Broadcast TECH January/February 2014 by Media Business Insight

TECH Technology and technique for production, post and playout

January/February 2014

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Storm chasers

How news crews went mobile to cover the floods, page 20

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Apple prepares to ship its post-production powerhouse the Mac Pro Page 7

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2/19/2014 12:22:31 PM

Building for the future: Smoke & Mirrors’ new Poland Street HQ Page 32

First on the scene: the kit used to capture key moments in history Page 38

Sound advice: audio experts on the R128 loudness guidelines Page 48

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CONTENTS

Inside this month JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

NEWS & VIEWS 05 LEADER Connectivity is key for news crews covering the storms

07 THE BIG PICTURE The new Mac Pro is rolling off the production line

08 NEWS The latest products and news from across the industry

14 IN MY VIEW Molinare’s Andy Purkiss on file-based delivery

16 APPOINTMENTS All the latest industry moves

18 INTERNATIONAL NEWS The big tech stories from around the world

IN-DEPTH

20 MOBILE JOURNALISM The role of the iPhone in coverage of the recent floods

24 SPOTLIGHT ON BVE The must-see seminars and key exhibitors at the Excel

28 MULTIPLATFORM The battle between the Xbox One and Playstation 4

32 WORKFLOW Behind the scenes of Smoke & Mirrors new premises

WORK 38 MY OFFICE

Cameraman Paul Francis lists his essential items of kit

40 PROFILE Ross Video chief exec David Ross on its latest plans

TOOLS 42 PRODUCT ANATOMY Ross Video’s Inception

44 MOST WANTED Cruet operations’ Don Knee selects five popular items

INFORM 48 ASK THE EXPERTS Mixing audio that complies with EBU R128 guidelines

53 GUIDE TO All you need to know about cloud storage

37 www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils

58 POST SCRIPT Sky’s Nick Martin goes fishing in the floods

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 3

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LEADER

From the editor

TECH

January/February 2014

Technology and technique for production, post and playout

ISSUE #14

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mpromise on design. nd the modular MOS sensors one. Dual codecs, d an interchangeable sation and chromatic e exceptional , FTP and 3G/4G ded Zixi network network conditions.

Storm chasers

How news crews went mobile to cover the floods, page 20

GY-HM850

GY-HM890

• Shoulder-mount ENG camcorder • 50Mbps recording • Network streaming & FTP • 20x autofocus Fujinon lens

• Modular studio and ENG camcorder • Includes all GY-HM850 features • Pool feed input with live streaming • Fibre and multicore studio options

orders, es.

Apple prepares to ship its post-production powerhouse the Mac Pro Page 7

Building for the future: Smoke & Mirrors’ new Poland Street HQ Page 32

First on the scene: the kit used to capture key moments in history Page 38

Sound advice: audio experts on the R128 loudness guidelines Page 48

COVER IMAGE: The floods in Langport, Somerset GETTY IMAGES/MATT CARDY

2/19/2014 12:22:31 PM

MultiplatforM

playstation Vs XboX

‘Sony is hardware focused, seeking to attract gamers with its sophisticated equipment and impressive technical specification’ Its main innovations are all focused on intense gaming: the controller, the live game streaming and the PS Vita integration. Sony has also announced developments in cloud-based gaming, making classic PlayStation titles accessible to smartphones, tablets and Sony Bravia TVs.

Evolution of consoles

Xbox One and PlayStation 4 offer more than shoot ’em ups, and with sales expected to hit 200 million by 2020, the consoles are of growing importance to broadcasters. Rob Collier and Janice Hughes report

‘The Xbox One is aimed at a broader audience than gamers; this is much less obvious with the PS4’ broader audience than gamers; this is much less obvious with the PS4. Both Xbox One and PS4 have new and innovative controllers and peripherals to help navigate around the consoles’ interfaces. The Xbox One includes Kinect, which enables multiple users to control the console using Minority Report-style voice and gestures. The PS4 introduces a new Dualshock handheld controller, which includes motion sensors, a touchpad and a built-in speaker to enhance navigation and gameplay. PS4 also offers a voice and gesture peripheral as an optional extra. The voice and gesture peripherals developed by both companies are designed for the

primary living room TV screen: they need a spacious environment, are aimed at families and work best with Nintendo Wii-esque games that involve jumping around a lot. However, because Kinect is bundled with the main Xbox One package and PS4’s peripheral is an added extra, this indicates a key difference in the primary positioning of these two consoles. It also accounts for the PS4’s lower initial price, which in turn could account for Sony’s claim that it has sold 1.5 PS4s for every Xbox One.

Device integration Sony has integrated the PS Vita, its handheld gaming platform, with the PS4 as a way of enticing gamers to a handheld device that works seamlessly with the PS4 console. The idea is that you can start a gaming session using the PS4 on a shared TV screen and, when this is needed by someone else, the gamer can switch to the

28 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

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£429

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 29

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COVER FEATURE

mObilE jOURnAlism

Phoning in the floods Gone are the days when broadcasters would have to send a crew to the scene of a breaking story. George Bevir speaks to the reporters who covered the recent floods using little but their mobiles

hen Sky News reporter Joe Tidy found himself in the middle of the floods in Marlow with a story to tell, but without a camera crew, he was forced to improvise. He attached his iPhone to a Gorillapod, which he then fastened to a tree before firing up the Dejero Live+ app to broadcast live on the rollingnews channel. The self-confessed technology geek told his Twitter followers (see box right) it was an experiment for him, but he was doing what other Sky reporters have done in turning to their mobile phones when more

‘These storms have been the perfect opportunity to work in a mobile way’ Nicholas Garnett, 5 Live

traditional broadcast technology has not been available. Sky News Asia correspondent Mark Stone used his iPhone for a live report from China and to capture footage of the 2011 London riots. His colleague Nick Martin has used his to report from the floods and, in December, for a live two-way from Lima in Peru, when poor satellite bandwidth threatened to scupper the broadcast. While the concept of mobile journalism isn’t new, the devices – cameras, storage, processing power and batteries – and connectivity have improved significantly since 2007, when Reuters equipped some

20 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

‘Mobile footage is rough and ready but with a story about the weather, viewers can be quite forgiving’ John McAndrew, Sky

footage to Sky’s Osterley base, which can then be put straight on air or recorded. The floods have resulted in th most consisten use of Dejero to date by Sky News, which has rolled out the app to around 100 reporters, including Nick Martin, who used it along with a Manfrotto Klyp case and an IK Multimedia iRig Pre audio adapter to broadcast live from a replacement bus service and a boat. Like other news organisations, Sky has taken advantage of the rollout of 4G to broadcast via a mobile network, using AviWest’s 3G/4G uplink system, which slots onto the back of an ENG camera, and AviWest Snipe transmitter cars to create a wi-fi ‘bubble’ for increased connectivity. And it’s not just Sky – ITN reporters including North of England correspondent Damon Green have also filed to the newsroom via 4G when a satellite has not been available. Before his live report from Marlow, Tidy used his iPhone 5S to shoot and edit two packages for TV and online. One of them was a 14-shot, 1-minute 30-second piece about a 200-hundred year-old willow farm that could face “financial ruin” as a result of the flood. He shot a similar-length package about overnight work on flood

of its journalists with Nokia N95s, portable keyboards, mics and tripods. The recent adverse weather and the scale of the floods that followed, leaving parts of the UK under water for weeks on end, has led more reporters to reach for their mobiles. Sky News executive editor John McAndrew says the use of tools such as Skype and Dejero has been a “key feature” of its flood coverage.

Signal failure “Some positions rely on traditional satellite transmitters, but there are a finite number of those and they can have their own problems in bad

Sky News: Nick Martin reports from the floods using the Dejero Live+ app and his mobile

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BBC Radio 5 Live North of England reporter Nicholas Garnett estimates that he uses his iPhone for around 90% of his live radio broadcasts. Like Tidy, he too has used the device to file video packages from the floods. “These storms have been the perfect opportunity to work in a mobile way,” he says. For radio, Garnett uses the Luci Live app to broadcast over 3G, 4G and wi-fi. Along with Adobe Audition, an iPad with a Sim for a different network to his mobile, his essential broadcast kit fits inside a rucksack. Garnett is used to adopting a make-do-and-mend approach in trying circumstances. When floods struck the north-east of England 18 months ago and a satellite truck was unable to reach him, he had to hastily assemble his own broadcast kit. Although he already had the Dejero mobile app, he lacked some essential items so had to take a trip to the shops for a pay-as-yougo phone to provide talkback, a tripod and a beer tray to shield the phone from the elements. “It was some real Heath Robinson stuff but sometimes that is the way it has to be,” he says. Garnett describes the two video packages about the recent floods 

DaviD Ross

Ross Video’s acquisition of sport production firm MCP raised industry eyebrows late last year, but it is just one step in the company’s repositioning. George Bevir reports

Fact file

Travelling light

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 21

PRoFiLE

Switching perceptions R

oss Video raised a few eyebrows towards the end of last year when it announced its acquisition of Florida-based mobile sport production firm MCP (Mobile Content Providers). Chief executive David Ross says he anticipated some initial confusion but the broadcast industry was quick to appreciate why the Canadian manufacturer moved for one of its customers. MCP – now known as Ross MCP – had equipped its small-format, Transit van-sized trucks with Ross Carbonite switchers and XPression realtime graphics systems. Ross MCP will, of course, rely on cameras, intercom systems, instant replay servers and audio mixers from other manufacturers, but the acquisition will provide Ross Video with the opportunity to showcase its integrated solutions to other OB firms and broadcasters. It is hoped it will also help the company persuade operators to consider adopting new systems. “Around the world, freelancers dictate what products are used in OB trucks. It’s a bit of a chicken or egg situation,” says the chief exec. So, will the company adopt a similar acquisitive approach in Europe? It seems unlikely for the time being. “We have been given opportunities for potential acquisitions in almost every market in the world, but I’m going to take this [MCP acquisition] slow and steady,” Ross says. To ensure there is

40 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

“unexpectedly broad” product line. Perception is part of the problem. Given its heritage, it is unsurprising that the firm is best known for switchers, but that is something Ross is keen to change.

Family affair

a steady stream of freelancers well versed in Ross kit, the company has launched a training programme in Florida. One of Ross Video’s main challenges is to grow its share of the market outside of North America, particularly Europe. By the chief executive’s own admission, the firm doesn’t have as big a presence in the region as he would like. “It’s a major area of expansion right now,” he says. Over the past year, the company’s European team has grown from nine to 14, and over the next 12 months, Ross expects to add another five sales and business development staff, who will be tasked with raising awareness of – and selling – Ross MCP’s

The company was founded in 1974 by John Ross (father of David), who was working as an engineer for the Canadian Broadcast Corporation when he sold a World War II training plane he had restored to raise funding for the start-up. Around the same time, a young David was trying his hand at computer programing. After studying computer engineering at the University of Waterloo, David joined the family firm in 1991 as an engineer and manager of switcher product development, taking on the role of chief technology officer and then assuming the role of chief exec in 2006, when his father retired. In the time he has been with the Iroquois-headquartered firm, its ranks have swelled from 30 to 500 employees and it has grown from a product set of five, 10-year-old switchers to eight product lines, some of which comprise hundreds of products. They range from newsroom control systems to video servers, tools for social media management, 3D graphics platforms and robotic camera systems – not forgetting

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R&D: keeping out of trouble Some 50 of Ross’ research and development staff work on product verification, testing products before they go into production. “It’s cheaper to fix something in the lab before it goes into production, and much cheaper than in the field,” says David Ross. Seven years ago, the company altered its approach to launching new products, adopting a ‘no vapourware’ policy. That means kit will only go on display at trade shows such as NAB and IBC if it can ship within a normal delivery cycle. “If we show something six or 12 months ahead, we do so in a back room so people know it’s a prototype, and sales staff are not allowed to give a price,” says David Ross. “It’s painful but it keeps us out of trouble.”

the company’s Crossover, Carbonite and Vision production switchers. Although Ross is keen for the industry to know that the company is about more than switchers, he is aware of the importance of the product set, which is responsible for just under a third of all revenue, and retains the role of product manager for the range. Aside from an element of continuity, it gives him a micro view of the challenges faced in areas such as product development and sales. “There is a certain amount you can infer about the common problems all products face by looking closely at one area,” he says. “It’s great and I would hate to give it up.”

Growth story The recent survey of technology vendors by the International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers’ showed increasing pressure on margins. Ross says that although profitability varies, the manufacturer has

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WORK

Career highlights 2006 Chief executive, Ross Video 2004 President, Ross Video 2005 Chairman of the board and majority shareholder, Ross Video 1997 Executive vicepresident, Ross Video 1994 Director, Product Development, Ross Video 1991 Manager, switcher product development, Ross Video Education 1984–1991 BASC Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo Patents Numerous including downstream multi-keyer (shared with father, John Ross)

defences by Environment Agency workers and local residents, again using only his iPhone and its onboard light, with a sock over the mic to shiled it from the wind. Both were edited using the Splice app.

IN-Depth

weather as the signal can fall over, and when it’s really windy the sat trucks can’t put the dishes up for safety reasons,” McAndrew explains. Critics might say that a reporter relying on an iPhone is evidence of poor planning, and that using an app like Dejero is simply an excuse for not having the right people – and kit – in the right place. For Sky, this technology provides additional agility, says McAndrew. “It means we can be first to screen, and for a breaking story with so many disparate elements, it means we can cover places we might not if we were to rely on traditional means. “We’re unlikely to deploy a correspondent on a lead story with only an iPhone, but if they are out gathering information and they stumble across a great story or come up against a technical challenge, [mobile kit] allows them to get a story back to us. It is rough and ready but with a story about the weather, viewers can be quite forgiving. It is also less pushy. Many people have had their homes destroyed and watched their lives float down the garden path, so it is important we are not too intrusive.” The Dejero mobile app, which bonds wi-fi and cellular connections and promises 1.5 seconds of latency, allows reporters to deliver live

‘I look at investments as a venture capitalist would – I want great people and technology, with synergies we can make something of quickly’ David Ross

experienced 22 years of growth and, on average, top-line revenue has grown at around 17% a year. “We’re not a public company and are internally financed, so we live by our wits,” he says. “Our profitability depends on what we are investing in, but margins at Ross are as strong as ever. One of the reasons is that we invest 25% in R&D, double the industry average. This is key to maintaining an edge and margins. You could argue that margins [of other manufacturers] have eroded because they haven’t invested.” Given his almost life-long association with the manufacturer, it is no surprise that Ross is hands-on, and he cites patents in his name and deals he initiated as evidence of his involved approach. In recent years, the company has made a host of acquisitions: in 2010, it acquired encoding and subtitling firm Norpak, as well as router and audio monitor company Codan Broadcast; in 2012, it picked up

robotic camera systems firms Cambotics and FX-Motion. More deals are planned – Ross says he expects to announce two more by NAB in April. “Every deal has been about introducing product lines that bolster what we already have,” adds. “Every deal is different, but if there is an acquisition strategy, it is to buy companies that touch at the edges of as many things we already do as possible.” One of Ross’s rules is not to buy a business that is more than 10% bigger than his own, chiefly to avoid political and cultural clashes. “If I buy a company equal in size and it is a leader in the market, there is not a lot I can do with it. I look at making investments in the same way a venture capitalist would: I want great people and technology, with synergies we can make something of quickly. “We’re not afraid of bringing entirely new technologies into Ross through acquisition if it helps to solve a customer problem.”

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 41

rom St Agnes to Aberystwyth, the recent wet weather has left huge swathes of the UK struggling to cope with the some of the worst floods in living memory. The story has dominated bulletins and rolling news channels, forcing broadcasters to juggle limited resources and overcome tricky logistical challenges to fully reflect the scale of the problem. In many ways, the conditions have created the perfect storm for mobile journalism (MoJo), but one thing all MoJo evangelists point out is that mobile devices are an additional tool for gathering and distributing content, and in no way a replacement for a properly staffed crew with broadcast-specific kit. There’s perhaps no better example of what that means than on page 38, where BBC global lead, journalism field camera, Paul Francis speaks about the essential items he uses to cover major news. The attraction of mobile journalism is the ability to capture, edit and send content from a single device, but connectivity is the most important element; without a decent mobile signal or wi-fi connection, a journalist’s iPhone is little more than an expensive paperweight with a second-rate camera. Manufacturers recognise broadcasters’ need to get content back to base as swiftly as possible, and wi-fi, LAN and USB connectivity for live streaming now comes almost as standard. Indeed, JVC European product manager Gustav Emrich, speaking about the manufacturer’s latest cameras (see page 8), described integrated streaming and FTP as “the future” of camera technology. We’ll get another indication of what the future holds at BVE this month. For a glimpse of what’s in store at the trade show, turn to page 24. george.bevir@broadcastnow.co.uk EDITORIAL Broadcast TECH Editor George Bevir, 020 3033 4207 Broadcast Editor Chris Curtis Production Editor Dominic Needham Group Art Director, Media Peter Gingell Contributors Michael Burns, Kevin Hilton, Adrian Pennington, Andreas Wiseman SALES Deputy Sales Manager Sonya Jacobs, 020 3638 5057 Group Commercial Director Alison Pitchford, 020 3638 5058 Business Development Director Patricia Arescy, 020 3638 5063 Conference Director Charlotte Wheeler, 07702 381809

Media Business Insight, 101 Finsbury Pavement, London EC2A 1RS. Broadcast TECH is published by MBI, publisher of Broadcast

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 5

NEWS & VIEWS

he features of Xbox One and PlayStation 4 give some indication of the potential future strategies of Microsoft and Sony. Unlike the PS4 and the Xbox 360, the Xbox One is designed with the complete TV entertainment experience in mind. Xbox One can re-route a broadcast TV signal from a separate set-top-box to incorporate linear TV into the Xbox interface. It then allows for switching between TV and other applications, including gaming, VoD and Skype, through a neat ‘snap’ function, which displays two applications on the screen simultaneously. The PS4 also comes with plenty of TV and video capability, including BBC iPlayer, Demand 5 and an internet browser, as standard. However, in its current guise, it does not integrate linear TV viewing into the interface in the same way as the Xbox One. The Xbox One is clearly aimed at a

The Xbox One has a companion app, called SmartGlass. Available on Windows, iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, SmartGlass provides second-screen functionality. A key feature includes being able to link content through metadata, such as actor profiles or location information, while games titles can access interactive companion guides, behind-the scenes commentary and real-time game strategy. The PlayStation 4 companion app, which is available on iOS and Android, is more focused on social profiles and gaming activity. For example, if you are away from your console, you can still interact and chat with friends, and download games to your console. There is an element of secondscreen functionality, but it is centred on games and does not include film metadata. The Xbox One also has access to OneGuide, Microsoft’s programme guide. The aim is to absorb schedule information into the Xbox user interface and display linear channels alongside VoD applications. It also includes SkyDrive integration, allowing users to upload pictures from their PC or mobile device to the cloud and view them on the main TV screen through the Xbox One. Some platforms in the US have worked with Microsoft to enable users to change TV channels from within the OneGuide. The Xbox One is designed to control a TV settop box using either HDMI pass-through or universal infrared remote commands. This sets up a fascinating technical and regulatory battle with platforms like Sky over who ultimately controls the user interface. The PS4 does not include an HDMI pass-through. Although it does not offer the ability to stream live linear channels over an internet connection, Sony has announced a cloud-based streaming service and a partnership with Dish that will effectively turn a PS4 into a Dish set-top box. It looks as though Sony wants to avoid a head-to-head confrontation with existing TV platforms and will rely on IP delivery and agreements to turn the PS4 into the main TV device.

IN-Depth

Battle for control of the TV

Both companies will be planning the development cycle over the lifetime of the console and, if the eight-year gap between the PS Vita and pick up where they left off. The launch of the previous generation and the PS Vita essentially takes the place of the TV most recent launches is any indication, screen so the rest of the family can watch both devices have time to evolve services what they want on the main screen. that will look significantly different to those Strategically, Microsoft is trying to win available today. the hearts and minds of a much larger With the Xbox One, we at Redshift user base for Xbox, bringing new expect to see significant attention given TV viewers and light social to developing a more complete TV gamers into the fold by experience. Microsoft will be offering a more satisfying anxious to persuade us that the interface and user best is yet to come. RRP for the Xbox One experience, rather than As production costs come console without better content. down and Microsoft continues any bundled By maintaining consistto develop the user interface, games ency with Windows 8 design the Xbox One will be positioned and including heavy SkyDrive more clearly as a family entertainintegration, Microsoft is attempting to ment device, both in pricing and usability. encourage users to become ‘Microsoft peoSony has chosen to focus its immediate ple’ across multiple devices. Although the campaign on the early-adopting gaming new voice and gesture controls are innocommunity and a lower price point in the vative and exciting, will the average conhope of getting a head start in the sales sumer take this leap into a gaming world race. It appears increasingly interested in without a TV remote? bundling pay TV services over IP, and the The price point, initially set at £429, is PS4 can act as a device platform when this very high for consumers without a dediservice comes to market. cated gamer in the house. The price is Although both consoles are relatively expected to come down over the life of the early in their evolution, they are the device, but it could slow Microsoft’s start in most advanced devices on the market in the next-generation console race. terms of their hardware specification and Sony’s strategy, on the other hand, is hardambition. How they develop will be well ware-focused. It is seeking to attract gamers worth watching. with its sophisticated equipment and impres- Rob Collier and Janice Hughes are business analyst sive technical specification, and has focused and cofounder of media technology consultant Redon luring hardcore gamers away from Xbox. shift Strategy respectively

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THE BIG PICTURE

Appleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mac Pro rolls out of Texas

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NEWS & VIEWS

If professional users were feeling a little unloved after the release of Final Cut Pro X, the new Mac Pro, which promises up to eight times the graphics performance of the previous generation, should provide some reassurance that the Cupertino-based company isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t only focused on consumers. Apple chief exec Tim Cook tweeted this pic of the desktop machine coming off the production line in Austin, Texas, at the end of last year. However, Apple aficionados might have to wait a little longer to get their hands on one; as Broadcast TECH went to press, the shipping date had slipped to April.

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 7

PRODUCT NEWS

NEWS & VIEWS

JVC launches pair of full HD 50Mbps camcorders JVC has launched its first camcorders that shoot at a broadcaster-friendly 50Mbps. The GY-HM850 and GYHM890 shoulder-mount camcorders each contain three, 1/3-inch 2.07 megapixel CMOS sensors that capture a full 1920 x 1080 image. Built-in streaming capacity and FTP and GSM connectivity allows HD transmission from the cameras without additional encoding hardware. The GY-HM890 has been designed for use as a studio camera and comes equipped with a multi-pin connection that accommodates JVC fibre or multi-core camera modules and is compatible with studio components such as CCUs as well as box-style lenses. It can also be used as a field production camera. Both cameras feature interchangeable Fujinon 20x autofocus zoom lenses and allow for simultaneous recording of a full-HD file on one memory card

Blackmagic ships 4K Blackmagic Design’s Production Camera 4K is now shipping and its price has been reduced from $3,995 (£2,589) to $2,995 (£1,822). The camera will initially ship with ProRes support, with support for RAW files to be added through a firmware update.

Mamba offers Linux

Broadcaster-friendly: JVC’s new shoulder-mount GY-HM850 camcorder and smaller, ‘web-friendly’ H.264 files on the other. A new H.264 Extreme High Quality (XHQ) recording mode offers “virtually lossless” H.264 50Mbps recording. JVC Professional Products European product manager Gustav Emrich described the cameras as “the most feature-rich pro HD products we’ve ever produced”. He added: “With a modem that you plug directly into the camera

or a mobile hotspot that you keep in your pocket, you can go live to a studio or the web.” The cameras provide secure FTP file transfer on location, as well as live monitoring and camera and lens control via wi-fi from a PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad or Android device. Built-in GPS allows location information to be recorded. The cameras are expected to ship in March.

Arri offers flexible pricing on Amira range Arri has announced pricing details for its documentary-style Amira camera. Unveiled at IBC in September, prices for the camera will start at €25,980 (£21,464). Arri stressed that “flexibility of configuration is key” to the pricing structure, and that temporary and permanent software upgrades for the Amira will be available. The Amira offers three configurations, differentiated by their software feature sets. Customers can select a lens mount, battery

NEWS IN BRIEF

Amira: flexible configuration mount and bottom plate to assemble a complete camera. The entry-point Amira camera set allows Rec 709 ProRes 422 recording up to 100fps. Arri said

8 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

it might suit owner-operators working mainly in the corporate, online and television markets. The advanced set is described as “a true all-rounder” configuration that adds features such as Log C, ProRes 422 (HQ) at 200fps, in-camera grading and a pre-record function. The premium set incorporates features for high-end productions such as ProRes 4444 and 2K up to 200fps. Deliveries are expected to start in time for NAB in April.

SGO has released a Linux version of its Mamba FX compositing software, in addition to the Windows version. SGO chief executive Miguel Angel Doncel said: “To be able to run Mamba FX on various platforms such as Linux really benefits our users.”

Update for Lightworks Editshare has released version 11.5 of editing software Lightworks. A new pricing structure, including monthly and annual subscriptions, has been introduced, and the release includes user interface updates and greater control of playback.

Dante adopts AES67 Audinate will incorporate the Audio Engineering Society’s AES67 standard for audioover-IP interoperability in its Dante media networking solution. Audinate chief technology officer Aidan Williams said: “AES67 will provide another option for interoperable layer-3 and IP-based audio networks.”

StorNext expands Quantum has expanded its StorNext platform with two metadata apps. Quantum said StorNext M445 SSD offers a seven-fold boost in metadata operations, while a second app, StorNext M660XL, provides support for up to 5 billion files.

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NEWS & VIEWS

Itn updates cameras with Panasonic’s AJ-PX5000 ITN has purchased a “significant” number of Panasonic cameras and broadcast kit. The news organisation has invested in the AJ-PX5000 cameras as part of its shift to HD. The cameras will be used with a mix of other brands, including kit from Sony, Canon and JVC. Separately, Panasonic has also signed a deal with Sunset + Vine to supply it with AJ-PX5000 and AJ-HPX270 cameras. “It’s a major coup to be supplying ITN and follows the decision by Sunset + Vine to implement Panasonic cameras in its production for BT Sport,” said Panasonic Broadcast group manager Nigel Wilkes. The AJ-PX5000 offers dual recording using P2, Micro P2 or class 10 SD cards. ITN director of technology Keith Cass said: “The ability to capture full 10-bit HD 4:2:2 images using a 25Mbps codec was an extremely attractive proposition for us. We conducted a

NEWS IN BrIEf Belden to snap up GV Belden is to acquire Grass Valley in a deal worth $220m (£131m). The networking equipment manufacturer said it intends to combine Grass Valley with Miranda, which it already owns. The Grass Valley brand will be retained as the name of the combined businesses, which will be led by Miranda president Marco Lopez. Grass Valley’s main product lines cover production switchers, cameras, servers and editing software.

Arqiva buys Capablue AJ-PX5000: Panasonic camera captures full 10-bit HD 4:2:2 images thorough evaluation of the camera’s operation, feature set and technical performance. “With the addition of wireless technology, this camera was the most appropriate match to ITN’s future newsgathering strategy. The AJ-PX5000 really is a cameraman’s camera.” Sunset + Vine will use the Panasonic cameras at next year’s Commonwealth Games

for the BBC, as well as on Barclays Premier League and Aviva Premiership Rugby coverage for BT Sport. BT Sport chief engineer Andy Beale said: “The AVC Intra codec helps us to get our content to air quickly, which is essential in a 24/7 sports environment. Broadcast & Production Services (BPS) supplied Sunset + Vine with the kit.

BBC to drop single-supplier model for tech The BBC is moving away from a single supplier for its in-house technology needs as Atos’s 10-year, £2bn technology framework deal draws to a close. The broadcaster will adopt the kind of supply model used by organisations such as the Ministry of Justice and the National Grid when its deal with Atos – formerly Siemens – ends in March 2015. The BBC said it hopes the ‘tower model’ will lead to “new commercial and technical oppor-

tunities for effective competition between suppliers”. It has identified seven ‘towers’: technology service desk; end user compute; connectivity ser-

BBC: £2bn Atos deal ends in 2015

10 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

vices; hosting platforms and app management; business systems; production and broadcast services; and distribution services. The broadcaster is now asking suppliers to bid to provide services, either individually or as a group. The first round of procurement will take place in the third quarter of the year, with the rest scheduled for 2015. The process will close by March 2017, with Atos set to work with the broadcaster during a two-year handover period.

Arqiva will ramp up efforts to provide IP delivery and connected TV services with the acquisition of multiplatform specialist Capablue. The companies worked together on the development of pay capabilities for Arqiva’s Connect TV platform, which it acquired last year. Arqiva Digital Platforms managing director Charles Constable said the company needed to broaden its offering on the back of the “rapid expansion” of highspeed broadband connections and the growth in ownership of internet-enabled TVs.

TG4 joins DPP group Irish-language TV station TG4 has joined the Digital Production Partnership (DPP) Technical Standards Group. TG4 adopted AS-11 for file delivery in 2012 and since then all its commissioned programmes have adhered to the specification. DPP chair Mark Harrison said: “Going fully digital is the ambition of all broadcasters and it is great to see TG4 is successfully implementing industry standards to great effect.”

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Pinewood studios backs Welsh film and tV facility Pinewood Studios is linking up with the Welsh government to create a film and TV facility near Cardiff. As part of a new collaboration between the two, the Welsh government will acquire and fit out the former Energy Centre at Wentloog, adjacent to Cardiff Bay, converting the venue into a facility with four stages, to be known as Pinewood Studio Wales. Pinewood will operate the studio and contribute £800,000 over five years for the purchase of equipment. It will enter into a lease for a minimum of five years. The collaboration is the result of an exclusive agreement between the two parties, in which Pinewood will also advise the Welsh government on its £30m television and film investment fund. Pinewood Shepperton chief executive Ivan Dunleavy said: “We are delighted to have agreed to advise the Welsh government on its television and film funding initiative. This

Goldcrest in post push Goldcrest is gearing up for a major push into the world of high-end picture post. Former Company 3 UK boss Patrick Malone, who resigned from the Deluxe Entertainment Services firm towards the end of last year, will head Goldcrest’s theatrical post department. He has taken on the role of managing director.

Bait targets animation

Dunleavy: fund and facility will boost Welsh film and television sector builds on our success with Pinewood Pictures and managing the Isle of Man Treasury Film and Television Fund.” Under the terms of the agreement, Pinewood will receive an annual payment for advising the fund, as well as transactionbased fees. It will also be respon-

sible for the promotion and marketing of the media fund. “The new fund, together with the new facility, will do much to boost the Welsh film and television sector. It is also another step forward in creating a sustainable UK film and television production centre,” said Dunleavy.

UK Screen hits out at Bectu VFX survey UK Screen Association has accused Bectu of publishing misleading information as part of its campaign for better working conditions for VFX workers. Last month, Bectu launched a working time charter as part of a campaign to address what it described as “deep-rooted concerns over working conditions”. The trade union cited its recent survey of 300 VFX staff, which it said found “high levels of dissatisfaction”.

NEWS IN BrIEf

‘UK screen and VFX companies should focus on what matters: the welfare of their staff’ Gus Baker, Bectu But facilities trade body UK Screen has hit out at the way the union has presented the findings, accusing Bectu of rewording the survey questions.

12 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

UK Screen chief executive Sarah Mackey said: “Although I understand that Bectu needs to grow its membership, it should not do so at the expense of fairness and accuracy.” Bectu organising official Gus Baker defended the union’s survey. He said: “UK Screen and VFX companies should focus on what matters: the welfare of their staff and giving them the support they need to produce great content.”

Cardiff-based VFX firm Bait Studio has launched two divisions, including an animation unit that is working on projects rescued from Dinamo Productions, which went into administration last July. Bait Studio managing director Jon Rennie said it was always the company’s intention to expand into animation. It has also launched publishing arm Thud Media.

West Digital expands Post facility West Digital is set to double in size in a bid to keep pace with demand from broadcast clients. Its new premises in West London will provide another 3,000 sq ft of space. The building will house an extra nine offline suites and five online suites, two Pro Tools-equipped audio rooms and a graphics suite.

L&P sets up HD studio London & Partners has opened Tower Bridge TV Studios, which is being touted as “an ideal location for broadcast, corporate or commercial productions in need of a London-centric backdrop”. The 400 sq ft studio is equipped with HD multi-camera capability. Equipment has been supplied by Trickbox TV.

www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils

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‘Implementing file-based delivery standards will take time and effort, but the shift is far from bad news’

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NEWS & VIEWS

Andy Purkiss, Molinare

Don’t fear the digital future The deadline for file-based delivery standards is looming, but many in the industry are preoccupied with cost and workflow timings when they could be focusing on the benefits, says Andy Purkiss

erhaps we need to look further into the future than the October deadline set by the Digital Production Partnership (DPP) to see the real benefits of making the jump to filebased workflows. It’s a move that will have an impact on post-production houses and clients alike. The question is one of quality and achieving the best outcome for our clients, which surely is the goal all post houses strive for. From the broadcasters’ point of view, file-based delivery standards and their technical quality will put the onus on the postproduction team. It is these companies that will need to introduce the necessary infrastructure to facilitate the move. On the one hand, this means ensuring the right expertise and workforce are in place to perform transcoding of the deliverables on a large scale, while also accounting for the extra time when planning project delivery. But it also means investing in the right tools to allow for a fast turnaround, whether they

14 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

form part of a current edit system, or a filebased workflow management tool. Now let’s look further ahead to the quality of the product. If everyone is working to the same format and specifications, the end product will be of a higher quality. But it’s about more than quality; the industry will also gain consistency in the delivery of projects. From the manufacturers’ perspective, the range of products offered will diminish, but these products will be better suited to the post facilities’ needs, which for the first time will be clearly specified. This means more refined tools will be available to ensure the finished product meets high standards, while at the same time growing the post firm’s file-based capabilities through automation of the workflow to add speed and efficiency. The post industry is still in what I would term the ‘discovery phase’ and facilities must establish the role they will need to play in the transition, and agree it with their clients. The industry must consider the needs of clients who still use delivery methods that differ to those of the major broadcasters.

Some tape deliveries will need to remain in place in the immediate future, and this is particularly true when considering many international projects. Therefore, post houses will need to increase deliverables at first – when the end of a project has international versions as well as a file-based master for UK broadcast. The post industry and the DPP are tackling the challenges of digital file standards head on. The DPP recently ran a technical forum for post-production companies and broadcasters, emphasising the collaborative approach the industry is taking. It has also set up a LinkedIn page for broadcasters and post houses to share workflow test ideas to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible, and client needs are met. Implementing file-based delivery standards will take time and effort from post houses, but the shift is far from bad news. We can look forward to a future in which client satisfaction remains high and delivery consistently matches the high quality our clients expect. ■ Andy Purkiss is general manager of operations for Molinare

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news & views

Appointments

Malcolm Wall

Bevan Gibson

Patrick Malone

Greg Fisher

Dock10

ITN

Goldcrest

Company 3

Dock10 has appointed former Virgin Media exec Malcolm Wall to the role of non-executive chairman. Wall replaces David Holdgate, who is retiring after serving on the Dock10 board since it was formed in 2010. Most recently, Wall led Pinewood’s joint venture company in China, which was set up to examine co-production opportunities for film and television producers. He has also served as chief executive of Abu Dhabi Media.

ITN has hired Bevan Gibson in the role of chief technology officer. Gibson will join ITN from BSkyB, where he was head of operations and technology for Sky Creative. He replaces director of technology Keith Cass, who is retiring after 34 years at ITN. In his new role, which he starts in April, Gibson will oversee the development of ITN’s digital media solutions, network infrastructure and workflows.

Goldcrest has recruited Company 3 UK boss Patrick Malone as part of its push into the world of high-end picture post. Malone, who resigned from the Deluxe Entertainment Services firm at the end of last year, will head Goldcrest’s theatrical post department. He has taken on the role of managing director. Goldcrest chief executive Chris Quested said Malone would “play a key role in our aggressive ongoing expansion”.

Freelancer Greg Fisher has joined Company 3 as senior colourist. Based in London, he joins a global team of colourists who collaborate on projects across London, Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and Chicago. Fisher has worked across a range of genres and disciplines, including colour-management roles on movies Gravity and World War Z. His career spans commercials and high-end TV drama including Danish political thriller Borgen.

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Phillip Neighbour & Maurice de Jonghe

Natasha Aksenova

Prime Focus

Dunlop Goodrich

PlayBox Technology Prime Focus has appointed Tim Waller to the role of senior colourist. Waller joins the company from Envy, where he worked for just over a year. Before that, he was at Molinare for seven years. Prime Focus UK postproduction managing director Rowan Bray said: “Tim offers that unique combination of creativity, adaptability and personality that justifies his reputation as one of the leading colourists in London.” Waller replaces Tom Russell.

AmberFin has appointed Adrian Smith as vice-president of sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Smith, who was previously vice-president of sales for AmberFin’s Asia Pacific region for four years, will replace Paula Bargery, who has joined Harris Broadcast. AmberFin chief executive Jeremy Deaner said: “Adrian knows our market and has developed outstanding knowledge and a deep understanding of our industry.”

16 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

Channel-in-a-box firm PlayBox Technology has appointed Phillip Neighbour and Maurice de Jonghe to its sales team. The pair will work alongside Alan Bunting, who joined the company in July. Neighbour joins PlayBox from Grass Valley. He will focus on expanding the company’s business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. De Jonghe’s main objective will be to grow PlayBox’s presence in Africa.

Creative agency Dunlop Goodrich has hired Natasha Aksenova as a business partner. She has also invested an undisclosed amount in the business and will report to the agency co-founder Bruce Dunlop. Aksenova worked with Dunlop at BDA Creative, where she was business development executive of emerging markets. Her duties include developing new business relationships with sport and broadcast clients in the UK and internationally.

www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils

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Ibrarn TV goes on air with PlayBox platform Fledgling Libyan broadcaster Ibrarn Television has chosen a PlayBox channel-ina-box (CIAB) platform for its new service, transmitting via satellite from Tripoli. According to systems integrator Libirel Communications, the PlayBox CIAB installation was “the obvious choice” for the network, enabling it to get on air quickly with a compact and self-contained solution. Libirel Communications senior engineer Declan Goulding said that because the

broadcaster operates a 24/7 service, two complete systems were installed in main and redundant configuration. Monitor outputs were connected via a router to multiscreen panels in the master control room. The transmission feed was then forwarded to an adjacent satellite uplink antenna. Ibrarn TV’s live studio and file-based playback launched via a Eutelsat link with content primarily in the Tamazight language.

SERbIA

NEWS & VIEWS

Visual Impact equips HD truck with Miranda kit Visual Impact has fitted out a new production truck with kit from Miranda Technologies. The Vi-1 HD production truck, which was designed, built and will be operated by Visual Impact Serbia, is the firm’s first all-HD truck and the first privately owned HD truck in the country. The 12m-long truck can accommodate 14 camera channels, including 12 HD and two super-slow-mo chains, all provided by Sony. It has been equipped with an NVision 8144 Hybrid router,

along with the company’s NV920 router controller and three Densité 3 modular signal processing frames. The router is configured for 144 inputs and outputs and is 3Gb/s ready. “This is our first venture into outside broadcast facilities, and the first HD truck in the region,” said Visual Impact Serbia director Srdan Ršumovic. “We looked at a number of vendors for the core infrastructure, but Miranda stood out for its cost/performance ratio.”

SOuTh AfRIcA

E.tv digitises library with DIVArchive system South African free-to-air broadcaster e.tv has purchased a Front Porch Digital DIVArchive CSM system for its Cape Town facility as part of its project to convert its asset library from analogue to digital. Currently, to browse and retrieve footage, e.tv relies on transfer editors to view tapes and find appropriate clips. DIVArchive will create and centralise a digital archive for e.tv and its parent, Sabido Group. It will enable e.tv to archive all legacy content, including archives, raw

18 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

footage, clips, stills and supporting documents, both electronic and paper-based. “DIVArchive is a system with a proven track record and a strong reputation. It offers efficiencies that will allow us to archive and retrieve in a more organised way — which means we’ll be able to browse and choose footage selectively, save on storage, and monetise our clips more effectively,” said e.TV general manager of group libraries and archives Moerat Nohra.

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COVER FEATURE

arlier this month, Sky News reporter Joe Tidy found himself in the middle of the floods in Marlow with a story to tell – but without a camera crew. He was forced to improvise and attached his iPhone to a Gorillapod, which he then fastened to a tree before firing up the Dejero Live+ app to broadcast live on the rolling-news channel. The self-confessed technology geek told his Twitter followers (see box right) it was an experiment for him, but he was doing what other Sky reporters have already done in turning to their mobile phones when more traditional broadcast

‘These storms have been the perfect opportunity to work in a mobile way’ Nicholas Garnett, 5 Live

20 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

technology has not been available. Sky News Asia correspondent Mark Stone used his iPhone for a live report from China and to capture footage of the 2011 London riots. His colleague Nick Martin has used his to report from the floods and, in December, for a live two-way from Lima in Peru, when poor satellite bandwidth threatened to scupper the broadcast. While the concept of mobile journalism isn’t new, the devices – cameras, storage, processing power and batteries – and connectivity have improved significantly since 2007, when Reuters equipped some

Signal failure “Some positions rely on traditional satellite transmitters, but there are a finite number of those and they can have their own problems in bad

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MOBILE JOURNALISM

Sky News: Nick Martin reports from the floods using the Dejero Live+ app and his mobile

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‘Mobile footage is rough and ready but with a story about the weather, viewers can be quite forgiving’ John McAndrew, Sky

footage to Sky’s Osterley base, which can then be put straight on air or recorded. The floods have resulted in the most consistent use of Dejero to date by Sky News, which has rolled out the app to around 100 reporters, including Nick Martin, who used it along with a Manfrotto Klyp case and an IK Multimedia iRig Pre audio adapter to broadcast live from a replacement bus service and a boat. Like other news organisations, Sky has taken advantage of the rollout of 4G to broadcast via a mobile network, using AviWest’s 3G/4G uplink system, which slots onto the back of an ENG camera, and AviWest Snipe transmitter cars to create a wi-fi ‘bubble’ for increased connectivity. And it’s not just Sky – ITN reporters including North of England correspondent Damon Green have also filed to the newsroom via 4G when a satellite has not been available. Before his live report from Marlow, Tidy used his iPhone 5S to shoot and edit two packages for TV and online. One of them was a 14-shot, 90-second piece about a 200-hundred year-old willow farm that could face “financial ruin” as a result of the flood. He shot a similar-length package about overnight work on flood

defences by Environment Agency workers and local residents, again using only his iPhone and its onboard light, with a sock over the mic to shield it from the wind. Both were edited using the Splice app.

Travelling light BBC Radio 5 Live North of England reporter Nicholas Garnett estimates that he uses his iPhone for around 90% of his live radio broadcasts. Like Tidy, he too has used the device to file video packages from the floods. “These storms have been the perfect opportunity to work in a mobile way,” he says. For radio, Garnett uses the Luci Live app to broadcast over 3G, 4G and wi-fi. Along with Adobe Audition, an iPad with a sim for a different network to his mobile, his essential broadcast kit fits inside a rucksack. Garnett is used to adopting a make-do-and-mend approach in trying circumstances. When floods struck the north-east of England 18 months ago and a satellite truck was unable to reach him, he had to hastily assemble his own broadcast kit. Although he already had the Dejero mobile app, he lacked some essential items so took a trip to the shops for a pay-as-you-go phone to provide talkback, a tripod, and a beer tray to shield the phone from the elements. “It was some real Heath Robinson stuff but sometimes that is the way it has to be,” he says. Garnett describes two video u packages about the floods that

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 21

IN-DEPTH

weather as the signal can fall over, and when it’s really windy the sat trucks can’t put the dishes up for safety reasons,” McAndrew explains. Critics might say that a reporter relying on an iPhone is evidence of poor planning, and that using an app like Dejero is simply an excuse for not having the right people – and kit – in the right place. For Sky, the technology provides additional agility, says McAndrew. “It means we can be first to screen, and for a breaking story with so many disparate elements, it means we can cover places we might not if we were to rely on traditional means. “We’re unlikely to deploy a correspondent on a lead story with only an iPhone, but if they are out gathering information and they stumble across a great story or come up against a technical challenge, [mobile kit] allows them to get a story back to us. It is rough and ready but with a story about the weather, viewers can be quite forgiving. It is also less pushy. Many people have had their homes destroyed and watched their lives float down the garden path, so it is important we are not too intrusive.” The Dejero mobile app, which bonds wi-fi and cellular connections and promises 1.5 seconds of latency, allows reporters to deliver live

COVER FEATURE

Sky News: Manfrotto Klyp and iRig Pre audio kit being used to report from the floods he filed for the 5 Live website as “pen pictures for online”. He says: “They were useful because there wasn’t a camera crew nearby – if there had been, I’d have used them. We have camera people trained to get the right shot – all I can do is cinéma vérité.” That was the approach Garnett used to capture footage of a family escaping the floods, when there was only space for the mother and child – and Garnett – in their boat. “That is where it works really well,” he says. “The real strength is the intimacy that you can only get with one person. It’s something I have noticed: when I record interviews with an iPhone instead of a mic with a 5 Live cube attached to it, there is less of a barrier.” A more clandestine approach can also be helpful in hostile situations. During the riots of 2011, Garnett was standing next to a BBC Manchester radio car when it was set alight, but he was able to continue broadcasting under the noses of rioters by talking into his iPhone. Garnett’s flood films don’t have a ‘talking head’ because they

‘It’s about keeping it simple and learning how to construct a package’ Glen Mulcahy, RTÉ

22 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

were primarily recorded as audio interviews. “I then thought ‘added value’,” he says. “If I’d tried to shoot them as video interviews they’d have been off-mic and I’d have compromised everything because I would have been framing it for pictures, not sound.” Irish PSB RTÉ is another broadcaster that has used mobile phones for live coverage of the extreme weather of the past couple of months, but it is its work on prerecorded packages that shows what can be achieved with a mobile and a few essential items of kit. RTÉ innovation lead Glen Mulcahy has been examining different approaches to newsgathering for the past five years. In that time, he has trained video journalists to shoot and edit, and investigated the use of DSLRs. Most recently, he has been working on the development and implementation of a mobile journalism strategy for the broadcaster’s news department. He says that while earlier smartphones were capable of supporting mobile radio journalists, it was the launch of the iPhone 4 that made

mobile video journalism a truly viable prospect. Some 130 RTÉ staff have now attended a one-day course covering shooting, editing and sending content using an iPhone equipped with apps such as Filmic Pro. “The next phase is developing MoJo [mobile journalism] champions to push the boundaries and create specific content for online, and to share their knowledge,” says Mulcahy.

Packing the essentials RTÉ has assembled 15 ‘grab bags’ of essential items (listed, right) for its mobile journalists. Audio can make or break a package so a decent mic is essential, along with an adapter to allow the XLR output to connect with the mobile device. But the “fundamental thing”, says Mulcahy, is a battery pack. “With an iPhone, you can shoot around an hour and a half of HD video, but that drops to around 45 minutes in cold weather because the battery performs less well,” he says. The bag also includes a tripod that doesn’t have a fluid head – a

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MOBILE JOURNALISM

Why iPhone rules BBC Radio 5 Live: Nicholas Garnett (holding mic) on location during the floods

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RTÉ kit Contents of each bag ■ Rollei Fotopro tripod ■ Mophie Juice Pack Pro Powerstation ■ Metz Mecalight LED (below) ■ IK Multimedia iRig Pre ■ AKG C417 PP Lavalier mic ■ Bayer Dynamic M58 reporter mic ■ Vodafone MiFi ■ Phocus Accent 3 lens system

Mulcahy says that shooting for broadcast can be problematic, as iPhones natively shoot at 30fps, whereas European broadcasters tend to transmit at 25fps. While apps such as Filmic Pro and Voddio can shoot or render at 25fps, others, like iMovie, render at 30fps. Despite RTÉ staff being “blown away” by the content produced by graduates of the course, there is some scepticism, particularly from those with an engineering background, who are used to purposebuilt kit being used by broadcasters. “They are happy for run-andgun, 30-second breaking news to be shot with mobiles but twominute packages can be a step too far for some,” says Mulcahy. “I am pragmatic and see room for everything. News has changed a great deal over the past few years, and there is a huge opportunity to create and solicit more news for our audiences. I am trying to gather more content from journalists rather than displace other methodologies. If there isn’t a satellite truck or crew, it no longer means you can’t tell the story.

“There might be some nervousness from broadcasters because they have invested in professional equipment,” he continues. “But newspapers and magazines are chomping at the bit [to use mobile technology]. If news organisations don’t get rid of the tendency to sit on stories until a scheduled broadcast time, they could be trumped by websites.”

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 23

IN-DEPTH

deliberate move to stop journalists panning. “It’s to encourage a photographer-like approach,” says Mulcahy. “The iPhone 5s is a bit more forgiving and Filmic Pro has a stabilisation option, but one of the weaknesses of the iPhone 4 is the jelly-like effect that can occur with handheld shots.” Insisting on a locked-off shot has drawn some criticism, but Mulcahy says he adopted the same approach with video journalists. “It’s about keeping it simple and learning how to construct a package.” The results can be impressive. Last month, RTÉ video journalist Philip Bromwell shot a 1 minute 40 second piece called Viking House in 1080p with an iPhone 5S, which he edited using Avid Media Composer on a MacBook Pro. Another report, Dublin Dockers, was shot with the same device. The edit was transcoded from full HD 1920 x 1080p to 720 x 576 SD and converted from progressive to interlaced for RTÉ’s broadcast system.

Among the mobile journalism evangelists Broadcast TECH spoke to there was an overriding preference for the iPhone, in part because Apple has control over both the hardware and the operating system. Some devices from the likes of HTC, Samsung and Nokia are regarded as having better cameras, but the lack of consistent Android hardware means there are fewer high-end apps available. And while the ubiquity of the iPhone might be one of the factors that deters broadcast technology purists, advocates of mobile journalism consider it an advantage: if an iPhone breaks or is stolen, a replacement can be easily found for a relatively low cost.

BVE

A bellwether for broadcast This year’s BVE offers a good indication of where TV is going in the year ahead, writes Andy Stout

he headlines for BVE are slightly predictable: the growth of IPTV, the arrival of 4K and the way those two are inextricably linked, and the increasing importance of the companion screen. But there is a lot of devil in the detail and the trade show is where the industry will start to see what is coming into focus and what is probably being punted into the long grass of 2015 and beyond. While the heart of BVE remains the traditional broadcasting and production sectors, feedback from last year’s show reveals that almost a fifth of the 15,000 visitors wanted help to better understand the connected world. The Connected Theatre will therefore explore various aspects of this nascent sector,

The connected world comes to BVE BVE event director James RowleyAshwood (pictured) explains why the trade show is paying closer attention to the connected world “The industry has known that audiences would start consuming content on various different platforms outside of linear TV for many years. This is

24 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

UK first: Sony will showcase its new PXW-Z100 camera at London’s Excel

examining social media strategies, the prospects of monetising content, protecting IP and getting value from content rights. Many of the companies working at the cutting edge in this area will also feature in the exhibition. Sony is focusing on 4K, with the PXWZ100, NEX-FS700R and NEX-FS700RH on show for the first time in the UK. The sales pitch is that 4K is now a reality for everything from single-person shooting teams to Hollywood blockbusters. From the acquisition point of view at least, the company seems to have a point. Its Ci service, meanwhile, moves much of the production process into the cloud and promises some interesting collaborative workflows.

not a new trend for the media industry. It’s a gradual shift by audiences to start consuming content wherever and whenever they want that has driven the growth in this market. “Markets outside of traditional broadcasters now want to make the most of these new delivery platforms to reach consumers, so BVE is reaching out to commercial, retail and entertainment brands to provide seminars and exhibitors that can help these businesses take advantage of this shift. This is the third

year that we have run a dedicated conference for multiplatform delivery over IP and we’ve had our visitors engage and ask for more of this area each year. “Content owners, whether broadcasters, brands, football clubs or retailers, are realising there are ways to monetise content online. They are no longer beholden to large networks and

‘BVE is where the industry will start to see what is coming into focus and what is probably being punted into the long grass’

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BVE

scheduled ad breaks to make money; they can use the power of analytics and big data to broadcast their own content on any platform and make money from it, whether it be through subscription or targeted advertising. The technology is easy to deploy, whether it is done in-house or outsourced. “Consumers want to consume content on many platforms at a time convenient for them, so it is up to content owners to figure out how to do this in a commercially viable way.”

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BVE takes place 25-27 February at Excel, London Seminars: five of the best

for the mid-sized OB market. It features eight Hitachi camera channels and can easily house a seven-to-eight-person production and operation crew, filling the gap between full OB unit and flyaway. Phabrix will demonstrate the recently released V8 software for its increasingly popular Rx rack mount range, while also highlighting the fact that it now supports all three Dolby formats – Dolby E, Dolby D and Dolby D plus – with the release of V12 software for its Sx handheld range of test and measurement instruments. The loudness issue has been rumbling on in the background of the industry for a long time, and TSL Products is one of those taking on loudness compliance with its PAM1 MK2 Precision Audio Monitor. The company says it represents a significant improvement over its predecessor, the PAM1-3G16, with an upgraded speaker system and two high-resolution, 2.4-inch screens that can easily detect visual signal confirmation. Finally, Matrox Video seems to be covering all the major trends. Its Matrox Mojito 4K video card is a quad 3G-SDI, 4K video card for use with Adobe Creative Cloud editing tools on Windows platforms. It allows users to monitor every pixel of every 4K frame in real time, and render and export projects in full 4K. The company will also highlight its latest video streaming and recording appliance, the Matrox Monarch HD, a neat little system that allows producers to simultaneously stream a live event and record a mastering-quality version for post-event editing.

Matrox Mojito: 4K video card

The Cloud: A technical nightmare or a dream come true for collaboration? Date Tuesday, 11.00-11.45 Venue Post Production Theatre Speakers Ben Roeder, chief technology officer, Sohonet; Emma Riley, head of business development, Dock10; David Klafkowski, joint managing director, The Farm Group; Donna Mulvey-Jones, head of post-production, Maverick TV; Eben Clancy, director of post-production, Timeline Delivering to spec: Effects of the DPP AS-11 spec on Post Date Tuesday, 14:30 - 15:15 Venue Post Production Theatre Speakers Craig Dwyer, senior director of the Global Centre of Excellence, Avid; Jai Cave, head of operations, Envy; John Robertson, technical manager, Lime Pictures; Kevin Burrows, DPP technical standards lead and chief technology officer, broadcast & distribution, Channel 4; Andy Briers, head of postproduction, Crow TV The changing broadcast environment – new technologies, new models, new players Date Wednesday, 11:00-11:45 Venue Broadcast IT Theatre Speakers John Ive, director of business development & technology, IABM; John Maxwell-Hobbs, head of technology, BBC Scotland; Clayton Dutton, vice-president broadcast, post-production and VoD operations, Discovery Communications Europe; James Taylor, director of cloud services, EMEA, Level 3 Communications Is it possible to future proof your post in this technologically changing climate? Date Wednesday, 14.30-15.15 Venue Post Production Theatre Speakers Gina Fucci, managing director, Films@59; Hector Macleod, chief executive, Glassworks; Steve MacPherson, chief technology officer, Framestore; Rhodri James, technology director, Gorilla Group; Richard Wilding, chief technology officer, Molinare Building for UHD broadcast and beyond – outlooks for uptake and making timely investments Date Thursday, 11.00-11.45 Venue Broadcast IT Theatre Speakers Andy Quested, head of technology, HD & UHDTV, BBC; Rod Fairweather, senior director of broadcast and infrastructure technology, Turner Broadcasting; Alessandro Reitano, director of sports production, Sky Deutschland; Hans Hoffmann, head of the unit on media fundamentals and production technology, EBU

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 25

IN-DEPTH

Panasonic will show its first handheld ENG camera with wireless connectivity. The AJ-PX270 allows for a wireless production workflow via LAN, with additional 3G/4G/ LTE connectivity available towards the end of the year. In addition to AVC-Intra100, the camera has AVC-LongG, which enables extended recording of 1920 x 1080 10-bit 4:2:2 broadcast-quality footage. PlayBox Technology will be launching ProductionAirBox. The company says the new unit can deliver content rapidly in one-shot mode or from a playlist, making it useful for situations in which instant access to stored content is needed, such as studio displays and presentation screens, as well as in production. Changes to the playlist can be made even while on air, while every clip in the playlist can be trimmed or repositioned on the fly using standard commands. Operation can also be streamlined using single channel or multichannel user interfaces. Vizrt promises new ideas on how broadcasting can be enhanced with virtual and augmented graphics using a variety of targeted products. As well as this core business, the company will also show how Viz Social TV can add audience interactivity to any programme in real time, which, given the increasing importance of the companion screen through 2014, could be an interesting draw. NewTek will be showcasing its TriCaster multi-camera production systems, which offer M/E channels, ‘holographic’ live virtual sets and extended graphics capabilities, billed as allowing the production of cost-effective content with a single system. Also on show is 3Play 4800, the company’s flagship multicamera replay server that is taking a tilt at EVS in the live sport production market. Gearhouse Broadcast will be showing off its new OBLite, a truck designed specifically

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SEMINARS ON TOUR

Post

HIGHLIGHTS PRODUTION PLANNING Rachel Thom Production manager Nine Lives

Carol McKenzie Head of production and facilities True North

POST: STATE OF THE NATION LIGHTING-LATEST LED TECHNOLOGIES

Paul Austin Head of postproduction and content Dock10

Richard Moss Managing director & facilities Gorilla Post Production

David Klafkowski Managing director and technical director The Farm

Dave Cadle Managing director Envy Post

Niels Stevens Adobe TV

John Rogerson CEO Halo Post

DISCOVER ADOBE CC VIDEO TOOLS REGIONAL PRODUCTION CASE STUDIES Scarlett Ewens Head of production, managing director The Garden

Nick Curwin CEO The Garden

WATERLOO ROAD Margaret Scott and Martin Coyle reveal tales from behind the scenes of BBC1 award-winning school-drama series

CORONATION STREET Insight into the production challenges, innovations and developments of Coronation Streetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s move to a new site

Margaret Scott Production executive Shed Media

Andie Clare Director of production Icon Films

DOCTOR WHO VFX supervisor, Murray Barber joins series producer, Marcus Wilson and postproduction supervisor Nerys Davies to give a behind-the-scenes look into the cuttingedge visual effects of Doctor Who

24 HOURS IN A & E

Murray Barber VFX supervisor Milk

Marcus Wilson Series producer Doctor Who

Fixed-rigged productions offer a new way of capturing real-life action without using an intrusive camera crew. The Garden discusses filming challenges, engineering highlights and the new techniques

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MULTIPLATFORM

Battle for control of the TV Xbox One and PlayStation 4 offer more than shoot ’em ups – with sales expected to hit 200 million by 2020, they are of growing importance to broadcasters. Redshift Strategy’s Rob Collier and Janice Hughes report

28 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

‘The Xbox One is aimed at a broader audience than gamers; this is much less obvious with the PS4’ audience than gamers; this is much less obvious with the PS4. Both Xbox One and PS4 have new and innovative controllers and peripherals to help navigate around the consoles’ interfaces. The Xbox One includes Kinect, which enables multiple users to control the console using Minority Report-style voice and gestures. The PS4 introduces a new Dualshock handheld controller, which includes motion sensors, a touchpad and a built-in speaker to enhance navigation and gameplay. PS4 also offers a voice and gesture peripheral as an optional extra. The voice and gesture peripherals developed by both companies are designed for

the primary living room TV screen: they need a spacious environment, are aimed at families and work best with Nintendo Wiiesque games that involve jumping around. However, because Kinect is bundled with the main Xbox One package and PS4’s peripheral is an added extra, this indicates a key difference in the primary positioning of these two consoles. It also accounts for the PS4’s lower initial price (£350), which in turn could account for Sony’s claim that it has sold 1.5 PS4s for every Xbox One.

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PLAYSTATION VS XBOX

‘Sony is hardware focused, seeking to attract gamers with its sophisticated equipment and impressive technical specification’ away from Xbox. Its main innovations are all focused on intense gaming: the controller, the live game streaming and the PS Vita integration. Sony has also announced developments in cloud-based gaming, making classic PlayStation titles accessible to smartphones, tablets and Sony Bravia TVs.

Evolution of consoles

£429

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January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 29

IN-DEPTH

Both companies will be planning the development cycle over the lifetime of the conPS Vita and pick up where they left off. The sole and, if the eight-year gap between the PS Vita essentially takes the place of the TV launch of the previous generation is any screen so the rest of the family can watch indication, both devices have time to evolve what they want on the main screen. services that will look significantly different Strategically, Microsoft is trying to win to those available today. the hearts and minds of a much larger With the Xbox One, we expect to see user base for Xbox, bringing new significant attention given to developTV viewers and light social ing a more complete TV experigamers into the fold by ence. Microsoft will be anxious offering a more satisfying to persuade us that the best is interface and user yet to come. RRP for the Xbox One experience, rather than As production costs come console without better content. down and Microsoft continues any bundled By maintaining consistto develop the user interface, games ency with Windows 8 design the Xbox One will be positioned and including heavy SkyDrive more clearly as a family entertainintegration, Microsoft is attempting to ment device, both in pricing and usability. encourage users to become ‘Microsoft Sony has chosen to focus its immediate people’ across multiple devices. Although campaign on the early-adopting gaming the new voice and gesture controls are community and a lower price point in the innovative and exciting, will the average hope of getting a head start in the sales consumer take this leap into a gaming race. It appears increasingly interested in world without a TV remote? bundling pay TV services over IP, and the The price point, initially set at £429, is PS4 can act as a device platform when this very high for consumers without a dediservice comes to market. cated gamer in the house. The price is Although both consoles are relatively expected to come down over the life of the early in their evolution, they are the device, but it could slow Microsoft’s start in most advanced devices on the market in the next-generation console race. terms of their hardware specification and Sony’s strategy, on the other hand, is ambition. How they develop will be well hardware-focused. It is seeking to attract worth watching. gamers with its sophisticated equipment Rob Collier and Janice Hughes are business analyst and impressive technical specification, and and co-founder of media technology consultant Redshift Strategy respectively has focused on luring hardcore gamers

Second screen

ADVERTORIAL

Silence is golden Choosing the right airconditioning system for your studio or postproduction suite shouldn’t be an afterthought. Get it right and it can make a real difference; get it wrong and you could be in trouble

ilentair might be a relatively new company but the combined experi ence of its founder and senior man agement team are anything but, with more than a century of experience between them. The company specialises in manufac turing silent airconditioning solutions – and when it says silent, it really means it. With the flagship Serenity product boasting sound measurements of NR14 at 1,200mm, it comes as no surprise that Silentair has aspirations to be the market leader; and with a unique, superior product range, unlike anything else on the market, it’s not hard to believe it can. The company, which has just completed the fitout of three dubbing theatres and two voiceover booths for ITV at MediaCityUK, Salford, is confident it can’t be beaten when it comes to providing silent, efficient air conditioning and ventilation systems. Silentair was called upon by ITV’s tech nical production team when the traditional design for cooling had trouble fitting into the required space. Silentair technical director Phil Gillatt comments: “The normal solution would have been to put the fan coil unit [FCU] outside of the studio space and then use oversize ducting and attenuators to intro duce the cool air through large grilles. However, in this scenario, there wasn’t enough space to fit the FCUs away from the room with the length of attenuation required to reach the sound levels required.” Silentair’s approach eliminated the need for large ducting, grilles and attenuators, which allowed the AC component to be placed inside the room. This meant the sound insulation inside the room was not compromised and with the AC operating quietly, the sound levels were low enough for the spaces to be used effectively. ITV technical manager Taig McNab says: “We’re really pleased with Silentair’s installation and the resulting AC really is

30 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

incredibly quiet. The nature of the work that is undertaken in these spaces means that additional noise in the room can be very dis tracting. The Silentair system just gives us one less thing to factor in.” Gillatt continues: “Our solutions have completely rewritten the rules of studio airconditioning by achieving sound levels previously not available with traditional solutions. We’ve moved away from these

methods by being able to incorporate a fan coil inside the studio without the need for attenuators, with the added benefit of draughtfree operation.”

Intelligent design Serenity, which has been installed at numer ous studios around the UK and now Europe, owes its unique characteristics to intelligent design and modification of ducted fan coils.

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SILEnTAIR

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‘Our solutions have completely rewritten the rules of studio air-conditioning by eliminating the need for oversized ducting and attenuators’ Phil Gillatt

sound levels of the Serenity system and it only requires a 50mmdiameter duct to allow the fresh air in, maintaining the sound level isolation of the space. Thought to be one of the quietest in the world, the system has under gone operational tests in Salford University’s anechoic chamber. The results (measured at 1.2 metres) surprised everyone, including the technical staff, with a sound meas urement of NR14 (at slow and medium fan speed), a level below that of normal hearing.

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A breath of fresh air

What we’ve done so far

Fresh air is very important in a postproduc tion environment but is often overlooked because of the operational noise levels. To resolve this problem, Silentair has developed a brand new, standalone fresh air system that can provide adjustable air flow designed to match the number of people in the space. The operational noise level of the system has been designed to match the unique

Our client list includes some well known names in the broadcast industry such as Al Jazeera, ITV MediaCityUK, ITV Wales, McGraw Hill, Suite TV, Imaginarium, North One TV, Wimbledon Studios and Manx Radio. Innovation continues with the develop ment of a brand new AC system for voiceover booths, to be launched at BVE this month.

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 31

WORKFLOW

Moving with the times Opening a new HQ on Poland Street gave Smoke & Mirrors the chance to house the entire business under one roof and align its technology with modern ways of working, writes Adrian Pennington

t the start of 2014, visual effects and post-production outfit Smoke & Mirrors threw open the doors of its new Soho home, having outgrown its Beak Street residence of 18 years. The move gave the commercials finishing, VFX, editing and reversioning facility breathing room after years of haphazard internal expansion, as well as the chance to refresh its entire workflow with a more open-plan, collaborative approach. “Beak Street certainly had charm but, as happens with many Soho facilities over the years, it became a rabbit warren of rooms on different floors, across neighbouring buildings, and was becoming impractical,” says Danny Whybrow, director of international broadcast operations at Smoke & Mirrors’ parent firm TAG. “The opportunity to move into a larger building gave us a blank canvas to reorganise and house the whole company under one roof.” Since the traditional progression of a job from concept to offline, to grade and then online has blurred, Smoke & Mirrors’ new Poland Street base is designed with suites able to function as traditional single-operator or multi-op collaborative workspaces. In all its finishing suites, Smoke & Mirrors has a second editing position, so someone can be reversioning and editing on another section while the main work is continuing. “Clients no longer care about the badge [on the kit] but they care a lot about the operator – and they trust us to allocate the right kit for them,” says Smoke & Mirrors managing director Gary Szabo. “This requires us to be far more flexible

and our operators to be multidisciplined – being able to edit, grade and create VFX.” Given the chance to relocate or expand into new premises, facilities are choosing to update their practices to reflect the fact that hardware is secondary to talent. This can also be seen at The Farm’s William site, and later this year at The Mill’s new Fitzrovia headquarters. “As an industry, we’ve been obsessed with technology,” says Smoke & Mirrors technical operations manager Adam Jakubowski. “Now everybody has access to the same tools, it is the people that knit the workflow together.” Whybrow adds: “There’s still a big craft element to what we do but whereas the operator was all powerful, sitting behind a huge desk, we wanted a side-by-side and collaborative approach that integrates

32 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

‘The opportunity to move into a larger building gave us a blank canvas to reorganise’ Danny Whybrow, TAG

clients, producers and operations more closely.” Where Beak Street had evolved multiple machine rooms to accommodate ad-hoc growth, it was logical to locate the technical brains of the new facility in a central MCR. The technical core includes a modular HP 10512 switch chassis, Harris IP3 video router, and an Isilon storage system. Storage is backed up to a 900-slot Quantum i2000 tape library online and onsite, and an 800TB offsite nearline system. Outside of the MCR, every edit suite and production seat is hooked into a KVM-over-IP system from Adder Technology. All workstation desktops are extended across the facility via the network. “It means you can centralise all the machines and access work from anywhere in the building,” explains Robin Howell, director at systems

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WORKFLOW

Style and soul

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‘Now everybody has access to the same tools, it is the people that knit the workflow together’ Adam Jakubowski, Smoke & Mirrors

Clockwise from left: reception, studio and finishing suite

Whybrow says the move provided the opportunity to reduce the amount of hardware used by the business applications and services such as proprietary production management tools and commodity applications relating to FTP and accelerated file delivery. “We retired a whole host of physical hardware, resulting in a more robust infrastructure and a significantly smaller and more energyefficient physical footprint.”

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 33

IN-Depth

integrator Wire Broadcast, which worked on the fit-out. “If an editor requires an assistant for a complex piece of work, then that edit assistant can simply dial up a second or third workstation seat. Rather than having to work in a linear manner from A to B to C, this building can do what you want it to in any combination.” Smoke & Mirrors houses more than 40 Smoke and Flame finishing seats, two primary grading suites running Da Vinci Resolve and a large production area housing more than 80 staff. Jigsaw 24 worked with Smoke & Mirrors to evaluate new monitors for the DaVinci and Flame suites, settling on Sony OLED BVMs and PVMs. The Resolve suites have been upgraded to the latest hardware, running version 10 of the software, and are now fully 4K-capable, with 65-inch 4K Samsung client moni-

tors. Seats for After Effects, Cinema 4D, Maya and Nuke can be accessed from any hot desk. Related areas are devoted to broadcast versioning, motion-graphic design, stills CGI and retouching, content ingest/ export, engineering and library. “Our entire approach to the build was rooted in the ability to tool up very nimbly to answer any brief across our full range of services,” says Whybrow. “That kind of agility makes it easy for us to say ‘yes’ with full confidence to clients.” The 30,000 sq ft space, which is 50% larger than the old Beak Street base, not only leaves room for further expansion but enables Smoke & Mirrors to cater for audio services in-house for the first time. Three audio suites with Pro Tools S6 control surfaces, two voiceover booths and a transfer suite will help fulfil what Whybrow believes to be “a huge requirement for audio and further revenue generation”. On top of the investment in core IT infrastructure, a Cisco UCS hardware blade centre running the latest VMware vCenter and OpenStack versions has been introduced. Combined with Signiant’s Media Shuttle accelerated file delivery platform, the dependency on legacy systems, which were core to operations in the old facility, has been removed.

The building’s physical layout was the responsibility of AKA Design. “Every facility has its own style and soul so when you are moving the business lock, stock and barrel, my job is to help bring that ethos with them,” says AKA managing director Guy Wilson. “Layout is all about how people move around the facility; how they feel about where they work.” Particular attention was paid to how clients and lead operators would work together. The facility’s senior producers and editors supplied AKA with a mood board detailing the look and feel they wanted from the new place. “When you make a move like this, the knack is getting the technology and environment to underpin the team,” says Whybrow. Wilson ensured that every suite at Smoke & Mirrors’ Poland Street office has daylight – it’s important, he says, for the operators who spend many hours there to know day from night. He built an MDF prototype for the editing desks so that Wire Broadcast could prewire everything. The building itself, an old warehouse, was “very corporate and uninviting, like visiting the solicitors or dentist.” says Wilson, but its large doors and pillars gave it “a New York industrial feel”. A large curved, sand-blasted oak reception desk now welcomes clients as they walk in, combined with a deliberate smell of coffee from the adjacent bar and tea point. The three main ‘hero’ suites are sited just off the reception. “We’ve always held a lot of our meetings in the reception and we wanted to continue that to keep the boutique feel,” says Whybrow.

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March 12—13, BFI, London

Top names from the world of 3D Film and TV will be speaking at this years 3D Creative Summit. Including:

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CaBSaT

NAB comes to Dubai Cabsat is celebrating its 20th anniversary by forging a strategic alliance with the NAB Show – attracting visitors from 110 countries and more than 900 exhibitors to the Emirate. Michael Burns reports

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‘Dubai continues to grow as a media centre and Cabsat’s alliance with NAB can only be good’

Cabsat: bringing together international and local businesses

Samer Mouwanes

turnkey pod exhibitions and an open-air presentation theatre. There’s also a new networking concept called Cabsat Connect. The invitation-only, four-hour event will feature 400 industry decision-makers at C level and director level discussing industry news. In the exhibition halls, RF specialist Cobham will demon-

strate the SOLO7 Nano HD, a wireless HD transmitter for point-of-view and body-worn applications that uses COFDM and H.264 encoding technology. SIS Live is launching the ManPak100, a 1m and 1.2m tripod-style antenna that the company says simplifies the manual acquisition of satellites through the use of a GUI and

Speakers at the conference n Frost & Sullivan research director Vidya S Nath and industry manager Avni Rambhia will host a State of the Industry panel debate on the ‘TV Everywhere’ market. n Emirates Media Measurement Company general manager Chris O’Hearn will lead a session on bridging the audience measurement gap across viewing screens. n Fox International Channels general manager Sanjay Raina

will present the Regional Broadcast Leaders’ Debate on the changing landscape of broadcast media. n Stargate Studios chief executive Sam Nicholson will speak on developing a strategy for the future of visual effects and post-production. n Dubai Film and TV Commission chairman Jamal Al Sharif will host a panel session on developing the UAE as a leading film and TV production destination.

two simple wheels controlling the azimuth and elevation. Cabsat will also host the first showing of the 30cm Photon Beard Square One fluorescent panel in the Middle East market, while Clear-Com will demonstrate the latest advancements to the HelixNet Partyline Intercom System and the new capabilities of the Eclipse HX digital matrix intercom system.

Product debuts Wohler products debuting at Cabsat include three new MPEG monitors that provide at-a-glance monitoring of programme content from MPEG-2/4 ASI and Ethernet IP streams, as well as 3G/HD-SDI inputs. Also new from Wohler is the AMP1-16M dual-input SDI audio monitor. Pebble Beach Systems is showcasing a user-configurable SmartPanel for its Marina automation product, while Tedial will be showing new and improved versions of the Tarsys media asset management system. Cabsat will also be the setting for the regional launch of Pixel Factory, a turnkey, server-based implementation of Pixel Power’s core Clarity graphics engine, as well as the Pixel OnDemand ‘pay-as-you-go’ model. Cabsat takes places 11-13 March

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 35

IN-depth

absat is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with an alliance with the NAB Show – featuring themed hub areas, networking events and a raft of new product announcements. Billed as the professional content management event for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, the Dubai-based show will bring together visitors from 110 countries and more than 900 exhibitors. The programme for the first two days of the Cabsat-NAB conference features keynote speeches, industry reports and technical programmes, as well as panel discussions. For the first time, Cabsat will also host a US Pavilion. SIS Live managing director David Meynell says the strategic alliance between Cabsat and NAB will be advantageous to all involved: “Cabsat will benefit from a greater level of access to international experts for the conference programme. NAB will extend its reach into an exciting emerging market. This will serve to further improve the quality of the seminars and also help to create a closer bond between international and local businesses.” Samer Mouwanes, Middle East regional sales manager for voicecommunications systems provider Clear-Com, adds: “Dubai continues to grow as a media centre and Cabsat’s alliance with NAB can only be a good thing for the UAE and Middle East region.” New to the show, and representing a key theme for 2014, is the Connected Devices zone, offering

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MULTICAM RECORDING

Gorilla tactics reap rewards Using the Quadrus ingest system on eight-camera CBBC gameshow Ludus gave Cardiff ’s Gorilla a choice of codecs and saved the facility time and money

BBC launched its first second-screen playalong gameshow this month. The Boom Pictures and Cube Interactive 20 x 30-minute sci-fi series Ludus, a spin-off of S4C show Y Lifft (The Lift), features contestants battling to defeat a space villain to rescue their family and win a ticket home. The show comes with its own iOS and Android app to allow viewers to compete at the same time as the show’s contestants. Cardiff facility Gorilla Group provided onset and post-production facilities for the eightcamera studio shoot, which was recorded back to back in English and Welsh for S4C. Gorilla technology director Rhodri James says this kind of production would typically have required a rack of expensive VTRs and a large supply of tape, followed by a lengthy digitisation process. “Hard-disk recorders have become popular, but they are often limited in terms of codec choice, and the workflow still involves manually ingesting data from deck to central storage,” he says. “We were looking for a system that could fulfil two main criteria: it had to record multiple streams into a codec of choice; and it had to make sense financially.”

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‘Hard-disk recorders are often limited in terms of codec choice and the workflow still involves manually ingesting data’ In conjunction with reseller Picture Exchange, Gorilla opted for multi-channel recording software Ingest Machine from Quadrus. The facility acquired two HP Z820 workstations, each optimised for Ingest Machine and equipped with external dual RAID storage arrays and quad SDI port capture cards. Each system was able to carry out tasks such as file transcoding, image processing, online editing or grading. For security, Gorilla also copied the data onto USB 3.0 drives. Recording into DNxHD made for an efficient workflow for the

Avid post facility, with clip transfer from workstations onto the Isis or Object Matrix storage, and transcode-free editing. The chase editing functionality of Quadrus, which was supplied by Holdan, allowed editors to work on the show while content was being captured. With the production recorded to an intermediate codec, fewer files had to be transcoded, and if Gorilla changes its workflow or editing platform, Quadrus can be configured to capture in XDCAM, AVC-Intra or ProRes. The workflow provided a consistent codec, despite the mix of studio cameras, mini-cams and output from the game table. Standardising the workflow made it predictable for other facilities, including Gorilla subsidiary Bait Studio, which was responsible for designing and creating the show’s titles, visual effects and graphics.

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 37

IN-DEPTH

CBBC: sci-fi gameshow Ludus; below: Quadrus editing system

MY OFFICE

SONY PMW-500 The standard-issue BBC News camera is the shoulder-mounted Sony PMW-500. We also recently acquired JVC’s GY-HM650, which gives us a few more options as it is useful for discreet filming and can fit inside a rucksack. A few years ago, we could be out on location with four or five different tape formats, which was a nightmare to mix together, so it was essential that the JVC’s workflow was consistent with the Sony’s: both take SDHC cards and they combine well with Final Cut on a Mac. The GoPro is another useful tool. In Kabul recently, we used a sucker mount to attach it to the roof of our car to capture footage of the road the Russians moved out on, and which the coalition forces will use for extraction this year.

TECHNOLOGY

APPLE MACBOOK PRO

Over the past five years, technology has leaped forward. The only comparable time was in the 1980s, when we moved from film to video. Tape to non-linear has been a huge shift that allows us to do more, faster. Processing power has increased and can now cope properly with video, and the lack of moving parts on cameras means there is less to go wrong.

We change our MacBook Pros fairly regularly as they are put under a lot of strain. For a two-and-a-half minute report for BBC News, we might have only two hours edit time, so the software we use has to be fast. Once the story has been cut using Final Cut Pro 7, the MOV file is transferred via our in-house system, Jupiter File Exchange, to Salford or New Broadcasting House. We can (normally) overcome slow transfer speeds by cutting a package into segments and then joining them in London – but on the day of Nelson Mandela’s funeral, we had to play out a report for the 1pm news live in the field from my Mac, because there wasn’t enough time to render and create the MOV file.

38 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils

First on the scene

PETER SEARLE

PAUL FRANCIS - FIELD CAMERAS

From the civil war in Somalia to the Romanian revolution and Nelson Mandela’s funeral, BBC global lead, journalism field cameras, Paul Francis has shot and edited footage of some of the most significant events of recent years

INTERNET CONNECTION If there is no internet connection or large satellite dish for us to use, we can use the Bgan terminal to feed pictures back to the UK, or do live reports. It can take 20-30 minutes to send a two-and-ahalf-minute package.

WORK

LOGISTICS

RADIO MICROPHONES The Sony PWM-500 has two channels of radio mics that can be supplemented with tie mics or a gun mic. I tend to use radio mics because they are easier to handle. We capture interviews in mono because there just isn’t time to edit stereo.

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Logistics is 80% of the job: if we don’t get it right, we won’t be in the right place at the right time. I usually work with a correspondent and a producer but, depending on the location, we might also take a translator or a member of our highrisk team, who are all ex-forces. They provide guidance around safety and help to make us as safe as possible. After the Bosnian war, there was a greater focus on hostile-environment training and we now attend a six-day course, a lot of which is battlefield first-aid training. I have a flak jacket and a helmet for any hostile environments. I take a supply of tourniquets and bandages, and our vehicle always has a full medical kit.

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 39

PROFILE

Switching perceptions Ross Video’s acquisition of sport production firm MCP raised industry eyebrows late last year, but it is just one step in the company’s repositioning. George Bevir reports

Fact file David Ross Career highlights 2006 Chief executive, Ross Video 2004 President, Ross Video 2005 Chairman of the board and majority shareholder, Ross Video 1997 Executive vicepresident, Ross Video 1994 Director, Product Development, Ross Video 1991 Manager, switcher product development, Ross Video Education 1984–1991 BASC Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo Patents Numerous including downstream multi-keyer (shared with father, John Ross)

40 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

Ross MCP’s “unexpectedly broad” product line. Perception is part of the problem. Given its heritage, it is unsurprising that the firm is best known for switchers, but that is something Ross is keen to change.

Family affair

To ensure there is a steady stream of freelancers well versed in Ross kit, the company has launched a training programme in Florida. One of Ross Video’s main challenges is to grow its share of the market outside of North America, particularly Europe. By the chief executive’s admission, the firm doesn’t have as big a presence in the region as he would like. “It’s a major area of expansion right now,” he says. Over the past year, the company’s European team has grown from nine to 14, and over the next 12 months, Ross expects to add another five sales and business development staff, who will be tasked with raising awareness of – and selling –

The company was founded in 1974 by John Ross (David’s father), who was working as an engineer for the Canadian Broadcast Corporation when he sold a World War II training plane he had restored to raise funding for the start-up. Around the same time, a young David was trying his hand at computer programing. After studying computer engineering at the University of Waterloo, David joined the family firm in 1991 as an engineer and manager of switcher product development, taking on the role of chief technology officer and then assuming the role of chief exec in 2006, when his father retired. In the time he has been with the Iroquois-headquartered firm, its ranks have swelled from 30 to 500 employees and it has grown from a product set of five, 10-year-old switchers to eight product lines, some of which comprise hundreds of products. They range from newsroom control systems to video servers, tools for social media management, 3D graphics platforms and robotic camera systems. That’s not to forget

www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils

DAVID ROSS

R&D: keeping out of trouble

the company’s Crossover, Carbonite and Vision production switchers. Although Ross is keen for the industry to know that the company is about more than switchers, he is aware of the importance of the product set, which is responsible for just under a third of all revenue. He retains the role of product manager for the range. Aside from an element of continuity, it gives him a micro view of the challenges faced in areas such as product development and sales. “There is a certain amount you can infer about the common problems all products face by looking closely at one area,” he says. “It’s great and I would hate to give it up.”

www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils

WORK

Some 50 of Ross’s research and development staff work on product verification, testing products before they go into production. “It’s cheaper to fix something in the lab before it goes into production, and much cheaper than in the field,” says David Ross. Seven years ago, the company altered its approach to launching new products, adopting a ‘no vapourware’ policy. That means kit will only go on display at trade shows such as NAB and IBC if it can ship within a normal delivery cycle. “If we show something six or 12 months ahead, we do so in a back room so people know it’s a prototype, and sales staff are not allowed to give a price,” says David Ross. “It’s painful but it keeps us out of trouble.”

‘I look at investments as a venture capitalist would – I want great people and technology, with synergies we can make something of quickly’ David Ross

experienced 22 years of growth and, on average, top-line revenue has grown at around 17% a year. “We’re not a public company and are internally financed, so we live by our wits,” he says. “Our profitability depends on what we are investing in, but margins at Ross are as strong as ever. One of the reasons is that we invest 25% in R&D, double the industry average. This is key to maintaining an edge and margins. You could argue that margins [of other manufacturers] have eroded because they haven’t invested.” Given his almost life-long association with the company, it is no surprise that Ross is hands-on, and he cites patents in his name and deals he initiated as evidence of his involved approach. In recent years, the company has made a host of acquisitions: in 2010, it acquired encoding and subtitling firm Norpak, as well as router and audio monitor company Codan Broadcast; in 2012, it picked up

robotic camera systems firms Cambotics and FX-Motion. More deals are planned – Ross says he expects to announce two more by NAB in April. “Every deal has been about introducing product lines that bolster what we already have,” he adds. “Every deal is different, but if there is an acquisition strategy, it is to buy companies that touch at the edges of as many things we already do as possible.” One of Ross’s rules is not to buy a business that is more than 10% bigger than his own, chiefly to avoid political and cultural clashes. “If I buy a company equal in size and it is a leader in the market, there is not a lot I can do with it. I look at making investments in the same way a venture capitalist would: I want great people and technology, with synergies we can make something of quickly. “We’re not afraid of bringing entirely new technologies into Ross through acquisition if it helps to solve a customer problem.”

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 41

ADVERTORIAL

Ross Video – Inception Today’s newsroom computer systems (NRCS) have evolved from the simple creation of show rundowns and scripts to become a key piece of technical infrastructure. Media Object Server (MOS) protocols have allowed newsrooms to go ‘paperless’ by integrating with production equipment, thereby increasing levels of automation. Despite this modernisation, expensive systems that focus on one type of production for one method of distribution are becoming antiquated. The newsroom is

changing into a production hub for multiple content types that can be distributed and consumed on multiple platforms. The newest NRCS entrant is Ross Video’s Inception. Released at IBC 2013, Inception uses a storycentric workflow and tight integration to production to maintain the core requirements of an NRCS. Ross has gone a step further, adding extensive web and social media capabilities to make Inception the first and only, truly multiplatform NRCS available today.

Multi-platforM creation and publication Inception can be used with any primary publication point in mind. Commonly, social and web outlets are set up as ‘child’ events to the broadcast story. These events can be published automatically in time with the linear stream or scheduled for publication with a later action or at a later time.

42 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

Story-centric workflow From the powerful Assignment Manager Module through version-tracking, multiple format creation and editing, to the comprehensive approval and publishing process, Inception ensures that content is properly managed and tracked from concept to completion. With dedicated tools like file-based attachments and integrated calendar, Inception makes it easy to manage the creative process.

www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils

integration with broadcaSt production Ross draws on extensive experience in video production to make Inception easy to use and effective in creating broadcast content. With full MOS support, including Ross OverDrive, Xpression and third-party servers, MAM, graphics and APC system plug-ins, Inception has all of the tools to allow integration of existing technology into your production.

Tools

Social newS-gathering toolS Inception is built from the ground up to use social content in broadcast, and vice versa. Using the Playlist and Social Polling plug-ins, adding content and data from Facebook or Twitter to the linear stream is simple and makes social content part of the story.

Social integration Social media is no longer an afterthought, and Inception puts it front and centre. Inception allows produced content to be simply and quickly repurposed for publication to social media and the web within the same interface. Stories can also have custom content for social, web or video publishing.

www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 43

MOST WANTED

Top hires Cruet operations director Don Knee selects the five most popular items of the past month

2 5

TOOLS

2 Sony PDW-F800 This reliable XDCam disc format camera is still the HD workhorse of choice for many TV productions. With a reassuring lack of workflow hurdles, it offers great battery life, excellent ergonomics and all the right options for day-long shoots.

Zeiss CP.2 lenses

A set of Zeiss CP.2 lenses will suit many shoots, whether you need PL or EF mount â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the mounts can be swapped over as needed. Our set of six lenses includes the latest T/1.5 super-speed versions in 35mm, 50mm and 85mm.

3 Canon C300 It is hard to argue against a camcorder that has been a game-changer. The C300 continues to provide lower-budget film-makers with a high-quality full-frame option. Whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s EF or PL mount lenses, this little camcorder still delivers.

44 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

4 Arri Alexa XT Plus The XT uses 512GB SSD drives or SxS cards for on-board recording. The Plus model has wireless remote control, built-in ND filters, a 4:3 anamorphic sensor and records up to 120fps Arri RAW and ProRes 4444. It offers exceptional image quality.

5 Sony F55 The F55 is a popular option for full-frame shooting. It offers HD, 2K and 4K, using PL and EF mounts and the familiar HJ zoom lenses. High frame rates, user-friendly menus and well thought-out rigs make the F55 a good option for any shoot.

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ASK THE EXPERTS

meeting the standard Broadcasters and post facilities are now working to the R128 loudness standard under the Digital Production Partnership (DPP) specifications for programme delivery. Kevin Hilton asks leading sound mixers for their tips on hitting the -23 LUFS target Doug Cooper Mixer, Warner Bros De Lane Lea How are you approaching mixing under the R128 and DPP specifications? My approach to mixing hasn’t changed fundamentally except to set a slightly different monitoring level in the studio – one that keeps my mix sounding more or less how I want it to and sits within the guidelines for loudness readings. I find that I’m turning the monitors down more than I’d like, though, in order to get the average level up towards to R128 specs, with the effect that peak loudness in the room comes down.

What is the best way to incorporate loudness into your work? I keep a close eye on the iZotope Insight meters while I’m premixing, but less often when I’m finalling. If I’m fighting with difficult production sound, I pay more attention to getting

48 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

the technical level right, but I’m less concerned with metered levels on well-recorded material. I always check the final LUFS reading, but that’s so I can judge whether I’m monitoring at the right level, given how comfortable I’ve been with general dialogue levels and peaks.

What do you have to consider as you mix? The specs themselves haven’t changed the way I mix, except to give something to aim at in technical terms. In that sense, as long as there are sensible specs, that’s all that counts. My main consideration when I’m mixing is how it will translate across a variety of domestic environments. I don’t want someone to have to ride the level when they’re watching TV, but I do want people to feel the change from an intimate conversation to a shouted argument. I want people to hear changes in ambience between different places and changes in the acoustics in different spaces. It’ll always be a compromise, regardless of the technical requirements from the various specs.

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LOUDNESS

Calrec Apollo

Izotope Insight

Mark Owen

Senior sound supervisor, BSkyB

Head of audio, Evolutions

Have loudness standards made people mix in different ways to before?

How are you approaching mixing under the R128 specification?

It’s not the intention of the loudness specifications to change the way people mix, but there are opportunities to create a more dynamic mix. However, if you have a wider dynamic, it is harder to hit the loudness target. With drama, one of the problems is the much greater dynamic range, especially when going into junctions with commercials or interstitials. If you come out of something quiet then the ads are likely to sound too loud, even if they are still measuring -23 LUFS. There needs to be intelligent measurement and the realisation that -23 isn’t going to help fix everything. There needs to be fine-tuning, perhaps looking at the last 30 seconds of a programme going into the break.

We use the Waves loudness meter for measuring loudness in real time as we work, and iZotope Insight for non-real-time measurements using the audio suite in Pro Tools.

Are there distinct approaches for different programme types? You can subdivide projects into live and non-live. The obvious delineation is that if you’re post-producing something, you can fix loudness issues after the event. With live, you can’t fix what has already gone through, so the approach needs to be different. Sport and light entertainment tend to have less of a dynamic range but live classical music is wider. The question is, how quiet can you go? What is not often taken into consideration is the problem of the threshold of audibility in domestic environments, which can be noisy.

How should sound mixers approach working with loudness meters? Rather than mix to the meter, people should learn without one and see what works for them. For us, the meter corroborates what is being done by mixers using their ears. You should make sure there is a loudness meter available, both in the studio and for outside broadcasts. We’re mostly using the RTW TM7 and TM9 for live work and the Tektronix implementation of these for post-production. There are TFT bargraphs on the Calrec Apollo consoles but we also have two PPMs to the side of the desks, as we’re still weaning people off them.

www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils

inform

Martin Black

What is the best way to incorporate loudness into your work? I look at short-term values when starting a dialogue pre-mix and then use my ears once I am happy with the monitoring level. When I am working on the final, I usually mix it to sound as good as possible and then adjust the output level part by part.

Has loudness changed the way you mix? I use softer compression and allow more headroom when mixing most genres of television.

R128 Explained n The DPP has incorporated the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) R128 loudness spec in its latest set of technical standards. n The specification is about the perceived loudness of content and aims to ensure a consistent approach to production and measurement to solve jumps in audio levels between programmes and channels. n It sets out how broadcasters should measure and normalise audio using loudness meters instead of peak meters (PPMs). n EBU R128 recommends broadcasters and post firms normalise audio at -23 LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale).



January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 49

ASK THE EXPERTS

Educating Yorkshire: mixing carried out by Evolutions

Simon Capes inform

Head engineer, Soho Square Studios How are you approaching mixing under the R128 and DPP specifications? Now the specification has matured and been accepted by most broadcasters, mixing commercials and promos isn’t very different from what we were doing after Leq(m) was introduced in 2000, except that you can increase the dynamic range a little. The window is rather short for my liking and you can find yourself chasing volume if you’re not careful. Long form is not a problem; you just need the right measuring kit to conform.

DK Technologies

What is the best way to incorporate loudness into your work?

Has it changed the way you mix?

With short-form work, I don’t usually bring the meter (DK-Technologies audio meter with PPMulator and NuGen software) into view until I’m nearly done. I always listen at the same SPL so you get used to the volume in a particular room and can judge reasonably accurately. However, with long form, I glance at the readings from scratch just to keep an eye on the overall picture.

Generally, I mix in the same way. However, until we leave PPM6 supply behind, there is still a tendency to mix to that and then drop the master level as needed for R128. Some engineers mix as they always have and then adjust the output globally, while others chase the maximum level in the rolling window, which can compromise a mix. However, some clients will always want their soundtrack to be the loudest. Dynamic range is a much-talked-about subject for sound engineers. While we listen to mixes on good-quality kit, we still need to cater for low-quality and mono TV speakers that don’t have much clout. It’s good to listen on the ‘grots’ before final mastering.

Are there different considerations for loudness in stereo and 5.1?

RTW TMR 7 50 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

Currently, 5.1 levels are lower than stereo, which hopefully can be adjusted as R128 is embraced. Stereo and 5.1 mixes are different beasts, but they are both well catered for in the R128 standard in terms of volume compatibility. Currently, any programme mixed in 5.1 has to have an associated stereo or L/R mix (derived from the 5.1). This doubles the measuring, so you need a workﬂow that caters for that and ideally allows for simultaneous measurement of both formats.

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NEXT ISSUE OUT 4TH APRIL | NAB SPECIAL Preparing for DPP - Day: Delivering AS-11 files 4K Handling: Content on set and in post Remote editing Producing content for local TV

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GUIDE TO… CLOUD STORAGE

The rise of the cloud Initially seen as a short-term fix, the cloud is increasingly being viewed as a long-term storage solution. But security remains a concern for many. Adrian Pennington reports

INFORM

n its early incarnation, the cloud was a way of temporarily scaling up and down the server capacity needed by individual productions without a hefty investment in hardware. Producers are now beginning to lean on the cloud as a routine part of long-term asset storage. “Five years ago, a lot of rushes weren’t retained but as prices have come down and data volumes rise, content owners are looking to the cloud as part of their

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archive mix,” says Quantum product marketing manager Laurent Fanichet. The challenge of ever-increasing footage in ever-increasing file sizes has put a strain on companies’ on-site tape and RAID disc storage systems. “Several post producers have told us there is no way they could handle the scope of a particular project internally,” reports Aframe co-founder David Peto. He says that adoption of the company’s

technology has been driven by reality shows, where shoot ratios are routinely 200:1. “A typical series might total 9,000 hours of rushes,” he says. “A facility may have enough capacity for that project for a limited time but over many months, it begins to have an impact on other clients and ends up putting pressure on even their nearline storage.” Fortunately, the number of facilities with broadband pipes in excess u

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 53

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GUIDE TO… CLOUD STORAGE

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storage. “In the same way you don’t want to keep media in a facility once they start charging for it, keeping media in the cloud long term is expensive,” he says. President of Sony Media Cloud Services Naomi Climer predicts it will take several years for the majority of organisations to migrate to the cloud, in part because of the company-wide change required in budgeting for operational expenditure, as opposed to capital spending.

Security issues Even to get to that stage, clients have to be confident that the security issues that dogged the cloud have evaporated. Peto reckons they have all but disappeared. “The proliferation of personal cloud solutions has aided businessto-business cloud vendors enormously,” he says. “When was the last time there was any genuine data loss from the cloud? Trust is implicit.” Nonetheless, the prominence of public cloud storage has brought

‘The industry is learning how software as a utility can change the way we work’ Naomi Climer, Sony

high-profile outages – temporary shutdowns – to international attention. Amazon, GoDaddy, Windows Azure and Google Gmail have all suffered outages in the past six months, and late last year users of US cloud service Nirvanix had two weeks in which to retrieve their data after it went bankrupt. “Security has become the number one concern for companies when dealing with data,” says Petricola. According to Petricola, security needs to be reinforced. “Strong encryption, with keys that are locally managed off-cloud by customers, will become table stakes,” he says. As a result of America’s National Security Agency data mining Prism program, Petricola expects more companies outside the US to host their data outside of the country. “This will force the deployment of regional clouds,” he says. “This year won’t just be about getting data into the cloud or managing the data once u it’s there; 2014 will see more

Outages: GoDaddy, Windows Azure and Google Gmail have all had problems

January/February 2014 | Broadcast TECH | 55

INFORM

of 100MB has grown. “At the beginning of 2013, we’d have frequent meetings where a facility only had lines of 10MB,” says Peto. “A 100MB connection enables double real-time transfers of 50MB XDCAM footage.” Front Porch Digital introduced its cloud storage platform a year ago with initial applications in disaster recovery, where assets are off-loaded to remote servers for back-up. “We’re now starting to see interest in more complex workflows in which cloud becomes an integral part of production,” says senior vice-president Rino Petricola. Sohonet’s cloud platform is also a year old and while primary applications are focused on disaster recovery, chief technology officer Ben Roeder also suggests the technology is becoming a routine part of storage management strategies. “Producers tend to have tiered storage, including an active data set they use all the time for work in progress, nearline for infrequent use, and then archive,” he says. “Typically, media is archived to tape but more producers are storing to the cloud. It’s no longer a question of why I should do this, but how.” One advantage of cloud over tape is the ability to retrieve data almost instantly. Tools such as Marquis Broadcast’s Project Parking also make uploading assets to the cloud from an edit suite as straightforward an exchange as any file system. Signiant vice-president of product management Rick Clarkson believes producers have become more comfortable using cloud-based solutions for lower-value assets and data while “reserving higher-cost on-premise solutions for high-value assets”. While the efficiency benefits of cloud storage are clear, there is a dissenting voice when it comes to the economics. Timeline TV post-production director Eben Clancy agrees that the cloud can provide massive benefit, but he can’t see it matching the ever-decreasing cost of physical

Guide to… CLoud StoRAGe

‘Security has become a concern for companies when dealing with data’

would confront inside their facility – and they should expect nothing less of the cloud,” he says. Ironically, these security concerns are likely to prolong the life of tape as a physical insurance. Quantum and Front Porch offer hybrid tape/ Rino Petricola, Front Porch Digital cloud systems. “Tape still offers the best cost per terrabyte but it’s innovation around getting data out hard for users to predict asset of the cloud, and moving it from one retrieval time,” says Fanichet. “As cloud to another. Users are looking a result, there will be increased for clear answers about outages and focus on tiered storage, with techcloud commitment and, eventually, nologies such as object storage cloud-to-cloud migration exit strate(in which data is distributed over gies in case of an emergency.” multiple network nodes) and Vendors will have to linear tape file systems come up with more being widely adopted.” comprehensive serAlthough cloud vice-level agreements storage is devouring to include data tape sales in the lowHours of footage filmed export, migration and to mid-market, Petrifor a typical mobility, not just secucola also finds “strong reality show rity, access and availademand for storing petability. Peto advises users to bytes and exabytes of data [on choose their cloud storage provider tape] at a very attractive price point”. carefully by asking some key quesClimer admits a dramatic tions: “How many copies of your increase in the level of anxiety assets will they hold? How many about security in the past year fibre networks is it plumbed into? but says that outages and hacking How frequently is data refreshed so are an inevitable part of the techit doesn’t rot on a disc? And is everynology’s maturation. “The industry thing redundant with twin switches is still learning how software as a and firewalls? These are issues a utility can fundamentally change post house chief technology officer the way we work,” she says.

INFORM

9,000

Cloud services: the next steps Sohonet Sohonet plans to integrate QC on upload and provide access to high-performance cloud gateway Panzura. Front Porch Digital WAN acceleration to speed up file transfers for customers consolidating multiple sites is pending, as are content health checks to collect possible error rates and take proactive action, such as duplicating content, before it deteriorates. Aframe Aframe 3.0, which will be launched in April at the NAB show in Las Vegas, will include a new desktop app that automatically sends clips from the user’s machine to their Aframe account, selecting the best-performing connectivity settings. Clips are then automatically transcoded to a viewing copy as well as into a preferred house codec. Aspera Aspera Drive, which was announced last autumn, is expected to be generally available in the first quarter of 2014. IBM, which announced a deal to acquire Aspera at the end of last year, will integrate Aspera’s Fasp technology with its SoftLayer cloud infrastructure later this year. Signiant Coming soon are enhanced integration with object storage in the cloud and a solution for moving large, unstructured data sets in and out of the cloud for third-party media processing or analytics.

World’s Toughest Trucker: Aframe’s system handled the rushes online

Sony Ci Sony’s “professional dropbox for video” (pictured above) is emerging out of beta, taking account of feedback, with further announcements at NAB. Sony is positioning Ci as part of the dailies workflow for film and TV from pre-pro to visual effects. At present, it is in use on two major TV series, the company claims. Quantum Lattus Already included are Forward Error Correction, which distributes data across multiple nodes, and support of the HTTP protocol for internet access.

56 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

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POSTSCRIPT

TECH Q&A

NEED TO...

Martin Sexton

IN FOCus

how did you get into the industry? Stage lighting at school led me towards theatre and TV. I ran a small PA company, promoted bands and kept applying until eventually, after I had completed a TV engineering course at Northumberland College, I joined the BBC as a trainee engineer.

neil hatton The post-production consultant and chair of the tech working group at UK Screen has been getting stuck into recent efforts to educate on the issue of loudness, audibility and the ongoing shift to EBU R128. Last seen furiously tweeting updates from the #SoundMatters seminars. @neil_hatton

INFORM

WATCH

DPP Downfall The Downfall parody is a triedand-tested method of poking fun at a host of situations, so it’s a badge of honour for the DPP that the looming file-based delivery deadline has been given the Downfall treatment by Clockwork Euphoria, a collective of editors and graphic designers. bit.ly/1iorrrG

Sky News correspondent Nick Martin was snapped fishing for stories during the floods. Can you spot the addition made by his colleagues in the Sky News technology team to this picture of him out and about with his 4G iPhone and Manfrotto rig? It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘news hook’. DIARy DATEs

BVE

LIsTEN

talking tV The latest outing of the Broadcast podcast includes an interview with World Productions creative director Simon Heath, who discusses the second series of BBC2’s hit drama Line Of Duty. soundcloud.com/broadcastnow or via itunes

What is it? Last year’s trade show and conference featured 300 exhibitors and attracted 15,152 visitors, drawn to the hundreds of free seminars and demonstrations. At this year’s event, The Farm joint MD David Klafkowski will be discussing whether the cloud is a ‘technical nightmare or dream come true for collaboration’. WhEn is it? Tuesday 25 to Thursday 27 February WhErE is it? London, UK WEBsitE bvexpo.co.uk tWittEr @BVExpo

CaBsat What is it? The Middle East’s largest digital media and satellite expo. The last event was attended by 10,000 visitors from more than 100 countries, with 770 exhibitors from 55

58 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2014

countries displaying their wares. This year’s event is the first since the trade show partnered with Las Vegas tech-fest NAB. WhEn is it? Tuesday 11 to Thursday 13 March WhErE is it? Dubai, UAE WEBsitE cabsat.com tWittEr @CabsatMENA

naB shoW What is it? Amazon’s Mark Ramberg will deliver a keynote speech on cloud technology and The Huffington Post founding editor Roy Sekoff will give the keynote address at the Disruptive Media Conference. Last year’s show was attended by 90,000 industry professionals. WhEn is it? Saturday 5 to Thursday 10 April WhErE is it? Las Vegas, US WEBsitE nabshow.com tWittEr @NABshow

What do you wish you’d invented? Vari-lites. In the 1970s, I wanted to combine motorised lamps and colour wheels, so that one lamp could do many things in my stage lighting rigs. I was only a kid and never took it further. I’ll never know if I could have been first. Which app do you use most regularly and why? Google Earth. It’s indispensable for assessing the ease or difficulty of providing services at potential OB venues worldwide without having to visit first. What gadget can’t you live without and why? A computer. It’s the interface with the internet for research, communication and shopping, and with software for controlling things. I can’t see how I could do without one. I thought about putting a mobile phone first, but you can communicate with a computer or tablet, though not as elegantly. What is your go-to website? Google, closely followed by Wikipedia. They are fantastic gateways to information. Martin sexton is manager of rF & special cameras at Presteigne Charter

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