Editor Javier de Martín editor@tmbroadcast.com Editor in chief Jesús Carrillo director@tmbroadcast.com Key account manager Cristina Feduchi international@tmbroadcast.com Creative Direction Mercedes González design@tmbroadcast.com Editorial staff press@tmbroadcast.com Administration Laura de Diego Marga Quevedo administration@tmbroadcast.com
Summary
04
Editorial
06 56
IBC Preview Info
Ross Video Present and Future Interview with David Ross
110 TM Broadcast International #37 September 2016
TM Broadcast International is a magazine published by Daró Media Group SL Centro Empresarial Tartessos Calle Pollensa 2, oficina 1 28290 Las Rozas (Madrid), Spain Phone +34 91 640 46 43
Published in Spain
PAN SHOT
114
106
Simplifying the user experience Test Zone:
Sony PXW-Z150
Editorial
The transition to IP is one of the biggest challenges facing broadcasters and media companies today, with fears over limited inter-working and a lack of recognised standards the most common brake on progress. IBC is set to demonstrate practical and proven interoperability with an exciting new demonstration area launching at this year’s show. The IBC IP Interoperability Zone is presented for the first time this year with the cooperation of AIMS and the IABM. The zone brings to life the work of the JT-NM (the Joint Task Force on Networked Media: a combined initiative of AMWA, EBU, SMPTE and VSF) and the AES on a common roadmap for IP interoperability. Central to the IBC Feature Area will be a live production studio, based on the technologies of the JT-NM roadmap that Belgian broadcaster VRT has been using daily on-air all this summer as part of the LiveIP Project: a collaboration between VRT, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and LiveIP’s twelve technology partners. The new initiative sees a 150 square metres area in Hall 8 given over to the zone. With dedicated demonstrations showcasing interoperability and the IP studio at its heart, the zone also provides space for visitors to discuss the benefits and challenges of IP workflows with a large number of diverse vendors, each aligning their efforts to achieve standardization and seamless inter-working. Welcome to the new IP era! TMBi - 4
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
BANGLADESH SPICE FM GOES VIRTUAL WITH LAWO CRYSTALCLEAR It has launched with the claim “we’re gonna change the way you listen to music”, and is changing the way its programming is delivered – using Lawo’s groundbreaking virtual studio technology. futuristic and cool setup, with very few components in studio.” The installation began in early 2016 and was completed in May, allowing the station go begin broadcasting this month. It is a neat and simple setup, but one that still provides full radio facilities.
A lot of thought has gone into Dhaka’s new 96.4 Spice FM radio station. With a highprofile staff recruitment mission undertaken in 2015 and test transmissions made last month, it is bringing a new wave of technology to its studios and a fresh voice to the Bangladesh airwaves. Located on the 13th floor of Dhaka’s MG Tower, the 96.4 Spice FM studios are immediately impressive with their futuristic interior design. This is supported and enabled by the adoption of TMBi - 6
Lawo’s crystalCLEAR virtual mixing. This is no overfunded folly, however, as equipment costs were also very high on the Spice FM agenda. “Price was one of the main concerns,” confirms Boon Siong Tan, Southeast Asia Sales Director at Lawo’s Singapore office. “The crystalCLEAR virtual radio console offers them the best fit for their requirement, both in terms of price and their aim to make the studio design special and unique – it’s a
In the studio, there are just two PC screens – one for the crystalCLEAR virtual console and another one for radio automation. The PC with crystalCLEAR also serves as social media PC and providing the station’s other Internet services. There are four microphones and a headphone amplifier for guests and DJ, and a telephone set for incorporating phone-ins into the programming. With its low profile and high functionality, crystalCLEAR has played perfectly into the Spice FM vision: “We are very satisfied and grateful for the support given to complete the studios with minimum concerns over operation, technical setup and implementation,” the station says.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
FANTASY STUDIOS CHOOSES AVID FOR ITS NEWLY RELAUNCHED MIX THEATRE Avid® announced that world-renowned recording facility, Fantasy Studios, has
chosen the Avid Pro Tools® | S6 modular control surface for its newly revived and relaunched mixing theatre, Fantasy Film Center. Powered by the Avid MediaCentral™ Platform, the addition to the state-of-the-art mix theatre will deliver more productive and elegant workflows for mixing film, television and video game productions. Established in 1981 and located at the Zaentz Media Center in Berkley, California, Fantasy Film Center was originally designed by Jeff Cooper, one of the world’s most sought-after screening room designers, whose clients range from major studios such as MGM, Dreamworks and NBCUniversal, to filmmakers like George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola. More than 200 films have been mixed there, including Amadeus, The English Patient, Blue Velvet and Boogie Nights. TMBi - 8
Fantasy Studios has since expanded the types of projects it takes on and the usage of its rooms, providing services for film, video, photo shoots, live streaming, conferences, and special events. It has recently refurbished the 50-seat, 1,820-square-foot Fantasy Film Center with state-of-theart technology, while preserving the pristine sound and feel of the original. As an Avid customer since 1999 that has equipped all of its studios with Pro Tools | HDX, Fantasy Studios selected Pro Tools | S6 as the theater’s mixing console. “Pro Tools | S6 marks a new level of communication between a console and its operator,” said Fantasy Studios’ Director, Jeffrey Wood. “The amount of visual information and control is beautiful and very well thought out. This amounts to a much more productive and elegant workflow, allowing the engineer more speed and
less fatigue. Its modular integration allows us to expand in just a few minutes to accommodate different kinds of projects.” The Pro Tools | S6 modular control surface leverages the best of the industry-leading ICON and System 5 product families, providing superior ergonomics and intelligent studio control. Built on proven technology, it enables top audio professionals to complete and deliver the best sounding mixes possible— faster. “Pro Tools | S6 perfectly complements the sound clarity and build quality of the Fantasy Film Center, enabling Fantasy Studios to uphold its industry-leading heritage and reputation,” said Jeff Rosica, Senior Vice President, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at Avid. “With its modular design, Pro Tools | S6 enables Fantasy Studios to quickly scale to meet the demands of any kind of film, television or video game production, while delivering efficient workflows for fast precision mixing.”
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
CALREC AUDIO'S SUMMA GETS TOP GRADES AT PENN STATE'S WPSU PBS affiliate WPSU at Penn State University has gone live with a brand-new Calrec Audio Summa digital mixing console. The installation is the realisation of several years of research and planning by WPSU Facilities Manager Kerry Trout, and the Summa is the latest link in WPSU's ongoing drive to upgrade and modernise its broadcasting facility. TMBi - 10
"I became familiar with Calrec products 15 years ago, and I've always been impressed with the design, flexibility, and sheer power of Calrec consoles. But it's their fantastic sound quality that really puts them head and shoulders above anything else on the market," Trout said. "It was a great day when Calrec began working directly with educational institutions, which allowed us
to bring it into our operation." Under license by Penn State University and based in University Park, Pennsylvania, WPSU is a PBS broadcast station that has a relationship with the Penn State College of Communications. WPSU broadcasts the full PBS programming lineup and also produces a rich array of original programming for
PA N S H O T
internet distribution as well as to a wide terrestrial swath of central Pennsylvania communities. Through its partnership with Penn State, WPSU also offers valuable hands-on experience for Penn State broadcast students, giving them active roles in production and allowing them to work side-by-side with WPSU professionals in a live broadcast environment. "One great thing about the Summa is that it gives us all of the power and sound of the bigger consoles but in a compact and modular footprint," Trout said. "Also, we know that the Calrec Summa will last at least twice as long as any other console, with the outstanding support we know we can expect from the Calrec team. "Plus, the Summa is extremely intuitive and easy to use, which will give students a powerful tool for learning signal flow, processing, and audio design." WPSU went live in late May with the new Summa, which is linked into the network's five studio spaces and serves as the core mixing console for the full live production lineup. With the start of the fall term in September, students will have the opportunity to learn the Summa. "At Calrec Audio, a big part of our mission is to help foster and encourage future broadcast professionals," said Calrec Sales Manager Helen Carr. "Therefore, it's an honour to provide a Summa console for WPSU, which is not only a premiere PBS affiliate but also a first-class training ground for Penn State broadcast students. "Like public TV stations everywhere, WPSU is providing an outstanding lineup of original, local programming on a limited budget. It's precisely the type of environment for which we designed the Summa, a compact and affordable audiomixing solution that packs all of the power of our larger desks."
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
GRACE CHURCH OF WOOSTER EXPANDS ITS REACH IN HD WITH HITACHI Z-HD5000 CAMERAS For churches around the globe, video has become an integral aspect of connecting with their congregants, providing a powerful medium to share their message while enabling them to expand beyond their walls. When 75year-old Grace Church of Wooster, Ohio launched its first video initiatives last year, it selected Z-HD5000 HDTV cameras from Hitachi Kokusai Electric America Ltd. (Hitachi Kokusai) to capture live services and events. Grace Church offers more than 2000 weekly attendees a choice of worship styles, with two venues in the same building. The ‘contemporary’ venue serves the church’s fastest-growing segment and hosts a live speaker in a transformed gymnasium. Two HITACHI Z-HD5000 cameras support live image magnification on large screens within this setting, and provide video and audio feeds of the sermons for near-live distribution to the separate ‘traditional’ auditorium. In addition to Sunday services, the cameras are used for special events and activities including the Grace Kids Vacation Bible School. Online clips of the Hitachi-captured services are also made available on the church’s website. The dynamic nature of the church’s contemporary venue TMBi - 12
makes the simple setup and robust durability of the cameras important. “Since the venue is used as a gym, we need to set the equipment up and then take it all down again each Sunday,” explained Boatner. “The ZHD5000’s are small and portable enough that they’re easy for our volunteers to quickly set up and tear down, and they have been incredibly reliable in withstanding our weekly transformations.” The Z-HD5000’s image controls enable Boatner to quickly adjust to the varying lighting conditions of the frequent redeployments, while the video quality produced by the cameras’ 2/3” sensors provides impressive results. “The environment changes a lot week-to-week, but we can consistently get a great-
looking picture, and most viewers can’t tell we’re in a gym rather than a dedicated space,” he continued. “We’re completely pleased with the quality.” Purchased through systems integrator CCI Solutions, the cameras are equipped with Fujinon lenses and connected to HITACHI CUHD500 camera control units (CCUs) and RU-1000 control panels. An AMX network video recorder enables the live video feeds of the sermons to be delayed very slightly before being shown in the traditional auditorium, letting Grace Church deliver a unified message without interfering with the timing of live music performances in the second venue.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
SUITCASE TV OPENS SINGAPORE HUB
THE MISES INSTITUTE CHOOSE THE QUICKLINK TX
In response to growing global demand, Suitcase TV Ltd has opened a new APAC sales and service hub in Singapore. The hub is the new focal point for Suitcase TV’s activities in the region and will be led by James Ng. Suitcase TV commercial director Fraser Jardine said, “Even in the internet age, there is nothing better than feet on the ground and local knowledge. We have been aware for some time that a physical presence was necessary, and thanks to a long and productive professional relationship with James, I am delighted to have the right person for the job.” Ng joins Suitcase TV as head of sales APAC with 27 years of experience in broadcast, postproduction and high-end multimedia productions. He started his career producing multiprojector presentations and quickly moved into editorial positions where he worked on a wide gamut of systems from Avid’s Media Composer to Apple’s Final Cut Pro. As one of the first certified Final Cut Pro trainers in Asia, Ng was a major contributor to its widespread adoption in the Asia-Pacific region. Ng has worked on feature films as sound designer and post production supervisor. Having managed Technical Media Services, a system integration company, for the last 17 years, Ng brings with him a wealth of experience in system design, high speed storage architecture, and converged workflow environment.
TMBi - 14
In support of ChyronHego's continued global growth, both organically and through acquisitions, the company today announced the appointment of Neil Foster as chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Foster brings to ChyronHego more than 25 years of executive experience in various strategic, operational, financial, and corporate development roles at the nexus of media, technology, and entertainment. Prior to joining ChyronHego, he served as executive vice president, operations, for Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), the $2 billion global developer and publisher of console video games. Previously, Foster held a number of roles in the recorded music business, including executive vice president, finance and operations, for the Columbia/Epic Label Group of Sony Music Entertainment, and co-president of Sony Music Entertainment Canada. Foster's early career included positions at McKinsey & Company Inc. and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Chartered Accountant accreditation from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, and a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Toronto. Foster also currently serves on the board of directors of SNAP Interactive Inc. (OTCQB: STVI), a developer and operator of dating software applications for social networking websites and mobile platforms.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
BLUEFISH444 ANNOUNCES NEW KRONOS RANGE OF VIDEO, AUDIO, DATA I/O CARDS Bluefish444 introduces the KRONOS range of video and audio I/O cards.The new line extends the feature set of Bluefish444’s Epoch video cards, which support up to 4K 60 frame per second workflows. KRONOS is developed for additional workflows requiring Ultra HD up to 8K, high frame rates up to 120fps, high dynamic range and video over IP. With these capabilities, Bluefish444 cards are developed to support all areas of TV and feature film production, post, display and restoration, in addition to virtual reality and augmented reality. For use in theme parks, music concerts, sporting and outdoor events, the KRONOS range is also recommended for single and multi-card support enabling 8K/4K/2K imagery presented across one or more screens or projectors. KRONOS adds video processing technologies including resolution scaling, video interlace and deinterlace; hardware CODEC support, SDI to IP and IP to SDI conversion, and continues to offer the 12-bit colour space conversion and low-latency capabilities of Epoch. Real-time graphics systems will benefit from the KRONOS range’s ability to achieve the highest level of quality, reliability and low latency TMBi - 16
whilst adding multiple streams of 4K Ultra HD and high frame rate video I/O demanded by sports and live event coverage. HDMI 2.0 I/O, additional SMPTE 2022 IP standards and emerging IP standards are earmarked for future support via firmware update. KRONOS will offer the choice of SDI I/O connectivity with the KRONOS ēlektron featuring eight high density BNC connectors capable of SD/HD/3G SDI. Each HD BNC connector is fully bidirectional enabling numerous configuration options including eight input, eight output, or a mixture of SDI input and output connections. The KRONOS optikós offers future proofing connectivity with three SFP+ cages in addition to two HD BNC connectors for SD/HD/3G SDI I/O. The SFP+ cages on KRONOS optikós provide limitless connectivity options exposing greater than 3G
SDI, IP connectivity across 10Gb Ethernet, and flexibility to choose from numerous physical interfaces. All KRONOS cards will have an 8 lane Gen 3 PCIe interface to achieve the fastest full duplex DMA. KRONOS will provide access to high bandwidth UHD, high frame rate and high dynamic range video IO and processing, across traditional SDI and also emerging IP standards such as SMPTE 2022. Supported by Bluefish444’s cross platform unified driver and API, the KRONOS range is set to become the highest quality, most reliable solution for high bandwidth multichannel video, audio and data I/O solution available in the industry. The KRONOS range will be available in Q4 2016 with pricing announced then. Bluefish444 will demonstrate the KRONOS range at IBC 2016 in Stand 7.J07.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
GENE SUDDUTH JOINS OCTOPUS NEWSROOM AS NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR FOR NORTH AMERICA OCTOPUS Newsroom announces a major addition to its management team with the appointment of Gene Sudduth as National Sales Director for North America. He joins from Chyron, latterly ChyronHego, after 29 years in account management roles. Based in Tyler, he reports to OCTOPUS Newsroom Sales Director Gabriel Janko. "Gene is a highly experienced sales manager with a distinguished broadcast industry background plus an excellent knowledge of the US and Canadian broadcast markets," comments OCTOPUS Newsroom founder and CEO Petr Stokuč. "His combination of sales skills and in-depth technical knowledge make him a very welcome addition to the company as well expanding our global reach." Gene began his broadcast industry career in 1975 as a switching systems technician, and subsequently joined Ampex Corporation where he advanced to Associate Product Manager. He later joined Digital Services Corporation as Regional Sales Manager before joining Chyron in 1987, advancing to Senior Account Manager. TMBi - 18
GATESAIR WELCOMES NEVILLE CUMMING AS DIRECTOR OF KEY ACCOUNTS GatesAir announces the return of former Harris Broadcast Strategic Sales Manager, Neville Cumming, as director of key accounts. Neville comes to GatesAir to support broadcast groups across the United States at a time when the over-the-air TV landscape is undergoing substantial transformation, including the multiyear spectrum repack and an expected transition to the next-generation ATSC 3.0 digital TV broadcast standard. Neville joins the company immediately and reports to Joseph Mack, vice president of sales, Americas. Neville’s rich experience in television includes a lengthy broadcast engineering stint with the BBC before transitioning to influential positions with leading industry manufacturers. This includes more than one decade with Harris Corporation, where he held strategic sales management roles with its microwave and broadcast communications divisions. Upon the creation of Imagine Communications and GatesAir following the divesture of Harris Corporation’s broadcast division, Neville remained with the Imagine Communications team to assist with transitioning customers to IP-based workflows. Neville’s years of expertise in over-the-air television further strengthens GatesAir’s alreadyrobust sales and service team, ensuring that GatesAir customers have the industry’s best resources available to guide them through a long period of uncertainty and challenging transitions. Neville notes that timelines will be the greatest challenge associated with the repack, and he will focus on helping customers make plans, define goals and execute schedules as the current UHF bidding process continues.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
AJA UPDATED HI5-FIBER MINI-CONVERTER
AJA Video Systems announced that its updated Hi5-Fiber Mini-Converter with 3G-SDI support for high frame rate needs is now shipping. AJA has also released Mini-Config control software v2.17.0, which adds support for the redesigned Hi5-Fiber, in addition to feature enhancements for the Hi5-4K, Hi5-4K-Plus, LUTbox, ROI, ROI-DVI, ROIHDMI, ROI-DP, and Hi5-3D Mini-Converters. Hi5-Fiber converts 3G-SDI over single mode optical Fiber to HDMI, with up to 8channel embedded audio TMBi - 20
supported in the HDMI output. It includes support for up to 16 channels of SDI embedded audio on input, a 2-channel RCA style audio output, and a USB port for configuration and status reporting when using AJA Mini-Config software. The Hi5-Fiber’s small form factor enables it to easily fit onto the back of a standard monitor and extends signal reach to HDMI displays up to 10km from the source. It also comes with a 5-year warranty. Hi5-Fiber is available now through AJA’s worldwide
reseller network at a US MSRP of $695. Hi5-Fiber ships with a power supply and USB 2 cable. For more information, visit: https://www.aja.com/en/pro ducts/mini-converters/hi5fiber To download the latest MiniConfig v2.17.0 software, visit https://www.aja.com/en/cate gory/miniconverters#support and select the appropriate MiniConverter from the list. The Mini-Config software can be found in the Software section of the support page for each Mini-Converter.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
STREAMGUYS AND ENCO STRIKE PARTNERSHIP podcasts and side channels via its SGrecast software. Using SGrecast, operators can also easily convert live streams into podcasts and launch new streams within DAD or Visual Radio.
StreamGuys and ENCO have entered into a partnership focused on tightening automation and streaming workflows, while at once enriching the business opportunities and technical capacities from production to delivery. With interoperability and monetization as key focal points, the two innovators will empower broadcasters with a single solution that integrates more flexible advertising options, powerful video resources and virtualized platforms in the cloud that minimize hardware and operating costs. StreamGuys will host live streaming, podcasting and monetization services among other options. ENCO will deliver multichannel audio, video and metadata from its DAD radio automation, MOM TV automation and Visual Radio systems to StreamGuys’ cloud-based CDN architecture. The two companies will actively promote each other’s products and services in TMBi - 22
ongoing sales initiatives aimed at simplifying deployments with complete, integrated solutions. “ENCO is a juggernaut in broadcasting, and their services and corporate culture overlap well with what we offer and how we operate at StreamGuys,” said Kiriki Delany, president, StreamGuys. Delany notes that StreamGuys’ integration with ENCO automation solutions provides customers with an end-to-end broadcast solution including terrestrial and Internet components. For example, the StreamGuys and ENCO integration provides playout and monetization services – including ad insertion options and metadata triggering – in lockstep, underscoring interoperability benefits. Elsewhere, StreamGuys will provide multi-format encoding to deliver ENCO program content to web, mobile and OTT devices; and support creation and delivery of
Ken Frommert, general manager of ENCO, states that a key goal of the partnership is to help terrestrial broadcasters easily extend their over-the-air signal to audiences that increasingly consume radio and TV via fixed and mobile streaming. Furthermore, StreamGuys’ ability to virtualize all of these services in the cloud – including ENCO automation workflows – will keep costs and complexity low for broadcasters. ENCO will be available to discuss the business and technical benefits of the partnership at the forthcoming IBC2016 show, taking place September 9-13 at the RAI Convention Center in Amsterdam. ENCO will exhibit at Stand 8.A59. Additionally, StreamGuys representatives will join ENCO at The Radio Show, taking place September 2123 at the Omni Nashville Hotel, to discuss the partnership. ENCO exhibits at Booth 19.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
IMAGINE COMMUNICATIONS RECORDS MILESTONE IP-BASED CUSTOMER DEPLOYMENT The company’s IP-based solutions stretch across its playout and networking portfolios and include the Platinum IP3™ router, Selenio MCP™, Versio™ playout, the recently introduced EPIC™ Multiviewer and the Magellan™ SDN Orchestrator, the company’s software-defined control system for hybrid SDI-IP environments. “This important milestone marks how far we have come since unveiling our vision at IBC2013 for a software-based technology transformation of the media and entertainment industry,” said Charlie Vogt, CEO of Imagine Communications. “That vision is now reality. Our customers are increasingly recognizing that evolving business models, fueled by disruptive shifts in the way video is TMBi - 24
being consumed, require transformative change to gain the benefits of revenue growth, network flexibly, scale, cost-efficiency and a future-proof environment.” In total, Imagine Communications next-gen deployments now account for more than 50 IP-based channels and over 3,000 live production streams. Live production companies have been particularly aggressive in leveraging the benefits of next-generation technologies to expand the flexibility of their outside broadcast vehicles, accelerate the adoption of Ultra High Definition (UHD) and future proof their operations against the necessity of making wholesale infrastructure replacements with each introduction of new
technologies and procedures. Imagine Communications has been at the center of this activity, publicly unveiling deployments in South America, North America and Europe in recent months. The deployment milestone is also evidence of the success of industry efforts to overcome lingering skepticism of IP’s suitability to deliver the reliability, robustness and precision timing that broadcast environments demand. Those efforts, aided by contributions from Imagine Communications, include the industry-wide promotion of open standards for the transport of media assets over IP-based infrastructures, as well as solutions based on those standards.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
SKY DEUTSCHLAND BRINGS BUNDESLIGA TO LIFE WITH AR PITCH-SIDE GRAPHICS USING NCAM TECHNOLOGY Ncam has announced that Sky Deutschland will be using Ncam’s unique real-time camera tracking technology to generate augmented reality graphics in support of its live coverage of the German Bundesliga football championship for a second time this coming season. Sky recently announced that it has signed a new fouryear extension to its Bundesliga rights package, starting with the 2017/2018 season. The agreement will see Sky broadcast 572 live matches per year from the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, once again relying on Ncam’s augmented reality solution to generate powerful studio and pitch-side graphics. Last season the Sky Sports and Sky Sports News production department of the German media company was solely responsible for providing the coverage of 612 Bundesliga matches and used Ncam’s camera tracking technology to bring a ‘wow’ factor to their audience. The broadcaster faced the major challenge of having to generate coverage from pitch level instead of working with a dedicated Bundesliga studio. “This way of working limits the introduction of new technologies, of course,” explained Alessandro Reitano, VP Sports Production at Sky TMBi - 26
Deutschland. “However, Sky Deutschland was able to fix the Ncam device onto the Steadicam camera stabiliser mount, to bring our Bundesliga coverage to the next level.” Ncam’s camera-agnositc lightweight sensor bar attaches to virtually any type of camera to track the camera movements using real objects in real time, allowing the camera to move freely in all locations while generating a continuous stream of extremely precise positional and rotational information to feed Sky Deutschland’s Vizrt graphics engine. “We really appreciate Ncam’s strong interface with our Vizrt graphics environment and its easy integration into our graphics workflow,” continued Reitano. “We can now use the Ncam system not only on
Steadicam, but on other types of camera systems, which retains the same level of workflow integration.” Ncam was put to use on Sky Deutschalnd’s Match of the Week coverage, particularly during the pre half-time and post match show, adding an extra layer of engaging visuals to support the broadcaster’s premium editorial coverage of the matches. Ncam’s multi-award winning patented technology is in use by some of the biggest names in sports, including the UEFA Champions League (BT Sport), NFC Championship Game (Fox Sports), Monday Night Football (ESPN), X Games (ESPN), Bundesliga (Sky Deutschland) FIFA World Cup 2014 (SWR & ZDF), Super Bowl XLVIII (Fox Sports), Daytona (Fox Sports).
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
BANNISTER LAKE SOFTWARE INTRODUCES SUPER TICKER COMMUNITY FOR PUBLIC SUBMISSION OF BROADCAST DATA Bannister Lake Software announced Super Ticker Community, a public-use variant of the company’s highly-regarded Super Ticker data aggregation solution for broadcasting and information display. Complementing Super Ticker’s proven ease and efficiency in managing automated data feeds from premium third-party sources, the cloud-based Super Ticker Community provides a publicly-accessible portal for the submission of information such as school closings, special events, local sports scores, public interest announcements and more. Bannister Lake’s Super Ticker software is used by a multitude of top-tier broadcasters and media companies to aggregate, manage and moderate data feeds from such eminent providers as The Associated Press (AP), Stats Inc., the U.S. National Weather Service, Twitter, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) and many more. Adding Super Ticker Community gives existing Super Ticker customers a rich new source of data from a potentially vast array of public contributors. “Super Ticker customers have long enjoyed its many advantages in aggregating and combining automated, external feeds with their own original content,” said Georg Hentsch, president, Bannister Lake. Like the flagship Super Ticker, Super Ticker Community offers an array of powerful features including an intuitive, web-based interface; Content Groups to partition and restrict content access; the BLADE RESTful web API for custom integration; and dynamic fields for complete flexibility in supporting any type of data. A shared, multi-tenant Super Ticker Community cloud instance is available for
free use by current Super Ticker customers with active maintenance agreements, and allows publicly-submitted data to be accessed via the BLADE interface. Dedicated Super Ticker Community instances can be purchased on a monthly or yearly subscription basis, providing complete user administration and Content Group management functionality while enabling Community data to be synchronized directly to existing Super Ticker deployments. Extending its value beyond the Super Ticker user base, new customers can also purchase dedicated Super Ticker Community subscriptions for standalone use, retrieving data through the BLADE interface as a public information aggregation portal for websites, character generators and digital signage. Super Ticker Community, Super Ticker and other Bannister Lake Software solutions will be highlighted at the upcoming IBC2016 Conference and Exhibition, taking place September 9-13 in Amsterdam. Bannister Lake will exhibit at IBC2016 with partners including BroadStream Solutions (stand #8.B35) and Imagine Communications (stand #4.A01).
TMBi - 28
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
14 JULY CELEBRATION WITH SOUND FROM LAWO recorded music that accompanied the event’s closing firework display. This setup provided easy networking and sharing of all resources and busses between all of the consoles. On stage, another 40-fader mc²36 mixing console was also connected to the Nova37 via a RAVENNA to handle the performers’ monitoring.
On July 14, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, more than 400,000 spectators celebrated in Paris “Bastille Day”, the National Holiday in France, marking the beginning of the modern French nation. And to Lawo, it was a further chance to demonstrate the power of their latest live and broadcast technologies. Having mixed classical music and show tunes in 2015, this year’s Bastille Day celebration programme opened and closed with the same pieces – ‘The Damnation of Faust’ by French composer Hector Berlioz and the French National Anthem – but was a more conventional performance for the 250 musicians of the National Orchestra of France and the Radio France Choir, featuring French composers Bizet, TMBi - 30
Ravel and Saint-Saëns, as well as Mozart, Verdi and Beethoven. Conducted by Daniele Gatti and featuring the vocal talents of Natalie Dessay, Anna Netrebko, Olga Peretyatko, Elîna Garanèa, Piotr Beczala, Juan Diego Flórez and Laurent Naouri, the music was relayed to TV viewers and radio listeners in France and beyond via two front-of-house Lawo mc²36 mixing consoles – one handling the orchestra, and the other the choirs and opera singers – and two Lawo DALLIS I/O systems serving as stageboxes. These were linked via RAVENNA to Lawo’s latest router, the Nova37. A small additional Yamaha DM1000 console was connected via MADI for PA announcements and the pre-
“A 24-fader mc²36 was set up for mixing the choirs and opera singers and there was a 40-fader desk for the orchestra. Both Lawo consoles plus the Yamaha console, all of the DALLIS I/O, and the audio recorders were connected to our new plug-and-play Nova router,” explains Hervé de Caro, Lawo’s Live Sound Specialist. “The mc²36 features a very intuitive configuration page for setting up and managing the rights within the network, controlling the preamps and feeding the different outputs and recorders.” With smaller audio networks in its sights, Nova37 connects mixing consoles and I/O systems via RAVENNA/AES67 or MADI via up to 1 536 x 1 536 crosspoints. Its plug-and-play operation means that an audio network is operational in moments – and running silently, thanks to noiseless cooling fans. Network user rights are managed directly from the console’s touchscreen using Lawo’s
SEP
PA N S H O T
one-touch rights management system. Standard network presets are immediately available, but the router configuration can be tailored to a specific installation’s requirements. With eight RAVENNA/AES67 ports (RJ45 or optical via SFP) and eight MADI ports (optical via SFP), providing extensive connectivity, the use of redundant power supplies ensures reliability in critical applications. “The Nova37 was configured to provide up to 32 busses exchanged between
consoles, so the premix of the choirs, the ‘spare’ mix from the OB van and the presenter console were assigned directly from the mc²36 consoles,” Hervé de Caro comments. “In combination with the mc²Compact I/O and mc²36, the Nova37 is a very smart package. You connect your consoles and I/O systems via RAVENNA/AES67 or MADI, and the audio network is up and running with immediate access to all sources.” The RAVENNA-based ‘allin-one’ mc²36 mixing console also proved its flexibility at the Bastille Day celebration,
2016
meeting all of the demands of broadcast and live duties, alongside its reliability, high audio quality, and high channel capacity. Having begun the day with a flypast from the French air force’s Alpha Jets, the day closed with the firework display and accompanying music – watched and heard across the nation, thanks to Lawo and the Bastille Day sound team. “The show went very well. The sound engineers were very impressed by the sound and the tool-set given by the processing of the channels,” says Hervé de Caro.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
GLOBOSAT GIVES ITSELF A RIO HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE WITH VIZRT Brazil’s largest multichannel cable and satellite TV service, Globosat, is producing all of its coverage from Rio this summer using broadcast graphics, automation, sports analysis and media asset management tools from Vizrt, a leading provider of story production tools for the digital media industry Typically producing an average of 70 different live sports events each weekend, Globosat has expanded its operation this summer with 13 temporary channels dedicated to covering sports events from the summer Games. Each channel is running entirely on a Viz Opus control-room-in-a-box system which manages live sources, video, graphics, audio and commercial break content. Viz Opus has been integrated with Globosat’s traffic system, IBMS, to manage content for the commercial breaks, using Vizrt’s Showmaker rundown management tool for Viz Opus to organize and play out the content through the Viz Opus system. At the same time, Showmaker is also exporting and updating the as run commercial breaks list in Globosat’s traffic system. In 2015, the broadcaster installed Viz Mosart studio automation systems in all 12 production control rooms at TMBi - 32
its permanent Rio de Janeirobased production center. All are currently being used to produce live coverage of the Games and feature real-time graphics and video controlled by the Viz Trio playlist controller which is played through Viz Engine. “We needed a fast and efficient way to easily manage the massive amount of content coming in from the
Games. This will include video, audio, data and multiple live feeds for the 8 of the 16 dedicated channels,” said Mr. Lourenço Carvano, Engineering Director of Globosat. “We’re very confident in Viz Mosart’s ability to manage our existing control rooms, while using Viz Opus allows us to use minimal staffing to maintain a consistent graphics design across all of our additional
channels, simultaneously feeding live video streams with local audio and adding custom commercial breaks from a single, cost-effective solution.”
Video management for post-event analysis With such an in-depth archive of programming, Globosat uses Vizrt’s enterprise-level Media Asset Management (MAM) system Viz One to manage its extensive amount of content. For the summer Games, Globosat is using Viz One to manage a huge amount of content for use in its analysis shows. The production teams are using the system throughout production for ingest, cataloging, archiving and editing. Viz One includes powerful logging capabilities which let users enrich metadata by adding new markers, keywords, annotations and scene descriptors. All of this functionality lets Globosat streamline the workflow and helps editors, producers and journalists find the right files as quickly as possible. All the video content from Viz One is being played live on air through the same Viz Engine video servers that will be outputting graphics from the control room.
Enriched content with virtual graphics To further enhance Globosat’s Games programming, augmented reality (AR) graphics systems have been implemented into the broadcaster’s studio on location in Rio. The AR graphics, powered by Viz Virtual Studio, feature scoreboards, explainer graphics and several other designs to help presenters illustrate postevent analysis. “For such important cultural events like these Games, audience enrichment is paramount,” said Petter Ole Jakobsen, Vizrt CTO. “In order to deliver this to its viewers watching the Games in their home country in Brazil, Globosat has created an extremely powerful, but very efficient workflow using the strengths of each of our tools.”
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
TRICASTER® ADVANCED EDITION AND FACEBOOK LIVE ENABLE TURKISH BROADCASTER TRT WORLD TO REPORT DURING ATTEMPTED COUP
With traditional broadcast outlets unexpectedly shut down, Turkish citizens tune into Facebook Live and other social media channels enabled by TriCaster for breaking news Celebro Media, the international provider of studio facilities and broadcast operations, recently relied on NewTek’s TriCaster® Advanced Edition live production solution to help its client, global broadcaster TRT World, to continue reporting via Facebook Live during the attempted coup in Turkey. Celebro Media has a large TV studio complex in central London with three studios, another in Moscow, and is about to open a third in New York. The company TMBi - 34
specialises solely in live production, providing studio space, galleries, uplink facilities, staff and everything required to produce and transmit live content for international broadcasters including the BBC, MTV and TRT World, as well as smaller channels. It has been using TriCaster multi-camera video production equipment to produce its shows for five years, recently upgrading to TriCaster Advanced Edition, which paid immediate dividends. TRT World reports global
news from a Turkish perspective 18 hours a day. The channel produces five to six hours of live rolling news each day from its main operation in Istanbul, and its London bureau, that is facilitated by Celebro Media. During the recent attempted coup, Turkish news outlets including TRT World’s Istanbul operation were temporarily shut down and the broadcaster turned to Celebro Media for assistance. “The management at TRT World wanted to get back on
SEP
PA N S H O T
air by any means possible,” said Wesley Dodd, chief executive for Celebro Media. “We do a lot of streaming on Facebook Live, and with the TriCaster Advanced Edition’s live streaming capabilities, it was the obvious option.” TriCaster Advanced Edition is an optional software upgrade available for current TriCaster models, providing major capabilities and enhancements including multi-platform streaming, social and web publishing, automated real-time datadriven graphics, new IP workflows, enhanced multimedia mixing and sophisticated production
elements that transform everyday productions into state-of-the-art viewing, in addition to the functionality already provided by TriCaster. TriCaster Advanced Edition enabled TRT World to produce and stream live news reports from its London journalists via Facebook Live within a very short space of time, and later to stream to YouTube and the TRT World website. As events progressed the team was able to receive additional video reports from around the world, including Istanbul, and incorporate them into the live stream. This ‘emergency
2016
transmission stream’ rolled for approximately 15 hours, until the channel was able to get back on air in Istanbul. “There was very limited connectivity in Turkey, so TRT World’s Facebook Live stream was something of a lifeline. The social media element also provided a way for people to communicate there was a huge level of engagement with tens of thousands of people watching live, and then on catch-up later,” continues Dodd. “TriCaster Advanced Edition and Facebook Live enabled us to keep people informed during an important world event.”
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
CLEAR-COM ACQUIRES TRILOGY COMMUNICATIONS HM Electronics, Inc. (HME) announced that it has completed the acquisition of UK-based Trilogy Communications (Trilogy®) through its subsidiary Clear-Com®, a global provider of real-time communication solutions. Trilogy is a supplier of intercom solutions and master reference generators for the Broadcast, Defense and Industrial sectors. Clear-Com expects this acquisition to strengthen its presence in the Broadcast market and accelerate its penetration in the Defense and Industrial sectors. Trilogy will continue operation as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Clear-Com, LLC. Clear-Com will work to incorporate the Trilogy intercom product lines-- namely Gemini, Messenger, Mentor and Mercury--into the Clear-Com portfolio to reach a broader global market. “We are pleased to make this announcement,” said Mitzi Dominguez, CEO of Clear-Com. “Both companies have been serving the professional intercom business for decades and bring a wealth of industry knowledge to the marketplace. The efforts of our combined teams will deliver tremendous added value to customers all over the world and will create new business opportunities for both companies.”
“Trilogy fits into our company culture and our technology offering,” said Bob Boster, President of Clear-Com. “Their specialized matrix solutions perfectly complement Clear-Com’s highlyprogrammable and scalable digital matrix portfolio, increasing each team’s capabilities to meet the ever-growing and vastly-diverse communication needs across the markets we serve.”
TMBi - 36
KRIS HILL APPOINTED GENERAL MANAGER OF IKEGAMI UK Ikegami announced the appointment of Kris Hill to its UK office. Effective immediately Hill will be responsible for heading up the UK operations as well as managing all key customer accounts, system integrators and Ikegami channel partners across the UK, Ireland and Africa. Hill brings with him a wealth of experience and industry knowledge, having worked for several years in prestigious sales roles across the broadcast industry. Having proven himself to be a key industry figure with a vast knowledge of products focused in acquisition, monitoring and production during his five years at JVC Professional Europe Ltd as UK & Ireland Sales Manager, Hill went on to hold sales roles at TVU Networks, Vitec Videocom and Fineline Media Finance. “Kris has proven that he holds a tremendous amount of industry knowledge and hands on technical experience as well as a great insight into the broadcast market,” comments Masanori Kondo, President, Ikegami Europe. “His natural commercial attributes will act as a major asset as Ikegami looks to focus on its EMEA output, spreading the well thought of Ikegami brand across the region.” Hill will be taking over from Ikegami UK’s previous General Manager, Mark Capstick, who is leaving the business.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
NEP UK WINS ITV CONTRACT TO COVER HORSE RACING NEP UK Broadcast Services announces today that it will be continuing its 30 year provision of outside broadcast facilities for the UK coverage of horse racing. H3: Horse racing has recently found a new home at ITV, with NEP UK confirmed to continue working on the new contract from January 2017. As part of NEP UK’s regeneration after last year’s devastating fire, several new trucks are being built, one of which will make its way onto the racing coverage as soon as possible next year. All of
NEP UK’s new trucks will be UHD ready. John Turnbull, Deputy Managing Director, NEP UK says, “The horse racing has been part of NEP UK for almost 30 years, right since the inception of the business. The team and I are very much looking forward to working on another major project with ITV Sport & producing top quality coverage.” Ben Russell, Operations Manager ITV Sport says, "ITV Sport are delighted to be
working with NEP UK on our Horse Racing Coverage. We have a long standing relationship with NEP UK across our portfolio and we know we can rely on them to work collaboratively with our production teams to deliver first class coverage".
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
VSNEXPLORER FOSTERS ITS SOFTWARE MODULES EVEN MORE THANKS TO THE LINKED DATA TECHNOLOGY information about it.
VSN keeps betting on innovation and new software developments to improve media management and make users’ daily operations much easier. On this occasion, it presents a first preview of what will soon become one of its latest star developments: the integration of VSNEXPLORER with online thesaurus to add relevant information extracted from several Internet sources, in order to provide the catalogue worker or journalist with additional data. This will make the user experience even more interesting and insightful. VSN’s engineering team has been intensely working in the past months to foster the Media Management efficiency and automation thanks to a new software development that is currently being developed for VSNEXPLORER suite of solutions, comprising PAM, MAM, BPM and BI modules. In particular, this new development consists of a full integration of online thesaurus with VSN’s Media Management tools, giving user a resource to add precise information to their TMBi - 38
content with just one click. Particularly, this latest integration with online thesaurus that is currently in its latest stage of development will allow for automatically linking and associating additional information extracted from the Internet (maps, locations, history, images, biography, etc.) to any concrete word that has been published. All of it thanks to the Linked Data. Linked Data is just the way how the Semantic Web connects between each other different data that are distributed in the World Wide Web, thanks to the use of metadata. This way, both people and browsers can explore all the associated data located in the Web and obtain further information to complement the initial data that we had available. In conclusion, these Linked Data allow to obtain additional information extracted from contrasted databases, thanks to the use of metadata or ‘universal identifiers’ that are capable of identifying one word and automatically link to it
This VSNEXPLORER’s integration with online thesaurus will allow users to have access to a huge database comprising interconnected data that complement each other and link among them, so that users can find all the information they may need about a concrete subject. For example, the name of an International Organization could be automatically associated to additional data about its foundation, size, competences or even location. Therefore, the media management takes a step forward and complements in an entirely automatic way all the information offered by the Media, so that viewers or readers can enjoy it even more. “We are conscious of the challenges that users have to face in the current Broadcast and Media & Entertainment sectors, and we work every day to provide them with tools to improve their efficiency and media management and cataloguing capacities”, declares Manuel Escribano, VSN’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO). “For that, we are very satisfied with this new feature in which we are working on. In an easy and simple way, it will allow VSNEXPLORER’s users to enhance their content with useful and precise information”.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
RIEDEL COMMUNICATIONS JOINS AIMS AIMS has announced that Riedel Communications is the latest of the world’s leading media technology companies to join the alliance. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Wuppertal, Germany, Riedel Communications is renowned as a leading pioneer of realtime networks for audio video and communications applications; in particular, digital audio matrix systems and fiber-based real-time media network technology. Their products and technologies, including MediorNet, the world’s first fiber-based video network for integrated signal transport,
are in common use throughout the world in broadcast, pro-audio, events, sports, theatre and security applications. These include applications in the staging of major global sporting events and within international sports governing bodies. Commenting for the company on joining the alliance, Lars Hoehmann, Product Manager MediorNet, said, “At Riedel, we have always been dedicated to facilitating reliable and
versatile workflows that meet our customers' individual requirements. By joining the Alliance for IP Media Solutions, we extend our product’s format support, providing our customers with more benefits of standardsbased communications solutions while offering them plug-and-play simplicity. Our aim, as a solutions provider, is to secure their investments and to support them on their path towards IP-based media infrastructures."
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
MAJOR U.S. TELEVISION NETWORK INSTALLS FOR-A PROCESSORS FOR WINNING RESULTS DURING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION COVERAGE FOR-A Corporation of America announced that a highly acclaimed major television network installed four new FA-505 Processors to feed an impressively large video wall display comprised of several monitors in a studio, which was recently designed specifically for the U.S. Presidential Election Coverage. While the FA-505 is often used as a general frame sync, it is equipped with an array of essential functions used in video production that allow multi-channel routing – 5 inputs/5 outputs. In this case, however, the FA-505s are being used to feed the in studio monitors of the video wall looking for a 1080p TMBi - 40
source. Because the network facility uses 1080i as their standard format, the monitors need to be converted from 1080i to 1080p (HD to 3G) for better image quality with no degradation. “We are very pleased that our processors have been selected by the network to assist in providing the HD to 3G conversion for their live election coverage,” said Jay Shinn, FOR-A VP of the Americas. “The FA-505 is a complete toolbox for any video production scenario and is ideal for 4K applications as well,” commented Shinn. “We have been told many times over, that the FA-505 has been extremely reliable and very
easy to use,” he concluded. The FA-505 is built on the abundant features of its sister product, the FA-1010. The FA-505 also features up/down/cross conversion on each of its 5 inputs as standard, and allows 1080i to 720p / 720p to 1080i conversion. Video payload ID, HDR and conversion between color spaces used for ITU-R BT.709 and ITU-R BT.2020 applications are supported. In addition, this 5input, 5-output signal processor supporting 3G/HD/SD-SDI is equipped with a variety of functionalities including, frame synchronizer and outstanding color-correction.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
AVIWEST BROADENS REACH IN LATIN AMERICA WITH NEW OFFICE IN SANTIAGO, CHILE AVIWEST announced that it has opened a new sales and support office in Santiago, Chile, expanding the company's presence in Latin America. To ensure that the needs of customers in the region are met thoroughly, AVIWEST has appointed Francisco Aguayo as LATAM sales director and Italo Marinello as support/pre-sales manager. "The new office location in Chile enables AVIWEST to
quickly respond to immediate pre-sales, sales, and service support needs for regional customers with live video contribution operations," said David Jaouen, sales director at AVIWEST. "AVIWEST has already established a large presence in the region, with hundreds of systems deployed by Central and South American broadcasters. Opening this office allows us to better serve these customers, responding to their
requirements for reliable and efficient newsgathering equipment that minimizes delays during breaking news and live events coverage. Our worldwide customers also benefitted from AVIWEST's local presence during this summer's games in Rio." AVIWEST's new office will be located at Marchant Pereira 201, Oficina 701, Providencia in Santiago, Chile.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
CMAC UPGRADES TO HD AND ENHANCES STREAMING WITH CABLECAST FLEX SERVER AND 6.1 SOFTWARE FROM TIGHTROPE MEDIA SYSTEMS Channel density and flexibility of new server generation help make the station’s move to high definition more affordable, while new software elevates web and mobile experiences server models, we would have needed two separate servers to provide the total of three playout channels that we need. The Cablecast Flex 4 gives us the input and outputs we need in a single server, avoiding complexity and saving us money, space and ongoing maintenance effort.”
Fresno, California-based Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAC) has upgraded its playout infrastructure to HD and bolstered its online streaming capabilities by deploying the latest generation of solutions from Tightrope Media Systems (TRMS), including a Cablecast Flex multi-format video server and version 6.1 of the Cablecast broadcast automation software. A community access production facility serving Fresno and nearby Clovis, CMAC has depended on Cablecast automation, playout and streaming solutions for over four years TMBi - 42
to bring its public, education and government (PEG) programming to viewers on television and online. When CMAC sought to upgrade its playout capabilities from SD to HD, the flexible configurability and increased channel density of the new Cablecast Flex 4 server made it an ideal solution. “While our channels on Comcast and AT&T can currently be distributed only in standard definition, we wanted our entire master control environment to be fully HD-ready,” explained Bryan Harley, facilities and operations manager at CMAC. “With earlier HD
CMAC also took immediate advantage of the new HD capabilities to enhance the live and on-demand streams it offers for Internet and mobile viewers. High-quality H.264 streams are created automatically through Cablecast Live and Cablecast VOD in 720p HD, while the Cablecast Reflect cloud-based service enables delivery of the HD streams to a virtually unlimited number of viewers while minimizing bandwidth impact on the station’s local network. “Having the flexibility to deliver HD online and SD for television is really great,” continued Harley. “We now stream all three of our channels on the web in HD, and we’re ready to deliver HD on television as soon as the cable and telecom operators will distribute it.” CMAC also upgraded to
SEP
PA N S H O T
Cablecast 6.1, the newest update of the comprehensive automation software. “The new VOD chaptering feature in version 6.1 is particularly appealing,” Harley noted. “We can create chapter marks to help our viewers jump quickly to exactly the section they want to see within a VOD clip. This can improve their online experience for a variety of types of on-demand content, from government meetings and educational sessions to sports.” Version 6.1 is the second powerful Cablecast software upgrade that CMAC has enjoyed in the past year,
having also benefited significantly from the 6.0 release. “The new user interface that came with version 6.0 is really great. It’s very modern, sleek and easy to use, while the new advanced scheduling features improved our efficiency,” said Harley. “The ‘mobilefriendliness’ of the new user interface has also been a big benefit for us. There have been a number of situations where we needed to make a quick change to the schedule while we were in away from the station, and being able to do that seamlessly from our phones has been incredibly
2016
useful.” Together, all of these new Cablecast products and releases have enabled CMAC to affordably keep pace with the evolving viewing preferences of their audience, and have further reinforced the reasons that led Harley to choose Cablecast in the first place. “Like always with Cablecast, the new Cablecast Flex server and the 6.1 software have added value and have been working very well, and I can’t wait to see what the folks at Tightrope will cook up next!”
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
SITV IMPROVES MULTIMEDIA DISTRIBUTION WITH INTERRA SYSTEMS' BATONÂŽ QC SOLUTION BATON Speeds Up File-Based QC Workflows, Providing the Chinese Media Company With Significant Time and Cost Savings
Interra Systems announced that SiTV, a branch of Shanghai Media Group (SMG), one of China's largest media conglomerates, has installed Interra Systems' BATONÂŽ, an automated, filebased QC solution to enhance the accuracy and speed of its QC operations. SMG chose an enterpriseclass version of BATON over other systems on the market based on its comprehensive quality checks, scalable design, and support for a wide range of media formats and codecs. Through these features, the media company can distribute superior-quality television content via traditional broadcast and OTT TMBi - 44
channels. "SiTV-SMG has over 20 channels and we also provide several hours of programming to other TV stations, IPTV, cable, and OTT operators. Given the various distribution methods we deal with, efficiency is critical during the QC process as is the capability to perform checks for our current MXF OP1a and MPEG-2 Transport Stream formats, with future expansion into the OTT environment," said Mr. Chen, vice president of SiTV, a branch of SMG. "We were delighted with the results of the BATON QC system, which is highly flexible, reliable, and even provides
QC reports in the Chinese language. BATON is hardware and OS independent, allowing us to quickly scale to accommodate the increasing size of our asset library, ensuring exceptional content quality, at all times, for viewers." "Today, there's a strong demand for automated QC systems, especially in the Asia-Pacific market, where subscriptions for pay-TV services are exploding. To guarantee that each filebased asset meets the appropriate quality requirements, television providers need an efficient and trustworthy solution," said
SEP
PA N S H O T
Sanjay Mittal, managing director Asia, Interra Systems. "BATON has successfully been deployed by hundreds of installations globally. By guaranteeing high-quality content, BATON enables SiTV to focus on other important tasks, like content production and delivery." SiTV is currently using BATON to perform content quality checks for its cable and satellite TV networks, subscription-based digital pay TV channels, as well as production of films, animation, and documentaries. As a critical part of the central check,
BATON instantly detects and corrects content, while also ensuring compliance with broadcast television standards and closed captioning requirements. Using the free add-on media player, SiTV can pinpoint and play the media around the error location, check the severity of the error, and choose whether to ignore, comment, or rate the error. Relying on BATON within each step of the workflow — from ingest to transcoding, playout, and archive — SiTV can ensure that it is always delivering the highest quality content to its customers. BATON simplifies quality
2016
assurance for SD, HD, UHD, 4K, and mixed workflows, offering support for a wide range of codecs and media containers. Featuring a scalable architecture, BATON enables SiTV to quickly support OTT and expanded broadcast offerings in the future. Seamless integration with media servers, transcoders, MAM archiving, and workflow solutions assures trouble-free installation and upgrades. Built with high availability, BATON continues operating even if one of the hardware components is down.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
TECHNICOLOR POSTWORKS CREATES COLOUR FOR CAFÉ SOCIETY Baselight helps director Woody Allen and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro cross the bridge between film and digital for dailies and finishing previous experience with Baselight – on Majid Majidi’s Muhammad: The Messenger of God – and its ability to work in multiple new formats, Storaro was also insistent that Baselight was the ideal system for both the dailies and DI. The project was shot on Sony F55 and F65 cameras and graded using the ACES standard, with Baselight converting to XYZ to retain quality and to allow high dynamic range output to all the deliverables.
Technicolor PostWorks New York completed the finishing on Café Society, Woody Allen’s first digital motion picture as a director, which was captured by legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. The film opened the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and was released in the United States last month. Set in the 1930s, the story charts the rise of the naïve young Bobby Dorfman (played by Jesse Eisenberg) from his humble origins in the Bronx before seeking fame in Hollywood and returning to New York in triumph. Storaro, working with senior colourist Anthony Raffaele, created looks that reflected the major locations, each in need of a TMBi - 46
distinctive visual style, and the development of the main character as he navigates a world of dreams and artifice. “When Woody Allen asked me to do Café Society, he had never done a digital capture before, but I knew that I had to jump completely into this new chance we had,” said Vittorio Storaro. “I wanted to see images on set that would be very close to the final result and afterwards on dailies even closer, almost 90% of that way to what we would see at the end – Anthony Raffaele with Baselight was able to offer that.” Storaro wanted to keep a 16-bit 4K workflow throughout. Due to his
“A real plus of ACES is that you can achieve every colour and density you could ever want,” said colourist Raffaele. “Vittorio always wants a crisp black level. But with digital projection you do not get the same quality black level as you do with print. The full support for ACES in Baselight enabled us to emulate film.” Because Storaro insisted on the same colourist for dailies and finishing, Raffaele formed a close working relationship with on-set DIT Simone d’Archangelo, exchanging files and notes every day to ensure that what was seen on set was precisely what left the colour suite. Raffaele made extensive use of Baselight’s layer functionality, including emulating the original Technicolor three-strip
SEP
PA N S H O T
process and colour intensity to create strong key looks, identifying each location. “The Bronx was supposed to be a softer palette. It was poor, lower toned, with muted contrast,” Raffaele explained. “Los Angeles was more vibrant, new, golden with luminous glow, reflecting the fact that our main character is in a more uplifted place. The New York look was a merging of the two, bringing something back from LA, with a fresher look. Bobby Dorfman has changed his life and so the image is a cleaner colour palette, with more contrasts.” He used a large part of the
2016
grading arsenal of Baselight, such as the DFuse tool to soften out skin, particularly to make the main female characters look more radiant and angelic. The Baselight layering tools helped him complete simple VFX jobs too, such as adding lights to a dawn scene and matting out unwanted objects.
“Anthony Raffaele is a wonderful colourist. He was with us from New York to Los Angeles, from the beginning to the end,” said Storaro. “That’s something I’m used to doing in Italy and I really love it, to have the same colourist doing dailies and doing the DI as well, following the movie through its entire journey.”
Raffaele also pointed to Baselight’s ability to switch colour spaces readily, allowing him to create the final grade in HDR on HD and immediately apply it to the 4K raw footage inside ACES, then roll out the deliverables to multiple colour spaces.
Storaro had a clear vision of the complete movie, including references to classical painters and photographers, and he also had a very strong understanding of the technologies involved to achieve what he wanted. He went through the exact same process as shooting in celluloid.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
LARCHMONT-MAMARONECK COMMUNITY TELEVISION ENHANCES QUALITY WITH TIGHTROPE MEDIA SYSTEMS Cablecast HD servers, Cablecast Live and Cablecast Reflect help community broadcaster easily upgrade to high definition and enable effortless HD live streaming Striving to provide betterquality viewing experiences to its audience, LarchmontMamaroneck Community Television (LMCTV) has upgraded its video playout capabilities and online offerings with Cablecast HD video servers and streaming solutions from Tightrope Media Systems. Headquartered in the Town of Mamaroneck, New York, LMCTV produces close to one thousand (1000) hours of programming each year for its three television channels – local public access, municipal government, and an education and ‘import’ channel that offers viewers high school concerts, graduations, meetings, and a robust Varsity Sports program covering over 80 games annually. In addition to this educational content, the latter channel also includes shows from neighboring stations and producers. Each channel features its own tailored bulletin board between daily programming, displaying show schedules, community announcements, social media feeds and more. Building on eight years of satisfaction using Cablecast automation and playout systems for its channels and Tightrope’s Carousel Digital Signage Software for its TMBi - 48
bulletin boards, LMCTV recently enhanced and expanded its Cablecast deployment as it moved towards HD distribution. Supplied by integrator DNR Laboratories, Cablecast SX2HD and Cablecast SXHD LE multi-format video servers power HD playout for the three channels, while a Cablecast Live streaming server and the Cablecast Reflect cloud-based delivery service provide high-quality, bandwidth-efficient HD streams to a virtually unlimited number of online and mobile viewers. “While our channels on Cablevision and Verizon are limited to standard-definition
video, we wanted to deliver a higher-quality service to our viewership,” said Matt Sullivan, chief operating officer at LMCTV. “By offering live HD streams through our website, we can at least bring our viewers HD on their computers and tablets as a start, and we’re fully ready for HD television distribution whenever our carriers allow it. Cablecast gives us a surefire way to know we’re delivering the best possible product to our audience.” LMCTV’s live online streams are a significant facet of its connection to its viewership, and the seamless integration of the Cablecast system simplifies their
creation. “The ease of use of Cablecast Live and Cablecast Reflect is a big benefit for us,” Sullivan said. “We don’t need to take any extra steps to stream online. Whatever content we are playing on our Cablecast systems is automatically available in HD on our website for viewing on multiple devices, expanding our reach both within and beyond our community.” The tight integration between Cablecast and Carousel brings similar operational efficiencies to LMCTV’s bulletin board service. “In a cable access environment, each staff member often has to do more than one job, so it’s important that the systems work seamlessly together to make things easier for us,” said Sharon LatimerMosley, bulletin board manager at LMCTV. “Carousel bulletins such as program schedules and meeting calendars can be updated automatically, saving us time and effort, while the system’s reporting tools let us provide detailed information to community contributors about the delivery of their messages.” LMCTV on-air programmer Stephen Aluisa also cited Cablecast’s ease of use as a key benefit. “With Tightrope’s software updates over the years, they’ve continued to make the system simpler and more efficient to operate,” he noted. “The recently-added ability to operate Cablecast remotely from a mobile device has also been a big advantage, making last-minute schedule changes less stressful when you’re in the field or unable to get to the office.” Like its original Cablecast installation, the recent upgrades have met LMCTV’s goals. “The Cablecast system has done everything we’ve asked it to do,” summarized Sullivan. “The upgrade has also given us the flexibility to take in any video file, in any HD or SD format, directly from our studio or producers. It’s definitely made everyone at LMCTV’s life easier, and at the same time enabled us to provide our viewers with a significantly better online experience in HD.”
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
BLUEFISH444 ANNOUNCES COMPATIBILITY WITH TOUCHDESIGNER 3D Graphics over SDI for Live Production, Projection Mapping and High Performance Video Playback
Bluefish444 announced that the Epoch | Neutron range, Epoch | 4K Supernova S+ range, and Epoch | Supernova CG video I/O cards for developers are now supported by Derivative’s TouchDesigner software. TouchDesigner is a realtime visual development platform that equips professionals with the tools that they need to create stunning projects and rich user experiences. TouchDesigner combined with Bluefish444 allows the creation of interactive media systems, architectural projections, live music visuals, real-time on-set compositing, or rapidTMBi - 50
prototyping with professional SDI support. “Bluefish444 cards were the right solution for one of our largest TouchDesigner-driven permanent installations,” said Matthew Ragan, Interactive Engineer at Obscura Digital. “Having a reliable, high fidelity capture solution was an imperative part of this arena, and Bluefish444 provided the right tool for the job.” The Epoch | 4K Supernova S+ range and Epoch | Supernova CG are multichannel 3G/HD/SD SDI I/O video cards enabling TouchDesigner customers to choose between a number of
configurable I/O combinations. The Epoch | Neutron range offers both full height and low profile form factor variants, in either multichannel 3G/HD or HD/SD with HDMI preview, providing a wide range of server integration alternatives. “TouchDesigner is a preeminent tool for creatives working in cutting edge workflows such as projection mapping and live production,” said Craige Mott, Managing Director of Bluefish444. “Our highest quality SDI I/O, proven reliability and stability are the perfect fit for the demanding real-time workflows supported by TouchDesigner.”
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
CLEAR-COM CONFIRMED AS TECHNICAL SUPPORTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS SOLUTIONS IN THE IBC BIG SCREEN AUDITORIUM Clear-Com® announce its status as technical supporter of communications equipment for the IBC Auditorium for the duration of IBC 2016, which takes place from 8-13th September 2016. Designed to IBC’s technical specifications, the Auditorium features the very latest sound technology and state-of-theart cinema projection. As well as the four-day conference, the Auditorium will host the IBC Awards ceremony and the IBC Big Screen showcase presentation of Disney’s The Jungle Book in Dolby Vision.
Phil White, Technical Director, IBC, said, “The versatile nature of the IBC Auditorium provides us with a challenging environment, as we need to set up, produce and de-rig back-to-back events throughout IBC. Clear communication across the team is essential to the smooth running of each event, so we needed comms equipment with the capacity for multiple concurrent conversations and good audio quality. Clear-Com’s range gives us that flexibility and clarity, as well as the knowledge that the
equipment is reliable and robust enough to get us through every event.” Working with the IBC Technology Team, which supplies and installs the audio equipment for the overall production, ClearCom will provide an array of equipment including HelixNet digital partyline and EclipseHX Delta digital matrix solution, FreeSpeak II wireless beltpacks, as well as the recently launched CC110 lightweight, high performance headsets.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
IMAGINE COMMUNICATIONS JOINS VRT-EBU LIVEIP PROJECT AS TECHNOLOGY PARTNER Company contributes encoding and monitoring technology to leading IP-based live production studio and test center
Imagine Communications announced that it has joined the LiveIP project, a collaboration of Belgian public broadcasting company VRT and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), as a technology partner. Through participation in this forward-looking industry collaboration, Imagine Communications joins forces with other innovative companies to advance the adoption of IP-based media solutions and production facilities. The LiveIP project, driven by the VRT Sandbox incubator program and the EBU, has developed a fully functional IP production studio based on industry standards that is designed to demonstrate a high level of interoperability and leverage the unique benefits of IP to create efficiencies, such as TMBi - 52
remote production and automation. “Imagine Communications is excited to join this unique industry initiative and further demonstrate our commitment to the managed transition of media operations to nextgeneration architectures based on commercial-off-theshelf (COTS) equipment,” said Brick Eksten, Chief Product Officer, Imagine Communications. “Demonstrating that IP-based production facilities are ready for primetime today, as well as providing an environment for media companies to test and validate innovative solutions, is of paramount importance and Imagine Communications is proud to assist the LiveIP project in meeting these timely and vital objectives.” Imagine Communications’ SelenioFlex Live™ encoding
solution and the recently introduced EPIC™ Multiviewer (MV), a softwarebased hybrid SDI-IP monitoring solution, will be part of the LiveIP Studio production set-up. VRT and EBU announced last week that its LiveIP production facilities will be used by IBC TV to produce some of the programming scheduled for the IBC2016 conference and exhibition in Amsterdam, 8-13 September. The EPIC MV, designed to handle native IP uncompressed, compressed and SDI inputs, will be used to monitor all video sources and destinations. IBC TV will leverage SelenioFlex Live to stream IBC2016 programming to Internetconnected devices. The LiveIP project’s collaboration with IBC TV is also being supported by the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), an industry association dedicated to promoting the advancement of IP-based standards and products based on those standards. “We are pleased to welcome Imagine Communications into the LiveIP multivendor community,” said Félix Poulin, lead Live & IP production at EBU.
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
EBU-EUROVISION SELECTS ATEME TO POWER MAJOR 2016 SPORTS EVENTS ATEME announced that EBU-Eurovision has again deployed its Kyrion encoders and decoders to feed prestigious football, tennis, motor racing, cycling and other sporting events live. ATEME’s Kyrion encoders and decoders were deployed on different event sites ensuring live transmissions. In addition to the unilateral and multilateral HD signals, 4K-UHD signal was provided via satellite. Based on the ATEME fifth Generation STREAM compression engine, the Kyrion encoder
and decoder provides excellent baseband video quality at minimum bitrates. This solution has been designed for contribution over satellite and IP networks, with added value features such as ultra-fast-boot, ultra-low latency, and ABR output. “We have chosen to put our trust in ATEME once again because they offer us a future proof solution with its software upgrade capability to the new and more efficient HEVC codec”, said Graham Warren at EBU-Eurovision. “This will bring us the
possibility to reduce service cost with bandwidth reduction or offer a better video quality at the same bandwidth for both HD and UHD services.” Claude Stoffel, EMEA Sales Director of ATEME said: “We are very pleased that EBUEurovision has decided to renew its confidence in ATEME and our solutions for the transmission of these major sporting events. EBUEurovision is deploying the best-in-class solution while ensuring the future of its service with continuing video quality enhancements.”
SEP
PA N S H O T
2016
ESTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY STANDS OUT WORLDWIDE WITH NIBBLE, THE NEW SYSTEM FOR AUDIO-VISUAL IP TRANSPORTING - NIBBLE IS A NON-COMPETITION SOLUTION DESIGNED BY ESTRUCTURE FOR SENDING AND RECEIVING HIGH QUALITY CONTENTS ACROSS STANDARD IP NETWORKS
Since its introduction a few months ago at NAB 2016, this innovative system developed by the Spanish company continues to surprise positively in companies from different sectors and backgrounds, as this solution fits a unique way into different type applications. NIBBLE is a single 1RU device specifically designed to transport SDI signals and unlimited audio visual files using existing standard IP networks, with the characteristic of being TMBi - 54
compatible with all IP transport protocols and all compression technologies. Therefore already it positioned itself as the perfect solution for broadcast, multiscreen and content management applications. NIBBLE allows bidirectional and simultaneous communication using a single device, encoding and decoding simultaneously and providing real compatibility with all compression technologies including HEVC/H.265, which enables to optimize bandwidth up to
40% while maintaining quality. Estructure simplifies the fundamental ability of this device: ‘If you have an Ethernet connection, you now have a Real Time Worldwide SDI transmission system’. The industry was demanding a solution of this type, so the availability of NIBBLE has awakened interest in companies around the world. This technology represents a major leap for all these companies, because it will allow greatly optimize
SEP
PA N S H O T
communication costs by eliminating satellite transport and antennas expenses. Now just an IP, MacroLAN or ADSL connection is needed to complete transporting. Furthermore, to make the system even more complete, NIBBLE incorporates WEBRTC technology to exchange contents, configuration and commands real-time within web based environments, where the system makes intelligent scaling and ensures low latency
transmission. NIBBLE also incorporates IPMI server management, allowing you to create a remote access from any IP point to view, configure and control the hardware, taking advantage of distributed peer to peer architecture. NIBBLE includes a powerful set of tools for full autonomy, allowing the creation of playlists that combine content from any device, camera or external drive, allowing up/down/cross conversion
2016
and including advanced graphics and logo insertion. The system can also be used as a complete automatic transcoding system. With all these features , it is understandable the great interest shown from many sectors for this innovative system, which like the rest of solutions of the brand, also features a unique user experience, according to the Estructure exclusive concept ‘Easyflow’ for simplify any workflow with technology.
CRESTRON PARTNERS WITH SONOS® TO DELIVER PERFECTLY INTEGRATED WHOLE HOME AUDIO EXPERIENCE Crestron announced a groundbreaking new partnership with Sonos, the leading home sound system. The new collaboration enables the Sonos app to be seamlessly integrated with Crestron home automation systems. Homeowners can now search and stream all of their favorite music on their Sonos home sound system right from Crestron touch screens, handheld remotes, keypads, and from the Crestron app on popular mobile devices. Sonos and Crestron will be demonstrating the new integrated solution at CEDIA EXPO 2016 in Dallas, booth #4721. “Our new collaboration with Sonos is a big win for Crestron dealers and the upscale homeowners they serve,” said John Clancy, VP
of Residential Systems at Crestron. “It is now easy to integrate Sonos on any scale, from a single room to an entire estate, into a custom Crestron home automation system. This includes all Sonos meta-data, artwork, control options, and the realtime feedback Crestron programmers need to ensure a spectacular user experience in every room.”
more, the Sonos home sound can be integrated into personalized Crestron scenes, such as “Welcome Home,” whereby a single tap of a touch screen, keypad, or personal device disarms the security system, turns on the kitchen and family room lights, adjusts the temperature to 72 degrees, and starts playing great music.
Now, in addition to lights, shades, thermostats, theater systems, security and much more, homeowners can control Sonos products from Crestron touch screens, remotes, and keypads. They can view all of their Sonos favorites, play/pause the music, adjust the volume, view now playing information with artwork, and add or remove zones as they move about the house. What’s
“Our goal at Sonos is to make it as easy as possible to enjoy all of your favorite music out loud,” said Andrew Vloyanetes, Sonos global business development manager. “Collaborating with Crestron allows us to work with true innovators in home automation to ensure Sonos works seamlessly as part of the ultimate smart home lifestyle.” TMBi - 55
TMBi - 56
This September, the international media industry convenes in Amsterdam for six days of state-of-the-nation debate, challenging and informative technology demonstrations and opportunities for lively and rewarding networking. Executives from Netflix, Warner Bros, Cisco, Ericsson, Buzzfeed, Canal+, NBCU, Amazon, Google, Sony Pictures and Spotify are just some of the 55,000 professionals meeting to lead and learn at IBC2016. On the agenda: How IP is reshaping the economics of media production; where the world's biggest advertising agencies are placing their client's money; how best to reach milliennial audiences; monetising virtual reality; and strategies to stay two steps ahead of continual market disruption. WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell, one of the world's most influential and successful business leaders, sets the tone by addressing IBC2016's theme 'Transformation in the Digital Era: Leadership, Strategy and Creativity in Media'in the newest conference streamAudiences and Advertising. That statement, and Sorrell's presence, underlines the fact that IBC is the place where the strategic thinkers come to exchange ideas. Guaranteed to provoke further discussion are keynotes from Erik Huggers, President and CEO at Vevo; Dominique Delport, Global Managing Director/Chairman, Havas Media Group/Vivendi Content and Dr Manuel Cubero, who heads up Vodafone’s Kable Deutschland AG business. The IBC Conference tracks alongside the comprehensive exhibition which features the world's major media technology brands and all emerging, innovative developers too. There are 15 halls, curated by theme for ease of navigation, plus outdoor exhibits, making 2016 by far the biggest IBC in terms of floor space. An integral partof the IBC experience are the feature areas, special zones designed to help visitors gain a deeper understanding of innovation and to quiz the people driving it. The IBC Technology in Action Theatre, for example, hosts a series of case studies at the leading edgeof technology, including the cloud and IP as well as production, post and delivery. Often presented by users, this is a prime opportunity to gain insider knowledge. No-one wants to miss the IBC Future Zone where prototypes and theoriesleap from academicand broadcast labs into potential reality. The researchers working on them come too, so not only can you see and test what they are thinking, you can influence the direction of their work. Unafraid to tackle the status quo, IBC invites sponsors to outsource their R&D to talented designers, coders and entrepreneurs at IBC Hackfest, a weekend of convention-defying brainstorming that could witness the next big thing. Nowhere is the interface between art and science more dramatically illustrated than at the IBC Big Screen Experience, a series of sessions benchmarking the future of cinema. Ang Lee, Oscar winning director of Life of Pi, headlines this IBC stream, treating visitors to a sneak peak of his extraordinary new feature which is filmed with pioneering ultra-highframe rates to achieve a look which can only be described as cinematic reality. A highlight of every IBC are the IBC Innovation Awards which uniquely recognise the expertise and sheer endeavor that teams of vendors, service suppliers and mediaorganisations make to achieve breakthroughs. This year’s finalists include Endemol Shine, ESPN and Tencent. TMBi - 57
AJA Video Systems
AJA Video Systems manufactures high-quality and cost-effective digital video capture, interface, conversion and desktop solutions for video professionals. AJA simplifies professional digital video workflows with products designed and manufactured in Grass Valley, California. At IBC AJA will introduce several new products that focus on support for next generation formats. AJA is committed to leading the way in technological innovation and helping our TMBi - 58
customers future-proof their workflows, whether that’s through Broadcast IP technology, 4K/UltraHD, streaming, and more. AJA develops projects that have been engineered to help customers transition to new ways of working, and integrate new formats with tools that fit into their existing infrastructure, ensuring that updates are simple and nondisruptive. AJA’s award-winning product lineup includes the KONA family of video capture and playback cards, Io
Booth: 7.F11
standalone appliances delivering premium video and audio I/O, Ki Pro record/playback devices, FS family of frame synchronizers/converters, Corvid solutions for developer partners, KUMO routers, HELO streaming solutions, CION and RovoCam cameras, and a host of MiniConverters that are the leading choice of video professionals for AJA’s signature reliability, functionality and support— and more.
AVT Audio Video Technologies GmbH
Booth: 8.E76
AVT Telephone Hybrids with Ember+, DHD SetLogic and Dante Just in time for IBC AVT introduces some new features for the MAGIC Telephone Hybrids. The MAGIC THipPro Talkshow System supports with the next software release the Ember+ protocol, which can be used e.g. for the communication with Lawo or DHD mixing consoles. With Ember+ control commands can be easily exchanged via IP or it can be used for signaling a line status. Additionally, up to 32 DHD SetLogic commands can be programmed which allow an easy communication between
the MAGIC THipPro and DHD mixing consoles. Both Ember+ and the DHD SetLogic commands will be also available for the MAGIC TH2plus and MAGIC TH6 Telephone Hybrids mid of October. Especially for the MAGIC THipPro VoIP Telephone Hybrids a Dante module is optionally now available. It offers up to 32 Audio inputs/outputs which can be routed via the IP network to mixing console which also support the Dante protocol or the AES67 standard. AVT is presenting the new
features live on booth E76 in hall 8 at the IBC in Amsterdam. Furthermore, the new Dual IP Audio Codec MAGIC ACip3 and the MAGIC TBR Tunnel Break-in System for DAB are on display. By the way, AVT is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The company started in 1996 and has continuously extended and improved its product portfolio. For all visitors of AVT’s stand at IBC, the company has prepared a special offer for its MAGIC TH1 Go Telephone Hybrids.
TMBi - 59
Blackmagic Design At IBC 2016, Blackmagic Design will be showcasing its latest products designed to deliver Ultra HD 4K video content for the broadcast and live production markets. Visitors to the Blackmagic Design booth will be able to take a closer look at the latest updates and accessories for its range of digital film cameras, including an updated camera operating system with a new user interface and features for the URSA Mini, the URSA Studio Viewfinder, which turns the URSA Mini into a true professional studio camera and the Video Assist 4K.
TMBi - 60
Blackmagic Design will show also showcase the ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, the world’s first high frame rate Ultra HD 2160p60 production switcher, Teranex Mini converters and HyperDeck Studio 12G, a professional solid state disk based broadcast deck that can record SD, HD and Ultra HD. Also at the booth will be some of the company’s innovative products, such as the Blackmagic Duplicator 4K, which records Ultra HD content onto multiple SD cards for instant distribution, and the Blackmagic 3G-SDI
Booth: 7.H20 Arduino Shield, which lets customers build their own custom controllers. DaVinci Resolve 12.5 is a massive update, with over 1000 enhancements and 250 new features, including additions to the editing toolset, enhanced color features including improved HDR support, as well as ResolveFX, a powerful new framework for native GPU and CPU accelerated effects. Fusion 8, the world’s most advanced visual effects and motion graphics software for Mac, Windows and Linux will also be demonstrated on the booth.
Booth: 12.C56
Dejero
Simplifying live broadcasting from multiple remote locations using bonded IP networks at IBC
Breaking news stories from anywhere in the world with LIVE+ EnGo Dejero is known as an innovator in cloud-managed solutions that simplify the transport of live video and real-time data across remote
or mobile IP networks. At IBC, the company will showcase some major developments in its IP connectivity solutions for electronic newsgathering (ENG) and remote broadcasting with a new version of its compact LIVE+
EnGo transmitter and enhancements to its LIVE+ Control management system, which, in a nutshell, enable broadcasters to manage the transport live and recorded content over bonded IP networks more simply than ever before. TMBi - 61
The LIVE+ EnGo now comes with simplified connectivity options and updated roaming packages. It encodes IP video, and bonds all available networks, including cellular, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and satellite, to deliver exceptional picture quality with extremely low latency for news crews when reporting live from breaking news locations. The unit also boasts new user-changeable SIM modules to allow a field operator to quickly and easily switch up to six SIMs in a LIVE+ EnGo to match the local cellular network environment. The modular design also supports easily switching the modem module to achieve optimum connectivity in different regions of the world for international reporting. The newest version supports modems intended for use across multiple regions allowing your reporter to take the unit from New York to Paris without missing a beat. EnGo’s new ‘hotspot’ simplifies connectivity allowing field users to connect laptops and other mobile devices to the internet using the EnGo eliminating the need to carry additional mobile access around.
Live reporting in adverse and challenging locations Since its launch, LIVE+ EnGo has already been used TMBi - 62
unit and I recommend the LIVE+ EnGo to all camera operators covering news and indeed any live broadcast.”
Brian Cram, CEO Dejero
extensively by news crews to deliver flexible live reporting from events including the 2016 football championships in France, the attacks in Nice, and the Rio 2016 Games. “I work in the business of fast news delivery and with Dejero’s LIVE+ EnGo I can be ready to report live from the International Criminal Tribunal in the Netherlands one day and then be in Brussels the next day to cover the aftermath of Britain’s EU Referendum,” commented Dejero user, Peter Van der Struijs. “As the owner of a freelance camera company whose main client is the Netherland’s RTL Nieuws, Van der Struijs comments, “A key feature for me is just how easy it is to swap out the SIMs as I move from region to region or country to country. You can fill the Engo with 2 x 6 sims; for example, one for local use and one for abroad, which worked extremely well for me in Rio last month. I love this
Dejero also supported Canadian broadcasters, as well as many international broadcasters at the Summer Games in Rio by deploying private Wi-Fi hotspots in key locations, Anatel-certified mobile transmitters with local SIM modules and by offering onsite support 24-hours a day for the duration of the Games. The event marked the first time that the Dejero LIVE+ Multipoint video distribution network in use at the Games, enabling the distribution of high-quality live streams from a source location to multiple broadcasters simultaneously. LIVE+ Multipoint can also be used to exchange recorded content between studios. LIVE+ Multipoint leverages the Internet along with Dejero’s adaptive bitrate encoding technology and LIVE+ platform of transmitters, servers, software, and cloud services to provide a resilient solution that encodes and routes the content from a single source to multiple destinations across the globe. Compared with other video contribution approaches, such as installing and leasing a fiber link or booking and leasing satellite transponder space, LIVE+ Multipoint is highly cost-effective — especially
when sources and destinations span international borders. Because the network supports mobile contribution encoders, it offers greater flexibility than fixed networks for acquiring content from remote locations.
Control & Monitoring: Better, faster, stronger Dejero will also be demonstrating the latest enhancements to its LIVE+ Control management system that simplifies the task of broadcasting live from remote locations and transporting recorded content to broadcast facilities over bonded IP networks including cellular, Wi-Fi, Ethernet or satellite. The latest updates enhance monitoring, station administration, and reporting capabilities, displaying realtime analytics of network connection performance, and overall transmission quality for each Dejero transmitter. These updates to the Dejero LIVE+ Control management system go hand in hand with the recent release of version 4.0 of the company’s LIVE+ Core software that powers its industry leading mobile transmitters, servers, and smartphone and notebook apps. This major new software release is making its IBC debut this year and has added significant new capabilities to the LIVE+ platform of products including
an enhanced congestion control algorithm and faster transport of files. “Dejero has turned industry hype about ‘IP’ and ‘the cloud’ into reality by providing broadcasters with the tools that help them do their jobs better, faster and more costeffectively, without compromising quality and immediacy,” said Brian Cram, CEO of Dejero. “We are also proving – through key partnerships – that our technologies can be integrated with other innovators to create best-of-breed IP solutions.”
open APIs to help accelerate the transition to IP and cloud technologies,” concluded Cram. Dejero will also make a major announcement at IBC2016 that will revolutionize the movement of files from the field, further simplifying broadcast workflows. Be the first to see this new solution and the other product announcements from Dejero on stand 12.C56 at IBC2016.
Earlier this year, Dejero joined the newly formed Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) which was created and is run by leading technology providers to encourage the adoption of open standards and interoperability as the broadcast and media industry transitions from SDI to IP. “Dejero has always advocated for and is a firm believer in the adoption of open standards and our presence at IBC2016 will demonstrate our belief in interoperability and TMBi - 63
Booth: 7.B08
ELEMENTS The impact of adding a visual component to your media workflow Visual communication brings teams together and simplifies approval processes With more technology creeping into the daily business of post-production and broadcast facilities, media workflows become more and more complex every day. But while technology enhances many things, one critical element seems to be left behind: the human being, trapped in strict guidelines for managing both projects and media assets, and overwhelmed by information overload when in the course of a project hundreds of emails go back and forth during the coordination and approval processes.
But why not enhancing communication by making it visual - using the exact same technology that stores your media assets? Humans: visual creatures From cameramen, to DOP’s, to cutters and VFX artists – for pretty much every person involved in the TMBi - 64
production and postproduction process of a movie or commercial, moving pictures are the very essence of their work, inspiring their creativity and appealing to all their senses. And in this fastpace industry even the people behind the scenes, such as IT system and network administrators use at least if they are lucky - a graphical user interface (GUI) to monitor the IT network and maintain the media storage. Because for humans, everything visual is easy to comprehend and, thus, simple to translate. Modern post-production and broadcast facilities utilize some kind of media storage for their media assets. Some of those storage solutions are high-performance engineering marvels, providing the workstations with access to the media files – but nothing more. For all other crucial steps in the production and post-
production process, such as pre-selection of clips and gathering opinions, notions and ideas of all people involved, numerous applications are applied. Besides the trouble of getting all people to familiarize with dedicated applications oftentimes requiring a significant amount of time for training – more trivial ways to communicate, such as email or instant messaging, are simply unsuitable, as is it rather strenuous and complicated to convey information about an image – without a visual reference to the actual image. Determined to simplify media workflows on every level, German developer ELEMENTS has managed to bring IT and humans together by providing highperformance solutions that are extraordinarily simple to use – they call it humancentered media storage. Unlike other vendors though,
ELEMENTS leverages the power of the media storage hardware for a lot more than just storing the media assets – and even adds a beautifully visual component to the game.
Everything under one roof. Everything. There are applications out there that provide communication platforms designed for media and entertainment projects; however, before the review and approval process can take place, all those applications require to upload the debatable assets first. Therefore, tedious and timeconsuming encoding to create compressed videos for upload are inevitable. Plus, those third-party solutions are not part of the existing workflow but usually live entirely in the cloud.
Following a different and more holistic approach, ELEMENTS has massively expanded the scope of functions of its Media Library, elevating the comprehensive and sophisticated media asset management (MAM) tool to a powerful and versatile communication portal – and it’s fullyintegrated in ELEMENTS’ high-performance media storage solutions. Hence, no encoding, no uploads. Everything takes place right were the assets live – highly secure and perfectly streamlined.
Practical features, supereasy to use ELEMENTS Media Library was developed with the input of numerous editors, directors and IT professionals around the globe, resulting in a wide range of features and
functionalities, all of which are exceptionally easy to use - thanks to the fully intuitive GUI, everyone can take advantage of the full set of features, without the need for training. With the Media Library, media files can be shared across all platforms and applications by providing secure access to the shared storage, the Media Library allows authorized users to preview and select shots and sequences and leave frameaccurate comments and notes for any frame or clip directly tied to the actual image, without the need of complicated explanations or potentially inaccurate time code references. Users can even apply on-screen drawings to set a visual marker on an image – simply using a mouse or touch screen on any standard PC,
TMBi - 65
Mac or tablet. All comments and notes are visible and accessible from virtually every professional editing application available today, such as Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro etc.
Everything web-based accessible from anywhere, anytime The beauty: ELEMENTS Media Library is not only highly intuitive to use but is accessible from anywhere at any time through a HTML5 web-based interface. In addition, ELEMENTS’ Media Library comprises the Rough-Cut Editor, a welldesigned editing tool, providing the full scope of editing functions that work identical to common modern editing applications. Without the intention to replace professional editing TMBi - 66
applications, the web-based Rough-Cut Editor allows customers to conduct a quick rough-cut on set, at the airport or even at home and with a real simple and intuitive tool that anyone can operate. By being fully transparent to and compatible with virtually all non-linear editing applications, rough-cut projects created in ELEMENTS’ Media Library can easily be transferred to any Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, including the EDL, exported as an OPAtom/MXF file. For the latter, the Media Library even provides full Avid Bin-locking and Avid Project Sharing support. Hence, projects started in the Media Library can easily be finished in any of the high-end editing applications, with even all comments, remarks and
drawings added in the Media Library being fully visible and accessible in those professionals editing suites.
All comments in one place – automatically distributed to everyone To streamline the adaptation and approval process, the embedded workflow manager in the Media Library allows for setting up tailored event triggers. For instance, automatically distributing email notifications to an unlimited number of dedicated users, as soon as changes have been applied, comments have been added or new versions need to be reviewed or approved, keeping everyone involved in the project is always up-todate. The Media Library allows for easier communication and reduced chances of error.
Booth: 12.B20
FUJIFILM Fujifilm is at the forefront in the development of 4K UHD optical technology; at this year’s IBC 2016 they will display the new expanded 4K HDR “UA-Series” range and newly developed XK-Series 4K lens technology.
New 4K UHD Optical Technology to be shown at the IBC 2016: After the introduction of the UA80x9 & UA22x8 lens models, there was a popular demand for longer and wider focal ranges. In response to this demand Fujifilm’s R&D developed the all new UA107x8.4 (8.4-1800mm) which at current has the world’s longest 4K UHD focal length, it has been complimented by the all new UA13x4.5 (4.5-118mm) Ultrawide angle lens and upgraded telephoto lens UA80x9 (10.8-864mm) with 1.2.Extender which does provide more flexibility when
shooting under diverse lighting conditions. Fujifilm will showcase the entire Broadcast 4K UHD UASeries range at the IBC 2016.
NEW 4K 35mm Cine Lenses to be shown at the IBC 2016: The all new 4K model “XK6x20” digital cinema camera PL-mount zoom lens offers high optical performance compatible with 4K cameras and covers a wide focal length range from 20mm to 120mm. It also realizes T3.5 brightness throughout the entire zoom range. There is no T drop*3 and it offers comfortable operation. Various scenes can be shot with this single lens. The “XK6x20” is equipped with a detachable drive unit for electric zooming and focusing that is a popular function with existing products. It also features 0.8mm gear pitch*4 for
compatibility with standard cine accessories. It is the newest addition the already established FUJINON Cine Zoom Series (HK-Series, ZKSeries). Fujifilm will showcase the entire 4K PL–mount Cine Zoom range at the IBC 2016.
About the UA-Series The UA-Series lenses are compatible with 2/3-inch 4K cameras. The applied EBC coating (electron beam) and “floating focus systems” which control multiple lens groups according to the shooting distance, deliver high-resolution, high contrast with a high dynamic range in images thru the entire focal range, from close-up to infinity; enabling 4K HDR video production with a realistic visual sensation with premium picture quality.
TMBi - 67
Booth: 8.C30
Gates Air The Convergence of IP Networking and Over-The-Air Broadcast
It’s impossible to go one day in our industry without reading a new story or having a conversation that involves the transition to IP. Whether video or audio, TV and radio broadcasters worldwide are, at minimum, strategizing how migration from legacy to IP technologies will help them move content with better efficiency; and pave the way for more media services. GatesAir has long invested in Audio over IP technology within its Intraplex family of networking products. Beginning with its NetXpress platforms – still used worldwide for multichannel IP audio and data networking – the Intraplex portfolio evolved to introduce the compact IP Link range of products, commonly used today to deliver program audio between studios, transmitter facilities and remote broadcast locations in the field. IBC2016 marks the unveiling of GatesAir’s latestTMBi - 68
generation products for intelligent networking. At IBC2015, the company unveiled a new Intraplex IP Link solution for moving a full AES192 digital FM composite signal over IP. While ideal for broadcasters with a minimum of 5MB/s of bandwidth between the studio to transmitter, the fact remains that a large number of broadcasters are still managing networks with far less headroom. As a result, GatesAir has expanded this range with the IP Link MPX, a new Audio over IP innovation built specifically for transporting analog FM composite multiplex signals over IP networks. GatesAir will demonstrate the IP Link MPX at Stand 8.C30 through IBC. The new codec also provides an efficiency boost for engineers by enabling installation of all signal generating equipment at a central studio. This is a major benefit for broadcasters
operating an FM simulcast network, as it eliminates the need to install stereo generators, audio processors and other auxiliary equipment at multiple receive locations. Instead, broadcasters can send audio and data, including RDS information, in a single bandwidth-efficient stream to multiple transmitter and booster locations. That capability is fortified through IP Link MPX’s integration of Intraplex SynchroCast® simulcast technology, and built-in GPS capability for reliable timing recovery in multipoint distribution. The IP Link MPX can also be used with the Intraplex HD LinkTM microwave STL system to provide composite signals over a 950MHz link. “Broadcasters have been seeking an IP transport solution that simplifies their program distribution by keeping the audio processing at the studio, with the optimal bitrate usage to suit varying network limitations,” said Rich
Redmond, chief product officer. “The introduction of the IP Link MPX codec rounds out our product line, with options for both digital and analog composite FM signal transport to suit every customer’s IP architecture.” The IP Link MPX offers an extensive feature set, including multiple input and output ports for signal redundancy, decoding of audio and RDS content from either the input or output MPX signal, and the option to incorporate external SCA subcarrier signals into the output MPX signal. It also offers features common across all IP Link codecs, including stream splicing, forward error correction and a trio of network interfaces for optimal stream reliability. On the TV side, GatesAir will exhibit other intelligent IP
networking solutions for its latest generation Maxiva aircooled transmitters – a latebreaking development that will demonstrate how integrated, native IP connectivity will help broadcasters seamlessly adapt to advanced DVB-T2 systems and next-generation DTV standards, including ATSC 3.0. The Maxiva UAXTE transmitter range, being introduced at IBC, represents this groundbreaking achievement. The UAXTE not only brings instant adaptability and enhanced flexibility to the broadcast industry’s latest over-the-air DTV standards (ATSC, DVBT/T2, ISDB-Tb) - its softwaredefined modulation allows seamless migration to future digital TV standards worldwide.
To enable native IP capability, the Maxiva UAXTE directly integrates GatesAir’s latest high-performance modulator from the recentlyreleased Maxiva XTE exciter into its architecture. This eliminates the need to retrofit previous-generation Maxiva air-cooled transmitters with additional gear to enable network connectivity, giving broadcasters an out-of-thebox solution to simplify the input and output of multimedia services via a local- or wide-area IP network. The high-efficiency architecture of the UAXTE, based on the GatesAir PowerSmart Plus architecture with broadband amplification for lower operational costs, reduced energy use and fewer internal parts, is further enhanced by optimization of the power amplification stage.
Beyond enabling native IP connectivity and reducing componentry, the XTE modulator integration delivers a dramatic increase in digital signal processing capability, using the latest CPU processing technology based on Advanced RISC Machines (ARM); and state-of-the-art FGPAs. The UAXTE’s improved processing power correlates directly to enhanced real-time adaptive correction capabilities in the XTE modulator’s built-in, proprietary GatesAir RTAC™ software. The result is improved system performance, due to superior active signal pre-correction over a wider range of non-linear amplifier characteristics. The ultimate result is improved over-the-air reception for DTV consumers. The UAXTE design also breaks ground with an integrated, unified control system that eliminates the standard practice of a separate user interface for the exciter and transmitter. By centralizing control functionality into a single, modernized user interface, engineers can more easily control all settings and parameters. TMBi - 70
This includes a simplified status page to easily monitor system health at a glance, and a more rationalized, uncluttered event and alarm log. “Since unveiling our high-performance Maxiva XTE exciter at IBC2015, our engineering team has been working toward a solution that would directly incorporate the benefits of IP networking and significantly improved processing power directly into our high-efficiency air-cooled transmitters,” said Rich Redmond, chief product officer, GatesAir. “The UAXTE design achieves this while introducing next-gen signal correction and new control and monitoring efficiencies that further enhance reliability and performance for DTV broadcasters worldwide.” The UAXTE platform also extends Maxiva aircooled transmitter power levels to new heights with the UAXTE-24 and UAXTE-32 models. The UAXTE-24 provides broadcasters with 12kW of OFDM power (DVBT/T2, ISDB-T) and 21.6kW of ATSC power, while the UAXTE-32 delivers 16kW of OFDM power and 28.8kW of ATSC power.
Booth: 7.J15
GB Labs
usage and brings dramatic enhancement to collaborative media workflows, offering close to a pure SSD experience for creative users. GB Labs will be at IBC on stand 7.J15. GB Labs Core 3 Lite Key features including: Imagine a turnkey shared storage that seamlessly combines the bene_ts of hard disk drive (HDD) and Solid State Drive (SSD) in one box… Even better than that, imagine if the global leader and pioneer of SSD shared storage and Hybrid disk technology was to bring 8 years of experience and development to this box. No need to imagine because its true and its coming very soon, in fact this product isn’t just built for high end post production or broadcasters, it should be the ideal storage platform for anybody interested in ultra high performance combined with large capacities and an amazing price point. Introducing FastNAS with performance up to 3000MB/s, 1Gb, 10Gb and 40Gb Ethernet options, capacities up to 320TB and dynamic expansion built in as standard (F16 only.) Our unique Nitro* technology combines two very different disk characteristics to provide the
benefits of both. Nitro works in harmony to intelligently streamline demanding digital media and entertainment workflows. Users can work collaboratively with virtually all creative software in a cross platform environment without requiring extensive IT knowledge. Easy to use, easy to support and backed by a global support team. FastNAS features Core 3 Lite, a new version of our award winning Core 3 OS, which has been perfected through 8 years of continual development, giving you incredible tools and outstanding performance combined with ultimate stability. Nitro is our intelligent Hybrid disk technology, developed by the team that brought you the award winning HyperSpace Solid State Accelerator. This is not just cache and this is not a general purpose hybrid, Nitro is specifically designed for real world
• Integrated Cloud Support • Avid bin sharing as standard • Active Directory synchronization • Web sharing from workspaces • FTP server with FXP support • Web / CLI admin tools • System Notifications • Live monitoring tools • Storage Quotas • Powerful File Manager • FCPX profiles • Multiple Bonding Methods • Network Loop Protection • No client software or licenses • AFP, SMB, NFS, HTTP and FTP • High Velocity RAID Engine • OS on Enterprise SSD • Cross Platform (Mac, PC, Linux) • Instant storage expansion • Integrated Replication • Performance Disk Modes TMBi - 71
Booth: 8.B50
Lawo
Lawo with Innovative Network-, Audio-, Video-, and Control- Solutions at 2016 Lawo designs and manufactures high quality video and audio equipment as well as control and networking solutions for broadcast production, live and theatre applications. Every product combines solid engineering and innovation with outstanding quality. From first idea to final solution, the complete product creation process takes place at the company’s headquarters in Rastatt, Germany, where Lawo has expanded from a small engineering office to a company of more than 200 employees with offices and subsidiaries in Switzerland, Australia, North America, China and Singapore, and partners all over the globe. With over 45 years of experience in the field of professional broadcast technology, Lawo stands for reliability and innovative technology with worldwide reputation. Lawo’s product ranges include highly customizable control solutions, digital audio mixing consoles, routers, video processing tools and IP-based transport and infrastructure solutions. All Lawo IP products are futureproof; based on open standards such as TMBi - 72
RAVENNA/AES67, TR-03 and SMPTE2022-6/-7. In addition to product development and manufacturing, the company also provides hire services for audio and video systems. Lawo’s Global Events division provides turnkey systems to the world’s major sporting events and theatrical presentations. This is done with the highest standard of system-based expertise that delivers comprehensive solutions and service, from initial consultation through to completion of every project, handling logistics, system configuration and support, providing skilled teams with international experience. Visit www.lawo.com for more information.
IBC
Lawo is supporting the MNA initiative for promoting the AES67 standard with the adoption and implementation of AES67 across the full product range. In order to support the transition to IPbased infrastructures, Lawo encourages all manufacturers to embrace interoperability and open standards for the benefit of all customers. Lawo, founding member of the ‘Alliance for IP Media Solutions’ (AIMS), supports open Video- and Audio-overIP standards. AIMS is founded to ensure that all video- and audio-over-IP solutions brought to market offer complete interoperability and are based on open standards for seamless
integration into media workflow environments.
Lawo at IBC 2016 / Amsterdam On B50 in Hall 8, we will focus our pioneering solutions for IP video core infrastructure and for IPbased remote productions. In addition to new features in the existing V__line product range, the European debut of our V__matrix, a softwaredefined IP-based video routing & processing platform, will be one of the show’s highlights. The company’s showcases include VSM, Lawo’s independent broadcast control and monitoring for both baseband- and IP-based broadcast installations. VSM manages production equipment, abstracting control from the physical production hardware and thus allowing for a seamless transition from baseband to IP. VSM provides unmatched support of control
protocols from all major brands and models of video and audio routers, video and audio mixers, intercoms, UMDs and multiviewers, glue equipment, and other thirdparty devices. On the audio side there will be significant additions to the mc² console family, e.g. for pushing the envelope for automated highend audio sports production even further. And anyone interested in on-air radio applications should make sure not to miss our latest products for virtualizing radio production. And there will be more to be unveiled at the show, so join us, be amazed and learn more about IP workflows with Lawo. Many broadcasters all over the world took notice of the
massive IP installation which was used at the recent football tournament in France. Lawo’s IP-based stage boxes were used around the field of play in each stadium, the commentary system with around 500 Lawo Commentary Units was completely based on IP, and – last, but not least – Lawo V__line and VSM technology was used for the IP-based contribution of all the video feeds from all stadiums to the International Broadcast Center. In fact, this was a fully IP-based 900x900 video routing matrix, switchable via VSM without any SDI routing involved. At this year’s IBC, broadcasters have the opportunity to have a closer look at the technology behind this and many other productions, and realize that, with Lawo IP broadcast infrastructures, IPbased remote productions are not just a future vision but a reality today.
TMBi - 73
LYNX Technik AG Level A and B Problem Solved! Convert Level A to Level B Dual Link or Vice Versa yellobrik PVD 1800 is LYNX Technik’s compact standalone SDI Frame Synchronizer for synchronizing, timing and processing different video sources, with the added benefit of supporting both the Level A and Level B Dual Link 3G standard. Many manufacturers only support one or the other if of the two 3G modes. LYNX Technik has enhanced its Level A and Level B support in this yellobrik module by adding conversion functionality. The PVD 1800 is now capable of converting Level A to Level B or vice versa. Here is an example of why
TMBi - 74
this is so useful: you may need to connect a camera that only outputs a 3G Level B signal with a switcher that only accepts 3G Level A signals or vice versa. This can be very frustrating for technicians when they realize the equipment they are installing and trying to use together is not completely compatible with each other because of the different levels of the 3G standard. And often, products are not always clearly marked whether they accept Level A and/or Level B. The PVD 1800 is the answer to this challenge. Simply convert a Level B 3G-SDI signal to a Level A 3G-SDI signal (or vice versa) with the PVD 1800. Remember, the PVD1800 is also a compact broadcast quality SDI frame
Booth: 8.C70 synchronizer with extensive video and audio processing, making it the most feature rich 3G Level A\B converter + frame synchronizer on the market today. This module can frame synchronize the signal and/or delay it by up to 30 frames. Q: How do I upgrade my existing PVD 1800? A: If you don't already have yelloGUI software, download the software and update your module through the yelloGUI. Q: Where can I find a datasheet for the PVD 1800? A: Click here Q: Where can I find all the rack frame and fiber options for the PVD 1800? A: Click here
Miller Fluid Heads
Booth: 12.D30
Managing Counterbalance in today’s plethora of cameras and accessories With the technological advancements that the broadcast and cinematography fields have gone through in recent years, videographers and cinematographers have more choices than ever when deciding what gear to take to a shoot. From lighting and microphones, to monitors, lenses and the cameras themselves, storytellers have a tool for every scene. Whether the situation calls for a light setup of a simple DSLR camera or a fully
rigged system, the one constant in most cases, is the tripod system. Shooters need to take into account several things when deciding what fluid head will provide the right counterbalance system for the occasion. An important factor to consider when purchasing a fluid head, is how high the camera rig Center of Gravity (COG) stands above the fluid head camera plate. Most fluid head manufacturers specify the payload range for a COG
at 100mm above the camera plate. For example, a fluid head that can handle up to 10kg at 100mm COG, may only handle 7kg at 150mm COG. Rig attachments such as lights, recorders and monitors may raise the COG and hence reduce the counter balance range. It is advisable to purchase a fluid head with plenty of payload range headroom. Counterbalance is used to counteract the weight of the camera rig when tilting
TMBi - 75
If it’s too light, the rig will drop forward or backwards. In this case counterbalance should be increased. By selecting the right position by using the counterbalance selector knob, users should look to select a spring with the right amount of force to keep the rig at approximately half tilt, without springing back to level or dropping to full tilt. It is possible that the exact amount of counterbalance force required lies somewhere between two positions of the counterbalance selector. In this case, choose the position that provides a slight amount of spring-back and add some tilt drag to counter the springback. This method has been the traditional way of setting up the fluid head.
rendering the camera rig weightless during the shoot. The amount of counterbalance force required depends on the weight of the rig and the location of its centre of gravity (COG). When setting up a fluid head with the camera rig mounted, the balance point of the rig needs to be found by sliding the rig backwards or forward to a point of equilibrium with counterbalance set to its TMBi - 76
lowest position. After the camera rig is balanced to a point where the rig stays level, the counterbalance springs, builtin within the head, take over when counterbalance is stepped up and the rig is tilted backwards or forward. The objective is to find a happy medium. If the counterbalance force is too strong, then the rig will spring back and counterbalance should be set to a lower step.
A typical example is a videographer tracking a storm for a first-hand account. They might have several lenses and lighting solutions used to catch what is happening in the immediate foreground as well as what is happening off in the distance. Quick and efficient setup is needed for each individual instance, where both large, sweeping changes might need to be made to the counterbalance, as well as small fine-tuning adjustments. This often leads shooters to a simple but perplexing conundrum: should they make quick changes, relying
on the locking mechanism of the fluid head but ultimately inviting long-term damage to the fluid head, or do they take the time to counterbalance their setup and risk losing precious moments that could otherwise be focused on the shot. Fluid head companies are working to address speed and accuracy of counterbalance setups. For example, Miller Camera Support Equipment outfitted the arrowx line with CB PLUS™, a unique sequential counterbalance design employing a half step in
between the larger counterbalance steps. CB PLUS™ helps users achieve repeatable, accurate and rapid setup over a wide payload range by featuring eight large counterbalance steps, allowing them to get to their needed position quickly and efficiently and then applying half a step, when required for finer counterbalance control. CB PLUS™ helps where frequent and fast re-rigging is required. Small refinements of using the half-step quickly set you up to any situation. If a shooter has two to three
go-to setups, they can quickly dial in the known counterbalance to that setup and be ready to shoot. If minor changes are made to their setup, minor adjustments can be made to the counterbalance using the CB PLUS™ switch. If a counterbalance system can’t keep up with a cameraman’s setup speed, precious moments and amazing shots could be lost. Miller’s CB PLUS™, employed in arrowx, ensures that counterbalance is one less think the shooter has to worry about.
Booth: 8.D93
Orban
Orban Optimod Audio Processing. Orban introduced the first FM Audio Processor mid 70’s. In 1981 we introduced the very first TV Loudness Controller the OPTIMOD TV 8180A of which we sold thousands to Broadcasters around the globe. At Orban we are proud to have been successfully engineering and manufacturing Television Loudness Controllers, AM, FM and DAB processors for more than 40 years in a market which is constantly evolving. From the BBC to CNN many Broadcasters rely on the OPTIMOD to ensure that their audio quality is perfect. Orban Television Audio Processing - Sound That Keeps Audiences Satisfied The Optimod TV8685 is Orban's secondgeneration surround/2.0 processor. In addition to the effective automatic loudness control of its predecessor, the TV-8685 offers new TMBi - 78
input/output capabilities that include support for SDI and HD-SDI and for Dolby E. The built-in, Orban-developed Optimix® upmixer provides automatic and completely convincing stereo-to-surround upmixing, with a solid, discrete center channel. Unlike technology derived from consumer matrix decoders, there is no program-dependent directional pumping of sound sources. Unique to this technology is extremely robust center channel phase/skew correction that never causes negative side effects. It is invaluable for older material that was originally recorded on analog tape. Optimix’s output downmixes to stereo flawlessly, and the skew correction often makes the downmix sound better than the original stereo! There are large, important subjective differences between Optimod and competing processors.
Optimod has a unique architecture that processes the center channel to correct spectral and loudness balance problems that compromise dialog intelligibility in ill-considered mixes. The TV-8685 is exactly the opposite-in addition to flawless loudness control, it also improves dialog intelligibility and maintains a full, natural sound without exaggerated "esses" hollowed-out midrange, or obtrusive pumping of ambient sound. Thanks to the Optimix upmixer. The TV-8685 is dialnorm-aware. Loudness control is excellent when measured by the ITU BS.1770-2 and EBU R-128 standards or by the TV8685's built-in CBS Loudness Meters, allowing stations to comply effortlessly with the requirements of the CALM act. An included logging application allows timestamped indications of the
TV-8685's built-in BS.1770-4 short-term and integrated loudness meters to be written to a Windows PC’s local or network storage.
OPTIMOD-FM 8600 OPTIMOD-FM 8600 is Orban's flagship processor. Featuring versatile five-band and two-band processing for both analog FM transmission and digital media, the FM8600 provides the industry's most consistent sound, trackto-track and source-tosource. This consistency allows you to create a sonic signature for your station with the assurance that your signature will stay locked in, uniquely branding your sound. Dramatically improved peak limiter technology decreases distortion while increasing transient punch and high frequency power handling capacity. Compared to the FMchannel peak limiter in OPTIMOD-FM 8500, the new peak limiter typically provides 2.5 to 3 dB more
power at high frequencies, which minimizes audible HF loss caused by pre-emphasis limiting. Drums and percussion cut through the mix. Highs are airy. "Problem material" that used to cause audible distortion is handled cleanly. While this design offers about the same loudness as FM-8500 processing, its main goal is to make FM analog broadcasts more competitive with the cleanliness, punch, and open high frequencies of the digital media against which FM analog transmissions now battle. The FM loudness wars represent 20th-century thinking; in the 21st century, the new competition is digital media. Thanks to its fresh, crisp sound, the FM-8600 helps level the playing field between analog FM and its ever more aggressive digitalonly competitors. The FM8600 offers FM-8500-style processing too. This allows broadcasters to run favorite FM-8500 presets if they wish. Because the input/output
delay of the new peak limiter is too long to permit talent to monitor off-air on headphones, FM-8500 processing is useful for remotes and outside broadcasts where off-air headphone monitoring is desired and the FM-8600's low-delay monitor output cannot be brought to the talent. The FM-8600 provides stereo enhancement, equalization, AGC, multiband compression, low-IM peak limiting, stereo encoding, and composite limiting — everything that even the most competitive major market station needs to stand out on the dial. Processing for digital media like netcasts and HD Radio is supplied standard. The FM and digital media processing paths split after the FM-8600's stereo enhancer and AGC. There are two equalizers, multiband compressors and peak limiters, allowing the analog FM and digital media processing to be optimized separately. The 8600 includes a full-featured RBS/RBDS generator at no additional charge. The generator supports dynamic PS. It can be controlled via 8600 presets and an ASCII terminal server that can be connected to automation to support displaying title and artist. TMBi - 79
ProTelevision Technologies
Booth: 8.C48
ProTelevision Technologies’ ATSC 3.0 Exciter is selected by SBS to perform first ATSC 3.0 SFN trial in Seoul.
South Korean Broadcaster SBS has succeeded on their attempt of an UHD SFN test on ATSC 3.0 in Seoul this last July 2016, thanks to the recently launched to the market: PT3063 ATSC 3.0 Modulator/exciter from ProTelevision Technologies (Denmark). SFN is a technology that provides broadcast services using the same frequency from different transmitting stations. This has been considered by the South Korean authorities as a very efficient way of using the frequency spectrum in South Korea where SFN was never used before. The content for this trial was generated at SBS studio, and after being through an experimental Korean scheduler, the STL signal was distributed to two existing TV transmitting sites in Seoul: Kwan Ak and Hyperion. TMBi - 80
On these two stations, ProTelevision PT3063 ATSC 3.0 Exciter was integrated on the existing TV transmitters, and expecting the STL signal generated by a Korean Scheduler. The modulated broadcast signal was measured on various receiving points in the city confirming the successful SFN transmission. The SFN operation on ATSC 3.0 has been performing flawlessly from mid July 2016. “This first SFN test on ATSC 3.0 is a huge milestone on the development and deployment of this new standard not only for South Korea but also for USA, which has shown a big interest on the adoption of ATSC 3.0 standard. The huge workload, the investment of engineering resources and tight schedule that ProTelevision has been put through the last months, it is finally being rewarded. Being selected by a high
technologically oriented Broadcaster as SBS to perform the first ATSC 3.0 SFN trial is an honour to us”. Said Morten Simonsen, CEO and CTO at ProTelevision Technologies. ProTelevision Technologies presented its PT3063 ATSC 3.0 Exciter/Modulator at NAB Show in Las Vegas last April 2016, announced also on the April issue of this magazine. In just two months ProTelevision engineers have been able to develop, in close contact with Korean developers of scheduler and demodulation equipment, the SFN functionality and perform an SFN transmission in UHD 4k TV signal, and are coming to IBC 2016 with more ATSC 3.0 features developed and implemented on the PT3063 as for example Multiple PLP.
PROVYS
Booth: 2B.49
The PROVYS Broadcast Wellness Wheel No intelligent person would feed their body on junk food, taking no exercise and submitting themselves to all the stresses of the 21st century. In the same way, broadcasters would be foolish to ignore the wellbeing of their corporate body. But how can busy broadcasters find the
TMBi - 81
time and the resources to continually ensure maximum wellness within all divisions and operations under their control? For to be sure, if the health of the corporate body is in question, then it might not show in the profile of one’s bottom, but rest assured, it will show in the profile of one’s bottom line. This fundamental truth has been around since long before the beginning of broadcasting, but the fact is that busy executives all too often ignore the holistic wellness of their corporate broadcasting bodies resulting in loss of performance, vulnerability to market stresses, lack of attention to matters of priority, poor concentration on the important daily operational issues, lack of vision in matters of planning and a general malaise in all matters of corporate governance. Fear not! The remedy is at hand! Provys have reinvented the wheel! See the picture attached. This is the Provys Broadcast Wellness Wheel (PBWW). It comprises six components, each of which is critical to the good health of any broadcasting organisation. These are as follows: - Physical Wellness - Intellectual and Legal Wellness - Financial Health - Social and Cultural Wellness TMBi - 82
- Nutritional and Spiritual Wellness
broadcasting organisations
- Rejuvenation
and developments particularly
Provys’s innovative approach to business problems in broadcasting states that the corporate body must be well in order to achieve its considered and defined objectives. It is this orientation on wellness and health within the organisation that now represents the principal focus for Provys software solutions. The Provys Production Management module ensures good physical health, Intellectual and Legal Wellness is best maintained by Provys Rights Management. The Provys Advertisement Sales module guarantees wellness in finance whilst the Broadcast Planning module ensures Social and Cultural Wellness. Nutritional and Spiritual Wellness need vital media assets flow through the corporate body in properly managed and controlled workflows by the Provys Content and MAM solution. Last but not least, Rejuvenation with the Provys VOD/OTT Management module means keeping
in the fast moving non-linear
young with the latest trends
world. To conclude, Provys brings a complete medicine chest of remedies (see above) to guarantee the operational good health of broadcasting organisations. We believe that this innovatory approach to broadcasting management, stressing the wellness aspects inherent within the PBWW is the key to not only survival, but to healthy development and a long and successful business life. We are convinced that this new way of defining broadcast management, in terms of corporate wellness, with excellent user benefits, value for money (you cannot put a price on your health), and new opportunities arising from power and vitality deserves close attention of the whole industry.
Booth: 8.E47
Qligent
The Vision for Monitoring and Analysis in the Cloud - As broadcasters wrestle with escalating content delivery needs, the need to more efficiently manage and understand data increases Qligent first unveiled its cloud monitoring approach in 2014, just as the broadcast industry was beginning to embrace the idea of transitioning certain workflow components to the cloud. In the ensuring two-plus years, Qligent™’s Vision platform has transformed how broadcasters worldwide approach the challenge of monitoring large amounts of video, audio and data content
being delivered over an increasing number of delivery platforms: over-the-air, cable, satellite, IPTV, OTT, mobile and even social media platforms. As more consumer platforms emerge and proliferate, broadcasters are finding that the cloud offers a more efficient means of addressing this increasing challenge. At IBC2016, Stand 8-. E47, visitors can have an
in-depth look into the latest visualization and content management tools in the Vision platform. On the visualization side, Vision now provides users with an extended set of widgets, key performance indicators (KPIs) and userdefinable parameters that allow users to characterize when signal quality and other performance thresholds have been breached. “Too many monitoring systems force broadcasters and MVPDs into a tight definition of poor quality of service with canned performance parameters leaving gaps and false alarms,” said Ted Korte, COO, Qligent. “Through new intelligent back-end business logic, we are enabling Vision customers to further define these parameters themselves to create their own definition of black, silence, and even Off-Air. Through the provision of an easy-to-use palette,
TMBi - 83
operators can configure to create and establish their QoS and QoE definitions by combining and correlating data from anywhere in the system, even from imported or third-party data. This sharply reduces the ‘false alarms’ associated with stringent and inflexible parameters, and gives the broadcaster the power of when to receive a phone call or e-mail based on their own customized widgets and KPIs.” The new visualization widgets will give users the power to specifically define parameters around program black, silence, and freeze frames. In addition to these tools, the Vision software upgrade will deliver stronger predictive analytics in the form of rich data that alerts users to impending issues through concerning performance trends. Qligent has also enhanced how users can utilize Big Data for various analysis tasks. By building Big Data conditioning into Vision, broadcasters and media businesses leverage big data insights much quicker and easier for multiplatform content delivery. As has always been the case in television, viewers quickly lose patience and tune out if broadcast quality suffers. The challenge for broadcasters and new media businesses, including OTT TMBi - 84
service-providers, is the sheer cost and complexity of monitoring a quickly escalating density of streams and channels. The Vision cloud monitoring platform gives users a wider palette to monitor these many streams from the studio headend to the last mile more effectively—and costefficiently. At IBC2016, visitors to the Qligent stand can learn how the new Big Data and other advanced capabilities built into Vision enhance analysis across both linear and nonlinear TV and video streams. This includes rich, detailed and customized presentations around combining and structuring specific QoE parameters to see the data in a meaningful and actionable manner, including: Percentage of macroblocking, freeze, black and other artifacts in a program stream Quality of advertising playout over a specific period of time Presentation of off-air time over a broadcast day or week Capture, verification and correlation of embedded metadata “Many of our current and prospective customers in the broadcast space share that Big Data is the only way to reconnect and stay connected with what used to be their captive audiences,”
said Ted Korte, COO, Qligent. “There has been an explosion of non-linear avenues for content delivery across gaming consoles, mobile devices and hundreds of social media sites, all stealing eyeballs, time and attention. Everything the linear TV service provider once understood is now completely fragmented, and these customers need a new set of data-centric tools to understand the quality of the viewing experience—and how to monetize that data moving forward.” Finally, Qligent has incorporated new automated software tools into the Channel View feature of its Vision cloud monitoring platform to help users effectively combat revenue loss tied to signal quality issues. The new automated Impact Analysis toolset streamlines the previous process of manually collecting data from various Vision probes, which are used to capture signal performance data in the field. Data related to broadcast outages and QoE issues— black, silence, macroblocking (i.e., “blockiness”)—is now automatically aggregated into the Channel View window on Vision’s main dashboard, with supporting metrics and analytics that detail the extent of the problem.
Booth: 8.A26
QUALES QUALES presents newest functionalities at IBC 2016 QUALES became the first full CLOUD based QC PAYG system early this year, already available at Azure Marketplace and running on Amazon Web Services and Alibaba Cloud. This year at IBC 2016, QUALES has new functionalities. QUALES is a unique system, fully featured, easy to use and integrate, adjustable to any growing audiovisual workflow. Available both standalone and cloud based, QUALES has proven to be The QC for all, no matter the size or budget of your company. New additional functionalities have been added, such as: - PLAYER: you are now able to play back the analyzed contents starting at user selectable time codes.
with our user friendly filters - NEW USAGE STATISTICS: keep track of your usage, especially when working on PAYG cloud environments. - GENERATION OF QCML FILES compliant with Dalet Amberfin
- PARTIAL ANALYSIS: analyze only portions of your files for extra QC time savings by selecting analysis Time Code in, and Time Code out.
Apart from VSN’s integration, ORFAST’s add-on to its cloud based MAM platform or ETERE’s certification to run within its infrastructure, The QC for all has been successfully integrated with DALET. QUALES adaptability to almost any existing platform, adding value to traditional content processing operations is relentless.
- NEW FILTERING OPTIONS: Find any file in any project
QUALES ON the GO is the exclusive QUALES CLOUD
- TEMPLATE IMPORT/EXPORT: import your own templates for QC analysis and/or export them to be reused, or combined with other existing templates.
based QC available as PAY PER USE with extended boundaries: Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime is now able to QC their audiovisual contents for the price of a cheap bottle of water per hour. QUALES ON the GO is available at Azure Marketplace and already runs on Alibaba Cloud marketplace and Amazon Web Services, where QUALES is gets more personalized as ever: the user is able to check the consumption at any time, it is possible to choose to be only charged by number of files or analysis’ duration, etc. You can forward your requests, and ask for extra information or details at info@quales.tv. TMBi - 85
Riedel Communications
Booth: 10.A31
Riedel’s french summer - Riedel had an unforgettable summer in France, with large-scale deployments across both groundbreaking OB vans and state-ofthe-art fixed facilities. TV coverage specialist AMP VISUAL TV, which boasts one of the most extensive European fleets of OB vans for video production, built its groundbreaking Millenium Signature 12 (MS12) HD/4Kcapable OB van on a Riedel MediorNet real-time media network of unprecedented scale. MS12 is designed to support up to 40 cameras, but at the truck’s debut at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans race, its MediorNet signal transport and distribution infrastructure processed more than 100 camera signals. Taking an innovative approach to managing large and complex live productions, AMP VISUAL TV deployed a robust MediorNet real-time media network — one of Riedel’s biggest so far — that replaces the traditional central router used in most OB vans. The resulting Riedel infrastructure provides video, audio, data, and intercom transport, as well as valuable routing and processing capabilities. Deployed in a fully redundant configuration built on a 10 Gb/s fiber network, 68 MicroN highdensity signal interfaces, TMBi - 86
eight MetroN core routers, three MediorNet Compact Pros, and two MediorNet Modular frames combine to serve as a decentralized matrix that transforms MS12 into a unique OB van concept, with router elements situated in the ideal physical locations for any given workflow or production. This MediorNet network, and the MicroN devices in particular, give AMP VISUAL TV a much greater degree of flexibility in addressing the demands of major events. Following the Le Mans race, the company took advantage of MS12 and its robust video
routing functionality and signal processing to facilitate production of the European Championship 4K coverage in Lyon. In fact, the European Championship venue in Lyon is also the site of a landmark deployment of Riedel Communications equipment in a fixed facility. France’s new Parc Olympique Lyonnais Stadium, home of French football club Olympique Lyonnais, is using Riedel systems to redefine the live sports and entertainment experience. Within the stadium, the Riedel MediorNet real-time
media network, RockNet digital audio network, Artist digital matrix intercom system, Acrobat wireless intercom system, and Performer digital partyline system provide a decentralized fiber-based network for flexible signal transport, routing, and processing, as well as communications. Supporting the entire building, including the technical facilities for Olympique Lyonnais TV, the versatile and scalable Riedel infrastructure allows the stadium’s audio, video, data, and communications signals to be leveraged with speed and simplicity to meet the
requirements of football matches and any other live event. Eighteen strategically located MediorNet frames are connected over optical fiber to create a decentralized router, which can be expanded as needed with mobile frames integrated into flight cases. Riedel’s RockNet audio interfaces expand audio resources as required and additional RockNet frames are easily be added for larger or more complex events. Communications throughout the stadium are supported not only by the Artist and Acrobat intercom systems, but also by Riedel’s
new Smartpanel multifunctional user interface and Riedel’s RiFace universal gateways, which integrate the in-house radio system into the Artist. As a result, all types of signals can be picked up anywhere in the stadium and routed and/or processed to any output(s) elsewhere in the stadium. Whether in the latest OB van or the newest sports facility, deployments of Riedel equipment demonstrate the power of flexible infrastructures in enabling the production of rich, engaging experiences for live event attendees and for fans watching at home. TMBi - 87
Booth: 11.C10
Ross Video Smart Production from Ross Video at IBC 2016 Ross Video’s theme for IBC 2016 is Smart Production and this year the company will be showing how its technologies, services and expertise can help customers achieve their creative, business and technical goals. Ross demonstrations at IBC will show complete systems and workflows for Virtual Sets, Galleries, Automated Production Control, Graphics Creation and Playout, News Editorial, Stadium Displays and Studio Robotics on Stand 11.C10. IBC 2016 will see the European debut of the Carbonite Black Solo – the company’s latest compact video switcher that includes DVE functions, media stores, MiniME’s, 8 keyers including an Ultrchrome chroma keyer, assignable frame sync and format convertors, integrated MultiViewer and device control. Impressive production horsepower in an incredibly neat and portable
TMBi - 88
package. Also new at the show will be the Acid Cam range from Ross. Launched earlier this year at NAB, Acid Cam is Ross Video’s first foray into the world of cameras. The range includes 2 models that are well suited to traditional studio use, offering leading levels of resolution, sensitivity and signal to noise ratio. Critically, however, both cameras feature the unique UltraChromeHD output; a new innovation from Ross that addresses the quality problems that usually arise when combining live action capture within virtual environments. Standard HD video has bandwidth limited chroma content. When processing chroma keys for virtual environments, band limited chroma contains insufficient information to create a true high-resolution key signal from original content. As a result, chroma key edge quality is always
band limited, as you simply cannot create edges with half the information ideally required. The solution from Ross consists of a proprietary full bandwidth color signal that is output from Ross ACID UCHR cameras. ACID Cameras provide standard SMPTE 4:2:2 video outputs as well as adding a new, unique output called UltraChromeHR This output signal contains full bandwidth color information in a patent pending 0:4:4 coding format from the camera image sensors. This signal contains full bandwidth color information. The standard 4:2:2 and UltraChromeHR outputs are received by the Carbonite UltraChromeHR chroma keying system and internally combined to create beautiful keys from the resultant 4:4:4 signals, and so offer unprecedented performance when used as Chroma Key sources for virtual productions.
Another new development for 2016 is XPression Tessera: a multi-display realtime graphics designer and controller for Sport Venues and Studio Video Walls. Tessera links together multiple XPression engines to create a scalable matrix of channels for seamless output of scenes across large or irregularly assembled display panels and drive full resolution content making use of every pixel of resolution those displays have to offer. With an upper limit of 2 billion pixels, Tessera can handle any size or shape of display with ease https://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=6ZriJc0Wwag On the newsroom front, the Inception News system now offers a new Enterprise Edition designed to support over 1000 concurrent users in a truly fault tolerant, enterprise class environment. No single point of failure redundancy includes nodebased job delegation and
automatic failover in case of hardware failure. Inception version 10, the latest software release includes the Inception API and SDK. The API enables developers, partners, customers, and resellers the ability to add new core features and to create custom connections to a CMS, social platform, or other internal system – this represents terrific leverage for web savvy organizations. As part of the Inception News demonstration at IBC, Ross will also be showing off Horizon, an enterprise hub that connects multiple Inception systems to each other. Horizon provides content sharing and authoring, manages permissions and access, and federated search across all systems. Horizon also offers copying of information between systems and supports MOS redirection. Horizon is ideal for local news operations that want to see and share content.
Finally, Ross Video will be showing a number of updates to its popular OverDrive automated production control solution. OverDrive gets a UI facelift and new range of options to suit any size production. The latest release includes dozens of new workflow tools and feature enhancements, and the OverDrive product range has now been expanded to include a range of base systems. OverDrive Premium is a fully loaded system that includes MOS integration with Newsroom Systems, Graphics Systems and Video Servers. OverDrive Prime provides all of the core functionality of the Premium package, but makes many of the advanced news production features optional. Lastly there is the new OverDrive Express, the world’s first entry-level automated production control system that is scalable and can grow with the needs of any organisation. TMBi - 89
Booth: 9.A01
SAM Exhibiting in IBC’s new Hall 9 at stand 9.A01, SAM will demonstrate its latest capabilities in 4K and IP sports production workflows; its complete IP product portfolio; and its accelerated move into the software application world. SAM’s CEO, Tim Thorsteinson, comments, “IBC 2016 represents a milestone for us because it’s been one year since Snell officially fused with Quantel to form SAM. Since these two dynamic companies united, we’re now more than ever using our collective experience to be a trusted partner for our customers, pioneering the way content is created and delivered. Our proven IP solutions and comprehensive software systems are winning business around the globe, and our newly launched 4K sports replay system promises exciting opportunities.” He continued, “We’re investing over 20 percent of revenue in R&D and as a result we have a world-class portfolio that delivers the finest offerings on the market today, both in terms of price and performance. This is evidenced by our success with our live production switchers, which rank #1 in EMEA with recent customer TMBi - 90
wins at Telegenic, NEP and Timeline TV and with our brand new news and sports workflow solution which already has orders in excess of five million pounds. The other area we are investing heavily in is Support to build on our unrivalled customer support capability worldwide.”
Delivering the most comprehensive IP solution on the market SAM is at the forefront of developments in IP, offering products that work today in
the SDI domain and allow expansion into the IP world. Unique to this is SAM’s sophisticated IP-Edge production routing technology, which takes the complexity away from hybrid and pure IP rollouts and closely follows the interoperability goals of AIMS.
High capacity 25 GbE and 40 GbE IP Edge interfaces are available on many of SAM’s products including routers, switchers and MultiViewers, along with dedicated IP only processing and control products.
SAM accelerates its move into the software world SAM continues to work with leading service providers on deploying software defined channels for the new face of
playout. SAM will demo its comprehensive software solutions including ICE SDC. This provides the highest levels of playout functionality from a pure software solution running on commodity IT hardware - in a facility or a data centre - as part of a cloud strategy.
4K live sports production and replay over IP Building on SAM’s 4K workflow offerings, which fully satisfy customers’ 4K needs especially in live sports, IBC will see the launch of the new
LiveTouch 4K highlights and replay system with a live demonstration running over IP. LiveTouch enables seamless and efficient scalability and uniquely powerful workflows in standalone systems or integrated into a wider production environment. With LiveTouch, collaboration is instant by all users on the system with no media movement. SAM is also showing its 4K Kula 1ME/2ME production switcher along with its 4K Kahuna range of switchers — all of which feature 4K UHD M/Es that are as easy to use as HD production formats.
SAM Announces a major update for Enterprise sQ Production Platform SAM has enhanced its fast turnaround news and sports production solution. Already the fastest way to edit and publish content for broadcast, Enterprise sQ now includes support for all OTT formats as well a wide range of nonbroadcast formats. Enterprise sQ now supports “ingest to publish” for all formats natively allowing customers to be the first to publish content across all platforms.
Next generation of HD and 4K MultiViewers SAM will show its new MV800 series of Intelligent MultiViewers including the MV-800 MultiViewer which is TMBi - 91
integrated into the Sirius 800 router series. This new MultiViewer series, which includes the standalone MV820, the software based IP stream MV-805, and the integrated MV-850 and MV830 bring new functionality to multi-channel monitoring environments by allowing the operator to use true monitoring-by-exception.
Delivering intelligent infrastructure for monitoring and workflow SAM will show its Signal and Media Assurance system, featuring its Media Biometric intelligent monitoring technology that’s implemented throughout SAM’s processing and infrastructure. This unique technology allows broadcasters, for the first time, to be sure that their customers are receiving the correct video and audio content throughout their production and distribution. By purchasing products that include Media Biometrics, such as SAM’s switchers, MultiViewers, routers, servers and IQ processing solutions, broadcasters can implement monitoring by exception and maximize their operational efficiency and be confident of their content delivery.
New router range and enhancements SAM will be launching its new mid-range Vega processing router line-up at TMBi - 92
the show, featuring four processing router models from 68 ports to 432 ports. These routers provide hybrid audio routing, clean and quiet switching, audio processing and MultiViewer capabilities. SAM will also be showing its new IP input/output capability in its Sirius 800 router series together with expansion capabilities up to 2304x2304. These expansion capabilities have already been deployed in SAM’s hybrid IP/SDI architectures enabling a risk free migration path from SDI to IP infrastructure.
SAM launches new range of modular infrastructure modules Building on the success of its modular range of products SAM is showing its new low cost, high capability range of signal protection modules, synchronisers and mux’s. Additionally SAM is introducing new 12 Gbps 4K signal processing modules and adding its unique logo detection and alarming technology to its monitoring and control solutions.
SAM launches new workflows for Post SAM will demonstrate new shared workflows for Quantel Rio users using commercial off-the-shelf storage. Creatives can now work on the same media with history for color, edit and finishing at 4K on its facility SAN. Quantel Rio will also be
demonstrating wide color gamut and HDR workflows now with RAW color support.
SAM brings industry leading conversion in 4K to file-based and live workflows Alchemist offers the best quality frame rate conversion solutions in both software and realtime hardware guise. Regardless of the application, realtime conversion for 4K streams or resolution independent file-based workflows the Alchemist range is the benchmark for quality. SAM will be launching its Kronos XF software media re-timing product that uses Alchemist technology to allow broadcasters to create additional space in content for increased advertising. “The list above represents an unprecedented amount of new technology created to provide more flexible cost effective solutions for a rapidly changing marketplace. Our order rate increased by a record amount in the first half of the year and we expect this momentum to continue. Growth is validation of our leading technology and world class customer support,” said Thorsteinson.
Booth: 1.C49
Screen Systems Screen Subtitling Systems Still Evolving – Text by Dean Wales
I looked back on commentary from Screen just prior to IBC last year and it very much focusses on the vast and rapid changes that broadcast manufacturers had to make to stay relevant to customers; and to be quite brutal, to simply stay in business. We spoke of being surprised by some of the transformations and even shocked by the rate of how other predicted changes developed. Well a year on and Screen’s product and business strategies continue to undergo subtle adjustments to continually align with an industry that is undeniably still in a state of flux. The extreme pressure freelance subtitlers are under both in terms of time and in level of rates they are able to charge is increasing with other burdens being applied, for one, the cost of subtitle
creation and preparation software. As the developer and supplier of the Wincaps subtitling software suite, we have looked long and hard at making what is universally accepted amongst professional subtitlers as industry standard software and how we make it simpler to obtain, and more accessible in respect of cost. Following a period of redevelopment, centred mostly on simplifying its complex licensing configuration, Screen proudly announced in June 2016 that Wincaps Standard Edition was available for download directly from its website. The pricing structure was also adjusted to work better with what can be irregular contracts for the freelancer. With a seven day free trial available, Wincaps Standard
Edition is now available on a 1 Year subscription basis for £390, for 6 months at £195 or a monthly subscription costs £39 per month (costs are plus VAT at the applicable rate). The online purchasing platform has proven to be hugely popular and it also allows Screen to easily manage and offer the likes of academic institutions preferential rates and specified trial periods for, as an example subtitling training courses. Screen’s Polistream subtitle transmission systems have long been at the centre of many of the world’s broadcaster’s access services and translated/captioned foreign content. Throughout their lives they too have undergone IT advancements improving their capability and efficiency (to provide for TMBi - 93
decreasing space budgets and higher sustainability standards) but recently Polistream’s transformations have been more radical. The diminishing requirements for hardware instigated the introduction Polistream in Virtual Machine form and made available as a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) option, allowing for the first time for customers to run our technology on their own hardware. A major rebalancing of OPEX over CAPEX spend within the industry and indeed the emergence of pop-up channels were the key drivers to the introduction of Screen’s Polistream rental option. However, as eluded to at the start, the broadcast industry continues to contradict certain trends and is still capable of throwing in fast spinning curve-balls. Just as we were comfortable with what felt like an allencompassing transmission product portfolio which was shifting ever more into a virtual environment, emerging markets such as Russia have expressed a need for hardware. And our misconception of being able to continue selling our Polistream hardware rapidly evaporated by requests for a technical specification TMBi - 94
beyond the capability of what was our only available subtitle transmission solution. Never before seen at IBC, Screen’s new Polistream U8000 has taken what we had considered to be an already exemplary product to a completely new level. Housed in a full-length 1U unit, the U8000 is now based on a Windows Server 2012 R2 Operating System. The introduction of dual power supplies enables customers to swap out UPS batteries with zero downtime for subtitle transmission. That’s product development over the past year, so what about the evolved business strategy we spoke of earlier? Partnership working has always been a priority for Screen and the resultant product integration has led to better and more robust and efficient products for the end-user. Over the past few months Screen has strengthened its partnerships team with the intention to open up our knowledge and incredibly strong channel connections
for the benefit of third-party products. You may have seen our ‘Open Our Minds to a New Way of Thinking’ advertising campaign inviting companies to contacting about us developing a market for their innovations. MediaStor (powered by Suitcase TV) is one such new relationship germinated from this fresh thinking. MediaStor is our new cost competitive solution that is specifically designed for media storage with seamless expandability of capacity and access speed. This new solution uses COTS technology in a software defined storage architecture to deliver outstanding low costs per byte of stored media. MediaStor’s included Hierarchical Storage Management application can map your stored content directly into a Windows™ environment and can integrate existing storage into a single managed hierarchy with full audit trails and access control. As an example 1 Petabyte of MAID Archive storage is available in a MediaStor solution from just £99k (Based on a system with a total capacity 1 Petabyte RAW archive storage).
Sennheiser and Neumann
Booth: 8.D50
From action camera microphone to professional studio monitors: At IBC, Sennheiser and Neumann showcase a broad portfolio for content production Sennheiser and Neumann will show the full bandwidth of their audio solutions at a joint stand in Hall 8, D50. Themed areas from ‘Mobile Journalism’ to ‘Field Production’ will showcase future-oriented products such as the AMBEO virtual-reality microphone, a special microphone for action cameras or the brand-new 27 series broadcast headsets. These headsets combine a closed, circumaural design with very low weight and outstanding comfort for the user. “Whatever the application, at IBC, we want to show users how they can record top-notch audio – whether they are looking for a microphone for podcast productions or a solution for professional ENG work,” said Achim Gleissner, Commercial Manager Broadcast & Media at Sennheiser. “By creating themed areas, visitors can experience the products in their own familiar working environments, from consumer to pro level.”
New products The broadcast headsets of the new 27 series will bring a new age of user comfort to
commentary booths: All models feature a closed, circumaural design while remaining lightweight and compact – a definite advantage over other models on the market. The new headsets fulfil the EU directive on protection against noise at the workplace. For extreme sports footage with great audio, IBC will see Sennheiser show the prototype of a new microphone for GoPro action cameras that easily withstands adverse conditions such as wind,
water, snow and splashes of mud. The special windshield of the microphone ensures excellent protection against wind noise even during water sports. The microphone is expected to become available from March 2017.
AMBEO 3D Audio A virtual-reality demonstration recorded with Sennheiser’s upcoming AMBEO VR Mic will envelop visitors with totally immersive, natural sound – almost eliminating the boundaries between playback and the real experience. TMBi - 95
Mobile Journalism
models.
For the growing field of mobile journalism, Sennheiser is showcasing the wireless microphone systems of its AVX series, which operates in the license-free 1.9 GHz range. “A lot of expertise in RF wireless technology went into the development of this series, which is why it is such an easy-to-use tool for videographers,” explains Gleissner.
Field Production
Wired microphones on show in this themed area include the ClipMic digital and MKE 2 digital clip-on microphones, as well as the HandMic digital. All of these models utilise Apogee‘s multiaward-winning A/Dconversion technology which ensures professional recording quality with smart devices.
Filmmaking The Filmmaking area addresses semi-professional users and demanding consumers, showcasing the MKE 440 stereo microphone for DSLR cameras, and the mono MKE 400 and MKE 600 TMBi - 96
The highlight product in this area is the two-channel EK 6042 – the only camera receiver that is able to simultaneously receive an analogue and a digital transmitter. For wireless boom miking, there is an MKH 8060 shotgun microphone with SKP 2000 plug-on transmitter, while an SKM 9000 handheld transmitter and an MKE 1 clip-on microphone are showcased as miking options for ENG work.
Sports Broadcasting The field of sports broadcasting is a hotbed of innovation, which is why it merits a dedicated additional area at the stand. Besides the new broadcast headsets of the 27 series and the HD 25 professional headphones, shotgun microphones of both Sennheiser (the classic MKH 416, the MKH 8060 short gun and the MKH 8070 long gun) and Neumann (KMR 81i, medium length) will be on show. Also presented is the
Esfera microphone system which generates fully-fledged 5.1 audio from just two channels.
Studio Monitoring Various set-ups for studio monitoring can be tested at the stand: Neumann loudspeakers including the KH 310 and KH 120 as well as KH 810 subwoofers are available for those wishing to try out surround and surround + height arrangements. To get the perfect sound for 9.1, original AMBEO 3D audio recordings and AMBEO upmixes are used.
Recording and Broadcast Microphones The Neumann BCM 104 is an ideal announcer’s microphone for broadcasting and studio, which will be demonstrated alongside the Neumann TLM 102, TLM 103 and U 87 Ai studio models. Rounding off the microphone area is the Sennheiser MK 4 digital, which features Apogee-A/D conversion and preamp technology that make it an ideal choice for digital audio recording.
Booth: 7.J15
SGL Entry-level archive in FlashNet Lite By Lee Sheppard, Director of Product Management 2016 has been a busy year for SGL and at IBC 2016 the company will unveil its new entry-level archive FlashNet Lite, on stand 7.J15. Available in two configurations – FL Disk and FL Hybrid – FlashNet Lite provides customers with disk only content storage or a combination of disk and tape. Running on a single server node, FlashNet Lite can grow as the customer’s archive expands. It includes important FlashNet tools including: integration with a wide range of partner solutions and storage devices; business storage rules; partial file restore; and SGL’s new sophisticated
Infinity user interface. Visitors to the SGL stand can also enjoy a full Infinity demonstration. Providing broadcasters and content owners with an elegant dashboard that simplifies the management of media archives, Infinity delivers a sophisticated toolset for archive and restore functionality, system health, monitoring, analysis and more. It is available as a free upgrade to all SGL FlashNet users covered by a current support contract who are running FlashNet 6.6 or later. FlashNet Infinity takes a novel approach to the management of archived
assets. While FlashNet itself is optimised for enterpriselevel archiving, with the capability for automatic failover and for distributed processing of very high levels of activity, Infinity is designed for high-performance search, monitoring and analysis. To manage the sometimes conflicting objectives of very efficient throughput and equally efficient data analysis, the processing and database demands of FlashNet and Infinity are managed separately. Two separate but connected SQL Server databases store FlashNet’s transactional information and Infinity’s metadata and summary data.
TMBi - 97
The two databases can be run on the same or separate servers, depending on requirements. Infinity is a web-based framework that runs dashboards containing one or more gadgets. Each gadget offers a tool, which for convenience SGL groups into searching, monitoring, analysing and system administration categories. While some dashboards are pre-configured by SGL as system-defined, others can be created by the organisation or by the individual user by dragging and dropping gadgets. All dashboards can be modified to fit the organisation, depending on the access rights of a specific user. TMBi - 98
There are several benefits to this approach. First, Infinity can be configured to work exactly as needed by the particular organisation or user. Secondly, SGL can easily roll out additional gadgets to FlashNet customers over time, with each site determining how they will introduce them. A third benefit of this technology framework is that each gadget can be embedded within the user interfaces of SGL’s partners’ solutions. SGL will also have a number of partner demonstrations on its stand by Arvato Systems, Empress, Glookast, Marquis, Primestream and VSN throughout the show.
Booth: 10.D46
Thinklogical New Compact and Flexible 24-Port 10G Hybrid KVM Matrix Switch Thinklogical announced the launch of its new TLX24 matrix switch at IBC 2016, Sept. 9-13 2016 in Amsterdam, in stand 10.D46. The TLX24 offers a compact, high performance, nonblocking, 24-port matrix switch for complete, end-toend routing of video and peripheral signals. The 1RU matrix is available with fiber, CATx and hybrid connectivity options and may be configured as a unidirectional 24x24 or a bidirectional 12x12 switch. The TLX24 delivers a 100 percent uncompressed, 10 gigabits per second signal path with the lowest signal latency in the industry. When combined with TLX extenders, the TLX24 offers precise pixel-for-pixel transmission and switching of
UHD, HDR and 4K DCI resolution video -- up to 4096 x 2160 resolution, 60Hz frame rate, 4:4:4 chroma subsampling and 30-bit per pixel color depth -- with no visual artifacts, jitter or lost frames, and with instantaneous computer peripheral responsiveness.
quickly configured to accommodate any signal format or direction, in or out. It is easy to change any port on the TLX24 to be video or audio or machine-or-tablet control -- whatever configuration is required to accomplish a task -- in just minutes.
TLX24 incorporates an easy-to-use push-button interface for simplified access and control, and its small form factor is ideal for spaceconstrained applications such as broadcast control rooms, post-production suites and O.B. mobile production trucks.
True “Any-to-Any” Switching for Flexibility and Efficiency
With this true “any-to-any” switching capability, a flexible and efficient “virtual-suite” design concept is made possible, where operators in all of the rooms in a broadcast or post-production facility —including control rooms, edit suites, theaters, slow motion replay workstations, and viewing rooms—can instantly switch in and out of whatever computer they are controlling.
With a protocol-agnostic architecture, virtually any signal -- regardless of type or standard -- can be switched through the TLX24, and any port on the matrix can be
Having one routing system with the flexibility to change the purpose of a suite or workstation with the push of a button, without having to physically re-wire or move
TMBi - 99
servers and displays dramatically improves efficiency and productivity without compromising creativity, quality or reliability. “Based on customer demand, Thinklogical has engineered all of the power and performance of our midto large-scale matrix switches into a new compact form factor with the TLX24,” said Joe Pajer, president and CEO of Thinklogical. “The uncompressed highbandwidth signal stream and flexible switching options found in TLX24 means content creation professionals no longer need to compromise on productivity, performance and resolution quality when working with 4K or HDR content.” Other demonstrations in the Thinklogical stand at IBC include: • Intuitive Mouse Control with Mouse-Over Cross-Display TMBi - 100
Switching: Seamless, instant, screen selection by just moving the mouse from screen to screen allows for intuitive access to multiple independent computer sources without manual switching or interrupting workflow. • Text Overlay: Provides a customized display capability to more easily identify source, with custom overlay size, color and positioning. • System Management Portfolio and System Management Interface (SMP/SMI) with Enhanced Configurable On-Screen Display (OSD): Interactive drag-and-drop and flexible user-definable Hot Keys system management. Features include remote system monitoring and updating, and mouse and keyboard sharing. • Compressed vs. Uncompressed KVM Signal Management: Side-by-side competitive product comparison, highlighting the smooth and accurate video delivery and peripheral performance enabled by the uncompressed highbandwidth signal stream
found in all Thinklogical KVM products.
TLX24 Product Features: • Configurable up to a 24x24 switch • 10Gbps bandwidth per port • Re-clocking technology maintains signal integrity • Protocol agnostic • Multi-mode fiber, single mode fiber, CATx and hybrid configurations • Completely non-blocking architecture • Route video and data up to 80km over fiber, 100m over CAT6a • MTBF over 100,000 hours • Hot-swappable optical modules • Replaceable modular power supply • Push button control interface • System Management Portfolio integration for complete switch control and management The TLX24 and other TLX Series hybrid signal management products are available for order now from Thinklogical and authorized Thinklogical resellers. More TLX information and specifications can be found at: http://www.thinklogical.com /products
Aaton Digital (Booth 12.F30) Aaton Digital will present the complete CantarX3 digital sound recorder package at IBC 2016, including the new Cantarem2. The CantarX3, packed with an array of professional and innovative features, has already made a huge impact on the sound recording sector for cinematography, broadcast, drama, and orchestral work. Many early adopters were users of previous CantarX recorders, but the wider market is now recognising the true potential of this outstanding design, a flexible tool for those who need to record professional audio for years to come. Many new owners have taken to extolling the many virtues of their new state of the art recorder on social media, and interacting with designers and engineers at Aaton Digital, who are always there for the users to discuss points arising. With such optimised ergonomics and a bright and comprehensive display, the CantarX3 is extremely robust and can go on working in extreme conditions of
heat and cold, recently being used on location high on Mount Everest. The CantarX3, amongst other unique features, can selfgenerate PDF and CSV Sound Reports, with ALE files embedded within deliverable media. New firmware and software updates are issued from time to time bringing new features, some from the design team and some via feedback and requests from users in the field. The Cantarem2 is a USB quick add-on extension mixer panel to extend the control capabilities of the CantarX3. With 12 full travel 100mm linear faders, 12 solo buttons, 2 shift buttons and 4 assignable buttons it offers the production sound mixer many options. New CantarX3 accessories continue to appear to enhance operation for users. New Low and High Pot Knobs are now available in 13 colours. Also, the new generation of sliders pad with a soft top, compatible with CantarX3 and Cantarem2.
Adder Technology (Booth: 7.C30) Adder Technology will be demonstrating the power and performance of IPbased KVM and its benefits for the broadcast market on stand at IBC 2016. Included in the line-up are a number of recent product releases specifically developed for use throughout the broadcast workflow, from studio and galley control, to post production and the outside broadcast. The new AdderLink XDIP extender is one such product — a high performance AV extender that offers USB and audio over a single CatX cable, the AdderLink XDIP enables remote access to critical computing, while flexibly extending the desktop experience. Another featured product is the Adder C-USB LAN network extender. Able to be integrated into the AdderLink Infinity Manager or sit alone it delivers high-speed USB2.0 extension at 480 megabits per second, the extender is ideal for file ingest from cameras or other USB devices. The Adder CUSB LAN will form part of a larger demonstration on stand to demonstrate the value that IP-based KVM can bring to the broadcast ecosystem.
TMBi - 101
Avid (Booth 7.J20)
Bluebell Opticom (Booth 10.F24) NEW BCX-760 Series 10G Ethernet Point-toPoint Fibre Link Making its European debut is Bluebell Opticom's BCX-760 Series 10G Ethernet pointto-point fibre link, a camera-back interface that allows easy connection and signal transport between a camera and an outside broadcast (OB) truck or a base station. TDM-750 HD-SDI Module With Ethernet Fibre Interface
Avid to Unveil Latest Innovations and New Products at IBC 2016 Avid® announced that at IBC 2016 it will unveil several MediaCentral® Platform innovations, new products and product enhancements. The new solutions and technology advancements that Avid will unveil at IBC include: • MediaCentral Platform and iNEWS® innovations to help news organizations create powerful, story-centric workflows, while making complex multiplatform story creation easier, more effective and efficient • New product additions and major updates for the Avid NEXISTM family, the softwaredefined storage platform specifically designed for storing and managing media • Sports solutions that support Ultra HD/4K production, and offer powerful sports enhancements and new immersive experiences for viewers • New graphics solutions to help organizations better captivate their audience and define their brand using augmented reality, unique studio enhancements and awe-inspiring 3D data-driven graphics • Innovations in sound, with more connected, more affordable live-sound solutions TMBi - 102
Also on display at IBC2016 will be the TDM750, a rack-mounted module for singledirection transport of HD-SDI and 100Base-T Ethernet signals. Requiring only two fibres with an option for single-fibre operation, the TDM750 is perfect for smaller robotic/POV camera systems that require only a single video path and bidirectional data via Ethernet. The unit can be used widely in broadcast and security applications. BC364 Wavelength-Management System With Remote Monitoring The BC364 multiformat interface takes in multiple optical signals and retransmits them at wavelengths that can be inserted into a CWDM mux. On the other end of the link, the signals are returned to their individual state. This functionality, coupled with Bluebell's ShaxX power-insertion technology, is what makes camera multiplexing possible. In this application, the BC364 is packaged with ShaxX in a flight case to facilitate the operation of multiple broadcast HD-SDI camera systems over a single fibre.
Brainstorm Multimedia (Booth 7.C12) Brainstorm’s new Infinity Set set to star at IBC 2016 Brainstorm Multimedia will showcase at IBC 2016 the virtual presentation called From Leonardo to Ricardo, a visual history of virtual technology from its origins in the 15th century to the present day. This presentation, originally showcased at NAB 2016, introduces the latest features of Brainstorm's Infinity Set virtual set application enhanced by graphics and other content created with Aston, Brainstorm’s 3D graphics and CG solution. Brainstorm will demonstrate the latest developments of Infinity Set, its award-winning virtual set, which further enhance the patented TrackFree technology. TrackFree is a completely new approach to virtual set production that combines the
cost and simplicity of trackless systems with the advanced camera movements of the tracking environments to provide users with a previously unavailable third option for their virtual studio requirements. Infinity Set’s HandTracking feature, which enables presenters to trigger animations and graphics with the simple movement of their hands, is the
latest of the jaw-dropping features made possible by TrackFree. Top of the list of these features is TeleTransporter, Brainstorm’s revolutionary ‘virtual traveler’ feature used to outstanding effect during the latest Spanish general election, where a live presenter was teleported inside the main Congress Chamber of Spain during the election night coverage.
Digigram (Booth 8.C51)
IQOYA IP Audio-Streaming Technology Now Open to Ecosystem Partners Digigram is making its renowned IQOYA audio-over-IP (AoIP) technology accessible as middleware to ecosystem partners for creation of their
own live streaming, processing, and encoding systems. In introducing its unique IQOYA *VIP engine, Digigram allows OEM partners to focus on providing their own value-added applications, confident that their offerings are built on proven high-performance AoIP streaming technology. IQOYA *VIP ENGINE IQOYA *VIP combines Digigram's IQOYA IP audio streaming and encoding engine, built on the company's advanced FluidIP™ technology,
and key real-time audio-over-IP protocols in a solution tailored for broadcast OEM partners and system integrators. IQOYA *CLOUD Web App Accessible from anywhere via the web browser of any connected device, IQOYA *CLOUD provides an integrated master control room (MCR) application, built on a comprehensive and secure SIP broadcast infrastructure, that makes it easy to deploy, configure, and control a fleet of IP audio codecs. TMBi - 103
FOR-A (Booth 2.A51) Visitors to the FORA stand will see the ever popular live production solution consisting of the HVS2000 Video Production Switcher, offering three traditional M/Es and four MELite™ M/Es, the MFR-3000, a Multi-Format Routing Switcher, supporting 3G/HD/SD-SDI signals, the Insight Server with a fourchannel playout system designed for both studio and OB van environments, and GearLink™ software for centralized visual control of video switchers and other peripherals via a touchscreen. In addition to the above, FOR-A will showcase two other 4K solutions. The first contains the portable HVS-110 Video Switcher, with a MFR-3000 and a DSK-400 4K (UHD) Keyer. The other solution consists of the HVS-2000 with optional 4K 3D DVE and a MFR-5000 3G/HD/SD/ASI/AES/R S-422 Routing Switcher.
TMBi - 104
Ikegami (Booth 12.A31) NEW: Ikegami UHK-430 4Knative portable broadcast camera The Ikegami UHK-430 portable broadcast camera incorporates three newly-developed 4K-native 2/3 inch 8 megapixel CMOS sensors which provide full 3840 x 2160 ultra-high definition resolution plus the depth of field required for studio and outdoor production.
NEW: Ikegami HQLM-3120W 31 inch 4K Broadcast Quality Monitor The HQLM-3120W is designed for use as a full 4K master reference monitor in television production studios, postproduction suites, master control rooms and playout centres. It employs an LED-illuminated 31.1 inch pixel LCD panel with full 4096 x 2160 resolution and 10-bit processing depth.
NEW: Ikegami HDL-F3000 Multi-Format Ultra-Low-Light Camera Ikegami has chosen IBC2016 as the launch venue for the
revolutionary HDL-F3000 multiformat ultra-low-light camera. Capable of operating at illumination levels down to starlight, the HDLF3000 produces high quality colour video under an extremely wide range of night or daytime conditions.
NEW: Ikegami MCP-300 Network Master Control Panel The MCP-300 is a newly designed network master control panel for use not only with Ikegami's conventional ICCP control and Arcnet based control but also under Ethernet based control. It allows simultaneous master control of up to 10 cameras. Up to 100 source cameras can be selected (10 cameras x 10 groups). The MCP-300 also supports Powering over Ethernet, so a separate power supply is not necessary.
IMAGEN (Booth 7.F39) Imagen it will be showcasing its new Global Distribution feature at IBC2016. The latest benefit added to the award winning Imagen Enterprise Video Platform brings broadcast quality content closer to clients by automatically replicating large libraries of media to hundreds of strategic global locations using public cloud infrastructure.
The new solution creates an economically viable answer to monetising content across multiple territories, offering a subscription based VOD platform for a B2C audience, while also catering for production and broadcast partners’ high resolution needs, through a secure, scalable and highly customisable web platform.
Shotoku Broadcast Systems (Booth 12.E42) Shotoku Broadcast Systems is showcasing its TP200VR/300 VR system to the European broadcast market at this year’s 2016 IBC Show in Amsterdam. The company’s combined TP200VR pedestal and SX-300 VR head, which Shotoku will be demonstrating at Stand 12.E42, produce an industry-leading VR tracking system without compromise in accuracy or ease of operation. The Company will also highlight its advanced TP500, SmartPed, SmartTrack and Free-d2 systems.
TSL (Booth 10.B41) TSL Systems will announce expansion of their fibre and structured cabling service at IBC2016. The fibre and structured cabling service helps companies improve their infrastructure and security. Services offered include a full site survey, system design and project management of the installation, along with testing, full documentation and network security. Whether installing site-wide WLAN or installing fibre stage boxes for cameras in stadia, TSL Systems works with each company to ensure minimal disruption to the day-to-day operation of their business. TSL Systems will also be demonstrating its lifecycle support services at IBC2016, combining asset management, risk assessment and warranty management, together with a support portal to keep its customers up to date with the latest software and firmware updates. Broadcasters cannot afford to have any studio downtime, so this service package helps cover that eventuality, and is an option chosen by many different facilities.
The TP-200VR pedestal and SX-300 VR head combination offer Shotoku’s well-known light-touch control and robust stability to match even the most demanding applications. Highly accurate pan, tilt, zoom, focus, X, Y and height data output keeps the VR graphics system precisely synchronized to the camera’s floor position, orientation and height.
Videomenthe (Booth 2.A36b) At the IBC 2016, Videomenthe will be presenting its solutions for processing media files: Eolementhe©, its tool for creating media file workflows, but also VideomentheCloud, its cloud platform for secure, accelerated file sharing, not to mention all of its distributed solutions. This year the company will shine the spotlight on Eolementhe© v2, which, thanks to its user-friendly interface, makes for intuitive media workflow creation, facilitating ready-to-broadcast (RTB) file sharing between broadcasting users. Within this automated multi-provider environment, you’ll find a complete workflow: transcoding, quality control, audio level correction and analysis, manual or automatic delivery of the technical and editorial metadata, etc. So, all that’s needed to implement a workflow is a simple workstation connected to the internet and the extremely intuitive interface can be picked up immediately. For even more flexible use, Eolementhe© can also be run by a third-party system, thanks to its application programming interface (API).
TMBi - 105
TMBi - 106
David Ross joined Ross Video in 1991 managing all switcher product development; he has been promoted since then due to his expertise and excellent managing skills, reaching the CEO position in April of 2006. He also still continue being the Product Manager for Ross Production Switcher lines. Ross Video is growing an average of 20% each year and had become a Game Changer in Live Production.
TMBi - 107
potential, especially in EMEA, and so I am sure we can become an even larger company in the years to come. We’ve grown rapidly in EMEA over the last 5 years despite the difficult economic conditions and that has been down to our customer-centric approach and the great people we’ve employed. I’m sure there’s plenty more to come.
Which product line do you think will grow the most in 2017?
INTERVIEW WITH DAVID ROSS, ROSS VIDEO CEO Where/how do you see Ross Video in the future? Ross is focused on providing equipment for live productions (and in the United States we are also sometimes contracted to do the productions themselves). Ross will continue to specialise in the equipment required to produce live events for news, entertainment programming, stadiums, OB Vans and Legislatures. I think we have a great deal of growth TMBi - 108
All of our product lines are experiencing healthy growth, including our Acuity and Carbonite production switchers, XPression Motion Graphics, Furio and Cambot Robotics, NK and Ultrix Routers, Inception Newsroom, ACID cameras, and OverDrive production control, just to name a few. We currently do have several particularly exciting developments in Ultrix Routers & Multiviewers, ACID Cameras, and the XPression product line in general – those are worth watching closely for sure. It’s worth mentioning that our 2016 theme of ‘Smart Production’ (as seen at NAB, IBC and the other regional shows we’ve exhibited at) is all about explaining to potential customers how Ross products fit together into an ecosystem that enables them to work more efficiently and more cost-effectively while
producing even more creative content. It’s therefore great to see strong growth across the product range but also great to see customers using more Ross stuff and getting tangible business, technology and creative benefits from doing so.
Which are the main markets to be focused on in the next years? Markets can be viewed as market verticals or geographic areas. In the case of market verticals, live production continues to be an exciting place in general. The continued rise of internet broadcasting has created many new media brands and so much more programming that we are in a fantastic position to serve, while at the same time traditional broadcasters are retooling for a new future as well. Geographically, Ross Video sees Europe in general as an important place that we’re investing in extremely heavily. Our European customers are often very surprised by how
much Ross Video has to offer them today, and in many places we need to move that from shock to an ongoing relationship.
Ross Video has about 500 employees, how many of them are involved only on R+D? Ross actually is currently passing through 600 employees and we anticipate being closer to 700 by the end of 2017! About 150 of them, about 1/3 are part of our R&D team which is a very large percentage considering that Ross Video also has inhouse manufacturing with several double shifted surface mount assembly machines. Ross has always been very technology focused and given that we’ve been growing at 17% a year every year for the past 25 years, it seems to be a winning strategy to keep pushing the technology envelope.
product's quality in a wide portfolio like yours?
technology influencing next products to be launched?
Ross has a huge commitment to quality. We’re currently undergoing a company-wide process to closely align ourselves with ISO-9000 without actually going all the way to full certification. To have quality in all areas including software, hardware, robotics, manufacturing, services, support, and more, quality has to be built into the company as a fundamental value. And then, you have to provide the funding to your staff to actually get the job done.
We definitely have a clear vision on not just how to integrate IP into our products, but on how that integration will fundamentally change the form factor and function of what our products will become in the future. It’s an exciting time for sure. At the same time, we need to understand that our industry doesn’t move as fast as telecom or a consumer industry, so we need to ensure that we support our customers that have chosen traditional approaches. We see traditional SDI video workflows coexisting with IP workflows for a long time to come.
Now that IP is much more real, is this
What's the secret to achieve such a high
TMBi - 109
TMBi - 110
Watching television — like we did a decade ago — is no longer a linear experience. In fact, it’s no longer even about watching television in the strictest sense. Consumers are, however, in the driving seat with myriad choices when it comes to what they want to watch — series, movies, sport, live broadcasts, and on demand content. They have almost unlimited choice in how they want to watch this content, whether that’s in the living room on the humble television set, streamed via their games console, or through an app on their smartphone, tablet or laptop. And sometimes they even use a combination of devices, like watching a show on television but participating in online discussions via Twitter on their smartphones or tablets.
TMBi - 111
Menno Koopmans, senior VP subscription broadcasting, Universal Electronics
CONSTANT
CHOICE RIGHT ? CHANGE
AND GROWTH The market is constantly evolving with the emergence of new players, particularly in the OTT space, and changing business models of existing players — just consider the announcement of the 2016 launch of a streaming service in the US by the BBC. And if industry analysts are to be believed, this is only going to grow. In fact, according to Infonetics Research, the global set-top box market is forecast to be worth over $19 billion by 2018. So while consumers currently have more choice than ever before in terms of both content and devices, has viewing behaviour changed that dramatically? The short answer is, yes it has. TMBi - 112
Regardless of how content is received by the viewer, via terrestrial, satellite, cable or internet streaming, the fact remains that providers of this content are looking to find new ways to not only monetize their offerings, but also raise the levels of interaction. Generally, viewers don’t worry about where their favourite programmes are coming from, only that they are able to watch them where, when and how they would like to.
IS GOOD ,
But with so such choice, how do content providers — from OTT operators to socalled traditional broadcasters — ensure that they are meeting the needs of their customers and properly monetising the content at the same time? Ultimately it comes down to user experience, the way in which users access the content, find what they’re looking for and then consume it. In the living room, for example, the driving force behind this user experience is undoubtedly the remote control. In recent research conducted by Trendbox DB on behalf of Universal Electronics, it was found that of viewers in the UK, Germany and France, there was an average of 3.3 remote controls per household. This is in no way surprising
considering that 75% of respondents also had other devices (like set-top boxes, DVD players, games consoles and computers) connected to their main televisions. One of the ways around the multiple remote conundrum is the universal remote. In the research, 25% of respondents used a universal remote and of that percentage 32% believe that it is easier than using multiple remotes to control multiple devices. Interestingly, the volume control buttons are those most used on the remote, and almost a third of all consumers admitted they only used a few buttons because they didn’t understand what the rest actually did.
USER
EXPERIENCE
The confusion around remote controls doesn’t stop there. One of the main user challenges is the confusion around switching source, or navigating between TV, settop box, games console and other components like a DVD player or amplifier. In fact, 34% of respondents said that they struggled to get the right picture onto the screen. This inability to properly access content can have detrimental consequences for manufacturers in the financial sense. 10% of these respondents said they
contacted support to help them change the source. The number may not seem high, but when you consider that each call to the contact centre could last several minutes, that’s time agents could be spending on other income-generating activities or answering other customer queries.
SIMPLIFYING
CONTROL
It’s not all doom and gloom. The remote control can be used to simplify the user experience. If it is easy to use (and can be used to control other devices) then content providers can take steps towards making sure their content appears where it should. A key part of the simplification process relates to navigation. For set-top box
operators and OTT content especially, searchability is crucial. A number of methods can be used to find content, depending on the type of remote control. This includes voice, hand movement and gesture control, using keys and track pads, or even apps that can turn your smartphone into remote controls. But getting to the point where users can search for and interact with the content they want begins when the remote is actually set up. This process is particularly important when it relates to a universal remote that controls everything including the TV, DVD player, set-top box and console. While many users might get installers to set up the remote control during the initial installation process, what happens when
components are added to the stack, or if remotes get broken or lost?
CONCLUSION Consumers, regardless of what they’re controlling, want a remote that is easy to use. This is reflected in the research with 80% of respondents agreeing. However, this isn’t always the case as the more choices viewers have, the more complex their watching journey becomes. But more choice doesn’t necessarily need to mean more complexity. In fact, with content providers and manufacturers working together to perfect the user experience, all goals can be met; whether that’s improving the user experience, monetising content or creating the perfect remote. TMBi - 113
THE LATEST EFFICIENT AND VERSATILE HANDHELD CAMERA 4K, HD, HFR, XAVC, XLR, 3G-SDI, Wi-Fi, NFC, 1” Exmor RS, small size, balanced, lightweight, affordable… With this collection of labels, what else can we possibly ask for?
TMBi - 114
TEST AREA
TMBi - 115
TEST AREA
Author: Luis PavĂa
The collection of specifications lengthy, despite the array of initials that we shall now outline- is what we expect from a modern-day camera, presented at the beginning of this year. However, one specification, in particular, marks a truly significant difference and makes this camera unique. But before revealing which one it is, we will summarise that it is a handheld camera, with Sony's classic style and appearance. All the controls are in the usual places to make the operator's life that bit easier. It is small and lightweight, weighing in it at just over two kilos including the battery and all the necessary elements to perform properly. There has also been a significant makeover in performance compared to its predecessor, the PXW-Z100, albeit with very similar aesthetics. Going back to that unique detail, that something that makes it so special... We are referring to the one-inch Exmor RS CMOS image sensor. It is special not only for its qualities (back illumination and more surface per pixel to improve sensitivity) but for its compact size. Warning - this “one TMBi - 116
TEST AREA
inch” is not the real physical size, but the equivalent, like what we do with the focal lengths of optics. Let’s see the consequences it brings: Even before the appearance of high definition, most video camera sensors varied between 1/3 and 2/3 inch, so they have always offered quite a wide depth of field yet conveying a narrow depth of field was virtually impossible. Then came the revolution of the reflex with video functionalities and larger sensors, from “APS” to “full frame”, that offered the “cinema look” with the next to nothing depth of fields that excited us so much. Later on, this size increase also extended to video cameras
and their new “Super-35” sensors.
focus. We only have to see the newscast to realise how often this happens. Shooting a short film or an advert in cinema mode with a reflex and contained costs is all very well, but as soon as we don’t have absolute control of the scene and the subject’s movements, or unless we have an extraordinarily talented focus puller, our work becomes compromised.
The larger the sensor, less depth of field… so far so good. But then we were faced with reality: try to keep the focus on fast-moving subjects, or when the reporters, documentary makers and ENG operators have to move, and the area of interest becomes out of
Here is where the inch sensor offers a substantial difference and the balance you cannot achieve with other sensor sizes. With open diaphragms, we can offer a depth of field that is sufficiently narrow so as to keep the attention of the spectator where we choose,
A significant makeover in performance compared to its predecessor, the PXW-Z100, albeit with very similar aesthetics.
TMBi - 117
TEST AREA
without critical margins. When closing, we have a sufficient depth of field to move in difficult circumstances, ensuring we keep the area of interest focused risk-free. We found this balance to be very desirable and more so in UHD cameras, where focus failures are even more striking than in HD.
TMBi - 118
A larger sensor, less depth of field, so far so good. But then, we were faced with reality: try to keep the focus on fast-moving subjects. Only for this feature, this camera marks a substantial difference. It is also true that there are cameras that use the same sized sensor (even the exact same sensor if we
look at Sony), but we return to the difference in handling offered by a video camera with a more or less conventional body with readily accessible controls or
TEST AREA
a photo camera -compact in many cases- and their limitations as regards handling or performing adjustments while filming. But let’s not let that single feature divert attention from other very interesting ones. After looking at it all ways possible, we believe that the second feature worthy of mention is the price. The reason is quite simple: during this laboratory we are going to talk about some small shortages, that under no circumstances compromise functionality, but, in our honest opinion, that they would have been necessary to offer a product of this category in this price range, i.e. just over 3,000 Euros
before taxes; something unthinkable a year ago. We are convinced that, as with the size of the sensor, they have sought a balance in features without the price soaring. So, for instance, and despite the 4K label, the camera is actually a UHD (QFHD, you know: 3840 x 2160), which is the format used by most clients for viewing and what most people, save the purists, will call “4K�. Another interesting feature, thanks to the high-powered image processor, is its HFR capacity (high frame rate or the authentic slow motion) of up to 120 frames per second, and this is important: no time
limits. If our filming format is 24p, this means a real slow motion of 5x, that is, an action of 5 seconds becomes a shot of 25 seconds and a 1-hour action, becomes 5 hours. The sky is the limit here! On this occasion, the only limitation is due to the HFR only existing in HD, because in UHD it reaches up to the 30 frames per second necessary to film usual frequencies. We think this is a good balance. The optic, noninterchangeable, is a 9.3-11.6 mm zoom equivalent to a 29348 mm, f 2.8-4.5 which we can mount an angular adaptor on through the incorporated bayonet, in the style of the now classic EX1. TMBi - 119
TEST AREA
From among the advantages, it offers three independent rings for the focus, zoom and iris, although they are not mechanical. Optically speaking, it is a 12x to which we can add a digital extensor with the option of limiting the range within what Sony calls “Clear Image Zoom� to reach 18x in UHD or 24x in HD, which, as we have seen, enables increasing the scope to television mode without a perceptible loss of quality in virtually all circumstances. And if our needs are others, the digital zoom extension takes us up to 48x. Resuming the focus matter, the camera uses the contrast detection technique and has a face tracking functionality, in addition to the usual focus peaking to highlight the edges of the elements in the focus, and a magnifying glass in the viewfinder with two levels of enlargement that can be repositioned to view any part of the original image enlarged, from corner to corner. Once we have framed our shot and it is in focus, we can control it with the help of the three fully integrated ND filters that provide a 1/4, 1/16 and 1/64 reduction, respectively. On the contrary though, the ranges of gain (assignable through the menu to the three position selector) can be configured in 3 db steps from -3 (negative gain to add the equivalent to one point more of ND) up to +33. Here, the limit considered for each job will lie in the exquisiteness of each one, according to their wishes and TMBi - 120
TEST AREA
the requirements of the job and the client. Rightly, we have image profiles that can also be configured in their different parameters to obtain the best of each shot. Among the gamma curves, we have some with a very similar response to the cinegamma of higher models, but we miss the fact that there are none of the S-Log type. But, who
The 3.5 inch and 1.5 Megapixel screen now swivels to be visible from virtually any angle and offers a very accurate image, but our recommendation is to shade it while working in broad daylight, so as to not lose contrast. knows? Updates have sometimes brought us pleasant surprises, and this would be a good option for the future. Filming formats are really broad: starting from a XAVC-L of 100 or 60 Mbps for QFHD to HD with XAVC-L of 50 or 35 Mbps, interesting MPEG2 422 at 50 Mbps or MPEG2 420 at 35 Mbps, in addition to several AVCHD of 28, 24, 17 and 9 Mbps, to Proxies of 1280 x 720 or 640 x 360 of 9 and 3 Mbps, respectively. Keep calm; we are not going to list them all! Not even the frame frequencies, which are those we all expected, including those of 120 and 100 fps in HD. We will however give you some references of the recording times we can store on a 64Gb SD card. At maximum quality (QFHD 100 Mbps), we can store about 65 minutes, in TMBi - 121
TEST AREA
XAVC or MPEG2 42 at 50 Mbps about 110 minutes and so on until 750 minutes in a lesser quality format, at 3 Mbps. To make the calculations easier, we shall give you quite a simple rule that will let you know what you can approximately expect from a memory card easily and
TMBi - 122
swiftly depending on the format used. You should remember one thing: 100 Mbps of data flow translates into a 1 Gb file per minute of video. So, everything that reduces data flow increases recording time. For instance, if we record in a 24 Mbps format and we have a 32 Gb SD card, we will have 100/24=4,16; in other words,
little more than 4 minutes per Gb, and our card will have capacity (always in relative terms) for 4.1x32=131 minutes. Incidentally, speaking about recording media, there are two slots for SD cards. We will evidently need cards that offer sufficient speed for the chosen format, because if not, when we try and select a format, we will get an alert informing us of an incompatible medium. The two slots can be configured in relay mode for neverending recordings, or to record in two different formats simultaneously, and even so that each shutter release (on the grip and the handle)
TEST AREA
records on different media independently. As far as the audio is concerned, we have three entries for each channel: an integrated microphone, which responds well despite capturing all environment sounds, for better or for worse; XLR connectors with a Phantom power supply that no professional camera should go without; and the “MI-shoe” connection that permits connecting a UWP-D wireless microphone receiver through an adaptor to prevent additional cabling and provides a power supply at the same time. We also find this capacity interesting, because it permits keeping things simple and effective. As far as the screen and viewfinder are concerned, they fulfil their function well. The 3.5 inch and 1.5 Megapixel screen now swivels to be visible from virtually any angle, and offers a very accurate image, albeit to operate in broad daylight, our recommendation is to shelter it while working, so as not to lose contrast. We have already spoken about the magnifying glass and we liked the histogram having extended slightly beyond 100%, which makes it easier to keep control even when we film exposing to the limits with subsequent colour grading in mind. The viewfinder is endowed with a sensor that switches it off if the screen is active and we
A handheld camera that any operator will feel familiar and comfortable with from the very start. It has all the usual controls in just the right places, and it enables taking the plunge into 4K. move our faces away, to save energy. This viewfinder is a 1.4 M pixel OLED. As far as the outputs, we have SDI-3G and HDMI ports able to provide clean signals in 422 at 10 bits and 420 at 8 bits to record on external devices. We also have Wi-Fi and NFC for live streaming and remote control from a mobile phone or tablet, yet we have missed a TC time code inlet.
USAGE
AND HANDLING
In a nutshell, a handheld camera that any operator will feel familiar and comfortable with from the very start. It has all the usual controls in just the right places, and it enables taking the plunge to 4K (QFHD...) with an extremely favourable costbenefit ratio. It is the typical tool of an independent reporter, ideal to face situations where we need to
resolve all kinds of problems without the support of a team. It is what the Englishspeaking world call “run and gun”. In any case, it always provides content with the sufficient quality to form part of top level productions without compromise.
CONCLUSION In short, a multi-purpose camera, ideal for articles and documentaries, which provides a sufficiently wide margin for depth of fields to reduce it in a controlled way with narrative purposes or enlarge it with ease when the conditions become complicated. With more than enough options to face almost anything with this camera as the only thing in your rucksack, and something else in its favour, the price: inconceivable very little time ago. TMBi - 123