TVTE Apri 2016 by Future PLC

April 2016 I Issue 2 I Volume 34

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Future-proof your

STORAGE

Buyers guide Affordable 4K cameras

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NAB

sneak-peek

Making the grade A new series of talks with colourists

30/03/2016 15:59

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3/1/2016 10:54:29 AM

CONTENTS WHAT’S IN STORE? MANAGING storage can be stressful. I know because I’ve still got a storage space in L.A. filled with stuff I’m sure is very important – but apparently not important enough to ship to my home in London. I still can’t quite bring myself to either take the hit on the shipping, or cut my losses and sell it all off. And I’m sure the second I get rid of one old, unread book, I’ll suddenly have a burning need for it. Digital storage bestows upon us all the opportunity – or curse – of never having to make a decision about what to keep and what to jettison. Digital storage is infinitely expandable and becoming ever cheaper, particularly cloud storage. With this embarrassment of riches, we find ourselves in the position of being able to hang on to absolutely everything. The big questions then are what to do with those assets, how to manage them, how to future-proof the storage we’ve chosen. This issue’s Storage Focus offers insights and strategies on how to take advantage of all the storage options available in a new cloud-centric world. There’s plenty more in this issue. We take a look at the bleeding edge of acquisition, Light Field Technology, and kick off ‘Making The Grade’, a new regular feature on colourists and their craft. And our NAB Product Preview highlights some of the gear that will be on display at the biggest broadcast show of the year.

Neal Romanek, Editor nromanek@nbmedia.com

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14 BUYERS GUIDE: AFFORDABLE 4K CAMERAS

The best 4K cameras for the budgetconscious shooter

WHAT IS THE REAL COST OF 4K? A new study claims that UHD TV sets will cost the US an additional $1 billion in energy consumption

AUDIO CASE STUDY

Jünger Audio helps ABS in London stay “Loudness Legal”

NAB PREVIEW

A look at the products coming up at the year’s biggest trade show

22 STORAGE FOCUS: CHOOSING YOUR CLOUD Richard Welsh helps us shop for the best cloud storage solution

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COMMENTARY

A brighter future for IP and UHD David Phillips, business development director, systems integration, at Gearhouse Broadcast looks back on this year’s BVE show in London and sees an industry ready to embrace change

he overriding message to come out of BVE 2016 was that the future of IP in a broadcast infrastructure has made good progress last autumn’s IBC. Although a single set of standards are still not agreed - there are different flavours from different manufacturers - we’re seeing IP standards and products moving in a more consistent direction. MOVE TO MIXED ESSENCE At IBC2015 there was a lot of talk about IP needing to be more than just video signals over IP. Now there’s a definite shift towards mixed essence over an IP infrastructure. Put simply, mixed essence enables the isolation of individual elements such as audio and metadata, meaning they can be treated separately, so only what’s needed gets moved. It’s a far more efficient way to send media across a network as you don’t have to push around a massive payload each time. The move to IP for baseband signals, not just baseband video, is similar to the digital workflows we saw emerge around ten years ago. It was not enough to simply switch from tapes to files. The smart companies analysed the potential benefits of a file-based workflow, and adapted their production workflows accordingly. This process is exactly what’s needed with IP, and at BVE we saw a lot of this positive movement. STANDARDS DEFINITION Interoperability between systems is critical. While many companies have already directed considerable investment in their own approach to IP, this R&D doesn’t need to go to waste. Interfaces can be developed to link into other technologies and standards. This is why we’re seeing the emergence of standards groups such as the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), established to bring manufacturers together. For successful industry adoption, it’s vital that bodies like AIMS ensure what’s being delivered is what the customer actually wants, as opposed to what vendors want to sell.

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2016 is a crucial year for our industry and it will be interesting to see whether a coherent set of standards can be agreed. I expect to see the results of this work more clearly displayed at NAB in 2017. NAB, in both 2016 and 2017, is an opportunity for manufacturers to demonstrate to end users and systems integrators the value of their work.

“Going IP will make managing 4K and beyond a lot easier” As a systems integrator, we want choice and interoperability. We don’t want to be forced down the route of some proprietary technology because a manufacturer believes they know best. The more coherent the policy and the standards, the better for us, the better for our customers, and the better for the industry as a whole.

AN EASIER TRANSITION Going IP will make managing 4K and beyond a lot easier. Right now, getting 4K delivery down to a single interface instead of quad HD infrastructure, is critical to its adoption. Few broadcasters and content creators can afford to invest in the huge routers and vision mixers needed for 4K, when they’ll only use 25% of a system’s capacity for their current HD operations. Building the right system infrastructure to meet these needs now and in the future is crucial. For example, we actually held talks with a customer recently about 8K because they want to have a future-proofed infrastructure. The only way of delivering media of that size is over IP. Indeed, some see 4K as a temporary format because once the standards are in place to make 4K over IP work, 8K is a natural progression. It could be argued that we’re now at the stage where moving to IP is like the switch from analogue to digital, and the move from 4K to 8K is the equivalent of going SD to HD. Yes, there will be complications and the inevitable interoperability issues, but we’re going to see a much easier transition with IP at the heart of this transformation. LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS While there wasn’t much new in the way of technology on show at BVE, it’s a great show for networking. It’s also a gauge of the current market feeling as we build towards new product announcements at NAB in April. There’s still considerable work to do to prepare for the arrival of a full IP infrastructure and UHD, but it’s reassuring to see the building blocks being put in place, and the market mood far more optimistic. The formation of industry alliances to define standards is a big step forward. These will help ensure that systems integrators like ourselves can build our customers the right, future-proofed infrastructure, allowing them to benefit from new production workflows that an IP infrastructure brings. n www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

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COMMENTARY

IP stepping stones Nevion is a partner in the Live IP project, which has pioneered an all-IP workflow for live production. The company’s marketing director, Olivier Suard, says that the road to IP will require steady steps, but doesn’t need to be difficult

n January, the industry took a giant leap when the LiveIP Project performed a landmark remote production of a live Belgian musical concert using IP and open standards throughout the production chain. Overseen by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Belgian operator VRT, with the support of several broadcast technology partners, the LiveIP project was first launched last year and is the first proof of concept of a complete multivendor live production chain that relies exclusively on IP. The latest phase of the LiveIP project, and the remote production of the concert, was an extension of the LiveIP full IP local studio set up in August 2015,

“The IP evolution is still in its early stages, but the transition to IP in the live production environment is underway” which in many ways paves the way for broadcasters in the transition towards IP. It also demonstrates the potential for remote locations to become extensions of the studio/campus set-up. The project addresses many concerns cited by broadcasters exploring the move to IP, including performance, reliability, deterministic network behaviour and clean-switching. EARLY STAGES The IP evolution is still in its early stages, but in a recent survey of leading broadcasters conducted by Futuresource Consulting on behalf of Nevion, 41 per cent of global broadcasters said they had already begun the transition to IP and were preparing their business and workflow for an all-IP future. According to the survey, those broadcasters who had not yet started to move to IP in live production anticipated they would do so www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

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in the next two years, with a complete transition expected within the next ten years. Despite the encouraging research, the main challenges for broadcasters are around building an adequate infrastructure that will allow them to transition. However, common technical reservations regarding the technology, such as reliability, latency and management, can be overcome with the right, standards-based equipment and software. THE RIGHT ARCHITECTURE As business needs evolve, the best way forward is for broadcasters to move to IP incrementally. The core principles to consider include making allowances for a period of co-existence between baseband and IP, adhering to recognised standards and ensuring that the architecture is based on the use of software defined networks. To some broadcasters, the distributed nature of IP networks appears to be very different from the familiar centralised architecture they are used to. However, the architecture of modern, robust networks is not that dissimilar to baseband networks. Based on a ‘leaf-spine’ set-up, the equivalent of the central router in the MCR is the ‘spine’: a set of standard IP routers and the spine routers are connected to ‘leaf ’ networks situated in various locations. The ‘leaves’ consist of standard IP routers combined with media nodes that provide the bridge between baseband technology and IP. Each leaf is connected to multiple spine routers, ensuring reliability and scalability, with bi-directional links. The media nodes also ensure signals are never disrupted and the spine-leaf architecture scales easily, meaning that in theory, there’s no limit to the size of the network. The whole network is controlled by management

software, making it an SDN in which the routes between the sources and destinations are set up dynamically to guarantee the right level of deterministic performance. As the network is IP based, handing signals to other networks such as remote production, telco networks or other broadcasters, is a standard IP feature. Any router in the network can forward the packets to any other connected network, even if the latter is not SDN-based. As no specialist gateways or bridges are needed to achieve this, remote locations effectively become extensions of the central studio/campus. MANAGING THE SYSTEM The key to efficient management of the transition from baseband to IP is to ensure that the migration of the network is transparent. There is a growing need for a media service management system capable of handling baseband and IP networks that presents a broadcastcentric view of the network as a whole. The journey to IP does not need to be difficult. The route has been carefully planned and projects like LiveIP will help by addressing common challenges.n

TVTechnology April 2016

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IP INFRASTRUCTURE

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SHARPSHOOTER

The young man and the sea This issue Barrie Smith talks with wildlife cameraman Rob Drewett, who has evolved a wild creation of his own: the BuggyCam mobile camera platform BY BARRIE SMITH

Where did you grow up? A small village in Surrey, called Dormansland. Where do you live today? I live near Tetbury, in Gloucestershire. Languages? English and un poquito Espanol. What education have you had? Special training in camera work? After leaving school I had no idea what I wanted to do. After starting as a greenkeeper, I then became a tree surgeon for five years, which enabled me to get work in Australia. Whilst travelling for work, I enjoyed scuba diving as a hobby, and on a remote island called Koh Tao in Thailand, I first found my love of filmmaking. I’ve always been an avid photographer and little realised I could turn my hobby into a career, until I started filming people completing their PADI open water diving certificate. The resident underwater cameraman, Wayne, gave me a crash course on how to film, edit and deliver a DVD to the students, all on the same day. I learnt fast — it was the only way I could afford to stay

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on this paradise island. Ever since then I’ve pretty much taught my self. Then, ten years later, I was awarded an 18 month bursary at the BBC Natural History Unit. This was the golden ticket to work closely with the best in the industry. I watched, helped, asked questions — and now I teach too. What was your first ever shooting job? My first ever shooting job was to film the open water students, but my first ever TV credit was for a series I shot called Spanish Dive Adventures. You specialise in wildlife shooting. In what way does your mental approach differ from, say, a news video cameraman? When starting a wildlife sequence I spend a lot of time researching and preparing to film the creatures’ behaviour. In the field you have to think like the animal, behave like the animal and sometimes even smell like the animal. Being smarter than your subject is not that easy, especially when everything is against you - either the weather is not on your side, the animals are not behaving, or you’re just in the wrong location. Whenever I tell anyone about my job they always say I must have a lot of patience. True. In filming wildlife you do need a lot of patience, but you must also trust your instincts.

Current assignments. Where, doing what, shooting for whom? Lately, my career has taken quite a turn. I’ve just started up my own company called Motion Impossible. We make remote camera platforms. I was one of the first in our industry to start working with handheld gimbals and ever since then I’ve been using the technology in many different ways - on jibs, cable dollies and now with our own remote camera platform called BuggyCam, which we sell all around the world. Our latest one is for filming virtual reality. In the past, moving VR camera arrays has been done mainly by drones, but they’ve never

“Producer Alex Lanchester and I were stalked by a grizzly bear for about an hour” moved very well nor remained stable from the ground without someone in shot. So my latest assignment was to be a DoP on a VR experience for Universal Music and film five songs for a new album of thrash metal band called Megadeth — a different type of wildlife filmmaking!

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SHARPSHOOTER shooting style? Maybe five years ago, but now there are a lot of other options for that range of work. What specialist camera gear do you use? High speed cameras, cable dollies, gimbals, Steadicam, Easyrigs, remote camera platforms, vehicle mounts, long lenses. I use the MōVI stabiliser too. What can the MōVI system do that others, like Steadicam, can’t do? I’ve used the MōVI on a jib, hanging from a rope, on a cable dolly and now on remote camera platforms. So it can do a lot more! What make and range are the lenses you use? Mostly Canon, Nikon, Fujinon and Zeiss, ranging from the most macro to the longest, like a Canon 50-1000mm. In the field, is battery life a big issue? Yes, and sometimes we use solar to recharge the batteries, especially now as the technology is becoming more intelligent. Is 3D shooting difficult where you have little control of subject distance? My filmmaking is all about behaviour and filming in 3D really limits that way of filming.   What useful piece of gear do you wish someone might make? A cheaper alternative to a Cineflex. Drewett’s BuggyCam is a manoeuverable, high-speed camera platform for use on all terrains

Is underwater work still in your repertoire? It used to be, but I started getting bad ears whilst doing lots of dives.

Are you affected by weather conditions? When you want sunshine, it rains and when you want rain, it’s sunny. It’s called Sod’s law! We’re very weather dependent. I once worked on a BBC series called Wonders of the Monsoon. In the couple of years we filmed it, there was a drought, and we really struggled to get the content of true monsoonal rains.

Story, Wonders of the Monsoon, Alaska, Forces of Nature, Springwatch, Autumnwatch, and The Dark.

Do you travel much in Europe? I recently filmed the mayfly sequences for the new Brian Cox show Forces of Nature. We travelled up and down the Tisza river in Hungary. This was my first European job in a long time. I do take many of my holidays to explore European countries though.

Gearwise, do you travel heavy or light? Do you work with an assistant or alone? I’m afraid the days of wildlife camera assistants are gone. Budgets just don’t allow it. That’s one of the reasons all my gear is lightweight.

What programmes have you shot for? Mostly my work is out of the BBC. I’ve filmed on Africa: Hidden Kingdoms, Planet Earth 2, Life

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Do you find some producers lack understanding of your role and special needs? Mainly inexperienced producers don’t understand and always get you to film more than is needed.

Current camera equipment you use? RED Dragon, Arri Alexa or Sony FS7 for normal filming and Phantom Flex 4K for high speed. Is the DSLR style of camera workable in your

You have a fear of snakes. Has that affected your ‘performance’? I have filmed the largest snake in Africa and for that sequence I was nominated for a BAFTA. What was that round-the-world power boat trip (Earthrace) like? The most amazing thing I have ever done. But I would never do it again! Check out my website to see more info on Earthrace. What awards have you won? RTS award, Jackson Hole Golden Panda, Guild of Television Cameraman award and runner up for two BAFTAs. Best thing about your job? I’m very lucky to experience places that most www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

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Drewett likes the MōVI camera stabiliser for hand-held work

people are not even allowed to go. Worst thing about your job? Spending so much time away from my family. Hairiest/scariest assignment? Working on a show called Alaska: Earth’s Frozen Kingdom. The producer Alex Lanchester and I were stalked by a grizzly bear for about an hour. We wanted to film some caribou on the snow,

“Sometimes we use solar to recharge the batteries, especially now as the technology is becoming more intelligent” which was at the top of a large hillside. The walk to the top was a lot harder than we first thought and took a lot longer than expected, which took us dangerously into predator hour. On the way back down we literally bumped into a large female grizzly. She was grubbing for berries and I’m sure a bit of meat would have gone down nicely. She was about 50 metres away when we saw her and she was right on our direct route down the hillside, so we had to reroute right through a dense gorse forest. Our guide, who was waiting by our trucks, was watching the grizzly through his binoculars and told us that she was zig zagging behind us and getting pretty close. In hindsight, we were a little unprepared for that trip. What country would you most like to shoot in? New Zealand. This one has escaped me so far. n

CONTACT websites: www.robthecameraman.co.uk & www. motion-impossible.com Email: robthecameraman@gmail.com

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April 2016 TVTechnology

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ACQUISITION - USER REVIEW The rotatable side grip handle is nicely moulded and easy to adjust with a thumb-operated release

Sony’s FS5 offers Super 35 on the run

The Sony PXW-FS5 is an ideal for camera for 4K run and gun shooting. Christina Fox runs it through its paces

ay back at IBC2014, Sony launched the PXW-FS7 and had a winner on its hands. Then last year, at IBC2015, it launched the PXW-FS5: a cheaper, smaller version of the FS7. The FS5 offers 100Mbps Ultra HD (3840x2160) for around £3,600 (+VAT, body only) with a Super 35 Exmor sensor using Sony XAVC (Long GoP) compression recording. On the FS5 website Sony urges you to: “Grab and shoot with handheld Super 35”. Certainly the first thing you notice about the FS5 is how small and light it is. The camera body is only 830g. In comparison, the new Canon C300 Mark II (body only) is 1.7kg. Sony is deliberately aiming this camera at the run and gun shooter. But drone and gimbal users will find its light weight a bonus. With the 18-105mm lens Sony provided for the review, the camera was evenly balanced. The body has a rounded bottom that nicely tucks into your chest. The rotatable side grip handle is nicely moulded and easy to adjust with a thumboperated release. The grip comes with three

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assignable buttons and an assignable dial, joystick and record button. But what is clever is the function button on the handgrip, when used with the joystick it gives you full control of iris, ISO, shutter, AE shift, ND filter value, white balance and focus. Your right thumb can now control all the essential functions of the camera.

“Your right thumb can now control all the essential functions of the camera.” The top handle is firmly attached to the body using two screws. On the base of the handle is an electronic interface connecting the camera to a zoom controller, record button and a single XLR socket. The second XLR socket for input one is located at the back on the camera body, so if you want to work pared down without the handle you can still plug in a microphone. If you do remove the handle there is a protective cap to reduce the risk of damage to the exposed electronics.

ASSIGNABLE FUNCTIONS There are six assignable buttons on the camera with 32 functions to choose from, including smartphone connect, streaming and FTP transfer. Sony is betting you need to connect and upload your pictures at, well, the press of a button. I liked the assignable dial on the grip. Even though the movement is stepped, the adjustments seemed very smooth. You can assign focus or exposure controls to the dial. I’m not sure I would use it for focus as I’d prefer to have a second point of contact (ie, my hand on the lens) to add extra stability. Some auto focuses I’ve seen seem to hunt around like a demented squirrel. The FS5’s autofocus felt slow but in a good, thoughtful way. If you stay in autofocus you get to use face detection. I know some people still think it is a gimmick, but I’m a big fan especially when the talent insists on a walking piece to camera. If the camera detects more than one face in the frame a double orange box appears around what it thinks is the primary face and a single orange box www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

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The grip comes with three assignable buttons and an assignable dial, joystick and record button

Peaking (in red) should make it easy to focus, but it seemed to disappear on closer shots

around the secondary faces. Using the selection dial you can select who is the primary face. It was a bit of a surprise to find that the LCD screen really is an LCD screen and not OLED. That said, it was a decent enough size (8.8cm)

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“The execution of the variable ND is something Sony should be proud of. I’m sure others will want to copy it”

and can be positioned at varying angles around four rotation points, making positioning it very precise. The LCD screen feels flimsy compared to the camera body, which feels robust. The screen will need to be removed or have protection when in transit as it doesn’t have a protective parking place on the camera (although it can be fixed in several places). It is also (like all LCD screens) difficult to use in bright sunlight so I would recommend you buy a sunshade. If you don’t, you’ll need to use the eyepiece, but don’t forget to attach the large eyecup to keep out the light. I like to use peaking to help me with focusing, but found the peaking to be poorly executed on this camera. I could see it on wide shots but it would often not appear at all in close-up. I tried turning it from middle to high, but that didn’t help. You may find it more useful to use the magnification option to check focus. But if you record with the screen magnification on, you aren’t getting a close up, so be sure you turn it off to see the correctly framed shot. I found the Push Auto focus button useful to help me with the focus in bright sunlight. The 1cm eyepiece was a bit small, but it is an OLED and so a better, more contrasty option in

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ACQUISITION - USER REVIEW bright sunlight. There is an option in the menu (VF/LCD PANEL) that, when turned to LCD, ensures the video is sent to the LCD screen only. However set to AUTO it will automatically turn off the LCD screen as you put your eye to the eyepiece. Or, as I found out, when you put the eyepiece to your chest when hand held. At one point I looked at a blank LCD screen and waited for what for what seemed like ages for the camera to turn on, only to find it was on and I was just standing too close to the eyepiece. The option is there to try and extend the life of the battery, but I found it very annoying, and as with other cameras that have it, you should be able to have both on and buy another battery. VARIABLE ND The FS5, like most pro cameras, has a neutral density filter dial with four positions: Clear, 1/4ND, 1/16ND and 1/64 ND. However, you can assign a different ND value to any of those positions (except clear). This is an innovative way of extending your ND filter capabilities. But it gets better. There is also an option to select Variable ND. You can then adjust the ND from ¼ to 1/128. The transition is very smooth. If your reason for buying this camera is its shallow depth of field this will be a killer feature. You can set your aperture to the shallowest DoF and use the variable ND for perfect exposure. The execution of the variable ND is something Sony should be proud of. I’m sure others will want to copy it. The 18-105mm Sony E mount kit lens has a constant aperture at f4 throughout the zoom. The camera does have the option to use Sony’s Clear Image Zoom - not your standard digital zoom found on holiday camcorders. It is pretty much undetectable as you move from optical to digital zoom. It gives 2x magnification in HD and 1.5x in 4K. It is enough to help out a news camera operator who can’t get close to the action – but not so much that it degrades picture quality. If you are considering this as a B roll camera, note there is no time code in and out. Syncing with another camera or audio requires a clapper. The camera comes with the usual options of 60Hz and 50Hz recording in HD so that you should be able to make it backward compatible with an older camera. I hate to say you can future proof yourself with any camera, but, it does offer 50p (60p) in HD and of course 4K/UHD (24/25/30p) for when clients start to ask for it. While HD recording formats are 4:2:2, UHD at 100Mbps is 8-bit 4:2:0, which will put some people off. It is worth noting that the SDI socket can only output HD, but the HDMI output can do 4K. Also upgrades are in the pipeline, including UHD Raw output.

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Grab and shoot: Sony’s new PXW-FS5 is small enough for run and gun use

The camera will record onto SD cards if you are happy with AVCHD recording, but you will need SDXC (U3) cards (around £42 +VAT for 64GB) if you intend to use the camera at 100Mbps and for Slow and Quick motion. The FS5 can record eight-second bursts at 240 frames per second (or 16 seconds at 120fps) in full HD XAVC 10-bit 4:2:2, so, if your project plays at 24p, you can achieve 10x slow motion action. The camera does offer S-log 2 and S-log 3 with a boast of 14 stops of dynamic range. But according to Alister Chapman (DoP and Sony

“It would make a good A-roll camera for the run and gun shooter” certified expert) you really need to know what you’re doing with your exposure as there is very little latitude for error with 8-bit S-log. Using S-log in HD is slightly less exacting as it will be 10-bit 4:2:2. CONCLUSION The FS7 is a popular camera and some will think of the FS5 as a great B-roll option. But, for those on a smaller budget, it would certainly make a good A-roll camera for the run and gun shooter. If you have no money for grading then the 8-bit recording probably won’t concern you, but I’d suggest you buy a good monitor (with its own built-in peaking) to ensure those UHD images are as pin sharp as possible. n

MULTI-INTERFACE A SHOEIN FOR RADIO MICS On top of the FS5’s camera handle is an accessory shoe, but this is not a cold shoe: there are electronic connectors. Sony calls it a Multi-Interface (MI) shoe and it’s available on many Sony cameras. I was loaned a wireless microphone: Sony’s UWP-D11 radio mic kit (from about £325 +VAT). On the base of the radio mic receiver is a docking port that connects to Sony’s shoe mount adapter, which acts as a cradle and connects to the camera through the MI connector. The advantage of this is the receiver can now send audio direct to the camera and receive power from the camera. If you don’t have a camera with a multiinterface shoe then you can still feed audio to the camera via an XLR cable. The pocket transmitter comes with a lavalier microphone but this can be removed. In the menu you can swap from mic to line input. The UWP-D11 was simple to set up. On the receiver you can choose Auto Set in the menu and it will scan for an unused channel. Once it has found one, it asks if you want to sync with the transmitter, then sets the frequency of the transmitter to match the receiver via infrared. The receiver is a diversity system with two antennae and two independent receiver sections. There is also a headphone socket on the receiver, useful for checking the quality of the audio coming in. As a partner to the FS5, the UWP-D11 is a good choice as you can make use of the MI shoe connector. But if you are looking for a new set of radio mics for non-MI cameras, this range, with its ease of set up, is still definitely worth a look.

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3/10/2016 10:00:04 AM 3/8/16 4:17 PM

ACQUISITION – BUYERS GUIDE

Low budget cameras for a high-budget look With quality 4K cameras becoming more affordable, anyone can produce broadcast quality images, and broadcasters can make sure even B-roll footage is future-proofed for UHD. David Fox guides us through buying 4K on a budget

lmost every new camera coming out this year is Ultra HD (3840x2160 16:9 aspect ratio) or 4K (4096x2160 - 17:9, and intended primarily for cinema). Even if you only want to shoot HD, it is probably worth considering the UHD/4K cameras, as they often offer excellent HD pictures and should still be of use if you need to shoot UHD/4K in future. Of course, not every camera is created equal. There are a lot of trade-offs, particularly if you want to save money. For the purposes of this article, ‘affordable’ is anything less than about £5,000: although usable 4K cameras can cost as little as £360. The key choices, from front to back, are: lenses, sensors, formats, codecs, bitrates, inputs/ outputs and ergonomics. Lenses: Cameras that come with a built-in lens are generally less expensive (all in) than ones that allow you to change lenses. One-piece camcorders have the advantage that everything (including lens control) is integrated, the lens and sensor are probably well matched, and you won’t get dust on the sensor. Interchangeable lenses offer more creative possibilities, allow you to use lenses you’ve already invested in, and give you scope for growing your lens collection. Canon EF mount, Micro Four-Thirds mount, and Sony E or A mounts tend to offer the cheapest lenses, while PL or B-4 mount lenses are generally much more expensive - there are lots of adaptors available. Sensors: Usually, the bigger, the better - in terms of quality, low-light capability, and shallow depth of field (if that is the look you want). A smaller sensor camera will be easier to focus, as it gives greater depth of field, which may be exactly what you want for unpredictable subjects. Some sensors are native UHD or 4K, others (particularly on stills cameras) may have even more pixels - which can be an advantage in post

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David Fox

production, or can cause problems (such as poor low light performance). Formats: If you’re shooting a drama and want a cinematic look, 24/25 frames per second will be enough. For documentary, sport or reality, 50p would be better, and if you want to do slowmotion action, then you’ll need higher frame rates. Most of the cameras in this buyer’s guide offer higher frame rates for HD than for UHD. Codecs: All the cameras use some form of compression, generally based on H.264, but some also offer Raw output or recording, using logarithmic gammas. These Log outputs will look terrible (grey and flat), because they have to be colour graded to get the most out of them (which generally includes higher dynamic range), so only use them if you are going to do proper post production. 4:2:2 colour sampling is always preferable to 4:2:0, as is 10-bit or even 12-bit (higher specs are available, particularly for Raw). Bitrates: Generally, the higher the bitrate the better, but that takes up more space on your (more expensive higher-spec) recording media, and you’ll need a more powerful computer to edit it.

I/O: Some cameras will record in Apple’s ProRes or Avid’s DNx codecs, but many other cameras can be used with an external recorder to add these higher-quality, edit-ready codecs, either via HDMI or SDI outputs. If you are going to use the camera live, you will need one of these - and usually genlock too (for use with other cameras). For inputs, look for XLR for higher quality audio, and LANC for using with an external controller. Ergonomics: Very tiny cameras can be difficult to hand hold (they’re just too light), but may be perfect for remote mounting. DSLRs generally also need some sort of rig to make them easier to hold, while shoulder-mounted cameras tend to be the most comfortable to hold for a long time. Small cameras also tend to have fewest buttons, forcing you to use the menu for even simple changes - assignable buttons are always welcome. Features like built-in neutral density filters are also useful, particularly if you want to open the lens wide for shallow depth of field shots. Always try out a camera before you buy it, like big fingers and small buttons, they will suit some people better than others. To get the most out of many of these cameras, you’ll also need to budget for lenses (such as Samyang’s EF-mount VDSLR Lens Kit 2 with 14mm, 35mm and 85mm lenses and case for about £1,000), add-on electronic viewfinders (about £750-£1,000), and external recorders/ monitors, such as the Ninja Assassin 4K for HDMI cameras (£850) the Shogun for HDMI and SDI cameras (about £1,300), or the Convergent Design Odyssey7Q+ (about £1,700) - bear in mind that the recorders are liable to be limited to a maximum of 30p in 4K or UHD. WHAT’S AVAILABLE: There is lots of choice, and if you look for deals, you can get a lot for your money. All prices here include VAT and were the best available at larger broadcast dealers at time of writing. n www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

30/03/2016 16:19

UNDER £1,000 GOPRO HERO4 BLACK

PANASONIC HX-A500

At £360, GoPro’s Hero4 Black (UHD24/25/30p, 2.7K 2704x1520 50p and 1080p120) is the industry standard action camera.

If you don’t need the GoPro’s remote mounting options, there is the Panasonic HX-A500E (UHD 25p and HD 50p) wearable camera, with separate camera and recorder (attached via cable) for the same price. Panasonic also has small consumer (UHD/25p HD/50p) camcorders with 20x zoom lenses that are nice to use and produce pretty good pictures (especially for HD with HDR at 50Mbps). The £600 HC-VX870 is probably the one to choose, but there are other models.

Action time: The GoPro Hero4 Black is about the cheapest way into 4K

4K Z-CAM E1

PANASONIC GH4 + SHOGUN

The new £800 Z-Cam E1 is the smallest 4K camera that takes interchangeable lenses (MFT mount). It is a good size and weight (210g) for use with a drone, and records 4K at 24p, UHD at 24/25/30p and HD at up to 50/60p, using H.264 to a micro SD card at up to 60Mpbs. It has Mini HDMI output, Bluetooth and WiFi, and comprehensive control via an iOS or Android app.

For something more serious, there is the £900 (body only) Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 Micro Four Thirds camera, which offers a lot of capability for the money and is well built. It shoots 4K/24p and UHD 24/25p at 100Mbps, and HD/50p at 200Mbps. It has useful video functions like peaking and zebras. But if you want to do colour grading or match more expensive cinema cameras look at the GH4R, which includes V-Log L gamma and unlimited recording time (about £100 extra).

Remote possibilities: The compact new E1 from Z-Cam offers excellent smartphone control

Cable guy: Panasonic’s HX-A500 costs only £360

Plugged up: Panasonic’s GH4 recording to an Atomos Shogun

£1,000 - £2,000 BLACKMAGIC MICRO STUDIO CAMERA 4K

SONY CYBERSHOT DSC-RX10 II

CANON XC10

Blackmagic’s small Micro Studio Camera 4K (£1,000) takes MFT lenses and is designed for live use (UHD 24/25/30p or HD 50/60p) via 6G-SDI (10-bit 4:2:2). It is the cheapest way in to studio production, especially when teamed with Blackmagic’s ATEM hardware.

Sony’s compact £1,000 Cybershot DSC-RX10 II camera offers UHD/25p recording, a fixed Zeiss 24-200mm (35mm equivalent) f2.8 zoom lens, uses the 100Mbps XAVC-S codec and Slog-2 gamma, and would be useful for drone use or hand-held gimbal stabilisers. It uses a medium-size (1-inch type) sensor, with ND filters, but the lens could be sharper. Frame rate in HD is up to 100fps.

Canon’s £1,450 XC10 records UHD 25/30p to an internal CFast 2.0 card at up to 305Mbps (XF-AVC). It has a 1-inch sensor, C-Log (11 stops), 10x zoom (manual zoom and focus rings), and optical and electronic image stabilisation. It’s small, but easy to operate and offers excellent HD quality - 8-bit 4:2:2 50Mbps 50/60p to an SD card.

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April 2016 TVTechnology

30/03/2016 16:19

ACQUISITION – BUYERS GUIDE

JVC GY-HM170 & GY-HM200

PANASONIC HC-X1000

JVC’s £1,600 GY-HM170 (150Mbps UHD 24/25/30p + 4:2:2 50Mbps HD 50/60p) has a 12x zoom (no resolution loss 24x digital for HD) and two SD cards slots. Nice to use, highly configurable, but the lens is a bit soft when wide open. JVC’s £1,800 GY-HM200 is essentially the same, but with XLR audio handle, SDI output and live streaming (worth the extra £200).

Panasonic’s £1,700 HC-X1000 records 100Mbps UHD 50/60p to SD card, 4K/24p, HD 50/60p 200Mbps. Small sensor, 20x zoom, three manual lens rings, 3x ND filters, 2x XLR input, HDMI out, IR night mode.

SONY XDCAM

Sound investment: JVC’s GY-HM200 gets a handle on XLR audio

Sony’s £1,700 entry-level XDCAM 10-bit 4:2:2 XAVC HD camcorder, the PXW-X70 requires a UHD upgrade (licence about £375) to record 8-bit 4:2:0 UHD 24/25/30p at 60Mbps (this may improve in future). It has 12x zoom, single focus/zoom control ring, ND filters, HDMI and SDI out, 2x XLRs in, 2x SD card slots, is highly configurable, lightweight but front heavy.

Up to speed: The Panasonic HC-X1000 can do 4K 50/60p

£3,000 - £4,000 PANASONIC AG-DVX200

SONY PXW-Z150

Panasonic’s £3,300 AG-DVX200 has a 4/3-inch sensor and fixed 13x zoom lens, recording 8-bit 4:2:2 internal (10-bit output via SDI and HDMI), offering 100Mbps 4K/24p, or 50/60p for UHD (150Mbps) and HD (200Mbps). It can go up to 120fps in HD. It is a stylish, versatile general-purpose camera, but not great in low light.

Sony’s new £3,500 PXW-Z150 has a 1-inch sensor, 12x zoom lens, and a usable digital zoom (from the 20-megapixel sensor) claimed to enable enlarging the image to 18x in UHD or 24x in HD. It records UHD 24/25/30p at up to 100Mbps in XAVC (4:2:0) or HD at up to 100/120fps (10-bit 4:2:2) in XAVC or MPEG2 at up to 50Mbps, to two SDXC/SDHC card slots.

Simply red: Panasonic’s DVX200 with an Atomos Ninja Assassin recorder

BLACKMAGIC URSA MINI 4.6K EF Blackmagic’s £3,800 Ursa Mini 4.6K EF (and £4,250 Ursa Mini 4.6K PL) look like the Ursa Minis to buy, with an improved sensor offering up to 15 Stops dynamic range in Raw. The camera has just started shipping, but without its promised global shutter. Whether it lives up to its potential has yet to be seen. Look for a review in TV Tech Europe later this year.

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30/03/2016 16:19

True 4K/UHD Waveform Analyser from Omnitek

12-bit true 4K/UHD waveform solution for content creatives, colourists & post-production editors

Las Vegas Convention Center 18-21 April 2016, Central Hall - C10418 The Ultra XR is Omnitek’s new UHD Video Waveform Rasterizer that addresses the demanding requirements of extended resolution production QC and 4K post production grading. Neat, powerful and sophisticated, Ultra XR has been designed specifically for content creatives, colourists, post-production editors, and digital intermediates working with Ultra high resolution UHD images in all SDI and HDMI formats. Ultra XR not only provides all of the traditional tools that are Ult expected in these operating areas but also supports the emerging standards for High Dynamic Range, Wide Colour Gamut and IPTV.

○ True 4K flat frequency response Waveform Analysis, Vectorscope ○ and Histograms. ○ High Dynamic Range (HDR) inputs: ST2084 / PQ and Hybrid Log ○ Gamma. ○ Wide Colour Gamut RGB: ITU-R BT.2020. ○ CIE colour gamut chart. ○ Selectable Region of Interest. ○ 12-bit 4:4:4 SDI input formats in Digital Levels and NITs ○ luminance scales, YCbCr and RGB and X’Y’Z’. ○ Comprehensive standards support - up to quad 3G, dual 6G and ○ 12G-SDI, 2 Sample Interleave and Square Division formats.

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3/16/2016 10:41:37 AM

ACQUISITION – BUYERS GUIDE

£4,000 - £5,000 AJA CION AJA’s Cion camera is a lot of camera for the sort of deals seen recently (£4,700). It is a shoulder-mounted (ENG-style) model offering Apple ProRes 422 and 444 at up to 4K 50/60p (or outputs AJA Raw at up to 4K 120p), to SSD media. It has a global shutter, PL mount (MTF makes alternative mounts) and 4x SDI outputs (for Quad HD links), and all the professional features you could want: although you have to buy your own viewfinder.

SONY PXW-Z100 Sony’s £4,000 PXW-Z100 handheld XDCAM camcorder has a 1/2.3-inch sensor, 20x zoom, recording 4K/ UHD at 50/60p (up to 600Mbps, 10-bit 4:2:2) and HD 50/60p using XAVC to 2x (fairly expensive) XQD cards, with HDMI and SDI outputs and 2x XLR inputs. Very nice documentary-style camera, but not great in low light (as you’d expect from such a small sensor on what is one of the older 4K cameras).

CANON EOS-1D X MARK II Canon’s newly launched EOS-1D X Mark II fullframe sensor DSLR should cost under £5,000 when it’s available. It offers 4K video capture up to 60p (800Mbps), plus HD 120p (360Mbps), to a CFast 2.0 card, with very good low-light capabilities.

SONY PXW-FS5 Sony’s £4,500 PXW-FS5 Super 35 sensor camera takes E-mount lenses and records 100Mbps UHD 24/25/30p (4:2:0) and HD 50/60p (10-bit 4:2:2) XAVC, as well as eight or 16 seconds cache record of 240 or 120fps in HD, to SD cards. One of the neatest features is its electronic variable ND filter (very useful for shallow depth of field shots). It can also crop to Super 16 mode for 2K shots, and has a nice, rotatable handgrip. See Christina Fox’s review on page 10 of this issue. SONY PXW-FS7 Sony’s full-featured PXW-FS7 4K XAVC XDCAM camcorder is available for less than £5,000, but only ex VAT (less than £6,000 including VAT), so if you have the budget, it should probably be on your list too. It can record Raw 4K/UHD to an external device at up to 60p or HD at up to 240fps. It has two internal XQD media slots recording up to UHD 50/60p or HD 150/180p in 10-bit 4:2:2 XAVC.

TVTechnology April 2016

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30/03/2016 16:10

ACQUISITION – SPECIAL REPORT

Light field imaging Object-oriented video Advances in audio technology have resulted in flexible, object-oriented sound. Could light field imaging usher in an era of object-oriented video? Adrian Pennington reports

The Raytrix R29 3D lightfield colour camera has a light field resolution of 29 Megarays (number of light rays captured by the sensor). So far, Raytrix cameras have been primarily used for industrial applications.

nstead of recording a flat picture, what if we could capture all the light falling on the camera? And if we could do that, could we then generate a perspective from any position? And possibly even display it as a three-dimensional holograph? That’s the theory behind light field imaging, which has potentially revolutionary consequences for visual storytelling. Recent advances in processing power and sensor technology have made the technology appealing to electronics giants like Microsoft and august cinema engineering bodies like SMPTE.

“I think both the capture and playback of light fields will be the future of cinematic virtual reality.” A light field – a concept originally proposed in 1846 by Michael Faraday – is defined by the number of light rays within a given area. It is technically five-dimensional: three spatial (x, y, z), plus two angular dimensions describing the direction of the ray. To capture a light field you typically either array cameras which will simultaneous record different angles of the same scene, or place a micro-lens in front of conventional optics to funnel information (about intensity, direction, colour).

The Lytro Illum’s 40 megaray light field sensor

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19 20 TVTE Apr16_Aquisition_final.indd 8

POST PRODUCTION POSSIBILITIES At present, there is no way of post-producing the sheer volume of data produced, or of displaying it, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t useful applications for the technology around the corner. Researchers at German institute Fraunhofer IIS, for example, have developed a system comprising 16 HD cameras arranged in a 4x4 grid. Last September, it released a plug-in for Nuke as an aid to processing the data and shot a short film, Coming Home, with Stuttgart Media University, which showcased the technique’s capabilities for live action filming. The plugin can be downloaded from the Fraunhofer website (www.iis.fraunhofer.de/lightfield) The chief advantage, Fraunhofer contends, is that light field imaging will offer a more cost effective way to produce film and TV. “On-location retakes are time-consuming and expensive,” says Frederik Zilly, head of

Fraunhofer’s Computational Imaging group. “What if the focus was incorrectly set during shooting or the perspective has to be changed? The use of multicamera systems opens the door to a world of new post production possibilities.” Among the possibilities are dolly-zooms, vertigo and Matrix camera tricks which could be rendered out of existing material in the cutting room. “Expensive effects, previously the preserve of cinema, can be brought to TV with light-field recording,” Zilly says. NEW REALITY FOR CINEMATOGRAPHERS Also known as computational cinematography, the idea is anathema to most cinematographers. If all the important camera parameters, such as position, viewing angle, depth of field, aperture and exposure, can be determined in post there are big questions about where this leaves the DP’s craft.

April 2016 TVTechnology

30/03/2016 16:13

ACQUISITION – SPECIAL REPORT “Cinematographers will worry that light fields take away one of their primary tools – composition – because the viewer can move around the space, and see things from different perspectives,” says Ryan Damm, founder and light field systems developer of Visby Camera. “On the other hand, this opens up lots of new creative possibilities and completely changes the creative toolkit.” The main driver of interest in light field today is its potential application in virtual reality. Most current VR systems position multiple lenses in a sphere then stitch the resulting images together. Despite some tweaking in software this approach arguably lacks the subtitles of parallax which allow a VR viewer to have positional tracking - to move their head side to side, forward and back, look straight up or down without the illusion breaking. In theory, light field-captured 360-degree video would create a more genuine sense of presence and freedom of movement for live video which is only possible today in CG VR experiences. “Cameras shooting 360-video can’t use position tracking to synthesise a single perspective,” says Damm. “That is VR video using existing standards, rendered using game engines, and that model won’t work.” Lytro, Californian maker of the first consumer light field still cameras, announced Lytro Immerge last November and plans to launch it at NAB. Immerge consists of a five-ring globe that captures what Lytro calls “light-field volume”, dedicated servers for storage and processing, an editor for integrating data with NLEs and compositors and a video playback engine. “Everybody is talking about light fields and nobody fully understands the potential yet,” said Aaron Koblin, co-founder and CTO of VR production outfit Vrse which helped develop

Leia3D is one of a new generation of mobile holographic screens

TVTechnology April 2016

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Light field cameras like the Raytrix use an array of microlenses over the image sensor

Immerge. “We’re just waiting for the moment when we have the tools. I think both the capture and playback of light fields will be the future of cinematic virtual reality.” VR headsets (Oculus, HTC Vive) and augmented reality systems (Meta, Microsoft Hololens - both in closed beta) are the only means to display light fields at present. In the pipeline are holographic screens, such as that in development at Leia3D, with Samsung among

“Everybody is talking about light fields and nobody fully understands the potential yet” tech giants to have filed similar patents. None of these displays is capable of showing live action video, though that may change with the release of Immerge. The bigger challenge is creating a camera with enough fidelity that it may be better termed a holographic video camera. 400 PETABYTES AN HOUR “With a micro-lens approach you end up with an effective resolution equal to the number of micro lenses,” says Christian Perwass, founder, Raytrix. “Even with a 40 megapixel camera, with 20,000 micro-lenses you will only end up with 20,000 pixels. The higher the effective resolution, the shallower your depth of field becomes which means you can’t take advantage of all the different views.” Raytrix, a German company selling precision measuring instruments for

20 x

industrial work, has effected a compromise by deploying a micro-lens with three different focal lengths. Based on a 42 megapixel sensor, its R42 camera offers an effective resolution of 10 megapixels at 7fps. Perwass believes existing light field systems are limited by the laws of physics. “They are workable with close-up subjects like a face but if you want to extract depth information for scenes 10-20 metres away you might as well use standard stereo 3D cameras,” he says. There is a third way, using traditional optics: This is to film a scene with multiple arrays of micro-lens imagers or with higher resolution sensors; or ideally a combination of both. Phase One released a 100MP stills camera in January, Canon is developing one with 120MP and even has a prototype 250MP chip. However, this only shunts the problem down the line. But exactly how much data does a hologram require? Damm, presenting on the topic for SMPTE at NAB, has done the math. A rough approximation: for a two square metre surface, you would need about 500 gigapixels of raw light field data, taking up more than a terabyte. At 60 frames per second that’s about 400 petabytes per hour. “That equals a whole lotta hard drives,” he says. “People are cutting various corners to try to make it work, but it’s a hard problem.” Visby, Damm’s company, has a light field codec in development but doesn’t plan on releasing anything until next year, at the earliest. “In the near term we are able to capture light fields and collapse all the data down to non-three dimensions for manipulation in post,” says Simon Robinson, chief scientist at The Foundry. “Imagine looking out of a window in your home. Now imagine that as a holographic picture. That is where we are headed in the longer term.” n www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

30/03/2016 16:13

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2/11/2016 9:52:10 AM

STORAGE – BUYER’S GUIDE

“It’s important you understand the basic financial mechanics of the solution you’re choosing”

Get started with cloud storage You’re going to migrate to the cloud sooner or later. Richard Welsh, former SMPTE governor and founder of Sundog Media Toolkit, offers tips on getting started

t Sundog we offer cloud Software-asa-Service for various post production processes. Early on in building the Sundog platform we made the decision not to offer storage services. There are many options for storing media in the cloud, and we didn’t want to force a particular solution or provider on our customers. This has meant that we have built ways to work with a number of methods of cloud storage and have seen a variety of solutions. In this article, I will outline the cloud storage approaches we have seen and the practical implications of their use. BEYOND PUBLIC-PRIVATE-HYBRID Public and private and hybrid cloud are now well understood concepts. What is interesting is the recent rise of community cloud, which is filling a gap in the marketplace for those who want content-focussed cloud storage but don’t want the complexity of operating a private cloud. A number of providers of mediacentric storage have sprung up who offer a laser focus on content applications and have a deep understanding of production and post workflows. These providers offer a cost-effective scalable solution that gives an option to those not wishing to move wholesale into public cloud. Many of these providers also run hybrid models where you can use hosted storage for regular work, and still

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leverage public cloud at peak times. The other area seeing growth is the ‘glue’ joining different cloud solutions. It’s not uncommon to use multiple services in Google, Microsoft and Amazon public clouds on a project but store production data in managed service clouds such as Sohonet or Base Media. In this

“Look to companies that offer flexibility in storage options, and the transport mechanisms for getting files in and out.” multi-cloud environment there are many ways to join the dots. In the case of software services, some are based in a particular cloud and require connection to storage systems in that cloud. Others are able to work with data from multiple sources. We are seeing increasing sophistication in the ability of SaaS applications to speak to multiple clouds via multiple mechanisms. Many software systems and managed storage providers offer integration to familiar file transport systems such as Aspera and Signiant. £$€ It’s important you understand the basic financial mechanics of the solution you’re choosing. Is

data movement (ingress and egress) a chargeable part of the service? Different providers charge for all, some or none of your data movement. Another question you should ask is how does better connectivity impact total cost of the service? Public cloud typically offers some sort of dedicated connection option but you may find this attracts additional charges elsewhere from your telecoms provision or hosted cloud services connecting to the public cloud. One of the most important elements to understand is tiered access storage – block versus object versus archive storage – what are the combined volume and access costs (for instance archive storage may appear to be more cost-effective than block or object for the total volume, but can quickly become costly if you require frequent access). So when does it make sense to use block over object storage? Typically block storage is required when running with a ssmall number of processing end points. For instance, if you’re running a real-time application such as colour grading where you require high bandwidth to a single server, block storage makes sense. If you’re running highly scalable processing where there are potentially many servers running in parallel then object storage is faster because of a high aggregate speed to multiple endpoints. However, if using object storage, it’s important to www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

30/03/2016 16:15

have the right tools for asset management. Block storage presents an array of drives striped with a file system, so this looks and behaves like a local SAN/NAS volume - useful if you want to spin up servers in the cloud to run the same software that you use on local machines. Object storage is entirely virtualised so files now become “objects” with paths that look like network addresses. Object storage has a high level of distribution and redundancy across the infrastructure of the data centre(s) in use. Those objects are reconstructed by the storage controller to deliver files to the sever requesting them. The software must be able to understand those object paths in order to get the files, process them and put them back into object storage. It’s essential that your choice of SaaS and asset management system can interpret these objects and present them in a familiar way. More advanced tools will be content aware, interpreting content types, formats, metadata, and allowing proxy views of the media. SECURE STORAGE The number one question about using cloud services for media recently has been security.

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The focus on security for cloud has resulted in a plethora of options. Understanding these is another important element in choosing storage. There are two main areas of security to look at here, encryption and access control. Encryption at rest can be handled broadly in two ways, server side and client side. Server side means that the cloud control layer handles encryption and decryption of content as it enters and leaves the storage cloud. In public cloud, server side encryption and key handling is performed transparently to the client and typically doesn’t add any significant processing overhead and little or no additional cost. Client side encryption means data is pre-encrypted before transport and key management is the responsibility of the client. The advantage is complete control of keys and decryption points is with the client, but the process is no longer transparent and adds processing and operational cost. The implementation very much depends on other factors such as the use of encryption at rest on local (non-cloud) storage and key management and access control systems already in place.

Typically, server side encryption is already used and trusted by large corporations. GETTING UP AND RUNNING Cloud storage offers scale and flexibility whilst moving from a capex to an opex model. As the industry migrates elements of its operations to cloud, we will see a high level of fragmented services and hybrid workflows. So it’s essential to analyse the applications you want to run in the cloud, how to interface those various services and especially how cost savings can be achieved. Look to those companies that offer flexibility in storage options and the transport mechanisms for getting files in and out. This is just as important as any financial benefit, because if workflows become constricted your savings can quickly evaporate. The initial learning curve for cloud storage can be steep, but we have had an overwhelmingly positive experience once customers are up and running. If you’re thinking about it, you should start to dip your toe in the water now. Many providers offer free trials which are perfect to experiment. Take advantage of that and stay ahead of the curve! n

April 2016 TVTechnology

30/03/2016 16:15

STORAGE - FEATURE

Cloud PVR: Optimising the multiscreen delivery of live TV Nivedita Nouvel, VP marketing at Broadpeak, outlines the capabilities operators should look for when choosing a cloud PVR solution for multiscreen delivery

elevision viewers have an insatiable appetite for nonlinear content. They want to consume it when they want, on any device. PVR solutions are a popular way for IPTV, cable and OTT operators to deliver nonlinear content, yet they are limited to a single device type. Operators need a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective method for delivery high-quality nonlinear content in a multiscreen environment. Recent advancements in IP technologies have emerged as a solution. IP networks now have the capabilities of storing content and streaming it on-demand to each end-user, allowing cloud PVR applications. Instead of storing the recorded content on a local drive, cloud PVR captures the content in the heart of the network and streams it as video-on-demand content, with all the trick mode functions (e.g., pause, fast rewind, fast forward) available. Additional applications such as start-over, catch-up, and time-shifting TV can also be supported with cloud PVR. BENEFITS OF CLOUD-PVR VS LOCAL PVR The cloud PVR approach offers a multitude of benefits compared with the local PVR approach, for both service operators and end-users. The benefits are even bigger when shared copy is allowed. With cloud PVR solutions, end-users can launch any number of recordings on various channels simultaneously without any constraint on the available bandwidth or number of tuners on their reception device. The recorded content can be viewed on all of a subscriber’s devices. Moreover, the quantity of storage available is not limited to the STB initially installed by the operator. Storage can be increased, as needed. Another advantage of cloud PVR solutions for end-users is that the quality of the recorded content is not limited by the constraints on the network at the time of the recording. With local PVR, if the network quality is not good at the time of the recording, the content will be stored with a low quality, whereas cloud PVR enables content to be adapted to the conditions at the time of the streaming. Ultimately, this leads to a superior quality of experience (QoE) for end-users.

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From a service operator standpoint, cloud PVR solutions offer significant cost savings. Operators’ hard drive costs are reduced, since storage is only added on an as needed basis. There is no need to deploy PVR STBs with a monumental amount of storage space that may not be used. Support costs also go down with cloud PVR solutions, as there are no disks in the STB, which can be a key point of failure. Operators that use a cloud PVR solution will also see reduced churn. Since their customers have recorded all their content in the operator network, they are less willing to switch to a new provider. In addition, cloud PVR solutions open up new business models for operators, allowing them to use storage space in the cloud in various ways (e.g., global fee per month, price per channel or bouquet, storage quotas, etc.) as well as insert targeted advertising into the stream, personalizing the end-user experience. SCALABILITY One of the most important features that an operator should look for in a cloud PVR solution is scalability. A cloud PVR solution must scale to handle a growing number of recordable channels (i.e., ingest capacity), new recording requests (i.e., recording and storage capacity), and an increase in viewing requests (i.e., playback capacity). From a scalability standpoint, operators will want a cloud PVR solution that offers a high level of flexibility to answer all the constraints of the different cloud PVR use-cases and usage models, including shared and private copy. This will simplify capacity planning. Using a cloud PVR solution for multiscreen can require a huge amount of storage. Each piece of recorded content must be available in the various delivery formats (e.g., Apple HLS, Microsoft Smooth Streaming, Adobe HDS, MPEGDASH) supported by the broad range of end-user devices. Storing the same recording in all of these different formats in advance is costly and can become an obstacle for operators to rollout cloud PVR. Operators can overcome this challenge using on-the-fly (OTF) packaging. With OTF packaging, the recording is stored in only one format,

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preferably protected with an AES fixed key (DRM is not applicable), or in the clear in a format usually named ‘pivot format’. In this case, content is packaged in the right format and protected via the DRM of the choice of the operator by the origin server only when requested by an end-user device. REDUNDANCY Redundancy management is an important point for operators to consider when rolling out a cloud PVR solution. However, redundancy in a cloud PVR solution can be costly because all of the recorded channels have to be ingested twice in the origin server cluster when a 2N redundancy scheme is used. This doubles the recording capacity of the origin server cluster. Employing an N+1 redundancy scheme, operators can reduce the cost of the cloud PVR solution. However, part of the recordings will be lost during the time required to set up the live channel on the redundant origin server in case of failure. Operators will want a redundancy scheme that doesn’t record the same live channels twice and avoids loss of video data. The best case scenario is to select a cloud PVR solution that supports a 2N architecture where a live channel is ingested by two origin servers but actually recorded by the main origin server. In case of failure of the main origin server, the recording can be resumed by the redundant one without any loss of video data, ensuring the best possible QoE for end-users without requiring doubling the writing bandwidth and the storage capacity of the system. By using a highly scalable cloud PVR solution that features best-in-class redundancy management and OTF packaging capabilities, operators can deliver a multiscreen service with exceptional QoE at the best cost. With cloud PVR solutions, operators have the flexibility to deliver content over managed and unmanaged networks, support traditional VoD or advanced applications like catch-up TV on every screen, and adjust storage, as needed, to increase enduser engagement with their service and their revenue streams. n www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

30/03/2016 16:28

STORAGE – BUYERS GUIDE

Building a home for your UHD content Adopting UHD means an opportunity to rethink storage. Andy Warman, Harmonic’s director of production and playout strategy, gives tips on building a storage solution for UHD

HD is effectively four times the size of HD. That means significantly greater capacity is needed to store UHD media. The shift to UHD production also demands an increase in bandwidth and therefore faster connections to enable the same level of performance for editing, file movement and media processing on and off a storage system. Although capacity and bandwidth requirements are transforming performance requirements needed with the move to UHD, the workflow they support is remaining relatively unchanged. HDR and the immersive audio can add to the workflow, but for the most part there is little or no action being taken to change editing and production workflows, and so the transition to UHD isn’t really changing the way that storage gets used by those processes. COMPRESSION CHOICES As facilities begin working with UHD, they have an array of new codecs, as well as older well-known options, from which to choose. The specific codecs they embrace will have a direct impact on the capacity and bandwidth required of the storage platform. With UHD file sizes being so large, the differing requirements of these codecs is an important consideration - higher bandwidth

requirements add up fast. In many cases, a facility will settle on a mezzanine compression format (lightly compressed) that is visually indistinguishable from the original uncompressed version. Another consideration in UHD adoption is how and where to store UHD assets. Should the content be integrated with other assets on existing storage? Or, should they be stored on a dedicated new system. Either way, the ability to expand in both capacity and bandwidth as UHD becomes a greater part of the overall workflow is an important factor to consider when deciding on a storage solution. The latter approach is made possible when using storage technologies that offer non-disruptive scaling of storage. Bandwidth and storage capacity can be added while the system is still in use with no interruption to service and no down time for users. As workflow requirements evolve, this approach creates efficiency and an easy way to provide the new resources in the right place at the right time. THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY To be cost-effective, the UHD storage solution is most likely to be built on hard-drive technology. To get the required level of performance means more disks and faster connectivity than for HD assets. It is beneficial to have a greater

The UHD cinematic/offline workflow

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number of drives per rack unit along with higher speed connectivity. This helps reduce space requirements, complexity of installation and can mitigate maintenance and power consumption. UHD storage solutions will depend on 10GbE or other high-speed connections. As editing clients and workstations are upgraded to support UHD, it is important that the right connectivity technology link those workstations to storage. GETTING DISKS TO SHINE Where storage for UHD content can really shine is in how consistently it provides direct access to files, regardless of how much storage capacity is in use. This is a performance characteristic that makes a high quality shared storage system an ideal solution for UHD production workflows. Providing the performance of a Fibre Channel Storage Area Network (SAN) and the simplicity and scalability of Ethernet-based Network Attached Storage (NAS), such a system can ensure the user experience is always the same no matter how large the system grows, or how much storage capacity is consumed. Even when multiple editors are working on large UHD files simultaneously, the load on the system does not translate to slowdowns. Likewise, because there is no down time for scaling or drive rebuilds, editors and other processes, like file transfer and transcoding, enjoy continuous performance. Many broadcasters are considering also how their investment might boost other areas of production and delivery. Storage technologies have evolved to support an array of applications, including the creation of digital libraries and the consolidation of “islands” of storage onto a single storage platform. As with every other migration, a move to UHD will demand efficient, cost-effective storage. Demands for multiplatform delivery as well as for UHD means new or expanded storage systems will be required to support conventional linear broadcast workflows, new UHD/4K workflows, and workflows supporting delivery of content to OTT and VOD services, as well as to CDNs. n

April 2016 TVTechnology

30/03/2016 16:30

STORAGE – CASE STUDY

Archiving the blockbusters With a need for more storage, and not much space, Deluxe Digital Cinema EMEA looked to Spectra Logic for its new archive. Brian Grainger, Spectra Logic chief sales officer, tells us how they did it

eluxe Digital Cinema EMEA has carried out post-production on some of the industry’s major films of recent years, including Frozen, the Harry Potter franchise and Avatar. Relying on industry-leading graphics and post production software, the company’s IT infrastructure is at the heart of its success. In addition to a natural need for greater storage capacity (due to the resurgence in 3D as well as the advent of 4K resolution imagery), Deluxe Digital, based in London, needed a smaller array with higher storage capacity to adequately archive films in its space-challenged data centre. Its legacy Oracle/STK L700 was aging, support contract fees were becoming increasingly high and Oracle’s future support plans for the L700 library were uncertain. After researching the market, the Deluxe Digital team selected Spectra Logic’s T950 tape library with LTO-5 drives to archive over 10TB of film footage every day. The T950 is library is designed and built to meet stringent requirements for data integrity, data security and high reliability. At Deluxe Digital, it is used to archive film projects from 14 European countries and to access data from old LTO-3 tapes from the L700. The unit can expand over time and will support future projects as Deluxe Digital London creates and ultimately archives more video material. The T950 also reduces staff administration significantly, affordably scales in throughput and capacity, and supports multiple generations of current and future tape formats. Meanwhile the LTO-5 drives offered Deluxe Digital performance benefits. The media cartridges were suited for the media and entertainment industry because they are optimally balanced for protecting content for the long-term and have a native capacity of 1.5TB (3TB with 2:1 compression). They have a native transfer

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rate of up to 140Mbps (280Mbps in compressed mode). The cartridge capability of the Deluxe Digital solution allowed the company easy access to archive and backup data on tape and a smooth integration of new higher performance interface standards. The system’s backward compatibility ensures that data that was written up to five years ago can easily interface with contemporary and higher-density formats: a crucial feature in this fast-moving industry. In an active archive configuration, feature film footage can be restored into Deluxe Digital’s production environment for foreign versioning and subtitling. Deluxe Digital’s Active Archive environment allows data to be moved between Deluxe Digital’s SGI disk-based arrays and the T950 library using ASG’s Time Navigator software. Footage is kept in the Active Archive format for 12 months as standard before the tapes are taken out of the archive and moved to secure off-site storage. “Feature film foreign versioning and subtitling for theatrical distribution are key, specialised services for Deluxe Digital London and have been ever since the two concepts evolved. Spectra Logic gives us the most cost effective, secure and efficient means of safeguarding our clients’ digital assets and ensuring they are readily available for valuable versioning and subtitling projects. Being based in Soho, London, floor space was also a major factor in our decision to select Spectra Logic, along with the T950’s massive density and LTO-5 format.” n

Environment Snapshot • Spectra T950 tape library • Six LTO-5 fibre channel drives and 450 licenced slots • DVS DDN SAN • Active Archive environment

www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

30/03/2016 17:20

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3/30/2016 10:53:32 AM 09/02/2016 17:43

STORAGE – INTERVIEW

Fast mover Signiant’s Media Shuttle product allows users to move big, media industry-size files anywhere at high speed. We interviewed CTO Ian Hamilton on how the cloud is changing how the industry works How has easy access to the cloud shifted Signiant’s service? Initally our customers were the larger companies in the media and entertainment space, the large studios and post production houses. But what we’ve done recently is make our software much easier to deploy for smaller participants in the industry by shifting to SaaS (Software as a Service) products. The key benefit to those SaaS products is there’s much less for the customer to manage and deploy and worry about. They just get the benefit of the software. The next big trend in media is people moving as much of their operations as possible to an opex model as opposed to a capex model. And obviously things like SaaS and cloud are a part of that. What processes will companies be migrating to the cloud? The big thing that we see shifting to cloud is content aggregation and distribution because of the elastic nature of bandwidth and storage. This use case still has the same requirements as moving media between facilities or within a facility in that it needs to be fast and secure and reliable. It’s interesting how quickly things are accelerating in this area. Almost everybody we talk to says that management is pushing them to use cloud first and only look at on-premises storage when cloud isn’t practical economically or if there are security concerns: although those concerns are going away as people get more comfortable. Are you looking at companies beyond the broadcast space? Absolutely. We’re seeing everybody becoming a video company as they start to use video more and more. Especially with things like training and marketing activities. And having a SaaS solution that’s mainly cloud-based allows companies without a lot of IT support to use our software. And it’s not just small companies that are taking advantage of us. It’s departments within larger companies, where they don’t want to be as reliant on IT. The IT departments are realising their role is shifting too. They’re more about guiding users

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to the right solutions. Instead of in the past where they provided the full compliment of technologies. I think the corporate video market is definitely looking for solutions that are easy to use and deploy and cloud lends itself to that. They can really benefit from the SaaS approach. Their requirements also tend to work well for

“Almost everybody we talk to says that management is pushing them to use cloud first and only look at on-premises when cloud isn’t practical” cloud workflows: say, if they’re creating advertising or training content. The objective of that content is to be widely distributed within the organisation, and so in some instances the cloud infrastructure is a better fit. Dropbox was showing at the BVE Show in London. People said “What are you doing here?” and they said, “We’re in this space now.” I think a lot of the things Dropbox is good for now are lighter weight assets. Things like scripts and low res proxies. But what people find when they try to use Dropbox for broadcast quality video is that is just doesn’t work. The file sizes are too big and the times it takes to move things are too long. We try to offer the ease of use of Dropbox but with the professional quality and speed. But they’re

definitely looking at this space. There’s no doubt about that. Are people expecting more commodity IT solutions, rather than specialised broadcast equipment? I think people are much less willing to pay ten times as much for a piece of hardware that is theoretically media and entertainment specific but in its core has the same processor commodity IT has. Companies used to have three networks. They had their IT network for standard office activities, they had their production network for moving around files, and they had their SDI network for video routing. Two of those networks were IP. The final stage in all that is putting all that SDI traffic over IP. When that happens, you can converge the infrastructure. With software defined networking capabilities, everything is just an IP port, regardless of whether it’s file-based, live, or IP stuff. What is Signiant working towards in the future? The key thing for us is to continue building on the momentum of moving to file-based workflows: it’s hard to believe in 2016 that there’s still a lot of physical media around. And we want to keep building on the momentum of the move from on premises storage to cloud, which is where most of the movement is now. We want to make that easier and easier and a better experience for our customers. n

www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

30/03/2016 17:10

MULTISCREEN - FEATURE

Finding the right words Ben Davenport, director of marketing at Dalet, takes a look at the challenges in subtitling for a multiscreen world

Even the language around captions and subtitles is confusing. And perhaps that’s the best place to start. In America, they refer to the timed text that accompanies video/audio as captions – specifically, open captions or closed captions. Open Captions are “burnt” into the encoded/distributed video picture. Closed Captions are carried alongside, and the display device controls the rendering of the text over the image when selected by the user. And ‘subtitles’ refers only to foreign language text. In Europe (and elsewhere) we tend to just use ‘subtitles’ to refer to all cases. For this article, it is only subtitles, the European equivalent to Closed Captions, that we will discuss. WHY WE CARE Aside from being ethically sound, in many territories providing subtitles is a regulatory obligation – as such, it is a business cost that must be addressed with maximum efficiency. When all or most content was delivered to consumers by linear broadcast, the most effective time to add subtitles was at playout – before which all the subtitle data would exist in a discrete workflow and data path. This posed some challenges in terms of association of text with video/audio but avoided the much larger issues of media interoperability and file exchange. However, when we start delivering content through multiple platforms, it is not efficient to have separate subtitle data paths for each platform. We need to look at how to bring text, video and audio together much earlier in the production and content preparation process. FORMATS STL, SCC, PAC, RAC, CHK, SRT, SUB, 890, XIF, CAP, TXT are some of the popular file formats for authoring, editing and storing subtitles standalone from the video and audio. Standards and specifications exist for some, but there are many proprietary implementations too, meaning that converting archives of these files to something interoperable often poses a hurdle. Tools exist to handle these conversions, but it is important to ensure those conversions can be easily orchestrated and married to other operations to maintain efficiency.

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Although there are other alternatives,, the most common carriage formats for subtitles are OP42 (Operational Practice as defined by Free TV Australia) for SD and OP47/SMPTE RDD08 for HD. These specifications describe the way in which the text is actually written into the ancillary data space (VBI or VANC) in file or stream form. While there is opportunity for error in encoding/ decoding to and from these formats, this is a well understood area and errors are relatively rare. CARRIAGE MECHANISMS Although by no means necessarily the same thing, the carriage mechanism and media file format are very much related. By carriage mechanism, we are referring to the container for the carriage format. For MXF files this will commonly be an ST436 track – a track that contains ancillary data according to the SMPTE ST436 specification. However there are many other frequently used containers such as MPEG2 user data space, ‘in-vision’ space in IMX (tall MPEG) or VAUX in DV. Some vendors created proprietary side-car files to contain ancillary data while some proprietary codecs (such as ProRes) have specific containers for captions. Regional application specifications such as AS-11 UK DPP in the UK and the ARD-ZDF MXF profiles in Germany should go some way to constrain options and aid interoperability, but limited vendor support along with variations in the implementation of those specifications can still cause issues. Understanding the carriage mechanisms and

different media file formats is especially important when dealing with legacy files with embedded subtitle data and/or files arriving from third party sources. Whether you are looking to extract the subtitles from these files for reference or manipulation, or converting them to a mezzanine format, knowing what subtitles are in the source files and where they are is the difference between success and a potentially untestable workflow. PIVOT FORMATS As with any ‘many in, many out’ scenario, the test matrix, and chance of error, can be greatly reduced by using a mezzanine or ‘pivot’ format at the centre of your workflow – converting only to that format on the way in and only from that format on the way out. The best format to choose will depend on your workflows – if you’re significantly manipulating or editing subtitles then an STL or TTML file might be preferable, in repurposing and delivery workflows, a standalone (reference) ST436 MXF file could speed up transformations for delivery – but generally something tightly defined, specified and/or standardised will be advantageous. As stated at the beginning of this article, even the language around captions and subtitles is confusing and there are possibly terms and acronyms used here that are unfamiliar or different from those you may have used. The most important factor in any conversation around subtitles to define a vocabulary from the start and minimise confusion. n

April 2016 TVTechnology

30/03/2016 16:54

MULTISCREEN – COMMENTARY

Live ad insertion: killer app for broadcasters? VoD services have had traditional broadcasters on the defensive, but can sophisticated ad insertion get linear viewing back on top? Paul Davies, communications manager at Yospace, gives his take

t’s been a turbulent few years for broadcasters. The rush of viewers online has been so frantic that there has been a growing fear amongst broadcasters that they will be left behind. But now things are getting back into perspective. Broadcasters have discovered that they’ve held an ace card all along: live TV. Event television has generated viewer demand for live services in the online domain. Sporting events are obviously big drivers of simultaneous audience engagement, but Saturday night is also a case in point: a quick look at Twitter during these periods will demonstrate how much viewers like the idea of everyone watching the same thing at the same time. Broadcasters have added live streaming across their online platforms and, in doing so, they’ve discovered that live channels online are very popular: especially for live events, such as a major sporting tournaments where key fixtures are played out during the day, when the viewer often doesn’t have access to a television. OPPORTUNITY TO MONETISE We have seen that viewers will watch a typical live programme from start to finish, a streaming session that may last for more than an hour. This makes inserting pre-roll ads very inefficient in terms of ads watched per content hour. Indeed, it also represents a fraction of what would be expected by broadcast television. Pre-roll is also incredibly frustrating to users. In some territories, broadcasters are credited in their ratings for online views of the broadcast ad breaks, but streaming video tends to be a personal experience for the viewer. If they are watching on a mobile or tablet, for example, they have a one-on-one relationship with the screen, as opposed to the traditional TV that counts whoever is in the living room as its audience. As a result, there’s a huge opportunity to be able to cater content, including advertising, to the individual, which can be sold by broadcasters at a premium. The most obvious approach to achieve this was to apply client-side ad insertion, as used

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already on their VoD services. But this approach has drawbacks, including: • Heavy demands on the player leading to stream inconsistency • Added buffering while each advert loads • One bad video asset can break the stream • Software must be developed and maintained for each platform/device With many such annoyances directly affecting the viewing experience, it shouldn’t be a surprise that users have been reaching for the ad blockers. Broadcasters, faced with the ongoing cost of maintaining multiple platforms, and potential brand damage for a poor user experience, have rightly been put off. A BETTER WAY Server-side offers the best user experience because it isn’t reliant on heavy lifting by the player. The viewer is delivered a single, continuous stream, regardless of platform/device, that is free from the tell-tale buffering that betrays the client-side approach. For commercial broadcasters, a commitment to a linear streaming strategy also means a commitment to server-side ad insertion. That means integrating an ad technology provider with their streaming workflow in order to create a user experience in which ad insertions are frame-

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accurate, seamless, and placed in a section of the stream where viewers expect adverts to be. Channel 4 was the first UK broadcaster to offer a full catch-up TV service. The 4OD platform has been relaunched as All4 and now includes live streaming with ad replacement. Having collected user data, such as age and gender, at the point of registration for over ten years, the insight it has into its audience places it in an enviable position. Other broadcasters have since realised the value in owning first-party data. Despite the plethora of shows now available on catch-up, there is considerable evidence to suggest that there is a demand for a ‘lean-back’ viewing experience. This has an interesting effect on how many ads are watched through. Yospace customers consistently report watchthrough rates of over 98 per cent in their live streams, not just for sporting events, but linear television also. The impact of server-side ad insertion on digital revenues has been so great in live streaming that broadcasters are starting to replace existing VOD solutions, too. The key workflow integrations are already in place so it’s a straightforward step. It’s clear now that the concept of live TV is here to stay and that server-side ad insertion will become the standard, if it isn’t already. n

www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

30/03/2016 16:55

SPECIAL REPORT

How much does UHD really cost? A report by the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council says UHD TVs could cost Americans an additional $1 billion a year in energy consumption: or close to an additional 8 Terrawatt hours. The report’s author, Noah Horowitz, talks to us about the hidden costs of 4K What is the Natural Resources Defense Council? NRDC is a California-based environmental NGO. I am the Director of NRDC’s Center for Energy Efficiency Standards. Our group works to reduce the energy use of buildings and the equipment inside them through voluntary programs, such as energy labels, consumer education, rebates or tax credits, bulk procurement, design competitions, and mandatory policies at the state or national level. As power plants are often the largest source of CO2 emissions in many countries, anything we can do to reduce electricity use helps us prevent climate change. One of the Center’s main areas of focus has been consumer electronics. We did the first ever comprehensive study on the energy use of flat screen TVs back in 2005 (http://www.nrdc. org/air/energy/energyeff/ftv.pdf) when little to no information was publicly available on the energy use of new digital TVs. Our work served as an effective call to action to the industry and policy makers to update the test method for measuring TV on mode power use so that it could be used for digital TVs. The old method used static test bars, which would not capture the energy used to process and display moving digital content. We also worked to add on mode power levels to the ENERGY STAR labelling program and to require energy use labels to be displayed on new TVs and websites. We also helped promote rebate programs for the more efficient models on the market, and set minimum energy efficiency standards for new TVs sold in California and other jurisdictions. The California standards paved the way for the labelling and MEPS set in the European Union. What prompted your look at UHD and its impact on energy consumption? We closely track industry trends and new features with an eye towards the impact they might have on energy use and operating costs. One way we do this is to closely monitor product introductions and communications that emerge from CES, the annual Consumer Electronics Show. In January 2015, the industry was heavily promoting the latest TVs generically referred to as Ultra High Definition or 4K TV.

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Once again there was virtually no information on the energy use of these new TVs. So we hired an expert consulting firm, Ecos Research, to do testing for us of a cross section of new UHD TV models that were introduced in 2015. We tested the energy use of UHD TVs playing current content (high definition or HD) and also 4K content. Then we tested the energy use of the new emerging format called high dynamic range (HDR), and also measured the standby power use and resume times of internet connected TVs, also called Smart TVs. We also did some modelling on the potential

“The CES show seemed to be an arms race as to who had the TV with the brightest picture. This has a real energy impact” incremental energy use and carbon emissions that would occur if the industry were to transition to UHD TVs for all TVs over 36 inches. One of the good environmental developments that has come about is the industry’s evolution from using linear fluorescent lamps in the back of the TV to LED backlights. The fluorescent lamps contained mercury whereas LEDs do not. Did this year’s CES raise any flags about the energy impact of new consumer technologies?

The industry is shifting its promotion and focus from simply higher resolution to TVs that can play back high dynamic range content. TVs capable of displaying HDR content will use a lot more energy as the images are brighter. The CES show seemed to be an arms race as to who had the TV with the brightest picture. This has a real energy impact. The limited testing we did with native HDR content showed a 30% increase in power use compared to the 4K version of the same movie. As things are in their infancy, now is the time for the industry to also focus on bringing down the energy use of HDR-ready TVs. The first step is to update the clips that are used during testing. The current version is in HD and does not contain HDR images, and as a result will grossly under-report real world power use when viewing HDR content. The other trend at CES was simply how big the TVs on display were. Throughout the huge convention hall I was hard pressed to find TVs less than 50 inches on display. And in general, the bigger the TV the higher the energy use, all things being equal. In addition, it appears that HDR will be a much more compelling feature for consumers than straight up 4K TV. While 4K TV offers greater resolution, the improved picture is only slightly noticeable to most consumers and requires one to be fairly close to the TV and for the TV to be a really big one. HDR content on the other hand is more of a ‘killer app’ which www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

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will drive new TV sales, as the pictures are brighter and produce a wider, more vivid set of colours. What energy impact is being made by other video technologies apart from TV? Much of the equipment in the TV ecosystem, including the TV and the pay-TV set-top box will need to be capable of processing and displaying the latest content, like 4K. As 4K TV programming contains four times more information than conventional HD, the files will be larger and bigger pipes and processors will be needed. As such, the data transfer capabilities will need to be greater, meaning more powerful servers and routers in the future too. This has an energy and environmental impact that has not been quantified throughout the system – from the Netflix server, to your home, within your home, and inside your TV. (For NRDC’s look at data centre efficiency, go to: http://www.nrdc.org/energy/data-centerefficiency-assessment.asp) A few years ago, we did a report on cable and

“The limited testing we did with native HDR content showed a 30% increase in power use compared to the 4K version of the same movie“

Acuity, Carbonite, & CrossOver production switchers.

Preferred supplier of switches for

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satellite set top box energy use (http://www. nrdc.org/energy/files/settopboxes.pdf). One of the common themes with this equipment is the unnecessarily high amounts of power some of these devices use when they are not in use. When we did our study, set top boxes in the US consumed an alarming $3 billion per year in electricity use, with $2 billion of that due to the power used when the devices were turned off. Things are starting to get better in the US as the industry is a lot more focused on making their boxes more energy efficient. And once again, information on the set top box energy use was not readily accessible by consumers until we did our report and successfully advocated for it to made public. Without this information, consumers – and many businesses - have no way of knowing which is the superior model from an energy efficiency and lower operating cost point of view or alternately which is the energy hog that they might want to avoid. Download the full NRDC report at: http://www. nrdc.org/energy/uhd-tv-energy-use.asp n

April 2016 TVTechnology

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MAKING THE GRADE Peaky Blinders: “A fresh approach”

Blinding COLOUR Simone Grattarola discovered grading accidentally. In our first Making the Grade interview, the colourist of Peaky Blinders and the BBC’s adaptation of War and Peace talks about the evolution of the craft and how having the skill with the technology isn’t enough How did you get started being a colourist? I wanted to be an editor, but that wasn’t really happening for me. So I went travelling, and I got a call from a friend of mine who was an assistant colourist at a company called Rushes. He said he’d been made a full colourist, and because I knew him and the head of the department, they asked if I wanted take a role as an assistant colourist. At that time I didn’t know anything about colour grading – or telecine, as it was known back then. It wasn’t something I necessarily wanted to do, but from the moment I put up a roll of film in the telecine gate I was hooked. I worked my way up, then went to a company called Red Post Production. I helped set up a new grading division there with an old Spirit telecine, and we started developing a bigger client base. From there I went to One Post, then finally came back to Rushes, where I was for the past seven years. Then last year I left to set up the grading team at Time Based Arts. What is your set up at Time Based Arts? We have two Da Vinci Resolve grading suites with Dolby monitors. They’re both commercial grading

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suites, but the second suite doubles as a film grading suite. We have a 2K Christie projector and projection screen, and we can swap over in the room, so we can do both commercial grading and long-form grading in that suite. It’s obviously a very different process now from when you started on that Spirit telecine. It’s a totally different process. It was a more - for lack of a better word - ‘organic’ process back then. You would put the film on the gate, and you wouldn’t have all the tools you have now. With the old telecines and the panel that came with them, you had maybe four or five windows, and none of them would track. There was only so much you could do. In a way you became more creative working with those limitations. The classic example is you would use Vaseline, or put a ruler in the gate, to create a lighting effect. But since the advent of digital intermediate, you can track windows which isolate various parts of the screen. And these shapes will track through the shot, so if you have someone moving through frame and you want to change the colour of their face or make it brighter, you

can track that. Before, you had to incrementally go through and create an event on each frame. Then every time you put the film up, the film would be in a slightly different place. It was a bit of a nightmare. That one small change, being able to use a trackable window, has saved so much time. But there was something quite magical about working with those limitations and working directly on film. Sometimes you kind of miss that. It’s interesting that some people now are starting to shoot film again. When did you start using digital tools? I was at Rushes at the time. We had two telecine machines there: a C-Reality, made by Rank Cintel, and a Spirit telecine, made by Philips Thomson. The C-Reality went, and we bought this new product made by Da Vinci, called Resolve. We saw the benefits immediately in terms of how much more colour correction you could do, the tracking tools, and editing tools as well. It became a complete tool. In a few months, we phased out the Spirit and got another Resolve. www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

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War and Peace: “We pared it back and there was a lot of reworking and finessing”

Is long-form drama a very different process? It becomes a lot more about storytelling. Everything tends to be subtler. In a commercial or music video, you have less time to create an emotion - it’s one feeling that runs through it. Doing a TV series involves a lot of preparation – talking to the director and editor and the DOP beforehand. We use a lot of references. On commercials you don’t always get that opportunity. You might only get to grade for a day – or half a day - then you’re on to the next job. Working on longer form, you can prepare and bring in a lot of references. What I enjoy is that it is a different skillset. You keep watching things back and keep changing them. Even physically when you step back from a monitor, things can change. In Walter Murch’s classic book In The Blink Of An Eye, he talks about how he stands up when he’s editing. When you’re grading, trying things like that helps, and longer form projects allow you to do that.

What kind of work did you do before you moved on to long-form television? Rushes was mainly a commercials grading facility, as we are now at Time Based Arts. But when you’re starting out as a junior colourist you tend to work on prop promos and short films. You cut your teeth doing those with directors that you end up working with on commercials. A lot of the people I started working with years ago are doing long-form TV or features or high-end commercials now. That was one reason we put a projector in at Time Based Arts: a lot of our directors now do features.

You’ve just done the BBC adaptation of War and Peace. How did it compare to Peaky Blinders? Peaky Blinders was an interesting project because the DOP, George Steel, was someone I knew from grading commercials. When he landed the job, he wanted to bring in someone with a commercial background to create a commercial look for that project. He didn’t want it to have the “long form look”. He wanted a fresh approach. We worked on tests before he went to shoot, so we had quite a good idea of the look. And after the project started, that look continued. It got adapted as the series went on, but it was a case where we hit on something early and it carried through. War and Peace was more involved - partly because there’s a classic nature to it, whereas in Peaky Blinders we had a blank canvas. At the same time we wanted to do something that was modern. It was a difficult balance. We did a lot of tests and went through a lot of references. “Because you’re emotionally engaged and you’ve done so much preparation, it becomes intuitive.”

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But when we looked at it, it was too extrem - too ‘printerly’, like a painting. As it progressed, it didn’t feel quite right. So we pared it back and there was a lot of reworking and finessing. The producers might not agree, because we spent more time doing it, but it was creatively a really good thing to step back and re-look at the work. Kids entering the industry want to be colourists rather than cinematographers or editors. What advice do you have for people getting started? When I started, it was like a dark art. No one who came into post understood it or knew what it was. Even I sort of stumbled into it. But now, a company like Blackmagic has free versions of Da Vinci Resolve that you can download, so a lot more people know the toolset. I’m constantly getting people contacting me, saying “This is my reel. I’m a colorist.” My thing with that is, if you have Final Cut at home and can edit you might call yourself an editor, but in our small community, in the commercials or film world, you’re not. Anyone who has these tools should try and experiment with them, and should contact people like myself. We’re always looking at people’s work. But you still haven’t worked at a company and understood what is expected in terms of sitting down in front of clients and delivering the best quality service. It’s very different doing it at home than actually being in a company with clients paying for what is perceived as the best quality work they can get. When I have people coming through, I do a lot more schooling of them in terms of they’re approach to work, how they deal with people, how they manage their room and their session. A lot of people have a good eye, but it’s about understanding what a multitude of people want, interpreting that and delivering it to them, then giving them something more as well. That becomes an art form in itself. With the people that I’ve trained over the years, that’s always the last piece of the jigsaw. Emotional intelligence ends up being the most important thing. Yes. With grading there’s a hell of a lot of preparation, especially on the long-form work – looking at references, working with the DOP on tests, creating look up tables. But when you come to work on it, you have to free yourself a little bit. You don’t want to constrain yourself to what you’ve done before. Because you’re emotionally engaged and you’ve done so much preparation, it becomes intuitive. By the fourth episode of War and Peace, we were in that mode of working, but it took a long time to get there. n

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AUDIO – CASE STUDY

Loudness: keeping it legal When ABS Broadcast needed a solution to manage loudness compliance for their customers, they looked to Jünger Audio

ondon-based Advanced Broadcast Services is using Jünger Audio’s loudness control technology to deliver a better service to its international clients. Established in 1989 by former BBC Broadcast Engineer Sass Jahani, ABS manages the transmission and technical requirements for major TV channels around the world. The company initially designed and implemented bespoke broadcast installations, but with the advent of the Sky Digital platform in the UK in 1998, it became a service provider and now supports the needs of more than 50 channels from its playout operations centre in Park Royal. According to Mukund Patel, ABS head of technology and engineering, monitoring all incoming and outgoing services is a key part of the company’s quality control strategy. “Controlling audio loudness is now a legal requirement in many countries around the world and, as we broadcast TV channels on an international basis, having a reliable loudness management system in place is imperative,” he explains. “Since making the decision to go with Jünger Audio’s system we haven’t looked back.” ABS first made contact with Jünger Audio in 2005 when an ABS customer complained about an imbalance in the audio levels between his station’s programme content and commercials. “Someone we knew recommended the Jünger Audio B42 leveller, so we bought one and it solved the problem,” Patel says. “We just plugged it in and it worked. We ended up buying quite a few more B42s to help level our audio content. Of course, the B42 doesn’t control loudness so when that became an issue we went back to Jünger Audio and started investing in the company’s C8000 system.” LEGALISING LOUDNESS Jünger Audio’s modular C8000 solution incorporates a suite of DSP and I/O interface cards enabling it to integrate workflow for managing surround sound and Dolby coded 5.1 audio signals in production, ingest and playout. These include HD/SDI de-embedding/embedding with VANC, Dolby E resynchronisation with in-built video delay and Dolby Metadata generation. All C8000 systems include Jünger Audio’s Level Magic adaptive loudness algorithm,

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Mukund Patel

which is based on a multi-loop dynamic range control principle. This enables slow changes (AGC), fast changes (transient processing) and look ahead peak limiting to be handled simultaneously. “When we installed our first C8000 systems we started putting two TV channels through them,” Patel says. “They were so useful that we invested in more. Now we are up to ten channels. Because it is a modular system it is very easy to expand as we go along. We just add more cards, copy and paste the pre-sets for a particular territory and off we go. “Initial set up was just as easy. When we first got a C8000, Jünger Audio helped us test it and install the right pre-sets. Everything we put through the C8000 is now compliant with loudness legislation in all key territories including the USA, and we don’t manually have to adjust anything.” GOING GLOBAL Of course, not every country has Loudness legislation in place and channels broadcasting to those countries don’t need to playout through

a Jünger Audio system, but Patel thinks it won’t be long before demand for Loudness control laws reaches even these places, especially if the content they are producing is destined for international markets. “If our customers want to broadcast to Europe or the US, they have to comply with legislation, or get fined,” Patel says. “We do provide loudness logging and our reports are very comprehensive, but provided the audio content is going through the Jünger Audio system we can be confident that there won’t be a loudness issue. The C8000 sits towards the end of the broadcast chain and going through it is pretty much the last thing that happens to the audio before transmission.” ABS is now housed in the fourth iteration of its playout facility. By combining traditional broadcast practices with the latest technology and innovative thinking, ABS has pioneered many of today’s best practices in the multi-channel playout and transmission environment. Although ABS has no immediate plans to add additional Jünger Audio C8000 units to its roster, Mukund Patel is in no doubt that more will be coming along eventually. n www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

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MARKETPLACE - NAB PREVIEW

NAB 2016 Product Preview NAB 2016 is never short of new product launches. Here are just a few of our technology picks that will be debuting in Las Vegas

UTAH SCIENTIFIC Switching it up

he new UHD-12G digital routing switcher from Utah Scientific enables distribution of SDI video signals, from SD data rates up to 2160P/60 data rates, in a single-link interconnect. Good for live acquisition of UHDTV content, the UHD-12G simplifies installations, reduces the rack space needed to process 4K signals, and lowers opex. Compliant with SMPTE ST 2081 and ST 2082 standards for SDI video, the switcher is compatible with Utah Scientific’s

TVU NETWORKS

line of products. The UHD-12G is available in 32x32, 144x144, and 288x288 frame configurations and comes with a ten-year warranty and no-fee product support. Utah Scientific’s new family of IP gateway input and output cards provide two-way conversion of SDI video signals and SMPTE2022 signals over a 10G Ethernet connection. The new cards work with all UTAH-400 Series 2 enterprise routers and also plug directly into a stand-alone 2RU utility chassis.

The news on TVU

VU One, a live, mobile, IP newsgathering transmitter from TVU Networks, aims to deliver the same transmission performance, picture quality and sub-second latency of a full-size backpack transmitter in a smaller and lighter form factor. It features the company’s Inverse Statmux Plus transmission algorithm, Smart VBR technology and the TVU.264 video codec. TVU One is available with embedded modems and can transmit simultaneously over multiple mediums, including cellular, microwave, MIMO

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microwave mesh, Ka-band and Ku-band satellite, BGAN, Wi-Fi and Ethernet. TVU Grid, an IP video distribution, routing and switching system, lets broadcasters switch live IP video content and share live streams between remote locations. The TVU Anywhere app turns an iPhone or Android device into a live video transmitter. It uses a 3G/4G/LTE wireless connection and Wi-Fi when available to transmit live video to a TVU receiver.

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WOWZA MEDIA SYSTEMS

BLACK BOX Easy switching from Black Box

he DKM FX matrix switching system by Black Box provides flexible and instantaneous switching and extension of highdefinition video and peripheral signals. Designed for easy expansion, the system lets users add connections and change inputs/outputs as needs evolve. A variety of interface cards including digital/analog video, USB, audio and serial are available for the system. Multiple video inputs allow the DKM FX to support DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, SDI, VGA

Wowed by a new streaming SDK

he Wowza GoCoder software development kit simplifies mobile app offers a common, cross-platform API to capture and stream live video and audio, with broad support for a range of iOS and Android devices. It offers connection to Wowza Streaming Engine and Wowza Streaming Cloud and provides control of

video and audio encoder settings, including support for 4K video resolution. Wowza GoCoder SDK features multiple-camera support and configurable network bitrate. For iOS development, iOS SDK 8.01 or later is required. For debugging Xcode 7 or later. Android development requires Android SDK 4.4.2 or later.

LIVEU

and other digital and analog standards, and it can support 4K video up to 60 fps with 10-bit color over a single DisplayPort cable. All DKM components can be centrally managed and updated with the latest firmware, and Black Box offers free 24/7 technical support.

NETAPP

LiveU debuts live web streaming

iveU is debuting Solo, a plugand-play live streaming, bonded solution for the online media market. LiveU Solo allows users to live-stream into any web streaming workflow by connecting automatically to popular content delivery networks such as YouTube

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Live and Wowza Streaming Cloud. Solo can be managed remotely via a Web interface or smart device. LiveU’s live acquisition, management and distribution IP solutions are also being exhibited. These include the LU200 field unit and LU200e video encoder.

Setting store by storage

etApp is featuring its E5600 Series storage systems with dynamic disk pools that provide consistent video bandwidth. The resiliency scheme provides 50% more bandwidth during rebuilds than standard RAID. The data rebuild time is 1/8 the time of standard RAID. StorageGRID Webscale is NetApp’s next-generation solution for multi-petabyte distributed content repositories. It provides erasure coding or automatic file copies to remote locations depending on the value of the

media and the needs of the workflow. StorageGRID Webscale features include self-healing data protection and tiering to either cloud or tape. The NetApp clustered Data ONTAP operating system running on the company’s FAS8000 Series of enterprise storage systems improves video bandwidth and provides always-on operation. Data ONTAP enables data mobility between private and public clouds, and its disaster-recovery software improves overall datamanagement strategies.

April 2016 TVTechnology

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MARKETPLACE - NAB PREVIEW CLEAR-COM

DEJERO Integrating with Grass Valley

t NAB, Dejero is featuring its interoperability with video production and content management systems. Dejero and Grass Valley are collaborating to incorporate functionality of Dejero’s LIVE+ Control into Grass Valley’s GV STRATUS platform, giving operators the ability to access, manage and assign

High wireless act

lear-Com is highlighting its new DX410 two-channel digital wireless system, operating in the 2.4 GHz band. The system features 7 kHz wideband audio, two-wire and four-wire bridging, and two-wire auto-nulling for integration with Clear-Com or TW-wired partyline systems. With HelixNet 3.0 the HMS-4X HelixNet Main Station provides power and networked channels

of audio to support up to 20 digital beltpacks. The rugged, ergonomically designed HBP2X HelixNet Beltpack enables access to two of any four system channels over a single cable. Clear-Com’s five-channel, full-duplex FreeSpeak II digital beltpack operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency band and features up to five communication routes per beltpack.

AMIMON

content from Dejero transmitters within a single window. With LIVE+ Multipoint, content is simultaneously delivered to multiple stations over standard IP networks, retaining HD quality with low latency. Operators can filter, monitor and route the content from a single source to many destinations.

CARL ZEISS

A mini with multicasting

Zooming in on Zeiss

The Connex Mini is Amimon’s small zero-latency HD wireless video link measuring 65.5x44.7x14.9 mm (2.5x1.7x.6 inches). It provides plug-and-fly HD video transmission at distances up to 500 meters (1,600 ft.). Connex Mini’s 5 GHz transmitter has automatic channel selection for connectivity that is free from interference from unmanned aerial vehicle controls and 2.4

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GHz radio links. A multicasting feature supports four screens simultaneously. For content protection, the unit employs AES128 for the video encryption and RSA1024 for key exchange. The Connex Mini kit includes all antennas, cables and connectors required for link setup. Amimon also offers a mobile app for Windows and Android.

t this year’s NAB, Carl Zeiss is highlighting its compact Zeiss CZ.2 zoom lenses that offer the versatility of a cine zoom and feature an interchangeable mount for use on many camera systems. The weathersealed lenses are designed for fullframe coverage and are optimized for digital cameras. The Zeiss CZ.2 zoom lenses are available in 15-30mm, 28-80mm and 70-200mm and weigh between 5.5 and 6.2 pounds. They have flare suppression, a circular-

shaped iris and are color-matched with all Zeiss prime lenses. The Zeiss CZ.2 lenses have a calibrated focus scale and there is no focus shift over the entire zoom range.

www.tvtechnologyeurope.com

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COMREX

PIXEL POWER Virtual playout gets real

All access

he new Comrex VH2 provides the capabilities of a two-line digital hybrid and benefits of VoIP. The unit has front-panel controls and connects directly to several VoIP PBXs. Access firmware 4.0 includes forward error correction and CrossLock, a new feature that provides added capability for bonding to enable multiple networks to be used at once. Users also can

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configure multiple networks for redundancy mode, which provides reliability on higher bandwidth links. With the introduction of LiveShot firmware 1.4, LiveShots can interact using a peer-to-peer model, making it more eďŹ&#x192;cient to configure LiveShot connections. LiveShot delivers low-latency video and audio over a range of IP networks.

ixel Power is demonstrating its latest version of StreamMaster virtualised playout. Built on the Clarity 3D graphics engine, the modular software platform is designed to provide facilities for anything from a popup channel to a premium service, running on dedicated hardware, on a virtual machine or in the cloud with new pricing models, including pay-as-you-go for trial channels and pop-up services. The Pixel Factory Clarity 3D graphics engine now can use

templates to generate large numbers of clips such as promos, trailers and other marketing content. Creative editors set out the templates and provide core information for each campaign, and Pixel Factory will generate all the versions and resolutions for each clip.

April 2016 TVTechnology

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MARKETPLACE - NAB PREVIEW IKEGAMI New 4K pro camera

kegami is debuting the UHK-430 4K camera. Designed for use in the studio and field, it features three 2/3-inch 4K CMOS sensors with RGB prism optics. Equipped with the new ASIC for low power and new digital signal processing features, the camera attains 16-axis color correction from a 3D linear matrix. It also enables iLog, the Ikegami log

transfer characteristic for HDR. The UHK430 is capable of 40G transmission using standard SMPTE hybrid fiber/copper camera cable, uncompressed 4:4:4 resolution RGB transmission, with four HD channels from CCU to camera, one HD trunk channel from camera to CCU, and there are simultaneous 4K and 2K outputs from the CCU.

MASSTECH INNOVATIONS Managing content with Masstech

asstech Innovations is demonstrating a version of the MassStore platform, which now supports LTO-7-compliant storage devices. MassStore for MAM has a unified Web interface for finding, viewing and managing both video and non-video assets. MassStore for News lets users archive, retrieve and exchange content directly from their NRCS interface.

Stories and media are moved between users, systems and sites with a single drag-and-drop. MassStore for Program & Spot Aggregation is an integrated content aggregation solution that automates the detection, processing, movement and management of incoming ﬁle-based content and metadata from media delivery platforms and portals.

VOLICON Giving viewers a Share

he Share application for Volicon’s Observer Media Intelligence Platform helps broadcasters repurpose and deliver timely content to viewers via new channels for on-air broadcast or digital and social media platforms. Share is available on-premise and as a cloud service, providing instant browserbased access to media captured by the

Observer platform. New enhancements to the Share application include integration with the As-Run Log to enable users without training on video editing systems to remove ads quickly and generate complete frame-accurate long-form VOD assets. Volicon’s Observer OTT is a solution for logging and monitoring OTT services that

stream content to computers, tablets and smartphones.

CONTACTS EDITORIAL +44 (0)207 354 6002 n SALES +44 (0)207 354 6000 EDITORIAL

ADVERTISING

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

EDITOR Neal Romanek nromanek@nbmedia.com

SALES EXECUTIVE Nicola Pett npett@nbmedia.com

PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE Jason Dowie jdowie@nbmedia.com

CONTRIBUTORS Ann-Marie Corvin, Chris Forrester, Christina Fox, David Fox, Carolyn Giardina, Mark Hallinger, Heather McLean, Ian McMurray, Anne Morris, Adrian Pennington, Barrie Smith, Philip Stevens

U.S. MIDWEST, NEW ENGLAND & CANADA Vytas Urbonas vurbonas@nbmedia.com

NEWBAY MEDIA LLC CORPORATE

U.S. SOUTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC, US CLASSIFIEDS & PRODUCT SHOWCASE Michele Inderrieden minderrieden@nbmedia.com

CONTENT DIRECTOR James McKeown jmckeown@nbmedia.com

PRESIDENT AND CEO Steve Palm

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Paul Mastronardi CONTROLLER Jack Liedke GROUP CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Denise Robbins VICE PRESIDENT OF WEB DEVELOPMENT Joe Ferrick

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HEAD OF DESIGN, HERTFORD Kelly Sambridge ksambridge@nbmedia.com

SALES MANAGER Ben Ewles bewles@nbmedia.com

U.S. WEST Pete Sembler psembler@nbmedia.com

HONG KONG, CHINA, ASIA/PACIFIC Wengong Wang wwg@imaschina.com ITALY Raffaella Calabrese rcalabrese@broadcast.it

Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London, N18LN, England Free subscriptions are available to professional broadcasting and audio visual equipment users. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome for review – send to Neal Romanek at nromanek@nbmedia.com.

LATIN AMERICA Susana Saibene susana.saibene@gmail.com

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Campaign Manager: Warren Kelly wkelly@nbmedia.com +44 (0)207 354 6000

12/01/2016 12:41

Command the Most from Your IP Audio Network WheatNet-IP is the only IP audio network that combines ALL the resources you need to manage, mix, process and route audio. This unique system features a built-in toolkit to facilitate creation of mix minuses, IFBs, and salvos/macros, as well as HD/SDI de-embedding, utility mixing, auto mono summing, stereo balance control and more – all without having to add any extras. Advanced functions include live and programmed control of all sources and destinations, remote command activation, logic control, audio routing, preset storage, and tools that automate processes via associated connections. With WheatNet-IP, all network intelligence is stored in every network interface (BLADE), so each is a point of redundancy. And, of course, each BLADE is AES67 compatible. Dimension Three controls it all, giving you intuitive command over as many as 1,024 individual channels with access to over 10,000 live sources spread over eight layers. With 16 dedicated mix-minus busses, 16 aux sends, bus-minus outputs (up to 128), AutoMix, AFV, full digital processing and more, it’s the command center that ties the entire network together. Call us or visit iptv.wheatstone.com for more info.

DIMENSION THREE WITH TOUCHSCREEN WHEATNET-IP: THE IP AUDIO NETWORK THAT’S ACTUALLY DESIGNED FOR TV

SEE US AT NAB BOOTH N2530

BROADCAST AUDIO PERFECTIONISTS®

phone USA +1.252.638-7000 | wheatstone.com | sales@wheatstone.com

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3/29/2016 10:12:37 AM