Content+Technology February 2012

PP: 255003/06831

the only one who isn’t anxious for the replay

VOLUME 9 ISSUE 1 FEB 2012

MEDIA + PRODUCTION + MANAGEMENT + DELIVERY

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VOLUME 9 ISSUE 1 FEB 2012

Also see C+T in PDF at www.content-technology.com

Cover Story – Global TV’s HD4

32 REGULARS

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EDITOR’S WELCOME NEWS Hostworks Serves Up Foxtel, TVNZ Encodes with Harmonic, Grass Delivers Trucks to Sky Racing, Media Links for DVN Mk II, Fox Footy Goes Global, Vale Andrew Wight.

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CLASSIFIEDS AND EVENTS OFF-AIR What Happened on Tour, Gets Printed Right Here!

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OFF THE AIR ... Government Regulation and the Occult!

TAKING STOCK Broadcast Business Management in a Multiplatform Era.

FEATURES

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3D – THE THIRD DIMENSION Getting Machines to Watch 3D, plus latest stereoscopic tools.

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ACQUISITION ARRI Goes to Uni,

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RADIO Lexus Revs Up DAB+, ABC Selects Tieline’s Report-IT, Sky Sports Radio Pushes Digital Innovation, HK DAB+ All In with All in Media.

AUDIO Sennheiser Targets Knock-Offs,

Broadcasting = More Revenue?

Videocraft Goes to the Races, Fujinon Goes to Parliament, plus Inside Sony’s F65 Digital Cinematography Camera.

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SPORTSCASTING Live Production Over IP, Truck Tour – Global TV’s HD4.

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NEWS OPERATIONS Live Cellular

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Uplinking for TV and the Web.

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POST-PRODUCTION New Tools for the Edit Suite.

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & ASSET MANAGEMENT Does Cloud

plus Loudness Metering and Monitoring.

TRANSMISSION Freeview Upgrades EPG with S&T/Magna, Faster Than Fast Fourier Transforms, Joined Up Thinking – the Channel-in-a-Box.

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CONTENT+TECHNOLOGY: ISSN 1448-9554 PP:255003/06831 Broadcastpapers Pty Ltd (ABN: 34 095 653 277) PO Box 259, Darlinghurst, NSW 1300 Australia www.broadcastpapers.com PUBLISHER: Phil Sandberg Tel: +61-(0)2-9332 2221 Fax: +61-(0)2-9332 2280 Mob: +61-(0)414-671-811 papers@broadcastpapers.com

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SUB-EDITOR: Keith Ford PRODUCTION MANAGER: Lucy Salmon Tel: +61-(0)29332 2221 production@broadcastpapers.com DESIGN & LAYOUT: Wide Open Media Tel: +61-2-9690 2835 info@wideopenmedia.com.au PRINTING: Whirlwind Print COPYRIGHT NOTICE: All material in Broadcastpapers’ Content+Technology Magazine is protected under

Australian Commonwealth Copyright Laws.

No material may be reproduced in part or whole in any manner without prior consent of the Publisher and/or copyright holder.

DISCLAIMER: Broadcastpapers Pty Ltd accepts no responsibility for omissions or mistakes made within, claims made or information provided by advertisers.

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EDITOR’S WELCOME

When Copyright Gets Cloudy

By Phil Sandberg

THE RECENT FEDERAL COURT DECISION concerning Optus’ TV Now service is one of many cases to come and points the way to a landscape that those in content production and delivery should adapt to.

Federal Court Justice Steven Rares has found in favour of Optus in the copyright litigation regarding its TV Now service. The finding concluded that the service did not infringe on the copyright of the NRL, AFL and Telstra, the rights’ holders in the matter.

Allowing customers to record free-to-air TV and storing them on Optus’ cloud platform, the TV Now service the streams the program at a later time – albeit at a minimum of 90 seconds later.

These recordings were argued to be unauthorised by Telstra and the sports organisations. Optus argued that it was their users making the recordings, not Optus itself, and that playback of these did not infringe copyright because they fell within the section 111 exception for recording broadcasts for private or domestic use.

Justice Rares considered seven separate issues. His findings included that the individual users were the ones that committed the act that brought about the recording and that such a recording did fall within the section 111 exception.

digital, cross-platform environment, rights negotiations and business models need to adapt.

It’s a ‘cloudy’ area, but perhaps a new category of rights holder, along with financial recompense would keep all parties happy.

Seeking to address this copyrightissue and many others,University of Technology Sydney Dean of Law, Professor Jill McKeough is to lead an Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) review into the operation of copyright in the digital environment.

While Telstra and both the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australian Football League (AFL) are expected to appeal the decision, the decision highlights the ongoing development of the ‘consumer cloud’.

According to AustralianAttorney-General Nicola Roxon,“In our fast changing, technologically driven world, it’s important to ensure our copyright laws are keeping pace with change.The Gillard Government is determined to get the balance right between providing incentives for creators and innovators and encouraging new opportunities within a digital economy including via the National Broadband Network.

In the developed areas of the world, at least, so much of a consumer’s life is now digitised - from personal media (family photographs, videos, etc.), to purchased audio and video content, to bills and other documents.

“The inquiry will consider whether the exceptions in the Federal Copyright Act are adequate and appropriate in the fast paced digital environment,” Ms Roxon said.

Expecting every household to purchase and maintain the software and hardware necessary to store and organise all of these files is just unrealistic and, to meet this need, a growing band of consumer cloud applictions and providers have emerged - much along the lines of Apple’s iCloud or Google’s suite of services. This sector will likely continue to evolve and we may well see a ‘Back to the Future’ scenario where that original online business model, the all-encompassingportal, is given a fresh breath of life.

It’s safe to say that not only are clouds in the industryforecast for some time to come, so are court decisions and legislative catch-up.

Meanwhile, the storage of media for personal use in the cloud will continue and, just as the Australian Government is looking to reshape media law in the

Thanks for reading Phil Sandberg Editor/Publisher papers@broadcastpapers.com T: +61-(0)2-9332 2221

2012 C+T DEADLINES MARCH-APRIL 2012 VOL 9 ISSUE 2

Editorial/Advertising Bookings Ad Material

Save the date!

ABE2012 Australian Broadcast Exhibition

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EDITOR’S WELCOME

featuring the latest in digital broadcast & production technology

Tuesday 7 – Thursday 9, August 2012 Novotel Manly Pacific Hotel www.abeshow.tv

March 9, 2012 March 16, 2012

MAY-JUNE 2012 VOL 9 ISSUE 3

Editorial/Advertising Bookings Ad Material

April 27, 2012 May 4, 2012

JULY-AUGUST 2012 VOL 9 ISSUE 4

Editorial/Advertising Bookings Ad Material

June 28, 2012 July 5, 2012

FOR MORE INFORMATION

www.content-technology.com +61-(0)2-9332 2221 or +61-(0)414 671 811.

Email: papers@broadcastpapers.com Sales enquiries: papers@broadcastpapers.com +61-(0)2 9332 2221.

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NEWS + PEOPLE For the latest news visit www.content-technology.com

Foxtel Serves Up with Hostworks

TVNZ Uses Harmonic

THE FOXTEL CHANNELS GROUP is to expand

TVNZ HAS PURCHASED the latest generation

its relationship with online solutions provider Hostworks.

Hostworks has been managing the FOX8 website for the FOXTEL Channels Group since early 2010. In 2012, all channels within the group will be migrating to the Hostworks platform.

At present, the channels within the Group are hosted by a range of providers but based on the performance of the FOX8 website the decision has been made to consolidate all sites onto a single hosting platform.

Chuck Smeeton, Head of Digital, FOXTEL Channels Group said, “Hostworks make sure we are able to give our website visitors the content they want at all times. Popular shows can result

in the traffic to our sites increasing by up to 10 times so being able to deal with this level of traffic at short notice is essential.”

Adrian Britton, GM of Technology, Strategy and Innovation for Hostworks said, “Expanding our services to include the whole of the FOXTEL Channels Group is a great opportunity for us.

Hostworks lets the FOXTEL Channels Group provide access to online materials direct from content caches and stream direct from the Hostworks media servers. This means the FOXTEL Channels Group can offer a quality online user experience and reduce the demand for internet bandwidth at the same time.”

Visit www.hostworks.com.au

Grass on Track at Sky Racing SKY RACING COO, Brendan Parnell (left), and Grass Valley GM for Oceania, Matthew Christie, got together recently for the handover of three new outside broadcast (OB) vans.

The trucks each feature the latest Grass Valley HD live production technologies, including nineteen LDK 4000 HD cameras, Kayak HD digital production switchers, multiple K2 Dyno Replay Systems, a Concerto Series video router, and a series of products from the GeckoFlex family of signal processing modules. Yamaha digital audio consoles and an Apantac multiviewer system were also installed.

Harmonic Electra 8000 Universal SD/HD MPEG-2 and AVC Encoder from Magna Systems and Engineering NZ for use as a secondary head end.

Magna Systems and Engineering NZ Sales Manager Keith Brewer explained, “The interesting thing here is that the Harmonic Electra 8000 Universal SD/HD MPEG-2 and AVC Encoder enables TVNZ to have their free-to-air channels TVNZ ONE, TV2, U, and TVNZ 7 feeding a mixture of HD and SD material, some concurrently, for both DTT and DTH head ends.”

The Electra 8000 is a 1RU encoder with multiresolution, multi-standard, multi-service and multi-channel capabilities.

Visit www.magnasys.tv

Telstra Taps Media Links MEDIA LINKS INC. HAS ANNOUNCED the completion of a contract with Telstra, under which it will help build Telstra’s next generation digital video network for broadcasting.

The contract prescribes Media Global Links as the main contractor to supply advanced network management software, installation services, operational support and continuous system maintenance, as well as the delivery of an MD8000 media transport system.

C+T will have a complete tour next issue.

The project will replace the existing digital video network and cover hundreds of locations across Australia, taking two years to complete.

Visit www.grassvalley.com

Visit www.medialinks.com

NEWS + PEOPLE

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SmartView Duo is the perfect compact SDI rack monitoring system for post production, broadcast or live events. It features two beautiful 8” LCD screens which can be remotely adjusted via ethernet. It even includes tally. What’s more, it easily handles SD, HD and 3 Gb/s SDI video formats.

SDI monitoring everywhere you need it SmartView Duo lets you build your own master control room to monitor all cameras for live production. Use it in editing desks to display all your video sources. Incredibly compact, it’s also great for broadcast vans. You can even install SmartView Duo into portable monitor racks to build lightweight flyaway kits.

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NEWS + PEOPLE

Vale Andrew Wight C+T JOINS WITH the Australian film and television industry in offering condolences to the families and friends of Andrew Wight, pilot, underwater cave diver and producer on the feature film Sanctum, who perished on February 5 in a helicopter crash near Nowra while working with James Cameron and National Geographic on a documentary film.

Wight was featured in the December issue of C+T outlining plans for the Australian operations of the Cameron-Pace Group.

Also killed in the crash was American cinematographer, biologist and conservationist Mike deGruy.

Wight, 52, was the documentary-producing partner of explorer-filmmaker James Cameron.

After leading six deep ocean expeditions together, from which the films ‘Ghosts of the Abyss,’ ‘Aliens of the Deep,’ ‘Expedition: Bismarck,’ and ‘Last Mysteries of Titanic’ were made, the two recently co-produced Andrew’s first feature film, ‘Sanctum 3D.’ An Australian Adventurer of the Year medal winner and Emmy nominee, Wight produced more than 45 films since 1989, including television documentaries, live television specials, and 3D Imax films. His journey to becoming a

filmmaker began in agricultural science, working in scientific research and marketing. He was a respected SCUBA and cave diving instructor, commercial helicopter and fixed-wing pilot, and cattle farmer.

Wight was recently announced as the general manager of the Australian office of Cameron Pace Group, responsible for providing 3D cameras and production technology to Australian films and television.

Mike deGruy, 60, spent 30 years producing and directing documentary films about the ocean.

An accomplished diver and sub pilot who spent many hours filming deep beneath the sea, he was the director of undersea photography for Cameron’s ‘Last Mysteries of the Titanic.’” deGruy was an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and television host specialising in natural history and underwater programming in a career that spanned the world’s oceans and more than 30 years. His work as cinematographer, producer and host for such projects as “Life in the Freezer,” “Trials of Life,” “Blue Planet,” and “Last Mysteries of the Titanic” won multiple awards and reached global audiences with his infectious love for the oceans and the spirit of adventure. DeGruy founded the Santa Barbara, California-based

production company The Film Crew Inc. in 1979.

Reacting to the deaths of his colleagues, director James Cameron said, “Mike and Andrew were like family to me. They were my deep-sea brothers, and both were true explorers who did extraordinary things and went places no human being has been. They died doing exactly what they loved most, heading out to sea on a new and personally challenging expedition, having fun in the way they defined it for themselves, which was hardship and toil to achieve something never done before. They were passionate storytellers who lived by the explorer’s code of humour, empathy, optimism, and courage. Their deaths are a tremendous loss for the world of underwater exploration, conservation, and filmmaking.”

DeGruy is survived by his wife, Mimi, his son, Max, and his daughter, Frances. Wight is survived by his wife, Monica, and his son, Ted.

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FOX FOOTY Channel to Call Global Studios Melbourne Home FOX SPORTS’ NEW 24-HOUR AFL CHANNEL, FOX FOOTY, will call Global Television Studios in Melbourne home. Global is constructing purpose-built production offices and High Definition television studios for FOX SPORTS within its Southbank complex.

Concurrently, FOX SPORTS has re-engaged Global to facilitate its High Definition digital AFL coverage for a further five years (2012-2016) having provided broadcast technical services for AFL telecasts since 2001. Programs originating

from FOX FOOTY’s dedicated studios will include panel-style shows, sports entertainment and news presentations.

The FOX FOOTY studios will have eight permanent HD cameras and enjoy connectivity to the larger studio floors within the Global Television studio complex. FOX FOOTY will exclusively broadcast AFL coverage 24/7 across the season and is available to FOXTEL and AUSTAR sports subscribers from February 17.

FOX FOOTY will be home to live, uninterrupted

and HD coverage of every match in the Toyota AFL Premiership Season, plus exclusive coverage of the NAB Cup, FOXTEL Cup, Under-18 Championships and key AFL events.

Patrick Delany, FOX SPORTS CEO, said, “We’ve had a long relationship with Global Television as our outside broadcast provider and we look forward to building an even more formidable partnership in 2012.”

Visit www.foxsports.com.au and www.globaltv.com.au

Sky News Australia Orders 7th LiveU Backpack SKY NEWS, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND’S leading multi-platform 24-hour news supplier has recently ordered their 7th LiveU LU60-HD Cellular Video Backpack from OnAir Solutions, the local partner of LiveU.

presets and extended delay “maximum quality” settings enables Sky News to execute Live Crosses or extended Press Conferences in real time with minimal dropout and picture interruption.”

General Manager of OnAir Solutions, Chris Dredge, said, “Being able to send live pictures from just about anywhere, with minimum operating cost, has dramatically changed the speed with which Sky News can get stories to air. The combination of short delay “Interview”

A key element in the success of LiveU for Sky News is the built-in, proprietary antenna solution in the LiveU LU60. The antenna array leverages highly advanced RF technology for exceptionally resilient transmission, beyond the capabilities of off-the-shelf modems. With the recent integration

of the Telstra 4G Modems, poor coverage areas that are considered “no-go” zones can be transformed into HD transmission opportunities.

LiveU’s LU60 has an abundantly rich feature set for Mobile ENG over multiple wireless networks.

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NEWS + PEOPLE

WILL- BURT

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NEWS + PEOPLE

Keshavarz Joins Engine ENGINE HAS ANNOUNCED that the multiaward winning US director Saman Keshavarz has joined their stable. Keshavarz burst onto the world stage winning awards for TVCs and music videos he shot while still at art school.

MILLER CAMERA SUPPORT has appointed Robert Jarmyn to head up its group sales and marketing operations for both domestic and international markets. Robert has led a number of businesses to becoming market leaders in their field, across a broad range of industry sectors, both domestically and internationally.

Keshavarz won the 2010 Clio Best Commercial, 2010 Gold Addy, 2010 Emmy Outstanding Commercial and 2010 YDA Cannes Silver for the TVC Game of Digital Freeze Tag. The music video he shot for Cinnamon Chasers’ Luv Deluxe won the South by Southwest festival in the USA. Keshavarz said, “The Australian and Asian markets are so unique and different in comparison to the UK, European and US ones. I am flattered that a company like Engine is into my stuff and are here to back me up.”

Commenting on his appointment, Grant Clementson, Managing Director, stated that Robert’s experience in brand management brings to Miller a fresh approach in sales and marketing strategies when the industry is undergoing big changes through new technologies.

Visit www.engine.net.au

Visit www.millertripods.com

ITV Studios Staffs Up in Australia Pacific

Movements at Screen Australia

ITV STUDIOS GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT has announced the expansion of its Australian based sales team as Dan Edwards joins as Senior Sales Executive, Australia & Japan.

NICOLE DADE has joined Screen Australia’s

Reporting to Augustus Dulgaro, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific; Dan will be responsible for handling the distribution of the ITV Studios Global Entertainment portfolio, and will be based at ITV’s Australian office in Sydney.

Dulgaro commented, “ITV Studios Global Entertainment are delighted to expand our Sydney based team with Dan’s appointment.

After almost ten years in the distribution business he brings a wealth of experience to ITV, and a

Huawei Australia Appoints Luke Austin as CFO

great local knowledge gained during his time in Hong Kong and Australia.”

Dan Edwards added, “ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s content portfolio is renowned throughout the world and with its breadth and diversity, presents some fantastic opportunities in Australia and Japan”

HUAWEI AUSTRALIA HAS APPOINTED

Kyas Sherriff is Screen Australia’s new Investment/Development Manager in the Indigenous Department. Kyas has been working in the arts industry for over 10 years, including the Arts Law Centre of Australia as the Indigenous Liaison Officer involved with Artists in the Black.

Visit www.itvstudios.com/au

Visit www.screenaustralia.gov.au

OASYS Appoints New Sales Director

Song Hits Right Note for Grass Valley China

OASYS HAS APPOINTED Nick Lim as Director,

AMIDST GROWING DEMAND among Chinese

Mr Lim has over 30 years of sales and marketing experience in the IT and television industries, most recently operating his own marketing consultancy, representing manufacturers in content management and distribution, including OASYS.

“This is the perfect time to be joining Huawei, with 2011 being the company’s most successful year yet in the Australian market,” Mr Austin said.

Mark Errington, CEO, OASYS, said, “We’re delighted to welcome Nick to the OASYS team. He already knows our company and products, having represented us in the Middle East. His knowledge of the industry and the global markets will enable us to expand our presence in the Americas, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.”

Visit www.huawei.com.au

Visit www.oasys.com

Luke Austin as CFO, the latest local appointment to Huawei’s senior executive team. Mr Austin replaces outgoing CFO Brian Hoppe, who has been promoted to a new senior role.

Development team as a Development Executive in the Sydney office. Nicole has 12 years’ experience working in development, production, commissioning and emerging talent, and was Head of Development at Atlantic Film Group.

Following several years experience in television production, Dan’s distribution career commenced at the Australian distributor Southern Star International. Dan became Sales Director for Asia during the Southern Star International and Endemol International merger in 2009.

Americas and Asia Pacific Sales. Based in the United States, Mr Lim will be responsible for expanding OASYS’ distribution network and developing sales opportunities in the target territories.

NEWS + PEOPLE

New Group Sales, Marketing Manager for Miller

broadcasters and video professionals, Grass Valley has named Robert Song as its new General Manager for China.

With more than15 years experience in Broadcast and ProAV industries, Song will be based in Beijing and oversee Grass Valley’s business activities in China. In addition to his new position, Song will continue to serve as Sales Director of desktop and professional channels for the Company’s entire Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

“China is a very important market for Grass Valley and I will work to improve the experience for our new and existing customers by offering the best products and services,” said Song.

Song joined Grass Valley in 2005 during the Company’s acquisition of Canopus and since then has successfully grown Grass Valley’s desktop editing across the region.

Visit www.grassvalley.com

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TAKING STOCK Moves in the business of content + technology

www.content-technology.com/mediabusiness

Broadcast Business Management in a Multiplatform Era

By Pilat

PERHAPS NO MARKET TREND is having more impact on media companies than the drive to deliver video content on a broad array of non-linear platforms. Today’s consumers are demanding their programs on more devices, and with a greater degree of scheduling flexibility, than ever before.

Resulting offerings such as video on demand (VOD), time-shift TV, catch-up TV, ‘TV everywhere,’ and Internet TV are re-writing the rules for broadcast business management.

TODAY BROADCASTERS must find new ways to engage their audiences and attract advertisers across multiple media outlets that span multiple viewing screens. They must also demonstrate their ability to reach not only mass audiences, but also highly targeted and relevant ones.

The IT systems that make such media operations possible are increasingly complex as service adoption expands and content libraries grow.

Broadcasters are therefore challenged to achieve a level of integration that will yield maximum revenue potential across all outlets, provide the needed business agility to compete and adapt to a changing landscape, and keep operational costs under control.

The Challenges of Scaling to Multiplatform Operations Introducing multiplatform services into a broadcast operation that has been traditionally focused on linear broadcasting is a complex proposition. Many media companies approach this opportunity by creating new divisions to address the delivery of emerging services, each with its own infrastructure, internal business processes, and success metrics. With such a ‘siloed’ operation, the company has no easy means of measuring across-the-board business performance and efficiently ensuring regulatory compliance, while redundant processes and resources drive up costs and create more delays.

TAKING STOCK

BROADCASTING THE OSCARS: A USE CASE To bring home the challenges of multiplatform operations, consider the hypothetical scenario of a major network that has secured the rights to broadcast all programming for the Academy Awards (Oscars). The network’s programming lineup includes pre-ceremony features, the Red Carpet program and awards ceremony, and after-show features such as red carpet/fashion summaries and coverage of parties. Figure 1 shows the entire programming grid, with a breakdown of programs

that will be delivered over multiple linear channels as well as the network’s website, VOD service, and mobile service.

In such a complex live programming scenario, any number of unforeseen events might wreak havoc on a siloed broadcasting organization. Suppose, for instance, that the Oscars ceremony broadcast runs late (not a far-fetched notion) and overruns its programming slot, causing the network’s pre-planned highlights show to be pushed back.

WEEKS PRIOR

MULTI-CHANNEL

WEBSITE

• Expert Winners Predictions • Oscar Fashion Review • Countdown to the Academy Awards

If delayed by too much, the network might be in danger of reneging on advertising contracts that specified it’s airing at a certain time. Likewise, a segment for the website cannot be posted until later and so forth; thus delivery of content to all platforms is affected by the single programming delay.

Suppose the network discovers that it has failed to obtain the clip rights for a particular movie actor who was interviewed or a public figure that

DAY OF BROADCAST • Red Carpet • Oscars Ceremony

• Package: Best Movies of the Millenium

VOD

MOBILE

• Repeat: Oscars Ceremony • The Best After Show Parties • Red Carpet Fashion Summary • Clips: ‘Best-of’ Speeches • Photo Gallery • Clips: ‘Best-of’ Red Carpet

• Expert Winners Predictions • Clips: Last Year’s Best Moments • Photo Gallery: Last Year’s Ceremony • Clips: Nominated Movie Trailers • Package: Best Movies of the Millenium

FOLLOWING DAYS

• Voting Competition • Clips: Last Year’s Best Moments • Photo Gallery: Last Year’s Ceremony

• Package : Best Movies of the Millenium • Catch-up: Oscars Ceremony • Catch up: Red Carpet • Catch up: The Best After Show Parties • Catch up: Red Carpet Fashion Summary • Clips: ‘Best-of’ Speeches • Photo Gallery

Figure 1 – A Sample Multiplatform Programming Grid for the Oscars

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TAKING STOCK appeared in the feature on after-show parties.

Maybe the rights only apply to the initial airing of the show and not repeat airings - or maybe they only apply to the linear broadcast and not the other platforms. Or, perhaps an actress describes her dress made by a certain designer in the Red Carpet show that is sponsored by another designer - a direct violation of the sponsorship agreement.

Time is of the essence in order for the network to adapt to these scheduling, rights, and sponsorship changes in ways that won’t significantly affect revenues. Yet, in a standalone, siloed operation, each of the changes and their metadata must be input multiple times into different scheduling systems and then synchronized, resulting in costly delays, inefficiencies, and potential for error. In a worst-case scenario, the network might be forced to pull some programming altogether - resulting in broken commitments to advertisers and loss of revenues. And in the end, once all of the programs have aired, the network has no effective means of gauging overall return on investment (ROI) to guide business decisions for next year’s broadcast.

Meeting the New Demands of Multiplatform CENTRALIZING RIGHTS MANAGEMENT Rights management becomes significantly more complex in a multiplatform environment - requiring a fine balance between revenue maximization and compliance with contractual and regulatory obligations. As shown in Figure 2, to be effective a centralized rights management platform should provide services for managing the complete asset lifecycle from production and acquisition through distribution of content, with tools for contract and deal management, program finance, and distribution licensing. The system provides a central point for querying rights availability against any type of acquired, or produced content, allowing a broadcaster to fully exploit all licensed or owned rights on any platform.

As content distributors become more aware of the revenue potential for their programming to be played out on multiple services, they are negotiating contracts that are many degrees more

Contractual and regulatory content rights

Rights compliant multiplatform services

ACQUISITIONS

BROADCAST

COMMISSIONS

CENTRALIZED RIGHTS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

ON-DEMAND

WEB PRODUCTIONS

Programs Trailers Footage Stills Graphics Music

MOBILE

RETAIL

LICENSES

System APIs

Rights aware programming systems

MEDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT

SCHEDULING

TAKING STOCK

Figure 2 – Centralized Rights Management Services

ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING

complicated. Returning to our Oscars example, the network might have negotiated one price for the main ceremony to be broadcast over the linear service, and another price for the ‘catch-up’ broadcast on the VOD service.

Centralized rights management places the broadcaster in control of contract negotiations, with the ability to quickly evaluate which package of rights for a program will be the most costeffective and yield maximum profits. Using the previous example, the broadcaster can weigh the cost of airing the Oscars on a linear channel against its advertising revenue potential, and then balance the higher costs of the rights to play the show to the Web site against its potential to attract an even wider audience.

The system allows multiplatform broadcasters to monetize content and services in ways that were not possible in the traditional broadcast environment. With centralized rights management, the broadcaster can fine-tune sublicensing agreements to extend beyond program distribution and cover individual components such as audio translations; e.g. a program that has been translated into Chinese can be licensed to every Chinese broadcaster that chooses to purchase it. As always, the system tracks content rights and warns of violations, such as breaches of exclusive licenses.

REDEFINING SCHEDULING By definition, the deployment of content across a broad range of linear and non-linear platform services requires new thinking about scheduling. Whereas broadcasters were previously only concerned with programs, times, and channels when dealing with multiple linear schedules, they must now also consider placement of content on VOD services - which adds considerations such as platforms, availability windows, asset packaging and delivery, content discovery, and offer management to the scheduling mix.

With a robust and integrated broadcast management system that provides a central metadata repository and a set of scheduling tools for each service, a broadcaster can dramatically enhance the consistency and efficiency of its multiplatform programming. Referring back to Figure 2, the broadcast management system provides a comprehensive view into the entire programming strategy prior to, during, and after the Oscars ceremony broadcast, enabling the broadcaster to maintain program consistencies between all platform services. The system’s ‘schedule awareness’ tracks when and where a program was originally scheduled and alerts the scheduler when the content has been moved to a different slot, allowing the promotions to be removed and replaced with new content.

When VOD and other non-linear services are added to the mix, they add new layers of scheduling complexity. To truly add value, a business management system should be able to handle scheduling functions that are unique to VOD, such as asset packaging.

In this instance, the broadcaster has the opportunity to package a series of titles

Figure 3 – Sales Product Inventory Collections

Continued page 14 

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HPA A Ad

TAKING STOCK

Briefs JVC Appoints Gencom GENCOM TECHNOLOGY has announced exclusive distribution of JVC Professional products and JVC’s award winning D ILA projector series for the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Ray Sanders, Gencom Technology CEO stated, “We are very pleased to broaden our relationship with JVC Kenwood to now cover distribution of these products in the Australian market also.”

Mr. Lindsay Nolland, National Manager, Communications Division, JVC Kenwood Australia commented, “I am confident this appointment will benefit not only our two companies but more importantly our valued customer base in the Australia and New Zealand markets.”

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Videocraft Becomes Cinema Eos Dealer VIDEOCRAFT have announced that they are

“The launch of the Cinema EOS System is a historic event for Canon and marks our fullfledged entry into the film and TV production industry,” said Canon Australia’s MD Taz Nakamasu.

Videocraft’s Sales Director James Taylor said, “We’re proud to be working with Canon to bring this solution to the Australian market.”

Visit www.videocraft.com.au

Lemac Joins Canon LEMAC FILM AND DIGITAL has announced that it has become an official dealer for the new range of Canon Cinema EOS products, including the standard EOS range of cameras and lenses.

Canon Australia MD, Taz Nakamasu, said, “Given the significance of this opportunity and the specialised needs of the market, it was critical to partner with recognised leaders in providing solutions for cinema, TV, and broadcast fields.”

Visit www.lemac.com.au

Vislink Office in Australia VISLINK HAS STRENGTHENED its operations in the Asia-Pacific region with a new office in Melbourne, Australia. The Melbourne office will handle sales and

provide additional support for Australasia.

New Regional Sales Manager, Mike Phillips, will head up the office.

John Rolfe, Vislink’s regional sales director said, “Having previously worked for Gigawave, Mike brings many years of expertise with him and given that the Asia-Pacific region is a growing market we are confident that this new commitment will bring us new opportunities.”

Visit www.vislink.com

Silver Trak Becomes Fujifilm Premium Dealer SILVER TRAK DIGITAL has become a premium, authorised distributor of the full range of Fujifilm recording media, video and data products.

The company was recently purchased by its Sales Director Christian Christiansen from Video-8 Media as part of a management buyout.

Fujifilm Australia GM Motion Picture Film, Recording Media and Optical Devices, Marc Van Agten said, “With the new management structure in place and Christian at the helm I’m very pleased to confirm the new Silver Trak Digital as a premium authorised distributor of the full range of Fujifilm recording media; video and data products.”

Visit www.fujifilm.com.au and www.silvertrak.com.au

TAKING STOCK

now an official Canon Cinema EOS dealer.

Videocraft will also handle the sales, rental, service support and integration for the EOS C300/C300 PL, which launched in November

2011 as part of the new Cinema EOS System, and related lenses.

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TAKING STOCK a guarantee that the audience will be delivered for each spot the advertiser buys. The system oers the flexibility for the broadcaster to apply a dierent pricing structure based on an estimate of the audience for each show. A VOD oering can be forecast much more precisely based on actual numbers of viewers who have downloaded a particular title in the past, making the sales product even more eective.

ď ´ď ´ Continued from page 12

USE CASE: ADVERTISER SPECIFIC CAMPAIGN AUDIENCE TARGETS

MULTIPLATFORM PROMOTIONS

ƒ 25 rating points for people 18-29 on linear

ƒ 40 tagged linear promotions

ƒ 350,000 clicks on website

ƒ Website banners and skyscrapers

ƒ 50,000 VOD downloads

ƒ Product placement in “Best of� commissioned events

ƒ 200,000 mobile downloads EXCLUSIVITY TERMS

The inventory management system should provide the flexibility for broadcasters to oer combined campaigns that distribute programming across dierent platforms with dierent rates based on audience, spot rates or other metrics - but all managed within a single campaign with the convenience of a single invoice to the advertising customer. Also, the system should provide the flexibility to overlay secondary events in the schedule, such as sponsorships, product placements, and logos, together with spots.

COMMERCIAL SPOTS ƒ 20 Bookends

ƒ Exclusive sponsorship on ceremony billboards

ƒ 150 linear spots

ƒ Shared sponsorship on repeat events

ƒ 10 Squeeze back promo spots ƒ Pre and post-roll on VOD service ƒ In-Stream spots on website video clips ƒ Opening and closing billboards

VIRTUAL INVENTORY REPLICATION

Figure 4 – A Sample Advertiser-Specific Oscars Campaign

together. The system should enable easy scheduling for content discovery and should provide scheduling tools for oer management, enabling the scheduler to make a specific title available in as many program classifications and packages as possible.

The broadcast management system should take into account changes that take place in the linear service and how they might impact the nonlinear side, for instance, catch-up broadcasts on VOD. For a live event such as the Oscars, rights purchased for the linear event might be separate from the rights for the VOD catch-up. The broadcast management system automates the rules dictating the time window for the non-linear schedule as a function of the linear schedule. The system keeps both schedules synchronized in the event of a change in the live event.

Extending Sales and TraďŹƒc for Multiplatform Services

might be built around the programming grid for the Oscars. Within the sales product layer of the business management system, the traďŹƒc manager is able to define not only the type of ads for each service, but also metrics for determining audience reach targets.

In a nutshell, the sales product concept is a mechanism that focuses on the sales opportunity for one or more blocks of programming regardless of how it will be scheduled. With linear television, for instance, the network can sell the live Red Carpet show, Oscar ceremony, and fashion summary shows as a sales product, with

Media companies are looking to further maximize inventory value by augmenting mass-market campaigns with personalized advertising that connects with specific audiences. Business management systems should enable sales and traďŹƒc departments to oer advanced, addressable targeting packages as options for both linear and non-linear services, with modelling tools for optimizing projected revenues based on targeting inventory allocation choices.

As shown in Figure 5, virtual inventory replication oers an evolutionary path to campaign addressability in linear advertising. It enables sales departments to create an unlimited number of virtual replicates of the inventory and

Default

Men 24-39 Frequent Travellers

Women 24-39

Program part

Program part

Program part

Ad-1 Men 24-39

Ad-1 Men 24-39, Frequent Travellers

Ad-1 Women 24-39

Ad-1 Household

Ad-2 Men 24-39, Frequent Travellers

Ad-2 Women 24-39

Ad-2 Household

Ad-1 Household

Ad-1 Household

Ad-1 Women 24-39

Ad-3 Men 24-39, Frequent Travellers

Ad-3 Women 24-39

Program part

Program part

Program part

TAKING STOCK

THE SALES PRODUCT To accommodate multiplatform operations, broadcasters need an inventory management system that is capable of handling a wide variety of inventory types. Whereas inventory management has traditionally meant dealing with a broad variety of 30-second spot derivatives, media companies are now selling inventory across linear channels, VOD, the Internet, cinema, other out of home outlets, and print media - and they need to be able to combine these for the maximum benefit of their advertisers or agency customers. As shown in Figure 3, robust broadcast management systems provide this flexibility by creating inventory collections called ‘sales products’ that reflect the characteristics of each platform and media type. Rates and viewing predictions are applied and aggregated to sales products, which can be sold consistently with a common aggregated view for measurement and unified billing.

Figure 4 describes a sample ad campaign that

F

C S

Figure 5 – Virtual Inventory Replication

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TAKING STOCK associate each copy to specific audience targets.

Through proper integration with the ad delivery infrastructure in service provider networks, the virtual channel is played for its targeted audience.

This approach offers complete control to the sales and traffic department to turn targeting on and off and to offer advanced packages while keeping focus on wastage and revenue performance.

For non-linear services, both virtual inventory replication and just in time ad placement decisions would be advantageous. In fact, the demographic information that can be obtained from the set-top boxes of IPTV subscribers or viewers who download on-demand services enables extremely precise targeting. A single campaign might contain ads targeted to families, with different ads targeting young adults. Thus, the same ad space can be sold multiple times. As with linear advertising, the system provides tools for modelling different combinations of personalized vs. mass-market advertising to ensure maximum revenue potential. Since non-linear programming by definition is watched at the viewer’s discretion, the business management system can also determine whether time-sensitive ads will be appropriate for different services.

Business Analytics Centralized tools for business analytics are critical in a multiplatform broadcasting enterprise, offering the ability to measure business performance of each service, as well as the performance of various assets across all the platforms on which they are delivered.

Only business systems that understand the language of each platform and offer a centralized repository for the metadata of all assets can provide effective business analytics.

Multiplatform reporting and analysis tools offer the broadcaster powerful means of tracking costs against revenues to determine the profitability of a program or set of programs, feeding valuable

Define Package

Prepare and Transcode Media

Distribute Media

Plan Promo Campaign Across all Platforms

Produce Promotions

Establish Rights

Schedule Package • TV Schedule • Web Offers • Mobile Clips

metrics into the next program planning round.

Going back to the Oscars example, the network can determine how to allocate all live and prerecorded programs among the linear channels, Web streaming, and VOD services in accordance with the rights that were originally purchased.

In addition to acquisition, the network must factor in any additional items that contribute to the overall cost of the asset - for instance, addition of closed captions, down-converting HD content for an SD service, or the production and transcoding costs of re-formatting the material for multiple Web sites. These costs are all balanced against total revenue potential to determine what combination of delivery mechanisms will yield the most profit. Furthermore, the broadcaster will have a record of the program’s performance that will help make informed decisions about future Oscar broadcasts.

In addition to financial analysis, multiplatform broadcasters need tools for measuring key performance indicators (KPIs). Business analytics tools should indicate how well all programming meets KPIs across all platforms and territories, and also measure such non-monetary factors as production time to deliver content to a Web site, affecting operational efficiency.

Centralizing Business Workflows Whereas unified rights management, scheduling, sales and traffic management, and business analytics set the stage for a smooth transition to multiplatform operations, the glue that will hold everything together is an integrated and centralized mechanism for coordinating workflow. Such a system will create new levels of efficiency by facilitating a smooth exchange of information between departments, precisely synchronizing their activities while optimizing the allocation of resources.

Schedule Promos TV, Web, Mobile

Release Schedules

Reconcile and Bill

Negotiate Rights Clearances if Necessary

TAKING STOCK

Sell Package (Sponsorship)

Sell Package (Multi Platform Campaigns)

Book Campaigns

Schedule Campaigns • TV Spots • Web Spots • Mobile Spots

Media

Figure 6 – Integrating Workflows in a Multiplatform Operation

Programming

Advertising

Figure 6 illustrates how a broadcast management system might integrate all phases of a multiplatform programming and advertising campaign’s development from initial definition through to final reconciliation and billing, taking into account every aspect of the workflow including sales, media preparation, rights negotiations, and scheduling.

Managing change is one area in which centralized workflow adds great value. Take the example of the Oscars. If the linear program runs over its allotted time slot, the system will automatically notify the scheduler on the VOD service that a change has occurred. A centralized workflow engine can communicate the impact of schedule changes, media failures, or contract approvals. At any stage in the process, anyone in the operation can access the system to determine the rights of the program for a given platform, when the program has been scheduled by platform, and the content’s status in the workflow. In the event of a content failure for a program, the schedulers can be immediately notified so that they can rearrange the schedule.

Centralized workflow can also play an important role in maximizing revenue for a piece of content.

For instance, based on the rights profile for a new acquisition, the system can automatically trigger an indication to the content sales department that the distribution rights allow opportunities for sublicensing, DVD sales, or other means of monetizing the content.

Conclusion As media companies re-engineer their operations to pursue new opportunities springing from the growth of ‘broader-casting’ and ‘TV everywhere’, they are recognizing the importance of crossplatform management systems that can grow and shift with changing business requirements.

An integrated approach to broadcast business management unites processes and departments, which have traditionally been disconnected, by driving them from a single database and workflow engine. This unified, centralized strategy enables today’s media enterprise to manage traditional media services such as multi-channel linear TV alongside new media offerings.

In addition, effective broadcast business management optimizes multiplatform programming through centralized rights management, with scheduling tools that span all linear and nonlinear services. It enables flexible multiplatform campaign combinations, the integration of audience profile targeting and powerful business analytics tools. And finally, an integrated approach can create new levels of efficiency by centralizing business workflows across the entire media operation, in tight coordination with the business planning processes.

With these tools in place, the business management system delivers results that are truly transformational - turning a broadcast organization into a nimble, integrated operation that can not only adapt to unexpected programming changes, but also easily evolve its business model to keep pace with emerging media trends and opportunities.

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THE 3RD DIMENSION Stereoscopic production & exhibition

Sponsored by

www.3d-day.tv

Getting Machines To Watch 3D For You

By Mike Knee, Snell, UK

THE ADVANTAGES of automatic monitoring of multiple television channels are well known. There are just not enough eyeballs for human operators to see what is going on. With the advent of stereoscopic 3D in mainstream television production and distribution, the benefits of automatic monitoring are even greater, as 3D viewing is even less conducive to manual monitoring.

Introduction Stereoscopic 3D is now a well established and growing part of the television broadcasting scene. Viewers at home are happy to put on 3D glasses to enjoy a new dimension in their entertainment – or maybe they are lucky enough to have an autostereoscopic display.

Running a multi-channel TV broadcast installation brings new headaches when 3D is involved. Live monitoring of dozens of TV channels is difficult enough. Over the years several manufacturers have developed automated monitoring solutions covering a whole range of tasks of increasing complexity. Examples are: detecting loss of picture or sound, lip-sync measurement and programme verification using fingerprint technology, and estimating compression picture quality by looking at blocking artefacts.

With the advent of 3D, there is literally a new dimension of monitoring tasks, because we have to check not only the integrity of individual video signals but also the correct relationship between the left and right video signals in a stereo pair. In addition, manual monitoring of 3D is more difficult than 2D because the operator would need either to wear glasses or accept the limitations of autostereoscopic displays. For these reasons, there is a burgeoning interest and market in automatic monitoring of 3D television.

This paper first provides an overview of 3D monitoring problems. Subsequent sections deal with several of these problems in detail and discuss how they might be solved. We begin with low-level and relatively simple format detection tasks and move on to analysis of depth and disparity, particularly with a view to reducing eye strain problems. Finally, two interesting examples of more algorithmically challenging tasks are presented.

Throughout this paper, the term “3D” implies stereoscopic 3D, though some of the techniques discussed may also be applied to more advanced multiview 3D representations.

Overview of 3D Monitoring ANALYSIS AND CORRECTION This paper is about monitoring or analysis of 3D video. One of the purposes of automatic analysis is to provide information to enable correction of any problems encountered. The techniques for correction are beyond the scope of this paper, though it is important to point out that correction of an upstream problem may be necessary before monitoring of further aspects can be carried out.

THE 3RD DIMENSION

METADATA The correct use of metadata, for example to identify left and right channels or to signal how they are packed into a single container, can in theory remove the need for some analysis of signal essence. However, metadata for 3D is not yet fully standardized, and even when it is there will still be cases of incorrect usage, so there will always be a place for techniques that avoid the requirement for metadata. Of course, the results of measurements performed at any point in the processing chain may in their turn be passed on downstream as metadata.

FORMAT DETECTION The first task when faced with a single video signal carrying a stereoscopic pair is to identify the format by which the two channels are packed into one container. For some formats this is an easy task, but there are some problems when the granularity of the packing is finer. We shall deal with this problem in detail in the next main section of this paper.

MATCHING LEFT AND RIGHT IMAGES Having unpacked the signal into left and right channels, the next task is to check whether the two channels are correctly matched, particularly as regards timing, grey scale and colour balance. Grey scale and colour balance can be aligned using histogramming techniques. Relative timing can be measured using fingerprinting techniques similar to those used for lip-sync measurement. This subject is not dealt with in detail in this paper, but it is important to note that a timing mismatch will not only be detrimental to the 3D viewing experience but will also have an adverse effect on downstream analysis, particularly of 3D depth. Relative timing is thus a good example of the need to correct a problem before further analysis can reliably be performed.

DEPTH OR DISPARITY ANALYSIS A more algorithmically challenging analysis task is to measure the 3D depth across the picture, which is directly related, via screen size and resolution, to disparity or relative displacement between the left and right representations of objects in the scene. Horizontal disparity that is outside a certain range, as well as undue vertical disparity, are known to cause significant problems of eye strain for some viewers (1, 2). Disparity analysis is also important for checking the overall relative geometric alignment of the two images.

HIGHER LEVEL ANALYSIS Finally, we shall look at two examples of detection tasks which require a higher level of analysis. The first is deceptively simple to state: can we tell whether the left and right channels have been inadvertently swapped? The second is: can we tell whether the 3D pair has come from a simple 2D to 3D converter? Ultimately, 3D analysis can extend to detecting or measuring any process that has been carried out on 3D signals, either with a view to improving, modifying or reversing the process, or simply in order to report or record what has been done.

Format Detection There are many ways in which left and right signals may be packed into a single video channel. These include left-right or top-bottom juxtaposition (with or without reflection of one of the channels), line interleaved, column interleaved, checkerboard and frame interleaved formats. For the purposes of automatic detection, these formats may be classified into two groups.

Left/right and top/bottom formats are “loose packed” because the two pictures are physically quite separate. The remaining formats are “close packed” because corresponding left and right channel pixels are close together in space or time.

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THE 3RD DIMENSION LOOSE PACKING Loose packed formats are quite easy to detect. One way is to carry out a trial unpacking with an assumed format and then detect whether the two resulting images are sufficiently similar to be a stereoscopic pair. And if the two images turn out to be identical, we may conclude that a 2D image is being transported in a 3D container; this is a simple case of disparity estimation in which we look for zero disparity across the image. Figure 1 shows the left-right differences for a small area of a picture when each of four possible trial formats is used to unpack each of four possible actual formats. Where the correct format has been used, the left-right difference contains only edge information arising from disparity.

We can summarise the detection of loose-packed formats by saying that we exploit the relative similarity of the left and right images when compared with unrelated, distant parts of the picture.

of those outputs. The energy is clearly significantly lower when the correct unpacking format has been used.

We can summarise the detection of these close-packed formats by saying that we exploit the relative difference of the left and right images when compared with adjacent pixels or lines.

Temporal interleaving presents further difficulties because there is a higher chance that motion can be confused with left-right disparity. This could be overcome using motion compensated high-pass filtering, though care would have to be taken to use information from a single channel (albeit subsampled) for the purposes of motion estimation.

Depth Or Disparity Analysis One of the most important monitoring or analysis tasks in stereoscopic 3D is to measure the perceived depth of the various objects in the scene.

Perceived depth is a function of disparity (the horizontal distance between left and right representations of the object, measured in pixels), display size and resolution, and viewing distance. In the context of signal monitoring, we can only measure disparity and then relate it to perceived depth for different display configurations.

Disparity measurement is useful for many monitoring purposes, the most important being to provide a warning if the viewer is likely to suffer eye strain. Other reasons for measuring disparity are to verify that the sequence really is 3D rather than just being 2D in a 3D container, to detect and correct for global geometric distortions between the two channels, and to assist in the insertion of captions or subtitles at suitable depths (3).

EYE STRAIN Eye strain can occur in 3D viewing when disparity exceeds certain limits particularly if the eyes are being encouraged to diverge, an unnatural action.

The limits depend on display size but it is also useful to measure how often and for how long extreme disparity values are observed, and possibly to identify where in the scene the extremes are occurring.

CLOSE PACKING Close packed formats present more of a problem because the packed image looks increasingly like a single 2D image as the amount of 3D content in the scene decreases. So simply carrying out trial unpackings will often give a positive result, even if the wrong format is being tried. If there is significant 3D content, the detection becomes easier because a picture wrongly unpacked will look increasingly less like a pair of plausible images. The left half of Figure 2 shows a small part of the left image for some different combinations of packing and unpacking formats, and the right half shows the combined energy of horizontal and vertical high pass filtered versions

Figure 2. Detection of close packed formats

DISPARITY MEASUREMENT One class of disparity measurement methods involves performing a local correlation between the left and right images to generate a sparse disparity map. This approach is ideal for looking at the behaviour of different objects in the scene and for determining to what extent limits have been exceeded.

Other methods seek to generate a dense disparity map, in which every pixel has an associated disparity value, or possibly an occlusion indicator if there is no corresponding point in the other picture. This approach would be necessary if the measurement were being used to drive postprocessing, for example to change the effective camera spacing. Finally, for some applications an approximate, region-based approach to disparity measurement might be sufficient, for example to gather statistics about typical depth ranges used across a programme, or to drive a global spatial transform to correct for camera misalignment.

THE 3RD DIMENSION

Figure 1. Detection of loose packed formats

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THE 3RD DIMENSION VERTICAL DISPARITY The impression of depth is conveyed by introducing horizontal disparity. If there is any vertical disparity present, it should be detected and corrected, both because it can be very disturbing to the eyes, and because it can interfere with correct measurement of horizontal disparity. Of course, horizontal and vertical disparity can be measured jointly using conventional motion estimation methods. However, it would be preferable to exploit the constraints arising from stereoscopy. For example, we would expect vertical disparity to be a combination of two components: one directly related to horizontal disparity, such as might arise from a vertical displacement between the cameras, and one which fits a simple global model, such as might arise from different zoom factors or axis directions between the cameras.

DISPARITY MONITORING DISPLAY Figure 3 shows an example of a monitoring display that provides information about the distribution of disparity in various ways, including a left-right difference, a disparity histogram, an indication of vertical disparity and a colour coded warning of the possibility of eye strain from near and far objects for different display sizes. Such a tool makes good use of automatic analysis coupled with an operator’s skill in interpreting the results.

Higher Level Analysis In this final section we consider two examples of more challenging 3D analysis problems.

LEFT-RIGHT SWAP DETECTION Many people viewing 3D demonstrations have encountered the situation where the left and right images have been inadvertently swapped over.

The result is very disturbing, but it is not always obvious even to a human observer what is wrong. It would be useful to be able to detect the swap automatically, but this turns out to be quite a difficult problem. Measurement of a disparity map is a good starting point, but a correctly arranged 3D pair will typically exhibit both negative disparity values for objects intended to be seen in front of the screen and positive values for objects behind the screen. So a simple analysis of the histogram of disparity values, for example, will not be enough.

One approach that works with reasonable reliability is based on the spatial distribution of disparity values. We observe that for most scenes objects at the centre and bottom of the screen are generally nearer than objects at the top and sides. Figure 4 shows the spatial disparity distribution measured over a set of varied clips comprising 6000 frames.

A possible left-right detection algorithm is to correlate measured disparity with the below template. A positive correlation indicates that the assumed left-right configuration is correct, while a negative correlation indicates that it is reversed.

Figure 5 shows the results of such an algorithm on 38,000 frames of (correctly ordered) 3D material. The blue line shows a 10-frame rolling average and the red line a 1000-frame rolling average of correlation coefficients between measured disparity and the template.

Whenever the graph is positive, the algorithm is giving a correct result.

The last third of the material is professionally produced, well-behaved 3D material whereas the first two-thirds consists of test sequences of varying quality. Clearly, there is always some material that will defeat the algorithm, but on “normal” material it is quite reliable.

Figure 3. Example of a disparity monitoring display

DENSE DISPARITY MAPS Because of the difficulty and the usefulness of measuring dense disparity maps, there is some interest in standardising a format for dense disparity map metadata. For example, SMPTE has recently begun such an activity (4).

A potentially more reliable method of left-right detection is based on the observation that closer objects are expected to occlude objects that are further away. A dense disparity estimator will usually have some kind of confidence output which indicates whether a pixel or region in one view has no equivalent in the other view and is therefore an occluded background region.

As shown in Figure 6, we would expect occluded regions to extend to the left of transitions in the left-eye view and to the right in the right-eye view. The bottom part of the diagram shows where the transitions between foreground (green) and background (blue) are observed to be in relation to occlusions

THE 3RD DIMENSION

Figure 4. Spatial disparity distribution

Figure 5. Performance of left-right swap detection algorithm based on disparity distribution

Figure 6 Use of occlusions in left-right swap detection

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THE 3RD DIMENSION

Fingerprint

left image

Correlate

Temporal low pass filter

Fingerprint

right image

Time Align

Measure disparity map

Temporal high pass filter

Mean square value Decision logic

result

Spatial regonition

Figure 7. Block diagram of automatic 2D to 3D conversion detector

Reliable analysis of the local relationship between depth and occlusions may be employed for other high-level monitoring tasks, for example to provide a warning that captions might have been inserted at an inappropriate location or depth relative to the other objects in the scene.

2D TO 3D CONVERSION DETECTION Our final example concerns the automatic detection of automatic 2D to 3D conversion. Concern is sometimes expressed that, in the rush to deliver as much 3D content as possible, content providers may resort to the use of 2D to 3D conversion. There is a great deal of interest in this field and some examples of automatic conversion are impressive, but there remains a concern that over-use of simple conversion algorithms may undermine the appeal of 3DTV. For example, Sky in the UK “...has stated it will not accept any 2D to 3D conversions for any content submitted for Sky 3D” (5). It would therefore be desirable when monitoring 3D content to detect the possibility that a converter has been used.

One common technique in simple 2D to 3D conversion is the use of a fixed spatial disparity profile; for example the bottom and centre of the picture are made to appear closer than the top and sides, much as shown by Figure 4.

Another technique is to introduce delay between two versions of the same moving sequence to give an impression of depth. This can work because a 3D camera rig tracking across a static scene will in fact generate two streams separated by a delay which corresponds to the time taken for the camera to move by the eye spacing distance.

The algorithm illustrated in Figure 7 detects the use of either or both of these techniques, to give a warning that a 2D to 3D converter might have been used.

Fingerprints are calculated separately on the left and right input picture signals. These could be as simple as the average luminance value over each frame, an average over each of a few regions, or any measure which, when applied to correctly co-timed left and right signals, would be expected to be similar to each other.

A correlation process is then applied to the two fingerprint signals to produce an estimated temporal offset between the input channels. This estimated offset is applied to a temporal low pass filter which may, for example, be designed to detect piecewise constant inputs. The filtered temporal offset value is used to control a temporal alignment process on the left and right

images; this would be done by applying a delay to one or other of the two inputs.

A disparity map between the temporally aligned left and right images is then calculated, producing a number of disparity values across the picture.

A temporal high pass filter is applied to the disparity values, thereby looking for variation in time of the disparity observed in each part of the picture.

The mean square value, or other average energy value, of the high pass filter output is calculated. In parallel, a spatial regression process is applied to the disparity map to see if the map fits a fixed spatial model. A low mean square output from the temporal high pass filter, or a close correlation to a fixed spatial model, both provide evidence for a final decision that simple 2D to 3D conversion might have been performed.

With automatic detection such as this, one can envisage a game of “cat and mouse” whereby detection algorithms have to become ever more sophisticated in order to keep up with the increasing complexity of automatic 2D to 3D converters.

Conclusions In this paper we have described several techniques for the automatic monitoring of stereoscopic 3D video signals: format detection, disparity monitoring, left-right swap detection and automatic detection of the use of 2D to 3D conversion. We have shown that there is a great deal of scope to “get machines to watch 3D for us” so that humans can concentrate on delivering and watching 3D content.

REFERENCES 1. M.T.M. Lambooij, W.A. IJsselsteijn, I. Heynderickx, Visual discomfort in stereoscopic displays: a review, Proc. SPIE, Vol. 6490, 64900I, 2007.

2. L. Pockett et al. The impact of barrel distortion on perception of stereoscopic scenes.

See http://s3.amazonaws.com/publicationslist.org/data/jukka.hakkinen/ref-69/L_ Pockett_SID2010.pdf 3. R. Ostermann. 3D subtitling. Proc. IBC 2010.

4. P. Symes, SMPTE. What’s happening at a standards organization near you. See http:// provideocoalition.com/index.php/awilt/story/hpa_tech_retreat_2011_day_4/ 5. A. Pennington. Sky bans 2D to 3D conversions. TVB Europe, 19 March 2010, see http://www.tvbeurope.com/main-content/full/sky-bans-2d-to-3d-conversions ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to thank the Directors of Snell Ltd. for their permission to publish this paper, and his Snell R&D Algorithms team colleagues, particularly Dr Roberta Piroddi, for their valuable contributions, suggestions and support.

THE 3RD DIMENSION

(red) in the two views. This observation allows us to determine automatically, on a statistical basis, which view is the left-eye view and which is the righteye view. This approach is potentially more reliable than the method based on spatial disparity distribution, but it does depend on accurate dense disparity estimation including reliable location of occlusions.

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THE 3RD DIMENSION

LG CINEMA in International 3D Society Awards THE INTERNATIONAL 3D SOCIETY honoured LG Electronics with a 2012 3D Technology Award for the company’s innovative, consumerfriendly approach to 3D TV called CINEMA 3D. “The Awards Committee considered 3D technologies with an eye on those that are genuine advances to the state of the art. We want to shine a spotlight on worthy products like LG CINEMA 3D TV that make a contribution to professional and consumer applications,” said Ray Zone, 3D expert and member of the Society’s Awards Committee.

At its awards gala in Hollywood, the International 3D Society presented the 3D Technology Award to LG, stating, “The fabulous LG CINEMA 3D TV delivers a great viewing experience with a bright picture, wide viewing angles and lightweight 3D eyewear. Powered

by FPR technology, LG CINEMA 3D TV is a fast growing player in the dynamic 3D business.”

LG CINEMA 3D TVs use similar 3D technology

as movie theatres. LG’s FPR screen technology gives viewers the 3D effect without the flicker of active-shutter glasses. The inexpensive glasses make CINEMA 3D the ideal choice for families and friends who want to watch together.

Due to its success in 2011, Fishler said CINEMA 3D technology has expanded to 25 LED models this year. New 2012 features – such as 3D Depth Control and 3D Sound Zooming – further enhance the 3D experience.

Others recipients of International 3D Society awards included:

Using a common single control ensures that any adjustments made have an identical effect on both channels of a stereoscopic 3D pair.

An integral legaliser automatically ensures that adjustments remain within industry-agreed signal levels. Default legalisation settings are to EBU Technical Recommendation R103-2000.

THE 3RD DIMENSION

3D video legaliser, the LE-3D, was developed in co-operation with one of London’s leading broadcast production, post-production and distribution facilities. It allows legalisation parameters for left and right video channels to be adjusted from a single operating panel to ensure precise compliance. User-adjustable settings include RGB, YUV or composite mode selection, clipping level, soft clipping knee, luma and chroma gain, black level, and hue rotation.

- XPAND

GoPro – “3D Hero System” HDMI Licensing, LLC – “Standardization of 3D Formats over the HDMI Interface.

Specification Version 1.4a”

Panasonic – “AG-3DA1 Twin Lens 3D Camera Recorder”

Peter Wimmer – “Stereoscopic Player”

Sony – “HDR-TD10 3D Handycam Camcorder”

Silicon Imaging – “SI-3D Stereo Digital Cinema Camera System”

Blu-ray Disc Association – “Blu-ray 3D Specification”

Cameron/Pace Group – “Shadow D Technology and the Shadow D System”

Fuji – “Fujifilm Finepix Real 3D W3 Digital Camera”

Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative – “FHD3DGI Standard”

Visit www.international3dsociety.com and www.lg.com

Sony – “Playstation 3” Vizio – “Theater 3D” YouTube – “3D Channel”

3D Production Analysis Monitor

Alternative legalisation parameters can be set and stored. The legaliser is equivalent to a stand-alone Eyeheight RGB legaliser including overshoot suppression and six user memories.

Eyeheight’s CC-3D colour corrector is capable of working at high definition, intermediate definition and standard definition.

Housed in a 1 rack-unit chassis, the CC-3D can be operated from an Eyeheight FP-9C colour corrector control panel. A single control panel can also be networked via CAT5 (Ethernet) cable to drive multiple CC-3D systems.

Visit www.eyeheight.com

3D Video Legaliser

EYEHEIGHT’S DUAL-CHANNEL stereoscopic

- Sony

Stereoscopic Colour Corrector

EYEHEIGHT HAS ANNOUNCED a multi-rate stereoscopic 3D colour corrector. Designed for use in broadcast production, post-production and playout centres, the Eyeheight CC-3D allows both channels of a stereoscopic 3D pair to be corrected under common single control.

- Panasonic - Samsung

JVC PROFESSIONAL HAS INTRODUCED the DT-3D24G1U 24-inch HD 3D LCD production analysis LCD monitor. The latest addition to JVC’s Vérité G Series product line, the compact monitor supports virtually any 3D camera setting, with advanced measurement tools to confirm that left and right images have been properly aligned.

With its X-Pol circular polarizing system, the DT3D24G1U displays 3D images that can be seen using inexpensive polarized (passive) glasses, which avoids potential flicker and power issues associated with active shutter glasses. With no need to synchronize glasses with the display, the monitor is ideal for viewing environments where multiple displays are used. The DT-3D24G1U can be battery powered, making it ideal for location shoots.

Based on Eyeheight’s geNETics platform, the LE-3D has two independent HD-SDI inputs and outputs. Processing is to full 10-bit depth throughout. Multiple LE-3D modules can be accommodated in a 1 RU 19 inch chassis for operation under local control from an Eyeheight FP-9 generic control panel.

Compatible with side-by-side and line-by-line 3D formats, the DT-3D24G1U offers a number of tools for checking 3D signals, including a 3D cursor that enables binocular disparity to be easily adjusted for optimized 3D effects. Other 3D features include unique 3D measurement markers for left and right channels, mirror/ rotation of one channel for dual-camera rigs, split left/right signals for fine tuning camera positions, iris and white balance, and left/right sequential display to allow viewing without 3D glasses.

Visit www.eyeheight.com

Visit http://pro.jvc.com and www.gencom.com

Six user memories are available to store group settings. EBU 2003 standard legalisation presets are also provided.

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ACQUISITION www.content-technology.com/acquisition

Macquarie University Teaches a Lesson with ARRI RECENTLY A MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY research infrastructure grant was awarded to the Department of Media, Music, Communication and Cultural Studies (MMCCS) within the Faculty of Arts at the university, the purpose of which was to purchase a digital cinema camera to support high quality research in the area of screen production. The camera purchased was the ARRI ALEXA. MMCCS’ Marcus Eckermann explained, “The MMCCS grant application team, lead by Professor Kathryn Millard and David Mitchell (Production Facilities Manager), conducted an extensive evaluation of the ALEXA and its competitors before placing the order with ARRI. The training provided

by ARRI included a comprehensive presentation of the camera during the evaluation stage, followed up with an in-depth training session with the kit upon delivery. The initial presentation proved invaluable when working out the best configuration of the kit for the department’s varied projects and the grant budget.”

With the evaluation and assessment process complete Macquarie University purchased an ALEXA SxS camera set which, according to Eckermann, was chosen for a wide variety of reasons. “Our criteria included cinematic image quality; natural colours; the need for a flexible lightweight production camera; dynamic range and sensitivity; fast and uncomplicated ProRes post-production workflow; ARRI’s excellent reliability and support; and ease of use.”

The ARRI kit is a resource for staff research projects and Higher Degree Research projects within the MMCCS department. These projects have

feature documentaries and dramas. The kit is primarily used on projects by the department’s technical staff and camera teams lead by experienced cinematographers familiar with ARRI equipment.

Visit www.arri.com.au

Videocraft Equips Celebrity Cattle Race

Oz Parliament Selects Fujinon Lenses

RECENTLY EYEWORKS DENMARK approached Videocraft to supply cam-

THE AUSTRALIAN DEPARTMENT of Parliamentary Services (DPS), the service department for Australia’s national parliament, recently looked to replace the production television cameras they used for the televised coverage of parliamentary proceedings and in the process, chose Fujinon as the HD lenses to accompany the new cameras.

eras and audio equipment for one of the most challenging reality TV shows created to date - Celebrity Cattle Race - shot in Kununurra, Western Australia.

Videocraft Rentals Manager Nick Gleeson explained, “Eyeworks Denmark is a major player in Scandinavia with a versatile range of programmes varying from in-house developed formats such as Celebrity Cattle Race to locally adapted international hits including The Biggest Loser. Celebrity Cattle Race is a show where both celebrities and cattle get marked for life. It’s based around removing 12 celebrities from their usual hangouts in the inner city and placing them in the wild to drive a flock of cattle across treacherous terrain.”

Eyeworks Denmark Technical Manager Steffen Røes approached Videocraft with a very strict equipment list and a request for only the best possible kit.

Gleeson continued, “Due to the size and scope of Celebrity Cattle Race we were in discussions with Steffen for six months before the deal was finalised.

We then supplied Eyeworks with Sony XDCAM HD700 cameras, Sony HVRZ7P cameras, GoPro Hero cameras and an audio sound system. There was a considerable amount of logistics to overcome and a good deal of research to make sure the best kit for the job was supplied on budget and on time.”

Once the deal was agreed Røes flew over from Copenhagen to Sydney for equipment testing at Videocraft before the kit was freighted to Kununurra, Western Australia.

ACQUISITION

a range of budgets, and include music videos, workshops, and high-end

Røes said, “Quite frankly the reason Videocraft got this deal is that they were the most professional and enthusiastic company by far during the tender process. Nick Gleeson was in constant contact and came up with several ways to make the shoot more efficient and cost effective where the equipment was concerned. As our entire crew flew in from Denmark we had to be sure our equipment supplier was the best and always on the ball. I’m pleased to say Videocraft were that and more.”

Visit www.eyeworks.tv and www.videocraft.com.au

Lawrie Hitchens from Fujinon Broadcast and CCTV helped facilitate the deal explaining, “DPS was replacing their production television cameras used for the televised coverage of parliamentary proceedings. Their fleet of cameras were ageing and the technology refresh also provided an opportunity to future proof the systems by making them HD capable.”

In total DPS replaced seven independent multi-camera control systems consisting of 42 cameras and lenses.

Hitchens continued, “DPS’ lens requirements were based on a set of functional specifications as defined in their Request For Tender (RFT). These were defined on the basis of equivalent lenses that were already in service.

When all available lenses were evaluated DPS chose the Fujinon XA66:1, HA23:1 and HA13:1 as those that came closest to meeting the functional specs as set out in their RFT.”

Y

Y

A

At Australia’s Parliament House, DPS uses the lenses in three chambers, four committee rooms, a television studio, at press conferences and special events, and for ENG work used for post-production.

Hitchens added, “The lenses are used in many different shots that include those broadcast by the media bureau and parliament chamber proceedings. I’m delighted to say the lenses and associated kit have performed very well in all environments. In order to win this most prestigious deal Fujinon had to meet the requirements that were put to market.”

Visit www.fujifilm.com.au

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ACQUISITION

F65 Digital Cinematography Camera

By Philip Nottle, Product Manager (CineAlta) Professional Solutions Asia Pacific, Sony Electronics Asia Pacific

the lens specifications stay the same from one to 120 frames. You don’t lose field of view.

The aspect ratio of the CMOS sensor on the F65 camera is 17:9. Therefore the output signal is 4096 x 2160. If we compare that to 2K which is 2048 x 1080, we see it’s a true doubling of a true 2K. All CMOS sensors need a colour filter array because they are all a single sensor. Traditionally that has been a Bayer filter. We have a layout on the sensor where one photosite is blue the next green, etc (figure 2).

When we read out the data, we have to go through an algorithm to invent the extra ones that are missing. Various assumptions are made that something the same colour should perhaps not have much detail in it and so on. So we end up with less pixels and less resolution in the green. We get false colour occurring because of interpolation (figure 3).

To eliminate those problems it is necessary to put in an optical low pass filter which in some ways spoils the whole idea of going for 4K. We’re going to reduce our resolution coming in, in order to get rid of problems, so we’re making a softer image before we even start to capture it.

THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY has been looking for digital acquisition tools that deliver excellent resolution, high dynamic range and true colour reproduction, at least equivalent to 35mm film. In addition, if we’re looking at digital acquisition we need to have an open workflow platform not bound by proprietary software or file structure, and also hopefully it is affordable.

TO MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS Sony has introduced the F65 camera system, which can deliver HD, 2K, true 4K and beyond. Why should we bother with 4K, what is the big deal with 4K? 4K is where the industry is moving in the US. Here in Australia, yes, we don’t have much in the way of 4K cinemas. However, in the US there are over 10,000 installed and more to come.

ACQUISITION

The number of 4K productions in Hollywood is increasing. The other thing is that if you actually capture in 4K and then down-res to 2K the picture has a much better look to it. Also if you want to resize the picture or want to reframe it - because you’ve shot in 4K, you actually don’t need all of that. Bring it back down, zoom in to sections of the picture, you’ve got the resolution there to be able to carry that off and then mix that in with 2K or HD. So, there are those options that are available.

The F65 has an ultra-high density CMOS sensor, wide dynamic range, high sensitivity, very good signal to noise and is capable of high frame rates.

The sensor is a 20 megapixel 8K sensor. The sensor output is capable of being rendered up to 8K. Capturing a wider colour gamut than HDTV or print film, the F65 has the widest colour space currently available (figure 1). Admittedly it is not as good as what the human eye can see, but we are challenging the boundary. So from a digital

acquisition point of view, yes we can actually equal if not better 35mm film.

For example, with this is original image (figure 4), if we don’t filter it we end up with these colour artifacts. It looks worse on ripples on water, they just throw rainbows everywhere. To solve this problem, we have little effect with interpolation but using an optical pre-filter solves the artifacts.

If we look at the colour image that has been filtered (figure 5) we can see the issue has been resolved, but if we zoom in on the image we see blurring and jagged edges along the diagonals with some colour artifacts (figure 6). The original has clean diagonals and we’ve got detail. So if we don’t have to do that to capture a 4K image, we’re going to start out with a better looking picture to begin with. Anything that’s got a repeating pattern to it is going to have issues with these artifacts.

The frame rate of the F65 is currently up to 60FPS but a future free software upgrade will enable the camera to operate at any frame rate from 1FPS up to 120FPS in 1 frame increments at 4K resolution.

At the higher frame rates the F65 doesn’t have a reduced aperture when it runs at 4K. Therefore all

How is this achieved? Traditional Bayer has a square pattern to it (figure 7). With the F65, what Sony have done is rotate the pixels by 45 degrees and rather than use a Bayer demosaicing process it uses the quincunx method. What this means is that you can actually pull more resolution out of that sensor than you can out of a traditional Bayer. This means we end up with true 4K in all directions for green, including the diagonal, and in blue and red we’ve got full 4K vertical and horizontal. Not quite in the diagonal. But if we compare that with 4K Bayer, here we’ve only got 4K vertical and horizontal in the green channel, and we’re only running at 2K for red and blue,

Figure 1

Figure 2

What does this mean for the F65? It can do HD, 2K, true 4K and beyond. It has wider colour gamut than film. Its dynamic range is 14 stops measured photometrically. The sensitivity is 800EI as its base rating. The sensitivity can be adjusted from 200EI up to 3200EI.

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ACQUISITION

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

compared to the ultra-high density sensor used with the F65.

So if we take the F65 (figure 9), our normal 2K HD picture will look like this. Now if we add into that, we’ll forget about 8K, there’s our 4K camera.

This is our transfer function, so we’ve got a lot of area under here. Now when we down-sample it, our down-conversion filter comes in at this point, we end up with a final output that looks like this.

So we’ve increased our sharpness in areas like texture etc. I f there is not a need to use a true 4K at the

moment, the down-converted 2K is still a much sharper, better image than the standard 2K cameras that are out there. And it will be seen in the detail, in fabrics, in walls, anything like that.

We record all this data onto the SR-R4 recorder which is docked on the back of the F65 camera.

This recorder uses Sony’s new SRMemory product.

These are available in size from 256GB up to 1TB. They come in three grades of performance; S15, S25 and S55. The S55 means it is capable of a sustained minimum data transfer rate of 5.5 gigabits per second.

This is independent of how full that memory

ACQUISITION

We will now examine picture sharpness and modulation transfer function (figure 8). Otto Schade Snr of the RCA Research Labs stated that “Perceived picture sharpness is proportional to the square of the area under the MTF curve”.

When we look at Contrast Level versus Picture Definition we see that edge sharpness occupies the lower frequencies while image texture is around the 27% - 50% point of the MTF. This region determines the amount of detail and texture reproduced of fabrics, surfaces, skin

tones, facial features etc. The resolving power is where you just run out of the ability to see what is really there. (see Figure 10)

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ACQUISITION

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

device gets and how many times it has been used, it is always able to achieve 5.5 gigabits per second, sustained. This is essential when trying to record 4K at full resolution up to 120 frames per second. SRMemory has been designed to handle 16-bit linear RAW recording and is designed to tie in with new Academy IIF-ACES workflow, which it is implementing as the next generation workflow for cinema.

The SR-R4 recorder only docks to the F65 camera.

At this stage, if you want an HD workflow, you would either have to down-res 4K RAW in postproduction or record from the monitor output to an external HD recorder. A software upgrade due out around NAB2012 will enable the SR-R4 to record HD Simple Studio Profile (SStP) which is the same as the HDCAM-SR file format. Again this is a free software upgrade. The hardware is complete.

ACQUISITION

One of the main features of the camera is the option for a built-in rotary shutter – the F65RS version. This is to correct for the common CMOS artefact known as the “Jello Effect” where verticals on moving objects (or due to a fast pan) slope off the vertical. Rotating objects are also distorted because of this issue. All CMOS sensors suffer from the issue due to the use of a rolling shutter. The way to correct this is to have a mechanical shutter that enables read out of all the information from the CMOS sensor before you give it any more information. The mechanical shutter for the F65 goes from 11.4 to 180 degrees and it includes four built-in ND filters plus clear; 0.9, 1.2, 1.5 and 1.8.

There is a separate IR corrected filter.

By using an optional adapter in one of the USB ports, the F65 gains Wi-Fi capability. This enables operators to monitor camera settings and alter them using either an iPad or Android Tablet.

Everything the camera assistant needs will be able to be controlled from the main page of the tablet.

If there is a need to access all the menus to select

specific functions, then that is easily achieved.

Another view that is possible with the tablet is the flow diagram of the output and monitoring.

This shows the monitor LUT and what monitoring functions are selected, and what’s being fed to your storage device. It’s just a simple flow diagram so you know at a glance what you have switched in and out.

For both the monitor output and the viewfinder output it is possible to do a x2 and x4 magnification to be able to go right in to get accurate focus. The magnified image can be moved to any one of nine points around the screen by using one of the assignable buttons.

The monitor output and viewfinder can use standard LUTs or you can design your own LUTs and load them to the camera. Any LUT can be easily selected from the simple menu on the side of the camera.

With a 4K workflow it is essential that it is an open format, IT platform integrated and file based workflow. The reason we’ve gone for a RAW workflow is because it uses the full range of contrast, resolution and colour. The file size is smaller than uncompressed RGB. It is equivalent to a digital negative. It is possible to render multiple resolutions from the 16-bit RAW file, such as HD, 2K cinema, 4K cinema, ultra-definition TV (either 3840 x 2160 or 7680 x 4320 at 60 FPS).

The IIF-ACES project gives total colour management between film, digital cameras and visual effects elements. The F65 is designed with this workflow in mind. It uses a 16-bit half-float OpenEXR file. From the ACES file you can go to a film out, or go out through to digital projection, or even a HDTV output if required. The file that’s archived is the ACES file. This is where the Academy is heading because they’re finding the 10-bit and 12-bit Cineon does not have the colour

space and bit depth to cope with the needs of future cinematography, hence the move to 16-bit half-float.

There are a couple of RAW rendering options. The simplest one is called F65 RAW Viewer. This is a free application that will be available for both MAC and Windows platforms. The main option is a RAW software development kit for DI system vendors, which gives direct access to the RAW data.

Basically the whole idea is to acquire in RAW, clone it and create an extra copy if necessary for safety’s sake. This cloning might even be to the point of just using the SR-PC4 Data Transfer Unit and hooking in an external drive to save the data onto a couple of external drives for safety. Perform a transcode to send a feed to VFX and to obtain a suitable output for dailies screening. The RAW data is then ingested into post-production where it is conformed, graded and finished. There are products from third parties such as ColorFront, Blackmagicdesign, FilmLight and YoYotta that provide solutions for both off-set and on-set.

The SR-PC4 is an onset data transfer unit. It can do fast ingest over 10GB Ethernet with an option board, or a direct copy to a shuttle drive via an e-SATA option board. There is an HDSDI output for monitoring the RAW data. It decodes the RAW, which can be viewed in real-time. This is a free software upgrade coming later this year. The clip list can be viewed via the SR-PC4’s built-in web page accessed by a browser. The selected RAW or SStP files can be sent through to the network server.

Alternatively the data can be backed-up onto an e-SATA shuttle drive.

Through use of SRMemory, the F65 system delivers a highly flexible workflow that can be adapted to all levels of film and television production.

Visit pro.sony.com.au

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ACQUISITION

ACQUISITION

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www.content-technology.com/sportscasting

Ethernet-Based Live Television Production

The Case for Ethernet as the Common Interconnection Medium

IN THE NEAR FUTURE, SAYS DAN FLETT, TV broadcast engineers will spend less time plugging in cables and will be able to build powerful broadcast facilities far more quickly and cheaply. Ethernet is poised to become the backbone of the live TV production industry. Live television broadcasts have for decades been produced using the circuit-switched method, but recent networking advances have enhanced Ethernet to the point where packet-switching can reliably process and deliver multiple uncompressed, high-definition television signals. By moving to near-commodity Ethernet-based technologies, the TV industry stands to make significant cost savings over currently used switching and distribution equipment.

The Status Quo – Circuit Switching Live multicamera production still generally uses baseband, one-signal-per-cable circuit-switching.

Every cable is guaranteed to be able to deliver one full-bandwidth video signal without dropouts or delay. In live television there is very little tolerance of latency in video signals. Any live video signal that has been delayed by 20ms or more is considered to be “tainted” and out of sync with the rest of the system. Circuit-switched systems can have latencies of 80μs or lower from camera to facility output. Production crew are accustomed to this low level of latency because - by definition - the program is being produced in real time.

Traditionally, the television industry has rightly viewed Ethernet as a medium unable to deliver live television signals. Ethernet is a packetswitching network: information transmitted

is broken up into “packets” and sent over the network. Ethernet will drop packets to maintain traffic flow if switches become congested, but dropping and retransmitting of packets is unsuitable for live video streams.

COMPARISON OF BANDWIDTH CHANGES OVER TIME Until recently, the bandwidth of a single uncompressed video link greatly exceeded the capacity of even high-end Ethernet standards.

The most-used Standard Definition digital video standard started at 270 Mbit/s in 1993. 1080i HD video appeared in 1998 using 1485 Mbit/s, and 1080p HD video appeared in 2006 using 2970 Mbit/s[1][2]. The first Ethernet standard in 1990 had a capacity of 10 Mbit/s. Successive standards have appeared approximately every 5 years since then, each increasing the capacity by a factor of ten[3]. The most recent standard, released in 2010, has a capacity of 100 Gbps.

100000 10000

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Mbps

VIDEO ETHERNET

1000 100 10 1 1989

1994

1999

Year Figure 1 – Digital Video vs Ethernet Link Bandwidth over time

2004

2009

Ethernet now has the capacity to carry multiple uncompressed video streams. 100Gbit Ethernet (100GbE) could carry 33 1080p or 67 1080i uncompressed High Definition streams.

However, circuit-switching is ideally suited to live multicamera production. A packet-switched approach would need to provide the same reliability and low latency.

WHY USE UNCOMPRESSED VIDEO? HD video is often compressed from 1.5Gbps to 100MBit/s (or less) in broadcast environments for recording or for contribution purposes, but compressing video streams for live switching would be problematic. Latency is the main issue; even the most efficient video compression and decompression hardware introduces 1 frame of delay. Also, using compression on every input and output of every device would be expensive and overly complex.

WHY USE PACKET SWITCHING? As the scale of television outside broadcasts increases, the amount of cabling also increases.

Most video sources need to be distributed via individual cables to multiple destinations: video monitors, recorders and switchers. Large outside broadcast facilities are temporary installations, spread out across multiple trucks and/or site sheds. The central area where most cables are connected can have over 500 connectors in close proximity. Clearly, this situation would benefit from some sort of multiplexing technology.

THE BIG HURDLE: LATENCY AND SYNCHRONISATION Ethernet switches are becoming much faster at switching due to their increasing bandwidth capacity. In 2000, the best Gigabit Ethernet switches had latencies of between 15-30ms for large packets[4]; up to and over the duration of a single frame of video. In early 2010, a review of 10Gbit Ethernet switches[5] showed that the slowest switching latency was 45μs, and most switches are much faster than this. One line of HD video is 15μs in duration, so the slowest enterprise switches introduce about 3 lines of delay, and most much less than 1 line. 100GbE switches should be an order of magnitude faster again.

By comparison, a typical device used in circuit-switched video for splitting signals for distribution and monitoring, a reclocking distribution amplifier, introduces a delay of about 3.8ns[6] in HD video. A typical video production mixer has an autotiming window of 4-20μs[7].

The start of each frame of video from each video source must be received within 4 to 20μs of a frame from any other video source in the

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In a hypothetical packet-switched TV outside broadcast, a live camera feed might traverse 3 Ethernet switches before reaching the Vision Mixing Unit (VMU). If each switch has a maximum latency of 1.5μs, the total delay for that camera would be 4.5μs; about a third of an HD line. For a television engineer this is quite a big delay, but is manageable if most other video sources have a similar delay and if they can accurately synchronise their genlock offset to compensate.

IEEE Audio/Video Bridging Task Group The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has created the Audio Video Bridging (AVB) Task Group to work on standards to “provide the specifications that will allow time-synchronized low latency streaming services through IEEE 802 networks”[8]. The standards developed by the AVB Task Group address the particular deficiencies of packet-switched networks to reliably carry television signals. It is important to understand that traditional (i.e. non-AVB) Ethernet hardware does not support the enhancements of AVB. Therefore, to utilise the AVB enhancements, all signal paths carrying audio and video data must be routed over AVBenabled networking equipment. However, from a network engineering point-of-view AVB is largely plug-and-play. The networking intelligence is in the protocols and the hardware.

BOUNDED LATENCY The IEEE 802.1Qav AVB standard provides “bounded latency” – a maximum latency guarantee. For 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) it is about 25μs per link[9]. For 10 GbE it should be 10 times faster – about 2.5μs.

GENLOCK OVER THE NETWORK Another AVB standard is IEEE 802.1AS: Timing and Synchronization for Time-Sensitive Applications[10]. This provides the protocols for Ethernet infrastructure to maintain accurate and fixed genlock for television equipment. Control of the genlock offset is achievable using automatic backtiming and presentation timestamp methods.

RESERVED BANDWIDTH On a packet-switched network, live video and audio streams need delivery and bandwidth guarantees. The AVB Task Group has devised a standard called IEEE 802.1Qat: Stream Reservation Protocol (SRP)[11] to facilitate this.

SRP enables AVB-capable-Ethernet networks to reserve end-to-end paths for audio, video or control data streams. The users of the network can freely use the network for mixed purposes and be assured that the television streams will be undisturbed. SRP also ensures that it is impossible to saturate the network path from

source to destination with reserved streams.

Other Networking Technologies for PacketSwitched Television ENCAPSULATION OF DIGITAL VIDEO Existing SMPTE standards covering Serial Digital Interface (SDI) video specify dedicated cabling for each signal. These data streams do not tolerate packet loss, and are not designed with Ethernet or Internet Protocol in mind.

The Video Services Forum is designing a standard for encapsulation of SDI called High Bit Rate Media Transport (HBRMT)[12]. HBRMT adds Forward Error Correction (FEC) bits to the data, enabling the SDI stream to tolerate packet loss.

HBRMT has been designed for contributionstyle video links across Wide Area Networks not necessarily under the control of the broadcaster.

Streams always kept inside a live production facility should be able to be transported with zero FEC, where error-correction shouldn’t be needed.

INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION 6 Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) is the replacement for IPv4, the Internet addressing system in current use. The benefits of using IPv6 include a much larger address space than IPv4[13]. IPv6 has so much address space a network administrator never needs to centrally allocate addresses in order to conserve address space. Under IPv6 engineers in the television industry should get used to dynamic IP addressing and not ever having to worry about static addressing.

IPv6 LANs can be merged and split with relative ease. In the broadcast industry, this would mean two or more OB trucks could merge their networks for a job, auto-discover and share their facilities, then go their separate ways for the next job. Also, IPv6 supports IP multicasting by default. Just as video routers or video distribution amplifiers split video signals for distribution; multicasting allows Ethernet switches to split video streams.

Impact on Broadcast Systems CAMERAS Current technology has cameras connected to Camera Control Units (CCUs) by a single triax cable of up to approx 2km or by a SMPTE 311M hybrid single-mode-fibre/copper cable. Ethernet-based cameras can continue to use SMPTE fibre/copper cables, but they will simply be used as 10Gbps Ethernet fibre cables. The camera head connects to a switch using the 10GBASE-LR fibre interface, with power supplied on the copper pairs.

In an Ethernet-based system, the CCU is redundant.

Ethernet itself becomes the multiplexing medium.

Camera video outputs, return feeds and control signals are obtained via the network, to and from the camera head directly.

TELEVISION SIGNAL ROUTERS AND DISTRIBUTION AMPLIFIERS These devices are redundant in an Ethernetbased facility. The Ethernet switches and

network(s) themselves act as a distributed Vision/Audio/Data router. Multicasting allows the Ethernet switch to split live video streams as needed, in the most efficient manner.

VISION MIXERS VMUs should remain largely unchanged in appearance and operation in an Ethernet-based facility. The main difference will be the number of connectors on the rear of the main processing frame. A VMU could process 33 1080p inputs and outputs over a single 100 GbE link. More 100GbE links could be added and bonded to increase bandwidth.

VIDEO REPLAY DEVICES These devices constantly record multiple video feeds, compressing them to hard drive storage for instant replay. In an all-Ethernet world, replay devices would feature similar changes to Vision Mixers. The forest of connectors on the rear panel is replaced with a single 100GbE connector. All data into and out of the device is multiplexed over this connector, including uncompressed and compressed video, metadata and control data.

MULTIVIEWERS AND SIGNAL PROCESSING GEAR Multiviewers take multiple video signals and arrange them into a single-screen layout for monitoring. Signal Processors are devices such as Aspect Ratio Converters, Colour Correctors and Up/Down Converters. An Ethernet-based equipment frame could hold up to 30 processing cards, with all signal I/O multiplexed via a single 100GbE connector. A multiviewer frame would have two 100GbE connectors bonded together as a single interface to allow for a total of 66 1080p video signals as inputs.

MONITORS Vision monitors can be pure Ethernet devices, with 10GbE ports to enable them to display at least one 1080p uncompressed signal. Monitors designed for operator positions could feature multitouch screens and mobile-style operating systems. These onboard OSes would be used as “router” panels, switching video sources to the monitor and to recording devices. The monitor OS could also host “apps” to assist with the job role.

A vision monitor with access to a data network can receive telemetry and overlay this data on the relevant vision. For instance a “CCU” operator could overlay camera parameters over the vision for that camera.

CABLING TOPOLOGY With Ethernet, cameras, vision and audio monitors, microphones, communications feeds, control and telemetry data can all use the same cabling and same network switches. All broadcast facilities would make use of a core switch with predominantly 100Gbps ports. These ports would connect to prime production equipment such as vision mixers, video replay servers, multiviewers, and video processing frames.

Ethernet allows for automatic use of redundant paths, and the routing around the failure of a redundant path through the Spanning Tree Continued page 34 XX

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mixer to ensure glitch-free switching between video sources. To achieve this, the video sources must be synchronised. The interconnection medium must guarantee a level of stability and predictability (or jitter) in the synchronization and video signal latencies. And the overall latencies need to be in the low-microsecond range, if not the nanosecond range.

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Inside Running: A Tour of Global Television’s HD4 Commentary: Marc Segar

RECORD/REPLAY (EVS) HD 4 is wired for 8 x EVS machines and 2 x VTR’s, or any combination that physically fits, its the space limitation over technical that led us to 8 machines, however - again this is 95% of projects we cover today. We have basically copied the layout and functionality from HD 1, again - it works so well that its just to hard to improve upon. Each operator has discreet program and preview monitoring, and an 8 channel audio bridge.

We are also ready for the next generation of EVS products with X-Hub 3 and dual networking to each position

Global Television’s HD4 features a shell built to coach standards

by UK-based company A. Smith Gt Bentley Limited (AGSB) and was fitted out in Sydney under the management of Global Television’s Engineering Services team, which designed the unit from the ground up.

HD4 was 18 months in development and commissioning. Its design includes: + An ultra-fast, 10-minute deployment via unitwide computer control + Extensive use of LED interior lighting + Water-cooling that provides 20-30 per cent more energy efficiency + Further improvements to OH&S standards in rack design and control benches

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Similar to HD1 and HD2, HD4 boasts doubleexpanding sides and normally accommodates 30 seated personnel, with a capacity for up to 35 production and technical staff.

According to Marc Segar, Global Television’s General Manager NSW, “We were lucky enough to be able to take advantage of the current exchange rate and have this trailer made in the UK by leading coachbuilders - Smiths. Overall, it was a pleasurable experience and the trailer was delivered on time, to spec and more importantly on budget.

“There are so many nice features that it’s impossible to list them, like clothes hooks, lined cupboards for storage and EVS panels, the extensive touchscreen controland more. The

truck can be deployed automatically, using the touchscreen, the wireless controller, or even an iPad!There are few moving panels and no removable panels making it unbelievably fast to deploy and pack-up Hot on the heels of HD4, the Global Television team have started 2012 by launching their newest High Definition (HD) van, HD6.

HD6 made its debut on the new Nine Network program, The Voice, from Sydney’s FOX Studios.

A single-side semi-trailer that expands to 4.6m, HD6 can seat up to 31 operators. HD6 permits parking flexibility in tight spots while offering large seating capacity.

HD6 features a Sony MVS7000X, 3G & 3D capable vision mixer; Virtual Studio Manager (VSM); Calrec Artemis 40 fader audio desk with Bluefin 5:1 surround sound; and six onboard EVS servers equating to 36 channels of record/replay in addition to 3 x HD VTR capabilities.

If that wasn’t enough, future HD expansion is planned with the shell of HD10 already built and awaiting technical fit-out by Global TV’s Engineering Services Division.

Visit www.globaltv.com.au

ENGINEERING The main technical area is larger than our previous trucks, we have managed this by loosing a rack in the centre technical area, mainly achievable because HD 4 has a slightly smaller EVS and CCU complement than HD 1. We have also used our unique centre rack design again,first seen withHD 1.It gives the feeling of enormous space in the CCU and EVS area’s and allows operators room to work. Its also provides a neat way of keeping the air conditioning system simple with a centre spline feeding air into the racks.

The core of HD 4 is a 288x512 Evertz EQX router with VSM (Virtual System Manager) control, VSM brings all the processing and device control into one common interface. It gives us the flexibility to turn HD 4 around between projects with fewer mistakes and in far faster time. Its been very successful in HD 1 and 2. Technically HD 4 sits right between Globals HD 1 and HD 3

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MAIN PRODUCTION One area I am particularly proud of is the production gallery,HD 4 hasa 3 tier, flat floor gallery. We tier the benches and seating and not the floor becauseI really do not like steps or obstacles anywhere in the truck. The main monitor wall is the same as HD 1, with discreet monitors for each source, there are 68 in this wall.HD 4also has 9 x dual output VIP/X cards

which we use for ancillary monitoring in the gallery and other areas of the truck like EVS. Every single monitor is routable.

What you do see everywhere in the truck is extensive use of LED lighting, both inside and out. Each operator has individual lighting controls and there is under bench lighting as well as an LED backlit logo on each wall

HD4

COMMS

HD 4 is designed to carry20 x Sony HDC1500 series and 8 x POV base stations, thats around 95% of projects we cover today, for larger projects we would bring in another truck and ‘bolt’ it to HD 4. Typically these are larger motorsport events such as Bathurst, Indycar etc but HD 4 can cover all our ball sports and International Cricket with ease

AUDIO Probably our finest audio area, is spacious and has almost the perfect layout for 5.1, The console is the new Calrec Artemis with 56 faders and 640 DSP channels. As with our other trucks we have a mixture of fibre and legacy connectivity. All the processing is behind the operator in a glass fronted sound proofed rack. The room is also very sound proof, the doors close with a thud and everything is well insulated

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CAMERA CONTROL (CCU)

One of the major ergonomic changes in HD 4 was to move comms to the other side of the vehicle. We did this because the left hand side allows you to walk from one end of HD 4 to the other. This is really one of the only obvious changes from HD 1 and 2. We also inset the rack by moving the comms system elsewhere. It creates a more workable space, allows traffic to move past the operator and gave us space to add a small workbench. We have gone with Telex in keeping with our other facilities.

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Protocol (STP) and related protocols[14]. This allows switches to be distributed around the facility, each connected by two links to the rest of the network. In outside broadcasting, this gives engineering confidence in locating switches in locations central to the most of the cameras.

Each switch in the field will have two redundant 100Gbps paths back to the main OB control unit, and a number of 10Gbps ports for connections to cameras and other equipment. This greatly reduces the amount of cable that needs to be run.

The 100Gbps connections inside the main facility would only need to be short-range ports.

The 100GBASESR10 standard allows runs of 125m. The 100Gbps connections between the core switch and the switches in the field would use the 100GBASE-LR4 standard, allowing links of 10km. The cameras, field switches and main facility should also feature numerous 10GBASE-LR ports, which allow 10Gbps runs of 10km. When long-range 100Gbps connections

become common, it will become feasible for entire outside broadcasts to be controlled from a central studio control room.

CONFIGURATION/CONTROL SERVER A desirable aspect of a complex system is a control system that is easy to operate.

Information about the present state of the system should be easy to obtain and presented in ways that make simple sense. There should be a unified and open approach to control protocols. With all systems on the same “wire”, the old physical barriers to interconnections no longer exist and open protocols should win out over proprietary ones. It should be possible to autodetect and control all systems from a central configuration interface, similar to the Virtual Studio Manager (VSM)[15] system by LSB Broadcast Technologies.

The configuration software and server system would combine network management and broadcast systems management capabilities. For example, a camera connected to the network

auto-configures its own IPv6 address and makes a DHCPv6 request. Via DHCP it receives not only DNS and default gateway addresses, but also the addresses of return vision, program sound, talkback and control signals, among others. The DHCP server also makes available information about the identity of the camera, its capabilities and status to other devices on the network.

Cost Comparison It is interesting to analyse and compare the costs of traditional television signal distribution vs. entirely Ethernet-based distribution. To do this, one should identify all the costs in traditional television facilities that would be replaced by Ethernet. These are listed in Table 1.

There are currently no “big ticket” items of broadcast video equipment that use AVBcapable Ethernet. But to analyse the cost comparison, one can imagine that AVB television equipment does exist, and that it costs roughly the same as traditional equipment. In a

Table 1. Traditional Multicamera Facility Signal Distribution Costs (2011) EQUIPMENT TYPE

APPROX. 2010 PRICE ($US)

QUANTITY

$750 per port [16]

576x576 ports

$600,000

Distribution Amplifier

$500 [17]

50

$25,000

Camera Control Unit

$25,000 [18]

24

$600,000

Video-over-fibre equipment

$10,000 [19]

4

$40,000

Audio-over-fibre

?

6

?

Communications nodes / matrixes

?

4 nodes or 1 main matrix

?

Cabling, installation costs

?

?

?

Video router

TOTAL PRICE

Grand Total: $~1,265,000

Table 2. Packet-switched Multicamera Facility Ethernet Port Costs 2011 and 2015 EQUIPMENT TYPE

QTY (2011) TOTAL PRICE APPROX. 2015 (2011) PRICE ($US)

QTY (2015)

100GBASE-LR4

$60,000[21]

0

100GBASE-SR10

$35,000[22] $3,000[23]

10GBASE-LR

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APPROX. 2011 PRICE ($US)

TOTAL PRICE (2015)

SPEED

PHYS. FORMAT

MAX CABLE LENGTH

$0

$25,000

6

$150,000

100Gbps

SMF

10km

72

$2,520,000

$5,000

72

$360,000

100Gbps

MMF

125m

52

$156,000

$1,500

52

$78,000

10Gbps

SMF

10km

10GBASE-T

$750[24]

136

$102,000

$375

148

$55,500

10Gpbs

CAT-6

100m

1000BASE-T

$200[25]

144

$28,800

$50

156

$7,800

1Gbps

CAT-6

100m

Grand Total (2011): $2,806,800

Grand Total (2015): $651,300

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Figure 3 - Ethernet-based outside broadcast

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Figure 2 - Ethernet-based broadcast facility

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SPORTSCASTING packet-switched facility, AVB-capable Ethernet switches of varying capacities, the associated fibre modules, and Network Interface Cards on devices that generate, process or display television signals replace the equipment listed in Table 1.

With a bit of Internet searching, approximate dollar values can be obtained for most equipment items of interest. To compensate for error and general bias, prices quoted here are adjusted in favour of traditional equipment, and against Ethernet equipment.

The equivalent AVB-Ethernet-based facility would use switch ports listed in Table 2. Note that the current price of 100GBASE-LR4 ports is very expensive. It is expected that over the next 5 years the prices of 100GbE ports will drop dramatically. Ethernet ports have dropped 35% in price every year in previous years[20].

REFERENCES [1]

SMPTE 259M-1997 (Revision of 259M1993), “10-Bit 4:2:2 Component and 4fsc Composite Digital Signals – Serial Digital Interface,” <http://www.scribd.com/ doc/14846017/259M>, Retrieved 26 January 2011 [1]

[2]

Anon., “HDTV Standards and Practices for Digital Broadcasting,” Communications Specialties, Inc., <http://www.commspecial.com/assets/ eduGuides/html/HDTV%20Standards/ index.htm>, Retrieved 26 January 2011 [2]

[3]

Anon., “10BASE-T,” In Wikipedia, <http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10BASE-T>, Retrieved 26 January 2011 [3]

[4]

Gillette, G, Kovac, R & Pelipenko, I, “Sizing up the Gigabit Ethernet switch players,” Network World, <http://www.networkworld. com/reviews/2000/0731rev.html>, 31 July 2000, Retrieved 26 January 2011 [4]

Conclusion The idea of using Ethernet as the backbone of a live television production facility is bound to meet resistance. After all, circuit-switched multicamera production has been a successful method for decades. However, it is a very manual process to build and configure a circuit-switched facility from scratch.

Ethernet as the backbone in a television facility opens up significant efficiencies. The multiplexing ability of Ethernet greatly reduces the number of physical connections that need to be made and also enables state detection and control of the entire system. This level of connectedness is very difficult to achieve in a circuit-switched system.

Once an Ethernet backbone in television proves itself to be equal or superior to a circuit-switched system in ability and reliability, the deciding factor will be cost. The costs of equipment such as cameras, mixers and monitors will not change. What will change is the cost of the “glue” that connects them all together, and the costs involved in rolling out that glue.

Ethernet and the Audio Video Bridging enhancements are open IEEE standards, and are not tied to any specific vendor. Therefore, the core technologies involved should follow the price curve of Ethernet, a commoditised technology. Perhaps the most important saving is in time. Equipment that takes less time to deploy has a shorter job-cycle time and can therefore do more jobs in a given time period, resulting a quicker return on investment.

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If the promise of Ethernet-based live television production is realised, broadcast companies that utilise it will have a significant competitive advantage over companies that continue to only use circuit-switched systems. Even companies sceptical about the feasibility of Ethernet in television production should not ignore the idea completely.

Dan Flett is a Broadcast Engineer with Global Television based in Melbourne.

This article was adapted from a paper he delivered at the 2011 SMPTE Australia Conference.

He can be reached via DFlett@globaltv.com.au

[5]

Newman, D, “Latency and jitter: Cut-through design pays off for Arista, Blade,” Network World, <http://www.networkworld.com/ reviews/2010/011810-ethernet-switchtest-latency.html?page=2>, p. 2, 18 January 2010, Retrieved 26 January 2011 [5]

[6]

Anon., “8943RDA SD/HD/3G Reclocking Distribution Amplifier,” Grass Valley Group, <http://www.grassvalley.com/assets/ media/1053/8943RDA.pdf>, Retrieved 26 January 2011 [6]

[7]

Anon., “Kalypso HD/Duo Installation and Service Manual Software Version 15.1,” Grass Valley Group, <http://www.grassvalley.com/docs/ Manuals/switchers/kalypso_hd/071-821809.pdf>, November 2008, Retrieved 26 January 2011

[8]

[9]

Anon., “Audio/Video Bridging Task Group,” Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, <http://ieee802.org/1/pages/ avbridges.html>, Retrieved 26 January 2011 [8] Teener, MJ, “Time Awareness for Bridged LANs: IEEE 802.1 Audio Video Bridging”, Joint ITU-T/IEEE Workshop on The

Future of Ethernet Transport, <http://www. itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/06/38/ T06380000040001PDFE.pdf>, p. 6, 28 May 2010, Retrieved 27 June 2011 [9] [10] IEEE 802.1AS, “Timing and Synchronization”, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, <http://www.ieee802.org/1/ pages/802.1as.html>, Retrieved 26 January 2011 [10] [11] Teener, MJ & Macé, G, “Ethernet in the HD Studio,” Broadcast Engineering, Penton Media, Inc., <http://broadcastengineering. com/hdtv/ethernet-hd-studio/>, 1 May 2008, Retrieved 3 February 2011 [11] [12] Anon, “HBRMT Encapsulation and FEC Committee,” Video Services Forum, <http://www.videoservicesforum.org/ HBRMT_Encap_and_FEC_Com.shtml>, Retrieved 3 February 2011 [12] [13] Van Beijnum, I, “Everything you need to know about IPv6,” Ars Technica, Condé Nast Digital, <http://arstechnica.com/hardware/ news/2007/03/IPv6.ars/2>, p. 2, 7 March 2007, Retrieved 3 February 2011 [13]

[14] Anon., “Understanding Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (802.1w),” Cisco Systems Inc., <http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/ tk389/tk621/technologies_white_ paper09186a0080094cfa.shtml>, 24 October 2006, Retrieved 27 February 2011 [14] [15] Anon., “VSM – Virtual Studio Manager,” L-S-B Broadcast Technologies Gmbh., <http:// www.l-s-b.de/en/products/>, Retrieved 27 February 2011 [15] [16] Billat, S, “Delivering Quality Real-Time Video Over IP,” Broadcast Engineering, Penton Media Inc., <http://broadcastengineering.com/iptv/ delivering_quality_realtime/index1.html>, 1 Mar 2008, Retrieved 27 February 2011 [16] [17] Anon., “HD SDI DA’s,” BroadcastStore.com, JP Claude, Inc., <http://www.broadcaststore. com/store/prod_search_results. cfm?category_search=1070>, Retrieved 27 February 2011 [17] [18] Anon., “HDCU1000L HD Camera Control Unit,” Sony Electronics Inc., <http://pro. sony.com/bbsc/ssr/product-HDCU1000L/>, Retrieved 21 May 2011 [18] [19] Anon., “Telecast Python 2 P2-TX8-13CW-ST Encoder and/or Decoder,” BroadcastStore. com, JP Claude, Inc., <http://www. broadcaststore.com/store/model_detail. cfm?id=808022>, Retrieved 27 February 2011 [19] [20] Solomon, H, “Racing Towards 10Gigabit Ethernet,” Techworld, International Data Group,[20] <http://www.techworld. com.au/article/210883/racing_ towards_10gigabit_ethernet/>, 2 April 2008, Retrieved 27 February 2011 [21] Anon., “Finisar FTLC1181RDNS Duplex CFP Transceiver,” SanSpot. com, <http://www.sanspot.com/FinisarFTLC1181RDNSDuplex-CFP-p/ftlc1181rdns. htm>, Retrieved 05 May 2011 [21] [22] Anon., “Finisar FTLQ8181EBLM Duplex CFP 40GBASE-SR4 40G Ethernet transceiver,” SanSpot.com, Quoted price $3420 –100GBASE-SR10 could cost 10 x the price of 40GBASE-SR4, <http://www.sanspot. com/Finisar-FTLQ8181EBLM-Duplex-CFP-p/ ftlq8181eblm.htm>, Retrieved 05 May 2011 [22] [23] Anon., “Cisco 10GBASE-LR SFP Module Transceiver,” Shopping.com, <http:// www.shopping.com/Cisco-10GBASE-LRSFPMODULE/info>, Retrieved 27 February 2011 [23] [24] Anon., “Cisco Nexus 5010 20-Port Ethernet Switch,” Shopping.com, <http://www. shopping.com/Cisco-N5000-1ru-ChassisNo- Ps-5-Fan-Modules-20-Ports-req-Sfpn5k-c5010p-bf-CISC/info>, Retrieved 27 February 2011 [25] Anon., “Cisco Catalyst 3560G 48-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (WS-C3560G48PS-S),” Shopping.com, <http://www.shopping.com/CATALYST3560-48-10-100-1000T-POE-AND-4-SFPSTANDARD-IMAGE/info>, Retrieved 27 February 2011 [25]

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Vid

SPORTSCASTING

Gearhouse Sees Sony OLED Vision SONY HAS CONTINUED TO ROLL OUT its professional OLED monitors with placements across the country including the latest installation at Gearhouse Broadcast Australia, a leader in HD Outside Broadcast technology.

Gearhouse is keen to keep its 18-month-old fleet of OB units updated with the latest equipment.

As part of this process the company has taken delivery of 16 PVM-1741 17-inch Professional OLED Picture Monitors and installed them in the largest four trucks of its outside broadcast fleet.

Ray Martin, General Manager, Gearhouse Broadcast Australia said, “I believe OLEDs are the first true grading monitors since CRTs and they have matched the hype - they haven’t disappointed and have met all our expectations.”

The quality of images provided by Sony’s OLEDs was the obvious choice for Martin when he needed to match client requests for improved technical monitoring. Their existing LCDs could not provide a full HD pixel count and operators had to guess at black levels.

The installation of the PVM-1741 OLED monitors also provided Gearhouse with the benefit of having HD-SDI inputs as standard. Martin explained, “In our business we move them around a lot and require different inputs so having the HD-SDI input as standard on the PVM-1741s is a huge bonus.”

Visit http://pro.sony.com.au

Digital Pulse Wins Arab Games Accolades AUSTRALIAN DIGITAL DESIGN and production specialists Digital Pulse has received global accolades for its contribution to the opening ceremony of the 12th Arab Games in Doha in December. Digital Pulse produced the content to complement the emotionally charged visual narrative created by David Atkins Enterprises.

Journey to Light was a visual experience featuring performers and animation that was projected over the largest ever stadium projection surface. It celebrated Arabic culture by delivering a message of unification, peace, and freedom for the 21 participating Arab nations.

“We are so proud to have been involved in creating the visual experience for this event, which is the pinnacle of the Arabic sporting calendar. It was inspiring to share the story of the games with all participants and the world,” Digital Pulse managing director Brett Heil said.

The PVM-1741’s have been installed in CCU/grading and monitoring positions of Gearhouse’s HD-1 and HD-2 double-expanding semitrailers and into TD/grading positions for the HD-3 and HD-4 single-expanding trucks.

The story not only illuminated the central performance arena but also the entire circumference of the stadium thanks to a contiguous LED screen installed behind each seat. In total, 86 projectors video-mapped a world record, 126,000 cubic metres onto the stadium floor with the seating area used as a backdrop.

Visit www.digitalpulse.com.au

Ateme | APT | Audemat | AJA | Arctic Palm Blackmagic Design | Ecreso | LiveU | Logitek Meinberg | NewTek | Sencore | TransLanTech UBS | Volicon | ViewCast | Wisycom

Professional Wireless Microphone Systems Wisycom exclusive digital sub-carrier telemetry technology allows: remote TX battery monitoring tone-squelch operating PTT function (An optional back-panel module is available, with the secondary intercom output) Exceptional sturdiness and absolute reliability even in very congested environments

WisyCom also manufacture: Wireless Communication Systems Outdoor Broadcast Units Wireless Reporter Systems For more information please contact OnAir Solutions.

SPORTSCASTING

Dual TRUE DIVERSITY in a modular, stand-alone or slot-in format Switching bandwidth up 240 MHz in the UHF range DSP audio processing for unrivalled broadcast quality of audio-signal Infrared interface for programming and transmitter synchronisation Easy setup and operation

Video & Audio Links | Television Production | Transmission Monitoring | Internet Streaming | OnAir Radio | much more…

Phone +61 2 8882 7766 Email sales@onair.com.au www.onair.com.au

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Sony’s new picture & reference monitors: Quality & performance to suit any need.

PVM

Luma

BVM-F

BVM-E AVAILABLE NOV 2011

Sizes: 9", 15", 17", 20", 21", 23", 24", 42"

Sizes: 7", 17", 25"

Sizes: 17", 25"

Features: HD-SDI 1 HDMI or DVI 2 Audio Level meter 3 time code 4 I/P modes Auto White Balance 3 Tally & Markers

Features: 3G-SDI (x 2) 5 RGB 4:4:4 5 HDMI Auto White Balance 6 Time Code 5 Audio Level Meter DC operation (17")

Features: 3G-SDI (x 2) RGB 4:4:4 HDMI Auto White Balance 6 Time Code Audio Level Meter 7 DC operation (17")

Picture Monitor

Sizes: 17", 25"

Features: 3G-SDI (x 2) RGB 4:4:4 HDMI Auto White Balance 6 Time Code Audio Level Meter 7 DC operation (17")

Reference Monitor PVM Features: Waveform Audio

BVM Advanced Features: Option port x 4 (BKM x 6 selections) Dual Link 7 DisplayPort (x1) Interlace display Pixel zoom HD frame capture 24P/PsF@72 Hz display 3D analysis 7

BVM Advanced Features: Option port x 4 (BKM x 6 selections) Dual Link 7 DisplayPort (x1) Interlace display Pixel zoom HD frame capture 24P/PsF@72 Hz display 3D analysis 7 Display Cinema Features: 2K (2048 x 1080 RGB/XYZ) Input ASC CDL 6 User LUT 6 P&P (Wipe, Butterfly, Blending)

LCD Panel

OLED Panel

Panel: TN (10 series) & IPS LCD panels From WVGA (9") to Full HD (21"+)

Panel: Stunning OLED performance Full HD (1920 x 1080) 5 RGB 10 bit Driver

BVM-F Panel: Strictly controlled tollerance in addition to the standard panel performance.

BVM-E Panel: Designed as the highest performance panel.

Used for the most critical picture evaluation needs.

Engine: 10 bit

Standard Engine: 10 bit

Professional Display Engine: 12 bit Accurate gamma control of extreme black details.

Cutting-edge I/P convension with extremely low process delay.

Sophisticated non-linear cubic convention colour management.

Professional Display Engine: 12 bit Accurate gamma control of extreme black details.

Cutting-edge I/P convension with extremely low process delay.

Sophisticated non-linear cubic convention colour management.

5

6

6

1

May require option card.

HDMI or DVI – models differ.

Not 10 or 30 series.

4 Not all models.

2 3

6

Not applicable for PVM-740.

Supported by firmware V1.1 or later.

FPA Advertising FA file file.indd indd 2 3056.04 C&T Feb_p24-41_MID_FA.indd 38

Supported by firmware V1.1 or later.

Option board required for BVM.

7

Supported by firmware V1.1 or later.

Option board required for BVM.

“SONY” and “make.believe” are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

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7

FPA Ad

“Sony’s Luma LCD monitors had the range and quality we demanded.”

“ For our studio control rooms, we use Sony Luma monitors extensively. Luma was our choice due to their range, cost effectiveness and our trust in the brand.”

Michael Day, Network Technology Solutions Manager, Network Ten

Sony Luma LCD monitors deliver a higher quality picture for a cost effective price, with a range of features and benefits that surpass standard LCD monitors. The Luma range comes in 8 different sizes, from 9" to 42", across 11 different monitors including passive polarity 3D panels.

For more information, see your Sony specialist.

The new Luma monitor range.

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sony.com.au/monitors

FPA Advertising FA file file.indd indd 3 3056.04 C&T Feb_p24-41_MID_FA.indd 39

“SONY” and “make.believe” are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

“LUMA” and are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

7/11/11 11:13 3:04 PM 14/02/12 AM

“Put the new Sony PVM OLED next to anything and you will see the amazing difference.”

“ They’re so sharp, the detail in the blacks far exceed anything we’ve seen before at this level. And from past experience Sony engineers really know how to put together a product that lasts.”

Rob Burton, Engineering Projects Manager, Cutting Edge

With brilliant, highly accurate pictures across 7", 17" and 25" models, the PVM series of monitors harnesses Sony Super Top Emission OLED technology. Experience the best high and low luminance detail reproduction, fastest picture response times, better dynamic range and brilliant contrast performance in all environments.

To see the difference, contact your Sony reseller today.

The new new PVM PVM monitor monitor range. range.

The

FPA Advertising FA file.indd 4 3056.04 C&T Feb_p24-41_MID_FA.indd 40

“SONY” and “make.believe” are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

“TRIMASTER EL” and are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

7/11/11 11:13 3:04 PM 14/02/12 AM

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sony.com.au/monitors

FPA Ad

“The decision for Sony BVM-E was simple it was the most accurate picture I’ve ever seen.”

“ I didn’t expect it to be as good as it was, especially in the blacks and the saturation. I’ve always used CRTs and the tubes have been as good as you could get but I was surprised at the difference between them and the BVM-E ...In my opinion OLED supersedes them completely.”

Danny Scotting, Senior Colourist, Post Op Group

The new Sony BVM-E OLED monitors are the definitive tool for reference grade monitoring. Featuring 12 bit panel and signal processing, all the advantages of Super Top Emission OLED and the options colourists and graders need like User-LUTs, S-Log Gamma, 2K image display, Picture and Picture modes and a host more. With Sony BVM-E, Black is Black.

The new BVM-E OLED monitor range.

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sony.com.au/monitors

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“SONY” and “make.believe” are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

“TRIMASTER EL” and are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

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NEWS OPERATIONS www.content-technology.com/newsoperations

Live Cellular Uplinking for TV and the Web

By LiveU

THE LIVE COVERAGE of outside broadcast events for TV and web content has traditionally been an expensive and logistically cumbersome business. Investing in specialist satellite trucks, or using satellite service providers, is beyond the reach of many media outlets, putting the ability to service live news and sports contracts, for example, beyond the economy of the largest suppliers. Even the live presentation of a single camera from field-to-studio typically requires an uplink to satellite, which necessitates booking costly transponder space.

WHAT’S MORE, THE STEEP COST and complex challenges of deploying satellite trucks or using fibre transmission can limit the coverage of live events. While producers may want to get the audience as close to the action as possible, the need to site RF cameras within a certain radius of a receiving station restricts the editorial options.

In addition, many personal stories surrounding global news events from war zones, urban areas or remote locations go untold because of the impracticality of access with conventional microwave trucks, or the sheer expense of BGAN operation.

However, widening cellular networks and new video uplink technology can now bridge the divide. Technology in this field has advanced to the extent that broadcasters and online video professionals no longer have to rely on a satellite OB to achieve broadcast-quality video and audio.

WHAT IS CELLULAR UPLINKING?

NEWS OPERATIONS

The growing connectivity of terrestrial wireless networks including 3G, 4G LTE, WiMAX, and Wi-Fi in various parts of the world can provide an increasingly resilient, comprehensive and cost-effective alternative to streaming SD and HD video via traditional satellite and fibre.

There are immediate advantages: it can be extremely lightweight and therefore highly portable. Everything required for uplink-overmobile in the field can be contained in a unit weighing around 5kg, including battery, and be packed into a single backpack with minimal time required for set-up and go. The device can transmit video to a main hub, or directly to an online video player for live streaming.

A second major advantage is cost. Since the infrastructure can be carried, trucks are not

required. Satellite space is substituted by payment for a mobile operator’s data plan. Robust high-definition video uplinks can be achieved at a fraction of the traditional cost.

WIRELESS NETWORK CHALLENGES Wireless technologies can, however, be notoriously fickle. Smartphone users the world over have been in situations where their phone signal simply drops off or operates at an agonisingly slow pace. For voice conversations the instability of cellular networks is a fact of life but for video transmission the loss of even one packet means the consumer sees a dark screen.

Impaired connections are simply unacceptable in a live-to-air scenario.

The transmission bitrates depend on the cellular, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or BGAN conditions at the time and place of transmission, and on the capacity of network operators in the specific country or area.

The emergence of 4G LTE promises to bring even higher speeds and shorter delays to cellularbased video transmission. However, there are still shortcomings in the 4G LTE make-up which make reliance on it alone inadvisable.

HOW DO INTELLIGENT CELLULAR UPLINKS WORK? One way to circumnavigate the profound drawback of signal fluctuation in single mobile uplinks is to aggregate bandwidth over multiple carriers so that collectively they provide enough throughput and robustness to transmit 1080i HD signals using H.264 encoding.

This can be achieved by bonding modems together in a single unit combined with powerful RF technology that automatically senses all the wireless networks in its proximity, and

splits the video stream among those channels simultaneously.

On the receive side, which can be on the other side of a country or the other side of the world, software installed on any internet-connected PC receives those streams and reconstructs the HD video into its original frames. This technique effectively creates a ‘virtual wide pipe’ over narrowband channels for HD transmission and achieves it over what are unreliable networks.

Ideally, this should be supported by sophisticated mathematical load-balancing that analyses and monitors the past performance of a given cellular channel in a particular location so that a signal can be dynamically switched between channels in advance of any dropout occurring.

Variable bit-rate (VBR) and constant bit-rate (CBR) technology is used to uplink live video in bandwidth conditions that can vary dramatically from second-to-second. Taking into consideration the measurements of link performance, resolution and latency requirements, cellular channel behaviour and other parameters, VBR reduces or increases the H.264 video encoding rate. The result: a video rate adaptation mechanism that optimises the encoding process on-the-fly.

Adaptive and predictive Forward Error Correction (FEC), Error Concealment and Error Recovery mechanisms at the video application level complement each other and are employed asneeded for each specific operation conditions.

Latency can start from below one second, depending on network conditions and the resolution selected. In general, latency is affected by resolution, bandwidth conditions and the cellular modem internal delay. Once a certain latency mode is selected, latency will not Continued page 44 

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Vid

NEWS OPERATIONS

Seven Newsroom Steals Show with Panasonic THE SEVEN NETWORK has revitalised its Martin Place news set in Sydney with the installation of three Panasonic 103-inch Full High Definition commercial Plasma display panels. The panels provide an impressive backdrop for the national and local daily news bulletins that are broadcast from the set to up to 400,000 viewers at peak times.

screen previously used as the set background.

The set was specifically designed to accommodate the large Plasma panels, which span a six metre-wide space directly behind the newsreaders. The panels replace a 2.5 metre projection

David Lewis, Facilities Manager of Broadcast Operations at the Seven Network said, “The challenge for us was to find a display solution that allowed our team to present a wide variety of content in any combination across all three screens simultaneously with exceptional picture quality, such as live backgrounds, live remote crosses as well as both still and moving graphics.”

The network’s design team - 7Design - creates and updates the content through the Studio Control Room (excluding live content), and the

vision is then processed through a Vista Spyder unit that controls and manipulates all elements in an effective and reliable presentation.

The 103-inch panel boasts a moving picture resolution of 1,080 lines and a contrast ratio of 40,000:1. For greater protection in high-traffic, public locations, the panel also features tempered glass on the front.

Like all Panasonic Plasma displays, it has been manufactured with lead-free glass to minimise environmental impact.

Visit www.panasonic.com.au

AP Opens Full News Bureau in North Korea THE ASSOCIATED PRESS has opened its newest bureau, becoming the first international news organization with a full-time presence to cover news from North Korea in words, pictures and video.

In a ceremony that came less than a month after the death of long-time ruler Kim Jong Il, AP President and CEO Tom Curley and a delegation of top AP editors inaugurated the office, situated inside the headquarters of the state-

run Korean Central News Agency in downtown Pyongyang. The bureau expands the AP’s presence in North Korea, building on the 2006 opening of an AP video bureau in Pyongyang.

The AP bureau will be staffed by reporter Pak Won Il and photographer Kim Kwang Hyon, both natives of North Korea who have done some reporting for AP in recent weeks.

“Beyond this door lies a path to vastly larger understanding and cultural enrichment for millions around the world,” Curley said.

“Regardless of whether you were born in Pyongyang or Pennsylvania, you are aware of the bridge being created today.”

Korea Bureau Chief Jean H. Lee and Chief Asia Photographer David Guttenfelder will make frequent trips to Pyongyang to manage the office, train the local journalists and conduct their own reporting,.

Visit www.ap.org

Ateme | APT | Audemat | AJA | Arctic Palm Blackmagic Design | Ecreso | LiveU | Logitek Meinberg | NewTek | Sencore | TransLanTech UBS | Volicon | ViewCast | Wisycom

with

!

4G ADDED

Australian LiveU users now have the benefit of adding one or more 4G Modems to their LiveU Video Backpack.

This added bandwidth further strengthens the industry leading connection resilience and maintains the high video quality required from demanding broadcasters.

Australian LiveU users have streamed live, high quality video from places like Indonesia, Rome, Madrid, Hawaii, Canada and Israel directly into their existing servers.

No satellite or fibre required Sending content the other way, multiple broadcasters from France and India utilised LiveU to cover the Rugby World Cup and recent Test Cricket Series.

While broadcasters from the USA and New Zealand have all used LiveU for Australian based event coverage

Australia Day 2012

Web-Streamed Content As the web is fast becoming a booming source for live video, LiveU helps you deliver on the potential by delivering professionalquality video from almost anywhere!

For more information please contact OnAir Solutions.

NEWS OPERATIONS

…now

International Event Flexibility: LiveU lets you connect to any available LiveU server in the world

Video & Audio Links | Television Production | Transmission Monitoring | Internet Streaming | OnAir Radio | much more…

Phone +61 2 8882 7766 Email sales@onair.com.au www.onair.com.au

43 3056.04 C&T Feb_p42-64_BACK_FA.indd 43

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NEWS OPERATIONS  Continued from page 42

fluctuate mid-transmission.

In good conditions, multi-link cellular uplinking can transmit at over 3Mbps. Average conditions are in the 1-2Mbps range. However, the most effective technology can transmit effectively even below 300Kbps, depending on the selected resolution and settings.

If the solution aggregates multiple 3G, 4G and other connections, it can be used both in areas that have 4G and those that don’t. The combination of bandwidth aggregation and use of a powerful antenna means that it’s possible to effectively transmit from many dead spots and areas where a specific carrier may not have adequate coverage including in tunnels, crowded public spaces and underground metro stations.

Its highly resilient profile enables live reportage from moving vehicles, including helicopters.

For a system to be truly flexible it must be agnostic of technology and capable of supporting any camera, switching device, or video source via SD-SDI, HD-SDI, HDMI, analogue input, or Firewire. Should all else fail customers who use BGAN satellite briefcases can use those in-conjunction with some cellular uplink units to bond several BGANs together. Store and forward should also be supported in any cellular uplink technology.

DATA PLANS While users can apply their own data plans to cellular uplink systems, a service package that accommodates all the components needed for wireless transmission - from data plan to field units and round the clock 24/7/365 support fees - eliminates the risk of roaming charges, and contains all the elements involved in wireless uplinking in one simple bill.

NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR LIVE VIDEO There are a wide variety of applications for cellular uplinking, opening up new possibilities for broadcasters. This technology introduces a new era for live video to TV and web.

The portability of devices allows users to extend their use of (or introduce) live content. Users of cellular technology can react instantly to news whenever it happens. If a news event turns out to

be a non-event, a broadcaster who has assigned a truck loses money and staff time. That risk is negated with a cellular solution.

News portals previously prevented from providing unique live content because of the prohibitive cost of a satellite operation can now offer satellite quality video at cellular-based tariffs.

In addition to serving as the main uplink resource at live events and breaking news stories, the technology affords news editors the freedom to cover a story from all angles. A single reporter or camera operator can be dispatched to perimeter areas of an unfolding story to interview eyewitnesses, cover other emerging sub-plots related to the event, or deliver reports from fastmoving vehicles.

Even if users don’t require a live feed from the field in every instance, cellular uplink technology is ideal for preparing footage on the fly. Edit a take and add graphics in the field on a laptop and then uplink the finished file via FTP or upload large volumes of raw footage for studio editors to process.

For live sports, multi-link cellular uplinking is most applicable when used to augment rather than replace a standard satellite broadcast infrastructure. Camera operators can deliver on-the-spot video for quick updates, sideline interviews, roaming crowd shots and more. The signals are then typically streamed back to the studio for vision mixing.

Cellular uplinks can help significantly increase the amount of live content that local news channels can afford to use, helping to invigorate that market. This creates a new price point for live content.

Corporate enterprises can access satellite quality professional video capabilities to stream brand messages, sponsorship events, live training sessions, keynote speeches by executives, earnings briefings or even live web shows – all while viewers can engage in real time via social media.

Portable cellular uplinking frees web streaming from Ethernet dependency, and provides a substantially more stable and robust solution for streaming live video than using a single aircard or other wireless connection.

Mobile video surveillance with true realtime uplink and sharing capabilities enables

a whole new mode of communication between first responders in the field and their command centres. Agencies charged with law enforcement, homeland security, fire fighting and transportation safety often require immediate intervention in challenging situations. With live video feeds, command centre supervisors can instruct their teams and dispatch the necessary back-up support.

There are also potential medical applications – imagine the practical implications of a unit in an ambulance able to route footage to a consultant in a hospital who can then provide emergency medical advice about what to do.

A portable video transmission network of video from the field streaming directly to screens in hospital emergency rooms, public safety situation rooms, transit command centres or patrol cars can make a critical difference.

WORKING WITH 4G 4G LTE promises even greater throughput though its performance depends heavily on a users’ proximity to cellular towers and antennas. The network roll-out is gradual, starting in specific metropolitan areas and it will take some time before reaching smaller cities and rural areas.

LTE technology does not have the soft handoff feature available in 3G technologies. This means that the LTE device is served by a single LTE base-station at all times, even in areas where a 3G device would have been served by two basestations. As a result, the LTE uplink bandwidth might drop dramatically in cell-edge areas.

While single modem video delivery devices might suffer from performance fluctuations, loss of transmission or inability to go live, a multi-link technology, integrated with 4G LTE and other available networks, boosts signal strength across 4G and 3G worlds.

A multi-link technology may incorporate the soft handoff mechanism by automatically switching a greater percentage of the transmitted video bandwidth onto other 3G networks in relevant areas.

CONCLUSION For broadcasters, multi-link cellular uplink technology offers a shift in live video acquisition away from expensive satellite transmission when conducting live, bi-directional interviews, to a cost-effective, fully resilient alternative.

For online media, the technology is the game changer that empowers virtually every content creator with live, professional-quality video streaming from anywhere.

NEWS OPERATIONS

Ongoing investments in R&D into transmission algorithms and intelligent encoding will continue to take advantage of the rapid advances in mobile network rollout.

As 4G becomes more popular and networks become capacity constrained, multi-link solutions will overcome LTE technology flaws to deliver high quality video transmission, resiliency, and stability. Regardless of any single network’s sporadic performance, multi-link solutions consistently sustain the satellite quality video anywhere, anytime.

Visit www.liveu.tv

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POST PRODUCTION www.content-technology.com/postproduction

Park Road Crosses Dimensions with Mistika and Tintin SGO’S MISTIKA TECHNOLOGY was used for all the DI and Stereo 3D post production by industry leading post production company Park Road Post in The Adventures of Tintin. All digital intermediate work in both 2D and Stereo 3D was achieved using Mistika, which included colour grading, conforming, convergence adjustments and hand-offs between shots. Directed by Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg, the film is based on the series of books “The Adventures of Tintin” by Hergé and is also produced by Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy.

Park Road Head of Picture and Senior Colourist, David Hollingsworth, explains, “The open structure of the Mistika platform, the speed of its toolset and SAN-based workflow meant that we

could be working on shots as soon as they were handed over from Weta Digital and have the 2D and 3D grades working concurrently.” David adds, “The flexibility of the system also meant that I could be grading while Senior Online Editor, Rob Gordon could be conforming new shots into to the cut, and at the same time, Stereoscopic artist, Meetal Gokul could continue the convergence hand-offs and other stereo work.”

Geoff Mills, Director of SGO Global Sales & Operations states, “The Adventures of Tintin was an incredibly exciting project bringing with it technical challenges that were overcome. The implementation of Mistika at Park Road Post on such eminent projects, makes us feel very proud indeed, and raises the bar of our software

to ever higher levels each time it is used for distinguished work of this calibre.”

Visit www.parkroadpost.co.nz and www.sgomistika.com

ZSPACE Creates Today’s New Look

Storm Grows in Strength

ZSPACE RECENTLY CREATED the complete new

with Mark Dyson. Jean-Christophe used his extensive television experience to ensure camera angles, furniture and layout create an intimacy between the presenters and provide a seamless connection with viewers.

STORM FX DISTRIBUTIONS has bolstered its

“Having the set and graphics designed by the same company ensures integrated marketing of the brand. With Today the set works in conjunction with the whole broadcast bringing a sense of harmony,” said Jean-Christophe.

“Our clients are demanding the very best and only want to deal with people who understand their business, workflows and technology,” said Martin Leibowitz, Managing Director of Storm FX.

look for Nine Network Australia’s Today. ZSPACE designed the new graphics and logo as well as the set, creating an integrated on-air brand.

Nine came to ZSPACE wanting a complete refresh of the Today brand: a bold new look for 2012 that would be warm, inviting and modern. ZSPACE Senior Designer Leigh Newman worked with the news and current affairs team at Nine to create a look for Today that breaks the barriers between the Today family and its audience.

The set was designed by ZSPACE Executive Creative Director, Jean-Christophe Danoy,

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support services with James Bourne and Mark Sopuch who have been brought in to help address the growing need for highly specialised systems engineering, particularly in VFX, Post and Film.

with ZSPACE again, and I’d recommend them to any other broadcaster looking for bright ideas.”

“Having James and Mark join us means we can now provide an end-to-end service that’s truly the best and most experienced in Australia.”

Visit www.zspace.com.au

Visit www.stormfx.com.au

13/02/12 5:12 PM

POST PRODUCTION

Company 3 Uses DaVinci Resolve for Underworld Awakening

Blackmagic Design Releases Support For Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 BLACKMAGIC DESIGN HAS RELEASED Desktop Video 9.2 beta 1, a software update for its capture and playback products that adds broadcast monitoring support with the new Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 update.

BLACKMAGIC DESIGN HAS ANNOUNCED that Company 3 used DaVinci Resolve with Resolve Control Surface for colour grading the 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D versions of ‘Underworld: Awakening’.

Senior Colourist at Company 3’s Santa Monica facility, and native Australian, Siggy Ferstl said, “The creative team was intent on building a bold new look for the franchise, especially since this is the first 3D instalment,” says Ferstl.

“Of course, being part of the ‘Underworld’ series, a lot of the story takes place in darkness with characters who are often dressed in very dark costumes. We used colour a lot to help the viewer differentiate between people, vampires and Lycans, often during intense, fast-paced action scenes.”

Ferstl explains how he made extensive use of Resolve’s parallel node function to help fine-

tune the film’s look. “If you give the scene an overall cold, blue look, of course you lose a lot of your warmer tones,” he notes. “The richness of red, say in blood, will be lost. But by using parallel nodes, I can very efficiently give a scene that colder feel in one node and then bring back certain information from an earlier node.”

Resolve’s stereoscopic 3D hardware capabilities also played a significant role in the grading process. “Any movie shot in 3D can have some alignment issues between the left and right ‘eyes’, that impair the 3D illusion,” Ferstl explains. “In the past, these would have to be fixed at a visual effects facility. But I was able to use the Resolve’s auto alignment function for virtually every shot that needed adjustment.”

Visit www.blackmagic-design.com

Unique Collaboration Between DVS and Avid Systems

Broadcast monitoring in Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 allows video output to external monitors and other equipment using the SDI, HDMI or analogue video outputs from Blackmagic Design video hardware. Desktop Video 9.2 beta 1 includes a new control panel for selecting the video output format from Final Cut Pro X for output to devices such as broadcast quality monitors, HDTVs and projectors.

Desktop Video 9.2 beta 1 also includes Media Express 3.1 beta. Media Express provides capture, logging and management of video files to Final Cut Pro X compatible formats including ProRes and uncompressed video.

Media Express features timecode accurate video capture from professional VTRs with RS-422 control, the ability to log additional metadata and to create custom bins for managing all project video media.

Visit www.blackmagic-design.com

P

Archion Introduces Project Sharing on EditStor ES ARCHION TECHNOLOGIES is now offering Avid project sharing on its EditStor ES Shared Storage System. EditStor ES provides real Avid project sharing that enables complete collaboration between multiple Avid editors simultaneously working on the same open project.

“EditStor ES now offers the native Avid project sharing that once only existed when using Avid shared storage solutions,” said James Tucci, Chief Technology Officer at Archion. “We’ve now made it possible for Avid users to realize the benefits of this feature while also enjoying greater media management tools.”

POST PRODUCTION

SPYCER, THE DVS Content Control System that is integrated in VENICE, has been upgraded to enable it to access Avid ISIS storage and Interplay PAM. This combination allows users to perform live video ingest via HD-SDI and file ingest from Professional Discs and P2 media on ISIS/Interplay production systems using VENICE. Thanks to the “edit while write” function in VENICE, video material can be viewed and edited while it is being written. The material can be stored in parallel both in the Avid environment as well as on other open storage systems. With its

numerous interfaces, VENICE is positioned as the central ingest system in diverse production and storage architectures.

Niklas Fabian, Product Manager at DVS said, “For a long time now, DVS has been committed to ensuring its systems are compatible with those from other manufacturers. When developing our VENICE video server, we placed a huge amount of emphasis on ensuring that it integrates seamlessly into any environment in the broadcast arena.”

Visit www.dvs.de

Reuben Lima, Chief Operating Officer of Archion, said, “EditStor ES is a great example of our continuing development of products and toolsets that meet the needs of today’s digital media professionals.”

Using the native locking mechanism, Avid editors do not have to keep track of who is currently working in a bin — the lock shows them. This allows only one user to write to a bin, but allows multiple users to read the files in that bin.

Visit www.archion.com

s

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13/02/12 5:12 PM

POST PRODUCTION

Blackmagic Design Announces New Intensity Shuttle BLACKMAGIC DESIGN HAS ANNOUNCED Intensity Shuttle, a new video capture and playback solution using Intel’s Thunderbolt technology.

Intensity Shuttle features all the video connections needed to connect video cameras, set-top boxes, game consoles, large screen TVs and projectors to a Thunderbolt-enabled computer. Inputs and outputs include HDMI, analogue component, composite and S-Video.

Thunderbolt enabled computers connect to Intensity Shuttle using a single cable that is capable of 10 Gbps data transfer speeds, that’s 20x faster than USB 2.0 and 12x faster than FireWire 800. Intensity Shuttle is powered over the Thunderbolt cable and can be moved easily between laptop and desktop computers.

Most consumer video cameras compress HD video to fit longer recordings on to tapes and discs. Capturing directly with Intensity Shuttle bypasses camera compression by recording

NOISE INDUSTRIES development partner, Yanobox, has introduced Moods, a unique colour grading plug-in with support for Final Cut Pro X; Motion 3, 4 and 5; and Adobe After Effects CS3, CS4, CS5 and CS5.5.

Yanobox Moods feature highlights include: directly from the camera’s image sensor, so a low cost consumer camera can be used to capture full HD resolution video in broadcast quality.

“Using Intensity Shuttle with Thunderbolt technology combines the quality and speed that videographers demand”, said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “It’s incredibly exciting when technologies come together and create new opportunities for the way people work with video.”

Visit www.blackmagic-design.com

application’s commands with a definition for

Users of Final Cut Pro 7 can have over 840 commands in the palm of their hand with iKeys To Go: Final Cut Pro 7, and can add shortcuts to a fovourite's list. It's also a must have reference and learning tool for any Final Cut Pro 7 user.

each command.

Visit http://revuptransmedia.com

Rev Up Transmedia. They are personal shortcut assistants packed with keyboard shortcuts for both PC and Mac and have a complete list of the

+ Intuitive Interface – Moods sports a heads up display interface. + Desaturate, Silver, Contrast – Combine silver with contrast to get the famous bleach bypass look. + Exposure / Gamma – Move horizontally to control white levels. Adjust the gamma vertically. + 3-Way Colour Balance – Shadow, mid-tone and highlight wheels alter colour from subtle adjustments to crushed colours. + Wash Shadow – Blend shadows with pure colours to create classic vintage looks.

iKeys To Go for Final Cut Pro 7 IKEYS TO GO is a series of iPhone apps from

Yanobox Moods Introduces Next Gen Colour Correction

+ Transparent Rendering – With GPU acceleration and integrated tools, colour grading becomes an interactive process on standard laptop and desktop computers. + Presets to Get Started – Artists can use Moods presets or design and save their own looks.

Visit www.yanobox.com and www.noiseindustries.com

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POST PRODUCTION

PRO VIDEO SOLUTIONS

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13/02/12 5:12 PM

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD Storage & Digital Asset Management

Cloud Broadcasting = More Revenue for Broadcasters

by Stan Moote, VP Business Development, Harris Broadcast

NEW CLOUD-BASED TECHNOLOGIES and operations are springing up everywhere, whether in the form of sharing of computer resources and software over the Internet, or simply sharing on-demand storage. Beyond simple archive, what does this have to do with broadcasting and the proliferation of content? To better understand the connection, let’s consider two factors: how our broadcast signals flow, and how talented engineers have evolved over the last few decades.

TRADITIONALLY, when we as broadcasters needed to get a video between plants or OB activities, we simply ordered up a line from the local telco, and composite video, along with audio, was delivered with tolerable artifacts. With the digital revolution, we moved from ordering up composite analogue lines to ordering some type of digital interconnect, which was represented as a networking cloud.

Most broadcasters didn’t understand, or need to understand, the details of the networking cloud as our concern was mainly about quality and latency, along with the resultant link cost. How the actual digits got delivered to the destination was irrelevant. We had no idea how it worked and didn’t care much as long as we didn’t see sparkles on the screen or hear audio hits.

Broadcasters quickly learned how to define their own requirements for contribution and distribution clouds based on their specific applications.

Also, the definition of signal latency quickly went from frames to seconds.

Broadcast engineers needed to be very careful in specifying the proper link technology to match the intent of the signal being transported – i.e. live news feeds, sports backhaul, distribution, etc.

On the telco side, “religious wars” ensued about ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) vs. MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching). Fortunately, a handful of broadcasters got involved with both technologies activities, which assured these technologies could ultimately be used for television.

After all, as broadcasters we don’t care which carrier technology is used, as long as we receive acceptable television signal quality back from the cloud.

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD

The proliferation of the Internet has created more and more networking engineers, along with more IT engineers and less broadcast engineers. As we broadcasters know, there are very few IT engineers that understand the nuances of television. This is exactly why broadcasters are not using many of the cloud technologies available today. Though, this is already changing with Internet distribution services.

For many distribution services, the broadcast facility is now the cloud.

New media outlets are popping up everywhere; existing outlets are constantly growing channel capacity. Do most of these distribution outlets care about how the content was frame synced, lip-synced, format converted, switched and processed? No. They just want content streams or files. To them, television programming magically pops out of some content cloud somewhere in the world.

The possibilities go on and on. Think of the new revenue opportunities for us as broadcasters. While content rights naturally need to be geomanaged, we can start supplying content almost anywhere in the world.

To reap the maximum benefit of cloud broadcasting, we need to move

What exactly is Cloud Broadcasting?

Broadcaster clouds can be located anywhere in the world.

Can be huge operations or a small niche channel/single program provider

Cloud content can be file based and/or set up for live events

Could be a narrowcast operation for digital signage, or a corporate private network that requires global distribution.

beyond our traditional thinking of simply sending signals to a transmitter and cable satellite head ends. The emergence of Mobile TV is an example of non-traditional thinking, with the addition of another program path tailored for mobile users. Similar techniques can be used to pick up additional revenue streams by creating a digital signage business within your facility. For that matter, TV stations can do much more production than just local news and sports.

Recent technology advances have produced single platforms that help us provide multiple distribution formats, such as various flavors of SD or HD MPEG, with some on ASI and others directly on IP streams. By breaking down the departmental (and budgetary) barriers between playout/master control and transmission within a facility, these new, single platforms are enabling broadcasters to take control of their own quality by providing streams and files directly in the format the distribution outlet needs. If a media outlet needs a standard-definition MPEG4 feed, and another one needs an HD MPEG2 feed for a transmitter, a single platform can now provide both. This streamlined workflow is making it easier for broadcasters to provide superior quality and generate new revenue streams.

As broadcasters, we know content is king. For that matter, even “the network cloud people” know this. But broadcasters need to find new and better ways to integrate with the network cloud people — and seek out more and more ways to distribute our content. More specifically, we need to develop new models to take advantage of networking, along with new equipment and software. Doing so will enable broadcasters to better serve new distribution types directly, while still delivering premium signals — and most importantly, new revenue streams.

48 3056.04 C&T Feb_p42-64_BACK_FA.indd 48

13/02/12 5:12 PM

C&TSP

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3056.04 C&T Feb_p42-64_BACK_FA.indd 49 C&TSPACE2011ad indd 1

13/02/12 5:12 PM PM 4/7/11 7:22:17

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD

Seven Network Installs Signiant SIGNIANT, THE PROVIDER OF SOLUTIONS for file-based media transfer and workflows, has announced that its platform has been adopted

by Seven Network Australia.

At Seven, Signiant has replaced file transfer methods to provide a unified platform for secure, high-speed exchanges of media files with affiliates, distributors and journalists.

“Signiant has transformed many of our business processes by enabling us to increase the volume of data being transferred, while significantly decreasing the amount of work involved in handling and processing digital material,” said John Golin, server infrastructure manager at Seven Network.

“Our upfront investment in the Signiant technology has been well worth the savings in labour and distribution costs, while providing greater flexibility and visibility into content processes across our entire business.”

Prior to adopting Signiant, Seven relied on satellite links, digital video networks and FTP, as well as physical shipments of videotapes, to exchange digital content internally and with the network’s regional affiliates and U.S. distributors.

For distributing promos to affiliate channels, for instance, satellite links offered limited capacity and required time-consuming manual handling of the content and coordination on both the sending and receiving ends.

When changes in Australian broadcasting regulations allowed increased flexibility in digital multichannel delivery, Seven needed to find a means to distribute up to three times more promo content to capital city stations as well as regional affiliates — driving the network to find a more economical and efficient solution.

Signiant provides a network-wide content exchange platform that has replaced all of the previous transfer methods, addressing Seven’s immediate need for increased capacity and also providing the scalability the network requires as the business grows into the future. Signiant enables fast, easy and secure replication of long-form program content around the network, and also provides a secure Web portal for news journalists and stringers at all locations to quickly upload the digital content they need.

Visit www.sevenwestmedia.com.au and www.signiant.com

Brightcove Powers ABC iview

Distributed, Eco-Friendly Back-Up

BRIGHTCOVE, A GLOBAL PROVIDER of cloud content services, and the

THE AMOUNT OF DATA being produced globally is growing exponentially with this year’s total expected to be 60% greater than last year and by 2020 the amount of data will be 50 times greater than that.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) have announced an integration that will streamline the online video publishing and content management process for ABC TV’s online TV catch-up service, ABC iview.

Using the features of the Brightcove Video Cloud online video platform, ABC iview will be able to scale the quality of video playback on certain platforms according to the strength of a user’s bandwidth conditions via adaptive bit rate streaming.

“We are pleased to be leveraging Brightcove’s technology to give our users an even better experience when watching ABC TV on iview” said Arul Baskaran, Controller, ABC TV Multiplatform. “Operationally, the Brightcove platform is making it possible for us to focus on making iview more widely available on mobile devices on various operating systems.”

“ABC TV has been at the forefront of broadcast innovation for almost 60 years, and still sets the agenda as demonstrated with the success of iview,” said Mark Blair, Senior Director, Asia Pacific at Brightcove. “With Brightcove Video Cloud, the iview team can further harness the mobile revolution with an improved viewing experience tailored for each device type.”

According to Greenpeace International, data centres already consume 1.5% to 2% of the world’s electricity, a figure which is growing at a rate of 12% per year. The growing ecological footprint of data centres is therefore becoming a great concern and something worth considering when choosing data backup and storage services.

According to Trevor Glen, Founder and CEO of Incriptus Ltd, “When you think about the amount of space and resources invested in protecting and storing all the data we are constantly producing, it doesn’t take long to realise that data backup is a growing issue.”

The Incriptus eco-friendly data backup solution resolves the data centre energy consumption issue by encrypting files, fragmenting them and then distributing the fragments across user computers throughout the incriptus network. As a result, no file can be reconstructed from any individual fragment and no complete document resides on any single computer in any single location.

Download the free ABC iview app for iPad at: http://itunes.apple.com/au/ app/abc-iview/id401778175?mt=8

“Everybody has unused space on their hard drive,” said Glen, “We are simply distributing data fragments across the hard drives of everyone using incriptus-powered backup rather than sending it to a large data centre.”

Visit www.brightcove.com

Visit www.incriptus.com

Prime Focus Selects Masstech PRIME FOCUS TECHNOLOGIES, a global digital content services

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD

provider has chosen Masstech as its cloud storage archive provider for its hierarchical storage management (HSM) in the initial phase across three sites in India, the United Kingdom and United States.

Prime Focus Technologies offers a ‘hybrid cloud’ multi-platform content operations service called CLEAR, enabling their customers from the media and entertainment industry to produce, process, manage and deliver content for revenue-generating opportunities.

Ganesh Sankaran, COO of Prime Focus Technologies said, “We chose Emerald to provide the archiving system because Masstech has made advanced digital archive management affordable, allowing us to grow our business cost-effectively as we expand our CLEAR cloud computing services around the world.”

Masstech has installed Emerald in Prime Focus Technologies’ sites to perform HSM and offline archiving. Emerald works with CLEAR to archive and restore from the Online Hard Disk Storage and Nearline Spectra LTO5 tape library.

Emerald supports up to two LTO-5 tape drives with any size robotic tape library from a wide range of manufacturers like Spectra, IBM, Quantum, Oracle/StorageTek and others. In addition, Emerald has fee-free unlimited disk and tape storage with an unlimited number of offline externalized LTO cartridges, effectively providing an infinite archive capacity. And as the broadcast environment grows, Emerald can be easily upgraded to Masstech’s Topaz system for multi-server scalability and streamlined MAM. Visit www.masstech.com and www.primefocusworld.com

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RADIO The original broadcast media

Lexus First Australian Luxury Vehicle to Introduce DAB+ LEXUS HAS BECOME the first Australian luxury automotive vehicle to introduce DAB+ digital radio as standard. The all-new Lexus GS range will feature DAB+ as part of a new advanced audio and navigation system.

Commercial Radio Australia chief executive officer, Joan Warner said, “The announcement

by Lexus to include Digital Radio DAB+ as standard in the GS is an exciting start to 2012 for digital radio. It is the first luxury vehicle to offer digital radio as standard and I know Lexus drivers will enjoy the digital sound quality and additional stations available.”

Digital radio is now standard in the 2012 Camry Atara SL, from Lexus’ parent company Toyota. The Atara SL combines digital radio with a 7-inch touchscreen display, a 10-speaker JBL sound system, a CD player, reversing camera, Bluetooth hands-free and music streaming, as well as auxiliary and USB ports. Also a subsidiary of Toyota, Hino 300, 500 and 700 series trucks will all include DAB+. DAB+ is available as an option in a number of BMW and Audi models.

Visit www.digitalradioplus.com.au

First HD Radio Station in Bangladesh Signs On-Air Using BE ON JANUARY 1, DHAKA FM powered up a new Broadcast Electronics FM 10S transmitter and began broadcasting on 90.4 MHz, ringing in the new year as the first FM station to broadcast in HD Radio in Bangladesh. Present for the inaugural event were noted dignitaries from information and telecommunications branches of the Bangladesh government.

“Just a few short years ago we started out as the first live Bangladesh station on the Internet.

Today, we have been able to make these huge achievements with the help of our loyal listeners and our partnerships with local officials as well as companies like Broadcast Electronics and Onair Solutions,” said M.A. Hakim, Chief Operating Officer at Dhaka FM Ltd. RF and studio equipment manufacturer Broadcast

Electronics and local representative Onair Solutions Ltd provided a full RF and studio turnkey solution, from helping with licensing to launching of the station. Included in the equipment list were a new BE FM 10S solid-state transmitter with FXi 250 exciters and new XPi 10esp HD Radio signal generator along with a backup STX LP 5 kW low-power transmitter. For the studio, the station purchased BE’s The Radio Experience message management system for RDS text and HD Radio datacasting.

With more than 100 HD Radio receiver models in the market and 22 global automakers supporting the technology, listeners in Bangladesh will immediately benefit from the new audio and data services of HD Radio.

Visit www.radiodhaka.net

www.content-technology.com/radio

Hostworks Streams triple j Hottest 100 on Australia Day THE TRIPLE J HOTTEST 100, based on the listener’s votes from national Australian radio station triple j, counted down the top 100 songs of 2011 on Australia Day. The countdown was broadcast by the radio station and streamed online.

The Hottest 100 is one of the largest public music polls in the world and streaming the countdown online lets triple j reach a wider audience. Using Hostworks SHOUTcast server and Elastic Compute Infrastructure ensured that internet listeners received quality service throughout out the day.

Visit www.hostworks.com.au

ABC Selects ReportIT for Global Network TIELINE HAS ANNOUNCED that the ABC will be rolling out Tieline’s Report-IT Enterprise solution across its radio network.

The Report-IT Enterprise application for iPhone will essentially place a high quality portable IP audio codec and 20kHz quality recorder into the pocket of up to 500 ABC reporters across Australia and overseas.

“This global broadcast solution allows the ABC to install the Report-IT application on up to 500 iPhones and lets engineers remotely manage and program all connections for it’s journalists at the touch of a button,” said Tieline’s Charlie Gawley.

Visit www.tieline.com/report-it

2MBS-FM Choose LAWO for Rebuild stereo FM in Australia is installing LAWO technology for their new facility. Roger Doyle, Board member of 2MBS explains, “After many years and much detailed planning we are soon to move into our new, purpose-built studios under construction at St Leonards. As with others, 2MBS is addressing multi-streaming FM, the internet and now, DAB+, so out with the old and in with the latest digital system.”

Split 12 fader LAWO crystal consoles and frames were chosen for the two main on-air studios, with 2 x 8 fader consoles and crystal frames for the production and dubbing

studios, and a 4 fader crystal console for the transfer booth. At the heart of the MCR a fully redundant LAWO NOVA17 router ties all studios together via fibre and is responsible for all on-air delegation, switching and also a sophisticated talkback system.

Mr Doyle continues, “The first console was installed and is already operating in the largely analogue environment of our temporary facilities.

This was initiated so as to provide opportunities for all presenters to familiarise themselves with the new consoles well prior to the move.”

Visit www.lawo.de

RADIO

SYDNEY’S FIRST STATION to broadcast

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RADIO

Sky Sports Radio Pushes Digital Innovation SKY SPORTS RADIO is continuing its innovation and expansion of digital radio services with Sky Racing World now being simulcast on digital radio and the launch of an iPhone and iPad App for racing and sports fans to keep in touch.

SLATED FOR A MARCH RELEASE, Sonifex’s S0 is a high quality yet simple to operate radio broadcast mixer ideally suited to community radio stations, for educational purposes and for internet radio.

Easy to understand, the S0 includes a telephone hybrid for making and recording telephone calls and a 3.5mm stereo jack for plugging in an mp3 player.

The addition of a USB port allows for recording to a PC and for playing a PC automation system directly through the mixer.

Sky Racing World is available for Sydney listeners who have digital radios. The channel is devoted to thoroughbred racing, including the best race meetings from Australia and around the world with live racing up to 17 hours a day. Sky Racing World includes showcasing of the major cup carnivals.

The headphone outputs have a built in limiter to offer hearing protection and the studio speakers mute when a microphone fader is open, with automatic mic live sign switching. The S0 allows presenters and DJs to be up and running quickly with a fully featured radio studio mixer.

“The launch of the Sky Racing World digital radio channel highlights the way Sky Sports Radio has embraced next generation radio technology,” said Sky Racing Chief Operating Officer, Brendan Parnell. “Digital radio provides our listeners with a richer experience, with the broadcasting of text such as odds, race tips and results.”

+ Nine multifunction channel mixer. + Built in telephone interface. + Built in headphone volume limiter. + Large, simple LED volume display. + Remote output for fader starts. + Speaker muting when ‘Mics’ are on. + External mic-light switching output. + ‘Programme’ and ‘record’ outputs. + ‘Aux’ input for iPod or MP3 players. + Four microphone/line channels.

Sky Sports Radio was the first commercial radio station in Australia to broadcast live sports coverage on its digital service. The station was recognised by Commercial Radio Australia in 2010 as a finalist for best new digital radio format.

Sky Sports Radio has also launched an iPhone and iPad App, which provides digital quality audio and colour information slides with betting odds and results.

The next phase of the Sky Sports Radio App is in planning and will include podcasts and betting links.

In addition to its Sydney footprint (1017AM), Sky Sports Radio has more than 104 narrowcast transmitters around NSW ensuring a total statewide coverage. Each week more than 1500 races are now broadcast live, as well as the corresponding pre-race and post-race form and TAB betting information.

Visit www.skysportsradio.com.au

Radio NZ Goes Live Via iPhone RADIO NEW ZEALAND has released a new version of its iPhone application which now allows its listeners to listen live or on-demand anywhere in the world.

The new application, which is available free-of-charge from Apple’s App Store, can be used on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

New features include live streaming for all Radio New Zealand networks including Radio New Zealand National, Radio New Zealand Concert, Radio New Zealand International and live broadcasts from the New Zealand Parliament.

The most recent Radio New Zealand news bulletin is also now available at the touch of a button.

Radio New Zealand Chief Executive Peter Cavanagh said the first version of the Radio New Zealand iPhone app released last year had proved extremely popular with listeners all over the world wanting to access content on demand.

“But, we were inundated with requests from people who wanted to be able to listen live to our radio broadcasts - as well as replaying individual items in their own time.

“This new app does just that, providing live streams of all our radio networks including our Pacific shortwave service Radio New Zealand International - and an “as live” replay of the latest news bulletin.”

RADIO

Entry Level Radio Broadcast Mixer

The new app retains all the key features of the original version including being able to browse and replay items from recent programmes, a weekly selection of featured content and the ability to create customised playlist.

Visit www.radionz.co.nz/about/iphone

Features include:

+ Four stereo line channels. + Switchable telephone/AUX channel. + Stereo USB audio to and from a PC. + Guest headphone ‘talkback’. + Rack or flush mountable. + Integrated AC power supply.

Visit www.sonifex.co.uk

HK DAB+ All In for All In Media ALL IN MEDIA (AIM) has been named as the sole supplier of DAB Slideshow and Text management systems for Hong Kong’s DAB+ roll out.

AIM’s local partner, technology company BTL, specified All In Media products as part of its hardware and system integration service to the broadcasters involved in the project. AIM’s software is at the heart of the visual side of the DAB+ broadcasts, delivering text and images from a mix of static and dynamic content.

Following the granting of licences last year, extended trial broadcasts are currently under way by state broadcaster RTHK and commercial operators Phoenix U, Metro Broadcast and DBCHK. The full DAB+ service of 18 channels will commence in early 2012. For commercial broadcasters, DAB+ visual services provide a means of generating new revenue streams from advertisers and sponsors.

Chris Gould, All In Media’s Managing Director, says “We are pleased to be at the forefront of the expansion of digital radio to Hong Kong. We’re delighted that Hong Kong has joined the growing list of international broadcasters who are using our products to power their next-generation digital radio services.”

Terence Yiu, Senior Systems Engineer from Phoenix U added, “We wanted a system with a proven track record and AIM provided a customised solution to suit the local market. Simple installation and seamless integration with other systems made it an easy choice.”

Visit www.thisisaim.com

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Distributed by AVC Group 1-800-631-728 sales@avc-group.com.au 1hYQ 1eTY_ Q ]U]RUb _V DXU DU\_c 1\\YQ^SUD= D<C 3_b` " !"

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AUDIO Digital soundwaves

www.content-technology.com/audio

Sennheiser Targets Asia for Grey Marketers, Knock-Offs COUNTERFEITS AND GREY MARKET technology products via the Internet may seem like a great idea for the cash-strapped, but the low prices disguise a hidden cost – one that affects industry jobs, safety, skill-sets and, as these products inevitably break, the purchaser’s access to local technical support.

Since May 2011 Sennheiser, one of the world’s leading manufacturer of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems, has been collaborating successfully with trademark protection company OpSec Security, which specialises in the fight against counterfeits and grey-market goods on the Internet.

Following a successful roll-out of its campaign in Europe, the collaboration has been expanded to include Asia.

“At a time when online trading is booming, trademark protection initiatives and the fight against illegal offerings is very important to us, and that’s not just in Germany,” explains Gerhard Tammen, President of Sennheiser Vertrieb und Service GmbH & Co. KG. “That’s why we decided to work in collaboration with internationally active and experienced specialist OpSec Security.”

Working on behalf of Sennheiser, the trademark

protection experts at OpSec screen relevant B2B and B2C portals for suspicious offers from the areas of headphones and microphones, using specially developed software.

In addition to Germany, countries involved thus far include the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Poland and Spain. Numerous offers for counterfeit and grey-market goods have already been removed since the collaboration started in May 2011.

“Our successes with online screening in Europe increased our resolve to use these effective means in the fight against product piracy outside Europe too,” says Volker Bartels, Speaker of the Executive Management Board and President Corporate Services. “We are focusing therefore on illegal trade in Asia, since many counterfeit products originate from there. In this way we can stop these from reaching Europe, the USA or other parts of the world in the first place.”

OpSec has therefore also been monitoring the major Asian B2B platforms for Sennheiser since January, with the result that illegal online auctions have been able to be consistently stopped.

Visit www.sennheiser.com.au

TC Electronics Plugs Into Loudness Metering TC ELECTRONIC’S LM6 Radar Loudness Meter is an efficient solution when upgrading audio production for broadcast, film and music from unsatisfactory peak level indicators to loudnessbased metering.

The TC LM6 employs a fully synchronous, highheadroom design in order to also display truepeak warnings & true-peak bar graphs correctly and conforms with all of the major broadcast standards based on Leq(K).

With the introduction of the new LM6 Radar Loudness Meter plug-in, engineers can now enjoy direct access to this revolutionary meter whether they’re using Media Composer, Final Cut Pro, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Nuendo, Wavelab, Cubase, Sequoia etc. on a Mac or PC in mono, stereo or 5.1 formats.

The LM6 Radar Loudness Meter plug-in can be used with any DAW supporting Audio Units, RTAS or VST plug-in formats, and without the need for additional hardware such as Pro Tools TDM or TC PowerCore.

AUDIO

The user interface of the LM6 plug-in is similar to TC’s existing radar meters such as the TM7 & TM9 TouchMonitor or LM5D for Pro Tools HD. The LM6 displays loudness history in a single, easy-to-read, radar-like view. Each radar revolution can span from 1 minute to 24 hours, and users can select two numbers to be displayed below the radar, while all measurements are retained on the Stats page. In addition, loudness history and other key information can be logged as a standard formatted text file that may accompany a program.

Visit www.ambertech.com.au

Pure Workflow NOA AUDIO SOLUTIONS has announced jobDB 3.0, an upgrade to its jobDB workflow creation tool for ingesting, reshaping, and analyzing media during archiving, retranscoding, or other complex business processes. The upgrade gives users of NOA’s ingestLINE and actLINE platforms greater flexibility in setting up individual workflows, as well as full support of nearly all actLINE modules. The result is reduced cost of workflow setup and execution, and improved workflow quality. jobDB 3.0 boasts several improvements over the previous version, including a multiple retranscoding capability; an increase in output file types from the MediaButler module; the ability to connect to the new WaveScanner, FileCollector, and FolderScanner Uniport modules; and the ability to connect all actLINE modules to jobDB to enable design of multiple chains of subsequent file processing. “jobDB was designed to bring all the scalability and efficiency of automated processes to the environments where media asset management already exists,” said Jean-Christophe Kummer, NOA Audio Solutions CEO. “It allows archivists and service providers who use our ingestLINE and actLINE products to create grid-based workflows that greatly simplify the process of working with files, and that are scalable from one to many human operators or automated machines.”

Visit www.noa-audio.com

Clear-Com Launches Rental Group CLEAR-COM has launched the Clear-Com Global Rental Group (CGRG). Through a network of experienced rental partners equipped to provide Clear-Com intercom systems for productions of any size, the new service, led by industry veteran Larry Estrin, offers greater flexibility and options for addressing customers’ communications requirements.

The CGRG is comprised of experienced rental businesses worldwide. These partners support short-term and rapid installation needs with a full range of advanced wired and wireless production intercoms and technical support. As Director of CGRG, Estrin provides rental partners with greater knowledge, skills and resources to supply the highest level of production communications.

Visit www.clearcom.com

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AUDIO

Jünger Tackles Loudness

Audio Monitoring from TSL

AUDIO LOUDNESS and dynamics specialist Jünger Audio has added to its range of LEVEL MAGIC processors.

The first unit, the D*AP LM4, is a four-channel Digital Audio Processor that incorporates Version II of Jünger Audio’s renowned LEVEL MAGIC algorithm, which is compliant with all current broadcast audio loudness recommendations. D*AP LM4 is aimed at television broadcasters, and video production and post production companies.

Jünger Audio’s second new product is the D*AP LM2. This two-channel Digital Audio Processor also incorporates LEVEL MAGIC Version II. Both the D*AP LM2 and D*AP LM4 come with a power fail bypass to ensure operational security. They also feature Jünger Audio’s Adaptive Dynamics as standard, allowing customers to incorporate additional processing blocks.

Visit www.junger-audio.com

Sennheiser XS RF Wireless Systems SENNHEISER HAS LAUNCHED a series of wireless microphone systems at an entry level price point. The XS Wireless Series includes five different systems, each packaged as a complete set. These include two hand-held systems, an instrument system, a presenter system with lapel microphone and a headmic set.

DESIGNED AS AN audio monitoring solution for TV Production, TSL’s AVM-T-MIX is a 48-channel, 2RU, Rackmount audio mixer/monitor. Features include 22:9 aspect ratio touchscreen, volume control, dual function gain/ balance encoder, headphone socket, USB port, Home Preset save/recall switch and loudspeakers.

Key features for the NEW AVM-T-MIX include: + EVS Operators can select channel monitoring whilst listening to Talkback using a single device in fast-paced live operation; + Voice Over Artists, Off Tube and Live Commentators can tailor their monitoring to suit particular requirements; + Production Gallery staff from Directors to Editors have direct control over their diverse incoming audio signals; + Sound Supervisors, A1s and Sound Assistants can mix and monitor Embedded, AES and Analogue signals; + User configurable selection of multiple audio signal formats from HD-SDI, AES and analogue; + Touchscreen control and monitoring of mono, stereo, surround and mixed audio channel content;

+ True Dual Diversity receiver design to guarantee reliable reception quality.

+ Onboard and external USB memory interface for instant save and recall of user snapshots means that AVM-T-MIX can be reconfigured for different users and/or shows in seconds;

+ Auto Scanning to find the best group of frequencies for your location.

+ Ability to hear up to 20 different audio signals simultaneously; and

+ Eight banks of up to 12 factory pre-set frequencies + Wireless Sync automatically sets the transmitter to match the receiver.

+ Dual mixer capability can be used in place of standalone rack mixers for many applications such as Prehear/Comms monitoring and Cue mixing.

Visit www.sennheiser.com.au

Visit www.tsl.co.uk

Mixing & Audio Processing Interface

Dolby E® Decoder Interface

Dolby E® Encoder Interface

3G-SDI Interface for Embedded Audio

Features include:

NEXUS ... more than Digital Audio Routing

DISCOVER STAGETEC INNOVATIONS

AUDIO

STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP AUSTRALIA PTY. LTD. email: australia@stagetec.com.au Phone: +61 2 8011 0500 www.stagetec.com.au

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TRANSMISSION Signal distribution, test & measurement

www.content-technology.com/transmission

Freeview Upgrades EPG with S&T, Magna S&T AND ITS AUSTRALIAN PARTNER Magna Systems and Engineering have developed and installed a major system upgrade to the Freeview Australia EPG system, with Magna providing local support and systems testing for the installation and S&T providing new customised versions of software.

Colin Prior, Director of International Sales at S&T, said, “The upgrade was commissioned by Freeview to improve the performance and user experience of the EPG with modifications to the MHEG receiver application and relocation of the schedule data processing to a single data centre. The TSBroadcaster2 carousel systems at all the broadcaster playout centres have also been upgraded to support new features. HWW, Australia’s leading provider of TV Metadata, which collates the schedule data from all networks, have also assisted with consolidation of similar programme schedules for different markets.”

The Freeview EPG, which has been on-air since July 2010, provides eight-day listings for all Freeview channels as well as integrated PVR support with series links and accurate recording.

Andrew Robertson, Freeview’s consultant engineer said, “S&T and Magna Systems have successfully and promptly delivered this complex project resulting in a better user experience and significant performance efficiencies.

The upgraded Freeview EPG is a solution that we are very pleased to have had implemented by S&T and Magna. We expect to see more Freeview EPG receiver products enter the market this year as a result.”

Freeview’s EPG system is the most complex MHEG application system delivered outside of the UK, managing schedule data presentation as well

(L-R) Colin Prior (S&TDirector of International Sales), David Bowers (CEO Magna Systems and Engineering), Liz Ross (Freeview GM) and Andrew Robertson (Freeview consultant engineer).

as integrated PVR booking, series links and accurate recording, for multiple broadcasters across multiple states and time zones.

David Bowers, CEO of Magna Systems said, “We are delighted to have completed this major upgrade for Freeview Australia as it has addressed new requirements from the Freeview broadcasters for an increased number of unique markets, whilst also delivering an improved user experience with faster performance and improved operational reliability.”

Faster-than-Fast Fourier Transforms

By Larry Hardesty, MIT News Office

THE FOURIER TRANSFORM is one of the most fundamental concepts in the information sciences. It’s a method for representing an irregular signal as a combination of pure frequencies. It’s universal in signal processing, but it can also be used to compress image and audio files, solve differential equations and price stock options, among other things.

At the recent Symposium on Discrete Algorithms (SODA), a group of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) presented a new algorithm that, in a large range of practically important cases, improves on the fast Fourier transform. Under some circumstances, the improvement can be dramatic — a tenfold increase in speed. The new algorithm could be particularly useful for image compression, enabling, say, smartphones to wirelessly transmit large video files without draining their batteries or consuming their monthly bandwidth allotments.

TRANSMISSION

Like the Fast Fourier Transform, the new algorithm works on digital signals. A digital signal is just a series of numbers — discrete samples of an analogue signal, such as the sound of a musical instrument. The FFT takes a digital signal containing a certain number of samples and expresses it as the weighted sum of an equivalent number of frequencies.

Laboratory (CSAIL), developed together with their students Eric Price and Haitham Hassanieh — relies on two key ideas. The first is to divide a signal into narrower slices of bandwidth, sized so that a slice will generally contain only one frequency with a heavy weight.

In signal processing, the basic tool for isolating particular frequencies is a filter. But filters tend to have blurry boundaries: One range of frequencies will pass through the filter more or less intact; frequencies just outside that range will be somewhat attenuated; frequencies outside that range will be attenuated still more; and so on, until you reach the frequencies that are filtered out almost perfectly.

If it so happens that the one frequency with a heavy weight is at the edge of the filter, however, it could end up so attenuated that it can’t be identified. So the researchers’ first contribution was to find a computationally efficient way to combine filters so that they overlap, ensuring that no frequencies inside the target range will be unduly attenuated, but that the boundaries between slices of spectrum are still fairly sharp.

“Weighted” means that some of those frequencies count more toward the total than others. Indeed, many of the frequencies may have such low weights that they can be safely disregarded. That’s why the Fourier transform is useful for compression. An eight-by-eight block of pixels can be thought of as a 64-sample signal, and thus as the sum of 64 different frequencies. But as the researchers point out in their new paper, empirical studies show that on average, 57 of those frequencies can be discarded with minimal loss of image quality.

Once they’ve isolated a slice of spectrum, however, the researchers still have to identify the most heavily weighted frequency in that slice. In the SODA paper, they do this by repeatedly cutting the slice of spectrum into smaller pieces and keeping only those in which most of the signal power is concentrated. But in an as-yet-unpublished paper, they describe a much more efficient technique, which borrows a signal-processing strategy from 4G cellular networks. Frequencies are generally represented as up-and-down squiggles, but they can also be thought of as oscillations; by sampling the same slice of bandwidth at different times, the researchers can determine where the dominant frequency is in its oscillatory cycle.

The new algorithm — which associate professor Dina Katabi and professor Piotr Indyk, both of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence

Visit http://siam.omnibooksonline.com/2012SODA/data/papers/500. pdf#page=1

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HPA Ad

TRANSMISSION

Free HbbTV Apps for EBU Members

“Swiss Army Knife” of QC

EUROPEAN BROADCASTING UNION (EBU) Members will be offered

DESIGNED TO RUN ON a standard desktop PC or workstation, Reel-Check Solo-QC enables a complete set of quality-control tests to be performed on live or file-based video and audio. It is compatible with all signal standards and media file-types currently in common use, including webcast, broadcast and 444 digital-film formats up to 4K.

generic applications to deploy Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) during the Olympics and the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), when audiences peak.

Three ‘white label’ interactive applications will be provided free to participating EBU Members to customise generic content for entertainment, news or sport.

The applications from EBU members ARD/IRT and commercial partners DOTSCREEN and Abertis Telecom will provide a basic level of hybrid interactivity to promote the adoption of HbbTV, which combines traditional viewing with the added value of the Internet and smart device applications.

Visit www.ebu.ch/en/union/under_banners/Hybrid.php?display=EN

DVB-T/T2 Monitor SENCORE HAS LAUNCHED a dual-input DVB-T/T2 interface module that enables monitoring of DVB-T and DVB-T2 broadcast signals directly from an antenna. The VB252 is suitable for use by broadcasters to monitor their own transmissions, or by cable, IPTV, and satellite providers.

The VB252 is available as a blade that fits into a Sencore VB200 chassis and is controlled by either the VB220 or VB120 probe. These components, working in tandem with other blades and probes that make up a complete VideoBridge monitoring system, enable operators to gain a unique insight into their video delivery systems from ingest to the end customer.

Reel-Check Solo-QC can perform automatic checking of ingested or finished file content on local or networked drives. The operator can preset a table of test parameters and tolerances. Any excursions outside these defined limits are automatically logged with associated timecodes and details. A thumbnail image generated at the time of detected events can be inserted in an easyto-read RTF log.

Alternatively or simultaneously the operator can view full waveform, vectorscope and image displays in any desired combination. Embedded audio, stereo or multi-channel surround-sound can be extracted and checked on a frame-by-frame basis alongside the video for audible or visible impairments. Audio, video and timecode can be displayed at any size on-screen.

Audio displays include bar-graphs in any common scale as well as full 5.1 surround-sound GMO and spectrogram. These can be supplemented by audio waveform (channels 1 to 16), audio phase vectors, audio phase balance and frequency analysis spectra. Integral audio loudness monitoring allows checks to ITU-R BS1770/1, R128 and the USA-mandated ATSC A/85.

Visit www.sencore.com

Visit www.cel-soft.com

TRANSMISSION

The VB252 and VB120 blade/probe combination enables monitoring of IP network distribution (for up to 50 IP multicasts) together with DVB-T2 and T2-MI signals between broadcast studio and transmitter.

For live sources on HD-SDI or HDMI, Reel-Check Solo-QC can be used with most PC compatible capture cards or devices as well as DV or HDV over IEEE 1394 (Apple Firewire). Taped media can be quality-controlled in this configuration with timecode readouts. Media files can be analysed at normal play-speed or faster than real-time.

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TRANSMISSION

Joined Up Thinking

By James Gilbert, Joint MD, Pixel Power.

There’s no doubt we have reached a tipping point in the world of integrated playout devices – or channel-in-a-box (CiB). The number of companies entering the market and the column inches being written are testimony to that, and broadcasters are taking note. But there’s an increasing level of confusion in the market too.

SOME SEE THESE TECHNOLOGIES as only useful for basic channels, those that are thematic in nature. On the other hand, there’s a groundswell of opinion that within only a few years, CiB technologies will dominate the market at the expense of the traditional approach. What must be clearly stated is that in some cases CiB technologies are now highly advanced, complex solutions that in turn facilitate the playout of highly advanced, sophisticated channels and the concerns many broadcasters had are now being addressed.

Before we look at the capabilities of CiB systems, there’s one fundamental misconception that has to be dismissed: channel-in-a box does not have to equal commoditised IT hardware. This is in fact the conflation of two separate, distinct trends. While there are of course many CiB solutions that take this route, there are also true integrated playout devices that combine the benefits of bespoke hardware and software.

Many of today’s converged systems do utilise standard PCs with video cards that purport to do almost anything a broadcaster will require. Although it’s perfectly possible to carry out most functions of a high-end integrated channel playout device on the powerful CPUs/GPUs now available, it may well not be possible to do them all at the same time. It’s far from unusual to install a CiB system and then to add a downstream device to provide highend branding graphics that cannot be performed on the integrated system.

“Channel-in-a box does not have to equal commoditised IT hardware.”

Today’s equipment designers typically have a choice when it comes to implementing a particular function – and that choice can radically affect power consumption. Code can run on a general purpose processor such as a CPU or GPU. It can also be implemented in “virtual hardware” within programmable devices such as FPGAs. A third choice is to run on fully custom devices. Typically the flexibility is greatest with the general-purpose processor, but so is the power consumption.

Pixel Power’s channel-in-a-box offering ChannelMaster.

race to win and hold audiences. The look and feel of channels – the overall quality of output - is vital.

Some broadcasters have accepted a stopgap - using only a router and video server to simply play out the channel without the addition of appealing, tailored transitions, promotional graphics and logos that make a channel memorable. That approach belies the need to effectively brand channels in order to foster a rapport with the viewing audience. Creating an identity for a channel is critical to enticing advertisers who want to target clearly defined demographics: graphics are the fundamental tool available to differentiate, present a consistent brand image and promote content.

Having a robust graphics platform as part of an integrated playout system also makes it easier to reuse graphics produced in other functional areas of a media company.

There’s a second key area that has seen many broadcasters shy away from CiB solutions: automation. Until recently, CiB technologies have been tied to the automation system that they are supplied with: automation lock-in. This automation lock-in is an important consideration for a broadcaster whose needs may change over time. CiB technologies that benefit from this can integrate with many automation and MAM systems by way of an open XML protocol or legacy industry standard protocols. This means that it’s far easier to integrate a CiB system with an already-installed automation system, or indeed MAM, greatly enhancing the flexibility of the technology. Therefore, the optimal solution is an integrated playout system that’s adaptable and works with a variety of automation systems, so as a broadcaster’s use of CiB grows, an already-installed automation system can continue to be used across a facility.

There has also been some, perhaps misplaced, concern among some broadcasters that CiB systems have not been powerful or flexible enough – or haven’t had the requisite number of inputs, upstream router control or preview capabilities, all essential with live content – to effectively handle the challenges that live content provides. That’s simply not the case. Again, broadcasters need to define as clearly as possible what channels they will want the technology to handle and then look at the options in the market.

Visit www.pixelpower.com

TRANSMISSION

The key point that any broadcaster has to keep in mind is that it’s function and not form that defines the output: what does a broadcaster want the technology to achieve? The second is that CiB systems aren’t about compromising, they are about efficiency.

To succeed in today’s world broadcasters must find ways to control the operating costs of each individual channel without diminishing the channels’ quality or impact. This requires more affordable and more efficient equipment, hence the growing interest in CiB. The sheer number of channels currently being launched also leads broadcasters to CiB solutions: playing all these out using traditional methods is simply too expensive. But there’s a crucial flip side: the sheer size of the multichannel world means that channel branding becomes ever more important in the

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CLASSIFIEDS Events AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING SUMMIT 2012 Content+Technology is proud to be supporting the 10th Australian Broadcasting Summit 2012.

We have secured a special rate for C+T readers to attend. Register and SAVE 10% off the standard conference price. Use promo code C+T when registering to receive your discount.

NEW FOR 2012 C+T is working with the organisers, AC Events, to bring you a dedicated technical stream. Designed specifically for the ‘engineers behind the big ideas’, it will offer a fresh perspective on… + Broadcast spectrum efficiency in the post-switchover world + 3DTV: accommodating the third dimension + Protecting content: when legislation isn’t enough To register, call +61 2 8908 8555 or visit http://acevents.com.au/broadcasting2012/

FEBRUARY Mobile World Congress 27 Feb - 1 Mar www.mobileworldcongress.com CABSAT MENA 28 Feb - 1 Mar www.cabsat.com

MARCH Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Digital Broadcasting Symposium 2012 Malaysia: 6 - 9 March www.abu.org.myad:tech Sydney: 14 - 15 March www.ad-tech.com/Sydney MUDFEST 17 March mudfest.com.au iptvworldforum 20 - 22 March London, UK

www.iptv-forum.com CCBN2012 China Content Broadcasting Network Expo 21 - 23 March Beijing, China www.ccbn.tv Sign & Digital UK 27 - 29 March NEC, Birmingham UK www.signuk.com ad:tech Melbourne 28 - 29 March www.ad-tech.com/ Melbourne mipdoc & mipformats 30 - 31 March Cannes, France www.mipworld.com

BROADCAST SYSTEMS SALES ENGINEER RFS (Radio Frequency Systems) is a global designer and manufacturer of passive RF equipment providing total-package solutions for wireless infrastructure. RFS provide RF Systems solutions for cell-based mobile communications, in-building, in-tunnels, television & radio, radio-link networks, LMR/PMR and HF & Defense.

At present we have an exciting position available for a Broadcast Systems Sales Engineer to join our Sales Department in Melbourne. The position specializing in the TV and Radio product line, is based at the RFS facility in Kilsyth.

The position reports to the Systems Sales Manager - APAC The responsibilities of the role include but are not limited to the following: + Technical Sales Support

Advertiser Index Magna Systems & Engineering...............................15 OB group ........................................59 On Air Solutions ....................37, 43 Powermedia Systems Pty Ltd .............................................47 Quinto Communications Pty. Ltd. ............................................. 9 Rohde & Schwarz (Australia) Pty. Ltd. ......................57 Sony Australia........................38-41 Stagetec............................................ 4 Stagetec..........................................55 Storm FX .........................................45 Techtel ............................................13 Videocraft ......................................25 Wohler .............................................. 6

+ Tender Preparation + Contract Negotiation & Commercial Management + Market Analysis & Sales Development + Preparation and Management of Sales Budgets + Project Management Broadcast Systems Implementation + National and international travel You will be expected to have tertiary qualifications in Engineering or related field. Broadcast industry experience would be beneficial, however is not a prerequisite.

RFS are represented on six continents, with nine manufacturing centre-ofexcellence and 32 technical support and sales offices. As an ISO cvompliant organization with manufacturing and customer service facilities that span the globe, RFS offers cutting-edge engineering capabilities, superior field support and innovative product design.

If this role sounds like the opportunity that you have been waiting for; please send your resume with a brief cover letter detailing your interest to Joan Divilly - Lavelle, HR Director. Email: joan.divilly-lavelle@rfsworld.com

CLASSIFIEDS

Amber Technology ......................11 ARRI ............................................... IBC Association and Communication Events..............23 Atomise ..........................................59 AVC Australia Pty Ltd ..........IFC, 53 Blackmagic ...................................... 5 Eureka .............................................49 Fuji ............................................60-63 Gencom Technology Pty Ltd ....17 Harmonic Inc. .................................. 3 Harris Communications Limited........................................ OBC Lemac ..............................................29 Lumina Broadcast Systems......... 7 Magna Systems & Engineering27

+ Broadcast System Design - TV & Radio

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001

>> Commercial Radio Xmas >> 002 >> Commercial Radio Xmas >> 003 >> Commercial Radio Xmas >> 004 >> Commercial Radio Xmas >>

005

>> Commercial Radio Xmas >> 006 >> Commercial Radio Xmas >> 007 >> Commercial Radio Xmas >> 008 >> Commercial Radio Xmas >>

OFF-AIR

009 >> Commercial Radio Xmas

>> 010 >> Commercial Radio Xmas >> 011 >> Commercial Radio Xmas >> 012 >> Commercial Radio Xmas >>

013

>> Commercial Radio Xmas >> 014 >> Commercial Radio Xmas >>

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OFF-AIR

>> Commercial Radio Xmas >> 016 >> Commercial Radio Xmas >> 017 >> Digistor Christmas Party >>

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>> Digistor Christmas Party >> 019 >> Digistor Christmas Party >> 020 >> Digistor Christmas Party >> 021 >> Digistor Christmas Party >>

022

>> Digistor Christmas Party >> 023 >> Digistor Christmas Party >> 024 >> Digistor Christmas Party >> 025 >> Digistor Christmas Party >>

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>> Digistor Christmas Party >> 027 >> Digistor Christmas Party >> 028 >> Digistor Christmas Party >> 029 >> Digistor Christmas Party >>

030

>> Digistor Christmas Party >> 031 >> Quinto Christmas Party >> 032 >> Quinto Christmas Party >>

OFF-AIR

015

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OFF-AIR

001

>> Quinto Christmas Party >> 002 >> Quinto Christmas Party >> 003 >> Quinto Christmas Party >> 004 >> Quinto Christmas Party >>

005

>> Quinto Christmas Party >> 006 >> Quinto Christmas Party >> 007 >> Quinto Christmas Party >> 008 >> Quinto Christmas Party >>

009 >>

>> Quinto Christmas Party >> 014 >> Quinto Christmas Party >> 015 >> Quinto Christmas Party >> 016 >> Quinto Christmas Party

OFF-AIR

013

Quinto Christmas Party >> 010 >> Quinto Christmas Party >> 011 >> Quinto Christmas Party >> 012 >> Quinto Christmas Party >>

017

>>

>> Quinto Christmas Party >> 018 >> Quinto Christmas Party >>

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OFF-AIR

>> Quinto Christmas Party >> 020 >> Quinto Christmas Party >> 021 >> Quinto Christmas Party >>>

022

>> Techtel Christmas Party >> 023 >> Techtel Christmas Party >> 024 >> Techtel Christmas Party >> 025 >> Techtel Christmas Party >>

026

>> Techtel Christmas Party >> 027 >> Techtel Christmas Party >> 028 >> Techtel Christmas Party >> 029 >> Techtel Christmas Party >>

030

>> Techtel Christmas Party >> 031 >> Techtel Christmas Party >> 032 >> Techtel Christmas Party >> 032 >> Techtel Christmas Party >>

030

>> Techtel Christmas Party >> 031 >> Techtel Christmas Party >> 032 >> Techtel Christmas Party >>

OFF-AIR

019

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Off The Air Regulators Don’t Stand a Ghost of a Chance THANK GOD for those champions of liberty and the free market out there

forbidden from predicting any negative experiences.

who try to protect us from Government regulation. I mean, it’s not as if we could ever have a global financial crisis ... potential US double-dip recession ... European sovereign debt problems.

This removal of what is essentially a psychic’s bread and butter, the “foreboding danger”, surely negates the majority of what they do and, for entertainment value, is the most interesting part as well.

However, you do have to wonder how effective governments can be when their attention is focused beyond the earthly plane.

Life changing advice and specific events are also off limits, essentially just leaving vague statements in the psychics’ repertoire which, as we all know, is something they loathe to employ.

UK communications regulator Ofcom has just released “a guidance” on that most ironically predictable of advertorial broadcast services, Psychic Television.

While the majority of UK advertising regulation is farmed out to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), Ofcom has retained regulatory control over “participation television” (PTV) and is applying its interpretation of the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising to divas of divining, tattle-tale telepaths, and mediums of all sizes - especially those with a 1900 number.

Under the BCAP code, advertising should not mislead or cause serious or widespread harm or offence, especially as concerning children and vulnerable viewers.

It is the latter Ofcom feels are important in regards to psychic PTV, with people bereaved over the loss of loved ones being particularly open to manipulation.

As such, Ofcom has heavily emphasised the importance of clarifying that psychic PTV is considered advertising and should not attempt to promote itself as editorial content. The “Guidance” contains at least 12 references to this point, just in case the first few were missed.

This, however, is the bland portion of the regulations.

But, it is the use of props, testimonials and spirit guides where Ofcom really gets to the meat of things.

The regulator has no explicit blacklist of props for psychic PTV, making nonoccult uses of props such as chicken bones, goat’s entrails, tea leaves and crystal balls essentially acceptable, though any use which implies, in any way, some sort of prohibited form of psychic practice IS unacceptable.

No doubt, this makes things extremely straightforward for everyone involved.

Rules regarding testimonials are equally easy to work with. Testimonials are allowed but, like every other segment of psychic PTV, it must be considered advertising, and that cannot include claims of efficacy or accuracy regarding the psychic offerings.

This, of course, raises a problem. A testimonial’s sole purpose is to validate the product or service being advertised but, somehow in this case, it is meant to do so without claiming accuracy on the part of the psychic. This should make for some interestingly worded endorsements.

The best is saved for last in the world of psychic regulation with the interpretation of “spirit guides”.

More interesting is what Ofcom prohibits TV psychics from practicing and claiming. First among these is any practice relating to the occult.

Ouija, Satanism, casting of spells, palmistry, attempts to contact the dead, divination, clairvoyance, clairaudience, the invocation of spirits or demons and exorcism all fall in this category. So, sorry John Edwards, Doris Stokes and the followers of Aleister Crowley.

According to the Ofcom document, spirit guides are considered perfectly reasonable, as long as the occult isn’t involved. Contacting the dead with a spirit guide, or claiming to at least, is not allowed.

Among the acceptable practices are tarot, astrology and horoscopes meaning that while palmistry held Aristotle and Hippocrates among its proponents, a gypsy card game is legitimate in the eyes of Ofcom - though only with the appropriate licence and, presumably, no Jokers in the pack.

So, while C+T cannot predict with any certainty the outcome of consumer complaints stemming from the Ofcom “guidance”, we can say there is absolutely no truth to the rumour that those psychics contesting adverse rulings will be directed to a web page stating, “Call Our Appeals Line. You Know the Number.”

OFF THE AIR

In perhaps the most outrageous hamstringing possible, psychic PTV is also

However, the use of a spirit guide, even when it is, quote, a “supposed supernatural advisor of obscure, mythological or ancient provenance”, is not considered contacting the dead. Got that?

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