Digital Studio - August 2010

PLUGGED IN A look at the vibrant market for third party plug-ins

TAPE VS DISK Which format is best? The arguments for and against

HOW TO DO

3D RIGHT Realvision’s Clyde DeSouza says 3D can be done well without breaking the bank

IBC PREVIEW: MAJOR SUPPLIERS’ SHOW PLANS IN FOCUS An ITP Business Publication 1 Licensed by Dubai Media City

Vol. 12 Issue 8 August 2010

AUGUST 2010 VOLUME 12 ISSUE 08 CONTENTS

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05

NEWS

15

ONLINE

16

HOW TO DO DECENT 3D

24

PRODUCTS

27

PLUGGED IN

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MANAGING THE PIECES

35

TAPE VS DISK

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IBC SHOW PREVIEW

18

35

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Qvest to promote Jünger Audio in Middle East / Panasonic extends its 3D camera range / Rotana and Yahoo join forces to drive convergence / Private equity firm acquires Grass Valley / IBC 2010 to feature sports day / Movers & shakers / Sky to launch Europe’s ‘first’ 3D channel / Wohler serves EMEA better / Industry’s first 1000 fps 3D replay reported / OSN plans to offer 3D content on demand / Ross expands router line / Premier League football won’t come cheap / Qtel signs Premier League.

A roundup of what’s happening in the world of broadcasting at digitalproductionme.com, including the latest new products showcase, Sony’s efforts to promote 3D and OSN’s 3D plans.

Want to do stereoscopic 3D, but aren’t sure how?

Realvision’s Clyde DeSouza shares his thoughts on how to produce decent 3D content on a budget.

New products from Mediacast, Barco, Canon, Ikegami, Chrosziel and NOA Audio.

Although graphics and editing packages continue to add functionality, the market for plug-ins remains healthy.

Digital Studio takes a look at some of the latest plug-ins to hit the market.

NETIA’s Christophe Carniel looks at how to manage content in an age of multiple distribution platforms.

Cinegy’s Igor Petrov looks at the arguments for and against tape and disk as a storage medium.

The biggest trade show in the broadcast industry is almost upon us. Digital Studio looks at what’s new at September’s IBC and hears what major suppliers plan to have on show at the event.

AUGUST 2010

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COMMENT AUGUST 2010

WHY IBC MATTERS MORE THAN USUAL IBC, the annual ‘big meet’ for the broadcasting industry, matters more this year than it does in most other years. The level of turnout by visitors and exhbitors, the quality of press announcements and the general level of buzz around the show will tell us whether or not the industry is back on its feet after the doom and gloom of 2009.

There is, of course, very little chance that manufacturers will turn up telling us that everything is back to where it was in 2007.

We won’t get to that point any time soon, if at all. But they will be able to give us some idea of whether or not orders are starting to trickle back in after last year’s project cancellations and delays.

Another reason the show matters is that it will give us a much clearer idea of whether or not stereoscopic 3D is going to take over the world. In case you haven’t noticed, suppliers are flogging S3D like mad, hoping that consumer demand for it is going to help lead the industry out of the current slowdown referred to above.

Whether or not filmmakers and broadcasters feel the same way is another thing. Few are likely to want to invest in new infrastructure when they’ve only just finished upgrading their systems to support HD. From an artistic perspective, do filmmakers really think that 3D is the best way to showcase their work? If you read this column last month, you may have noticed that we

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are not that fussed about 3D. While Avatar on an Imax screen may be an amazing experience, there’s a big difference between a film conceived over ten years with a mega budget and the typical kids animation film.

For us, a typical 3D movie experience is no better than a 2D experience; you just have to wear the silly glasses.

This is where sports comes in. Suppliers are increasingly mentioning sport as the thing that is going to make 3D the new HD. That’s why the IBC Conference will dedicate a whole day to sports broadcasting on September 11. Stereoscopic 3D and its potential role in sports broadcasting will feature prominently throughout the day.

If 3D really can make the experience of watching sport more enjoyable, and thus boost ratings and advertising, perhaps it will gain widespread consumer acceptance.

Otherwise, it may remain just a niche and not the driver of recovery the industry hopes it is going to be. IBC will give us a clearer idea of which way things are going to go.

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ON THIS MONTH’S COVER Digital Studio hears local producer Clyde DeSouza’s thoughts on how to do decent 3D at a decent cost.

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NEWS REGIONAL UPDATE

QVEST TO PROMOTE JÜNGER AUDIO IN MIDDLE EAST Jünger Audio has appointed Qvest Media FZ LLC to handle the distribution of its entire product range in the Middle East.

This includes Jünger Audio’s Level Magic loudness control solution, which is now incorporated into products from manufacturers such as Miranda, Wohler and Harmonic, as well as being used standalone by Discovery Channel, MediaCorp, Canal + and others.

Based in Dubai, Qvest Media focuses on the distribution of broadcasting and media solutions from a range of German manufacturers. These include Annova Systems, LNYX Technik, Riedel, RTW and S4M Solutions for Media.

Together with its German sister company Wellen+Noethen, Qvest Media also acts as a partner for the joint system integration business.

Seelaender: Qvest has used Jünger Audio in many projects in the Middle East.

The projects it handles are all built and installed according to German quality standards.

“Our German sister company Wellen+Noethen has been co-operating with Jünger Audio for many years now and Qvest Media has already supplied Jünger Audio equipment to a large number of clients,” said Stephan Seelaender, general manager of Qvest Media.

“Moreover, we have chosen Jünger Audio for our major projects in the Middle East, such as the recent high profile installation at Al Jazeera’s sports channels. The company’s limiting, levelling and sound operation control products are renowned for their quality and for their intuitive handling. We believe they are an excellent addition to the range of products we already represent and will bring real benefits to our customer base.”

Level Magic is an adaptive level control algorithm that is designed to adjust the level from any source at any time, with no pumping, breathing or distortion. The technology is available in a variety of configurations to suit different applications. It can also be configured and remotely controlled via a web interface – and it now complies with the ITU’s BS.R1770 loudness control specifications.

“We know from our attendance at exhibitions such as Cabsat that there is enormous interest in our product range from Middle East broadcasters and post production facilities,” said Marc Judor, Jünger’s international sales & marketing manager.

IN BRIEF ROTANA AND YAHOO JOIN FORCES TO DRIVE CONVERGENCE Yahoo Middle East and Rotana have signed an agreement that will allow Yahoo to populate its new Video Network channel with Rotana content.

The deal combines Rotana’s position as the Arab world’s largest entertainment company, with Yahoo’s popularity as an online destination. Rotana’s assets include Rotana Records, a film production company, magazines, television channels and radio stations.

“We strive to be the centre of people’s online lives and are delighted to partner with Rotana, one of the Arab world’s leaders in high quality content. We look forward to joining forces to build an ever-evolving content platform, for the benefit of our valued customers in the Arab world,” said Ahmed Nassef, managing director of Yahoo Middle East.

Yahoo plans to offer a range of programming, including music; videos; movies; concerts; TV and radio through its web site. Yahoo also plans to roll out a number of services for Rotana, such as mobile content, advertising content management and an IPTV offering.

PANASONIC EXTENDS ITS 3D CAMERA RANGE Panasonic claims it will launch the world’s first 3D camcorder for consumers when it ships the he HDCSDT750 in October.

Priced at US $1400, the camera records 3D content through the use of a conversion lens. ens.

When not running in 3D, the camera can record 1080p Full HD content in the AVCHD format.

“Incorporating Panasonic’s professional broadcast technology and bringing it to an easy-to-use consumer model, the SDT750 makes high-quality 3D video content a reality in the home,” said Chris Rice, senior product manager, imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. y.

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follows Panasonic’s recent announcement of The launch fo the AG-3DA1, a Full HD 3D camcorder targeted at professionals. The camera camera, which is made to order, costs US $21,000 camer and will be available from October. ava The came camera differs from current 3D systems, which involve fittting two separate cameras to a rig. In the AG3DA1, the lenses, camera head and a dual memory 3DA card recorder are integrated into a single unit. ca According to Clyde DeSouza, a partner at local production house RealVision, the camera is suitable for, “small indie productions and for adverts.”

Panasonic is working hard to round out its 3D camera range. The launch of its first 3D camcorder for consumers follows the launch of the AG-3DA1 (pictured) , one of the first all-in-one 3D units for professionals.

AUGUST 2010 5

NEWS REGIONAL UPDATE

PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM ACQUIRES GRASS VALLEY Francisco Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity ďŹ rm, has made a binding oer to Technicolor to acquire Grass Valley Broadcast & Professional business activities.

This includes the camera, content repurposing, editing, master control, news production, production automation, router, server, storage, and switching product lines.

Grass Valley hailed its takeover as positive news.

According to a statement, these represent the core of the Grass Valley product line. The company’s transmission and headend businesses will be sold separately. “This is positive news for the company and our customers,â€? said Je Rosica, senior vice president and head of the Grass Valley Broadcast & Professional business. “We are encouraged that we are taking a major step towards completing the divestiture process with this binding oer from Francisco Partners. “The opportunity to be part of Francisco Partner’s portfolio gives Grass Valley a solid foundation to continue to work tirelessly to maintain our core values of innovation, performance, and passion that have beneďŹ tted our customers throughout the years. Our customers worldwide will continue to receive the high quality and service that they have come to expect from Grass Valley, with continued focus on raising the bar in our industry.â€?

Grass Valley has been on the market since 2009 and has shed around 25% of its workforce since the recession began.

IN BRIEF IBC 2010 TO FEATURE SPORTS DAY Manolo Romero, who has worked on the coverage of every Olympics since Mexico 1968, will give a keynote speech at this year’s IBC 2010 Conference. He appears on Saturday, September 11, a day dedicated to sports. Also making an appearance are Dave Mazza of NBC, fresh from the challenges of the Vancouver games, and Roger Mosey, the BBC’s leader for the 2012 London Olympics.

Sports sessions run through the conference on Saturday 11, spanning both the content creation and business streams. Other sessions will look at interactive and online services, a sporting case study and a look at how stereoscopic 3D could change the face of sport on television. The 3D session will be led by Peter Angell of HBS, the host broadcaster for the FIFA World Cup.

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AUGUST 2010 7

NEWS REGIONAL UPDATE

MOVERS & SHAKERS QUANTEL Thomas Birner, Quantel director of sales for Central Europe, has also been appointed director of sales for the Middle East. In his new, expanded role, Birner is responsible for building Quantel’s market presence throughout the Middle East alongside his existing responsibility for Central Europe.

“The Middle East is a thriving, dynamic and highly innovative market with many exacting broadcast requirements – speed to air, efficiency, multi-channel content distribution and the move to HD broadcasting,” said Birner.

“Quantel Enterprise sQ systems meet all these needs as well as providing a versatile platform for further innovations, and I’m looking forward to bringing all these benefits to the Middle East’s forward-looking broadcasters.”

Initially, Birner will concentrate Quantel’s efforts on flagship reference projects in the Middle East, a number of which are coming to fruition in the next few months. “This will fe provide the basis for pr bbuilding a stronger ppresence in the region, pproviding sustained succcess for the longer term aacross a broader range oof projects and counttries within the region,” Birner concluded.

FRONT PORCH DIGITAL Front Porch Digital, a developer of solutions for migrating and managing media content, has added two regional sales managers for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Noelle Prat-Vong and Nicole Jacquemin are both assigned to expand the installation base for the company’s SAMMA products for migration of video content into digital formats.

“The addition of these positions to our sales team is absolutely necessary so that we sustain our strategic successes within the EMEA video migration market,” said Rino Petricola, Front Porch Digital’s senior VP and managing director. “Noelle and Nicole are both experienced technology professionals with proven records in international business.”

Prat-Vong (pictured), who has worked for a decade in both the public and private sectors of the audio/ visual field, comes to Front Porch Digital most recently from OpenCube Technologies and Vectracom.

8 AUGUST 2010

Jacquemin has worked for Front Porch Digital for nine years as a technical account consultant on the company’s DIVArchive and SAMMA product lines. Jacquemin has more than 20 years of experience in IT, telecommunications, and broadcast, having previously worked for Digital Equipment Corporation and Alex Temex Multimedia.

WALL STREET COMMUNICATIONS Wall Street Communications, a company specialising in marcomms for broadcast technology firms, has promoted Caryn Cohen to the position of president. The move forms part of a reorganisation that sees founder Christopher Lesieutre moving from president to chief executive officer and vce pesident Robert Decker becoming executive vice president.

“For some time, Caryn has been taking on additional responsibility for running Wall Street and doing exactly the outstanding job we all expected,” said Christopher Lesieutre, founder of Wall Street Communications. “At this point, her assuming the title of president is acknowledgment of the realities on the ground. The Wall Street team enjoys an abundance of talent, skill, experience and judgement, of which Caryn is a shining and representative example.”

Cohen joined Wall Street Communications in 1996, the year it was founded, as a principal owner and senior vice president, overseeing business development and advertising services.

Before that, she served as the director of manufacturer advertising for several entertainment trade publications.

UTAH SCIENTIFIC Utah Scientific has appointed Reto Brader as general manager for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Brader, who has worked in technology, broadcast and information systems

markets for 18 years, will be tasked with developing Utah Scientific’s EMEA presence, growing its market, serving customers, and promoting the company’s products in the region.

“Utah Scientific routers and associated gear have always been world-class, and this addition to our organisation demonstrates our commitment to enhanced communication of that message to customers in important regions of the world,” said Tom Harmon, president and CEO of Utah Scientific.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to engage someone with Reto’s skills, experience, and integrity to take on this responsibility. He is just the right person to match our advanced technology with the many customers in the EMEA regions who are poised to take advantage of it.”

Brader comes to Utah Scientific most recently from Pixelmetrix, where he served as EMEA general manager. Earlier management positions were at HP/ Agilent in Canada and Alcatel in Switzerland.

ATG BROADCAST Graham Day, a veteran of the Middle East broadcasting industry, has become managing director at ATG Broadcast, a provider of design, installation and support services.

During a long stint in the Middle East, he worked as Emirates Media Inc’s head of operations followed by a period as general manager of Avid Middle East. He then went on to form his own company, TriMedia Middle East, with two partners in 2004. He then en worked on several projects in consulting and technical roles at Al Jazeera, MBC and Al Dafrah.

ATG Broadcast is part of the Dan Technologies Group, which operates from offices in Britain, Denmark, Germany and Vietnam.

“I look forward to working with the ATG Broadcast team and our DSG colleagues,” said Day. “We will be building on ATG’s solid and proven track record as a highly successful system integrator both in Britain and in global sectors, and I look forward to developing further the brand name of ATG Broadcast with my team.”

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NEWS REGIONAL UPDATE

SKY TO LAUNCH EUROPE’S ‘FIRST’ 3D CHANNEL UK-based Sky will launch a 3D TV channel on October 1 this year, the satellite broadcaster has announced. The service – Europe’s ďŹ rst 3D channel, according to Sky – will kick o with a line-up of movies and live sport.

It will be available to any home that has an HD set-top box and a 3D-capable TV. The launch weekend highlights will include this

Monsters vs. Aliens will be one of the films featuring on Sky’s forthcoming 3D channel.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

year’s Ryder Cup, with three days of live coverage from Celtic Manor. It will also feature two of the biggest grossing 3D ďŹ lms to date: Bolt and Monsters vs. Aliens. The Sky 3D channel line-up will continue to expand in the run-up to Christmas.

Movies shown will include Alice in Wonderland; Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs; Coraline; Fly Me To The Moon; and Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince. Sky has agreed with Disney, Fox, Universal, Warner Brothers, Paramount and DreamWorks to show their ďŹ lms in 3D. Sky will also oer a range of live sport, including Premier League football. “As with high deďŹ nition, 3D is set to transform the way TV is enjoyed in homes nationwide,â€? said Jeremy Darroch, Sky’s chief executive.

Sky has been transmitting 3D content to selected pubs and clubs since April 2010.

It now seems only a matter of time before OSN launches a 3D movie channel and Abu Dhabi Sports sets up a dedicated 3D channel for Premier League games.

IN BRIEF WOHLER SERVES EMEA BETTER Wohler Technologies has opened a service centre for customers in the EMEA territory. Based in France, the centre will act as the first line of second and third tier support for Wohler customers. Firs tier support and administrative tasks, such as RMA requests, will continue to be handled in the US. “With a local service centre, our customers will be able to realise improved efficiency, delivery times and shipping costs while enjoying the convenience of working with their preferred intra-Euro shipping firm and avoiding US customs paperwork for temporary re-importation of goods,� said Carl Dempsey, Wohler president and CEO. EMEA customers who have had to send units to the US for repair can now send them to Europe to be fixed.

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AUGUST 2010 9

NEWS REGIONAL UPDATE

IN BRIEF ROSS EXPANDS ROUTER LINE Ross Video Limited has boosted its router line with the acquisition of Codan Broadcast Products, the Australian subsidiary of Codan Limted. According to Ross, the acquisition will complement and enhance its existing portfolio.

“We are excited about the addition of Codan Broadcast and have long admired the superior design and engineering of their products,” said David Ross, CEO Ross Video. “We are delighted that they will become part of Ross and that customers globally will benefit from the dramatically expanded market access that Ross brings to the table.”

Ross develops products for use in live production applications. Its product line includes Vision, Vision Octane and CrossOver video production switchers; openGear, RossGear and GearLite terminal equipment; SoftMetal video servers; OverDrive production control systems and XPression character generators.

Codan Broadcast was formed by Codan Limited’s acquisition of Provideo Systems Pty Ltd of Adelaide and Talia Sound and Vision of Melbourne.

Codan Limited specialises in the design, manufacture and marketing of a range of communications and metal detection products.

“We believe that this transition is great for Codan Broadcast customers,” commented Mike Heard, CEO of Codan Broadcast. “Ross has a great reputation for customer service and support as well as a long track record of continuing to invest in product development and product enhancements.”

10 AUGUST 2010

INDUSTRY’S FIRST 1000 FPS 3D REPLAY REPORTED Chicago, USA-based camera supplier Fletcher Sports says it has completed the industry’s first deployment of extreme slow motion in 3-D, for ESPN’s Home Run Derby 2010.

Using twin I-MOVIX SprintCam Vvs HD systems with a PACE 3-D rig, Fletcher’s crew delivered a head-to-toe shot of a batter striking the ball.

At 1000 fps and in 3D, every detail was presented with ‘stunning vividness’, according to the company, down to compression and deformation

Viewers were taken aback by the slow-mo 3D replay, according to Fletcher Chicago’s VP, Dan Grainge.

of the bat and ball as they made contact. “It was the shot everyone talked about — the ‘wow’ shot, and people could not believe that 3-D could be delivered at 1000 fps,” enthused Dan Grainge, vice president, Fletcher Chicago.

“To see the ball compress and the bat bend and feel that they are so close you could be hit by them — that created a huge buzz, and viewers were really taken aback by what they saw.”

The ESPN Home Run Derby is a made-for-television event and one of the broadcaster’s highestrated live programs of the year.

I-MOVIX is a Belgian company focusing on extreme slow motion technology (from 150 to 10,000 fps). Its SprintCam line is designed to offer a combination of very high frame rates and instant replay capability.

“We are very excited to be using the I-MOVIX solution,” continued Grainge. “I-MOVIX has made a complete package based on single-chip, highspeed cameras.

“The system makes operation of extreme slow motion familiar to anyone in the broadcast industry, and it incorporates a hand-held camera body with integrated viewfinder, tally and intercom, all running down a single SMPTE fiber to a CCU in the truck. These developments increase reliability and picture quality while greatly reducing setup and training.”

OSN PLANS TO OFFER 3D CONTENT ON DEMAND OSN will begin offering 3D content this summer, though it has stopped short of announcing the launch of a dedicated 3D channel.

3D content will instead be offered as video on demand (VOD) via the company’s new set top boxes, which are currently being rolled out to customers. “OSN will bring 3D to the market this summer,” said Marc-Antoine d’Halluin, CEO, OSN. “3D movies will be sent to the new Showbox – branded Showbox HD – for users with 3D-enabled TV sets.”

Speaking at a conference hosted by The National newspaper, d’Halluin said

that activities like this are intrinsically linked to the future success of the company.

“The current generation are used to getting content online for free from many different sources. The challenge facing the pay TV industry is finding a way to get them to spend money on television,” claimed d’Halluin.

“The answer is a combination D’Halluin: TV industry needs of o having the right technology to find a way of getting a the right content. Technolpeople to pay for content. and ogy-wise, it is important to offer o the t best – HD is a given, 3D is also a important.

“If operators can bring value to the t customer, then they will be happier to consider paying for it.”

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NEWS REGIONAL UPDATE

PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALL WON’T COME CHEAP Subscribers to Etisalat’s eLife triple play packages of 8Mbps or above will get the English Premier League for no extra cost next season.

ELife triple play packages give users TV, internet and fixed line telephony as a single package with one bill. Prices for the services are hefty, however, ranging from AED 339 for the 8Mbps package up to AED 539 for the 30Mbps package.

Subscribers get one basic TV channel package, unlimited internet usage and 20 minutes of talk time thrown in. Additional talk time and extra TV Premier League pricing has been announced.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

channels have to be paid for.

Subscribers to the 1Mbps eLife triple play as well as E-Vision customers will pay AED 29 per month for the Premier League, for a minimum of 12 months. E-Vision customers will also have to have an HD receiver, which costs another AED 999 upfront, or 125 per month over twelve months.

“Etisalat is committed to bringing the best possible services and entertainment to our customers, especially when it comes to enhancing their overall home entertainment experience with the broadcast of exciting global sports events,” said Khalifa Al Shamsi, senior vice president of marketing at Etisalat. “To add to this, we’re staying ahead of the curve by making sure that they get to enjoy them in high definition.”

Alternatives to pay TV are available for those who want to watch the Premier League. Abu Dhabi Sports, the regional rights holder, is offering cutprice internet subscription packages and is selling a proprietary set top box, priced at AED 999, that unlocks access to the Premier League channels.

IN BRIEF QTEL SIGNS PREMIER LEAGUE Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has signed an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) enabling the telco to broadcast every football match from the upcoming season of the English Premier League on its IPTV service ‘Mozaic TV+’, according to iptv-news.com.

The deal means that the telco will be the only pay-TV provider in Qatar to offer live coverage of all 380 games from the English Premiership, along with previews, reviews and analysis of games. The new season of the English Premiership kicks off on August 14.

Mozaic TV+ was launched in May 2007 and offers Asian/Western and Arab/Western packages, costing QR 250 (US $ 68.70) per month for the basic service. The service had 10,000 subscribers by the middle of last year.

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IN PICTURES: PANASONIC’S 3D VIDEO CAMERAS Panasonic is working hard to round out its range of stereoscopic 3D cameras. Its first ‘all in one’ 3D unit for professionals will be available in October. Last month, it announced that it

would soon launch the world’s first 3D camcorder for consumers. digitalproductionme.com takes a look at what’s in store. www.digitalproductionme.com/in-pictures/

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Abu Dhabi likely to host Pacquiao bout

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Nayla Al Khaja joins ADFC delegation to Melbourne

3

Stampede at German festival leaves 19 dead

4

Consumer technology giants ramp up the 3D hype

5

Digital guitar available in the UAE from August

EDITOR’S CHOICES news

NEWS

SONY OFFERS AFFORDABLE WAY TO DO 3D TRIALS

OSN TO LAUNCH 3D THIS SUMMER

Want to cover an outside event in 3D, but don’t want to spend a fortune?

Sony’s Mark Grinyer can help.

Pay TV operator plans to make 3D content available ‘on demand’ to users of its new set top boxes.

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SPOT POLL

READER COMMENTS

What do you think of 3D?

COMMENTS ON: ‘Sony offers affordable way to do 3D trials’

47.1% 23.5% 11.8% 5.9% 5.9% 5.9%

Good thought from Sony; the event staging companies like us, who recently added 3D projection systems to our inventory, will be always thankful to Sony for their initiative to take 3D video into the mainstream.

It’s a gimmick for kids’ films Not all versions of 3D seem to be as good as one another I think it rocks! It’s the future of cinema, TV and home movies I saw a few 3D films in the cinema and wasn’t impressed I shelled out on an HD TV and now they want me to buy a 3D one!

It has a few niche applications, like sports and video games

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This is a good gesture from Sony. Their OBs for 3D are fairly well equipped. The Sony 3D Box (MVS 8000, I think) is slick. However, after launching the ‘region’s first’ 3D channels here... the same 20 minute 3D loop has been playing, like, forever! The mantra is... be the first, then do nothing to sustain and grow that position.

AUGUST 2010 15

PRODUCTION REALVISION ON 3D

With debates raging in Hollywood about the cost of 3D and the merits of postproduction conversion, how can local production houses expect to get in on the action? Technology expert Clyde DeSouza shares some top tips and explains why producing mind-blowing 3D neednâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t blow your budget.

DECENT ON A BUDGET

16 AUGUST 2010

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PRODUCTION REALVISION ON 3D

While many in the industry have been patting themselves on the back following the recent success of 3D films, the format is still immature. Conversion of 2D material in postproduction has divided the industry. Avatar director and 3D guru James Cameron has criticised conversions, accusing them of introducing “inferior product” to the market and devaluing the format.

“There are some people who are advocat-

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ing filming everything in 2D and converting it in post. As a result there have been a few disasters,” says Clyde DeSouza, technology advisor and partner at RealVision, a local production hoise. “If that is your intention from the outset, it still makes sense to plan the movie with 3D in mind. That means bringing in a stereographer.”

According to DeSouza, the role of the stereographer is not to supersede the director of photography (DoP) or to red-light all the

AUGUST 2010 17

PRODUCTION REALVISION ON 3D

DeSouza advises talking to a stereograph er before embarking on a 3D project.

director’s ideas, but rather to reconcile the problems that shooting for 3D can create for each in their respective roles.

“If you have two scenes following each other and the first is a close up and the second, for example, is of a door opening at the far end of a room, it will completely fail in 3D. The depth jump throws the audiences focus back into the screen, which can be uncomfortable.

“If you have a stereographer on board at the storyboarding stage – which is ideal – they can draw attention to these issues then. This saves a lot of time on location. If the stereographer does not become involved until the shoot has begun th they can still prevent mistakes from causing re-shoots,” claims DeSouza.

Failing either of these options, DeSouza says the third and final opportunity for stereographers to make their mark is during

18 AUGUST 2010

There are some people who are advocating filming everything in 2D and converting it in post. As a result, there have been a few disasters

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Media

Composer

®

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“Avid has done it again—in a major overhaul of Media Composer, version 5 is going to blow your mind.”

– David Michael Maurer, editor (Splinter, Barking Water, The Apprentice), blogger at FlickGym.com

“All in all, I am very excited about the new Media Composer software because it gives me a few reasons to tell clients that it would be more efficient to use Avid instead of FCP.” – Q. Bryce Randle, lead editor/creative director at Post Fifth Pictures

You spoke—we listened. Get ready to edit faster than ever before with smarter tools, expanded AMA (Avid® Media Access) tapeless media workflows (including native RED, QuickTime, and Canon 5D/7D editing), UI enhancements, open, cost-effective monitoring, and more. Meet the new Avid Media Composer® 5—your wish list is now your reality. With affordable pricing, Media Composer has never offered so much for so little.

Test-drive Media Composer 5 today—www.avid.com/mctrial © 2010 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Promotions and discounts are subject to availability and change without notice. Product features, specifications, system requirements and availability are subject to change with out notice. Avid, the Avid logo, and Media Composer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

PRODUCTION REALVISION ON 3D

WHAT IS PRE-VISUALISATION? Pre-visualisation can be conducted using two ‘prosumer’ camcorders shown in the circular mount (pictured). Because these are not gen locked, they are limited to recording 3D in bursts of two minutes.

This new technique has drastically reduced the cost of stereo 3D pre-viz. The purpose of pre-viz is to determine what shots can be conducted in 3D without creating undesirable side effects for those watching.

It can also allow the director to assess which framing works best for a particular shoot. The pre-viz clips can also be used in pre-production to show proof of concept or to encourage investment in a project.

high-end consumer cameras.

Pre-visualisation can be done with

post-production. However, by this stage, time – and money – could already have been wasted. With this new yet crucial position comes a great deal of responsibility, so just what areas of expertise are stereographers emerging from and what exactly are the limits of their role?

“The ideal stereographer would be comfortable with the technical aspects of the camera like a DoP, as well as having some knowledge of direction. They need to be able to connect the DoP and the director and make sure they are speaking the same language when it comes to 3D,” says DeSouza. “Soon enough, the stereographer’s role could be reduced as DoPs understand the technology better and director’s begin to realise what can and cannot be done in 3D. For now, the stereographer is the glue between the two,” he claims.

The next decision to make could be which camera to use. Unfortunately, this assessment

20 AUGUST 2010

Everyone will tell you 3D is very expensive to do; that is not as true now as it was previously

is not a straightforward one, with different systems providing varying benefits.

“I think there is a big opportunity for camera manufacturers to produce smaller cameras. Ideally you want the distance between the centres of the lenses to be the same as the distance between two eyes. The reason why a large rig is required at present is because you cannot physically put two cameras side by side. If you put any mainstream cameras side by side, you will get a much bigger distance,” explains DeSouza.

“To get this distance closer together, a two way mirror is used. One camera shoots the scene and the other camera shoots a reflection of that same scene viewed from a slightly different perspective. That is why

the rig is so large, there are harnesses, two cameras and the mirror, which must be absolutely stable. The size and weight of the rig limits what you can do in terms of acrobatics and so on. There are things that only a mirror rig can do, but how do you film inside a moving car using one?”

And this is where alternatives must be considered. The dual-lens 3D camera produced

by Panasonic is one such alternative, according to DeSouza.

“The Panasonic camera is a different approach; they have put the two lenses together. It can recreate depth of about 10-15m. The sensors used are mid-range though, not yet at a quality high enough for the movie industry, but suitable for small

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PRODUCTION REALVISION ON 3D

indie productions and for adverts.”

In order to recreate 3D images of wide shots with no object in the foreground, DeSouza says the distance between the centre of each lens must be drastically increased.

“Another good option is to use two SI-2K cameras. They can be used side-to-side and if you need to separate them for a wide shot, you have that choice. You can’t do that at all with a dual lens camera and a mirror rig will only allow separation to be increased to around ten, perhaps 15, inches. In reality, you need to use a combination of cameras,” says DeSouza.

So what obstacles lie in the path of a production house looking to equip itself with 3D infrastructure?

“The cameras used by most of the production houses at the moment are sufficient, what is missing is the rig itself. Acquiring one could involve buying the mirror and the gen lock box [to sync the pair of cameras] and having the rest machined together as per your own specifications,” says DeSouza.

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“Everyone will tell you 3D is very expensive to do; that is not as true now as it was previously. In the last two years, the cost has come down. Almost monthly, a new product

comes out that makes the process more affordable. You can get a camera with a gen lock for around US $8000. Creative Suite 5 has a non-linear editor that can handle work

TOP FIVE TIPS FOR 3D PRODUCTION 1. Never film un-synched 3D “You need it ensure the cameras are gen locked. It’s not enough to try and sync them in post. You can match the frames that way but not the scanning lines,” says DeSouza, adding that this can lead to a strobing effect on the finished material, particularly if filming motion.

2. Adapt to the right camera If the camera you are using can not adequately support the intended shot, one of the two has to change. If the right camera is not available, switch the shot. Don’t try to force it.

3. Do a round of pre-visualisation Conducting pre-visualisation on proposed locations can

highlight the limitations of a particular shot. This can save time when filming or can help to rule out certain shots and locations altogether.

4. Use a stereographer Better still, involve a stereographer at the earliest stage possible. Why have them tell you a shot isn’t going to work once you are on location if they could have told you during pre-production.

5. Don’t break the bank, there’s no need 3D equipment doesn’t need to cost the earth and much of the infrastructure already available to you could well cover most of your requirements. There’s no need for heavy investment in specialist kit.

AUGUST 2010 21

PRODUCTION REALVISION ON 3D

I think there is a big opportunity for camera manufacturers to produce smaller cameras. Ideally, you want the distance between the centres of the lenses to be the same as the distance between two eyes.

Panasonic’s AG-3DA1 avoids the bulk of current 3D camera systems, and is good enough for adverts and indie shoots.

in realtime. So indie houses can go and produce a 3D movie without having to think it is going to blow their budget. There are small affordable 3D screens for colour grading and very cheap 3D projectors – less than $1000 – for watching material back.”

There is one money-saving route that DeSouza says must be avoided, however.

“People will be tempted at the moment to shoot video for 3D using DSLRs, which give you great depth of field, but there is no way to gen lock them so everything you shoot will be out of sync. The temptation is to use an audio clapboard and to try to sync it in post. You might be able to get the frames in sync, but you can’t get the scanning of the lines to precisely match. What that means in real terms is that any movement on screen will be out of sync and will create a strobe-

22 AUGUST 2010

like effect. This can cause headaches – and worse – for audiences,” he says.

Overall, the advice from DeSouza is consistent. 3D should not be an afterthought.

Conversion is not necessarily a bad thing, but the industry needs to realise that conversion alone is not enough to produce acceptable visual results and due care and attention must be taken throughout the process.

“The key is to think in 3D. Do some previsualisation to show you can get it right when you get on set. Plan each shot with 3D in mind,” says DeSouza.

As for the local industry, the initial opportunities for 3D are less ambitious than full length features, but the incentives for production houses to get involved are very real.

“There is an opportunity for the production of adverts in 3D in the Middle East.

When you go to the cinema to see a 3D

movie, you are sitting there with your glasses on and the ads are still playing in 2D. You couldn’t really have a more captive audience, it’s a missed opportunity,” claims DeSouza.

“The people who are missing out on 3D at the moment aren’t the moviemakers; it’s the advertisers and the creative agencies. They need to play catch-up now and think about how to create compelling adverts in 3D.” In the short-term, DeSouza would like to see an increase in the number of educational and training initiatives in the region in order to wean the industry off its current dependence on international expertise.

“There needs to be more education for 3D production in this region. The training institutes need to start offering 3D courses and teaching stereography.”

Until this happens, the Middle East production industry is likely to remain twodimensional.

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PRODUCTS WHAT’S HOT

MEDIACAST DISTRIBUTES CALDIGIT MediaCast has been appointed as official distributor of CalDigit products for the Middle East region. CalDigit offers various RAID solutions for end users in the creative industries. All of CalDigit’s products can be configured to various RAID levels, from RAID 0, 1, and JBOD to RAID 5, 6, 10, 50 and 60 for the most advanced models.

Storage capacities vary from 1TB up to 48TB. The CalDigit VR mini is a compact, bus-powered two drive RAID system, supporting a quadruple interface for easy connectivity and up to 1TB of storage. The CalDigit VR mini’s modular design provides two removable drive modules and an easy to read front side LCD. It supports RAID 0, 1, and JBOD. The CalDigit HDOne Comes with eight drive modules for up to 16TB of storage. It supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 6 and JBOD. The HDOne performs at over 400 MB/s in RAID Level 5.

HDPro2 is an eight-drive hardware RAID supporting RAID 0, 1, 5, 6 and JBOD. Active Sustained Transfer Technology (ASTT) maintains stable performance and supports professional video editing. With CalDigit PCIe switch, users can connect as many HDPro2s as they want.

The CalDigit HDPro-24 is a 24-drive hardware RAID solution, supporting up to 48TB of storage capacity. The HDPro-24 provides hardware RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60 and JBOD support. www.mediacastsys.com

24 AUGUST 2010

BARCO PROJECTS CLEARER SUBTITLES Digital cinema firm Barco has announced that its DP2K family of digital cinema projectors is now available with integrated CineCanvas subtitling support. The new functionality can be installed via a firmware upgrade.

Developed by Texas Instruments, CineCanvas technology eliminates the need for distributors to make a special print for each language version, which lowers the cost of distribution for digital releases.

Previously, Series 2 digital projectors depended on the cinema server to render movie subtitles. In practice, this meant

that subtitles sometimes had to be burned into each release and for each individual language version. Subtitling overlay can now be done inside the projector itself, eliminating interoperability issues and providing a uniform look across all theatre screens. www.barco.com

CANON LAUNCHES MPEG-2 FULL HD CAMCORDERS Canon Middle East has launched two filebased video cameras that use the new MPEG-2 Full HD (4:2:2) recording codec.

This allows the cameras to film with 4:2:2 colour sampling at up to 50Mbps.

The new models, the XF305 and XF300, use a Canon L-series HD Video Lens, 3CMOS sensor system and DIGIC DV III processing.

The lens combines a 29.3mm wide-angle with fast maximum aperture (F1.6) and an 18x zoom.

The cameras record industry standard MXF files, an open-source file format compatible with major file-based workflow. XF camcorders are compatible with major editing and processing software packages from Adobe, Apple, Avid and Grass Valley.

Both models record 16-bit linear PCM audio at 48kHz and an integrated microphone records stereo sound, with the option of connecting external microphones or other sources via two in-built XLR terminals.

The ergonomics of the new models are apparently based on feedback from professional users. Control layout is designed to provide intuitive operation and a centrally positioned grip helps achieves optimum balance. www.canon-me.com

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PRODUCTS WHAT’S HOT

CHROSZIEL INTRODUCES DSLR ACCESSORIES Chrosziel’s LightWeight Support 401-425 (pictured) is now available for the modified Canon EOS 7D. The product comes equipped with 15 mm rods that slide under the camera. It is based on Chrosziel’s 401-400 series and owners of these existing supports can upgrade with an upgrade kit.

Additionally, Chrosziel’s LightWeight Support 401-93 is designed for cameras with large bodies. The support accommodates the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, EOS 5D Mark II with battery grip, and Nikon D3s. www.chrosziel.com

IKEGAMI'S NEW LCD MONITORS

Ikegami has released three new models of multi-format LCD monitors: the HLM1750WR, HLM-1704WR and HLM-904WR. HLM-1750WR is a Full HD 10bit 17” LCD monitor, which supports 3G-SDI input as an option.

HLM-1704WR and HLM-904WR are 'affordable' models, offering a wide-XGA (1280x768 dots) LCD panel on the HLM1704WR and a wide-VGA (800 x 400 dots) LCD panel on the HLM-904WR. They support diverse input sources (HD/SD-SDIx2/VBSx1/DVI-Dx1/Analog Audio) as standard and offer embedded audio, a built-in marker and a two-picture split display function. www.ikegami.co.jp/en

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NOA AUDIO UPGRADES MEDIARC NOA Audio Solutions has released mediARC 1.5, which adds numerous upgrades to its audio archive management system. These include expedited cataloguing, a more userfriendly interface, upgraded responsiveness and better security.

Specific new features include a language manager so that users can customise the interface to their preferred language, full Unicode support for the metadata side and enhanced cataloging that facilitates bulk and consolidation updates.

Enhanced search support within NOA mediARC 1.5 includes the ability to search common fields across multiple categories; expanded support for drag-and-drop operations, including the ability to copy a group of links quickly and all at once; faster form response and refresh mechanisms; and an improved user interface. A new linking clipboard with multiple tabs — including a local store/recall option — allows users to define the most common metadata editing actions and gives them the ability to drag and drop items to the item tree to speed cataloguing. www.noa-audio.com

AUGUST 2010 25

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SOFTWARE PLUG-INS

PLUGGED IN Although graphics and editing packages continue to increase in functionality, the market for plug-ins remains healthy

Despite the increasing feature set of major graphics and editing packages, the industry for thirdparty plug-ins remains vibrant.

These plug-ins add a whole host of new functionality to packages such as After Effects and Final Cut Pro. Current divers for the plug-in market include the release of Adobe After Effects CS5 and the industry’s current focus on stereoscopic 3D and image restoration.

Dashwood Cinema Solutions recently released an update to its Stereo3D Toolbox plug-in for stereoscopic 3D mastering, in addition to launching a ‘limited’ budget version

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of the program. Both plug-in suites are designed to work with the Adobe After Effects, Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion and Apple Final Cut Express applications.

According to a statement, Stereo3D Toolbox 2.0 enables easy stereoscopic content creation. It allows artists to repair, align and output media to a wide-range of stereoscopic 3D formats. Stereo3D Toolbox LE provides a very basic set of tools to enable stereoscopic 3D content creation.

“When we first released Stereo3D Toolbox version 1, we expected it to be used by a few small stereoscopic 3D production houses, but were completely surprised by the posi-

tive response from the Hollywood post-community, as well as the thousands of hobbyists around the world,” said Tim Dashwood, founder Dashwood Cinema.

“They each have very different needs, which is what prompted the development of version 2, with more professional stereoscopic tools, and the LE version, to accommodate hobbyists’ limited budgets.”

Stereo3D Toolbox 2.0 costs US $1499 USD and the limited version costs US $99 through www.stereo3dtoolbox.com.

SUGARfx has released MagiMoto, a plug-in that uses Noise Industries’ FxFactory technology for Adobe After Effects, Apple

AUGUST 2010 27

SOFTWARE PLUG-INS

Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion and Apple Final Cut Express. MagiMoto offers a variety of animation capabilities, which allow users to more easily spin, scale, dissolve, throw and wiggle objects. By eliminating cumbersome keyframes, SUGARfx hopes that artists have more time to manipulate video elements and invent combinations of moves and spins.

“Our latest plug-in, MagiMoto, provides the perfect tool to animate video layers inside Apple and Adobe applications,” said Ricardo Silva, founder, SUGARfx. “Its simple, yet powerful, engine is sure to satiate many of our users’ requests for automatic moves and creative animation techniques.”

MagiMoto is available for US $49 through www.noiseindustries.com.

Another FxFactory-based plug-in, Boinx Software’s FotoMagico3.5, helps photographers and animators animate still images. FotoMagico was designed to enable videographers to turn their still images into intros and animated backgrounds. Users do not need to key-frame or step out of the host application.

FotoMagico controls let users adjust slide position and color, animation start and end point. It supports multiple audio tracks and automatic ducking for music, sound effects

Primatte Chromakey removes a blue/green background from images.

28 AUGUST 2010

Fotomagico enables the animation of still images.

and narration. It works with Apple Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, Motion and Adobe After Effects. The native plug-in integration allows videographers and motion graphic artists to animate still images and render the results within the host applications.

“Not only is this a tremendous timesaver, it is a huge creative workflow enhancement,”

says Oliver Breidenbach, CEO, Boinx Software.

“FotoMagico’s extensive features give artists much more control over the image animation and ultimately a better finished product.”

FotoMagico 3.5 costs US $149 at boinx. com/fotomagico/buy. A multi-license package is available for $269.

Plug-ins for restoration and enhancement are also available. PHYX’s latest offering, PHYX Cleaner, provides After Effects, Final Cut Pro and Motion users with a set of tools for repairing and enhancing the visual quality of raw digital footage.

It includes the ability to rebuild pixelated chroma channels; restore lost information in gradients; buff-out skin blemishes and remove high and low frequency jagged noise.

“Working with raw digital footage can be extremely time consuming, requiring hours of touch-ups in the edit room,” said Justin Bendo, president and CEO, PHYX Inc. “With PHYX Cleaner, artists and editors can significantly reduce the amount of time spent working with raw footage, quickly turning flawed film into a visual masterpiece.

PHYX Cleaner is available for US $199 at www.noiseindustries.com.

Following the recent release of Adobe CS5, developers are now busily developing 64-bit versions of their products. Digital Anarchy (www.digitalanarchy.com) has

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SOFTWARE PLUG-INS

recently revealed a 64-bit release of Primatte Chromakey, which removes a blue/green background from a still image or footage.

This version provides an improved interface for easier workflow, and adds behindthe-scenes improvements like background rendering to make Primatte faster and more responsive. The software helps preserve small details like wisps of hair, translucent glass and mesh fabrics. 64-bit support allows the software to more easily process large groups of images.

“The 64-bit update to Primatte is the first step in rewriting Primatte to take advantage of new technologies,” said Jim Tierney, president of Digital Anarchy. “64-bit and other enhancements coming out in the next few months will prove once again that Primatte is the most powerful green screen software available.

We’ve improved the speed and further enhanced the workflow, but Primatte 3.5 is just the beginning. Look for additional big changes in the coming months.”

Primatte Chromakey 3.5 costs US $299 and runs in Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and Photoshop Elements 6.0–9.0.

Another recent 64-bit release from Digital Anarchy is ToonIt! 2.6, which is used by digital artists to add cartoon styles to images, particularly of faces. This new version adds improvements such as background rendering to make the software faster and more responsive.

“Many artists have used ToonIt to transform personal photos and fine art,” said Jim Tierney, president of Digital Anarchy. “We’re also finding that pro portrait photographers use ToonIt in clever monetising ways, like offering a cartoon image to their clients as a part of the portrait package. It’s an easy way to offer a whimsical ‘bonus’ on top of the more traditional photographs.”

ToonIt! Photo for Photoshop is regularly priced at $159 USD; current owners can upgrade for free.

Digital Anarchy’s other recent release, Beauty Box Photo, is a skin retouching plugin for use in Photoshop and Elements. It is a follow-up to the company’s earlier video retouching tool for After Effects CS5. Beauty Box Photo is priced at $99 USD.

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(ABOVE) ToonIt! is used to add cartoon styles to images. (BELOW) Beauty Box Photo is a skin retouching tool.

AUGUST 2010 29

CONTENT MANAGEMENT NETIA

30 AUGUST 2010

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CONTENT MANAGEMENT NETIA

MANAGING THE PIECES Christophe Carniel looks at how to manage content in an age of multiple distribution platforms

Christophe Carn iel, president an d CEO of NETIA .

The shift from tape-based media operations to digital file-based workflows has opened many new doors for content producers and owners. More specifically, this move has facilitated a dramatic rise in the number of distribution platforms and outlets through which such companies can deliver and monetise their digital assets. Key players across the media industry are extending their businesses to include new distribution platforms, striving to meet consumers’ demand for access to content anywhere and anytime, and to provide these services under a single brand.

The rise of this multiplatform market, in which the traditional broadcast and telecommunications sectors are converging, has put new demands on content producers and providers.

Vital to the success of operators’ emerging multiplatform models is the ability to maintain efficient management of media even as their production and delivery processes target an expanding array of platforms and devices.

Rather than implement multiple parallel processes for preparing and delivering content, operators now must establish a single streamlined content management model supporting multiplatform publishing.

Implementing an effective CMS

The rise of the multiplatform market has put new demands on content producers and providers.

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Because the CMS typically supports the entire workflow, from ingest to delivery, it must satisfy several fundamental requirements, all having to do – in one sense or another – with compatibility.

The first of these requirements is that the CMS must be compatible with the other systems, such as servers, archives, and edit systems. High interoperability and ease of integration are key to effective communications between the CMS and other critical systems.

Often serving as an umbrella application that manages many devices and processes across the workflow, the CMS must be able to exchange with those devices the messages that, in turn, facilitate tasks such as ingest, indexing, broadcast/publishing, and archiving of content.

NETIA CMS solutions rely on a Web Services Architecture, which uses HTTP with an XML serialisation, along with other standards, to communicate with third-party systems and guide their operation. Additional “connectors” help to standardise this communication so that bidirectional interactions between the CMS and other systems are regular and predictable. To support multiplatform delivery now and in the future, the CMS also must be compatible with

AUGUST 2010 31

CONTENT MANAGEMENT NETIA

a broad range of content formats. In addition to handling the wide array of formats now used to provide content to all variety of devices, the CMS must be versatile enough to offer future-proof operation.

In other words, it must incorporate a mechanism by which the operator can add support for new formats as they emerge.

Also important to the efficiency of operations is the ability of the CMS to manage different formats and versions created from each video master over its lifetime, as well as the metadata related to all these versions, and to simplify this complex collection of media and information for users.

Compatibility of its interface with the work of each staff member is another critical element of the CMS. The system GUI and ergonomics must be sufficiently flexible to provide the right combination of functionality and media access for each user and role within the business. While the media management functions of the CMS itself are very sophisticated, the interface by which users access and manipulate media must be intuitive and in line with the task at hand. By providing tools and features in a modular manner, the CMS can be configured to offer each user a simple screen optimised for his or her role within the workflow.

Building a foundation Working with growing volumes of media in multiple versions, as well as ever-increasing numbers of distribution targets, content producers and providers originating from both the broadcast and telecom industries have recast their operations in order to offer content across multiple outlets under a single brand. Leveraging a CMS to minimize the overhead required to establish multiplatform delivery, these businesses are able to take advantage of new revenue-generation opportunities now while also building a foundation for additional growth going forward. With the growth of their digital archives under the management of a CMS, media companies can focus less on the technical demands of content delivery and more on creating or acquiring the content their viewers demand.

Christophe Carniel is president and CEO of NETIA.

32 AUGUST 2010

SOLUTIONS AT WORK NETIA has been refining its portfolio of media asset management (MAM) products to address the challenges outlined above. In doing so, the company has developed new audio and video content life cycle management and preparation solutions that enable multiplatform delivery and help users control growing volumes of ondemand audio and video content in multiple formats.

The company’s new ingest-to-delivery content management solutions help media players in their quest to consolidate and then manage and monitor production and delivery of content for television, the Internet, telephony, and mobile platforms.

Orange, the key brand of telecommunications operator France Telecom, has employed a content management system (CMS) from NETIA to unify and facilitate its storage, management, and distribution of content to any service provider or multimedia platform.

Built on an existing NETIA Media asset management solution, the CMS ingests content from sources such as post houses, production facilities, and traditional TV and radio broadcasters.

The system interfaces with ingest, production, automation, and storage applications to streamline automatic take-on of high-resolution media and associated metadata. The software also enables the addition of supplemental metadata, in turn enabling faster searches and better access to stored content. Tools within the CMS facilitate preparation of content for delivery by performing metadata extraction, transcoding, quality checking, image processing and subtitle management.

In managing the entire workflow for Orange, the CMS leverages the NETIA Workflow Engine to organise media management processes, harmonise exchanges

between different applications, handle prioritisation across the system, and automate content distribution processes. To streamline content delivery itself, the CMS provides tools for content packaging, metadata tagging, and rights management, with workflow-supervision guiding these processes. Configurable rules govern the delivery of content to specific service providers and numerous service platforms ranging from VOD to set-top box, catch-up TV, and Internet news portals.

NETIA also has provided a MAM to global media brand L’Equipe Group, which comprises the L’Equipe TV sports news channel, the www.lequipe.fr Web site, the RTLL’Equipe digital radio station, and the print magazine and newspaper also dubbed L’Equipe. The French media group uses the NETIA solution to maintain visibility of its brand, which reaches 18 million people every month across all L’Equipe outlets. Relying on the NETIA software, the company’s Digital Media Factory (DMF) creates and delivers video on virtually every platform, including TV, Web, mobile, and VoD. L’Equipe has used its NETIA MAM to digitise media archives dating back to the 1920s and to bring them into the system along with newer assets. As a result, the L’Equipe newsroom, Web site, broadcast, and print staff all have access to the group’s complete store of content at the desktop.

The MAM at L’Equipe enables searches and lowresolution browsing from any Web-based interface.

Its partial-restore function allows editors to access and restore just the high-resolution media they need quickly, and the system’s automation of speech-to-text processing, transcoding, quality control, FTP delivery, and other critical functions helps improve turnaround times while enhancing accuracy in media handling.

Netia allows Orange to add supplemental metadata to content, Images). enabling faster searches (Sebastian Derungs/AFP/Getty

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TECHNOLOGY STORAGE

Tape or disk? Which comes out on top when long term cost of ownership is taken into account?

TAPE VS DISK Cinegy’s Igor Petrov looks at the arguments for and against tape and disk as a storage medium

At the beginning of the 21st century, hundreds of articles were written on the topic of ‘tapes versus disks’. The followers of the two opposing parties have been trying to convince us with zeal of the advantages of this or that technology, weighing in with various ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments.

Time has passed and the debate has quietened down; in the TV industry, however,

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the controversy continues. Today, in the aftermath of the financial crisis and a reduction in the volume of content produced, people have taken a keen interest in digital archiving technologies, raising the question: What is the best way to store content?

To come up with an answer, it is necessary to separate the reality from the mass of marketing myths that influence our subconscious with frightening stories about ‘hidden

expenses’. I have talked with many advocates of tape libraries, and their arguments in favour of tapes are varied, but the major points are ultimately the same: the first being the lower cost of tape storage, the second being the higher reliability of a tape cartridge.

Let’s take a good look at each argument to see what foundation these arguments have in reality. While considering this topic, I have intentionally not named specific models and

AUGUST 2010 35

TECHNOLOGY STORAGE

their specifications, in order not to advertise one or offend others. It is sufficient to say I compared product prices and technical parameters of such companies as HP, IBM, Quantum, Overland, Arena (Maxtronic), Infortrend (EonStor), Xyratex, NexSan, Western Digital, Seagate, Fujifilm.

So let’s start: The cost of a storage system is the sum of the following costs: the medium; reading and writing devices; power consumption and maintenance.

THE MEDIUM The maximum available volume of a tape cartridge today is 800 gigabytes (LTO-4 standard) at a price of around $70 each.

Modern hard disks, SATA-II/SAS, have a maximum volume of 2 terabytes and are available for $200-$350 each, depending on their reliability level.

More expensive models have a larger safety margin and a special code: RE (RAID Edition).

With a few easy calculations, we get a twofold difference in price: 8 cents for 1 gigabyte on tape (LTO-4) and 10-18 cents for 1 gigabyte on hard disk.

Hard drives are costlier than tape to buy, but are easier to manage.

READING AND WRITING DEVICES Storage system with 40–45 terabytes: A disk array with an external FC-4GB interface and 24 2-terabyte disks, SATA-II RAID Edition (45 terabytes in RAID-6 altogether) costs around $24,000.

A tape library with an FC-4GB interface for 60 slots, one LTO-4 drive and 60 cartridges (48 terabytes altogether) costs around $25,000.

We get roughly the same number; however, this is just on the face of it. There is an important point, which the producers of tape libraries often forget, namely that a tape library does not work without the software to manage it (which in the case of a disk array is not needed).

This changes the situation significantly, as the software license for tape library management is not much cheaper than the complete tape library package itself, and sometimes is even more expensive.

As a result, a 45-terabyte disk array (DV25 3,500 hours) as a complete package costs half the price of a tape library of the same volume.

Storage system with 80–90 terabytes: A disk array with an external FC-4GB interface and 48 2-terabyte disks, SATA-II RAID Edition (90 terabytes in RAID-6 altogether) costs around $50,000.

A tape library with 100 slots and two LTO-4 drives and 100 cartridges (80 terabytes altogether) costs around $60,000. Once again, the managing software doubles the library cost – so the result is at least $120,000.

In spite of doubling the volume, a 100-terabyte disk array (DV25 7,000 hours) costs half the price of the tape library, as before.

Storage system with 180–200 terabytes: No doubt, an easier way of calculating the cost of storing 200 terabytes on disk arrays is to count up several separate devices of 20–25 terabytes in volume. However, we started comparing separate devices so we’ll continue in the same way.

Already today, there are disk systems with 180 terabyte capacity in one box. In reality, it is the same 48-disk array with the add-on module for 48 disks more. As the cost of the add-on module is practically equal to the cost of the main module, we get a co total cost for the system of no more to than $100,000. th A full tape library package with the cartridges for 250 slots and with th 4 LTO-4 drives will cost the same.

However, as before, the cost of the H managing software equals the cost m of o the library itself. All in all, we get about $200,000. a Once again, for a 200-terabyte disk d array (DV25 15,000 hours) a double cost ratio in favour of disk d arrays is preserved.

Storage systems of 500 or more terabytes: Unfortunately (or fortunately perhaps), very few TV companies can boast of having 40,000 hours of ‘useful’ content.

For equality’s sake though, let us define the threshold after which the tape library cost equals the disk array cost.

Calculations show that a distributed storage system on disks

36 AUGUST 2010

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TECHNOLOGY STORAGE

(SAN/NAS) “catches up with” the similar volume in a tape library after 600 terabytes, due to the fact that, fortunately, the tape library management software cost does not have linear dependence on the system volume. So with large storage volumes it makes up a little less than half the price of the hardware component.

As a result, with a volume of 1 petabyte (DV25 80,000 hours) the cost of a complete library package including managing software nearly equals the cost of an equivalent system with similar volume based on hard disks.

y Tape is cheap to buy, but a tape librar requires management software.

POWER CONSUMPTION Until recently, the power consumption point was an argument entirely in favour of tape cartridges. However, we are now seeing a general adoption of green technologies that has not been overlooked by the storage system providers either.

A ‘green’ 2-terabyte hard disk with the SATA-II interface and spindle speed of 7,200 revolutions a second uses about 3.5 watt in ‘idle’ mode, about 7 watt when ‘reading/writing’ and at least 1 watt in ‘standby’ and ‘sleep’ modes.

A 48-terabyte FC-4GB disk array (24 2-terabyte SATA-II disks) filled with such disks, as a rule, has two to three 350 watt power units for ‘hot’ reservation.

Tape libraries with 48 – 60 cartridges, as a rule, have one power unit that uses the same 350 – 400 watts.

MAINTENANCE As for the maintenance cost, here everything is more straightforward. Finding any system administrator with experience in working with tape libraries is much more complicated than finding a really good system administrator who knows all the peculiarities of working with disks and disk arrays.

Besides, tape libraries are usually sold with the obligatory technical support from the producer, the price of which as a rule, by far exceeds any evident or hidden costs associated with disks.

The reliability of a storage system is a combination of the following factors: system

38 AUGUST 2010

lifecycle; ease of data recovery and the he impact of the external ernal environment.

SYSTEM LIFECYCLE E I have often heard ard the claim that “hard disks break ak down more often than tapee cartridges”, as a main argument in favour of Solid state stor and supers age may soon com tapes. In the e along ede both ta pe and ha rd drives. course of the conversation, it turns out that we are talking king about hard disks in the NLE stationss and tape cartridges on the

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TECHNOLOGY STORAGE

shelf in the archival room, and at the same time nobody considers that a hard disk in the NLE station performs thousands of read-write operations each day, and a cartridge just lies there and collects dust.

Referring to the objective information, we will see that the MTBF (mean time before failure) value of hard disks is 1.2 million hours, compared to that for the LTO-3 and LTO-4 cartridges where this length is only 250,000 hours, and the average life time of the tape drive magnetic head is even smaller – 60,000 hours.

This means that under the same maintenance conditions, hard disks are four to five times more reliable than tapes, and 20 times more reliable than tape’smagnetic heads. The fact that hard disks should be changed every 3-4 years in order to avoid their mass failure is indisputable. This point, of course, is the main argument in favour of tape’s ‘durability’. let’ss try to un understand which However, let durability we are talking aabout. Magnetic television since the betape has been used in tel ginning of 1950s – at first on reels and then (since 1969). Disks as cassettes (s appeared only in the 1970s and found their application in television just at the end of the last century.

Even within this short period, both sh tape and disk medita ums have changed in um terms of formats and ter interfaces. For example, inte LTO-1 tape cartridges LTO were standardised only 2000 and the LTO-4 in 200 generation only in 2007. gener disks with the SATA Hard d interface appeared in 2003 interfac SATA II in 2005. and SAT What durability are we about if we cannot talking ab even be ssure that in 10 years there will be a device careading our ‘durable’ pable of re medium? In my opinion, the durability today should system dura

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be defined not by the moisture resistance and magnet security parameters of a separate medium, but by the system usability and simplicity from the point of view of migration to new storage generations and technologies. Disks, thanks to the speed of reading and simultaneous access, win again.

EASE OF DATA RECOVERY Another argument in favour of tape: Data can be restored from tape even if the tape is broken or damaged, while it cannot be recovered from a damaged disk.

Expert opinion refutes this statement. A British company, specialising in restoring data from any damaged medium, says that the difference between disks and tapes is not that big, saying that over 50% of data from a tape (as well as from a disk) cannot be restored.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS The external factors that could impact the condition of a disk or tape could be climate, dust, magnetic pickups and mechanical effects. Hard disks are not leak proof (despite a widespread belief that they are), but it is more difficult for dust or moisture to get inside than with a tape cartridge.

Both disk and tape use the same method for recording; therefore, strong electromagnetic current is equally destructive for both.

The only argument in favour of tape is obvious – a tape cartridge is lighter so it is more resistant to physical damage. In production processes where data movement is associated with medium movement from one place to another, this is very important. But is this relevant if a cartridge is simply archived deep inside a tape library?

CONCLUSION We have reviewed the major arguments from tape advocates and it seems the majority of these arguments do not hold up in reality. With small storage volumes (up to 40,000 DV25 hours), a tape library costs twice as much as a disk array of a similar volume and it does not provide even an approximation of the speed and reliability offered by a disk array.

With larger storage volumes (from 40 to

100 thousand DV25 hours), a tape library costs as much as a disk system. At the same time, reliability of disk storage exceeds tape reliability and cost savings on power consumption when using tape will be far less than the annual salary of a tape library expert.

Sometimes a list of arguments in favour of tape can extend to claims that a tape library takes less space and that the reading/writing speed of tape cartridges is the same as for disks. These arguments are not supported.

A tape library on 60 slots takes up about 1 OU (libraries on 150-200 slots occupy the whole rack), and the height of the disk array does not exceed 4U. The maximum reading speed for a tape cartridge is 90 Mb/s (not taking into account time for rewinding and searching for a necessary segment), compared to any disk array today which ‘instantly’ reads at the speed of 300 Mb/s.

Not only do hard disks provide immediate access, but also multi-user access to the content. This eliminates the inevitable waiting that occurs with tapes, where queues for the material make it almost impossible to either efficiently or conveniently use a large archive, such as in a large TV company. The real purpose of a TV archive is not just storing the content, but reusability of the accumulated material.

The result of the ‘tape versus disk’ duel is clear today; we have not found any reasonable advantage in using tape libraries to store TV content. Television, slowly but surely, is becoming tapeless, and the same lot awaits digital archives in general. Taking into consideration the onrush of solid-state recording technology, we may well witness SSD technology taking over and rendering hard disks obsolete. At present, however, disks are the most reasonable choice when building up storage systems for TV content, whether of small, medium or large size.

Igor Petrov is the regional manager, Russia and CIS, at Cinegy GmbH. Visit: www.cinegy.com; e-mail: info@cinegy.com m

AUGUST 2010 39

IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

IBC SHOW PREVIEW A look ahead at the events and products at this year’s edition of IBC IBC is with us again and the exhibition is pulling out all the stops to make sure attendance rises after last year’s slight year on year decline.

A new element added to the show this year is Connected World, where the IPTV, Mobile and Digital Signage Zones will be brought together under one roof in Hall 9.

Connected World will showcase the many opportunities being created for the electronic media industry by IP, broadband and mobile distribution.

At the heart of Hall 9, the Connected World Hub will stage a series of free-admission seminars, presentations and business briefings to help visitors understand the implications and opportunities of the Connected World. The Demo Stage @ The Hub will host demonstrations that illustrate how content is and will be managed, distributed and consumed across diverse consumer electronic devices.

Other things to see at IBC are the New Technology Campus (NTC), which attracts

40 AUGUST 2010

researchers from the world’s foremost companies and academic institutions.

Previous shows have hosted the delivery of the world’s first live-by-satellite and fibreoptic international broadcasts. Last year saw demonstrations of virtual objects; contextaware and adaptive content and stereoscopic 3D technology.

The IBC Big Screen is another highlight of the exhibition. This purpose-built auditorium is used by exhibitors to demonstrate the latest developments and innovations in cinema and broadcast technology.

Returning after its successful debut last year is the Production Village, which features training sessions that cover a wide range of shooting issues. The Production Village allows IBC’s attendees to interact with new technology and gain hands-on experience with the very latest cameras.

The IBC Conference is split into four main streams this year: technology advancements; content creation & innovation; the business of broadcasting; and added value. Key topics

WHERE & WHEN RAI

AMSTERDAM CONFERENCE 9-14 SE PTEMBER EXHIBITION 10-14 SE PTEMBER WWW.IBC.ORG

that will feature across all four streams are: sports broadcasting; stereo o 3D; public service broadcasting and how to monetise content.

Saturday 11 September will feature four conference sessions dedicated to sports.

The role of stereoscopic 3D within sports broadcasting is a subject that will feature prominently throughout the day.

Read what individual companies are up to at IBC in the following pages.

HOT TOPICS THIS YEAR • • • • •

Stereoscopic 3D The future of sports broadcasting How to monetise content Multi-platform distribution The future of public service broadcasting

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IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

BELDEN UNLEASHES CABLES AT IBC Belden offers a range of cables suitable for HD and 3G applications. Its emphasis at IBC will be on cables for both studio and field use, as well as cables for use in permanent installations.

Key exhibits will include the Belden Commercial Audio Range for the public A/V and live performance marketplace.

The range is designed to be highly costeffective, while delivering quality and high performance. Most cables have been developed with halogen-free (HF) design

BRAINSTORM CREATES GRAPHICS Visitors to Brainstorm’s stand will be able to see live demonstrations of its entire range, including the latest version of the flagship product and graphics engine, eStudio. V12 of the product enables design and real-time playout of virtual studios and 3D graphics, as well as the creation of customised applications.

Also featuring will be a new eStudio interface, providing an environment and toolset designed to make it familiar to graphic designers. Another highlight will be the latest version of Aston Character Generator and BrainNews, which enables news departments to integrate realtime 3D graphics into their workflow without the need for constant input from designers.

Stand 2 B59; www.brainstorm.es

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according to IEC 332-1 standards and all are based on an oxygen-free copper conductor.

Also on display are the SMPTE311 and TAC fiber cables with integrated SHED and HDX active components from Telecast Fiber Systems. This newest Belden brand meets the continued need for mixed copper and fiber solutions and growing bandwidth demands in live entertainment applications.

Belden Tactical fibre cable has been upgraded and improved. It is used for long haul HD transmissions from mobile trucks and is

suited to applications that require multiple or redundant channels of Cat5e cables in remote production or staging applications.

The heat-resistant Hybrid Fibre Cable for HDTV cameras is available as a mobile cable for use in the studio or in the field as well as static cable for use in permanent installations. Its three versions have flexible black jackets in either halogen-free, PUR or PVC and all feature heat-resistant PE insulation.

Visit Stand 1 C21 www.beldensolutions.com

CINTEL ENHANCES AND RESTORES IMAGES AT IBC Cintel International will be exhibiting the new imageMill2 image processing workstation at IBC 2010.

Version 2 adds network capabilities and data file management to the existing imageMill capabilities.

According to Simon Carter, Cintel sales director, “imageMill2 will address the industry’s need for a powerful, fast, yet simple-to-use noise and grain management tool for digital Intermediate applications.

With speeds in excess of 30fps for 2K files and 45fps for HD files, the performance of imageMill2 is unequalled.

"We are currently processing 4K files at just under 10fps and can also deal with SD files at twice real time. With imageMill2 you can truly eliminate the wait in image processing and restoration.”

Cintel will also be exhibiting the production version of the 2K/4K film scanner, diTTo evolution (pictured). This building on the successful diTTo scanner with features such as fast shuttle capability, a non-pin registration mode for archive scanning, imageMill2 processing tools and a 3.2D density range.

Visit Stand 7.B35 www.cintel.co.uk

AUGUST 2010 41

IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

COOKE SHOWCASES PRECISION LENSES Cooke Optics will be demonstrating its full range of precision lenses for motion pictures, including the top-of-the-line 5/i Prime lens. Visitors to Stand 11 D10 will also see the S4 and the lightweight and affordable Panchro lens.

A key feature of the 5/i Primes is a dimmable, illuminated focus ring, with two separately toggled scales that allow the focus puller to read the scales in low lighting conditions.

The reduced size, weight and true focal length markings of the Panchro lenses make them a possible fit for 3D productions and documentaries.

Cooke claims its S4 lenses offer superb optical and mechanical performance, control of flare, distortion, veiling glare and spherical aberrations at full aperture.

Stand 11 D10; www.cookeoptics.com

Visit us in IBC, Amsterdam 9-14 Sept, Booth OE116

42 AUGUST 2010

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RAI Amsterdam Conference 9-14 September : Exhibition 10-14 September

Even more to discover Each September, the leading brands, finest minds and wisest investors come to IBC – the premier annual event for professionals engaged in the creation, management and delivery of entertainment and news content worldwide.

• see over 1,300 exhibitors showcasing their latest capabilities • network with 45,000+ attendees from over 140 countries • attend the Conference with over 300 key international speakers And benefit from...

• FREE access to the IBC Big Screen • FREE entry to the IBC Business Briefings – Experience in the Auditorium – watch take part in live debates, business analysis manufacturers demonstrations, special events, and discuss case studies screenings and movies including the best in 3D • FREE entry to the IBC “What Caught My Eye” • FREE production training in the Production sessions, where experts explore the best of Village in Hall 11 with exhibitor presentations IBC for you and professional training sessions plus a • FREE entry to the prestigious IBC Awards whole host of camera technology on display Ceremony in the Auditorium on Sunday • FREE post production training in Hall 7 12 September with expert training staff exploring the latest • FREE access to the latest developments desktop techniques in broadcast technology showcased in the • FREE entry to the Connected World in New Technology Campus Hall 9 - focusing on the latest developments and innovations in IPTV, Digital Signage and Mobile TV

www.ibc.org IBC Fifth Floor International Press Centre 76 Shoe Lane London EC4A 3JB UK T. +44 (0) 20 7832 4100 F. +44 (0) 20 7832 4130 E. info@ibc.org

at er w o gist n ter rg/re s i g o Re .ibc. w ww

IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

DALET EYES YOUR ASSETS Dalet Digital Media Systems will showcase Dalet Enterprise Edition, its flagship news and media asset Management (MAM) solution at IBC. The latest version integrates creative and editorial tools for news, sports and program production with MAM and workflow automation.

New features include the Dalet Story Boarder for collaborative pre-editing; the OneCut audio editor; MediaCutter for creating new effects such as blur and better integration with third-party systems such as Rhozet and Signiant.

Visit Stand 8 B77; www.dalet.com

DIGITAL VISION ADDRESSES THE MID-RANGE MARKET Digital Vision will this year highlight its colour grading, finishing, mastering and restoration solutions for the broadcast, film and commercials industries.

This year, Digital Vision will have two new solutions to compliment its premium flagship Nucoda Film Master solution. To address the mid-range DI grading and dailies market, the company has introduced Nucoda Fuse.

At the entry level, the company has introduced Nucoda Compose to provide a costeffective, workstation to aid in the grading, finishing and mastering workflow for adverts, film and television post production.

To address the restoration market, Digital Vision will demonstrate Phoenix Finish, its new flagship end-to-end restoration, re-mastering and delivery system. A mid-range solution, Phoenix Refine, and an entry-level offering, Phoenix Touch, will also be on show.

Executives will be on hand to demonstrate the capabilities of these products and Nucoda Film Master, which was used to grade Europe’s first 3D feature, StreetDance (pictured below).

Visit Stand 7 A28; www.digitalvision.se

SPORTING SOLUTIONS Deltacast will showcase DELTA-stat 3D, a new version of the DELTA-stat solution for customised live sports branding, based on the proprietary 3D engine of Deltacast. Also new is DELTA-sport highlights, an analysis product based on the DELTA-sport tracking technology. It provides a large range of virtual graphics: player trajectories, player highlights, arrows, circles, speeds, distances, and all the other elements ensuring efficient and in-depth analysis of sequences.

Deltacast delivers virtual graphics for live sporting events. Its products rely on a set of proprietary high-technology modules: sensor-free tracking, image processing algorithms, adaptive chromakeying and a 3D engine.

DELTA-sport delivers virtual graphic overlays including offside lines, distance and speed measurements, animated 3D logos, scores, magnifiers, and player trajectories. DELTA-stat is a solution for customised live sports branding.

Stand 10 D10; www.deltasport.tv

44 AUGUST 2010

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IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

DK-TECHNOLOGIES KEEPS EYE ON THE METER DK-Technologies will demonstrate new additions to its audio and video metering and monitoring products at IBC. New to the European market is the PT0700R Client Panel, a remote unit for the PT0760M HD/SD multi-channel video waveform monitor. The product is aimed at broadcast engineers who want to access the facilities of the PT0760M (and the entry level PT0710M) from a remote location.

Also new for IBC is the PT0740M, an audio-only version of the PT0760M waveform monitor. This unit, which is aimed at engineers who don’t need a video measurement tool, offers de-embedding from a single HD/SD SDi input and full StarFish surround Sound metering. It is complemented by the new PT0730M, which offers all the audio functions of its big brother but without the video input.

All of the products in DK’s PTO700 series of waveform monitors can now be equipped with the company’s loudness software. DK has also introduced a new software upgrade that allows audio engineers to see both peak and loudness metering at the same time, while display-

ing the loudness in a graphical form.

The final new product for IBC is a revised version of the popular PT5300 Compact VariTime Sync Generator. This modular multistandard HD and SD gen-lockable sync generator already offers front panel and remote

control, but it can now also offer Ethernet access and simple Network Timing Protocol (SNTP). From September, all new PT5300s will have these upgrades fitted as standard.

Visit Stand 8 E60 www.dk-technologies.com

EYEHEIGHT CONTROLS AUDIO LEVELS Eyeheight plans two major additions to its range of production and post-production tools.

KARMAudio is a hardware solution allowing real-time unattended adaptive loudness and true-peak correction. It is based on a geNETics processor and integrates with the full range of geNETics products. It continually monitors the amplitude of incoming audio and makes gradual adjustments to ensure that the overall content

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complies with a pre-defined target loudness.

KARMAudioAU is a plug-in for the Apple Mac OS X platform, designed to perform offline scaling of a programme file to match audio loudness to a target LKFS level. Uniform scaling is applied to match the content with a pre-defined target loudness without affecting overall audio dynamic range.

Visit stand 8.D92; www.eyeheight.com

AUGUST 2010 45

IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

I-MOVIX SLOWS DOWN THE ACTION At IBC, I-Movix will demonstrate SprintCam Vvs HD, a new ultra-slow-motion system for live HD broadcast production. SprintCam Vvs HD operates at frame rates up to 2,700 fps in 1080i50 or up to 5,800 fps in 720p60 and provides instant replay at native HD resolution and image quality. SprintCam Vvs HD is also optimised for shoulder-mounted portable shooting The SprintCam Vvs HD system includes the camera; an operational control panel; a slow-motion remote; and the camera control unit Also on show is the new version of the SprintCam V3 HD, with enhanced functionality including image capture at frame rates of between 150 to 2000 fps and instant replay in 1080i. Other new features include segmented memory; flexible EVS multicam integration; autoclip; and a digital lens interface for better iris and lens switch control.

Stand 10 D29; www.i-movix.com

FRONT PORCH DIGITAL MANAGES MEDIA CONTENT Front Porch Digital specialises in the migration and management of media content, including the transfer of content from tape to digital storage systems.

V6.3 of Front Porch Digital’s DIVArchive content storage management (CSM) enhances integration with third party tools such as Avid Interplay, Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Server.

New DIVArchive features include multiresolution object support, sub-clip partial restore, best-effort restore, advanced Avid asset search within the DIVArchive user interface, and full Unicode asset support.

Another new feature is full Unicode support for storage plan manager, the component that automatically manages the content lifecycle based on configurable business rules and policies.

Also on show at IBC is V4.1 of DIVAdirector, a media asset management (MAM) system that enables operators, using

their Web browsers, to search, locate, and retrieve stored media assets directly from their desktops.

V4.1 adds a revamped browser interface; support for identification and retrieval of clips with noncontiguous timecode; partialrestore format auto detection to further simplify user interaction with the complex format/wrapper challenges handled by DIVArchive; and management of remote proxies without the need for their replication specifically for DIVAdirector.

Visit Stand 7 B15; www.fpdigital.com

JÜNGER PROCESSES AUDIO Dynamics processing specialist Jünger Audio will be showing the T*AP TV Audio Processor at this year’s IBC. The device, which is primarily designed for TV playout facilities, will provide loudness control, upmix and surround sound processing for up to eight channels of audio.

The wide band 8 channel processor (8x1, 4x2, or 6+2) focuses on automatic and adaptive loudness control using Jünger Audio’s Level Magic algorithm (ITU compliant).

Optional Dolby decoding and encoding (D, D+, or Pulse), as well as metadata management, are also provided along with 5.1 Downmix and Jünger Audio’s 5.1 UPMIX circuit, which has been upgraded to deliver greatly improved performance and a range of new settings.

The new processor is capable of handling digital inputs (AES) and, through interface slots, all other usual audio formats including all SDI versions (SD, HD, 3G. It is controllable through front panel and Web based GUI, plus remote control, and GPI – and it comes with a redundant power supply as standard.

Visit Stand 2:C49; www.junger-audio.com

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IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

MIRANDA GOES STEREOSCOPIC 3D AT IBC Miranda Technologies will be highlighting multiple 3DTV products at the IBC show, along with its loudness control systems.

The stereoscopic 3D product range includes signal processors, multi-viewers and channel branding systems. The Densite 3DX-3901 stereoscopic 3D signal processor provides conversion of multiple 3D formats, including dual 1.5Gbps, dual 3Gbps, single 3Gbps, and single 1.5Gbps, with side-by-side encoding and Sensio

NETIA GAINS MORE CONTROL

Netia will highlight its upgraded suite of media asset management solutions at IBC. NETIA Content Management System allows users to connect their partners and vendors, simplifying the sharing and managing of media assets.

Through a new Web-based interface, built on Microsoft Silverlight technology, users can manage all of the processes within the production environment — from editing through post and distribution. Also on display will be Radio-Assist 8 (pictured), a range of digital audio automation software, with two new modules: CamDirector and NETIA Workflow Engine. CamDirector brings direct camera control and automated video switching to the Radio-Assist 8 suite.

Workflow Engine is a new workflow management system.

Visit Stand 1-A29; www.netia.com

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side-by-side encoding. All Kaleido multi-viewers can provide monitoring of Stereoscopic 3D signals, with support for dual 1.5Gbps and single 3Gbps signals.

The Imagestore 750 stereoscopic 3D channel branding processor offers a variable ‘Zplane’ for graphics depth control to optimise viewing, and this function can be controlled by automation or manually.

Miranda’s automatic loudness control solutions prevent excessive audio jumps

between programs and commercials, and between channels.

Visit Stand 8 B80; www.miranda.com

POLECAM LAUNCHES HRO 69 C-MOUNT LENS A major new addition to the Polecam product range will be introduced at IBC 2010. The HRO 69 (High Resolution Optics) is a 3.5 mm lens designed specifically for use with latest-generation 1/3 inch miniature 3-CCD HD cameras.

According to the company, it produces higher resolution images than any comparable model and delivers something that HD broadcast and film markets clearly need. The HRO 69 is compatible with cameras such as the Toshiba IK-HD1, Iconix RH1, Panasonic GP-US932 and Ikegami MKC300.

Polecam’s HRO 69 C-mount lens has 3.5 mm focal length, a 69 degree horizontal angle of view and F2.2 to F16 aperture range. Features include back focus, a special bump cover to protect the lens front, and a 40.5mm filter thread adapter option.

Stainless steel locking screws for aperture and focus adjustment are provided plus spare lens caps. The weight of the lens is 159 grammes, length is 50 mm and diameter (without filter adapter) is 37 mm.

Visit Stand 10 C49 www.polecam.com

AUGUST 2010 47

IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

ROSS VIDEO UPDATES PRODUCTS At IBC, Ross Video will add an optional internal multiviewer to Vision Octane, its high end production switcher. This multihead multiviewer has access to all internal and external sources. Source labels with transparency, full program and preview tallies, and user selectable source assignments make this a cost effective solution for production control rooms.

The entire Vision Series ships with a new 3G infrastructure as a standard feature. Stereoscopic 3D capabilities and comprehensive iMag MultiScreen support will also be shown.

IBC 2010 will see the release of v3.1 software for CrossOver production switchers pictured). This will add new features such as robotic camera control and video server control.

The show also sees the launch of v9.1 software for OverDrive, a leader in automated production control. Version 9.1 extends the new GlobalView GUI with features such as NKeyer support, NRCS CG timer support and many new MOS device interfaces.

Ross Video will showcase v3.0 of the XPression 3D HD Character Generator (pictured) at IBC 2010. Key features in v3.0 include enhanced MOS workflow integration with Newsroom Systems; stereoscopic template creation and output rendering for 3D productions; and automatic centre cut SD outputs for HD templates.

Stand 10.A31;; www.rossvideo.com

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NTP TECHNOLOGY LAUNCHES AUDIO CONVERTER NTP Technology has chosen IBC 2010 as the international launch venue for the DAD AX24 192 PHD, the latest version of the AX24 eight-channel AD/DA audio converter.

The key new feature of the NTP DAD AX24 192 PHD is an interface connecting directly to Avid Pro Tools digital audio workstations.

It supporting sampling rates of 44.1 up to 192 kHz and comes with an optional high-quality microphone preamplifier. The product is available with eight analogue input or eight analogue output channels, or both. operated o bot . DAD D D AX24 192 9 PHD D iss ope ated

via the DADman control application, which runs on OS X and Windows, and is capable of handling 128 channels.

It offers A/D and D/A conversion in PCM at up to 384 kHz sampling rate, DSD at 64 frame/s or 128 frame/s and 352.8 kHz DXD. The optional microphone preamplifier incorporates analogue gain in 3 dB steps as well as digital gain with 0.25 dB precision.

Dynamic range is between 118 and 121 dB and the preamp equivalent noise floor is -130 dB. Visit s t Sta Stand d 8.B5 8.B51;; www.ntp.dk . tp.d

SADIE UNCOUPLED FROM PROPRIETARY HARDWARE Prism Sound and SADiE will be attending IBC with a range of products aimed at the professional broadcast and post production markets. The main focus from SADiE is the company’s new SADiE 6 software, which can now run without proprietary hardware on any Windows PC with ASIOcompatible audio hardware.

The new products are application based and are focusing on the core SADiE expertise of radio production, TV/film post, mastering, archiving & restoration, and high-level sound design.

Prism Sound will also be showing the SADiE LRX2 multitrack location recording workstation, which is used by production companies and film crews that need to record multi-track audio for reality television programmes. Prism Sound’s audio test and measurement division will be showing the dScope Series III, an audio

analysis platform. The dScope Series III family includes two new analogue-only versions that are aimed at engineers and production line managers who are currently only concerned with audio analysis in the analogue domain. Also on show will be Prism Sound’s DSA-1, a portable digital audio interface analyser.

Visit Stands 8 E96 and E98; www.sadie. com or www.prismsound.com

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IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

SENCORE DELIVERS VIDEO At IBC, Sencore will highlight five products that support video delivery and costeffective operations: the SMD 989 DVB-S2 modulator; the TXS 3453 transcoder; the MRD3187B receiver decoder, the aG-1826 IP de-encapsulator card, and the IRD3000 integrated receiver decoder.

Sencore says the products combine the latest technology with thoughtful design to ensure cost-effective signal processing, test and measurement, and video delivery The new SMD 989 DVB-S2 (pictured) supports the modulation of two independent DVB-S2 RF transmissions. It accepts transport streams via DVB-ASI or IP inputs

using the UDP or RTP protocols and features an optional L-band upconverter with an output frequency range of 950 to 2150 MHz. TXS 3453 is a transcoding platform delivering multiple channels of transcoding in a high-density 1RU chassis.

A configurable engine and multi-channel architecture allow users to perform both SD and HD transcoding and transrating.

Features include bidirectional video transcoding from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4/H.264 and/or H.264 to MPEG-2 in HD or SD formats, as well as ASI and IP transport stream and optional RF interfaces.

Visit Stand 1 C11; www.sencore.com

SIGNIANT MANAGES SUPPLY CHAINS Signiant will demonstrate its three new content distribution management products for the first time in Europe at IBC. Situated in the IPTV Zone in Hall 9, Signiant will present a range of solutions available at a range of price points.

The new tools -- Content Transporter, Content Point and Content Transfer Engine -- are aimed at small to medium sized organisations. The products are aimed at customers that may not be ready for an end-to-end solution, but need to move content quickly, securely and cost-effectively across the WAN to internal or external partners.

Stand 9 IP 731; www.signiant.com

OMNEON SPEEDS UP PRODUCTION WORKFLOWS At IBC, Omneon will demonstrate its storage, processing, and distribution infrastructure. At its stand, an Omneon MediaGrid active storage system will be integrated with a high-performance production server to enable fast access to incoming media used in live and near-live broadcast production.

Omneon will demonstrate how a single, shared storage resource can be the basis for a production environment, nment, simultaneously supporting production tools from Adobe, be, Apple, Avid and EVS. The Omneon MediaGrid also will providee the processing power for Omneon ProXchange to repackage edited ed content for delivery to other media distribution outlets. Also on show is the Omneon Spectrum (pictured), which is pitched ass a scalable, reliable and cost-effective video o server platform for multichannel playout,t, news, sports highlights and studio production workflows.

Omneon will highlight new Spectrum m media server components that expand the system's capability to support bandwidththintensive broadcast environments.

Another product set to appear is Omneneon ProXplore, a media clip and metadataa management

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application for the Omneon platform. Omneon will also demonstrate its Media Applications Server (MAS), which is designed to help simplify file-based media workflows. Built on standard IT hardware, the Omneon MAS provides a middleware layer between media content stored on multiple systems and the applications that are used to access that content or process it.

Visit Stand 7 A10; www.omneon.com

AUGUST 2010 49

IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

STREAMBOX INTRODUCES PORTABLE VIDEO TRANSPORT SOLUTION AT EXHIBITION Streambox will this year introduce EMEA to Avenir, the newest member of the company’s family of portable video transport solutions. Avenir is Streambox’s first hardware-based encoder to offer both 3G/4G wireless network bonding for highquality HD or SD in a fully portable form factor, enabling live or file-based video acquisition over low-data-rate networks.

The Streambox Avenir is also the first battery operated mobile encoder designed for a reporter to file HD/SD live and file-based video content over a variety of IP networks, which allows broadcasters to replace traditional SNG/DNG systems. The Avenir uses Streambox’s ‘ ACT-L3’ codec to capture and encode high-quality HD content in 1080i or 720p format, at data

rates up to 20 Mbps, and SD content in NTSC or PAL from 64 Kbps to 8 Mbps.

Streambox’s ACT-L3 software encoder now also supports HD-SDI video streaming via Apple Mac OS X platforms. The hybrid SD/HD solution enables field news teams using Mac laptops to gather, edit, and stream live or filebased HD-SDI video over IP networks from remote locations. The Streambox encoder is capable of encoding 1080i HD video at up to

6 Mbps, depending on the Mac’s processing power.

Visit Stand 7 J49; www.streambox.com

SONNET MEETS INDUSTRY’S STORAGE NEEDS Sonnet Technologies will showcase products that cater to the broadcast industry’s storage needs. Qio is a universal media reader/writer. It features dual P2, SxS, and CompactFlash slots and can transfer data from two cards concurrently.

An included adapter handles SDHC cards. Qio moves files between any cards, attached drives, or host computer with aggregate bandwidth up to 200 MB/sec.

For quick migration of data, Qio integrates a four-port eSATA controller based on Sonnet's Tempo SATA E4P card, enabling users to connect two Sonnet Fusion F2 portable storage systems, or up to four eSATA drive enclosures for access to as many as 20 SATA drives.The Fusion RX1600Fibre, available in 16TB or 32TB configurations, can provide direct access to assets for up to four users without a dedicated server or an added fibre switch. Employing a fourport 8Gb fibre channel interface, the Fusion RX1600Fibre delivers aggregate bandwidth of up to 1000 MB/sec read.

RAID 5 and RAID 6 format support, SCSI Enclosure Services (SES) 2.0 compliance and enhanced SMART data reporting increase the system’s reliability.

Also on show are the Fusion RX1600RAID SATA Storage System, suitable for work with uncompressed HD video up to 2K resolution; Fusion DX800RAID SATA Storage System for working with uncompressed 10-bit 1080 HD video streams; and Fusion D400QR5 and R400QR5 SATA Storage Systems.

Visit Stand 7 G03; www.sonnettech.com

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IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

THOMSON GRASS VALLEY JOINS THE ELITE Amongst the products on show from Thomson Grass Valley is the Elite 1000 GreenPower transmitter line. It offers output power of up to 9.6 kW DVB per unit with an energy consumption saving of up to 15% over the previous Elite transmitter series.

The DVB-T2 Exciter is for analogue broadcasters switching directly to DVB-T2, or for digital providers wanting to upgrade to DVB-T2 for greater bandwidth efficiency. DRM+ Band III is a solution for DRM radio transmission in Band III, including a program content management system, the DRM+ modulator, and an RF amplifier for the chosen frequency band. The system incorporates Thomson's GreenPower technology for energy efficiency and modulation technology.

The DRM Content Server (pictured) is an integrated, all-in-one content server and transmission control system for DRM radio transmission, complete with the Diveemo application for managing the transmission of extra non-audio content.

The company will also exhibit its ViBE video compression range.

Visit Stand 1 D11; www.thomsongrassvalley.com

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IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

TV ONE UNVEILS MONITORS TV One will show their full range of LCD monitors at IBC 2010.

The monitors are available in a wide variety of screen sizes and configurations to satisfy a range of applications in the broadcast and professional market. Featuring prominently are TV One’s newest west professional grade LCD Triple and Quad Colour Monitors.

Both monitors are high performance, high definition, multi-format, colour LCD displays. The LM-404HD monitor provides four 4.3” 16x9 displays and the LM-503HD monitor provides three 5” 16x9 displays.

Inputs on both products include SDI (either SD or HD) with an active loop through, analog RGBHV, YPbPr component video, a composite video and a YC (S-video) input.

Also showing at IBC is the LM-702HD, a multi-format dual 7-inch rackmount HD

colour monitor with a tilting rackmount kit for installation into a standard 19-inch rack. It can accommodate various video signal formats including SD/HD-SDI (with an active output), analog RGBHV, YPbPr component video, composite video and s-video.

The LM-1750HD, a HDTV 17-inch colour monitor, will also be on display on the TV One Stand throughout the trade show.

This multi-format LCD monitor has a tilting rackmount kit and six inputs that can accommodate SD/HD-SDI (with an active output), HDMI, analog RGBHV, YUV or YPbPr component video, composite video and

s-video. Stereo Audio monitoring is also available using the five stereo inputs and dual internal speakers, driven by a 3-watt amplifier.

All HD monitors from TV One support and automatically detect PAL and NTSC television standards, and have front panel Tally LEDs. Other LCDs being displayed on the TV One stand include a dual 10.4-inch colour Multimedia monitor, a triple colour monitor with three 5.6-inch displays and a quad colour monitor with four 4-inch displays. All of these are housed in standard 19-inch rackmount kits.

Visit TV One at Stand 7 C27 www.tvone.co.uk

VINTEN LAUNCHES HEADS FOR EVERY NEED Vinten, a Vitec Group brand, is launching two new camera heads at IBC2010 in response to user demand.

The new Vector 750i is designed to deliver great precision on for virtual and augmented reality in outside broadcast and studio applications. The new Vector 430 is a compact head with wide payload range, meeting the needs of production companies es working with multiple camera set-ups.

Developed in collaboration with customers, including Telegeelegenic in the UK and Sport Vision in the US, the Vector 750i is the first encoded pantographic head from Vinten. It incorporates a new module allowing semi automatic set-up, slide plate tracking g and kinematic compensation, which help ensure stable and precise cise placement of virtual graphics into the live environment. The new w Vector 430 pan and tilt head has a lightweight design that should make it straightforward to rig, convenient to transport and suited to studio and outside broadcast operations. Vinten has given the head a payload capacity of 10kg to 43kg, making it capable of balancing any ny camera from a lightweight EFP system up to a mini-box lens set-up. et-up.

Visit Stand 11.F60; www.vitecgroup.com

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IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

VIZRT INTRODUCES VIZ SPORTS ONLINE Sports broadcasters looking to create arresting web sites can turn to Viz Sports Online. Viz Sports Online is a modular suite of preconfigured Vizrt tools, providing users with control over the look and feel of web page layouts, image versions and sizes, and overall site structure.

With Viz Sports Online, all video, graphics, text, images, maps, statistics and web publishing tools are available from within a single, drag and drop interface. Templates let users produce dynamic, branded graphics, maps and web pages that they can fill on the fly with text, images, headers and titles. Viz Sports Online also offers a full video repository with video editing, video playlists, picture-in-picture, and video ad integration capabilities.

The software is also designed to simplify the process of delivering multimedia content, with support for thousands of different handheld devices. Automatic multimedia conversion enables streaming of video in many native mobile formats, as well as special features and swipe-controlled image galleries that Apple iPhone, iPad and other advanced handheld devices use.

Viz Sports Online-created websites can also let the audience con-

tribute with their own blogs, comments, and personalised user profile pages. Interactivity is increased by realtime user activity updates; the integration of RSS and Twitter feeds; and realtime sports statistics provided by stats.com.

Visit Stand 2 B10; www.vizrt.com

VOLICON EXPANDS OBSERVER PRODUCT LINE Volicon will give IBC visitors an idea of how it plans to expand its Observer product family. The company’s stated aim is to address the full range of broadcast workflows and budgets.

Observer Professional is designed for budget-conscious television stations that require simplified workflows for media monitoring. It includes a streamlined Mac and PC interface designed to enable quick and easy scheduling, recording and searching.

Observer Enterprise offers enhanced search capabilities, including new auto-complete technology designed to help find closedcaption text faster than before. It supports Volicon's optional Content Matching and Producer Modules for audio fingerprinting and content repurposing workflows.

Observer RPM Version 5.5 addresses the management of large installations with the new Element Management Services (EMS) module, which enables centralised configuration and alert management of multiple probes in a large operation. RPM 5.5 includes enhancements to the Interactive Services Module (ISM), which enables users to test on-demand or interactive services using pattern matching, advanced decision-making, and improved quality-of-

54 AUGUST 2010

experience detectors. Observer Scout is a single-rack-unit, singlechannel appliance for customers seeking a cost-effective means of performing quality checks at A/V service handoffs.

Visit Stand 7.G30; www.volicon.com

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IBC 2010 SHOW PREVIEW

SNELL ATTACKS ON MULTIPLE FRONTS Snell plans to highlight its enterprise control, configuration, monitoring, production switching, restoration and routing solutions at IBC. A significant launch for Snell will be Centra. Through integration with Snell and leading third-party products, Centra is designed to bring improved centralised configuration and control to all areas of content preparation, infrastructure management, studio and OB productions.

Snell will also introduce the Sirius 830, the latest in the company's Sirius 800 series of

large-scale, multi-format expandable routers.

Snell will unveil enhanced audio monitoring capabilities for its recently launched MVSeries of multiviewers. The MV-Series offers solutions for displaying multiple images on a single or dual video display device.

The latest versions of Morpheus and Snell's 'Station in a Box' ICE will be featured at the show. Morpheus version 2 has over 100 new features, including support for virtual machine environments, reducing system complexity, power requirements, and adding additional hardware resilience.

For restoration, Snell will showcase Archangel Ph.C – HD (pictured), an SD and HD restoration system with real-time dirt, dust, grain, noise, scratch, instability, and flicker removal.

Visit Stand 8 B60 www.snellgroup.com

MEDIA SERVER DELIVERS WOW

WOHLER DEMONSTRATES AUDIO MONITORING

Wowza Media Server 2, on show at IBC, is a Java engine that can deliver content from a single set of live or on-demand H.264 video or AAC/MP3 audio streams to multiple clients and devices. This eliminates the need for specialised, client-specific encoders.

Dubbed the industry’s first unified media server, it can deliver content to any player or device, including Flash, Silverlight, QuickTime, and IPTV set-top boxes, as well as devices like Android and Blackberry phones, and Apple iPhones and iPads.

Wowza will showcase the product's expanded suite of HTTP video and audio streaming, including support for streaming to Flash Player 10.1-equipped devices. This complements the server's support for other HTTP streaming formats, including Apple HTTP Live Streaming for iPhones, iPads and iPods; Safari 4.0+ for Snow Leopard; QuickTime 10.0+ players; as well as Microsoft Silverlight Smooth Streaming.

Wohler will treat IBC to a demonstration of products for audio monitoring in digital and HD broadcast environments.

The AMP2-16V modular audio/video processing monitor is a new dual 4.3-inch OLED version of the company’s AMP2-16 Series modular audio monitor. According to the company, dedicated video monitoring, loudness metering and control, audio mixing and routing, and Dolby Zoom functions make the AMP2-16V one of the most comprehensive 3G/HD/SD-SDI audio/ video monitors available.

The system allows simultaneous colour and scale adjustable metering of up to 16 channels of audio from a choice of input and output cards including 3G/HD/SD-SDI, AES, and analogue. With the new version,

front-panel hotkeys can be assigned to not only solo or mute groups of channels and recall system-wide presets, but also to activate Dolby Zoom on a target source or instantly apply a saved mix setup.

Additionally, Wohler will showcase the first releases in its new Rockridge video monitor line with 3G/HD/SD-SDI support and MPEG-4 decoding capability. Features include in-picture level metering, waveform, and vectorscope display. Multiscreen models allow operators to view either four separate images or a mix of images and monitoring tools such as waveform, vectorscope, or the PID table. Connectivity options for the new monitor line include 3G, SDI, component, composite, DVI and GPI inputs.

Visit Stand 8 D56; www.wohler.com

Stand 9 IP 321; www.wowzamedia.com

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