +61 2 9452 7594
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REGISTRATION OPENS JULY 21
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www.sportscasting.com.au
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SPORTSCASTING
The Glasgow Diaries: Chapter 10
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By David Bowers Three weeks to the Opening Ceremony.
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I cycle up to the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) at 7.30am to find the recentlyinstalled bike rack outside already full. At 64 our Host Broadcaster team is three times the size it was in January and clearly taking the ‘Green Games’ spirit to heart. I SPOT MY COLLEAGUE Peter Mills’ bike on the end, chain mine to his and head through security to our project office. At nearly 3,000 sqm the cavernous IBC space echoes – particularly at this early hour of the day – though it will soon hum 24/7 with more than 1,000 broadcasting professionals working from it over the two-week Games period. The IBC’s soft opening was last week, and from July 9th we move to 24-hour operation. The IBC will be the hub for all Commonwealth Games broadcasting activity, handing incoming high definition television pictures and sound from 19 different venues and distributing that footage to international TV and radio rights holders’ home countries. The IBC also manages outgoing worldwide transmissions from rights holder broadcasters (RHBs) working at the IBC and Games venues. Walking along the main IBC corridor I say g’day to representatives of several RHBs whom I’ve gotten to know well over the past several months as we’ve worked to accommodate their needs. While the journalists and newsgathering crews who will cover the Games won’t arrive until a few days before the Opening Ceremony, their advance team members are already on site as we progressively hand over commentary systems, and work and studio areas, so broadcasters can deliver their own reports to their home countries.
As was the case in Sochi, Ten’s production is effectively being split in two to give them the most flexible, cost effective result. Image gathering, hosting and comment captured in Glasgow will be sent directly to Ten’s studio in Melbourne, where they will add graphics, overlay, replays and finishing. As a result, Ten will have complete control over what their viewers see without the need to have a full production crew in Glasgow. To transmit content for the 260+ hours of broadcast coverage Ten has announced across their two broadcast channels, TEN and ONE, and eight dedicated digital channels on their www. tenplay.com.au website and app, we have four return video feeds from Melbourne to Glasgow; 20 transmission paths from Glasgow to Melbourne; and four receive paths from Melbourne to Glasgow. 12 of the 20 transmission paths will service the eight channels on www.tenplay.com.au. All material capture will be high definition. Ten’s technical director (sport) Phil Seale and I also inspect the broadcaster’s studio, which will be located in the front arrivals area of the Scottish Exhibition Conference Centre – home to five sporting venues, the Main Press Centre (MPC) and the IBC.
Content will be sent via fibre to the IBC-based production crew who will be directly connect back to Australia via a combination of fibre/ satellite and dedicated internet services: a very efficient use of time and resources.
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Many other RHBs have extensive coverage plans, with online channels a focus. The BBC (understandably as the home-country broadcaster) has the most extensive space and facilities requirements, including the need for fibre connection to their bureau directly across the River Clyde. BBC Sport has announced more than 1,300 hours of live action via as many as 17 digital video streams available from any device. It will be the BBC’s most comprehensive Commonwealth Games coverage to date.
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To enable smooth transmission of images and data, our venue cable crews are now installing fibre cable and racked equipment for the broadcast compound technical operation centres (BTOCs) and commentary control rooms (CCRs) inside the venues, ready to test the telco circuits back to the IBC – all in preparation for the incoming broadcast operational crews, rights holders and outside broadcast providers. I walk over to the MPC, just across the Scottish Exhibition Conference Centre plaza, to meet Martin Anderson, head of the Host Broadcaster Training Initiative (HBTI), who is walking a small group of trainees through the MPC set-up. They are a few of the 250 students from Scottish universities and colleges undertaking real-life work experience in positions across the Host
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In addition to the 37 Host Broadcaster-delivered feeds from various events and venues, individual RHBs have specific circuit requirements. So first on my schedule this morning is Global
Television’s Jim Tinker, who is managing systems integration for rights holders, to check Australian RHB Network Ten’s rate card circuit bookings and testing schedule. To enhance Ten’s entitlements as an RHB they have separately contracted Global Television to provide an IBC within the IBC, 11 unilateral camera feeds, and a portable studio.
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Broadcaster’s areas of responsibility. Under Martin’s direction we’ve tried hard to match young people with jobs that reflect their interests, skill sets and ambitions in diverse roles across technical, engineering and production at the venues, IBC and MPC. Closely supervised by senior Host Broadcaster managers, the students will gain the experience that only a live television environment can provide and which should give them a significant head start as they embark on careers in our industry. Those stationed at the MPC for example will have the opportunity to assist in live coverage of press conferences and interviews, be it camera/ audio assist or back-of-house in the production control area. In early afternoon I return to the IBC for an occupational health and safety briefing. Given there will be some 1,400 crew working across the Host Broadcaster areas of responsibility there is a lot to cover. To deliver approximately 1,200 hours of live content, and more than 1,650 hours of video archive material, over 11 days of competition (originating from 19 venues and encompassing 26 televised fields of play) as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies we are deploying: 24 production control units; 16 outside broadcast vans; eight flyaway kits; 251 cameras; 26 super slow motion camera units; two ultra slow motion camera units; specialty POV cameras on athletics, swimming and diving; two helicopter-, two motorbike- and two lead vehicle-mounted cameras for outside
race coverage; four beauty cameras located around Glasgow city; more than 70 EVS replay machines; 19 logging stations; virtual graphics on swimming, athletics and lawn bowls; 64 commentators. Coverage will also span the primary Games Channel and a six-channel, multi-channel service. The former is a single, fully-produced channel delivering the best of the day’s sport including highlights and pre-produced packages highlighting athlete interviews and city cultural events. The multis are six channels of long form sport channels including RHB-requested overnight replays of sport which might not have been able to be scheduled during the day. This service has been booked by pay-for-view broadcasters and internet channel delivery. My final (scheduled!) meeting of the day is with project director Andrew Quinn and our Incident Management Team to review our Business Continuity Management Plan – the protocols by which we will handle any incident that has the potential to disrupt Host Broadcaster services. While we don’t anticipate anything untoward happening we have detailed procedures for every area of our activities that consider every conceivable scenario, whether natural or man-made: weather emergencies, accidents, fire, equipment failure, and – an unfortunate necessity in this day and age – an act of terrorism. We run through high-level and detailed plans and communications channels with the heads of: production services (Ian Hirst); broadcast venue operations (Caroline Ramsay); the IBC (Joost
Davidson); satellite link bookings for our RHBs (Joanne Brentnall); support services and logistics UK (Lesley McCrae); broadcast information (Patricia Gregory); engineering and technical operations (yours truly); and our business analyst (Louise Innes). The aim is to maintain uninterrupted services, protect property and, especially, people, and provide clear and timely information to the Organising Committee should an incident occur. With collective experience from three consecutive Commonwealth Games and other major international events to draw on, our Host Broadcaster team is prepared as is humanly possible. Though now after 9pm it is still fully light – the near-endless summer days a reward for the long winter nights preceding. Having left my bike at work I stroll through the buzzing Merchant Square precinct, venue for numerous outdoor concerts and other events during the Games. Crowds mill outside bars and pubs, the din of laughter and ice-cubes rattling in glasses fills the warm evening air. I duck into O’Neill’s for a quick pint with the Host Broadcast engineering team before heading home for a few hours’ sleep – soon to become a luxury, and my adrenaline reserves are already kicking in. Let the Games begin! David Bowers is head of engineering and technical operations for SVGTV, which holds the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Host Broadcast contract.
Comm Games Comms from Riedel RIEDEL COMMUNICATIONS, the provider of real-time video, audio, data, and communications networks, has supplied all radio communications equipment and services for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. “The ability to communicate effectively at Games venues and throughout Glasgow and other parts of Scotland is an essential element to delivering a successful Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games,” said Brian Nourse, chief information officer, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. “We have benefited from Riedel’s extensive experience of being involved in many previous major sporting events to ensure a robust communications solution is delivered for our event,” Riedel Communications has designed a radio communications solution for use across Glasgow and at the 14 venues hosting 17 different sporting competitions. The company is providing all radio handsets and radio communication accessories — including more than 6000 radios — used in the lead-up to and during the Games, along with a terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA) digital network and a Motorola MOTOTRBO digital radio repeater system. Both the TETRA and MOTOTRBO systems
are dedicated, fully monitored, and serviced solutions. TETRA combines the advantages of analog trunked radio with those of digital mobile radio to provide optimal frequency usage, high transmission quality for speech and data, maximum security against eavesdropping, as well as flexible networking and connection management. Beyond that, the digital trunked radio system supports full duplex communication, GPSpositioning, and connection to the public telephone network. The system offers the option of operating different virtual channels, and it can leverage IP connectivity to support wide-area operation. With this communications infrastructure, Riedel will ensure outdoor street-level coverage at all official venues, throughout the city of Glasgow, and along the official cycling road race and marathon routes, as well as indoor coverage at Glasgow 2014 competition venues. Riedel
is also supplying the radio communications solution for the Scottish leg of the Queen’s Baton Relay, ensuring radio communications run smoothly as the baton makes its way through Scotland to Glasgow for the Games. “We are delighted to be the Official Radio Communications Partner of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games,” said Christian Bockskopf, head of marketing for Riedel Communications. “We’ve worked closely with the organisers to develop a radio communications solution that satisfies both the technical and operational requirements of all the key players during this world-class event.” Visit www.riedel.net
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SBS Delivers Unprecedented Online Traffic During 2014 FIFA World Cup with Akamai AKAMAI TECHNOLOGIES, just announced SBS (Special Broadcasting Service), official broadcast partner of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, has deployed Akamai’s media delivery and web experience solutions to deliver an unprecedented amount of online traffic during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil over the last month. A long-term partner of Akamai, SBS leveraged Akamai’s web experience and streaming capabilities for its www.sbs.com.com.au, http://www.sbs.com.au/ ondemand, and theworldgame.sbs.com.au websites for the 2014 World Cup. In the lead up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, SBS enlisted Akamai to provide additional support to manage the predicted increase in demand for its services. “In a single day of the 2014 World Cup, we had already experienced more than a quarter of our typical monthly video bandwidth delivery figures. It has broken SBS records for any event we have streamed online by 750 percent,” commented Matt Costain, Technical Director, Online at SBS.
Sony and Vue Unveil World First Live 4K Streaming of World Cup SONY AND VUE ENTERTAINMENT have announced a new milestone in live sports entertainment, with two of the 2014 FIFA World Cup matches being streamed live to a UK cinema in 4K. In a world first, Sony and Vue Cinemas worked with technical partners Eutelsat, DSAT Cinema and IDC to deliver a FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match and the final in Ultra High Definition on the 4th and 13th July, at Vue’s multiplex at Westfield, London. The two matches were streamed live via satellite from the Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho (Maracana) stadium direct to the cinema. Sony partnered with IDC, Eutelsat and DSAT Cinema to deliver the live 4K screenings, with the companies working together to provide the satellite feed, signal decoding and 4K projection. DSAT Cinema supported the commissioning and integration of the equipment. IDC provided the 4K UHD HEVC video decoder and professional satellite receiver that were installed in the cinema. Eutelsat received the signal from Brazil at its teleport near Paris, re-encoded it in Ultra HD HEVC at 60 fps and retransmited it to the cinema. The footage at the screenings was shown using Sony’s SRX-R320 4K projection system. Visit http://pro.sony-asia.com
Calrec Consoles Drive World Cup Audio THE BBC RELIED ON Calrec Audio’s digital audio consoles during its coverage of the FIFA World Cup beginning in June. The broadcaster used a combination of three rented consoles to mix the audio in Brazil for transmissions in the U.K.
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At the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Rio de Janeiro, two 24-fader Artemis Light consoles served as the first point of control in the signal path, responsible for submixing all sound associated with the matches and creating simultaneous 5.1 and stereo mixes. In addition, controlled commentary and controlled effects were passed on to all other users including the edit suits in the IBC, the various multiplatform control suites in the U.K., and the BBC’s studio broadcasting center (SBC), also in Rio. At the SBC, a 56-fader Artemis Beam was used to combine the submixes from the IBC with other sources, including studio mics, postproduction playbacks, contributions from venue reporters/presenters, and audio-only playback. These were all mixed into final 5.1 and stereo feeds and then passed on to the transmission network in the U.K. Visit http://calrec.com
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The special arrangements put in place specifically for the 2014 FIFA World Cup ensured SBS could handle the increase in traffic volumes. In particular, it provided the ability to offload traffic, as well as access to a dedicated 24/7 event support team, offering an extra layer of assistance.
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“We have seen a greater demand for ‘live’ streaming of the 2014 FIFA World Cup as opposed to ‘catch-up’, which typically generates more interest for all other programs and events,” commented Costain. “We are pleased SBS has reaped the full benefits our solutions have to offer and been able to deliver reliable, consistently high-quality experiences to its end users,” commented David Habben, Chief Media Strategist, APJ at Akamai. Visit www.akamai.com
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VIVA+ DTH Service Chooses Thomson for World Cup THOMSON VIDEO NETWORKS has announced that new Indonesian direct-to-home (DTH) satellite service VIVA+ installed a ViBE VS7000 multiscreen video system to bring the FIFA World Cup 2014 to pay-TV viewers in Indonesia. The ViBE VS7000 served as a global DTH and over-the-top (OTT) platform for VIVA+’s pay-TV application, with a solution for ad insertion to generate extra ad revenue. “The architecture designed by Thomson Video Networks in coordination with our team is a perfect match with our expectations for a pure IP system,” said David Khim, CEO of VIVA+. “With the ViBE VS7000 for compression, Sapphire for ad insertion, and the NetProcessor for multiplexing and scrambling, our entire workflow is fully IP-based while keeping advanced features such as audio loudness control.” The ViBE VS7000 system gives VIVA+ a completely integrated IP in/out platform with advanced capabilities for compression and value-added features such as Audio Loudness Control, subtitle burn-in, and crawling text. As part of the system, VIVA+ installed a complement of other Thomson Video Networks video compression solutions, including a ViBE CP6000 contribution platform, a Sapphire channel-in-a-box MPEG broadcast server, and a NetProcessor 9030 multiplexer and video processor. Visit www.thomson-networks.com
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Barnfind Brings Soccer to China BARNFIND TECHNOLOGIES’ multi-functional, signal neutral transport platform has brought the World Cup soccer championship games to over 200 million viewers in China. The system is based on a series of Barnfind frames and includes several muxes, many different SFPs for HD, Ethernet, HDMI and other signal formats. “The Barnfind products have been performing flawlessly and our client is very happy with the platform’s technical advantages,” says Mr. Chen of Tian Bang, a partner of master distributor SkyDigita. “The Chinese Broadcast/Telecom authorities are so impressed that they have certified and approved the series and Barnfind is now a valueadded supplier that can operate across China.”
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“This project has been a successful co-operation between Barnfind Norway, our Chinese partners and the TV Station/broadcast service provider in South China,” adds Barnfind CTO, Arild Skjeggerud.
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World Cup ‘Concert in Rio’ Scores Big with DPA Microphones WHEN SPANISH TENOR AND CONDUCTOR Plácido Domingo took to the stage for the Concert in Rio, honouring the close of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, television audiences received a crystal clear sound thanks to DPA Microphones’ d:dicate Recording Microphones. With the entire world watching, Grammy Award-winner Jesse Lewis, audio producer for the live international broadcast of the concert, knew he needed reliable microphones for the broadcast of the performance, which was aired live from the massive arena. He turned to DPA Microphones for its range of d:dicate mics, including the 4006 Omnidirectional, 4011 Cardioid and 4041 Large Diaphragm solutions. “For a venue of that size, we had a tremendous need for an overhead microphone that was able to reach deep into the orchestra and pull out the really important details of the instruments,” says Lewis. “In this case, it was the DPA 4006 and 4041. The sound of the live broadcast depended greatly on the special sound those mics provide. Additionally, I have relied on the d:dicate 4011 for years as my preferred mic for acoustic piano recording.” Working alongside the concert’s live sound engineer Jerry Eade, who used his own collection of microphones, Lewis also faced the challenge of combating PA and monitor bleed with the live broadcast. “We needed a microphone that would keep the music and the atmosphere, but would reduce the negative effects from being on the wrong side of the PA system,” he explains. “Being omnidirectional, the DPA 4041 has unique characteristics, both on and off axis, that helped us do exactly what we wanted – more music and less PA bleed.” Visit www.dpamicrophones.com
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Civolution’s Teletrax Shows Suarez Bite Beats Neymar Goal CIVOLUTION, a provider of technology and solutions for identifying, managing and monetising content, tracked usage of key video segments during the FIFA World Cup using its broadcast analytics solution Teletrax, and found that football’s naughty boy Luis Suarez received the most airtime. Civolution tracked usage of TV commercials and match action clips throughout the tournament on thousands of TV channels across the world. Key findings are: Civolution tracked commercials aired by the rights holders in the US and UK discovering that on its monitored network Time Warner Cable commercials were the most widely run in the US, followed by Mazda and Optimum; while Carling, Sony and Santander topped the British channel ITV. Luis Suarez’ now infamous bite in the Uruguay vs. Italy Group D game is by far the most aired World Cup video clip on TV worldwide, having run over 10,000 times across 50% of the monitored channels globally. In comparison, the opening ceremony gained little traction with the release of doves having aired on only 10% of the monitored channels. The spectacular goals during the tournament generated thousands of airings on a global scale, with Neymar’s opening goal for Brazil achieving nearly 7,000 airings across 50% of the monitored channels. The research data was produced by Civolution’s broadcast analytics solution Teletrax. It currently maintains a proprietary network of detectors that monitor the television broadcasts of approximately 2,300 channels in more than 60 countries. Visit www.civolution.com
Globosat Kicks Off World Cup with Help from Ross Video GLOBOSAT HAS used Ross Video products to deliver coverage of the 2014 World Cup. “Ross Video’s Furio Robotic Cameras are playing a leading role in production of shows from Globosat’s spectacular Glass Ball studio on Fiscal Island,” said Juan Carlos Ortolan, Ross Video’s Director of Sales for Latin America. “This studio is hosting SporTV channel’s primetime daily FIFA 2014 show, which is considered to be the most-important daily show of the World Cup.” Globosat used the Furio Robotic Cameras for camera automation and to support data tracking for the augmented reality elements. A Ross Video Carbonite production switcher with a C2 panel was used to run the show from the Glass Ball Studio while openGear was being used for sync generation, distribution, and down conversion. “Getting everything ready in time for the start of the World Cup was a significant challenge, and we were delighted with the stellar support we received from Ross Video to help make that happen,” said Lourenço Carvano, Technology Manager for Globosat. Globosat also used Ross Video equipment at its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro where an NK-3G34 router was used for 4K quad 3G link routing, and a Carbonite switcher for 4K routing, mixing and keying. Visit www.rossvideo.com
Brazil’s First 4K OB Truck Fitted with Lawo Equipment GLOBOSAT’S NEW TV OB TRUCK has produced live broadcasts from World Cup matches played in the Maracana stadium, in Rio de Janeiro. The vehicle, which was completed just in time for this year’s event, is Brazil’s first 4K OB truck, and is fitted with audio equipment from Lawo and RAVENNA IP networking technology. At the heart of the audio control room is a latest-generation 48-fader Lawo mc²56 – which is both compact and powerful. The interfacing to the outside world is taken care of by a DALLIS I/O system in the truck and two DALLIS stageboxes (with port redundancy) that are linked via RAVENNA. The console’s integrated Lawo Plugin Server allows seamless integration of plugin effects that can be recalled with stored snapshots. Gabriel Thomazini, sound engineer in Rio on the GloboSat OB truck, said, “We have had good results with audio-over-IP for some time, but we now face the requirement for a higher channel count and infrastructure growth. We are ready for this next level of challenge with RAVENNA/AES67 and the Lawo mc² series. For us, Lawo represents an ideal balance between technology and functionality for a complex event like the World Cup.” Visit www.lawo.com
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Kompas TV has Indonesian Election Covered INDONESIA’S KOMPAS TV pulled out all the stops for its coverage of the
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country’s Presidential Elections which saw over 133.5 million voters make their choice between former general Prabowo Subianto and Jakarta Mayor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. According to Mr Harya Pratama, VP Technology at Kompas TV, “For live coverage we used nine SNGs, seven 3G bonded uplink systems from LiveU, and also our MPLS network connected to 11 of our regional TV stations.
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“On the graphic side we used VizRT for graphic and also ORAD for our virtual studio.” In the end, Mr Widodo won the contest with just over 53% of the vote.
Hunan TV Chooses Autoscript to Upgrade Newsroom AUTOSCRIPT, part of Vitec Videocom, a Vitec Group company, announced that Hunan TV has purchased two lightweight E.P.I.C. (Enhanced Prompting Information Centre) units. The units were purchased as part of a newsroom upgrade at the station’s headquarters in Changsha to complement existing Litepanels LEDs. Hunan TV is one of the top three television networks in China and delivers a broad range of programming to most of the domestic market using cable and satellite. Territories covered include Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The broadcaster also reaches ex-pats in overseas markets including North America through its Hunan STV World brand. One E.P.I.C. system was an upgrade to the existing 15-inch Autoscript prompter that has been in use in the studio over the course of the past ten years, while the other was for a new camera. Zhao Guoqiang, vice director of the Hunan TV news centre, explains, “Our technicians and the talent trust the Vitec Videocom brand, so we were keen to keep using Autoscript products when we upgraded the newsroom. We have started using virtual reality (VR) more regularly in our news programming so it made sense to update the kit in the studio to help talent work with these elements more easily. "We saw E.P.I.C. at the last BIRTV exhibition and were immediately impressed by how it had been developed with VR in mind – for example the option to convert the video monitor to a mirror proves incredibly useful here. When the time came to modernise the studio, E.P.I.C. was at the top of our wish list.”
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Commenting on the deployment, Simon Clark, business development manager – prompters (EMEA and Asia), Autoscript, says, “It’s always pleasing to see customers come back to Autoscript when it’s time for an upgrade. We’re extremely proud of E.P.I.C. and are confident it remains the most advanced prompter available. As such, it is well-suited to the type of ambitious news programming produced in the studio. We look forward to another decade of success with Hunan TV.” Jerry Du, chief representative, Vitec Videocom, China Office, says, “We are very excited to support Hunan TV in its effort to provide highquality services to its customers. Thanks to our comprehensive product portfolio and price-performance advantage we deliver, we distinguished ourselves from the competition.” Visit www.autoscript.tv
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NHK WORLD TV Launches in the United Nations
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JAPAN INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING, the distribution company of NHK’s international channels, has announced a five-year partnership with the United Nations Headquarters (U.N.) in New York City which brings NHK WORLD TV, the stand-alone, 24-hour, English-language television news and lifestyle network, to the U.N.‘s In-House Network channel. The service officially launched on May 1, 2014, and the two parties held a signing ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters on June 26, 2014, to celebrate the collaboration.
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NHK WORLD TV is the first outside news channel broadcasting in High definition (HD) on the In-House Network. All United Nations staff can view the network on their desk-top computers, as well as on TV monitors in the organisation’s public spaces. Tsuruo Mochizuki, Director General of NHK General Bureau for America, attended the signing ceremony. “The U.N. Headquarters in New York symbolises the diversity of the world’s citizens,” said Mochizuki. “It is truly important to understand others from different cultures and points of view. In this great place where mutual cooperation flourishes, even when national interests collide, we hope that NHK WORLD TV can become a tool for the U.N. to bridge the differences in the world.” NHK WORLD TV provides a 24-hour programming cycle, including the network’s signature news show, “NEWSLINE.” In addition, a variety of perspectives on world financial affairs can be found on “Asia This Week,” “ASIA BIZ FORECAST” and “ASIAN VOICES.” The channel also offers a vast selection of technology, lifestyle and cultural programs, including “great gear,” “Seasoning the Seasons,” “cool japan,” “J-FLICKS” and “Dining with the chef”. The network also broadcasts an assortment of documentaries and specials, including “Side by Side,” “TOMORROW,” “Document 72 Hours” and “NHK Documentary.” Visit www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld
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Tsuruo Mochizuki, director general, NHK General Bureau for America, and Michele DuBach, deputy director, News and Media Division, Department of Public Information at the United Nations, shake hands after signing a five-year agreement to broadcast NHK WORLD TV to the U.N.’s In-House Network channel. (Photo: Business Wire)
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Next Generation News Ticker ROSS VIDEO’S XPression Tick-it is a next-generation ticker and branding workflow server that combines all of the necessary branding functions in one box. Powered by software from channel branding veteran, Bannister Lake, XPression Tick-it is a browser-based solution that provides users with the ability to display automated or manual data sources with purpose-built UI’s that make collaboration easy. Whether its news, sports, weather, elections, stocks, traffic, school closings, or EAS, Tick-it allows creation of tickers, L-bars, and informational displays. Tick-it is compatible with any existing customer data contract. Or, affordable data packages can be purchased through Bannister Lake’s data aggregation service. It also supports moderated social media feeds from Ross Inception. In addition, Tick-it “asrun” logging provides proof-of-air for sponsor graphics that generate additional revenue streams. Tick-it uses the XPression BlueBox engine to deliver real-time 3D branding graphics with replaceable clips and stills. Up to 4 Tick-it Players with BlueBoxes can be connected to a single Tick-it server for multi-channel capability. For cost-effectiveness, Tick-it can also utilise an XPression channel or layer in the control room, with the added bonus of interactivity between MOS graphics and the ticker. Visit www.rossvideo.com
Sony Launches Compact PXW-X70 SONY HAS LAUNCHED the 4K-ready PXW-X70, the first compact XDCAM professional camcorder ever produced. Expanding the filebased XDCAM family to a new smaller form factor and lower price point, Sony has combined picture quality, speed of shooting, and performance into a package ideal for news gathering and documentary work. The PXW-X70 features a 1” type Exmor R CMOS Sensor with a resolution of 20 megapixels. The sensor, which is even larger than the Super 16mm film frame, delivers high resolution and fantastic low light performance, as well as offering more depth of field control. The new camcorder has the ability to record HD in XAVC Long GOP, enabling 4:2:2 10-bit sampling at 50 Mbit/s. The PXW-X70 is the first professional compact camcorder from Sony to include Wi-Fi-enabled control via smartphone or tablet using the Content Browser Mobile application. An upcoming release will also provide customers with the ability to upgrade the PXW-X70 to record in 4K UHD, with file transferring, and live video streaming capabilities. Visit http://pro.sony-asia.com
Harmonic Introduces New DSNG Encoders HRMONIC HAS EXPANDED the Ellipse 3000 family of contribution encoders for digital satellite newsgathering (DSNG) and fixed contribution applications. The new Ellipse 3102 and Ellipse 3202 contribution encoders offer a range of advanced capabilities, including 4:2:2 10-bit encoding of 1080p60 content and dual power supplies, bringing increased video quality and reliability to the broadcast contribution market. The Ellipse 3202 is the industry's first DSNG encoder with an integrated modulator that supports both the new DVB Carrier ID (DVB-CID) standard for reducing interference between satellite signals, and the new DVB-S2X specification. Harmonic's multiformat, multicodec Ellipse encoders support SD, HD, and MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC, providing broadcasters with a highly flexible
New 24/7 Indian News Channel Launches with Ross ROSS VIDEO HAS ANNOUNCED that India’s newly launched 24×7 news channel, 99% TV, had chosen to invest in Carbonite production switchers with built-in MultiViewers and other Ross infrastructure for its new news studios. “We carefully examined all our options, but the Ross Video products blew the competition away with their superior performance, cost effectiveness and reliability,” said Mr. Kapil, 99% TV’s Chief Executive Officer. “The support system Ross has in place here in India is also very strong and I was impressed by their technical support, which is second to none.” As well as using Carbonite production switchers, 99% TV is also using Ross Video’s MC1 master control system, DashBoard and openGear. “We decided to go with a complete infrastructure from Ross in part because of the flexibility of DashBoard, which lets us create an unlimited number of custom panels to meet our specific needs. We can also do L-band and squeezeback,” added Mr. Kapil. “The MC1 is is incredibly user-friendly and can also be used without a hardware panel which enables us to integrate it with our existing router. It also delivers exceptional value for money as well as an extended five-year warranty.” 99% TV is using its Ross Video infrastructure for all its on-air news programs, including discussions, debate shows and personal interviews. In the future, the station is also planning to produce game shows. Visit www.rossvideo.com
solution that delivers the highest levels of workflow efficiency. The new Ellipse 3102 and 3202 encoders also feature 3G SDI inputs to support the compression of 4:2:2 10-bit 1080p60 content for contribution applications where pristine video quality is essential. The license-based encoders offer a scalable migration path, bringing operational flexibility and business continuity to broadcasters. Harmonic's Ellipse 3102 encoder offers simultaneous IP and DVB-ASI outputs as a standard feature, making it the ideal solution for fixed line contribution over IP or telco networks (e.g., sports, stadiums, etc.). Visit www.harmonicinc.com
Dejero Launches LIVE+ Carrier System DEJERO, CREATOR OF a powerful and versatile platform of mobile newsgathering products, announced the launch of the Dejero LIVE+ Carrier, a rugged and modular carrier system for the company's portable transmitters. The LIVE+ Carrier is designed to increase a news crew's mobility and comfort by making it easy to secure and carry a mobile transmitter, such as the LIVE+ 20/20 Transmitter, to the scene of breaking news. "About the size of a small briefcase, our LIVE+ 20/20 Transmitter is already light, portable, and easy to carry right into the heart of a breaking news story — giving news crews more mobility and flexibility than they would ever have if broadcasting with a traditional microwave or satellite vehicle. In listening to our customers and investigating options for making the 20/20 Transmitter even more versatile, we came up with the Carrier," said Brian Cram, CEO of Dejero. "Now a camera operator on the move can carry the transmitter on his or her back and shoot live footage of breaking news in a rugged and hard-toreach area, such as the scene of a wildfire or other disaster. With the ability to transmit broadcast-quality video directly from the news source using available wireless networks, mobile crews are able to bring immediacy, excitement, and continuity to their breaking news coverage." The LIVE+ Carrier features an ergonomically correct harness that adjusts to a person's torso length, comfortable shoulder straps, and a hip belt with ventilated lumbar and lateral support padding. Other features include a rain cover, quick release buckles and webbing straps to attach accessory bags, as well as a battery-mount module for easy access to hot-swappable batteries. Using the versatile mounting system, the LIVE+ mobile transmitter can be easily removed from the harness and securely snapped into a news vehicle, onto the wall at the broadcast facility for organized storage, or onto a motorcycle. The lightweight harness can also be used to carry other waterproof and crushproof cases for easy transport of broadcast gear. Visit www.dejero.com
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LiveU Show Latest Offerings AT IBC 2014, LiveU will present its complete range of bonded 3G/4G uplink solutions used at all major news and sports events worldwide, such as the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Indian Elections, and Sochi Winter Olympics. LiveU will be showcasing its latest technology and product offerings, including: LiveU’s Professional-Grade LU500, weighing only 1 kg and available in backpack and camera-mount configurations. Based on LiveU’s fourthgeneration patented bonding algorithms and powered by LiveU’s new multi-processor video encoding engine, the LU500 has already achieved excellent results worldwide. LiveU DataBridge, a mobile hotspot offering mobile broadband connectivity for any device in any location by bonding together multiple cellular and other data connections. LiveU will also be demonstrating LiveU Central, its browser-based management system for control and geo-tracking of all LiveU systems, feeds, and apps from anywhere. LiveU Central enables a live preview of all incoming feeds that can be dragged and dropped to any physical server output anywhere around the world or encoded for web streaming. Also on show will be LiveU’s mobile application for smartphones and tablets, the LU-Smart with its handheld Smart Grip, LiveU’s Xtender external antenna solution for extra-resilient signal in extreme scenarios, and hybrid solutions with microwave and satellite technologies. Visit www.liveu.tv
EBS to Launch PAWA
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EBS IS LAUNCHING its new PAWA software at this year’s IBC. PAWA provides a multiplatform, multiterritory, scalable software solution that enables EPG data to be aggregated, restructured and delivered to any platform. In the traditional linear world, when channels and platforms need to aggregate and supply data for the EPG, there is a ‘create-once-distributemany-times’ approach. The 24/7 accessibility of VoD/Download-toOwn (DTO) content means that the traditional schedule information is no longer tied to the programme’s date and time of viewing. PAWA accommodates the full range of distribution requirements. PAWA can import listings from a variety of formats storing them centrally in preparation for distribution. Editors can then add any additional data required for translations, extra metadata (such as images or cast) before the listings are sent to the broadcaster or content owner once, for multiple distribution. PAWA can be bought as a managed service whereby EBS handles the entire EPG data process requiring only schedules and updates. Alternatively PAWA can be used in-house with support and training from EBS. PAWA offers enhanced flexibility and support for: Channels: Providing EPG data services for channels broadcasting across multiple platforms and multiple territories, which all require different specifications, not just for file formats but for character length, additional data fields and flags, etc. Platforms: Enabling platforms to deal with the schedules for a full portfolio of channels simply by aggregating all data through a central system for consistency and ease of workflow. Listings: EBS has a database of listings for over 650 TV and radio stations in the UK and Ireland. This provides its clients – including Ofcom and set–top box manufacturers – with high–quality TV schedules for hundreds of channels. Visit www.pawa.tv
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AVIWEST’s offerings at IBC2014 will include the launch of the brand new DMNG Manager, a version update to the much-utilised DMNG App, and significant enhancements to the DMNG PRO series. At IBC2014, AVIWEST will launch the DMNG Manager, a new server application that enables broadcasters and video professionals to monitor and manage an entire fleet of DMNG equipment including DMNG transmitters, smartphones using the DMNG App, and DMNG Studio receivers. Through an intuitive, Web-based user interface, which can be installed through either a cloud-based application or a headend solution, operators can easily allocate resources and route live video content for transmission over 3G/4G cellular wireless, WiFi, Ethernet, and satellite networks. The DMNG Manager also includes geolocation capabilities for easy identification of the exact location of each transmission. At IBC2014, AVIWEST will showcase the DMNG App that turns any smartphone into a live broadcast video camera. Designed with ease of use in mind, the DMNG App allows any Android- or iOS-based smartphone user to transmit video content in just seconds. Using the DMNG App, video professionals can stream high-quality, live video content via WiFi
and 3G/4GLTE networks or transmit prerecorded video files from anywhere in the world to the DMNG Studio back to the station. Fully integrated into the DMNG ecosystem, the application can be remotely controlled through AVIWEST’s DMNG Manager, enabling organizations to effectively manage a large fleet of smartphones. AVIWEST will show an enhanced Android version of the DMNG App featuring integrated 3G/4G, WiFi bonding, and superior performance. A state-of-the-art iOS version will also be on display. At IBC2014, AVIWEST will demonstrate significant enhancements to the DMNG PRO series, the world’s most advanced, compact, and portable 3G/4G video uplink product line. A key highlight will be the DMNG PRO’s new dynamic resolution capability, designed to help broadcasters address changes in bandwidth availability based on varying network conditions. Leveraging dynamic resolution software, the DMNG PRO adjusts video resolution in real time, based on available bandwidth, enabling broadcasters to deliver a better quality of experience (QoE) to end users.
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Digital Mobile News Gathering from Aviwest AT IBC2014 (Stand 2.A49), AVIWEST, a global provider of video contribution uplink systems, will demonstrate significant improvements to its DMNG (Digital Mobile News Gathering) system. The advanced live video contribution platform enables broadcasters to capture and broadcast live HD or SD video over multiple networks, including bonded 3G/4G cellular wireless, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and satellite.
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NEWS OPERATIONS
CueScript Making IBC Debut
DEJERO WILL DEMONSTRATE new solutions making their debuts at IBC. The Dejero LIVE+ Platform offers powerful capabilities for improving broadcasters’ ability to deliver primary and supplemental live video feeds from the field, at a reduced cost and with greater efficiency and ease of use. At IBC2014, Dejero will demonstrate version 3.0 of their Dejero LIVE+ Core Software that powers the company’s mobile transmission solutions. New features include enhanced modem connection information showing carrier transmission mode and signal strength; a wider range of options for configuring and managing how live video feeds are sent to LIVE+ servers; monitoring of available bandwidth with automatic adjustment to the optimal transport resolution to provide the best possible video quality for the current network conditions while keeping output resolution constant; and tools for users in the field to import edited video clips via Ethernet or Wi-Fi into the transmitter for transfer to a server.
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Appearing for the first time at IBC2014, the Dejero LIVE+ Booster is the newest member of Dejero’s LIVE+ family of news vehicle solutions. A powerful connection and signal booster for bonded uplink transmissions, the LIVE+ Booster employs an array of up to 12 high-gain antennas mounted on the top of the vehicle. This enables mobile news crews to extend their connection reception during difficult transmission scenarios, such as transmitting from crowded areas where cellular networks are overloaded or in low-coverage areas.
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CUESCRIPT, a provider of creative prompting solutions with featurerich designs for all broadcast production needs, is a first-time exhibitor at this year’s IBC show (Hall 11, Stand A57). The company, which launched during the 2014 NAB show in Las Vegas, will have its full range of software, prompting displays and accessories on display, including the introduction of its new software — iTProduction and iT News, as well as its new EMC 15” and EMC17” range of prompter displays. The company’s flagship CSM15”, CSM17” and CSM19” LED High Brightness HD-SDI Prompter Monitors will also be presented. CueScript will unveil its new iT Production and iT News software at IBC. A completely new way of thinking has been applied in the approach to the design and workflow of this prompting software. Intuitive, clear and quick navigation are key requirements of the design, allowing for quick and prompter-rich functionality. The iT range of software will run on any OS platform, giving greater flexibility to productions and installations. A revolutionary patent pending prompting scroll control to be used with the new software, the CSSC1, will also be introduced. Additionally, CueScript will debut the Education, Media and Corporate (EMC) line of prompter displays. These new offerings are aimed at the productions that do not require the high level of features associated with the company’s CSM range of monitors. The EMC15” and EMC17” prompter display will be offered with lightweight mounting options for all fluid heads. “The launch of CueScript earlier this year was exciting and successful, and we are thrilled to keep up that momentum by exhibiting at this year’s IBC show,” says Brian Larter, Managing Director, CueScript. Built from a blank canvas, the CSM line of LED High Brightness HD-SDI Prompter Monitors is based on the company’s depth of experience in and knowledge of the broadcast industry, as well as feedback from users in the field. By utilising this information, CueScript has infused each model with all of the features that are necessary for modern broadcast productions, resulting in a major leap forward in prompting technology and displays. Each of CueScript’s CSM prompter monitors feature low energy consumption and a low power start up, two of the top requirements in today’s diverse range of production situations. Their three-mode adjustable power input includes low (26 watts), medium (30 watts) and high (38 watts). The models also feature an integrated mounting system, low profile design and an increased viewing angle (170 x 16) for easier screen readability. Visit www.cuescript.tv
For the first time in Europe, Dejero will demonstrate the new Mac version of the company’s LIVE+ NewsBook software. Dejero’s LIVE+ NewsBook software enables Mac and PC users to transmit live HD video feeds or recorded and edited files, making it ideal for foreign correspondents or solo videojournalists that need to travel and transmit with as little gear as possible. Like the other members of the LIVE+ Platform, the NewsBook software bonds multiple cellular, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet connections to enable the transmission of high-quality, high-reliability, and low-latency video. Visit www.dejero.com
aQ Broadcast to Showcase Full Range at IBC 2014 DURING IBC 2014, aQ Broadcast will feature its full range, including QNews, QNet, QTx transmission automation software, QMedia, aVS, and aPS. QNews is a newsroom computer system providing script and rundown management as well as newsroom automation supporting every type of environment from large national broadcasters to small, two-user systems. QNet, a networked scripting solution that offers unique, multi-user, multicolumn script production tools, including shot locks, cut lines, scene numbering, camera cards, flexible formatting and optional prompting. The QTx transmission automation software provides station automation based on the same database and client system as QNews. It provides a costeffective solution in environments where output consists of both live and pre-recorded content. QMedia software provides media management functionality, including ingest, review, deletion, transfer, proxy handling, including archive and restore handling. aVS Video Server hardware scales from an entry-level, two-output unit up to large, flexible and redundant storage and port solutions. aVS firmware options are available for a wide range of features, including marking, subclipping, conforming, transcoding, streaming, transferring and delay looping. aPS Production Suite is an integrated production system that combines many of the discreet components from a typical studio workflow into a single system to enable users to create a complete, scripted television production. The company will also showcase its integrated solution for regional broadcasters, with particular relevance to the new Local TV sector in the UK. Visit www.aq-broadcast.com
NEWS OPERATIONS
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RSP Makes Time Stand Still for Quicksilver in X-Men: DoFP RISING SUN PICTURES’ contribution to Twentieth Century Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past centred on a time-bending sequence in which Quicksilver (Evan Peters) displays his hyper-speed abilities with spectacular effect. In a scene set in a Pentagon kitchen, Quicksilver runs about the room at lightning speed in order to foil a group of security guards. As he does so, the camera enters his world so that everything around him comes to a virtual standstill. Guards and mutants appear frozen. Cooking gear, cutlery and vegetables hang in midair. Sprays of water droplets from an overhead sprinkler system fall in surreal slow motion. Bullets inch across the room toward Xavier and Wolverine. Capering gleefully along walls and over cooking stations, Quicksilver alters the scene, repositioning and disarming guards and plucking bullets out of the air. The slow motion sequence is an astonishing blend of live action, computergenerated objects and extensive visual effects. RSP collaborated with VFX Supervisor Richard Stammers and Director Bryan Singer to realise the creative vision of the sequence through the production of scores of CG props, including frying pans, knives, pots of boiling soup, carrots, and bullets, as well as the omnipresent cascades of water droplets. Each of these elements needed to be rendered in near microscopic detail, placed precisely within the geometry of the kitchen and choreographed to move and react realistically to lighting, other objects and characters. RSP also aided in integrating the speedy Quicksilver into the near frozen environment. That illusion was accomplished through a combination of live action, a stunt double, green screen photography, a partial CG body replacement and a shimmering “rain tunnel” that forms around Quicksilver (caused by his swift passage through the near motionless falling water). All of this had to work properly in 2D and stereo 3D—and, of course, dazzle the eye. “It’s not easy to be ground-breaking and funny,” Singer notes. “The work turned out incredible. I’m so proud of the sequence. I really believe that what you guys have accomplished is something truly special. Thanks for being Super Stars!” “The kitchen sequence is undoubtedly the most memorable and awesome sequence in the movie,” adds Stammers. “Every nuance from the plastic bullet emerging from the gun barrel to the bell pepper rolling out the door has been crafted with an attention to detail so high, that people will watch
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this sequence with wonder for years to come.” With more than 100 features under its belt, RSP has developed a rock solid workflow that enables it to manage large and complex visual effects projects with peak efficiency. “We build on what we’ve learned from previous shows,” says RSP Visual Effects Supervisor Tim Crosbie. “We’ve been challenged in the past in terms of asset management and through those experiences we’ve built systems to manage complexity and revisions. It’s one thing to create a lot of assets; it’s another to be able to control them and know that nothing is going to break.” Crosbie adds that pulling off a sequence like Quicksilver’s romp through the Pentagon is more than a matter of managing data. It also requires a flair for the dramatic. “This work is grounded in realism,” he says. “Even though it’s a fantastical event you still want to feel as though you are there. The biggest challenge is to find that balance between an exciting, magical event and one that looks real.” Visit www.rsp.com.au
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Imagica Builds New Facility Around Baselight
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IMAGICA SOUTH EAST ASIA is building a new post house on the campus of Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios, the joint venture between the UK Pinewood Studios Group and the Malaysian government’s investment body Khazanah Nasional Berhad. Imagica, which has been using Baselight colour grading at its Japanese facilities for some years, has selected a powerful Baselight FOUR system, together with a FLUX Store server network and Truelight colour management system for the new facility. The facility will be operational in phases starting from August this year. The post house will handle cinema post in 2K and 4K as well as television finishing. Apart from serving productions at the studios, Imagica will also reinforce its position as a major player in post-production for the region and further afield, not least because the new studio is offering Baselight grading for the first time in Malaysia, joining the top-tier post facilities in Indonesia and Thailand. “This is a hugely exciting project for us and we are working hard to complete our workflows, which we know will be extremely attractive to
producers,” said Ken Kusaka, Marketing Manager for Imagica South East Asia. “We have been using Baselight already so we trust its capabilities completely. That is especially important in feature film work. “Here we have to be able to handle large amounts of data, and be able to grade with prestige clients in 2K and 4K, in real time,” he added. “Baselight is the only tool we can rely on for this. Truelight colour calibration means that what we see is what we get, and together with the FLUX storage network, this is a world-class finishing system.” For FilmLight, co-founder Wolfgang Lempp said, “We are delighted that our friends at Imagica are using Baselight at the heart of their new venture. They have good experience of the support we can offer in the Far East, so they are extremely comfortable that the new installation will perform as they expect. Our team is really looking forward to seeing the rest of the facility’s technical line-up, and the quality of work it will produce.” Visit www.filmlight.ltd.uk
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4K Boom Drives Pablo Rio Sales in Japan WITH 4K RAPIDLY GAINING HOLD as the medium of choice in Japan for movies, high quality TV programs and large screen public displays, post houses have turned to Quantel and Pablo Rio to handle 4K post production. The move to 4K is being boosted by the Japanese government which is targeting widespread delivery of 4K to homes throughout Japan by 2016 in time for the Olympic Games in Brazil. As a result of the 4K boom many of Japan’s leading post houses have purchased Quantel Pablo Rio 4K colour and finishing software and in some cases Genetic Engineering 2 shared workspace systems. These include: Azabu Plaza, Tokyo: “Pablo Rio’s power is supreme. It has revolutionised the traditional HD workflow, and our editors – already familiar with the Quantel interface on our existing Quantel iQ systems – have immediately taken to 4K HFR finishing on Pablo Rio,” said Daisuke Matsuo, Director. Omnibus Japan, Tokyo: “We have adopted Pablo Rio for handling every aspect of the 4K projects we do – it is essential to have uncompressed 4K 60p playback for our jobs. Currently we are using Pablo Rio to finish the 4K movie ‘Patlabor, the next generation’, which is produced by the Omnibus Group,” said Rintaro Doke, General Manager, Technical Services, Post Production Center.
Tokyo Laboratory: “Tokyo Laboratory has a long and distinguished history in film scanning and DI and we were the first company in Japan to adopt Pablo Rio. We have chosen Pablo Rio 4K HFR to cope with ever-increasing demand for 4K; its file handling is fast and easy and it has all the creative tools we need,” said Katsuji Nishino, General Manager, Image Media Department.
ONKIO HAUS, Tokyo: “We upgraded our Quantel eQ system to Pablo Rio 4K HFR because it is the only system available on the market that supports 4K 60p realtime monitoring during editing,” said Yasuteru Oda, Senior General Manager, Engineering Division.
Tokyo Sound Production: “We have a strong demand for 4K finishing from one of our leading clients – a key commercial TV station in Tokyo. Pablo Rio gives us the ability we need to handle 4K 60p uncompressed RGB,” said Sei Takahashi, Sales Director.
Studio Rec, Fukushima: “Our main business is TV commercials production in North Japan and we have upgraded our four Quantel eQ systems to Pablo Rios with Genetic Engineering 2 shared workspace to give us major efficiency improvements, particularly with hi-res jobs,” said Takayuki Ishige, General Manager.
WINK2, Tokyo: “We chose Pablo Rio 4KO for movie post production work because of its integrated editing, colour correction and finishing toolsets,” said Kenji Fukuda, President.
Toei Lab Tech (Toei Digital Lab), Tokyo: “We produce many TV programs every day and Pablo Rio’s integrated editing, finishing and colour correction toolset saves us a tremendous amount of time. We think Quantel has produced a unique and very advanced post production technology which we can trust and use to the full,” said Toshihiro Shiota, Manager, Post Production.
“Japan is moving ahead rapidly with 4K, with the world’s first regular 4K broadcasts already under way and an increasing demand for 4K post for both movies and TV production,” said Martin Mulligan, Quantel Sales Director. “However, handling 4K 60p in realtime remains a challenge for many systems; not so Pablo Rio, which is why it is the system of choice in Japan and the rest of the world for 4K HFR post.” Visit www.quantel.com
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Cutting Edge TV Deliver Post for ‘What Really Happens in Bali’ CUTTING EDGE’S NEW TV UNIT (TVU) is proud to have recently delivered a highly polished grade, online and sound package for the Eyeworks Australia documentary series, ‘What Really Happens In Bali’. This access-all-areas series leaves nothing to the imagination, and shows viewers a side of Bali that they’ve never seen before. With the show’s cameras capturing serious accidents and injuries as they happened, ‘What Really Happens In Bali’ is edge-of-the-seat real life drama, further cementing Eyeworks’ reputation as a producer of outstanding factual entertainment and observational documentaries. John Unwin (Online/Offline Editor) and Simon Hicks (Sound) worked with Eyeworks together to develop and deliver the grade, character super layout, credits, title super animation and design, transitions, sound design, track lay and audio mix. The grade features a youthful and energetic colour palette, and the effects grade references a 70s surf film look. This was partly achieved by sourcing film clutter and exposure effects to recreate a desaturated Super-8 style. The sound design was shaped to maximise the drama, excitement and outrageousness of the action. John McAvoy, Eyeworks MD, said, “Working with Cutting Edge was a terrific, collaborative, hassle free experience from beginning to end. At every stage of the post process they went over and above what they were required to do.” Visit www.cuttingedge.com.au
Base Fx Makes Qube! a Big Part of Feature Film Workflow PIPELINEFX, makers of Qube!, announced that Beijing VFX firm Base Fx has ordered 500 additional licenses to supplement their growing feature film queue. After recently wrapping 350 shots on “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, Asia’s biggest visual effects studio were already hard at work on “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Transformers: Age of Extinction”. Base Fx’s four year history with Qube! has shown them how prioritisation and pulling actionable intelligence from the farm (Smart Farming) can drastically change efficiency operations on projects with tight timelines. Moving up to 800 licenses now means more ammo for the cannons. “For years we were assigning frames to nodes manually, which just weighed our pipeline down,” said Alex Robin, head of operations at Base Fx. “Once Qube! came in, it totally changed the way we manage renders. Our efficiency increased dramatically, and we could scale the business.” Since 2012’s Strategic Alliance Agreement with Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic, Base Fx’s stable of projects has been growing rapidly. The ability to adjust render priorities quickly has been their ace in the hole when working through multiple projects at once, often for a variety of Asian and American studios. Visit http://pipelinefx.com
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Primestream Updating FORK AT IBC2014, Primestream will show FORK Production Suite v4.6, the latest version of its acclaimed software platform for managing the automation of the most complex broadcast workflows. With new modules, functionality, and integrations with the leading broadcast hardware and software vendors, FORK v4.6 is the most extendable, configurable, and powerful version of FORK ever released and includes major revisions to the underlying structures of the version that debuted at the 2014 NAB Show. Making its European premier at IBC2014, Primestream will demonstrate FORK Xchange Suite v3.0, a major upgrade to the application that gives broadcasters instant Web access to content on their FORK Production servers from any Windows, Mac, or tablet device. Xchange v3.0 features a completely redesigned iPad interface optimised for Apple iOS 7. Also at IBC2014, Archive Bridge v1.0 is a new module for the FORK Production Suite that provides tight integration between archival solutions and the FORK media asset management and production automation platform. Archive Bridge enables disaster recovery workflows and interconnects multiple production environments with a central archive point. Making its European debut at IBC2014, FORK Logger, the metadata tagging module in the acclaimed FORK Production Suite, now integrates with indepth data feeds from STATS, a global leader in sports information. Visit www.primestream.com
Apple Updates MacBook Pro with Retina Display APPLE HAS UPDATED MACBOOK PRO with Retina display with faster processors and double the memory in both entry-level configurations, and a new, lower recommended retail price for the topof-the-line 15-inch notebook. MacBook Pro with Retina display features a high-resolution display, the latest processors and powerful graphics, up to nine hours of battery life, and is just 1.8 centimetres thick. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display features dual-core Intel Core i5 processors up to 2.8 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz and 8GB of memory, up from 4GB in the entry-level notebook. The top-of-the-line 15-inch model features faster quad-core Intel Core i7 processors up to 2.5 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.7 GHz, 16GB of memory, up from 8GB in the entry-level notebook, and can be configured with quad-core Intel Core i7 processors up to 2.8 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 4.0 GHz. Visit www.apple.com
Eyeheight Announces BroadcastSafe Version 1.5
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of its BroadcastSafe compliance plug-ins for Avid’s Media Composer and Adobe’s Premiere Pro post-production software. Version 1.5 BroadcastSafeMC (for Media Composer) and BroadcastSafePP (for Premiere Pro) both incorporate a new Broadcast Evaluate display indicating which parts of a video image require adjustment in order to be fully broadcast compliant. Non-compliant areas of content are displayed in a user-definable colour with the option of manual or automatic correction. BroadcastEvaluate supports all common compliance standards. Users can alternatively define their own compliance standard as an XML file. Also new is BroadcastSafeArea. This allows a wide range of safearea markers to be superimposed over the video monitor display. BroadcastSafeArea supports a multitude of standards including SMPTE, EBU and DPP, in 525/625 SD, 720/1080 HD, and 2K line formats. Visit www.eyeheight.com
New 4K Laser Projector from Digital Projection DIGITAL PROJECTION HAS ANNOUNCED the launch of the INSIGHT 4K Laser Projector which delivers 12,000 lumens of solid-state illumination at a resolution of 4096 × 2160. Ideally suited to a variety of vertical markets, the INSIGHT 4K Laser offers the ability to project large, detailed images from 1 projector where previously edge-blending 2 or more projectors would have been necessary. Its versatility is enhanced by the ability to operate it in both portrait and landscape mode without any modifications. This projector also features full 4K 3D, with advanced functionality including Adjustable Dark Time and Sync Offset for optimisation of ghosting and smooth greyscale for active glasses and polarisers. Visit www.digitalprojection.co.uk
SGO HAS MADE another significant development upgrade to its compositing software, Mamba FX in version 2.0, providing advanced additional features that give compositors infinite opportunities and possibilities to enhance their creativity.
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One of the key highlights in Mamba FX 2.0 is the Layer Route Effect, providing support and associated functions for working with multi-layer EXR files. Mamba FX 2.0 includes features to split and route the multiple layers, allowing Mamba FX’s other compositing tools to act on individual elements during the compositing phase. Furthermore, Mamba FX’s all new “Spatial Isolation Keyer” interfaces with metadata that can be passed from CGI software via the EXR files. This enables advanced compositing techniques such as isolating elements in a scene by their 3D (XYZ) location, their surface direction (normals), their object ID or their Material ID. Visit www.sgo.es
Avid Enhances to Artist Suite Control Surfaces
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the availability of key updates to its professional mixing solutions that form a key part of the Avid Artist Suite of creative tools for audio, video and live sound production. As part of the Avid Artist Suite, Pro Tools | S6 and System 5 are run on the Avid MediaCentral Platform. Through the MediaCentral Platform, users can access an even wider range of tools and experts for collaboration, music production, and monetisation of their own content. The System 5 version 6.0 software update provides full support for and integration with Dolby Atmos. Filmmakers use Dolby Atmos to place and move sounds anywhere in the movie theatre, including overhead. Pro Tools | S6 software version 1.2 delivers a number of enhancements and more flexible workflows that pro mixers have asked for. Visit www.avid.com
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Adobe Updates CC for 2014, Releases Hardware By Keith Ford ADOBE, A LEADING DEVELOPER OF CREATIVE SOFTWARE, has released new versions of 14 Creative Cloud (CC) desktop applications, including the likes of Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, Dreamweaver CC, and Premiere Pro CC. Also including four new mobile apps, updated Creative Cloud services, and new enterprise, education, and photography offerings, this marks the largest single release from Adobe since CS6 in 2011. Adobe has also moved into hardware with the release of ‘Ink’ and ‘Slide’. Speaking at the Australian launch of CC 2014, APAC Evangelist, Paul Burnett, said, “ The big news for us because this is the biggest release of Creative Software ever. We’re now announcing Creative Cloud 2014, and with that comes a little bit of new branding. We’re now naming all of our products across that line with 2014 in it, so it will be things like Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 etc. The name convention, even though the Creative Cloud is fluid in its subscription, the updates are always available, we found that it’s pretty important for us to be able to identify what version we’re talking about.” “We’re also announcing four new mobile applications. One of those applications is Creative Cloud. It allows you to manage your Creative Cloud account with all of your fonts, your files, colours, sync your setting, all of the work that you would do in your account, the applications you’re running, are all run within that account,” explained Burnett. “The next is called Photoshop Mix, and it’s like a version of Photoshop, a cut down version of Photoshop running on the iPad. Another is called Sketch and it’s a sketching application, literally for illustration, sit there, draw a nice illustration. Instead of on pencil and paper, do it on the iPad. The other one’s called Line, and Line is again a sketching application, but it’s very much for sort of architectural things. “The reason why these three applications are super important for us is because they are the first three mobile applications that we’re releasing that are using the new thing that we’re also launching, called the Creative SDK.”
Adobe’s new Creative SDK is a software library that enables developers to build mobile apps using Adobe’s technologies. Initially being released as a private, invitation only beta, Creative SDK essentially allows for functionality created by Adobe to be added to mobile and tablet applications. Examples include browsing files stored in Creative Cloud and extracting elements from PSD files; Adobe’s ‘Touch Slide’ software for straight-line drawing; and cloud image editing services like Content-Aware Fill and Upright. In a new move for Adobe, they also announced the release of their first ever hardware in the form of ‘Ink’ and ‘Slide’. Designed specifically for use with tablets, Ink and Slide go beyond merely being an analogue of a pen and ruler. “Ink is a three sided hydro-form pressure sensitive pen,” said Burnett. “It’s just like working with a pencil on paper, with a pen on paper, with a marker on paper. It’s also go built into it access to the cloud. It’s connected to the cloud, it carries with the pen all of the things like my colours, my files etc. that I can now access onto the tablet and start pasting and using stuf. The ruler as well, it’s not just a straight ruler. Slide has one button, and it enables me to convert that ruler into, say, a triangle or a circle. All I do is I convert it to a circle, I can resize it, I can change it.” The updated versions of all Creative Cloud applications are available for download now. Visit www.adobe.com
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By Keith Ford AUTODESK, INC. HAS RELEASED the latest version of its professional video editing software, Autodesk Smoke 2015. In addition to new creative tools and performance enhancements, Smoke 2015 is only available as a Desktop Subscription, which is a pay-as-you-go model. Systems Sales Manager at Autodesk, Dean Nurscher, said, “At NAB earlier this year, we announced some big changes to the Smoke offering, Smoke for Mac which has been available now for four years. The new Smoke for us is all about new customers, targeting a different demographic to the customers that Autodesk normally deals with. “One of the important changes around the new Smoke is related to something else that’s changing in our business and, indeed, many software vendors’ business, which is a shift to rental or time based purchase, for want of a better term, of software products.” Autodesk Smoke 2015 is to be something of a proving ground for moving to a subscription model with it only being available in monthly, quarterly, and annual plans, with the price varying by the length of commitment. “Smoke is now more accessible than ever,” added Nurscher. “It’s available from as little as $170 a month on a rental basis if you commit to an annual contract. It could be for as little as a month, you’ve got a job, you know you need a licence; you can do it just for that job. It’s great for small facilities for whom it might have been completely inaccessiblepreviously. “It’s also great for our larger customers who need to scale up for a job. If you’ve got a three month spike in production and you can rent however many seats you need for that job, you don’t have to make the significant
upfront commitment that you would have had to make in the past.” “In terms of workflow, we support the latest Mac Pro and Maverick’s OS, so Mac OSX 10.9 and, of course, we have on the horizon the Yosemite they’ve announced at WWDC, so we’re always keeping an eye on the new stuff,” explained Charles Amyot, Product Manager for Smoke and Flame. “There is also an improved XML workflow that I’ll talk a little bit about here and of course we’re always looking at improving that in the future. There is also usability that we’ve improved and this is going to be a focus for the product moving forward.” In terms of new features, there is a re-architected Timeline FX, a new timeline-integrated 3D tracker, improved support for Blackmagic DesignLink card and UltraStudio for Thunderbolt devices, extended video IO support for AJA Video Systems to offer dual stream stereoscopic output, and improved integration with Final Cut Pro X. “The new Timeline is extremely interactive, which is great for artists to actually ideate very quickly because they get the feedback right away from what they do, but most importantly, it’s the new Timeline with improved real time performance,” explained Amyot. “The 3D tracker is something that we actually brought from the Flame technology that we brought directly to the Timeline through Action. Action is our 3D environment within Smoke and so we’ve brought a very, very efficient 3D tracker that enables you to actually do a 3D track,” he added. The new Smoke 2015 is also available on a 30-day free trial. Visit www.autodesk.com
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MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & MEDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT Masstech Resolves Challenges for FINAS Malaysia
Spuul Selects Aspera to Speed the Transfer of Big Data
THE NATIONAL FILM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION MALAYSIA
IBM HAS ANNOUNCED that Spuul, a leading video streaming service
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for Indian films and TV shows, has deployed Aspera to quickly upload high-definition video content to its streaming portal. By significantly reducing the time it takes to upload Bollywood films, TV shows and other licensed video, Spuul can expand its programming options and quickly deliver new content to its millions of worldwide subscribers.
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(FINAS) recently installed a Masstech for Enterprise solution (previously called Masstech Emerald) to replace the media asset management (MAM) system at its centre in Kuala Lumpur. FINAS is responsible for promoting, protecting and facilitating the development of the Malaysian film industry. Masstech for Enterprise is a bundled hardware/software solution that enables interoperability between digital media storage devices, video servers, editing systems, and digital workflow applications so that media can be effectively archived, managed and repurposed. The FINAS implementation of the Masstech solution enables advanced automated workflows. It takes advantage of the Masstech web browser-enabled user interface to streamline frequently used processes such as searching for content, viewing proxies and asset management tasks. Masstech also provides the vital metadata entry and content preservation required by the Malaysian film industry. The integrated approach to storing and managing FINAS’s film and video content reduces complexity and simplifies training for staff. Masstech provides customers with a conversion process when they move from legacy MAM systems. Unlike systems that require a lengthy and disruptive migration of all managed media, Masstech verifies and processes files on the fly to simplify deployment, eliminate disruptions and provide a solution for long-term compatibility. “By upgrading its technology, FINAS has chosen a solution that provides them with more effective media management that also lowers their costs and frees them from reliance on third parties,” said Joe French, president and CEO of Masstech. “Implementation of a Masstech solution provides more comprehensive and automated management functionality, along with reliable content preservation that includes LTO-6 LTFS support. The net result is greater security for the Malaysian film industry’s invaluable digital content now and for the future.”
MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & MEDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT
Visit http://masstech.com and www.filminmalaysia.com
TrueVisions Extends Volicon Observer Monitoring and Logging System VOLICON HAS ANNOUNCED that TrueVisions, Thailand’s leading cable and satellite television operator, has expanded its Observer digital video monitoring and logging system to simplify compliance verification across a total of 120 channels in its direct-to-home (DTH) platform. Local distributor and system integrator Trinergy provided a new Observer TS (transport stream) monitoring and logging system. “With the addition of Observer TS, which logs the full MPEG transport stream, our staff can examine or export content from a recently captured transport stream, or go back further in time and view a low bit rate proxy version of aired content,” said Vichai Sernvongsat, chief technology officer at TrueVisions. The complete Observer system continuously monitors and records aired content across the TrueVisions lineup, providing real-time fault detection, as well as clip identification and extraction for easy proof of compliance. Installed at TrueVisions’ Bangkok facilities, the Volicon system provides a simple and efficient means of verifying that advertising and program content have been aired properly and at the right time. Visit www.volicon.com
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Headquartered in Singapore, Spuul receives a wide variety of movies and TV shows from content and distribution partners across India and streams them to their customers’ mobile devices, PCs, connected TVs and game consoles. Hindered by slow upload times for Big Data – particularly for feature films that can exceed four gigabytes for a single file – Spuul needed a much faster way to expand their online content libraries with its content partners. With Aspera on Demand, Spuul immediately tripled the daily volume of video content uploaded and processed from its distribution partners from eight TV shows to 25 and now receives more than 40 GB of new HD video content each day. The patented Aspera technology makes it faster and easier for content distributors to upload HD videos through the Spuul platform. Aspera overcomes performance bottlenecks inherent in today’s online networks to help clients like Spuul reduce the time it takes to securely transfer large files or data sets by up to 99.9 percent, regardless of distance. “Aspera was the only fast, secure and reliable way for Spuul and its content partners to deliver fresh programming content to meet our subscriber demands,” said Michael Smith, Chief Product Officer, Spuul. “With Aspera, we can quickly expand our online library of TV shows and feature films without delay or bottlenecks, which will help us continue to grow our subscriber base and offer fresh compelling content on an ongoing basis.” Visit www.asperasoft.com
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Front Porch, SingTel to Provide Cloud Storage-As-A-Service FRONT PORCH DIGITAL and SingTel will combine their skills and expertise to launch a new storage-as-a-service offering based on Front Porch Digital’s LYNX cloud-based content storage management (CSM) system. With this initiative, SingTel plans to have LYNX installed in its data centre in Singapore, and will package and resell the cloud service to broadcasters and media enterprises throughout the Asia-Pacific region. SingTel’s new cloud storage service joins a range of managed services the company offers its media and entertainment customers, including permanent and occasional uplink and downlink, playout, disaster recovery (DR), and hosting services. The new service is ideal for companies that need to manage large media archives securely, and yet are seeking to avoid the capital investment and operational costs of a physical, on-site solution. “Broadcasters and media enterprises all over the world are dealing with a significant paradigm shift away from broadcast distribution to broadband distribution,” said Mr. Lim Kian Soon, head of satellite, SingTel. “As a result, the industry is primed for a wide range of cloud-based media services, and Front Porch Digital’s LYNX provides a great technological foundation. Front Porch Digital’s media archiving solutions are widely adopted among leading broadcasters in the Asia-Pacific region.” Visit www.fpdigital.com
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Why HbbTV Can Revolutionise TV for Free to Air Broadcasters & Viewers By Mark Blair, Vice President of Brightcove, Australia & New Zealand HBBTV IS ARGUABLY one of the most exciting developments in today’s broadcast landscape; a development that has the potential to transform both the business model for free-to-air broadcasters and viewers’ user experience.
personalised viewing experience with an interactive menu and ability to navigate through the menu to discover content. What this means is that HbbTV offers a standardised easy-to-use mechanism for serving up content on a TV interface.
FOR BROADCASTERS - ONE STANDARD TO FIT ALL
Broadcasters are also able to visually surface Internet-based content on the device through the broadcast signal, allowing them to drive end viewers from broadcast content to contextual and relevant Internet-based content by injecting metadata into the broadcast signalling.
HbbTV provides an open technology standard that seamlessly combines today’s TV programming delivered via broadcast with additional services delivered via broadband, enabling access to additional Internet delivered content for consumers using connected TVs and set-top boxes. With common standards being established to serve as a guideline, this enables free-to-air broadcasters to focus on the consumer proposition, which takes the guesswork out of interoperability. The HbbTV standard also requires much less application development on a TV Platform and makes it much easier to deploy interactive experiences. The current connected TV paradigm is driven by apps, which are extremely difficult for content providers to support across different connected TV platforms. With HbbTV, content providers only need to create a single experience which will work across devices. For customers, this means a more seamless experience in accessing content. For example, viewers do not have to leave the broadcast, find the application, open the application, search for content, etc. TV content on HbbTV is broadcasted with standard linear TV to Internetconnected televisions. HbbTV enhances the linear offering by layering what is essentially a “webpage” on top of the linear experience, seamlessly blending live and VOD capabilities. With such content consumption options never before offered to viewers, HbbTV will allow Free-to-Air broadcasters to enhance the leanback experience for their viewer base. The HbbTV standard is also the first major use of MPEG-DASH as the streaming protocol in a consumer focused situation, enabling streaming to any device. This is significant because it paves the way for MPEG-DASH to become the mainstream encoding format, simplifying the diverse content formats that the broadcaster needs to support. The HbbTV standards body also anticipated the importance of content security, outlining requirements for DRM. Adopting the Common Encryption (CENC) approach to DRM ensures a single approach to content protection with a solution that has the confidence of premium content providers.
FOR THE VIEWER - ENHANCING THE LEAN-FORWARD EXPERIENCE Smart TVs have allowed Australians to access the Internet via TV sets for a number of years. Australia’s free-to-air broadcasters are launching the Freeview+ service using HbbTV as the underlying technology standard. The reason HbbTV is such a revolutionary standard is that it allows consumers to experience seamless Internet and broadcast viewing. For the first time ever, it will provide broadcasters with the tools to offer the viewer a truly
The significance for broadcasters is that HbbTV will be easier to deploy, rather than building a new application for every single device. This means that HbbTV can allow content providers to deploy OTT companion content and integrated HTML5 apps on connected devices without prompting consumers to exit the linear experience. HbbTV is more than just an interactive menu for viewers and more than just an innovation in electronic program guide (EPG). HbbTV offers an integrated OTT-like experience on the linear form factor, therefore transforming the lean forward content into lean back experience in a seamless viewing experience.
MONETISING HBBTV Beyond the technical advantages for content providers and the great consumer user experiences, HbbTV has the potential to add to the bottom line by reviving the flagging advertising revenues of the broadcast industry. According to a recent IAB report, Internet ad revenues have surpassed those of broadcast TV for the first time ever. With commercialised television advertising in decline, and worldwide digital ad spending set to hit $137.53B in 2014, the opportunities afforded by HbbTV could prove to be the saving grace of the TV industry. The combined power of the Internet and the TV, and the associated monetisation opportunities, have the potential to open up entirely new avenues of revenue to TV networks. Furthermore, the e-commerce opportunities for TV networks to leverage their reach, and enable advertisers to transact with the audience through their TVs, are enormous, opening up previously untapped revenue streams. With an increasing number of consumers indicating a desire to receive personalised advertising, the rise of HbbTV could signal a new era of ‘TV-commerce’. With the VOD option being available alongside the live TV experience, there is the added opportunity to monetise VOD content on HbbTV. By inserting advertisements strategically placed at either pre-roll or mid-roll with VOD content, broadcasters can provide a seamless, personalised viewing experience on thousands of devices. The opportunities are virtually endless, and the time for broadcasters to take full advantage and begin preparing for the HbbTV revolution. Visit www.brightcove.com
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S&T to Demonstrate Hybrid Pay TV at IBC STRATEGY & TECHNOLOGY LTD (S&T), the international interactive multi-screen specialist, will be demonstrating and discussing its technologies to bring innovative new services to interactive television and other screen-based platforms at IBC 2014 (stand 1.B22). With growing global interest in HbbTV, S&T will be showing complete solutions for streaming premium content, interactivity and application development. The S&T solution means that it is practical to develop common applications for smartphones, tablets and smart TVs and other Internetconnected platforms. S&T’s recent acquisition of OnScreen Publishing gives it a development environment that allows designers to create applications via an easy-to-use user interface, without having to necessarily concern themselves with the underlying code.
“Hybrid pay TV will be the next big revolution,” said David Cutts, managing director of S&T. “Consumers like the idea of free-to-air broadcasting, supplemented with premium pay services. We allow content providers to meet that need, either with our products or through Synapse TV, our managed software as a service (SaaS) offering. “A critical part of the technology is securing the content, and in our Bastion system we have a unique and cost effective way of protecting content,” he added. “At IBC we are looking forward to talking to broadcasters, platform operators and content providers from around the world about new services, based around hybrid pay TV delivered to multiple screens.” Visit www.s-and-t.com
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Quantum Showcasing StorNext Pro Solutions AT IBC 2014, Quantum will showcase its StorNext Pro Solutions, which offer post-production and broadcast professionals three complete highperformance workflow storage solutions.
IMAGINE COMMUNICATIONS will showcase the latest innovations and its new vision, product direction, and strategy at IBC2014. Expanding on its industry-first live NAB demonstration of playout in the cloud, Imagine's demonstrations will combine content originating from public and private clouds with on-ramps and off-ramps to bridge baseband video and IP; hybrid integration with on-premises playout systems to leverage existing investments; and seamless transformation for multi-platform delivery including TV Everywhere.
StorNext Pro 4K addresses the performance and scalability demands of true 4K production. With flash-based metadata performance using the StorNext M445 SSD metadata appliance and scalability provided by StorNext QX-1200 RAID Storage (144 TB raw capacity), this storage solution enables efficient 4K workflows, including ingest, post, and delivery.
The MultiService SDN (software-defined networking) framework simplifies the network architecture of media companies operating in hybrid baseband and IP environments by enabling the video bit flow to be software-mapped, creating a fully virtualised network fabric for deploying advanced services.
StorNext Pro Studio refreshes or extends existing Xsan deployments with 100 percent compatibility. A complete solution for storage deployment in the production studio, StorNext Pro Studio is ideal for postproduction facilities with aging Xserve systems or with any other aging storage system that is incapable of expanding to meet the user’s growing demands.
Leveraging technology gained in the acquisition of Digital Rapids earlier this year, the Xenio workflow management foundation provides an agile software engine that enables the design, deployment and management of extensible, customisable, software-defined workflows.
StorNext Pro Production enables content owners to manage workflows ranging from production to the creation and maintenance of long-term content libraries. The solution combines the StorNext M662XL metadata appliance, StorNext QX-1200 RAID storage (96 TB raw capacity), and a StorNext AEL500 41-slot LTO-6 library with 102.5 TB raw capacity for costeffective archiving automated by StorNext Storage Manager. For the first time at IBC, Quantum will introduce StorNext Connect, a new way to monitor and manage StorNext deployments. StorNext Connect dramatically simplifies the process of configuring systems and eases ongoing system management and health monitoring. Quantum will also feature a demonstration of its StorNext technology in cloud-enabled environments. Visit www.quantum.com
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Imagine Communications to Showcase Product Innovations
AT IBC TEDIAL WILL SHOW how its latest Media IT solutions help broadcasters and global media companies manage broadcast and nonlinear content preparation and packaging. Tedial will demonstrate its latest Tarsys desktop media search tools. Using either PC or Mac browsers, every user is provided with workflowaware, search tools and high-performance media browse. Tedial will also demonstrate streamlined metadata acquisition from third-party production and traffic systems, and show how its solutions guarantee metadata preservation throughout the entire media lifecycle. Tedial’s next-generation MPM media workflow directly manages the transcoding of content and metadata to streamline content packaging and delivery for multi-channel TV, catch-up services, VoD and OTT. Employing Tedial’s new Media Exchange Platform, users can work collaboratively on media securely and efficiently. Whether it’s upstream or downstream, Tedial has directly integrated multi-tenant media exchange into its core media workflows. Building on its established integration with Apple, Avid and Quantel, which improves editing throughput and archive access, Tedial now adds enhanced support for Adobe Premiere Pro CC. Visit www.tedial.com
Building on the service-oriented MediaCentral framework, Imagine Communications will highlight new solutions and functionality in the Landmark business application management platform, including the campaign management of impression-based, dynamic ad insertion
Visit www.imaginecommunications.com
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SGL Collaborating with Sony and EVS WITH THE INCREASING MOVE to archiving as a central element of the media and data workflow, SGL will be featuring integration with Sony Media Backbone, EVS fast turnaround sports production and possible disaster recovery options. The adoption by broadcasters and post producers of Media Backbone from Sony is in response to the desire to make an existing workflow run faster by including an archive as a key element of the process. The new collaboration with EVS is designed to streamline the workflow in fast turnaround sports and events production. By integrating FlashNet as part of the EVS sports highlights capture process; an open format copy is made on LTO. Visit www.sglbroadcast.com
Sonnet Showing Rackmount Solutions for Mac Pro AT IBC2014, Sonnet will unveil its RackMac Pro rackmount solution for the new Mac Pro computer. Ideal for IT and transportable rack applications as well as use in the office, the unit supports the rackmount installation of one or two new Mac Pros. The RackMac Pro provides a front panel power switch and USB 3.0 port for each computer, while panel-mounted cables connect each Mac Pro’s Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0, HDMI, and power ports to ports on the back of the RackMac Pro for convenient external cable connection Making its IBC debut, the Thunderbolt Pro P2 Card Reader is the fastest and most cost effective P2 single-slot memory card reader available. Based on 10Gb/s Thunderbolt technology, the device has the ability to ingest footage from individual P2 memory cards at up to 70 MB/s. Sonnet will also feature the xMac Pro Server, with built-in Thunderbolt 2-to-PCI Express (PCIe) expansion. The xMac Pro Server securely mounts the computer horizontally inside a specially designed 4U modular enclosure, connects three PCIe 2.0 slots via Thunderbolt 2 technology, and provides space to install additional equipment in two 5.25-inch mobile rack bays. Visit www.sonnettech.com
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Veset Featuring Nimbus Cloud Playout AT IBC 2014, Veset will feature Veset Nimbus Cloud Playout, a linear broadcast software-based solution optimised to take advantage of cloudbased resources. Veset Nimbus Cloud Playout is a broadcast grade playout solution that incorporates key industry standards and workflow processes. While enabling users to take full advantage of the efficiency and flexibility of cloud technologies, its architecture is platform-agnostic. Leveraging its softwarebased architecture, Nimbus can be deployed on a range of public and private clouds, ranging from Amazon Web Services’ ‘Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud’ (Amazon EC2), to locally installed servers. Veset Nimbus Cloud Playout provides everything needed to create a linear channel, including full functionality, from content ingest to delivery of a UDP feed to headend, cable or CDN. The use of cloud technology ensures that data is automatically backed-up and safeguarded against loss due to hardware failure. Individual playout requirements are fulfilled in a virtual cluster, and are therefore further protected from planned, or unplanned downtime. Visit www.veset.tv
EVS Celebrates Two Decades at IBC DURING IBC2014, EVS will showcase how it will help customers meet the challenges and tremendous opportunities of a new media landscape over the next 20 years.
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Multisource file-based ingest server, OpenCube SD/HD offers media workflow solutions with an extended range of MXF file generation, advanced MXF file interoperability, and unequalled management of ancillary data (closed caption, subtitling) throughout the entire production and archive chain.
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EVS will present the latest IPDirector tools for automated archive and production workflow operations. The new Melt feature offers automated playlist creation of all key actions created during live operations and transfers to archive, post or offsite production.
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EVS new range of live production tools based on the new XT3 platform empowers live production teams with on-the fly media control capabilities based on its series of live control panels: MultiReview, LSMConnect and Epsio Zoom for intuitive and instant action during live operations. EVS’ new web-browsing interface, C-Cast Xplore, provides access to live multi-camera recording feeds and clips on XT3 servers, allowing production teams to work remotely and enhance content on the fly. Visit www.evs.com
New NETIA Media Assist Software Suite AT IBC2014, NETIA will showcase its Media Assist software suite, which builds on the strengths of the company’s product portfolio to provide a complete solution for managing workflows from ingest through to delivery. The company will demonstrate how the new suite enables content owners and content producers to access, retrieve, and share or distribute their digital assets to any platform. The NETIA Media Assist software suite unites the unique functionality of NETIA’s radio broadcast automation and media management products with a SQL database to provide a multimedia asset management system with a full complement of production tools. The software suite also makes it easier for users to move media among sites. To enable convenient use across a facility or organisation, the Media Assist software suite provides both a rich-client platform and a Web-based interface that can be displayed on a simple Internet browser. Both GUIs have been designed to assure effective ergonomics. Visit www.netia.com
TMD Adds More Partners TRANSMEDIA DYNAMICS continues to expand the capabilities of Mediaflex by integration with industry vendors, providing additional partnerships throughout the entire MAM workflow cycle. Highlights for IBC 2014 include demonstrations on the integration of TMD’s Mediaflex suite of applications with Spectra Logic’s BlackPearl Deep Storage Appliance, Telestream’s Lightspeed Transcoding Server, and FileCatalyst File Transfer Acceleration. In addition, integration with Amazon S3 and Encoding.com, which leverage the power of the cloud, will be on show. TMD and RTE, winners of the IBC 2013 Innovation Award for Content Management, will co-present ‘RTE One Year On – How the Successful Implementation of TMD’s MAM System has Transformed Business Operations’, at the Workflow Solutions Conference on the 15th of September at 15.30. Visit www.tmd.tv
New Enhancements to Forscene IBC2014 WILL SEE the following new Forscene developments, most inspired by feedback from users: New Forscene user interface look and feel High-res codec enables dynamic display of high or low res proxy iOS and Android Forscene apps New publishing framework Media asset management (MAM) system (in beta) IBC TV, the official broadcaster for IBC2014, will once again use Forscene to provide its self-service syndication workflow. A Forscene server based at the RAI conference centre will compress and upload material shot by the IBC TV teams during the exhibition. New this year is 24-hour coverage that will be available year-round to subscribing exhibitors and news outlets. Also for the first time, IBC will use Forscene to view entries and prepare content for the IBC2014 Awards. Visit www.forbidden.co.uk
DAC to Unveil New EX-60 Storage Expansion DAC WILL UNVEIL the new EX-60 Storage Expansion for the ALTO Archive and Content Library for the first time at IBC 2014. The EX-60 meets the growing demand for larger capacity and more densely packed media storage. ALTO is a Cold Storage solution that can accommodate up to 300 TB of storage in each 4RU module, with an exceptionally low power dissipation of around 1 watt per Terabyte. At IBC 20214, DAC will demonstrate a new storage concept that overturns the traditional economic barriers that have made the cloud unaffordable as a storage platform for long form broadcast content in native resolution. Combining the strengths of a high-yield on-premise appliance backed by an infrequently-accessed cloud storage layer, the system offers a multi-petabyte class solution with ultra-low TCO for Broadcasters and Media Companies who need secure and affordable storage for DPP/AS11 tapeless operations At IBC 2014 DAC will demonstrate a new monitoring solution, developed in conjunction with technology partners ASTEC IT Solutions Ltd. The iBroadcast monitoring system has the capability to monitor and manage large scale disk-based storage systems down to individual disk drive level. Visit www.diskarchive.com
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Sound Result for FIFA Coverage from Guangdong TV and TSL SAM1-3GM enables Guangdong TV operators to define individual channels as stereo, mono or 5.1 with instantaneous downmixing of surround sources for stereo compatibility monitoring for World Cup matches. Channels can be mixed together at the push of a button with individual level trims and channel balance/pan control and the resultant ‘mix’ output available as a line level analogue or AES feed, which can be used for cues and extended applications. The instant visual feedback that the SAM1 provides is suitable for facilitywide multichannel audio and has the capability to mix 16 channels of embedded SDI and two auxiliary analogue or AES input channels, into the monitoring chain, for example, to listen to the intercom whilst working with headphones. Each of the 10 stereo bargraph pairs can be named individually with up to a 10 character mnemonic, whilst international bargraph scales and reference levels can be altered within setup. TSL Products’ PAM PiCo in Guangdong TV Centre’s HD Production Suite.
GUANGDONG TV CENTRE’S new purpose-built HD production suite delivered Brazil’s FIFA World Cup coverage to more than 117 million viewers using TSL Products’ audio monitoring range for loudness and quality. The manufacturer of audio monitoring, surround sound microphones and processing, tally/studio-control systems and power management solutions for the broadcast industry, supplied SAM1-3GM studio audio monitoring units, the PAM PiCo Master 5.1 Surround/Loudness Compliance Meter and an entry-level MPA1-3G audio monitoring unit to ensure its compliance with regional and national standards. The TSL units were installed in key positions in the control room and rack room for confidence monitoring of multiple audio streams. “With live action feeds coming in from the 12 venues in Brazil covering the World Cup, mixed with on-site and local commentary, having reliable audio confidence monitoring through the MPA and SAM units and loudness compliance logging through the PAM PiCo is a must for this massive live event,” says Howard Hong, Principle Engineer for Suntec Broadcast Technology Ltd., the systems integration company for handling the installation. “We chose TSL Products equipment because they offer rock solid performance, straightforward functionality and an abundance of features critical to the quality assurance and loudness mission.”
The PAM PiCo Master 5.1 Surround Meter, which features a 16-channel bargraph display with 3G HD-SDI (auto-sensing with loop through) and 16-channel audio de-embedder allows Guangdong TV to perform real time logging of all relevant loudness parameters, including high and low loudness levels, True Peak level and corresponding peak channel, as well as integrated loudness. The PAM PiCo’s new logging software application provides instant documentation, visualisation and evaluation of any source passing through the meter unit. It also offers a logging session database, allowing session data to be safely stored, identified and instantly searched for quick retrieval. Session data may be exported as a .pdf or .csv file to streamline the creation of loudness data documents for presentations on compliance. The new MPA1-3G Audio Monitoring unit provides basic audio monitoring functions through easy-to-use, straightforward operation. The MPA Monitor Plus series, with models also available in dual stereo, eight stereo and analogue input versions, is ideal for critical production locations that do not require the more sophisticated capabilities of TSL Products’ SAM and PAM audio monitoring units. The MPA1-3G offers an auto sensing 3G HD-SDI input, de-embedder with selection of 16 audio channels, high power internal amplifier driving full range speakers, a balance control, fixed/variable line level outputs and external PSU, all in a 1RU space. Visit www.tslproducts.com
reference generators for the broadcast industry, has announced that Jamuna Television, a 24-hour satellite news channel in Bangladesh, has expanded its intercom system to accommodate a third production studio and control room with a 32-port Gemini intercom system from Trilogy.
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The expanded Gemini, Trilogy’s flagship intercom system, was sold by Benchmark Broadcast Systems Pte Ltd., which also carried out the system design, installation and commissioning. Jamuna now uses Gemini’s distributed, IP-based architecture to link production staff and presenters at multiple facilities. Jamuna Television’s Executive Director, Bilal Aman Khan, said, “We are always looking to deploy the latest technology and combine it with the best creative talents in the country to provide quality content for our
audience. Trilogy’s Gemini has enabled us to easily expand our operation while substantially improving our ability to reliably communicate across multiple sites. Should we decide to expand further in the future, Gemini is flexible enough to expand right along with us.” Based on a distributed, IP-based architecture rather than a single central matrix, Gemini intercom systems can be expanded using LAN, WAN or satellite. This approach means that there is no single point of failure within the entire system. Trilogy Projects Manager Malcolm Reed said, “Gemini has proven itself to be the class-leader in functionality and expandability. Jamuna Television is now taking full advantage of the benefits of a large-scale, non-blocking comms matrix with integrated IP connectivity.” Visit www.trilogycomms.com
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RTW WILL BRING ITS LATEST CROP of loudness metering solutions to IBC 2014 (Hall 8, Stand D92). Launched earlier this year, RTW’s Masterclass PlugIns Loudness Tools software and TM3-Primus will be on display for IBC attendees for the first time. RTW’s Masterclass PlugIns Loudness Tools is a standard-format plug-in for Windows and Mac OS platforms. The first item in this new product line, Loudness Tools was designed to serve the needs of users in the DAW sector. Meanwhile, the TM3-Primus, the latest entry to its smart product category, is a compact, fully-loaded specialised meter at an entry-level price point, suited for individuals working in smaller production environments such as OB vans.
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AT IBC2014, Calrec will showcase its new Summa audio console. The Summa console is designed for broadcast professionals who need a straightforward solution for producing creative and engrossing broadcast audio, but not all of the resources offered by Calrec’s Apollo and Artemis consoles. Designed to ensure intuitive operation in live broadcast applications, Summa simplifies even complex workflow tasks, such as creating mix-minus feeds, with a highly intuitive GUI suitable for a broad range of operator levels. Users control the console via a 17-inch multitouch screen inspired by familiar tablet technology. The crisp high-resolution display provides elegant controls and a clear presentation of information. The console’s other large displays are fully configurable to display bus, output, and loudness meters, and they feature dedicated metering, routing, and processing information for each fader. Visit http://calrec.com
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Fairlight EVO.Live EVO.LIVE, Fairlight’s new generation digital audio mixing system, will be introduced to Chinese and European broadcasters when it goes on show at two major broadcast exhibitions – BIRTV 2014 in Beijing (August 27-30) and IBC 2014 in Amsterdam (September 12-16). Based on Fairlight’s audio processing and control surface technologies, EVO. Live is a powerful console that offers integrated HD video and multitrack audio recording. However, what makes EVO.Live exceptional is its ability to switch between live and post production modes at the touch of a button so that staff engineers can use the desk for audio sweetening when it isn’t needed for on-air applications. EVO.Live’s compact, modular design creates the perfect mixing environment for OB trucks, performing arts venues, house of worship and broadcast facilities. The console can be used in a dual-operator configuration with each engineer having independent access to separate fader sets, channels and monitor controls. EVO.Live incorporates Fairlight’s integrated control surface technology featuring unique Picture Keys that self-label instantly for each task performed. These display the right commands and functions at the right time, ensuring a much faster workflow and giving users much better control of their events. EVO.Live also features Fairlight’s FPGA-based Crystal Core engine that delivers high channel and bus counts, low latency and exceptional audio quality. The console additionally provides advanced surround sound mixing capabilities, off-line preparation via laptop, a built-in sound effects cart machine and control extensions to lighting systems, third-party DAWs and sound library databases. EVO.Live is available in different stand-alone chassis sizes, as well as surfacemounted and table-top configurations, from 12 to 60 faders. Visit www.fairlight.com.au
RTW will also have meters from its premium category on display, including the TM3, TMR7, TM7 and TM9, all part of its flexible and scalable range of TouchMonitor audio meters. All of RTW’s metering solutions conform to the EBU R128 loudness standard, as well as ITU-R BS.1770-3/1771-1, ATSC A/85, ARIB, OP-59, AGCOM, SPL mode and the U.S. Calm Act regulations. Visit www.rtw.de
Jünger Delivers Perfect Voice Recording AT IBC 2014 (10.A49), dynamics processing specialist Jünger Audio will show its D*AP4 VAP Voice Processor – a unit that is designed to make life easier for engineers working in radio stations, TV production voice-over studios and feature film ADR facilities. The D*AP4 VAP Voice Processor includes Jünger Audio’s proprietary Spectral Signature dynamic EQ – a new creative tool that offers automatic and dynamic EQ control to balance spectral differences in real-time. By analysing incoming audio and comparing its spectrum with individually predetermined voice ‘fingerprints’, the unit can automatically apply dynamic EQ corrections to give a consistent sound. For people working in TV voice over and feature film ADR, this facility allows them to deal with any changes in a performer’s voice. For example, if a performer has a sore throat on day three of a recording session and therefore sounds a bit different, the unit will look at the tonal characteristics of the actor’s voice on day one and automatically adjusts the frequency until both voices match. Jünger Audio’s D*AP4 VAP Voice Processor is equally interesting to radio broadcasters who want to create an aural identity for their radio stations. By using similar spectral sound management principles, the unit measures the running program and uses the station master sound fingerprint as a reference. The Spectral Signature algorithm matches all different program elements to this reference signature, thus creating a dedicated ‘station sound’. “The D*AP4 VAP draws on our extensive experience with previous Voice Processing devices such as our popular VO2, but adds new tools and algorithms to create an easier and more efficient approach to voice processing with no compromise in sound quality,” says Peter Pörs, CEO of Jünger Audio. “We have also included processing such as HP/LP filtering, versatile dynamics section, full parametric EQ and de-essing, and made the unit really easy to use – even for non-technical radio staff such as producers and journalists.” Jünger Audio has also provided a dedicated voice leveler combined with an auto-mixer circuit to help mixed voice programs into loudness-based broadcasting on the fly. Using the optional SDI I/O card automated voice over for SDI embedded audio becomes an attractive feature of the D*AP4 VAP. Connected as either an insert into a mixing desk or as a stand-alone unit, D*AP4 VAP offers interfaces that allow integration in existing environments via an AES insert. The unit can also be used with an optional analogue board that adds two high quality mic-preamps. Visit www.jungeraudio.com
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DK-Technologies Adds Loudness Automation BY ADDING LOUDNESS AUTOMATION to its DK T7 Audio Meter, DK-
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Technologies says it has removed one of the most time consuming obstacles in Loudness audio workflow. On show at DK-Technologies’ IBC 2014 stand, this latest upgrade is based on SMPTE timecode and allows the DK T7 to instantly recalculate the integrated loudness value up to four hours back in time. For audio engineers, this function is a major improvement as it means they no longer have to re-run programme material to hit their loudness target value. DK-Technologies has also added USB mouse operation to the multitouchscreen DK T7, allowing for fast on screen access and operation using the HDMI external monitor output. A number of other improvements have also been incorporated, including headphone volume control and more screen setup functions.
DPA MICROPHONES will exhibit a new range of body worn microphones at this year’s IBC. With the ‘d:screet’ range, the company has overcome the challenge of how to give control of mic placement to non-technical actors or reality show contestants without compromising sound quality. The omnidirectional miniature necklace microphone houses a d:screet 4061 omnidirectional miniature capsule in a soft rubber necklace. The d:screet Necklace Mic is already being used in the Danish adaptation of Big Brother and DPA anticipates plenty of interest from other reality TV productions. The mic comes in black, white and brown and in lengths of 47 or 53 cm. While there, they can also see DPA’s new heavy-duty d:screet 4060 omnidirectional miniature microphones and classic d:screet 4060 omnidirectional miniature mics with reinforced cable relief, making them even more durable for demanding use. The heavy-duty 4060 microphone is ideal for people who require even more security and for whom the visual appeal is of less importance. It is perfect for placement in rigorous filming situations, such as incorporated into a combat suit for a fight scene or under a horse saddle in a period piece. Featuring a stainless steel housing, sturdy cable relief and a thicker 2.2mm cable, both enhanced versions are exceptionally durable. DPA will complete its IBC 2014 line-up with its new d:fine 66 and 88 Headset Microphones, which are ideal for broadcast productions with vocal performers who need to move freely without obstructions from a handheld mic or one on a stand. Visit www.dpamicrophones.com
File-Based Workflows from Emotion EMOTION SYSTEMS will be at IBC 2014 showing advances in its file-based workflows and how these improve efficiency while simultaneously cutting down costs. Emotion will be showing the latest versions of eFF and Engine. Emotion Systems enables its users to open a wide range of video and audio files as well as make the necessary measurements, adjustments and transcoding without conversion to baseband. Included in the list of supported file formats are: MXF, P2, LXF, QuickTime, WAV, AIFF and DPP; files with Dolby E are also supported.
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eFF provides audio loudness compliance to a vast range of worldwide standards and can be used in multiple workflows including standalone, automatic watch folder and fully automatic through API integration. Engine, meanwhile, allows automated file based audio workflows for loudness, Dolby E encoding and decoding, track replication and track swapping. It is controlled by use of a ReSTful API and offers integration to popular MAM Systems. Visit www.emotion-systems.com
The DK T7 allows end-users to adapt to virtually any format including 3G SDI I/O. The unit also offers eight AES/EBU input/output channels, 2ch analogue input channels, headphone output and HDMI monitor output. The meter is currently available in two different models – the DK T7 and entry level DK T7 Stereo. Both models are available with or without balanced digital AES inputs as well as in 19-inch rack mountable versions. Visit www.dk-technologies.com
NUGEN Audio Celebrates a Decade at IBC2014 NUGEN AUDIO’S LMB is an offline file-based loudness analysis and
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correction program for high throughput applications. A new update to LMB’s MXF file-handling option introduces DPP AS-11 compatibility. NUGEN Audio is a participant in the DPP compliance program, an initiative founded by U.K. public service broadcasters to help speed the transition to fully digital production and distribution for television. As a member of the AS-11 DPP compliance and certification program, NUGEN Audio is helping to develop quality assurance criteria for the AS-11 DPP specification for digital file formats. Making its IBC debut, the MXF file-handling option introduces native MXF audio-handling that enables LMB to perform automated analysis and correction of audio within an MXF container while preserving all other data within the file.
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Adapting dynamic content such as theatrical releases for TV or TV content for mobile streaming is a challenging task, particularly in relation to dialog. At IBC2014, NUGEN Audio will present DynApt, a groundbreaking solution for intelligent repurposing of audio for TV and streaming at faster-than-real-time speeds. The DynApt algorithm has been designed to adapt the dynamic content of audio appropriately for different listening environments and playout systems, while respecting the level of dialog in the original mix and meeting specific loudness criteria. The first implementation of this new technology is now available as a DynApt extension for NUGEN Audio’s LMB offline loudness correction program.
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At IBC2014, NUGEN Audio will preview a new upmix process specifically designed for film and TV production. Capable of producing a downmix compatible upmix with optional dialog isolation in the centre channel, the new technology is projected to be available in early Q2 2015. NUGEN Audio will also showcase version 1.1 of MultiMonitor, the company’s powerful loudness and true-peak monitoring software application. MultiMonitor offers up to 16 individual loudness and true-peak meters in mono, stereo, and 5.1 formats for up to 96 individual audio channels. With the new version, MultiMonitor now includes network meter reset options and a “tall” meter configuration. MultiMonitor is now available as standalone software or as part of a turnkey solution available through SSL in the LMS-16 hardware system. Visit www.nugenaudio.com
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EMOTION SYSTEMS’ has announced a technology partnership with Ideal Systems which was launched at BroadcastAsia 2014. eFF is a comprehensive loudness compliance application for media files and is now an integrated component within Ideal Systems’ SoftCast solution for operating and managing broadcast television channels. “Loudness compliance is an important element in modern broadcast workflows and we are excited to be working with Emotion Systems to offer their proven eFF solution as a workflow option within our SoftCast MAM and ecosystem,” explained Fintan Mc Kiernan, CEO at Ideal Systems (Singapore). SoftCast from Ideal Systems is a downloadable software based solution for broadcast television operators and offers a wide range of functionality including channel in a box, automation, ingest, playout, media asset management, traffic scheduling and ad sales. “We have been steadily building our eFF customer base around the world and this further endorsement and partnership with Ideal Systems will help support our growing Asian customer base,” added MC Patel, CEO, Emotion Systems. Visit www.emotion-systems.com and www.idealsys.com
Trilogy’s Gemini Supports EMBER+ Protocol TRILOGY, a leading supplier of intercom solutions and master reference generators for the broadcast industry, has announced that its flagship Gemini distributed matrix intercom system now provides native support for L-S-B Broadcast Technologies’ EMBER+ self-discovering protocol. According to Trilogy’s Marketing Manager, Andy Covey, “This means that Gemini users can not only control their intercom system, but reassign keys and customise the configuration of Gemini directly from their broadcast system control software. EMBER+ provides access to Gemini’s key operating parameters and enables users to edit individual settings to best suit their requirements.” When an EMBER-compatible Gemini intercom device is connected to a broadcast network running an EMBER server, the controllable parameters of that device are automatically described and made addressable over the network via the EMBER protocol. Gemini is based on a distributed matrix IP-based architecture, which removes the risks associated with a single point of failure. Adding further centralised control capabilities via EMBER+ ensures tighter overall control of the intercom system as a consolidated part of the entire broadcast infrastructure. Covey added, “The integration of EMBER+ essentially makes life much easier for the user by providing deep integration and control of Gemini and other technologies from multiple manufacturers within a broadcast environment. Native EMBER+ support also benefits users by giving the ability to control and save presets and to switch complex routes.” Visit www.trilogycomms.com
Clear-Com Launches FreeSpeak II AT IBC 2014 Clear-Com will announce the launch of FreeSpeak II wireless intercom system, an enhanced DECT-based offering that operates in multiple license-free DECT bands from 1.897-1.933GHz. FreeSpeak II delivers improved roaming capability for reliable wireless connections, superior digital ‘Clear-Com Sound’ for clear intelligibility and ultimate audio comfort, and innovative intercom features that make it a high performance wireless option. The system is ideal for deployment across large-scale, multi-zone production areas. FreeSpeak II allows large numbers of wireless beltpack users to simultaneously roam across an expansive production area without compromising on performance. Similar to its predecessor, FreeSpeak II can be implemented as a standalone base station wireless system or as an integrated wireless solution within Eclipse HX matrices, known as FreeSpeak II Integra. When using the base station, up to 20 full-duplex wireless beltpacks can be connected; in an integrated matrix setup, as many as 50 full-duplex wireless beltpacks can be used at the same time by strategically placing 10 or more distributed remote antennas to create an expansive coverage zone. These beltpack users are then able to directly communicate with any other remote or local matrix panel or other wireless or wired beltpack user who is on the Eclipse HX Matrix System network. FreeSpeak II leverages the existing base station from its predecessor that has been updated to work with the new beltpacks and new active antennas. All-new five-channel, full-duplex FS II-BP wireless beltpack was uniquely designed for the rigorous demands of large-scale operations and continuous communication use. Ergonomically positioned controls, intuitive operation and rugged housing make the beltpack ideal for extended use under harsh conditions. Beltpacks are IP-65 rated for water and dust resistance for mobile productions. The Li-Ion battery for the beltpack can last over 18 hours on a full charge. Beltpack operations including battery health, RF status and Antenna link can be monitored in real-time via the base station or Eclipse HX version 7.6 software. The newly-designed Active Antenna provides the cellular roaming capability that keeps wireless users connected to the base station or to the Integra Solution. Enhancements to the antenna systems now offer a much improved wireless performance and thereby delivering a reliable wireless connection for mobile intercom users. Locally-powered Antennas can be positioned up to 3,200ft away, or 800ft away when centrally powered from the base station. Five way Antenna Splitters extend the base station to create an expansive coverage area with up to 10 antennas. Visit www.clearcom.com
Mackie Creative Reference Multimedia Monitors MACKIE HAS INTRODUCED its Creative Reference Multimedia Monitor Series, delivering studio-quality design, sound and performance in an extremely desktop-friendly design. The series includes two models – the CR3 and CR4 – with 3-inch or 4-inch woofers and 3/4-inch silk-dome tweeters. CR monitors also feature a curved high-frequency waveguide In addition, all-wood cabinets and custom-tuned rear ports provide a ‘natural warmth to the sound that only true studio reference monitors can provide’. Creative Reference monitors come with all the connecting cables needed for the user to get started immediately. As a bonus, there’s a pair of acoustic isolation pads included. Used in professional applications, acoustic isolation pads minimise unwanted bass build-up that can muddy a mix. Plus, the pads’ angled design allows the user to tilt the monitors slightly up or down for more focused listening depending on their setup. The new Mackie CR3 and CR4 Creative Reference multimedia monitors will be available worldwide from August, 2014. Visit http://cr.mackie.com
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Emotion Systems’ Loudness Compliance Integrated into SoftCast
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Sonifex Acquires Innes Corporation IN ITS FIRST INTERNATIONAL ACQUISITION,
partnership on some interesting new products.
UK company Sonifex has bought the Australian broadcast manufacturer and distributor Innes Corporation. Innes Corporation manufactures a range of high-end PCIe PC cards which include professional analogue and digital audio cards, AM, FM and DAB+ radio capture cards together with Flashlog, a multichannel audio logger. Sonifex is a manufacturer of audio and video products for radio and TV studios, best known for its Redbox audio and video interfaces.
“Innes Corporation is a long standing and wellrespected distributor of transmission equipment in Australia, known for their strong customer support, so in the future I’d hope to make use of their expertise to further improve sales of Sonifex equipment in Australia.”
Marcus Brooke, Managing Director of Sonifex, commented, “We’ve been involved with Innes Corporation for some time, recently acting as a manufacturer for their audio cards. I was so impressed with the quality and versatility of the audio cards that when we discussed further collaboration, we realised that there was a great opportunity for us to leverage our international marketing skills to sell the Innes PCIe cards to a larger market. In addition, we can combine our R&D departments to work in
General Manager of Innes Corporation, Karen Olliver said while it is essentially business as usual the new ownership arrangement is good news for Innes Corporation’s trading partners and clients. “Between Sonifex, John Innes, and Innes Corporation we have over 70 years of combined experience in the broadcast industry. We’ll still be offering our customers and suppliers the exceptional level of service and support that they’ve come to expect from us while drawing on a greater pool of technical resources,” she said.
Innes Corporation Founder John Innes and Marcus Brooke, MD of Sonifex.
The Australian Sonifex Pty Ltd will still trade under the name Innes Corporation in Australia
Visit www.sonifex.co.uk and www.innescorp.com.au
New Crystal Mixing Console from Lawo LAWO, THE MANUFACTURER OF audio and video technology for TV and radio broadcast production, used the recent BroadcastAsia show in Singapore to premiere a new version of its crystal radio mixing consoles. Based on the feedback received from the users of more than 1,000 crystal mixing consoles already deployed in the field, the company has developed a more powerful version of the console.
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The new crystal has a completely re-designed user surface, available in 4- to 16-fader versions, providing clear operational layout in an ultra-slim chassis. A new hand-rest improves the console’s ergonomics, and re-designed buttons make their labels more readable. All pushbuttons are illuminated with RGB LEDs, enabling users to work with different colour schemes for different functions. New functions – like the integrated AutoMix and AutoGain – provide ease-of-use, especially to journalists and presenters in self-op situations. The newly designed crystal base unit features power supply redundancy and optimised expansion slots for easy addition of I/O cards. Crystal consoles are optimised for both standalone operation and networked environments. They provide all of the comprehensive functionality found on a conventional mixer, as well as an integrated matrix of up to 288 I/Os. These I/Os can be pre-packaged from a broad range of modules, including RAVENNA/AES67 Audio-over-IP, MADI, AES, and Mic/Line. crystal
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consoles are prepared for integration with leading radio automation systems like ENCO, RCS, Dalet and Radiomax. The consoles come with VisTool – powerful touchscreen optimised PC software – that provides additional functionality and visualisation beyond the limitations of hardware user interfaces. The software is designed to be the central screen and interaction system for radio hosts, providing full control over all relevant functions of a crystal mixing console. It offers access to channel DSP processes, including EQ, dynamics, and bus routings, input parameters, and fader channel control. Visit www.lawo.com
from 1st July 2014. This is the third corporate acquisition by Sonifex Ltd who bought Nicral Ltd in 2001 and the ProAVM audio product range from SBS in 2006.
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Ampegon Green Tech Offers Revenue Opportunities
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AMPEGON is introducing Green Technologies which not only benefit the environment, but can also open up another revenue stream for broadcasters. Based on its turnkey experience and system approaches in the field of AM radio transmitter technology, and in solutions for scientific applications, the company is offering complete photovoltaic power plants. Supported by Ampegon’s services in project development, dimensioning, customer relations, project monitoring and financing, photovoltaic power plants can be installed at existing antenna sites – or anywhere within a country. Despite the introduction of high efficient broadcast technologies, radio transmission stations still consume a huge amount of electrical energy. The large antenna field on the other hand is often an ideal place for a photovoltaic power plant to produce energy close to the consumer. Ampegon promotes an optimised utilisation of fallow land area at transmitter stations and antenna fields as well as in plain countryside. Ampegon has already proven successful operation of this new business model with the installation of a 20MW power plant underneath an existing shortwave antenna installation in Wertachtal, Germany. Visit www.ampegon.com
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Mobile Audio Editing Tool NETIA HAS ANNOUNCED that the company’s iSnippet audio editing tool for iPhone and iPad devices is now available on the iTunes App Store. Sharing the same look and ergonomic principles as the Snippet desktop interface available within NETIA’s Radio-Assist radio automation software suite, iSnippet allows iOS device users not only to edit and index media from their mobile devices, but also to record and export ready-to-broadcast assets from the in-studio Radio-Assist database. As an all-in-one remote audio-editing solution, iSnippet gives field reporters and others valuable Radio-Assist audio-editing capabilities — familiar from the desktop — on their portable devices. No longer cut off from in-studio resources such as scripts and recorded content, as well as the tools with which to edit that content, the field reporter using iSnippet now can edit audio for inclusion in news stories, or review and read scripts for upcoming segments. Supporting AAC, ALAC, and LPCM audio formats, iSnippet allows users to record, edit, and export their audio files to the studio. During recording, the user may adjust the recording volume, insert markers, and activate screen locking. Edit capabilities include vertical and horizontal zoom, playout of audio from inside or outside markers, insertion of audio from the app’s cutting bin, and file insertion. The edited files themselves may be sent raw or as a master file (MP2/ AAC/ALAC/AIFF/WAVE) to an FTP server, or directly to the RadioAssist database along with an index file. iSnippet also enables field reporters and journalists to import audio files from applications including Luci and Report-IT. Visit www.netia.com
Audio Contribution, DAB+ Distribution 2WCOM’S FLEXDSR02+ AND FLEXDSR04+ offer a combination of capabilities in a compact 1U IRD for professional audio contribution via satellite and IP. Far more versatile, powerful and effectively integrated than the previous generation of satellite receivers, the FlexDSR02+ and FlexDSR04+ feature versatile inputs for up to four different programs with analogue or digital output, a full regional insert solution, SIRC for in-band control via satellite, and automatic weight balancing of quality parameters and program source switching (satellite, IP-line, ASI, SD card) in case of failure. Meanwhile, the 2wcom FlexNsert DAB+ Distribution Inserter receives a DAB ETI data stream (according to EN 300799), converts the stream into a standard MPEG2-TS-signal and outputs it via ASI or Ethernet transport stream interfaces. The FlexXtract+ DAB+ Distribution Extractor demodulates a data stream (2048 kbps) from a DVB-S or DVB-S2 signal and converts the data into a standard ETI-signal according to EN 300799 or EDI-signal according to TS 102 693 to feed DAB or DAB+ transmitters. Both units offer optional advanced bandwidth saving technology for up to 45 percent greater efficiency, together with a multi-program regionalisation management option. Finally, 2wcom introduced the new FMC01, a compact codec for high-quality FM MPX contribution and distribution via IP or E1 (G.703). The FMC01 can combine encoder and decoder functions in the same unit, offering significant infrastructure savings. With 100 percent lossless audio encoding/decoding and optimised bandwidth technology that delivers maximum FM quality, the FMC01 is a point-to-multipoint distribution solution that redefines the cost/ performance equation for radio networks. Visit www.2wcom.com
Digigram and Hunan Shuangln Sign OEM Partnership Agreement DIGIGRAM HAS ANNOUNCED that Hunan Shuangln Electronic Technology
solutions incorporating Digigram products.
Co Ltd., a leading systems integrator serving the entire Chinese mainland, has signed an OEM development partner agreement with Digigram and will develop radio automation solutions based on Digigram sound cards.
Already in 2014, Shuangln has delivered solutions with Digigram sound
“We are proud to be a broadcast solutions provider to major broadcasters in China, and products from the Digigram portfolio give us a valuable mix of quality and functionality as we design and install these solutions,” said Mr. Zhou, CEO at Hunan Shuangln Electronic Technology Co. Ltd.
cards to more than 20 broadcast operations of all sizes, with some installations including just a few cards and others incorporating dozens. “Shuangln is a market leader in China’s broadcast industry, with an impressive record of successful deployments that number in the thousands,” said Nancy Diaz Curiel, APAC sales manager at Digigram.
“We look forward to working even more closely with Digigram and leveraging the company’s products more extensively to assure delivery of products and services that meet our clients’ needs.”
“The company’s experience and its highly qualified technical team make
The new partnership between Digigram and Shuangln provides a framework for purchasing, as well as for Shuangln’s sales, service, and support of
our companies.”
Shuangln a powerful partner in this critical market, and we’re confident that our collaborative relationship will yield new business opportunities for both Visit www.digigram.com
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WINMEDIA, A LEADING provider in automation and content management software solutions for broadcasters and content producers, announced that over the past 6 months, customers worldwide renewed their use of the company’s solutions. In order to sustain their growing business, they awarded WinMedia major extensions.
Philippines, has chosen WinMedia to deploy six new radio stations countrywide.
“These encouraging results are the fruit of a long-term relationships and a superb process of exchange with our clients, with the main objective being to forge bonds of trust and establish lasting connections through which every party finds success,” said WinMedia CEO, Stéphane Tésorière.
“Since 2010, Radio Manila Network has relied on WinMedia comprehensive media systems to optimise and manage their advertising workflow, including account management, order entry, ad serving and delivery, financials and reporting. We are thrilled to see that our highquality solution along with the great local support provided over the years by our local partner BTSI have been the starting point of an even wider collaboration with RMN,” said Cédric Seguin, APAC Sales Manager at WinMedia Asia.
In Asia, Radio Manila Network (RMN), the largest radio network in the
Visit www.winmedia.org
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Radio Manila Network Relies on WinMedia
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TRANSMISSION Signal distribution, test & measurement
MCOT Thailand Adds Five HD Channels with PlayBox
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SSL-Built AsiaSat 8 Launched ASIASAT 8, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle successfully lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, U.S.A. on the 5th of August. The spacecraft successfully separated from the launch vehicle 32 minutes after liftoff. AsiaSat has acquired the first signals from the satellite in Hong Kong 54 minutes after launch. Over the next few days, AsiaSat 8 will move into the geostationary orbit, some 36,000 km above the Equator.
THAI STATE-OWNED television broadcaster MCOT has chosen a PlayBox Technology digital playout system as the core of a new five-channel high-definition service. The new system was designed, installed and commissioned at the MCOT’s Bangkok headquarters by PlanetComm, the Thai partner of PlayBox Technology. “MCOT were impressed by the stability and multiformat capabilities of the PlayBox Technology AirBox playout server as well as the system’s ease of use,” comments PlanetComm Technical Manager, Mr. Natthaphol. “MCOT needed to handle MOV files from Sony XDCAM422 sources as well as high definition MXF and standard definition DV25 MOV content. The solution we have provided exactly matches the requirements of the channel’s fully filebased workflow. “The system we have installed comprises ten AirBox high-definition servers configured as five main and five backup. We have also integrated five CaptureBox dual channel HD servers, five TitleBox character generators, a Multi Playout Manager and an AlarmBox. Reliable post-sale technical support and the potential for future system expansion are obviously key requirements for any modern broadcast playout system. We are able to meet all these requirements from our own Bangkok headquarters.” AirBox provides automated content playout for satellite channels, cable head-ends, over-the-air broadcasters and corporate TV users. In its automated playout mode, AirBox allows fixed-time scheduling for weeks ahead. AirBox can be used for live production as well as automated playout. Every clip in the playlist, except the one currently playing, can be trimmed, edited or repositioned seamlessly without stopping the current playout session. CaptureBox can handle a wide range of input signals, accepting HD/SD SDI, analogue sources and MPEG transport streams. Four video sources can be monitored on a single screen and controlled via a new streamlined user interface. Audio levels can be monitored as loudness/true-peak displays and adjusted when required. The ingested materials are available for playback seconds after ingest commences. TitleBox delivers on-air graphics that can be controlled interactively. Multilayered simultaneous crawls, rolls, animated logos, clocks and text templates can be activated by a mouse click. TitleBox provides total control during onair session, including text selection, running speed and transitions.
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Multi Playout Manager (MPM) is a fully assignable monitoring and control system with rights management for multiple AirBox channels from one or more Internet-connected PCs, locally or from anywhere in the world via IP. AlarmBox provides a wide range of possibilities for the automated distribution of messages; delivering fully automated alarm messaging wherever they are needed via a range of channels such as email, cell phone, or SNMP. It automatically distributes and delivers messages from many sources to a variety of output destinations as defined by user setups. Multiple alarm messages can be sent to one output or one message can be simultaneously distributed to multiple outputs. Visit www.mcot.net and www.playbox.tv
AsiaSat 8 is a Space Systems/Loral 1300 series satellite, and has a design life of 15 years. With 24 Ku-band transponders and a Ka-band payload, AsiaSat 8 will co-locate with AsiaSat 7, where AsiaSat has established networks for service since 1990. Visit www.asiasat.com
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Pakistan’s Cable Media Group Selects Exset’s DMS EXSET HAS ANNOUNCED that Pakistan’s Cable Media Group (CMG), the largest operator in the country, has selected Exset’s DMS technology to power a range of value-add digital cable services. CMG has signed with Exset via Pakistan-based Effective Media Entertainment (Pvt) Limited, which exclusively represents Exset in Pakistan. DMS will play a central role in monetising the cable operator’s move to digital, powering services over and above television. The operator is currently in the test phase, both in terms of technology and precisely which services will initially be launched using DMS. It is using E-TEK set-top boxes for the rollout. Exset’s DMS is a business and technology model that makes pay-TV selffinancing without depending exclusively on subscriber fees for revenue. Visit www.exset.com
Tektronix Helps Transvision Indonesia Ensure Quality For Viewers TRANSVISION, one of the leading broadcasting and TV service providers in Indonesia, has selected Tektronix’s Sentry video quality monitor to perform channel content monitoring, analysis and recording. Before selecting Sentry, Transvision performed a detailed evaluation of several industry solutions and selected the Tektronix Sentry solution because it can more fully assure subscribers the best viewing experience and it can detect whether the content is compliant to compression techniques and transmissions. In addition, Sentry’s advanced quality of experience (QoE) capability is another reason Transvision selected the Tektronix solution. This function analyses the MPEG packets and checks for structural errors causing picture and audio defects. Moreover Sentry’s unique perceptual video quality (PVQ) capability uses advanced evaluation algorithms based on eMOS (effective mean opinion scores) to allow Transvision to be fully aware of the picture quality for all 148 channels of programming. Visit www.tektronix.com
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The Role of IP-based KVM in the Evolution of the Broadcast Industry
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The influence of innovation and new technologies plays a significant role in the changing face of broadcasting. This is particularly evident in the continued popularity and adoption of IP-based KVM (keyboard, video, and mouse) solutions in broadcast applications, from outside broadcasts and the gallery, to post production suites. IP-BASED KVM removes the limitations of traditional AV equipment and brings real-time, accurate and flexible video operation to applications. John Halksworth from Adder Technology believes that it is these benefits that are driving the adoption of standard IP infrastructures for broadcast environments where, traditionally, bespoke technologies have dominated.
THE OUTSIDE BROADCAST An outside broadcast (OB) truck is, essentially, a mini-television studio on wheels, which is able to perform all the functions that a galley control room would. They provide a confined, often pressurised environment that sees staff, including directors, technical directors, editors, operators, producers and audio engineers, performing a variety of tasks. The most important requirements for a smooth functioning OB truck are features such as instant video and USB switching capabilities, reliability, device support and ergonomics. There are myriad video and audio workflows coming into these trucks, and this content needs to be captured, recorded, edited and transmitted. IP-based KVM products enable staff to easily switch between and manage these streams, and give OB operators the ability to control the equipment that performs these tasks. Depending on the size and scale of operations, one OB truck may house one person, or several, and regardless of the number of operators, the same functions must be performed on various computers and rackmounted servers. OB trucks have limited space and minimum equipment requirements. As with static studios, the ergonomic requirements and ability to efficiently control multiple sources from a single input are therefore critical in this setting and are met by a KVM solution that extends and switches video signals without loss of quality or performance. The KVM extender functions in such a way that the operator is not aware of it – it runs efficiently in the background providing the user with realtime extension, HD resolution, a high level of USB compatibility and no lag switching speeds. The true value of KVM in an OB truck can be seen in giving operators the ability to switch between machines with no time lag. In such a fast-paced application, where for example a football match is being broadcast live, it is crucial that the technical director facing the video wall is able to switch between shots, cameras and camera angles, and can do so quickly
GALLERY CONTROL From the OB truck to the gallery control room, IP-based KVM brings much improved levels of flexibility, scalability and comfort to the studio. While there may be more space than in an OB truck, it is still at a premium. The removal of the physical machines from the control room, and the additional heat and noise that is generated by them frees up space and adds comfort to the area. The biggest requirement for the gallery control room is reliability, especially for live broadcasts. In a news bulletin, for example, the editor needs to be able to move effortlessly between shots and content to create a smooth flow. When using a standard IP network to deliver KVM solutions, the reliability of the network is crucial. In the simplest terms IP is everywhere, it is reliable and resilient, and forms an extremely cost-effective infrastructure. The backbone of a control
room’s infrastructure is already based on IP and while the products on the network may be sourced from different vendors, the investment in technology has already been made. This allows operators to leverage their current infrastructure without spending significantly more money. As a result, one major advantage of the wider adoption of IP is cost savings. Instant switching, as with the OB environment, is a major technical feature required in the gallery control room, as is the ability for a system to be able to cope with multiple types of devices. In this environment, touch screens are often incorporated into the system for ease of use and further elimination of the keyboard and mouse.
POST PRODUCTION In the post production environment, IP-based KVM also yields benefits. Whether users are working on film, advertising or television content, the needs of a post suite remain the same. From an operator point of view KVM allows for the physical machines to be removed from the room and relocated to a central server room. Often this has benefits for the machines themselves – server rooms are kept secure and temperature controlled which adds to machine lifespan and performance. It also ensures that no unauthorised access is allowed, which may be an important consideration, especially for film and broadcast clients for whom piracy is a significant concern. The result is extending these computers without loss of quality or functionality, enabling editors to work in a quiet and cool room. KVM also works in this environment because it allows the creation of an edit suite based on specific customer requirements by enabling different clients to seamlessly switch between different resources. Editing suites can be easily configured with little effort, increasing the uptime of each room with no need for technical staff applying patches or making changes. This is especially advantageous when clients bring in their own machines to the studio, as they can be quickly taken to the server room and integrated with the KVM solution, negating the need for connections, cables and technical support. Apart from the requirements of a noiseless system and the ability to share content, post production also focuses on two areas – pixel perfect content and frame rate. When editing content, users must have absolute assurance that the picture on the screen is exactly the picture that was received from the camera and that the extension equipment has not altered or had any effect on the picture quality. The KVM solution also needs to ensure that the different frame rates are supported – that is, editors must be confident that the extension software will support the speed at which they are working and allow them to view the content exactly as it will be seen in the end product. IP-based KVM transforms a screen into a portal in any number of computers with secure access in multiple locations. For the broadcasting industry – be it production, broadcasting or post production – it has a definite role to play, and as such is enjoying a wider adoption with many organisations realising the full benefits of reliability, flexibility and scalability. Visit www.adder.com
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By John Halksworth, Senior Product Manager, Adder Technology
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See the Future with Snell AT THIS YEAR’S IBC, Snell will offer attendees a view into the future of highly efficient broadcast production, showcasing product innovations for live TV, IP routing and playout automation. With new technology offerings including powerful Media Biometrics, configurable switcher control, and next-generation IP routing, the company will demonstrate how broadcasters can boost efficiency, open up entirely new workflows, and add real intelligence to system monitoring. The new XS platform enables software processing in the real-time IP streaming world. XS builds on Snell’s partnership with Cisco to offer a comprehensive, practical vision for IP streaming in production, all based on standard off-the-shelf hardware. The new Quasar XS provides high quality up-and-down conversion using Snell’s motion compensation technology and is the first product in the new XS range. Media Biometrics is unique Snell technology that enables systems to automatically and reliably identify media streams. The applications are enormous. Media Biometrics also offers logo detection, audio track mapping, and signal quality assurance – all of which can be monitored, with error flagging built in as well. The Kahuna Maverik panel offers a flexible switcher interface for every type of studio and mobile programming. Its modular architecture allows complete flexibility in design and enables the panel to be reconfigured on a production-by-production basis. ICE OD, which will be presented in beta form at IBC, is a software-only version of Snell’s ICE Channel-in-a-Box. ICE OD will provide all the essential broadcast channel elements such as video server, master control, graphics and captioning in a scalable, software-only solution, capable of running on generic servers or cloud-hosted virtual machines. Visit www.snellgroup.com
Pebble Beach Systems Announces Multiple Innovations AUTOMATION, content management and integrated channel specialist, Pebble Beach Systems, has announced a series of innovations for the forthcoming IBC exhibition. Pebble Beach Systems’ new suite of Web Client tools will be launched at the show; from straightforward monitoring of a single playlist, up to highly granular remote control of multiple Marina automation systems and Dolphin integrated channel devices across geographically dispersed locations. Created using HTML5 and the latest Web Server technology, these tools are designed to offer high visibility and access to systems of all sizes and architectures on PC or tablet devices using Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer or Firefox browsers. The suite also incorporates a proxy streamer that provides a view of multiple IP streaming outputs within Marina’s web access environment. Designed to alert Marina operators clearly and unambiguously to upcoming problems, Lighthouse is the new dashboard display tool that monitors by exception. It aggregates all lists within the system, displaying a dashboard of the next problem on any list, and enabling early intervention in the case of, for example, validation errors, timing anomalies or missing media alerts.
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Pebble Beach Systems is adding a new plug in to deliver affordable real-time advanced 3D branding. This new ClassX graphics inserter is automatically populated from the Marina playlist, even if late breaking changes are made close to air. At IBC, the plug in will be shown generating Now Next Later graphics with video, as well as tickers, bugs and other animated channel branding devices. Optimised for small scale systems of up to 4 channels, Marina Lite is based on the company’s flagship Marina automation platform which currently controls in excess of 300 channels at leading broadcasters and service providers worldwide. Visit www.pebble.tv
MultiDyne Showing SilverBACK Range
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MultiDyne will showcase its range of fibre-optic-based video and audio transport solutions designed specifically for pro A/V and broadcast applications at IBC2014 At IBC2014, MultiDyne will demonstrate significant new features for its SilverBACK family of camera-mounted fibre transport solutions, including a new operator control panel that offers intuitive, user-friendly controls and displays. The SilverBACK family now includes four models: the flagship SilverBACK-II, the SilverBACK-II-L for multicamera production, the SilverBACK II-4K, and the SilverBACK-II 4K-L, which includes ethernet support and a video option for viewfinder or monitor viewing in the field, enabling camera operators to turn any 4K camera into a true Ultra HD multicamera production. Another key demonstration at IBC2014 will be the MultiDyne LightningSwitch, a 48×48 optical-to-optical routing switch that simplifies the routing of fibre-optic signals within broadcast infrastructures by eliminating the need for fibre patch panels. The MultiDyne SMPTE-HUT universal camera transceiver is now compatible with Sony’s HSC-100/300 family of camcorders and Panasonic’s AK-HC3800 line of professional studio cameras. Designed to increase the transmission distances of HD cameras that can be limited by hybrid copper/fibre cabling, this high-performance transport system is suited to remote broadcasting, sports, shared control rooms, campus facilities, arenas, and stadium applications. At IBC2014 MultiDyne will showcase the recently introduced Dingo. Dingo supports a range of camera signals — 3G HD-SDI, composite video, analogue or digital audio with cross-conversion, intercom, serial data, and Gigabit ethernet — over a single fibre-optic cable. Available in three interoperable formats, Dingo brings flexibility to all aspects of fibre transport, supporting multiple applications including broadcast, A/V, sports, OB, ENG, POV, and multicamera shoots. MultiDyne is now shipping the BullDog, a field fibre transport system. Using the BullDog, professional camera operators can extend the transmission distance of multiple camera signals, including HD-SDI video, audio, intercom, control data, ethernet, GPIOs, tally, and power. In addition to transporting any camera signal over a single fibre cable, the BullDog can transport up to eight HD-SDI signals in any direction.
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Thomson-Broadcast on Display at IBC2014 Show Thomson Broadcast (Stand 8.C35) announced the launch of a new lowpower ultra-compact transmitter range. Available from 20W to 150W RMS, and designed to adapt to any field situation, the low-power range provides dualcast DVB-T/DVB-T2 coverage extension and benefits from multiple options such as a built-in 1+1 configuration. The low-power series is based on the same design and concepts featured in the company’s new line of environmentally-efficient transmitters and benefits from the advanced features and performance gains seen in recent major digital deployments by Thomson Broadcast. The compactness of the low-power range — 1RU up to 80W and 2RU up to 150W — allows broadcasters to achieve valuable savings on infrastructure rental costs. The transmitters are suitable for any MFN or SFN network, and all configurations are available with multiple options including a DVB-S/DVB-S2 receiver, and built-in 1+1 capability, to provide redundancy within the compact form-factor, and without requiring additional modules. Available for rapid deployment in indoor or outdoor locations, the lowpower range is easy to install for a quick plug-and-play solution. The transmitters guarantee consistency of performance through advanced real-time Digital Adaptive Pre-correction to address linear and nonlinear distortions. Visit www.thomson-broadcast.com
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ENENSYS DTT Solutions at IBC AT IBC 2014 ENENSYS will highlight its range of solutions for DTT regionalisation and optimisation. As a key part of ENENSYS’ wider optimisation strategy it has developed a new modular HDc chassis, which increases technology density at transmission sites and allows an efficient and cost-effective modularity. Providing TV-based emergency warnings of dangerous weather events and natural disasters is a primary concern across many countries and regions. ENENSYS has developed a solution – Regional Emergency Warning System (rEWS) – for digital terrestrial (DVB-T and DVB-T2) networks, including those with multiple regions where only one region needs the warning. rEWS avoids the need for special receiver software by using broadcast TV channels to convey the warning message across all TV channels in a region (or nationally) at the same time. ENENSYS’ OneBeam encompasses multiple ENENSYS technology solutions. OneBeam solves the problem of being unable to use the same satellite capacity to deliver services for both DTH (DVB-S/S2) and DTT (DVB-T or T2). Before OneBeam, two separate networks have been required to deliver a content bouquet to DTH and DTT (DVB-T/T2) viewers because receivers for one could not use signals from the other. ENENSYS’ new HDc modular chassis can house up to six modules in 1RU. As well as handling multiple ENENSYS products (ASIIPGuard, T2Edge, T2EdgeDTH, NetMod, etc.) it allows modules to be hot swappable and the option to do the same with power sources.The HDc platform allows roll-out with T2 local adaptation or T2 modulation, with the option to add a DTH combination as a redundancy solution. The latest version of ENENSYS’ ASIGuard switcher technology, ASIIPGuard is a higher density (up to six switchers in one unit), switcher option. Located at the transmitter site, ASIIPGuard analyses transport feed data to ensure the highest quality final output, selecting the best DVB-S/S2 source from either ASI, IP or satellite input. Primarily used in cases where there is a main and back-up feed – for example, where the Multiple Program Transport Stream (MPTS) is delivered over IP with a satellite stream as back-up. Visit www.enensys.com
Jampro Showcasing with DAB Solutions Jampro Antennas, Inc. will respond to the international broadcast market’s romance with Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) by showcasing DAB Combiners, Bandpass Filters, and Mask Filters at IBC2014 in Stand 8.B96. Jampro will also highlight its popular broadband solutions as well as its complete range of antenna solutions. Jampro’s RCCC-DT4-DAB filters and combiners will be showcased at IBC. The units meet all the requirements of the Eureka 147 specification and satisfy individual broadcasters’ requirements. Filters with up to 8 sections in constant impedance and reflective configurations have been supplied in systems requiring stable group delay and rejection characteristics. Jampros’s RF System Series RCED-XXX-DAB Reflective Bandpass Filters are designed to provide superior mask performance for low and medium power DAB transmitters. Passband insertion loss is minimised by the use of high-Q aluminum cavities. Temperature stability is maintained through tight manufacturing techniques and Invar tuning rods. The RCBC-D06-DAB bandpass filter is designed to provide superior performance at an affordable price. Invar tuning rods create temperature stability and the high-Q aluminium cavities provide low passband insertion loss in a compact package. The JVD dipole side-mounted antenna is ideal for DAB Band III and TV broadcasting applications where low wind loadings are required. Designed for vertical polarisation, the antenna’s rugged galvanised and stainless steel construction insures many years of dependable performance, even in the harshest environments. Visit www.jampro.com
Cobalt Introducing New Products to European Market COBALT DIGITAL, manufacturer of 3G/HD/SD-SDI conversion gear for broadcast environments, has revealed plans to roll out a record-breaking number of product launches in Stand 10.B44 at this year’s IBC exhibition. Cobalt Digital will debut the 9970-QS 3G/HD/SD-SDI/CVBS Quint-Split Multi-Image Display Processor. A single processor is capable of autodetecting and displaying up to five independent 3G/HD/SD/Composite inputs and multiple processor cards can be cascaded to provide additional input source capacity. Cobalt also introduces the Quad 3G-SDI 1080p 50/60Hz (UHDTV) to HD 50/60Hz or SD 50/60Hz. The card makes copies of the down converted output TO 3G/SDI/ HDMI, and features a timecode burn-in window and user defined character insertion. The new 9950-EMDE Embedder/De-Embedder provides multiple serial RS-232/422 and GPIO to/from ancillary data insertion and extraction. An IP (RJ-45) I/O option is also available. Designed for 4K applications and high-density base band or ASI distribution, the 9910DA-4Q-RCK is capable of receiving 3G input signals up to 120m on 1694A cable. As a safety feature it will automatically perform a switch over from any of the four inputs, upon loss of signal. Amazing configurability, and loss of signal source switching for peace of mind. Cobalt’s new 9990-TRX-MPEG multi-standard broadcast transcoders target MPEG-2 to MPEG4 AVC and MPEG-4 AVC to MPEG-2, and media conversion to and from ASI and IP. Up to 40x channels of real time transcoding can be accomplished in a 2RU openGear frame. The card offers MPEG-1 Layer II, AAC, and AC-3 audio support. Cobalt is introducing IBC attendees to a standalone high-quality UHDTV downconverter from the Blue Box Group. The BBG-1002-DC-4K Quad 3G-SDI converts 1080p 50/60 (UHDTV) to HD 50/60Hz or SD 50/60Hz and offers simultaneous SDI and HDMI outputs for extended capabilities. The unit can be rack-mounted for 3x paths of downconversion in 1RU. Visit www.cobaltdigital.com
Argosy to Debut New Argosy Equipment Rack ARGOSY, a leading international supplier of HD broadcast cables and studio infrastructure products, will introduce its new range of Argosy equipment racks at IBC2014 (Stand 10.C51), which are designed to simplify installations and maintenance while minimising rollout costs. The new racks are already being used in real-world situations by broadcasters and services providers including Gearhouse Broadcast, who have the racks installed in broadcast facilities around the world covering live sporting events, including those at this summer’s international football championships in Brazil. The new Argosy-designed equipment rack incorporates a plethora of features to support quick and easy installation. Its new open design maximises access to cables making it easy to install. It also provides the flexibility to allow customers to incorporate additional sets of cable trays where intensive cabling is required, and to change the positioning of mounting profiles to allow quick and easy relocation to suit the customers’ individual requirements. The U designation helps partial loading of equipment without the need for measurement and the internal capacity also benefits from improved air circulation and heat dispersion, ideal for compact environments like an outside broadcast vehicle. Visit www.argosycable.com
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ASIA
+ ANZ
MEDIA PRODUCTION + MANAGEMENT + DELIVERY
C+T AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND FEATURES + DEADLINES 2014 In Every Issue of C+T ANZ magazine: Acquisition, News Operations, Sportscasting, Post-Production & VFX, Media in the Cloud, Digital Asset Management, Audio, Radio, Transmission & Delivery, Signal Distribution, Command & Control – Automation, Monitoring, Systems Management. ISSUE
EDITORIAL + AD DEADLINES
PUBLICATION DATE
PRODUCT ROUND-UP
SHOW COVERAGE
Jan – Feb
Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork:
20-01-14 28-01-14 04-02-14
2nd Week February
+H bbTV +M ulti-screen Delivery +S ocial Media +C hannel-in-a-Box Solutions
+P review: Australian Broadcasting Digital Media Summit (Feb 24-25)
Mar-April
Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork:
03-03-14 10-03-14 17-03-14
4th Week March
+D igital Asset Management Solutions
+P review: NABshow14 (April 5 – 10)
May-June
Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork:
29-04-14 05-05-14 12-05-14
3rd Week May
+L oudness Solutions +C loud Solutions
+P review: BroadcastAsia2014 (June 17-20)
July-Aug
Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork:
23-06-14 30-06-14 07-07-14
3rd Week July
K Solutions +4 +S ports Production Solutions
Sept-Oct
Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork:
11-08-14 18-08-14 25-08-14
1st Week September
igital Media Expo (Melbourne, +D July 23-24) +A BE 2014 – Australian Broadcast Exhibition (Aug 5-7) +P review: IBC 11–16 September
Nov-Dec
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29-09-14 06-10-14 13-10-14
3rd Week October
+E NG Systems +E ncoding, Transcoding Solutions +O TT/IPTV Solutions
+ I BC Review
C+T ASIA FEATURES + DEADLINES 2014 In Every Issue of C+T Asia magazine: Acquisition, News Operations, Sportscasting, Post-Production & VFX, Media in the Cloud, Digital Asset Management, Audio, Radio, Transmission, Signal Distribution, Command & Control – Automation, Monitoring, Systems Management ISSUE
EDITORIAL + AD DEADLINES
Mar-April
PUBLICATION DATE
PRODUCT ROUND-UP
SHOW COVERAGE
Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork: Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork:
03-02-14 10-02-14 17-02-14 12-05-14 19-05-14 26-05-14
Last Week February
+ HDTV & Digital Transition Solutions
+P review: ABU Digital Broadcast Symposium (Mar 4-7) +P review: NABshow14 (April 5 – 10)
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+C hannel-in-a-Box Solutions
+P review: BroadcastAsia2014 (June 17-20)
July-Aug
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23-06-14 30-06-14 07-07-14
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+ Loudness Solutions +C loud Solutions
+P review: BIRTV (Aug 27-30)
Sept-Oct
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04-08-14 11-08-14 18-08-14
Last Week August
+ Digital Asset Management Solutions
+P review: IBC 11 – 16 September
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29-09-14 06-10-14 13-10-14
3rd Week October
+ OTT/IPTV/HbbTV Solutions + Multi-screen Delivery + Social Media
+P review: CASBAA +P review: InterBEE
May-June
PUBLISHING + ADVERTISING CONTACTS PUBLISHER: PHIL SANDBERG papers@broadcastpapers.com or +61-2-9211 8205.
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CO-FOUNDER: LUCY SALMON production@broadcastpapers.com or +61-2-9211 8205.
For artwork specifications visit www.content-technology.com
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RAI Amsterdam Conference 11-15 September | Exhibition 12-16 September
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Experience IBC
Your essential guide to the current and future direction of the electronic media and entertainment industry. IBC Conference The only peer-reviewed non-commercial conference for the global electronic media and entertainment industry. Over 300 of the highest calibre international speakers and industry thought-leaders provide visionary keynote sessions, panel discussions and master classes. IBC Content Everywhere Europe A unique event that covers rich media production, devices, apps, digital marketing, social media, content personalisation, big data, cloud services, second screens, investment and much more. Features include the Hub in Hall 14, IBC Cloud Solutions and IBC Workflow Solutions. IBC Awards A high-profile ceremony that celebrates excellence throughout the industry. Awards include the International Honour for Excellence, the Innovation Awards, the Exhibition Design Awards and the Best Conference Paper Award.
www.ibc.org IBC, Third Floor, 10 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1BR, UK t. +44 (0) 20 7832 4100 f. +44 (0) 20 7832 4130 e. info@ibc.org
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IBC Rising Stars An innovative programme of curated special events and mentoring aimed at young professionals taking their first steps in the industry. IBC Leaders’ Summit An exclusive, invitation-only event providing toplevel discussion of strategic issues and powerful networking opportunities for the industry’s most influential and visionary people. Future Zone Featuring the very latest developments from corporate and academic R&D labs around the world, the Future Zone is one of the first places to explore the new technologies that could go on to shape the industry in forthcoming years. IBC Big Screen Experience A 1,700-seat cinema equipped with the very latest in state-of-the-art projection and audio technology, hosting free to attend conference sessions, Big Screen movies and exhibitor product demonstrations.
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