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TVBEurope Supplements
June 2017
More than technology Why the mix of technology, services and expertise is the real enabler to building brands and audiences
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More than technology Technological innovation has never been more exciting, but it’s just an enabler for business transformation, argues Richard Scott, had of media solutions at Sony Professional Solutions Europe. Today, success is measured by helping customers build their brands and attract bigger audiences
S
ince joining Sony I’ve enjoyed a fascinating shift in perspective. Looking in from the outside, I’d long been an
admirer of Sony for the excellence of its products – all the way from acquisition and production, from news through to cinema.
“By harnessing the power of our open IP technology we can give content creators a big payoff in terms of greater flexibility, resilience and economies of scale.”
Now I’m here, what’s truly exciting is how fast
Back in January, BBC Studioworks announced
we’re moving to offer our customers genuinely
it had chosen Sony to deliver 4K over IP in
innovative solutions that transform the entire
its Television Centre studios at White City in
media supply chain.
Central London. IP makes real sense in this
There’s one thing that’s become clear to me.
kind of environment, where resources are
As a company today we’re about so much
being constantly reconfigured to suit very
more than technology. That’s not to overlook
different requirements, from sitcoms and
our innovations in image, IP and workflow that
entertainment to large live scale productions.
are helping content creators deliver consistently
IP gives unprecedented flexibility: just as
better looking pictures for less. But that’s just
importantly, it meshes smoothly with the
the baseline. Our wider mission is helping our
BBC’s legacy infrastructures without disrupting
professional customers to build their own brands
their established workflows. And naturally
– and build audiences, too. And there are three
it’s futureproof, opening up a commercially
key ways we’re making this happen.
compelling pathway to HDR and other industry
Firstly, we’re empowering amazing storytelling. That idea of ‘stories’ embraces a
developments that are just around the corner. Coupled with developments in pure IP,
huge range of narratives – right the way from
we’re building virtualised media applications
news gathering, drama and sport to top-
that can reside entirely in the cloud. A great
models. That’s something that comes in direct
end cinematography for the world’s leading
example of this is Media Backbone Hive,
response to pleas from our customers to
film makers. So whether you’re talking about
our unified content platform that drives
help them pivot away from capital-intensive
4K, HDR or high frame rates, we’re helping
multi-platform production and delivery. Hive
purchasing of hardware and services to pay-as-
content creators connect with viewers on a
re-invents news production around open
you-go models that are kinder on companies’
more intimate, more emotional level. A great
source technologies and an agile cloud-
cashflow. It’s also a far more flexible approach
example of this is our HDC-4800 camera system
based datacentre model, breaking down
that’s typically manifested through SaaS or
that captures ultra high frame rate images in
the sluggish, restrictive silo-based approach
some kind of managed services agreement.
4K HDR for the smoothest, most extraordinary
of old. This allows news-makers to streamline
This is something where we’re seeing a big
super-slo mo footage you’ve ever seen. It really
their operations – and re-connect with modern
uptick in interest right now. There are lots of
is quite beautiful, and it’s giving broadcasters
audiences who grab their phones the moment
advantages from a purely operations point of
and rights owners a whole new creative palette
a story breaks, rather than waiting for the
view, and of course it’s a strategy that’s very
to enrich sports production.
nightly ten o’clock bulletin.
attractive to CFOs, too. As an industry we’ve always talked about
Secondly, we’re enabling advanced cloud-
“Coupled with developments in pure IP, we’re building virtualised media applications that can reside entirely in the cloud.”
change. But it’s a conversation that surely
broadcasters and content creators a big
This idea of hosting applications in the cloud
excited today about taking conversations
payoff in terms of greater flexibility, resilience
leads on to the third area where we’re focusing
with our customers to the next level – and
and economies of scale that the IT world has
a lot of energy at Sony right now. We’re
successfully tackling real business challenges in
been enjoying for years.
building very attractive dynamic businesses
profoundly new ways.” n
native media operations. There are two distinct dimensions to this. In terms of hardware-based production infrastructures, we’re managing the smooth migration from SDI through to IP. And by harnessing the power of our open IP technology we can give
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resonates now more than ever. Broadcasters are reaching out for help to reconnect with lost audiences who are being lured away by other platforms – OTT, social and more. At Sony we’re immensely respectful of the past. Equally, we’re
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Recapture lost audiences Break the news first across all platforms with Media Backbone Hive. It’s time to reconnect with your lost audience in a more cost effective way. As viewers look to the internet, mobile and social media for their news fix, broadcasters can now reclaim this ‘Lost Audience’ with Media Backbone Hive, a Unified Content Platform linking everyone within the organisation to enable unified news production. One production system to deliver stories faster across multiple platforms online, TV and radio. No more silos. No more duplication of effort. And lots more flexibility.
Media Backbone Hive
WINNER
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Find out more pro.sony.eu/lost_audience 22/05/2017 16:40
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Believe the hype
prefer the HDR representation of the scene over its lower dynamic range counterpart.” Broadcasters and Internet streaming service providers are responding to this demand. Netflix and Amazon Prime already create and stream
Consumers like it, creatives love it – suddenly everyone’s talking about HDR.
content with HDR. And with industry-wide standards for production and delivery to the
Of all the next generation imaging technologies
image that’s more detailed – and the result is
home in place, broadcasters are progressing
being talked about right now, High Dynamic
more natural looking pictures.
numerous real-world trials. At the same time, HDR
Range (HDR) is the step-change in television
Content creators love the additional artistic
quality that’s considered most likely to provide
freedom that HDR offers: but are consumers
viewers with the ‘wow’ factor.
interested? Yes they are - absolutely. When you
The deeper blacks, brighter highlights and
televisions have hit a price-point that makes them a viable option for many homes. Producing content with HDR right now has
show viewers an HDR image side-by-side with
minimal impact on costs, and needs only subtle
richer colours afforded by HDR add increased
a standard dynamic range picture, more often
changes to existing operations. Cameras and
realism to moving images and help make
than not they prefer the HDR one. But don’t take
workflows are now available for HDR production
content significantly more immersive. And
one manufacturer’s word for it. The Warwick
across all budgets. So if you’re activity considering
contrary to what you might have heard, HDR
Manufacturing Group (WFG), an academic
HDR – or if you’re still sceptical – we’re right here
isn’t about making TV pictures brighter. It takes
department at the University of Warwick, has
to answer your questions. Whatever your starting
advantage of a modern television set’s ability to
conducted research into HDR images. Its findings,
point, Sony can help you make the move to HDR
show pictures with a greater contrast between
in a paper called ‘A study on user preference of
as your trusted partner, providing all the expertise,
the blackest blacks and the whitest whites. And
high dynamic range over low dynamic range
training, technology and solutions you need for a
it uses that extra dynamic range to present an
video’, show that “given the option, end-users
smooth HDR journey. n
As featured in TVBEurope’s March issue, Sony, along with other technology partners, supported Vatican Television Centre (CTV) during its live coverage in 4K HDR of the Ceremony of the Closing of the Holy Door in November 2016 by his Holiness Pope Francis. CTV used 12 HDC-4300 cameras and a Sony HDR S-Log3 production system, as well as an MVS-7000X switcher and the PWS4400 replay server. The Hybrid Log-Gamma profile was used for delivery with distribution taking place via Eutelsat’s HOTBIRD satellites. Globecast provided the satellite uplink using the HEVC compression format while Ericsson, NTT Electronics and Vislink supplied the encoding and decoding equipment. The broadcast was made available on Channel 200 of the Tivùsat free satellite platform. Dario Edoardo Viganò, Prefect of the Secretariat for Communications for the Holy See, commented, “This is a state of the art set up that reflects Pope Francis’ aim to keep up to speed with the rapid developments in global technology, to support the Catholic Church’s communication mission.”
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TVBEurope v
June 2017 www.tvbeurope.com
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Embracing the change Moving from legacy SDI infrastructures to IP Live brings many benefits… and the transition can be a lot smoother than you’d think.
The way we produce live broadcast television
bandwidth costs are coming down every year
is changing. On one hand, our much-loved
and already deliver speeds faster than we
SDI environments have just about reached
actually need. What’s more, IP makes it possible
their technical limits. And on the other, today’s
to reduce the amount of cabling needed for
standard computer processors can now perform
live production. But cost is just one factor. An
almost all of the tasks that a live production
IP-based infrastructure built on open standards
infrastructure requires. So the next time content
lets content creators and broadcasters flex to
creators refresh their OB trucks, studios and
meet future business requirements. Once you’ve
broadcast facilities, it’s unlikely their shopping
installed your IP pipe you can pour just about
lists will include specialist SDI boxes and cables.
anything down it – video, audio, metadata and
Instead, they’ll be buying Consumer Off The Shelf
consumer data. And unlike SDI, an IP-based
(COTS) hardware and faster Ethernet networks.
live production network is format agnostic, and
In short, live production is moving to IP. And for
doesn’t have to be upgraded to accommodate
many that transition cannot come soon enough.
new resolutions or frame rates. IP technology also
Broadcasters today are under increasing pressure to create more and better quality
enables audio and video streams to become omnipresent in the production ecosystem.
content, against tighter constraints on cash,
Where connectivity was previously point-
facilities and staff. This demand is becoming
to-point, now everything can be multiplexed,
almost impossible to meet in our legacy SDI
opening up possibilities for flexible workflows
world. There’s a clear business case for moving
that can be re-shaped in minutes. And then
to IP. And it’s one that comes down to cost
there’s remote production. With less crew on
and flexibility. Thanks to the huge scale and
site, centralised resource sharing and simpler
development speed of the IT industry, COTS
logistics, remote production offers up incredible
hardware evolves faster and is cheaper than
possibilities – and even promises to be better
specialist broadcast kit. At the same time,
for our environment. n
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Why Sony for IP Live? Still wondering which vendor can help you move to live IP? Here are five great reasons to choose Sony – so you can be Ready Today, Open for Tomorrow. 1. We offer flexible, interoperable solutions based on open standards. Sony’s large portfolio of IP-native high-end open production solutions is interoperable with a complete ecosystem of systems within the IP Live Alliance. 2.We can make your life easier with the Live System Manager Simplify your migration to IP by letting our LSM do a lot of the hard work for you, from IP address setting to device configuration. 3. We deliver industry-wide, non-Sonyspecific training Our training courses do provide guidance on using Sony systems but they concentrate on IP live production in general, giving course attendees a full and honest insight into how to successfully put in place and manage IP-based workflows. 4. We’ve got a rich history of innovation. We’ve been developing IP-based production technology for more than 15 years: and today we want to share that know-how with the industry to help it to make the move successfully to IP. 5. We’re here for the journey From initial consultancy and planning to technical implementation, operational support and training, Sony’s Professional Services division can design and deliver a solution that complements your business goals and ensures a smooth migration to IP-based live production.
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Re-connecting with lost audiences Media Backbone Hive is Sony’s unified content platform that helps news-makers reach audiences across multiple platforms with unprecedented speed and efficiency If you work in TV news you’ll be aware of one
the gap. But it’s also resulted in an inefficient,
In today’s fast turnaround world, this agile, efficient
indisputable trend: your audience is declining.
siloed news operation – with different teams
and adaptable approach to news production
Times have changed, and the way we consume
using different systems and different resources
could be the difference between locating that lost
news has evolved. Where nightly TV bulletins or
to produce variations of the same content for
audience – and losing it forever. n
hourly radio reports would traditionally provide
different outlets.
the most complete – and often only – source of
This results in work and technology being
current affairs, information is now available every
needlessly duplicated. It’s inefficient, and it’s
second of the day.
expensive. Faced with these hurdles, broadcasters
From live streamed video reports to tweets
typically face two options: continue to lose
on your mobile, tablet or smart TV, it’s the online
audiences or spend more money trying to keep
world where stories break today, with television
them. Fortunately, there is another way. Now
broadcasters then providing extra context and
it’s possible to entice back that lost audience,
detail. The millennial generation, in particular, look
with a lower cost base and fewer silos. And it
to the Internet and apps first. According to UK
requires a Unified Content Platform (UCP) that
regulator Ofcom, more than 60 per cent of 16-24
links everything and everyone within a news
year-olds get their main daily news fix that way.
organisation together.
But this isn’t a wholesale shift away from
Imagine a TV station needs to cover a breaking
traditional broadcasting to online: nearly 90
story throughout Europe. Without a UCP, with
per cent of British people aged 55 and over
news teams and journalists working in isolation, it
still get their news from the TV. Instead it’s a
would be complex, time-consuming and costly.
dispersion of audiences, with Ofcom suggesting
With a UCP, however, that station can share
the average consumer now uses 3.5 different
content, allowing regional teams to tailor it for
sources for their news. This democratisation of
their audience and across all platforms. And this
news provision might be great for those of us
includes mobile journalists out in the field, who can
keen to know what’s happening in the world. But
collaborate with the rest of the team using the
for broadcasters it’s become a real headache.
same resources and tools.
Not only are they competing with each other:
At Sony, that UCP is Media Backbone Hive –
they’re also competing with this migration to
our network production system that’s built on a
other, often quicker, sources of news by what’s
future-ready UCP. Customisable, cloud-native and
now considered to be the ‘lost audience’.
scalable, it can be deployed on-premise, in the
In an attempt to entice them back,
cloud or a combination of the two. With a host of
broadcasters have changed their modus
built-in tools and compatible with third-party ones,
operandi. They’re refreshing newsroom systems,
it lets journalists, producers and editors collaborate
while investing in dedicated online and social
from anywhere in the world, breaking the story first
media teams and tools to get news out quicker
across online, TV and radio. No more silos. No more
and onto more platforms. This has plugged
duplication. And far more flexibility.
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Hive - How does it work? • Integrated assignment and planning tools automatically send assignments directly to the news crew or a mobile journalist’s camera, linking and structuring key assets. • Web-based dashboards provide operational insight, real-time business intelligence and remote monitoring and support. • With its multiple ingest capabilities, Hive intelligently routes video inputs to the right places, making a proxy instantly available to all users. • Hive updates newsroom systems with new content, linking metadata to news content. • Full integration with wireless cameras lets journalists begin editing with proxy footage as soon as it’s shot. Packages can then be switched to using high res files once they’re available. • Hive handles any file type, format or resolution, whether it’s video, audio or other types of data. • Simple and advanced logging options let users add markers in real time, building metadata that’s immediately usable. • Journalists can quickly search the entire newsroom system to find what they need – current or archived content, or material arriving in the moment. • Stories can be created wherever they’re needed, in a web-based environment or remotely in the field. 22/05/2017 16:40
IP Live production Ready Today, Open for Tomorrow www.pro.sony.eu/IP
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Your teams can Grow your Brand. We’re simply here to help them do it. From freelancers to global broadcasters, emerging start-ups to growing corporations, customers from all over the world have trusted Sony Professional for over 40 years to transform their media operations. Why? Because our unique mix of technology, services and expertise allows us to be a true business partner, working together to deliver innovative and transformational solutions to help them achieve their goals.
Let’s Re-imagine the Future of Media Production together. www.pro.sony.eu/imageipworkflow @SonyProEurope
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