Content+Technology ASIA JULY-AUGUST 2020

JULY/AUGUST 2020

PP: 255003/06831

MEDIA + PRODUCTION + MANAGEMENT + DELIVERY www.content-technology.com

PUSHING THROUGH

THE PANDEMIC NEP, Encompass, Silver Trak & more...

Scan the QR or visit www.candt.asia

Print & Online Publication / Weekly Newsletter / Podcasts / Product Updates / Event Discounts

YOUR FREE APAC INDUSTRY MAGAZINE ISSN 1448-9554

JULY/AUGUST 20

SUBSCRIBE FREE

Newsgathering ... page 28.

REGULARS 02 EDITOR’S WELCOME 04 NEWS DatVietVAC Launches VieON OTT

08

10

Service; HBO Goes D2C in Taiwan; Rakuten Platform for Offline/Streamed Events; Media Prima Sheds 300; Filipino Govt Closes ABS-CBN DTH; Korean Educators Go VOD with AJA; ATSC Award for Dr. Jae-Young Lee; Encompass Aims for New Heights with Altitude.

FEATURES 14 ACQUISITION Mediacorp’s “Classmates” Shot and Posted with Blackmagic; Atomos Brings RAW Recording to Sony’sPXW-FX9; Sony to Expand Venice & FX9 Cameras; 4K to 8K and HDR from Fujifilm; Ross Updates Camera Motion System; Grass Valley’s LDX 100; Telemetrics Adds AI and Facial Tracking.

14

18 SPORTSCASTING Strict Protocols Key to Return of Rugby League Down Under; NEP – Rising to the Challenge.

22 NEWS OPERATIONS SBS Korea Deliver

Elections with LiveU; Astro Signs Three-Year Contract to Use AP ENPS; Radio Televisyen Malaysia Launches News Channel; New tools from Ross, Vizrt, Vitec, Dejero and more.

26 MEDIA IN THE CLOUD OTT a Silver Lining

for Silver Trak; Rohde & Schwarz Enhances SpycerNode; MOG Announces Support for ProRes Formats; Frame.io v3.6 and Transfer App Beta; FileCatalyst Partners with Dropbox.

20 CONTENT+TECHNOLOGY ISSN 1448-9554 PP:255003/06831 Broadcastpapers Pty Ltd (ABN 34 095 653 277) PO Box 165 Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia www.broadcastpapers.com PUBLISHER: Phil Sandberg Tel +61 (0)2 4368 4569 Mob +61 (0)414 671 811 papers@broadcastpapers.com

ADVERTISING MANAGER: Adam Buick Mob +61 (0)413 007 144 adam@broadcastpapers.com PRODUCTION MANAGER: Lucy Salmon Mob +61(0)412 479 662 production@broadcastpapers.com DESIGN & LAYOUT Wide Open Media Mob +61 (0)419 225 348 www.wideopenmedia.com.au PRINTING: DAI Rubicon, Singapore

30 POST-PRODUCTION Lightstorm Boosts

Production Techniques on Avatar; Unreal Engine 5; NVIDIA Omniverse; Nagra, Avid Enable Forensic Watermarking for Editing Workflows.

34 AUDIO Deluxe Launches One Dub; New Neve

Console; CEDAR Cambridge v13; SSL Delivers S300 Broadcast Audio Console; AMS Neve Mic Pre-amp; AI Tool Analyses Samples and Loops.

38 RADIO ARN Launches Dynamic Audio

Advertising; AES67 Remote Monitoring Solution; GatesAir and StreamGuys Translate GPIO Triggers into Streaming Metadata; Digigram Launches IQOYA CONNECT for Remote Broadcasting; Telos Updates Omnia VOLT.

42 CONTENT DELIVERY NAGRA Secures Taiwan

Broadband Communications’ Android TV; Thaicom and CAT Form Satellite JV; Playout and DR in the Cloud with Ideal Systems; How to Get Your End-to-End OTT Service Online Fast.

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.

EDITOR’S WELCOME

The Road Back Starts Right Where You Are!

ersburg

02:00

01:00

00:00

24:00

23:00

22:00

So, physical industry events will have to start again from scratch, small and local, but they should, simultaneously, also be online. The groundwork they have laid in virtual events, if they continue investment, will serve them well even allowing them a wider audience (naturally including timezone friendly on-demand access).

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE A local focus will also become much more important for technology manufacturers and their customers as this pandemic plays out. Call centres, chatbots and zoom meetings are no substitute for knowledgeable and timely support from a local office or distributor with strong relationships. We have already seen a retreat from the region by some vendors. They will find,

With uncertainty over factors such as control of the disease, international flight availability and

as others did during the Asian financial crisis, the DotCom bust and the Global Financial Crisis, that it is harder to re-enter an overseas market than to weather a storm. Playing different distributors off against each other, or undercutting them behind their backs, will also backfire. As for the end user, after-sales support will not come from some grey, online-only distribution source.

A NEW REPRESENTATIVE On a good news note, we’d like to welcome a new member to the Content+Technology team. Long-time industry stalwart, Peter Bruce, has consented to take on the role of APAC Sales C+T’s new Representative for C+T. Peter APAC Sales will be “zooming along” with Representative, our Sales Manager, Adam Peter Bruce.

Buick, in reaching out to help technology developers convey their message to our valued readership. Feel free to contact Peter via peter@broadcastpapers.com

03:00

cost, and the prospect of government-imposed quarantine periods of four weeks (two weeks each way) for a one-week event, industry conferences and exhibitions will have to reinvent themselves.

If and when the disease has been brought under control in an event’s host country, the event’s focus will necessarily become local. The logistics of delegates and exhibitors arriving from across the globe would be too unwieldy. The best that can be hoped for in the near term is an opening up of travel between COVID-free territories, but such “travel bubbles” are only feasible with the vigilance of the parties involved. Hopes for an Australia/ New Zealand bubble, for example, have been dealt a blow with an increase of COVID-19 cases in Melbourne and Sydney.

21:00

20:00

19:00

17:00

18:00

THIS YEAR HAS SEEN much hand-wringing over the cancellation of industry conferences and exhibitions across the globe. It is understandable.

For attendees, it is the missed opportunity of learning about new technologies and business models from those on the cutting edge – not to mention networking with old contacts and making new ones. For the exhibitors, such events provide a focal point for product development and marketing, as well as a forum for immediate feedback from potential customers. For show organisers, however, the issue of cancellations is much more existential. This is why we have seen show after show waiting until the last possible moment before announcing either a postponement or migration to an online platform.

There is much investment at stake.

As the COVID-19 pandemic, and its mishandling by numerous governments continues, the future of the large, physical, international events becomes cloudy. BroadcastAsia, NAB, NAB New York, IBC, InterBEE, InfoComm and BIRTV have all pivoted to online events with no certainty of when they might return in physical form. While some show organisers have simply opted for a 12-month postponement, others are looking at further contingencies. One question in a recent survey from the organisers of NAB asked how likely attendees would be to visit NAB 2021 in April, a later question in the same survey asked for feedback on a June date. No doubt this date would be pushed out if that question were asked today.

16:00

15:00

By Phil Sandberg

Thanks for reading Phil Sandberg – Editor/Publisher papers@broadcastpapers.com +61(0)414 671 811

Moscow

16:00

17:00

18:00

19:00

20:00

21:00

22:00

23:00

2020 C+T DEADLINES

24:0

Beijing

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND EDITION

Seoul Tokyo

JULY-AUGUST 2020 Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork:

Shanghai

Hong Kong

ASIA EDITION

Jakarta

ANZ

00

00

00

00

00

00

00

0

00

EDITOR’S WELCOME 00

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2020 Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork:

24-08-20 24-08-20 28-08-20

For more information www.content-technology.com +61-(0)414 671 811 Email: papers@broadcastpapers.com

Sydney

2

22-07-20 23-07-20 29-07-20

00

ASIA

‘ASIAPAC’

00

Bangkok

00

Mumbai

00

Tehran

NEWS + PEOPLE

Vietnam’s DatVietVAC Launches VieON OTT Service VIETNAMESE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY DatVietVAC has launched its new streaming service VieON following four years of development, marking the beginning of a new era for Vietnam’s largest media, entertainment, and technology group.

Born out of a partnership with BCG Digital Ventures (BCGDV), the global corporate venture incubation and investment arm of Boston Consulting Group, the platform has positioned itself as Vietnam’s most advanced OTT (over-the-top) platform, home to an library of high-quality content. VieON is expected to integrate over 100 traditional TV channels and over 100,000 hours of copyrighted content. Additionally, top new titles will air first on VieON, including the hit series Gao Nep Gao Te (Season 2) and web drama – Hai Duong Trong Gio. With the launch of VieON, DatVietVAC is helping to drive a new standard of streaming in the Vietnamese market, bringing a best-in-class experience across all platforms – mobile, SmartTVs, and on desktop.

Leveraging its understanding of local tastes, VieON aims to carve out a place for itself by focusing on content that will cater especially to Vietnamese

HJapanese YouTube Show “Quizuna” Live Streams with Blackmagic BLACKMAGIC DESIGN’S ATEM Mini Pro live production switcher is being used to power the recently premiered interactive talk and quiz show, “Quizuna.” The show, which is the first of its kind on YouTube in Japan, is hosted by Japanese Hollywood actress Ikumi Yoshimatsu and airs several times a week on her YouTube channel, “Ikumi’s Voice.”

The idea for the show emerged when Yoshimatsu and her partner and producer at RIM Entertainment, Matt Taylor, were quarantined in Tokyo. The duo decided to create a live talk and quiz show that would allow viewers to interact and feel connected with others in an entertaining and educational environment. “Quizuna,” inspired by the Japanese word “Kizuna” which means “to bond,” features live remote interviews with prominent figures from around the world covering current topics followed by a viewer participated quiz.

Winners are sent gifts and care packages.

“When we started thinking about the gear needed to make this show happen, we knew a powerful live production switcher would be required,” said Taylor.

“After doing our research, we determined the ATEM Mini Pro was the perfect solution because of its features and affordable price. Exactly ten days after we unboxed the ATEM Mini Pro, we were able to go live with our first show.

The flexibility of streaming the show directly from the ATEM Mini Pro via Ethernet or pushing it out via the USB output depending on what segment we’re working on is remarkable. Additionally, the ATEM Software Control and

NEWS + PEOPLE

K’s CABLE TV Expands i-CABLE Mobile OTT Service

4

HONG KONG’S CABLE TV has introduced an enhanced version of its mobile application, i-CABLE Mobile, by adding two free television channels – Hong Kong Open TV (Channel 77) and Hong Kong International Business Channel (Channel 76), providing a total of 12 live channels.

In addition, a wider range of content, including free and paid content, is available on-demand.

While compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, viewers can watch their favourite programmes at all times on-the-go. i-CABLE Mobile is an all-in-one mobile application integrating both free and paid channels, self-

audience and celebrate Vietnamese culture and history. The platform is also expected to feature a large library of international content, including recent blockbusters and series. VieON has made public its ambition to reach international markets including Southeast Asia, Korea, Taiwan, Mainland China and the US. Visit www.datvietvac.vn multi-view are truly incredible.”

The ATEM Mini Pro’s ability to directly record the streams proved essential for “Quizuna’s” workflow.

“Being able to directly record camera inserts and add them in ad hoc has made production extremely efficient. I can switch in elements that I’ve pre edited, as well as ones that I edit in real time during the show,” noted Taylor. “Conducting live remote interviews in different languages sometimes requires retakes on the fly for a quick edit or insert. With the ATEM Mini Pro, I’m able to stop an interview midconversation, record a correction and get it punched in before anyone even notices since we have a very short delay window.”

With very limited space and resources, the ATEM Mini Pro’s compact size and design also proved extremely helpful. “We are able to plug three cameras and one MacBook Pro directly into the four standards converted HDMI inputs and stream out uninterrupted without needing additional converters and adapters,” added Taylor.

Visit www.blackmagicdesign.com

produced and acquired programmes of the Group.

The newly created on-demand menu, Let’s Open TV, offers viewers with over a thousand episodes, ad-free news and finance features, travelogues, entertainment and lifestyle programmes, and Asian hottest dramas. Designated CABLE TV subscribers can also enjoy premium content encompassing international sports events, horseracing programmes and betting information, such as The UEFA Champions League, The UEFA Europa League and J-League, etc. New programmes are uploaded 24 hours after broadcast.

A line-up of self-produced programmes includes: “Undercover Tour” and “Undercover Tour 2.0”, Hong Kong Open TV’s signature travelogues starring Jiro Lee and Aiyana Lo, “Dog Alchemist” and “The Canine Coach Season II”; acquired

programmes include “Touch Your Heart”, a romantic Korean series starring Lee Dong-wook and Yoo In-na, “Mother”, a drama starring awardwinning actress Heo Yool and Lee Bo-young, etc.

Mr Shuen Wai Hung, Senior Vice President, Consumer Sales and Services of Hong Kong Cable Television Limited said, “CABLE TV is committed to providing quality OTT (over-the-top) service to the public. With the paradigm shift in viewer’s demands and habits, we strategically integrate content of top-notched entertainment programmes and variety shows on our OTT platform so as to give viewers greater flexibility to select their personalised content. We aim at developing a platform to provide comprehensive entertainment, variety and informative content.”

Visit www.i-cablecomm.com

Densitron Taps JAA Systems for SE Asia

Masstech Appoints India’s Real Image

DENSITRON, THE DEVELOPER OF Human Machine Interaction (HMI) and display technology, has announced the appointment of Malaysia-based JAA Systems (JAA.S) to distribute its Intelligent Display Systems (IDS) platform in Southeast Asia.

The further development of the IDS platform in the broadcast market has been at the forefront of Densitron’s global strategy since it purchased the technology from IPE in July 2019. To this end the company is continuing to build new technical partnerships, including an alliance with audio console manufacturer Calrec that saw an integration of IDS with Calrec’s Brio12 small-format desk being showcased at InterBee 2019.

MASSTECH HAS SIGNED Indian reseller Real Image Media Solutions as its representative in the country.

Real Image Media Solutions division was set-up in 1992 and is the Indian representative of several global entertainment technology players such as Avid, Orad, Digital Vision, Front Porch Digital and now Masstech. With decades of experience and a strong foothold in the entertainment industry, from feature films to broadcast and production houses, it has already closed several high-profile deals involving Masstech technology including new installations at Times Network Noida, Times Network Mumbai, and Thanthi TV.

Under the direction of David Chan, JAA.S has a distinguished history of working with leading audio brands, including Calrec, Merging Technologies, Orban, Prodys etc. Now it will also serve as Densitron’s first-ever distributor in Malaysia and, in particular, will support the further adoption of the IDS platform, which is already in use at the studios of public broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM).

“With Malaysia’s broadcast sector currently undergoing exciting creative and technological expansion, we are confident that IDS will resonate with operators in need of adaptable and intuitive broadcast display and control systems,” says JAA.S General Manager David Chan.

Reuben Such, Global Business Development Director for IDS at Densitron, comments: “We see Southeast Asia as a region of tremendous opportunity for Densitron and the IDS platform. From our initial conversations with the JAA.S team onwards, it has been evident that they have the client connections, market knowledge and technological expertise to attract new customers for IDS, both on its own, and as part of integrated deployments with Calrec consoles. We look forward to working with JAA.S not only in Malaysia, but also in other countries in the region, such as Indonesia and Thailand, where they have a developing presence.”

“Masstech Innovations has a stability of ownership and continuity of technology roadmap that is highly attractive to the Indian market,” comments Real Image Business Head, Kanishka Tongya. “Kumulate and other technologies have won multiple awards, confirming it as best in class when it comes to the increasingly competitive market of storage and content management solutions. In addition, Real Image has been an Avid reseller for over 20 years and see the tight integration between Kumulate and the Avid line-up — with plugins for Media Composer, iNews, Web services, Interplay — as being an extremely attractive offering for the Indian market.”

“We are delighted to be represented in a key market by such a major player and valued reseller,” comments George Kilpatrick, CEO Masstech Innovations. “This is especially important now as the industry looks to embrace remote working as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and ensures that our award-winning product line continues to enable new workflows and drive the operational environments that will emerge.”

Visit www.masstech.com and www.realimage.com

Visit www.densitron.com and www.jaasys.com

-— THIS WAY TO BRING VIDEO STREAMING TO LIFE Smarter. Faster. Simpler.

With Harmonic’s market-leading VOS®360 media processing as a service, the sky is the limit to launching enticing, revenue-generating OTT channels. Launch broadcast quality video streaming services, quickly, easily and with lower capital outlay and pay-as-you-go pricing.

Live content management, thematic channels, low latency, personalized advertising and a resilient cloud-based video disaster recovery solution are just some of the many advantages.

Experience VOS360 SaaS In Action at harmonicinc.com.

©2019 Harmonic Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

NEWS + PEOPLE KINDLY SPONSORED BY

CHINA NOKIA HAS BEEN AWARDED an approximately 10% share of China Unicom’s 5G core network.

The core network performs a variety of functions, including setting up connections, bandwidth management, scaling and securing the network, and, now with 5G, opening up the network to support new, software-enabled use cases such as network slicing.

Visit www.nokia.com

INDIA NAGRA HAS EXCEEDED 1.5 billion multi-DRM licenses served by the cloud-based NAGRA Security Services Platform (NAGRA cloud.SSP) for the Airtel Xstream app. Airtel Xstream is the digital entertainment platform of Bharti Airtel, India’s largest integrated telecom company.

Airtel (through its subsidiary Wynk) selected the NAGRA platform and its multi-DRM solution in September 2019 to secure video streaming content on the Airtel Xstream app.

Visit https://dtv.nagra.com

MALAYSIA SKYLINE COMMUNICATIONS has announced that Malaysian satellite operator MEASAT Satellite Systems has recently deployed its DataMiner platform for end-to-end multivendor network management of its customised VSAT satellite solutions. MEASAT can now deliver high quality real-time data sharing to support its regional customers.

Visit www.skyline.be

HONG KONG

HK’S OFFICE OF THE Communications Authority (OFCA) has launched the Subsidy Scheme for Encouraging Early Deployment of 5G. The Scheme is open until 30 November 2020, on a first-come-first-served basis and aims to encourage deployment of 5G technology early to foster innovation and smart city applications. The Government will subsidise 50% of the cost directly relevant to the deployment of 5G technology in an approved project.

NEWS + PEOPLE

Visit www.ofca.gov.hk

6

ASIA PACIFIC NEWS

THAILAND

PLAYBOX NEO has announced completion of an HD parliamentary broadcast playout system for the National Assembly of Thailand in Bangkok. The installation includes ProductionAirBox Neo, TitleBox Neo and CaptureBox Neo. Partner in the project was Thai system integrator Broadcast Audio Service Company Limited and Bangkok-based distributor Mahajak Development Company Limited.

TAIWAN WARNERMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT Networks & Sales has secured another four new partners in Taiwan for the distribution of HBO GO. Its regional streaming service is now available to subscribers of Kbro, TWM Broadband, CABLE GIANT CATV and Pingnan CATV. This follows an initial launch in April with Taiwan Broadband Communications (TBC).

AUSTRALIA IN RESPONSE TO A Government competition inquiry, industry group Free TV has proposed that Google and Facebook be required to pay 10% of their Australian-based revenues into a pool to be distributed to Australian news media businesses. Commercial Radio Australia, meanwhile, has said radio stations should be compensated for the value derived from the use of their content, including both ad revenue and consumer data. The draft code is due for release before the end of July.

Visit http://www.hbogoasia.com

CONNECTECHASIA, incorporating BroadcastAsia, CommunicAsia, SatelliteAsia and co-located with TechXLR8 Asia, will be held on a virtual platform from 29 September to 1 October 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The three-day virtual event which will thereafter turn into a 24/7, 365 days interactive marketplace.

Visit connectechasia.com/broadcast-asia

Sample shown is WEATHERSCAPE Scenes, Typhoon track, Glass style.

NEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND’S SVOD market will see a shift come July as a result of the merger between Lightbox, launched by broadband provider Spark, and Neon, owned by Sky NZ. Coming under the Sky umbrella, the merged service includes new features such as downloads.

Existing Lightbox customers will now be able to watch movies and download Box Office releases – which they were unable to do previously.

Visit www.sky.co.nz

NEWS + PEOPLE

SINGAPORE

7

NEWS + PEOPLE

Korean Educators Meet Heightened Video Demand with AJA HELO

ATSC Awards Highest Honour to South Korea’s Dr. Jae-Young Lee

AS SCHOOLS WORLDWIDE have temporarily closed campuses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for distance learning programming across media channels has exploded. In Korea, the local Educational Broadcasting System (EBS), responsible for delivering informative and educational content to the public, has quickly transformed into the new digital classroom, accelerating the output of its instructional programming video for K-12 students across the region. The organisation has been making its content accessible to local children daily from 9am-12pm on the EBS Learning YouTube Channel to give students the tools they need to remain engaged, inspired and educated until public schooling resumes.

Each live stream is powered by an AJA HELO H.264 streaming and recording device.

Affiliated with the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), EBS runs two terrestrial and four cable stations using four large studios and 16 e-learning studios. It’s used AJA HELOs to support YouTube streaming since 2019, so when the time came to upgrade its facility in early 2020, EBS’ positive experience with the unit prompted it to invest in additional HELOs. Having benefited from the device’s reliability and high-quality video, EBS expanded its HELO integration to ten of its e-learning studios to support live streaming to its website and YouTube. In each studio sits a SONY PMW-EX3 camera with a wireless micro mux connected to an AJA HELO, which is used to quickly and easily stream live camera feeds to YouTube.

THE ADVANCED TELEVISION Systems Committee has awarded its highest technical honour, the 2020 Bernard J. Lechner Outstanding Contributor Award, to Dr. Jae-Young Lee, Senior Research Scientist at South Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). ATSC also presented the Mark Richer Industry Leadership Medal to the key partners of the Phoenix Model Market program, the pioneering testbed and launchpad for NEXTGEN TV powered by ATSC 3.0.

Congratulating the honorees during this year’s virtual Annual Meeting and Member Forum, ATSC President Madeleine Noland thanked Dr. Lee for his “insightful ideas, support, and fair analysis that have been instrumental to the ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer.”

“We’ve been using AJA HELO since 2019 and it’s been really helpful for our broadcasting with its excellent features and quality. As EBS is a public service broadcasting station, we have to be fully dedicated to produce high quality programs and we must always pay the utmost attention in selecting the device and equipment,” shared Mr. Suk Joong Kim, head engineer, EBS. “This time, we could adopt HELO again for our facility renovation without any hesitation as HELO is the most reliable product for us. We installed ten additional HELO units in our new e-learning studios. For the time being, EBS will strive to cover the deficiency of the school education system raised by the COVID19, by collaborating with the main domestic portals and IPTVs. Henceforth, EBS will continue to dedicate itself to the development of public education and support lifelong education in Korea.”

Dr. Lee has been a member of the ATSC family since 2013. He currently chairs ATSC’s S32 Physical Layer Specialist Group where “he is doing incredible work leading transmission-system related activities, especially additional studio-to-transmitter link features,” Noland said. His research interests are in the areas of digital signal processing for various applications, including digital broadcasting, telecommunications, and human–computer interaction systems. He joined ETRI in 2003.

A prolific IEEE author, Dr. Lee earned his BS with honours in electrical and computer engineering from Rutgers University in 2001. He earned his MS in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 2003 and his PhD in engineering science from Canada’s Simon Fraser University in 2013.

The Lechner Award is bestowed annually to a representative of ATSC’s membership whose technical and leadership contributions to ATSC have been invaluable and exemplary. Established two decades ago, the award is named for its first recipient, Bernard Lechner, for the RCA engineer’s outstanding services to ATSC. Lechner died in 2014 after a long career in TV technology.

Visit www.atsc.org

Visit www.aja.com/products/helo

NEWS + PEOPLE

China’s JD Retail Picks Kuaishou for Livestreaming

8

JD RETAIL, the retail business of Chinese e-commerce company JD.com, has entered into a strategic partnership with Kuaishou Technology, one of China’s leading video sharing and livestreaming platforms, to develop a short video e-commerce livestreaming ecosystem.

According to the agreement, JD will provide selected products to Kuaishou’s little shops and the two parties will build a product pool together.

Kuaishou users will be able to purchase JD’s first

party products without leaving the Kuaishou app, and enjoy fast delivery and after-sales service provided by JD. At the same time, JD Retail and Kuaishou will collaborate to strengthen brand marketing capabilities. Kuaishou’s anchors will do livestreaming and short video marketing, and JD will provide joint marketing capabilities and fulfillment services, to enhance the core competitiveness of both brands. The two parties will also explore precision marketing based on JD’s insights on customer shopping behaviour and Kuaishou’s understanding of short video and e-commerce livestreaming.

“Since the beginning of this year, short video livestreaming in e-commerce has been developing rapidly. As a short video live broadcast platform with more than 300 million daily active users, Kuaishou is the earliest explorer and leader in the e-commerce livestreaming industry with leading advantages in the number of users and the creation of new scenarios. JD Retail is a highquality e-commerce platform with an industryleading supply chain. This collaboration will bring an even more high-quality shopping experience to Kuaishou’s users,” said Su Hua, CEO of Kuaishou.

Visit www.kuaishou.com

Media Links Signs with VMA Thailand

solutions, and since Media Links has this offering, I believe we will attract and meet the local market needs.”

MEDIA LINKS, THE MANUFACTURER OF Media over IP transport technology, has entered into a strategic distribution partnership agreement with one of Thailand’s leading broadcast systems integrators, VMA – V Media-A Co. Ltd. VMA will represent Media Links’ product portfolio of Media over IP Transport technology solutions, which include the MDX100G switching series, MD8000 IP transport solutions, MDP3000 series of edge devices and IP media gateways, as well as the ProMD-EMS enhanced management software. VMA is considered a specialist in their field of systems integration, providing system support throughout the entire sales cycle.

Visuth Humkratoke, Managing Director of VMA comments: “We are excited to partner with Media Links and its exceptionally robust and effective media over IP transport solution. Our customers in Thailand are looking for new affordable remote production

Toshiyuki Naka, Senior Vice President of Asia Sales comments about the new partnership; “VMA has built its reputation by delivering turnkey projects and their dedication to quality in services coupled with Media Links’ dedication to excellence in engineering and solutions will provide an ideal fit for the Thai broadcast market.”

Visit www.medialinks.com

HARMAN Pro India Appoints ARK HARMAN PROFESSIONAL SOLUTIONS has appointed ARK Infosolutions as its Nationwide Master Dealer for the Recording and Broadcast segment (“R&B”).

Effective immediately, ARK is the official distributor of all products from HARMAN’s lineup in the R&B vertical. The collaboration is aimed at facilitating channel penetration for HARMAN Products to meet the increasing demand in various

segments such as broadcast, production, post-production studios, rental companies, cinematographers, musicians, film fraternity, and more. ARK will also be HARMAN’s partner for the PA and Retail segment for the North Indian region.

“Collaboration and partnership are essential parts of any organization when aiming for success. ARK Infosolutions’ approach towards customer preference matches our own,” said Aditya Todi, Senior Director of Sales and Marketing, HARMAN Professional Solutions, India and SAARC. “Collaborating with them will not only allow our partners and customers in North India to access and experience HARMAN’s PA and Retail segment products, but also everyone else across India, will gain access to solutions in the R&B segment.”

ARK is a niche player and a leading value-added distributor for technology products in India for industry segments like animation, architectural engineering and construction and more. Headquartered in Noida, the company has become one of the key partners for leading brands through a focused investment

approach that has supported and fuelled growth.

“Today, the biggest sources of opportunity are collaboration and partnership. We are excited to be partnering with HARMAN for the Indian market and will be representing them for their R&B and PA business opportunities,” said Mohan Rawat, General Manager of ARK Infosolutions Pvt Ltd. “HARMAN offers great advantages and solutions for consumers and enterprises worldwide. ARK, with its experience, resources and robust infrastructure, coupled with HARMAN’s integrity, innovation and operational excellence, will inspire breakthrough performances that generate customer value and enhanced experiences. We look forward to a long and successful partnership by addressing the requirements and needs of all our valued partners and endcustomers.”

In India, ARK has a presence in more than 350 cities and a network of over 250 channel partners, which will help HARMAN continue to grow in the media and entertainment vertical.

Visit http://pro.harman.com

Cl oudBr oa dc a s t ���r a �o�s� r a �� �or �

NEWS + PEOPLE

Cl oud� ol u�o�s

9

NEWS + PEOPLE

Encompass Aims for New Heights with Altitude Marc Bruce, Managing Director-APAC with Encompass Digital Media, talks to C+T about navigating COVID and expanding to the cloud. By Phil Sandberg.

THE EMERGENCE OF THE COVID-19 pandemic has certainly been a challenge, according to Encompass Digital Media’s APAC Managing Director, Marc Bruce. With a mix of 24/7, occasional-use and studio operations, as well as the launch of a new cloud offering, the media services company had to adapt many of its practices.

“Due to the 24/7 nature of our business and services, we took every precaution we could in terms of our facility,” says Bruce. “We were very quick to limit the number of people that could go to site and the way that our staff interacted and worked, because we couldn’t risk an infection and potential shutdown of the facility, which was happening in Singapore to some businesses.

“The local management team here in Singapore, supported by the wider organisation, has done a very good job of remotely interacting with the staff, keeping them informed and making sure we minimise risk. While that’s been an overhead, it hasn’t had a negative impact on the performance of the business, the essential services team that had to attend site have done a fantastic job of maintaining output.

“Our business, broadly, is broken down into two aspects. The full-time side which includes channel playout, channel distribution, VOD processing and OTT streaming, most of which are contracted for the long term and have continued to run completely uninterrupted.

During the Circuit Breaker in Singapore, we’ve actually managed to sign two new large international customers which has increased our global channel count by 150+ channels.

The team have done a fantastic job in launching the first 14 of those channels in amongst the COVID-19-related restrictions.

“The main impact has been around live sports, we have a number of large sports broadcasting customers in the region and the lack of international sports means there’s a change to the live content volume we’re playing out for them but fundamentally it’s the same thing for us in terms of our service. We’re delivering a linear 24/7 channel.

NEWS + PEOPLE

“The other side of our business is the occasional-use services, where we’re moving live, mainly sports, signals across our global footprint; that has been impacted by COVID-19.

The lack of sports, whether the big soccer leagues in Europe, for instance, or the NBA, have tailed off almost completely. However, we’re happy to see the various sports calendars opening up again around the world.

10

“The other COVID-related impact is the reduced use of our studio here in Singapore. We took the decision very, very early to limit access to that studio for third parties, it would have been foolhardy for us to risk impacting our full-time services for anything that we were doing in the studio space.

“We’re quite fortunate in terms of our facility in that we’re the only tenant, so it means that we can manage the access to the facility and how the facility is segmented.

We’ve now got to a point where we feel comfortable segmenting off the studio. It can be a standalone mini facility within our facility, if you like, where people can come and access our studio, using it for their needs and not impact our full-time services.”

Let’s talk about Altitude. It’s a cloud offering?

“Altitude is designed to deal with native broadcast protocols, so as well as the benefits of the Cloud you can still get access to our 140-plus antennas across the globe as well as our protected fibre global interconnect services.”

“Yes, it’s a new cloud platform that will host the products we supply to our customers, essentially a SaaS Managed Service platform. The platform itself is designed specifically for broadcast-quality media processing, providing a flexible and scalable infrastructure for channel aggregation, archive storage, playout and VOD processing. In the first instance, we’re using the system to replace both our deep and near line archives, the multiple availability zones and geo-diverse locations ensure no single points of failure and incredible reliability.”

“Over the last few years we’ve been in a constant state of evaluation of the public cloud providers and our view has been that those

systems would not be suitable for the broadcast products that we deliver. We do use the public cloud systems today, and we will continue to use them moving forward as and when they fit our needs, but in terms of delivering to the SLAs that’s required for a live playout channel, at a cost-effective price point that broadcasters are currently familiar with, we just didn’t think that that was possible in the public cloud.

“The public cloud’s offerings are built to supply a range of different industries across the globe, and they do that very well, but we felt that there was an opening for something that was specific to the broadcast services Encompass provides. Altitude is designed to deal with native broadcast protocols, so as well as the benefits of the Cloud you can still get access to our 140plus antennas across the globe as well as our protected fibre global interconnect services.”

C+T: A drawback of the public cloud is the price of getting data up versus getting it back.

“Yep, exactly. That’s been one of the challenges that we’ve looked at. We felt that there was an unpredictability in terms of the cost of the public cloud providers. What we’ve aimed to do is provide transparent service-based pricing inclusive of cloud costs, so you know the price before you sign up.”

Will it operate under an inter-regional model of data centres?

“Yes. It’s being deployed in North America, Europe and in Singapore, providing full geodiversity and provides incredible reliability in terms of the storage of the content. It’s a long number of nines in terms of SLA availability for base storage and in terms of then playout, operating at up to five nines.

Is there a role in there for disaster recovery?

“Absolutely. We can provide primary playout or any aspect of full-on disaster recovery or business continuity as well. Unsurprisingly, we’ve had more conversations with customers

New IMAX Deal with Korea’s CGV as Cinemas Look to Reopen

In terms of APAC, who will you be targeting?

“In the first instance, we’re always going to go and speak to our existing customers about the services Altitude may offer them. Some of these have had a little bit of insight that we’re working on something in the background. First and foremost, it’s about transferring products as and when it’s appropriate for Encompass and our customers, of course, if there’s any immediate needs that we can help them deliver on, then obviously we’re more than happy to go and look at that.

“Then, as you’d expect, running alongside our customer conversations, we’ve got a highly motivated sales team that are out there trying to sell this to new prospects as well.”

C+T: Is there any limit geographically?

“No. None. Anywhere is good for us. Obviously one of the biggest benefits of Encompass is our global footprint. We sit across four different continents, so everything that we do we design with the mindset of how can we provide an offering that spans across the globe and spans across the regions we’re in.

“We’re excited to have this within our own capability and to get it fully rolled out and live with as many customers as possible, as widely and quickly as possible.”

Visit https://www.encompass.tv/

As a result of their 15-year partnership, CGV and IMAX now have more than 185 open or contracted theatres worldwide. In the past year, CGV has significantly grown its commitment to IMAX with agreements for 58 new theatres – including an agreement for 40 new theatres in China signed in June 2019. CGV is the

largest multiplex cinema chain in South Korea and also has branches in China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Turkey, Vietnam, and the United States. It is the fifth largest multiplex theatre company in the world.

“CGV and IMAX both understand that, as audiences around the world return to theatres, they will want to see the remarkable slate of blockbusters ahead in IMAX,” said Richard L. Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. “South Korea and Southeast Asia continue to be strong performers for IMAX and leaders in the global reopening of theatres, and this agreement further accelerates our growth in this key area of the world.”

Several theatres included in the agreement will roll out with IMAX’s most advanced theatre experience yet, IMAX with Laser. That follows the first Laser system to be installed in South Korea (Gwanggyo) in January.

The agreement includes joint venture, revenue share models in South Korea and hybrid models requiring no net capital commitment from IMAX in the other markets. Additional terms were not disclosed.

Visit www.imax.com

SMPTE Revises IMF Standards SMPTE HAS INTRODUCED a series of revisions to the SMPTE Interoperable Master Format (IMF) standards documents (SMPTE ST 2067) to ensure compliant implementation, bring additional features to the IMF system, address conflicts among various provisions, and improve consistency for end users. The revisions address results from IMF Plugfests, as well as feedback from implementers and users working with IMF standards to enable real-world content versioning, packaging, and delivery.

IMF provides a single, interchangeable master file format and structure for the distribution of content between businesses around the world. The revisions announced today apply to SMPTE ST 2067-2 IMF Core Constraints, SMPTE ST 2067-3 IMF Composition Playlist, SMPTE ST 2067-5 IMF Essence Component, and SMPTE 2067-21 IMF Application #2E.

Highlights of 2020 IMF Document Revisions SMPTE resolved editorial and technical issues in a number of documents. Specific changes to SMPTE ST 2067-2 IMF Core Constraints include added support for IMSC 1.1 timed text, added support for Forced Narrative timed text sequences, and definition of asset identification for Sidecar Composition Map assets.

Audio Virtual Tracks have been made optional.

Additional CPL Markers have been included in SMPTE ST 2067-3 IMF Composition Playlist, and a provision in SMPTE ST 2067-5 IMF Essence Component was altered to eliminate a conflict with a provision in ST 2067-201. The ST 2067-21 IMF Application #2E has

been revised so that it incorporates the provisions of both ST 2067-20 and ST 2067-21, consolidating provisions from SD to UHD formats for IMF mastering with JPEG 2000.

For end users, this revision to Application #2E is most significant, as it eliminates some of the variability between various essence files, in turn increasing the likelihood that files will work “out of the box.” Because SMPTE made no major changes affecting backward compatibility, existing files should continue to work as expected.

As part of the Society’s initiative to support the industry through and beyond the COVID-19 crisis, SMPTE has made several of its IMF standards available for free download: • ST 2067-2:2020 - SMPTE Standard - Interoperable Master Format — Core Constraints • ST 2067-3:2020 - SMPTE Standard - Interoperable Master Format — Composition Playlist • ST 2067-5:2020 – SMPTE Standard - Interoperable Master Format — Essence Component • ST 2067-21:2020 - SMPTE Standard - Interoperable Master Format — Application #2E Visit www.smpte.org/free-standards-and-publications

NEWS + PEOPLE

regarding BCP and DR over the last three months than we have done over the last three years. Companies, for all of the understandable reasons, are looking at those services long and hard at this moment in time, if it means protecting their output on the longer term then it’s ultimately a worthwhile investment.”

IMAX CORPORATION and Korean cinema operator CGV have announced a broad expansion of their longstanding partnership with an agreement to launch 17 new theatres around the world. The expansive agreement includes nine new IMAX theatres in South Korea – one of IMAX’s fast-growing markets and home of its highest grossing screen worldwide – as well as theatres across CGV’s global footprint, which includes Turkey, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

The agreement is the biggest theatre deal for IMAX in 2020 to date and marks a step forward as the global movie theatre industry seeks to reopen. South Korea is among the markets leading this charge, with 18 IMAX theatres currently open across the country. CGV’s flagship location, CGV Yongsan, was the top grossing IMAX theatre in the world in both 2018 and 2019.

11

NEWS + PEOPLE

Japan’s Rakuten Launches Platform for Hybrid Offline/Streamed Events

HBO Goes Direct to Consumer in Taiwan HBO GO, WARNERMEDIA’S regional streaming service in Southeast Asia, is now available directly to consumers via app stores in Taiwan.

Following launch agreements with distribution partners early this year, HBO GO can now also be downloaded as a standalone service from the App Store (NT$150 per month) or on Google Play (NT$149). There is also a 7-day free trial available.

“The HBO brand has a long and storied history in Taiwan. With HBO GO, our fans can now get quick and easy access to thousands of hours of premium drama, comedy and blockbuster movies,” said Clement Schwebig, Managing Director of WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks & Sales, Southeast Asia, Pacific and China. “The launch is boosted by our growing collection of local originals from Taiwan including Workers, and the upcoming Dream Raider series.”

Within the app, the live TV function can stream HBO and CINEMAX linear channels. Each account can be viewed on two concurrent streams across five registered devices and the service has Airplay and Chromecast functionality. In Taiwan, the experience is fully localised with a Chinese interface, as well as audio and subtitles available.

HBO GO launched in Taiwan in April 2020 with Taiwan Broadband Communications, followed by KBro, Taiwan Fixed Network, Da-Xin Dian CATV and Pin-Nan CATV in May. It also comes preloaded on Kbro’s A1 box. In addition to Taiwan, HBO GO is also available in Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

Visit http://www.hbogoasia.com

Media Prima Sheds 300 Jobs in Restructure AGAINST A BACKGROUND of challenging macroeconomic conditions, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysia’s Media Prima Berhad, following consultations with its five union groups, enacted the next phase of the Group’s business transformation plan.

The business transformation plan included revising revenue models and corresponding cost management with “operational changes at selected units to address cost inefficiencies arising from unnecessary work duplication”.

NEWS + PEOPLE

The rationalisation will result in the termination of approximately 300 affected employees.

12

JAPAN-BASED RAKUTEN, INC. has launched a range of solutions for event organisers, artists and other content-based business operators designed to support hybrid live events held simultaneously offline and online. The new solutions combine the capabilities of Rakuten Ticket, a ticket reservation and sales website operated

by Rakuten Group company TicketStar, Inc., and Rakuten TV, the video-on-demand service provided by Rakuten.

By using these solutions, business operators can receive comprehensive, onestop support from Rakuten covering everything from online ticket sales to the live broadcasting of offline events in an integrated package. If, for example, an event organiser wishes to hold a large-scale livestreaming event online while limiting audience numbers offline, this system makes it possible to build audiences for both the real event and live broadcast efficiently and seamlessly by simultaneously selling tickets to both online and offline audiences. Users will be able to do everything from purchasing tickets to viewing the live broadcast using their Rakuten ID. Additionally, users can earn and use Rakuten Points when purchasing tickets.

The entertainment industry has experienced a dramatic shift due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since February of this year, Rakuten TV has managed the live broadcast of various events, such as Stage [Yowamushi Pedal] the new period FINAL: POWER OF BIKE, Summers Live 12 and events starring popular voice actors and actresses. As a result of this shift in the entertainment industry, Rakuten felt a significant demand for a system that combined the services offered by Rakuten TV with the ticket sales of Rakuten Ticket, leading the company to provide these solutions.

As part of these solutions, Rakuten will also support ticket sale promotions for event organizers and artists by leveraging consumer behaviour analysis data based on its customer base of more than 100 million Rakuten members in Japan. By providing the Rakuten Group’s services and experience in combination with these solutions, the company aims to diversify the revenue streams available to event organisers and artists. Going forward, Rakuten plans to provide comprehensive one-stop support for even more complex methods of content delivery, such as music streaming and merchandise sales, by coordinating with the various entertainment services provided

by Rakuten.

Visit https://global.rakuten.com/

Filipino Regulator Closes ABS-CBN Direct-to-Home Service SKYCABLE CORPORATION, the cable and broadband technology subsidiary of embattled Filipino media company ABS-CBN Corporation, has been issued by the country’s National Telecommunications Commission with a cease and desist order effective June 30. The order affects SKYdirect, the company’s direct-to-home service which goes out to over one million homes in the country’s regional areas.

The move follows the closure of ABS-CBN’s terrestrial network on May 5 by NTC order for alleged “highly abusive practices” by ABS-CBN, including the alleged launch of its KBO channel without a permit, and allowing foreign investors to control the company.

According to a statement issued by SKYcable Corporation, “SKYdirect’s 1.5 million subscribers nationwide, including those in remote areas that do not receive television signals, will be deprived of access to the channels we carry that bring them news, information, education and entertainment starting tonight June 30, 2020, as Sky Cable Corporation complies with the cease and desist order (CDO) issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) stopping the company from operating its direct broadcast satellite service immediately.

“In the spirit of fairness, we continue to appeal to the NTC to extend the same privilege given in the past to other companies whose franchises have expired but are currently pending in Congress to continue its operations until a resolution is passed.

According to Media Prima, the discussions with union representatives were aimed to “ensure that the process is transparent and that all obligations to affected employees were given the utmost priority.

All parties understood the need for the business transformation and agreed to the mechanism of fair and equitable compensation to affected employees as governed by the law, respective union collective agreements and employment contracts.”

“We assure our subscribers that we will exhaust all legal remedies to resume our services.

Visit www.mediaprima.com.my

Visit https://www.abs-cbn.com

“We commit to attend to the concerns of our valued subscribers and partners arising from this decision. We will refund all unconsumed prepaid loads and advance postpaid payments. We appeal to our SKYdirect subscribers and partners for understanding and patience as we undergo this process.

“Our valued subscribers of SKYcable and SKY broadband, however, will continue to enjoy uninterrupted services as they are unaffected by the franchise expiration.”

TVU Hits Right ‘Remote Note’ for ASTRO Singing Competition

Straker Coniglio Now GM APAC with Vizrt

STRAKER CONIGLIO has been appointed General Manager - Asia Pacific with Vizrt.

Coniglio has served with Vizrt for over five years in the roles of Head of Global Product Management; President, Media Asset Management and Digital Publishing, APAC; and President, Media Asset Management - Asia Pacific. Prior to Vizrt, he held the position of Director of Market Development, Content Creators and Programmers with Harmonic.

Commenting on the new appointment, Coniglio said, “I’ve had an absolute blast leading Vizrt Group Global Product Management and launching a ton of new products with the team including VizHelix, VizVectar, VizArc, VizVerdi, VizSocial, VizOne 7, Mosart 4, VizEngine4, VizStory 2, MultiPlay 3, Libero 7, along with NewTek Tricaster 7, TricasterMini4K, the world’s first NDI PTZ UHD|HX, 4K Sparks, and more.

Astro Malaysia wanted to develop a new reality TV singing competition program for its viewers. Suara Viral was to be a unique weekly show featuring popular singing personalities trending on social media because of their incredible singing talents competing against each other. Celebrity judges would be invited to evaluate the different singing talent in each episode culminating in the selection of a Suara Viral Grand Champion.

However, with the restrictions of COVID-19, Astro Malaysia had to find a way for judges and contestants to participate live virtually since they would not be together in the same studio.

After researching potential remote production solutions, Astro Malaysia selected TVU Networks to provide the broadcast technology needed for the live program. The media company decided to have the contestants perform at the TV studio where all of the show’s production takes place while the celebrity judges evaluate each live performance remotely from their homes. The eight judges use the TVU Anywhere mobile app on their laptop computers connected to a camera for live transmission back to the TV studio over the internet, allowing Astro Malaysia to share a view of the judges with their viewers. The producers at the TV studio rely on TVU Overwatch as a separate remote live monitoring tool for each of the judges and TVU Command Center for redundancy as needed. All of the remote live feeds from the judges are decoded and produced also using TVU solutions including a rack-mounted TVU Transceiver.

TVU Anywhere mobile app enables a user to instantly capture and transmit live footage from anywhere at any time with robust built-in features such as PIP, Split Screen, IFB and Return Video Feed. TVU Anywhere is easy to use – just download the app to your smartphone or laptop, open the application and start transmitting video. If a WiFi connection is available, TVU Anywhere can use it together with the smart phone’s cellular connection for even more reliable transmission. TVU Anywhere also features patented IS+ for transmission reliability and HEVC encoding for improved video compression efficiency.

“But, I’m even more excited to announce my next challenge: leading the Asia Pacific region for Vizrt. We have an immensely talented team that covers N. Asia, S.E. Asia, Greater India, Africa, Oceania, and IL. It’s a massive region with equally massive potential. Super excited to be working with the team and our customers in this dynamic region.”

Visit www.vizrt.com

Simon Roehrs Joins Riedel as Director, APAC

RIEDEL COMMUNICATIONS HAS ANNOUNCED that Simon Roehrs has been appointed director of the company’s Asia-Pacific operations. Based in Singapore, Roehrs brings a rich background in sales executive management from prominent media technology companies to his new role.

Roehrs began his career as a software developer and application support specialist at DVS GmbH, where he became lead programmer for the company’s flagship products with a focus on the postproduction and broadcast studio industries. After the acquisition of DVS by Rohde & Schwarz, Roehrs later moved into a role as a solutions architect and service engineer based in Singapore and covering the APAC region, subsequently moving to Tokyo after a promotion to regional manager for APAC. Prior to joining Riedel, Roehrs had also served as APAC sales director for Lawo and as Japan cluster manager/regional director for Vizrt.

“In the past couple of years, Riedel has significantly increased its impact and investment in the APAC region. We have successfully built a regional framework to support our growing customer base served by our subsidiaries in Japan, China, Singapore, and Australia, and by our network partners.

Simon is the perfect person to take the helm,” said Martin Berger, Chief Sales Officer at Riedel. “Not only does he bring deep technical industry expertise and regional knowledge to this important role, but he is a believer in industry standards and a highly influential speaker at major Asian conferences such as SMPTE Hong Kong, BIRTV, InterBEE, and Broadcast Asia. We look forward to working with Simon as we continue to expand Riedel’s influence in AsiaPacific.”

Suara Viral began airing in June 2020 and has already successfully completed several shows with help of TVU solutions.

“I am happy to be able to continue building on the great foundation Riedel has established within the APAC region, especially developing its talent, products, and vision,” Roehrs said. “I am very excited to contribute to Riedel becoming an even more influential leader in IP and strengthening the brand in the APAC region. In addition, I will provide my team with a dynamic work environment in which they feel comfortable and happy so they can perform at the highest level. Freedom and responsibility are important aspects of my leadership, and I firmly believe it will help them to grow and push boundaries.”

Visit www.tvunetworks.com

Visit www.riedel.net

TVU Overwatch allows for the monitoring of live feeds remotely without having to be in a studio. Live video can be delivered to specific users who need to have access to that video wherever they are and with subsecond latency. Feeds can be accessed using an internet connection and a standard web browser.

NEWS + PEOPLE

TVU NETWORKS HAS BEEN SELECTED as Remote Interaction Production Solution Provider for Astro Malaysia, one of the leading content and consumer companies across TV, radio, digital and commerce platforms in Malaysia.

13

ACQUISITION & LIGHTING www.content-technology.com/acquisition

Mediacorp’s “Classmates” Shot and Posted with Blackmagic BLACKMAGIC DESIGN HAS ANNOUNCED that Singapore based Echo Entertainment used URSA Mini Pro G2 cameras shooting in Blackmagic RAW to capture the first season of Mediacorp Singapore’s TV dramedy “Classmates.” Echo Entertainment also used DaVinci Resolve Studio for colour correction and VFX work, with the DaVinci Resolve Fairlight page used for audio editing.

Echo Entertainment, established in 2010, is a Singapore-based motion picture company that handles television dramas of all genres, corporate videos, commercials and other multi camera productions. It provides all aspects of production and post-production, from storyboarding to shooting and post production.

For all ten episodes of ‘Classmates,’ Echo Entertainment director Shaiful Reezal and Shahreen Tajri, the show’s DoP, used the URSA Mini Pro G2 for its high dynamic range and colour science. They shot using the Blackmagic RAW codec to save on storage costs and to improve the workflow between production and post-production.

“Blackmagic RAW is another reason on why we decided to choose Blackmagic cameras for the show, and it helped us a lot in post,” Reezal said.

“Shooting a 10-episode drama will end up with a lot of footage and Blackmagic RAW allows the storage to be compact in size. And moving the footage into post was easy. Myself, the director and the colourist for the show all felt like we were back on set with the ease of changing ISO, white balance and gamma when we are in the colouring room working with Blackmagic RAW footage.”

‘Classmates’ is entirely shot on location in Singapore. Even though most of the scenes were well lit, the crew had to deal with a number of scenes that had to be shot in moody settings. For these scenes, Tajri relied on the URSA Mini Pro G2’s high dynamic range and high resolution to capture clean images with amazing detail in both the dark shadows and bright highlight areas.

“In one scene, Shahreen Tajri decided to do a oner with the G2 on a steadicam. The location was in a college and we worked with natural lights for the scene. With the camera’s high dynamic range, we were given the ability of shooting with inconsistent lighting and still know that we would get the details of the midtone and from the overlit background,” Reezal said.

“We decided to use URSA Mini Pro G2 because of the high dynamic range of the camera and its higher native ISO. And when we first saw the camera, we couldn’t resist the fact that the colour science would help us a lot in post work,” he continued. “Also, producing for broadcast means we need to work with the Rec 709 colour space but with the colour science the G2 provides, it brings Rec 709 to a whole new level.”

variable was quite unpredictable from location to location. Since we have used the Fairlight page before, we know its capabilities and we know we can push the boundaries of what we can do with audio,” he said.

For the show, Echo Entertainment was tasked with getting a TV broadcast Rec709 look. For shooting, they chose a Blackmagic extended video LUT as a guide and ensured the look throughout using a number of DaVinci Resolve Studio’s features.

DaVinci Resolve Studio was used for both colour correction and DaVinci Resolve’s Fairlight page was used for all audio editing.

“We were looking to make TV Broadcast Rec709 look filmic. With Resolve, we are able to achieve that high saturated high gamma look. We knew that even if we were to change the look and feel later, it would still be possible to easily change with the dynamism of Resolve combined with Blackmagic RAW. In particular, Resolve’s RAW control and hue saturation curve features were incredibly helpful,” he finished.

“As we are shooting on location, the sound

Visit www.blackmagicdesign.com

Atomos Brings RAW Recording to Sony’s PXW-FX9

ACQUISITION

ATOMOS HAS ANNOUNCED RAW recording support for the Sony PXW-FX9 camcorder with full-frame sensor, which will soon output RAW over SDI in a variety of frame rates up to DCI 4Kp60 and up to DCI 2Kp180. Initially the Atomos Shogun 7 will record pristine Apple ProRes RAW images at up to DCI 4Kp60, or in 2K up to DCI 2Kp180 continuous for stunning slow motion from the FX9 and XDCA-FX9 Extension Unit. The resulting images have amazing detail and the maximum latitude for post-production - optimal for HDR finishing or to give greater flexibility in SDR (Rec.709).

14

The Shogun 7 is a 7-inch HDR monitor, recorder

and switcher. It features a 1920x1080 HDR screen that is 3000nit daylight-viewable and displays 15+ stops of dynamic. It records to AtomX SSDmini or other approved SATA SSD drives.

FX9 from Sony planned in October 2020. At the same time there will be a free AtomOS firmware download for the Shogun 7 to allow FX9 RAW recording.

Recording over SDI from the FX9 with the Shogun 7 extends the performance of the class-leading camcorder by taking RAW data from its state-ofthe-art sensor and recording it in the flexible and efficient ProRes RAW format. The FX9 with XDCAFX9 joins the existing Sony RAW capable line-up of FS7, FS7 II, FS5 and FS5 II, which all work with the Shogun 7 to record in ProRes RAW.

Each frame recorded in ProRes RAW has metadata supplied by the FX9. Apple’s Final Cut Pro X and other NLEs will automatically recognise ProRes RAW files recorded by the Shogun 7 from the FX9’s RAW output and set them up for editing and display in either SDR or HDR projects automatically. Additional information will also allow other software to perform extensive parameter adjustments

The FX9 camera’s RAW output (via XDCA-FX9) will be enabled via V2.0 firmware update for the

Visit https://www.atomos.com

ACQUISITION & LIGHTING

Sony to Expand VENICE and FX9 Cameras SONY WILL EXPAND the capabilities of its digital motion picture camera VENICE and FX9 full-frame camcorder in 2020. The firmware upgrades build on the two platforms’ image capture and colour science. VENICE delivers more monitoring options with high frame rate and FX9 expands shooting as well as recording capabilities for content creators.

Since its launch in 2017, VENICE has been used to capture more than 200 theatrical, broadcast, cable and streaming releases, including HBO’s “The Plot Against America” and 16 other series premiering in March and April 2020. Regular firmware and hardware updates have been key to the wide adoption of VENICE. Version 6.0 of VENICE firmware allows importing of Advanced Rendering Transform (.art) files that improve monitoring picture quality and viewing options on-set. These .art files can be generated by Sony’s RAW Viewer software, from users’ own 3D LUT files. Additionally, Sony is collaborating with Technicolor, and their award-winning colour scientists to create a new “look library” for the VENICE camera, which will be available online as a resource for creatives wishing to quickly access some of Technicolor’s premier established looks inspiring by their cinematic history.

Another enhancement in VENICE Version 6.0 firmware is the ability to shoot with a second user frame line. This enables cinematographers to take advantage of VENICE’s large sensor size

to shoot for both horizontal and vertical distribution within the same composition.

VENICE Version 6.0 features also include: • Expansion of HFR Capabilities – up to 72fps at 5.7K 16:9 and 110fps 3.8K 16:9, which simplifies post-production of slow-motion especially for TV drama workflows that require quick turnarounds. In addition, up to 72fps at 4K 6:5 imager mode for Anamorphic lens operation.

• Improved 3D LUT monitoring – 3D LUT look can be fed to camera viewfinder • Gyro information in metadata – camera’s Tilt & Roll data can be referenced by VFX teams On the other hand, FX9 was launched in 2019 to bring full-frame imaging to “run-and-gun,” documentary, and independent productions.

Employing the form factor, ergonomics and workflow of Sony’s FS7 and FS7 II cameras, FX9 brings colour science from VENICE, and auto focus (AF) technology from Sony’s interchangeable lens camera, Alpha, to creatives desiring a small camera footprint.

Version 2.0 of FX9 firmware supports 4K 60p/50p recording through oversampling from a 5K cropped area of the 6K full-frame sensor.

Version 2.0 also enables output of a 4K 16-bit RAW signal to an external recorder with the optional XDCA-FX9 accessory. This additional

Sony’s VENICE digital motion picture camera.

bit depth beyond the camera’s internal 10-bit recording is ideal for projects requiring more intensive post-production.

Additionally, FX9 Version 2.0 firmware will expand the camera’s operability with Eye AF technology and touch screen operation for focus control and menu setting on the viewfinder: FX9 Version 2.0 features also comprise: • 180 fps full-frame HD recording • 4K (4096×2160) DCI recording • Ability to load user 3D LUTs • HDR shooting function recorded in Hybrid Log Gamma Version 6.0 of VENICE firmware is planned for release in November 2020, and Version 2.0 of FX9 firmware is planned for an October 2020 release.

Visit https://pro.sony

Ross Video Updates Camera Motion System

Ross has launched a new inverted S2 Lift for the Furio SkyDolly ceiling-mounted rail-based robotic camera system. Based on the floormounted Furio solution, Furio SkyDolly provides dramatic and dynamic camera motion shots from above, offering exciting creative options with safety and security at their core. The S2 Lift adds silky smooth elevation to these dolly shots – with up to 48.3cm (19”) of vertical lift – and has been designed to handle net payloads of up to 30kg (66lb), easily supporting a full-size camera and prompter. The two-stage lift mechanism limits flex and minimizes sway, and the linear rail design ensures SkyDolly can be used in virtual set and augmented reality applications. The Furio SkyDolly delivers a visual impact that was previously only available with a jib, now with the benefits of automation.

as well as keyframed moves. Keyframed Moves enable movement through a complex motion path across a studio floor in addition to synchronous pan/tilt and lens control.

Motion Director makes both automated moves and manual intervention better, allowing operators to trim trajectory (aka ‘in-flight bumping’) and dilate time (live adjustment of preset or move duration) while maintaining natural movement. MotionDirector dramatically improve the smoothness and versatility of Cambot XY pedestals, and all existing Ross units will be field-upgradable – no changes to hardware are required. The full firmware update will be available without charge in July 2020 to customers covered by an extended warranty program.

Ross has also extended the latest MotionDirector motion control algorithms that were introduced for Furio rail-based systems at IBC 2019 to Cambot XY floorroaming pedestals. MotionDirector’s complex mathematical algorithms offer more natural movements with perfectly synchronized axes

Finally, Ross has announced the release of a new free control system for Furio and CamBot Pan/Tilt heads and Pivot PTZ Cameras. This control system is a new plug-in to the Ross DashBoard control system, and enables access to all major PTZ functions. Operators can store, recall and manage their robotic presets, and

Ross Video Furio SkyDolly with S2 Lift.

all axes are controllable on-screen without the need for a physical joystick. Key settings such as joystick limits, color balance, exposure and streaming settings are all accessible. For the Ross PIVOTCam, and Furio and CamBot pan/ tilt heads, this plugin is being offered at no cost.

The PTZ plugin allow a mix of cameras and supports various Sony BRC models for a modest licence cost.

Visit www.rossvideo.com

ACQUISITION

ROSS VIDEO HAS INTRODUCED several updates and enhancements to its range of Camera Motion Systems that are designed to boost live production creativity.

15

ACQUISITION & LIGHTING

4K, 8K and HDR Solutions from Fujifilm FUJIFILM HAS ANNOUNCED the development of two new 8K broadcast zoom lenses, both capable of producing dynamic 8K ultra-high-definition images. The FUJINON HP66X15.2ESM (HP66X15.2) box lens reaches the world’s longest 8K focal length of 1,000mm while also featuring the world’s highest zoom magnification of 66x. The FUJINON HP12X7.6ERD (HP12X7.6) is a portable lens covering a range of 7.6mm to 91mm, the world’s widest 8K angle of view at 93.3 degrees.

The HP66X15.2 and HP12X7.6 ultra-highdefinition (UHD) lenses feature bayonet mounts targeting three 1.25” sensors for ultra-high 8K resolution. This is bolstered by Fujifilm’s unique multi-layer coating (High Transmittance Electron Beam Coating), which boosts the rate of light transmittance, making it possible to deliver vivid colour reproduction, as well as high dynamic range (HDR)-based rich tonal gradation. In addition to using aspherical and fluorite elements to effectively control various types of aberration, both lenses have a nine-blade aperture for natural bokeh and are equipped with 16-bit encoders. The HP66X15.2 also features the latest high-performance optical image stabilization mechanism to make 8K production at long focal lengths rock steady. Both lenses can be used with the latest generation of focus accessories to achieve the advanced level of focusing precision that 8K demands.

The 8K series from FUJINON is now comprised of seven lenses designed for two camera formats. The 8K 1.25” Three Sensor BayonetMount Series includes the HP66x15.2ESM box lens, the HP12x7.6ERD portable lens, the HP7.5x8.5SM box lens, and the HP11x22.5SM box lens. The 8K PL Mount Series includes the SK3x12SM portable lens, the SK7.5x19.7SM portable lens, and the SK20x35ESM box lens.

FUJIFILM has also announced two new advanced features - ARIA and RBF - that can be used with many of its 4K and 8K ultra-highdefinition (UHD) broadcast lenses. ARIA stands for Automatic Restoration of Illumination Attenuation and RBF refers to Remote Back Focus. Both new features will operate with several of Sony’s latest series of 4K UHD cameras.

ACQUISITION

The ARIA technology works through a sharing of lens design characteristics and positional metadata between the FUJINON broadcast lens and the camera. In the optical design of broadcast lenses, engineering trade-offs must be made to provide desirable zoom ratios at usable size and weight. As a result of these compromises, two major optical phenomena have always existed. The ARIA feature eliminates both.

16

The first optical phenomenon is F-Stop, or exposure ramping, at the telephoto end of the zoom. Currently, this effect can be seen when the lens zooms from wide to telephoto, as it loses exposure beyond a specific focal point.

This ramping curve is part of the lens design and is consistent among all serial numbers of each model. With ARIA turned on from the camera

remote control panel (RCP), The FUJINON HP66X15.2ESM, with an 8K focal length of 1000mm and zoom magnification of 66x. the lens transmits achieving fast, tack sharp images with a the known focal length position from internal response speed as fast as 0.45 seconds and 16-bit encoders and the F-Stop/exposure boasting an outstanding capability in tracking ramping curve. In turn, the camera introduces a moving subject. The lens also features the the appropriate amount of gain to seamlessly company’s proprietary image stabilization counter the darkening of the image, resulting in mechanism and a 107x ultra-magnification consistent exposure level throughout the zoom zoom that covers focal lengths from 8.4mm to range of the lens.

900mm (1800mm with 2x).

The second phenomenon is known as relative Among its features are High Dynamic Range illumination, a result of all lenses being slightly (HDR) and vivid colour reproduction. In addition brighter in their “sweet spot” at the centre than to using aspherical and fluorite elements to at the edge of the image. In instances when effectively control various types of aberration, this is visible, it is often referred to as corner the company’s multi-layer coating (High shading or portholing. Again, here, the relative Transmittance Electron Beam Coating) boosts illumination characteristic of the lens is known the rate of light transmittance, making it and consistent between all serial numbers of possible to deliver vivid colour reproduction, as a given model. With ARIA turned on, the lens well as HDR-based rich tonal gradation, even communicates with the camera, providing under bright sun or at dusk. relative illumination data throughout the full FUJIFILM has also debuted the FUJINON range of the lens, which then corrects the UA125X8BESM (UA125X8), a 4K-compatible corner shading, giving the picture a consistent, broadcast lens with a zoom ratio of 125X. flat illumination from the centre to the edges of the image.

RBF (REMOTE BACK FOCUS) All broadcast lenses require a calibration of the lens to the camera sensor to ensure proper performance. This calibration, commonly known as back focus, may require adjustments at various points due to factors such as a significant temperature fluctuation. This manual adjustment is typically performed locally by a camera operator or technician, often in an OB van at sporting and entertainment events, There are many instances where it is challenging or impossible to adjust the back focus from the lens due to the nature of the setup, for example, when it is being mounted on a helicopter, SkyCam, robocam, or other location with limited accessibility.

Most of FUJINON’s 4K and 8K broadcast lenses feature what is known as a “Floating Back Focus” system, whereby a servo motor is used when setting back focus. The new RBF feature is operated solely by the video operator in the OB van or control room via the camera RCP and does not require that anyone be at the camera position.

FUJIFILM has also debuted the updated FUJINON UA107x8.4 AF (Advanced Focus) 4K broadcast lens, the world’s first 4K box lens that features the Advanced Focus function.

The UA107x8.4 AF incorporates a newly developed phase-detection auto focus sensor,

The UA125X8 box lens covers a focal length from the wide-angle of 8mm~1000mm, with an F1.7 aperture. It is now the longest and widest 4K field lens for Ultra HD applications in the FUJINON UA series, designed for unparalleled 4K performance imaging from today’s new 4K 2/3” cameras. The new lens uses the company’s proprietary optical technologies to achieve vivid colour reproduction and high contrast, producing video with rich gradation using HDR (high dynamic range).

The UA125X8 also boasts advanced 4K-compatible optical performance, imageresolving capability and rich gradation of tones. It also has high-performance optical image stabilization, nine-blade aperture for natural bokeh, and is equipped with 16-bit encoders. The UA125x8 employs the latest High Transmittance Electron Beam Coating (HT-EBC) resulting in richer colours and greatly improved blue response and transmittance.

HT-EBC, coupled with Fujifilm’s exclusive Aspheric Technology, reduces ghost and flare, and increases light transmission. A proprietary anti-fogging design minimizes lens fogging and reduces downtime due to moisture.

Visit www.fujifilm.com

ACQUISITION & LIGHTING

IP Image Capture with Grass Valley’s LDX 100 GRASS VALLEY CONTINUES TO DRIVE the evolution of live production with the launch of the LDX 100 camera platform. This latest addition to the company’s camera portfolio is a high-speed, native UHD camera that takes a revolutionary approach to camera design. Built from the ground up with native IP connectivity, the camera delivers signals directly into the network, conveniently enabling access to them wherever they are needed — even, for example, as return feed monitoring from another camera position. The LDX 100 unlocks greater creativity and flexibility for content creators, freeing them from the physical constraints of traditional live production environments.

The LDX 100 leverages the full power and agility of IP by delivering easy, rapid set-up and configuration and the ability to add features as needed. Its unique integrated design frees up multiple rack units per camera that were previously dedicated to camera base stations and deeply simplifies the logistics for mobile productions when having to pair the right number of cameras to CCUs at each event. The

camera is a self-contained IP device that connects directly to the network, at up to 100 Gbps, allowing simple connection and discovery of audio, video, and control as well as superior PTP timing using open SMPTE IP standards. Implementation of NMOS IS-04 and IS-05 protocols means the camera is instantly identifiable to a network control system such as Grass Valley’s GV Orbit.

At the heart of the camera is Grass Valley’s all new Titan imager. Designed to answer the specific demands of live sports production, this 2/3-inch imager provides superior UHD resolution and HDR/WCG color reproduction at up to 3X high speed. The camera easily pairs with industry standard B4 lenses to provide the zoom range and depth of field needed in sports without the optical gymnastics of other competitive solutions. This new solution allows production teams to create rich breathtaking images in full raster native UHD without compromising on the storytelling that

viewers demand.

Further matching the needs of live event production, LDX 100 has a new mechanical design that provides ergonomic support for operators lifting and carry equipment, at-aglance state indicators for operational status — and “Champagne shower proof” protection against moisture and dust.

A flexible SW-Option - available on a temporary or permanent basis — allows customers to leverage extensive upgrade capabilities and only pay for features when they are required.

Visit https://www.grassvalley.com/

Telemetrics Adds AI and Facial Tracking to Automatic Shot Correction

With its latest RCCP-2A Robotics and Camera Control Panel, Telemetrics has continued to improve its control systems with new artificial intelligence (AI) and facial recognition algorithms that allow the RCCP to track several people with multiple cameras simultaneously.

“We’re layering object-tracking on top of our facial tracking, so reFrame becomes more robust,” said Michael Cuomo, Vice President of Telemetrics. “When a person turns around, we can still track them because the system intuitively knows that that face and body was there before. Other systems can’t do this.”

New rules for how the system behaves have also been added, enabling the operator to determine when they want reFrame to track an object or person and when they don’t. The new improvements have also facilitated better pan/ tilt/zoom and focus capabilities.

Telemetrics offers reFrame on its RCCP-2A control panel with either the optional Studio (STS) or Legislative (LGS) software packages.

The technology ensures that on-screen talent remains in frame despite their moving about or slouching in their seat. With its AI and facial recognition algorithms the software can run a production in a fully automated mode without operator intervention. Also, the functionality of the control panel’s top row of eight TeleKeys is dynamic, adapting to the operator’s commands as they define predetermined actions to run

a production in fully automated mode - with the control panel automatically switching and adjusting cameras as required.

Meanwhile, RCCP STS Studio Software, predominantly used in TV production studios, includes a Studio View feature that enables users to work with a 3D display of their studio environment and quickly see the location of Telemetrics robotics and set pieces within that space.

A 3D model of the user’s studio can be imported into the panel to be processed and integrated with the software, providing complete positional awareness of all studio robotics.

The STS control panel also features a selectable Robotics Status display to show all major robotics parameters—such as pan/tilt angles, elevation height, rotational status, lens information—for any selected camera, at a glance. Quick access to custom overlays, stored pre-sets and built-in intelligence for all robotic cameras within a system allows the user to easily select the best camera angles, and add graphics, with one button press. The system also includes the ability to internally store snapshot thumbnails for easy shot identification, as well as a live video preview output.

is now used by dozens of governmental agencies and departments around the world to cover regular proceedings and keep the public informed. An operator with limited production skills can pick any subject within a large chamber they want to feature on camera and store their facial profile into the system. The operator then simply pushes an icon for that person on the control panel’s touchscreen interface and the system automatically moves the corresponding camera to that person, focuses and trims the shot, and inserts the required title graphic. The LGS software also includes the Robotics Status display.

Telemetrics’ LGS Legislative Software bundle

Visit www.telemetrics.com.

ACQUISITION

TELEMETRICS INTRODUCED its reFrame Automatic Shot Correction technology as a key feature of its RCCP series camera control panel in 2017, allowing operators to lock cameras onto the talent and automatically trim the shot without having to touch the controls.

17

SPORTSCASTING Sport coverage worldwide

www.content-technology.com/sportscasting

Strict Protocols Key to Return of Rugby League Down Under AS TELEVISED SPORT HAS slowly made its return to those countries where spread of the COVID-19 virus has been, to a large degree, brought under control, sportscasters are getting to grips with the production protocols of the new normal.

have actually designated what they call ‘Clean Zones’ which is anywhere where players basically go dressing rooms, tunnel to the field, and field of play.

That’s the Clean Zone. And then the rest of the venue is ‘Venue Zone’ and we’ve worked with the NRL to designate some of our staff as Clean Zone personnel. There’s about eight of them.

May 28 saw a return to Australian screens of televised rugby league, minus crowds in the stadium, but not without significant adjustments to traditional production practices.

According to Steve Barnes, Outside Broadcast Manager with Fox Sports Australia, “As a company, we’ve enforced some pretty strict protocols in terms of health and safety within our own office buildings - whether at Fox Sports in Artarmon or Fox Footy in Melbourne. We knew it was coming in terms of a restart, particularly with the NRL [National rugby League] who had the very ambitious restart of May 28. At the time when that was first proposed, people were very sceptical, but we weren’t.

We were right behind it. So, we started working right from the start in terms of, ‘Okay. How does this work in terms of social distancing, health and safety, welfare of the staff – the casual staff, the players, everyone at a venue. What changes do we need to make to our normal and broadcast procedures?’

“We had a pretty good start with rounds 1 and 2 of the NRL before the shutdown. We actually did take it very seriously early on in terms of keeping our distance from players or coaches, making sure they weren’t handling microphones that we had been passing around, making sure we weren’t going up and tapping players on the shoulder for an interview. There were people who were assigned certain duties and stuck to those duties. It was all wellstructured, I suppose, prior to the shutdown.

“Now, we’ve had the time to actually go a little bit deeper and we’ve had full cooperation with, not only the NRL and the other sporting codes, but the other broadcasters as well. We all want to see the same thing. So, we’ve actually all been working quite closely together to review the venues and the operating procedures on the day to make sure that nothing is at risk. We had quite a lengthy meeting with the NRL to work through their match day protocols. They’ve assigned certain people to be their COVID Coordinators testing temperatures on arrival of all staff, making sure that they’ve stuck to the social distancing protocols when they arrive in the venue and gathering their equipment from the broadcast truck or heading to their various camera positions.

“And then just making sure they understand it that, within venues, the NRL

“They’re camera and audio operators mostly. Camera operators, audio operators, and floor manager; the Clean Zone people.

“So, they have the okay to be along the sideline of the playing field whilst the rest of the staff are Venue Zone. So, you know, people in the truck or replay operators or whatever it is.”

According to Steve Barnes, the 60-page booklet produced by the NRL for its match day protocols has meant longer set-up times but, due to the fact the venues are being used exclusively by the NRL, much of the production infrastructure – cabling, dressing room cameras, etc. - can be left in place between matches.

“So, in the actual set-up, it’s not too bad,” he says. “It’s just making sure that certain deadlines are met. We always had a production handover. Two hours prior to kick off we would have all equipment, all personnel in place so we can run through checks. Working with the NRL we’ve moved that to a three-hour period and the NRL has asked that any equipment that’s in the Clean Zone, whether it’s corner cameras or dressing room cameras, are well and truly in place three hours before and totally wiped down and clean so that no broadcast technicians are in those areas when the players arrive so as not to cause any cross contamination. So, it’s just the planning and the making sure that people understand that the deadlines are the deadlines and there won’t be any flexibility there.”

Following the NRL has been the relaunch of the AFL (Aussie Rules) football season and discussions with Cricket Australia on a schedule for next season.

“We haven’t really got down to any sort of production guidelines for cricket at this point,” says Barnes. “It’s more getting a realistic schedule that will allow international teams to compete. So, whether that initially is just New Zealand, that’s all under discussion. I think the ultimate ambition is to get India over here for a series of test matches starting in December, something like that. But, you know, it’s probably going to be a very different world by that time of year.”

CCTV Installs Lawo V_matrix for China’s First Full IP Video Mobile System

SPORTSCASTING

CHINA’S LEADING STATE BROADCASTER, China Central Television (CCTV), has installed the country’s first full IP video mobile system for video production. This premiere mobile studio project uses the Lawo V__matrix softwaredefined IP-Routing, Processing & Multi-Viewing Platform as its core technology infrastructure.

18

CCTV, in conjunction with Lawo China and video partner Acro-bright, worked in cooperation with China’s large regional system integrator, Beijing Yutian, to achieve this success, the latest in a number of joint Lawo/ CCTV installations which include HD/UHD OB vans, audio SCRs, and studios in CCTV’s Beijing headquarters.

The UHD 4k designed mobile studio installation, originally planned to play a central role during the Summer Games 2020 broadcasts from Tokyo, began construction in January 2019 under the supervision of the CCTV Production Department.

The project’s multiviewer design is based on three Lawo V__matrix systems using 19 C-100 core processing modules and 19 Virtual-Module

installations of the Lawo vm-dmv, the world’s first infinitely expandable true IP multiviewer. The overall installation integrates twelve Sony UHD camera channels and one EVS. The IP network is of a spine-leaf topology employing Huawei switches for the infrastructure backbone, with two CE8850 switches for the redundantly-designed core and four CE6865 switches as leaves. The vision switchers and cameras were purchased from Sony.

According to a CCTV video engineer. “The success of this project was only possible with Lawo, as the vm-dmv multi-viewer solution, with its 12G single link for both IP and base-band signals, offers true 4K performance with extremely low latency.”

Visit www.lawo.com

SPORTSCASTING

LiveU Production-Level Field Unit

Comms and Talkback for eSports

LIVEU HAS UNVEILED an all-in-one production-level field unit for live news and sports coverage. The LU800 combines multi-camera production, and high-quality video and audio capabilities, with mission-critical transmission in a native 5G unit. Designed from the ground up to unlock 5G potential, the unit offers a high quality of service and resiliency.

THE MODEL 207 ESPORTS CONSOLE from Studio Technologies helps to open the lines of communication in eSports by allowing production personnel, team coaches and fans to hear what the players are discussing during game play. The solution also provides the added benefit of preventing teams from hearing their competitors or the event commentators.

The LU800 supports up to four fully frame-synced feeds in high resolution from a single unit, using IP bonding of up to 14 connections. The unit also offers high-quality video performance, with up to 4Kp60 10-bit HDR

The Model 207 is optimised to address the microphone, headphone monitoring, and personal computer audio interfacing needs of eSports players.

Housed in a compact, tabletop enclosure, the unit incorporates both analogue and Dante audio-over-Ethernet technology to allow direct integration with a player’s headset, gaming computer, and Ethernet-based audio network. In just minutes, an eSports player’s location or “position” can be integrated into a sophisticated live event application.

The Model 207 operates on the Dante network and the intercommunication audio feed can be tied into the game play with the audio following the video while switching between the game play feeds. One of the main benefits of the Model 207 is its remote-control capabilities, as operators can control the Model 207 from a workstation on the network.

transmission for optimal colour depth and richness, as well as up to 16 audio channels for high-end productions.

The LU800 provides new levels of resiliency, combining superior 5G performance with up to eight 5G internal, dual-SIM modems, supported by high-efficiency internal antennas. The unit has been optimised for 5G operations, addressing unique 5G requirements with maximum versatility and full support for 5G network evolution.

The Model 207’s talkback feature also helps with player-support personnel intercommunications during an event. From a workflow perspective, there are usually several administrators on the event stage that are responsible for making sure that the players have everything they need. Using the talkback feature, if a player is having an issue, such as with their mouse or keyboard, they can easily contact the administrators. Using Model 207 units, or other Studio Technologies’ products, the administrators can communicate with each other and then back to the requesting player.

With the LU800, LiveU now offers a full end-to-end contribution, production and distribution solution. The unit’s multi-camera production streams are fully managed by the LiveU Central cloud-based management platform and automatically fed into the LiveU Matrix IP content management and distribution workflow.

Studio Technologies’ Model 207 also supports a “masking” noise headphone feed. This feature allows an audio source, typically pink noise, to be “fed” to players at a fixed level with no ability to adjust the volume. Included for game integrity, this audio signal helps to prevent the players from hearing real-time commentary that may be present on a “house” sound system. The masking audio helps to keep play fair, shielding the players from being able to hear game strategy or related topics as might be discussed by the commentators.

Visit www.liveu.tv

Visit www.studio-tech.com

Thef ut ur eof r emot ewor ki ng i snow St ayc onnec t edt oy ouraudi enc esatal lt i meswi t h

VSN’ swebbasedsol ut i ons

Medi a Pr oduct i on

Pl anni ng& Schedul i ng

Pl ayout& Del i ver y

Geti nt ouchat :

vsnt v. com/ cont act

SPORTSCASTING

Medi a Management

19

SPORTSCASTING

NEP – Rising to the Challenge Saeed Izadi, President of NEP Singapore-India, speaks to C+T about lock-down, looking after staff and clients, and the road back.

By Phil Sandberg.

IF ANYTHING CAN BE CALLED fortunate during the COVID-19 pandemic, broadcast services provider NEP has been fortunate to have its global reach and structure, and expertise and talents all come together to provide a perspective and platform not only to anticipate and prepare for some of the business impacts of the health crisis as it spread throughout the world, but also to come up with alternative solutions for their clients in the presence of imposed restrictions.

“The unfortunate thing,” according to Saeed Izadi, President of NEP SingaporeIndia, “in our business is that we’ve seen an unprecedented number of events postponed and cancelled. And, our clients have had to make tough decisions about their businesses to protect their audiences, fans and suppliers.

“Similarly, we are no different at NEP. COVID-19 has had a massive effect on our business worldwide. However, we’ve taken necessary steps and measures country by country to protect our employees first and foremost while protecting our clients and our business.

“We started way back, I remember, in January this year, when we actually set up a COVID-19 management task force across the whole business. I think we are fortunate at NEP that we cover such a vast majority of the world. This team started to monitor what was happening worldwide because not all countries went into this at the same time. This enabled us to come up with plans and precautionary measures, updating ourselves as best practises were implemented in each country, and then adapted them again as we learned more about what was needed to combat the virus. Just as we went into the (COVID-19) lockdowns country by country we think that we will come out of it, country by country.

“We look after our employees because our employees are the greatest capital. That was paramount from the start. Protecting our employees has been the highest priority in our list and we activated working from home as a measure to decrease the direct risk. At the same time, we started discussing the health risks and business risks and impacts with our clients.

Despite many unknowns, looking at the global trend we were cautious and approached it as something that was going to happen globally and coming to hit all of us. We discussed what steps our clients were taking, and how we could work together to mitigate some of the losses, have alternative plans for different scenarios like event behind closed doors or with no audience or with limited crew, how to protect crew by implementing safe distancing and other measures. Also, to identify the gaps and how to come up with a creative solution to address those gaps.

“In March, we experienced this ourselves firsthand with some of our golf business, where we actually had our equipment and our staff and our clients on site, but the events were cancelled due to COVID-19, whilst everything was in place and the golf tournament was about to happen.”

“Since then we have introduced new health and safety strategies worldwide.

We created and updated policies and procedures aimed to minimize the risk of transmitting the virus and to protect our staff and the rest of people onsite, sanitizing and sealing the equipment, monitoring temperatures, safe distancing, etc. And one of the measures we implemented right at the beginning was to stop and hold unnecessary discretionary spending to ensure financial health of the business. Of course, since then this hasn’t stopped. We know this is an evolving situation, and we continue to review the situation and to virtually meet and decide on actions we need to take. This will be continued until business returns back to normal.”

In your territory, how do you see things going forward?

SPORTSCASTING

“Of course, Asia includes separate countries, geographies, and governments.

From our immediate neighbours, Malaysia to Thailand, to other countries, NEP Singapore covers Asia-wide, unlike a lot of the NEP businesses which primarily operate within a single country, and do a lot of domestic work.

20

“Looking at what COVID-19 has done to our business – not just in Asia, but worldwide – what we come up with in NEP is quite remarkable. NEP’s not just about OB trucks, or flight packs or, as the Americans would call it, remote resources. We’ve got different verticals in NEP and a lot of diversification.

There has been a massive movement in creative thinking and developing innovation and solutions. We’re offering some of these to our clients in Asia and worldwide. One example is to produce great content using virtual editing.

Remote production, or what we call “at home” production, is done by people

working off premises, such as their own homes, and utilising equipment from their home rather than having to go to a centralised location is another example.

Talking about other innovations, VR & AR are truly amazing products. I’m going through presenting this solution to a couple of our major clients currently. We’ve created a unique virtual crowd for outdoor events and I’m hoping that our clients find this innovative approach a good replacement under current restrictions. What’s unique about this innovation is, not only we are creating virtual crowds, but in conjunction with another company in the Netherlands, we’ve created an interactive crowd effect. People can record their own voices – cheering , chanting, and singing – and donate those recordings to the company that then mixes these crowd effects and uses them during the broadcast.

The most creative part of it, is that they then take this mix and play it at the venue where the sport’s taking place. The participants in the sport, for example the football or rugby players, can hear all this chanting while playing in an empty stadium, which is quite exciting and motivating, resembling a real crowd for the players.

“Another great innovation we’ve launched is our virtual studio.

It’s quite remarkable that now you can have roughly up to 50 interactive audience members in this studio; again, it’s a two-way interaction with a moderator, who will then virtually bring a hologram of a guest on to the panel.

“Our guys in Australia have come up with an idea for virtual crowd for indoor events, too.

They’ve come up with the concept that was first used for 3x3 NBL basketball, where the three sides of the court have layers of screens deployed. The screens are filled with headshots of live spectators via our video communication platform, and each participant can take part in a live interaction while watching the match. This is as close as you will have the crowd back into a game behind the closed doors for quite a while! Not only can this technology be used to supply fan interaction , but it also could serve as a sponsorship platform or sport infotainment within the game. The players see these as real-time interactions, and the audience gets a chance to have a one-to-one virtual meet-up with the players.

“So, we have the ability to add a virtual audience or crowd – another great innovation we’ve launched is our virtual studio. It’s quite remarkable that now you can have roughly up to 50 interactive audience members in this studio; again, it’s a two-way interaction with a moderator, who will then virtually bring a hologram of a guest on to the panel. An ideal talk show with the audience interacting with a panel, and yet the only person who’s in the virtual studio is the presenter or the anchor. Everybody else comes in from their homes.

These are astonishing innovations. And, while NEP was looking at these technologies before, these are examples of the innovative ideas that would have certainly have taken a much longer path to development, or perhaps not at all, if COVID-19 hadn’t come around.

“Like many others, the effect on our business in Asia was tremendous. We couldn’t do OBs, but we’ve now started our way back. I’m in touch with our clients and interestingly, I get to talk to them more than I normally do. Unlike pre-COVID, no one travels, and we get chance to interact a bit more with our clients, and suppliers and manufacturers that we work with. I would say our top 10 clients now are evaluating how the innovations I’ve talked about fit their needs and how they can boost their business using what we can offer.

When do you see ‘normal’ activity coming back in ASEAN? It’s a very difficult question. Since start of the pandemic, I regularly communicate to update the staff and one of my key mentions is that I don’t have a crystal ball to gaze into and see when we’re going to go back to normal.

SPORTSCASTING

What I know is the Singapore Government’s done tremendously – so have a lot of other governments – they have shown an immense amount of effort in keeping the spread under control and in supporting businesses.

Mo-Sys Puts the Crowd Back Into Sport

“I have a great hope that we will be (in South East Asia) the first country to come out of this. Although we are seeing spikes in COVID in other parts of the world, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand are now looking quite good, but far from New Zealand. They’ve done well in taking necessary steps straight away and it has paid off. Having spectators in the stadiums this quick is a massive kudos to New Zealand.

“Phase one was implemented through the end of June and sporting activities will not be happening until phase three. It’s how quickly we go through phase two, and then that bridge to phase three in order to have live sport or live events.

“If you look at a country like India where they started really well. We have got a big base in India and as many staff as we have in Singapore. We had hoped that events in India would take off back in May, but suddenly they had a recurrence of the virus and they’ve halted. Now, they’re tackling the virus state by state as it is such a vast and populated country. Density of population is what makes it harder to control the spread in South East Asia or Asia as compared to Australia or New Zealand. The situation still is very fluid.

MO-SYS ENGINEERING, the developer of real time camera tracking and remote systems, has announced a revolutionary approach to bringing the atmosphere back to live sport amid covid-19 restrictions. Providing precision, zero-latency tracking for any camera (including ultra-long box lenses for sport), the Mo-Sys camera tracking kit interfaces directly to the Unreal Engine or any broadcast render engine, allowing production companies to add virtual crowds to stands.

“We understand that the effects or the measures to control the spread are going to be different between these countries. We are hoping that by quarter four, it will be a time that we will start having a bit of sport in Asia, certainly without any in-person crowds. But, as I said, depending on how quickly our clients can get their heads around the new technologies and use them, there could be a possibility to have some of the events in a semi-virtual format using new technology. For example, basketball could be played inside a studio with the way that we’ve now done the basketball in Australia, badminton and tennis are other sports that could be played inside a studio rather than in a stadium. Even one of our favourite sports in India, kabaddi, is something that’s traditionally been played in stadium, but could be played in a studio now. I’m hoping that one of our clients initiates holding some of these events inside a studio to provide much-needed entertainment in the world we see today.”

“After so many weeks, sports fans are desperate for any action,” said Michael Geissler, CEO of Mo-Sys. “But the frustration will turn to disappointment if the atmosphere of the game falls flat because of empty stands. We have developed a camera tracking kit which any outside broadcast can implement quickly and simply, capable of filling the stands with a virtual, but enthusiastic, crowd.”

“In Asia, at the moment, the only remote production that we have is in India.

We started this about five years ago. It’s not IP but base band. This was well before Australia started their IP remote hub. The difference that it’s made for our client, Star Sports, is tremendous. Not because of so much moving people, but they’ve gained something different from it, as well as gaining the capitalisation on people. Star Sport is now able to create multiple languages around one sport. With India being a massive country, with diverse cultures and languages within the country, audiences would rather listen to commentaries, studio hosting, and chat shows in their preferred language.

Without remote production, Star couldn’t possibly have had enough unilateral production on site to do this. However, with NEP’s remote production solution, we’ve enabled them to create multiple languages and multiple programs around one core programming. What makes me excited about this region is this: we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Companies will realise what makes sense in their business. I’m sure in years to come it will change the way sports, television and, to a certain extent even the way TV streaming and streaming business, will be done.

Again, I go back to the AR or virtual studio solution we’ve created. It really caters to the needs of businesses, banks, and big multi-national corporations.

As a result of COVID-19, they can’t hold events the way they used to.

A polished presentation by the CEO for employee or shareholder meetings, key sales presentations, or product launches or reveals, would probably not be best on Zoom, Microsoft Team or similar meeting apps. In important presentations there may be multiple people presenting and it has to be done in style. The virtual studio that we’ve created enables you to do all of that, and with AR added we can make the backdrop look as if it is from just about anywhere. In a very cost effective, easy and hassle-free way such corporate gatherings and meetings can take place. And what I see is these are the avenues that every Asian country, and every MNC will go through. Sooner or later we will have the remote production happening in every geography and possibly even post covid-19 pandemic.”

Visit https://www.nepgroup.sg

“We are known for the absolute precision and stability of our camera tracking – that’s why Hollywood relies on our technology,” Geissler added. “In this application, we deliver precise tracking, including compensation for lens distortion, even when a 100:1 lens is zoomed fully.”

Mo-Sys has worked with Epic Games to develop a tight interface to the Unreal Engine, including support for the latest version 4.25 software. The result is that highly photo-realistic augmented reality – such as crowds filling the stands – can be integrated into live production with no limitations and negligible latency. The kit includes the bolt-on encoding kit for Vinten heads and the lens calibration tools.

Visit www.mo-sys.com

KVM for Esports AS A LEADING MANUFACTURER of KVM systems for extending and switching keyboard, video and mouse signals, Guntermann & Drunck GmbH (G&D) offers professional gamers the perfect Esports experience including crystal-clear full HD resolutions with 240 Hz frame rates and without any noticeable latency.

With KVM systems from G&D, powerful and noisy computer technology can be moved from gaming areas or arenas into separate equipment rooms.

Computers can be kept in a secure and temperature-controlled room to prevent overheating Nonetheless, gamers can still operate their computers in real time and at full power – without any loss of quality and over distances up to 10,000m.

With G&D DP1.2 devices, gamers can run full HD resolutions with high frame rates up to 240 Hz. Crystal clear 1080p resolutions with virtually no delay will support them in their gaming exploits. G&D DP1.2 products are also able to transmit 2K resolutions of 2560×1440 with 144Hz. An entire range of KVM systems such as the extenders DP1.2-Vision, DP1.2-VisionXG, DP1.2-VisionIP, or the KVM switches DP1.2-MUX, DP1.2-MUX-NT, DP1.2-MUX3-ATC as well as the DP1.2-Splitter are the first line of defence against lagging displays and suboptimal resolution. Thanks to G&D's pixel-perfect technology, gamers will benefit from brilliant and clear images. Since the products support transparent USB 2.0, it is possible to even extend the latest gaming keyboards and mice that are not HID-compliant – because of the additional keys and mini-displays – via KVM matrix.

Visit https://www.gdsys.de

SPORTSCASTING

NEP’s move to IP-based and remote production over the last couple of years, has that helped during this time?

The Mo-Sys camera tracking encoders are quickly mounted onto broadcast standard Vinten Vector heads, with no impact on the camera’s perfect balance and no backlash when panning and tilting. Zoom data is collected either by gear encoders or by a serial data link to digital lenses. The combined tracking data is sent over ethernet to the workstation hosting the augmented reality software.

21

NEWS OPERTAIONS OPERATIONS www.content-technology.com/newsoperations

SBS Korea Uses LiveU to Deliver Elections with 5G Live Streaming SBS (SEOUL BROADCASTING SYSTEM)), a leading national South Korean television and radio network, turned to LiveU’s integrated 5G technology for 2020’s live election day coverage, utilising the advantages of KT’s (Korea Telecom’s) premium live broadcasting solution with its 5G network. SBS chose LiveU for its field-proven video transmission quality and reliability, provided by its core HEVC hardware encoding.

SBS deployed LiveU’s 5G-integrated high-end LU600 HEVC units in the most congested areas, representing the first broadcaster to leverage KT’s 5G-Premium QoS solution. Live streaming provided by the MNG (mobile newsgathering) units reached the highest performance levels.

SBS was able to secure the new network path, guaranteeing fast and reliable connection without any interruptions. In other congested areas, SBS used LiveU’s compact LU300 HEVC units together with the LiveU Xtender integrated antenna solution to maximize the network capture,

Bluefish444 Compatible with Aximmetry Virtual Studio Software

BLUEFISH444, THE MANUFACTURER OF uncompressed 4K SDI, ASI, Video Over IP & HDMI I/O cards and mini converters, has announced SDI I/O support for real time 3D graphics and virtual studio software from Aximmetry for the KRONOS K8 and Epoch range of video cards.

Aximmetry provides end-to-end, real-time 3D graphics and virtual studio solutions for the broadcast and entertainment industries.

Aximmetry offers the choice of two real-time rendering engines: Aximmetry’s own engine and since the launch of the Aximmetry DE software products: Unreal Engine integration, giving users the flexibility to choose.

Aximmetry also has its own advanced keying technology which is included in all licences. The company’s solutions cover all aspects of advanced broadcast presentation: tracked virtual sets, Augmented Reality (AR), interactive touch-screen displays, data-driven graphics, virtual product placement, and audience interaction via secondscreen devices. Content created in Aximmetry can be live-streamed directly to YouTube or Facebook.

NEWS OPERATIONS

The integration between Bluefish and Aximmetry will provide the highest quality SDI I/O to Aximmetry 3D graphics for broadcast, live streaming, live event and projector/LED wall workflows.

22

All Bluefish Epoch and KRONOS video cards feature bi-directional SDI I/O and are compatible with a wide range of Thunderbolt expansion chassis.

ensuring high-quality streams.

LiveU’s devices were used to cover the polling stations, major candidates’ offices and reactions to the election results under the strict safe distancing measures in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All the live feeds were streamed to a single server and completely synched, operating as part of a costeffective, remote at-home production model.

Yaal Eshel, General Manager LiveU Asia, said, “We’re extremely proud to have been selected

by KT and SBS for their first 5G-live streaming service, with the election coverage during the coronavirus situation having a huge impact in

“Bluefish welcomes Aximmetry as a real-time 3D graphics partner for the broadcast and entertainment industries,” said Craige Mott, Managing Director at Bluefish444. “Our next generation Windows driver adopted by Aximmetry gives a significant boost to SDI I/O performance, and ensures the lowest latency for Aximmetrygenerated 3D graphics.”

“Aximmetry is delighted to have Bluefish444 video cards on its supported hardware list. We are very satisfied with the tests performed with Bluefish’s Epoch and KRONOS K8 in our own studio and will be gladly recommending them to our clients,” said Orsolya Dormon, COO at Aximmetry.

Visit www.bluefish444.com

Astro Signs Three-Year Contract to Use AP ENPS

MALAYSIA’S LEADING CONTENT and consumer company in the TV, over-the-top (“OTT”), radio, digital and commerce space, Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad (“Astro”) has recently renewed its contract to use The Associated Press electronic news production system (AP ENPS) for another three years to manage its broadcast content with multiplatform Mobile functionality - implemented and supported by Singapore-based Techtel (S.E.A).

The combined strength of Astro’s Pay-TV and subscription-free TV service, allows the broadcaster to serve over 23 million individuals in 5.7 million households, or 77% of Malaysian households. The award-winning broadcaster has won Gold in the Media Networks category at the Putra Brand Awards for nine consecutive years from 2010 to 2018, the Malaysian Marketer of the Year award in 2016, and accolades at the IDC

the region. South Korea is recognized as one of the most technologically advanced countries and is leading the market in 5G deployment.

We see great potential for utilizing 5G networks for live video streaming for news, sports and entertainment.”

SBS is now looking to integrate the LiveU system not only in its news broadcasting workflow, but as another layer in its live content delivery solutions.

Visit www.liveu.tv

Digital Transformation Awards for Malaysia in 2017 and 2018.

Their AP ENPS installation in Malaysia supports more than 40 reporters, writers, editors and producers using 28 workstations. Astro’s local four-in-one Channel, Astro Arena uses AP ENPS to produce 24/7 sports programs featuring live local sports, a comprehensive 7-day-a-week coverage of local and international sports news, informative magazine and interactive viewer involvement - all in the native Malay language.

The deployed 8.2 version of AP ENPS also supports Mobile functionality through a webbased client to facilitate journalists’ remote and field work. Apart from speed, among the advantages is the ability to send the first photos or video from a breaking story back to the newsroom already integrated into a regular AP ENPS story. Attaching media to the story is as straightforward as uploading media to a phone message, Twitter or Facebook. Once the media in AP ENPS Mobile story is embedded, it is ready to be integrated to production systems in the newsroom.

“AP ENPS enables a seamless daily newsroom workflow by bringing together text, video and image elements that can be centrally published and distributed. Furthermore, the AP ENPS Mobile functionality allows Astro Arena to deliver sports stories instantaneously - directly from field to their newsroom” said Susan Lim, Territory Manager for SEA at Techtel.

Astro has been using AP ENPS for over 12 years and joins a list of Techtel’s ENPS users in AsiaPacific, including Kompas TV, Fox Sports, SKY News, Channel 9, ABC News and many others.

Visit www.techtel.com.sg

NEWS OPERATIONS

Radio Televisyen Malaysia Launches News Channel

With programming in Malay, English, Mandarin, and Tamil, Saluran Berita RTM will broadcast 25 news slots every day, five-day business news, as well as 12 talk shows and two magazine programmes every week. It will also screen live broadcasts from RTM radio stations.

According to Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Minister, Saifuddin Abdullah, the channel’s main purpose first and foremost is to provide factual and verified news.

“With the introduction of the new channel, it shows that RTM is taking another step forward and I am confident that RTM as a whole will be able to make a bigger contribution, especially in delivering information to the people,” he said.

Visit https://bit.ly/2VEdXqX

Integrated Approach with Viz One and Viz Story anywhere to create efficient workflows is our biggest task. The combined power of Viz One 7 and Viz Story 2 gives our customers an easy to use solution to edit audio, video, and graphics so they can streamline content production across different platforms in different aspect ratios without compromising very high-quality standards,” said Daniel Nergard, president of Vizrt Global.

VIZRT, THE PROVIDER of software-defined visual storytelling toolsfor media content creators, has announced the release and integration of Viz One 7 and Viz Story 2. This combination empowers creatives by making media editing a fully seamless part of their complete live production workflow.

By combining browser-based editing and publishing with a full-fledged metadata back end, journalists in the field and editors in any location can work together to edit, publish, and re-edit both urgent and complex stories for air with greater speed, ease, and quality. With minimal training, any user can edit from a browser with full access to stored files, stories, graphics, and metadata.

Conversely, a story created in the field can be picked up again in the broadcast centre for further refinement, versioning, or even complete reediting for a different platform with full flexibility using non burned-in graphics and concurrent editing tools.

“Our customers live in a world of increased expectations of speed, quality storytelling, and monetization of content. Making media accessible

Viz One is a premium production workflow management platform that makes collaboration easy for editorial teams needing to find content fast and create stories quickly. The Viz One 7 release enables video editing by integrating Viz Story 2 to compliment ingest, graphics, content aggregation, logging, metadata association, and multi-destination publishing capabilities.

Viz Story is a browser-based video editing and multi-platform publishing tool that transforms how digital media houses and broadcasters edit and distribute news programs and video content. With only one single installation point, collaborative video and audio editing capabilities are expanded and content can be delivered from any location without expert skills due to Viz One integration.

News Analytics Tools from Google GOOGLE HAS ANNOUNCED the launch of a new suite of free tools designed to help online news publishers simplify and better understand data to improve their overall digital strategy.

The new tools include: News Tagging Guide (NTG) – allows users to make the most of Google Analytics by identifying the engagement metrics that matter for audience and revenue growth. NTG simplifies the technical implementation and unlocks new actionable insights.

News Consumer Insights 2.0 (NCI) – allows users to identify reader funnel optimisation opportunities to increase profitability and build deeper relationships with readers. NCI gives users access to personalised insights and actionable recommendations based on the user’s Google Analytics data.

The Viz Story 2 release also enables content creators to search for and access assets using metadata, to choose whether to include graphics, and to publish finished articles for broadcast when combined with the latest Viz One 7 release.

Realtime Content Insights 2.0 (RCI) – Publishers can identify in real time which articles and videos are the most popular with their readers and what broader topics are trending in their region. RCI enables engaging data visualisation for the newsroom and is available for publishers using all versions of Google Analytics.

Visit www.vizrt.com

Visit https://newsinitiative.withgoogle.com

UNREAL ENGINE NATIVE WITH UNIQUE UNREAL CONTROL GUI

DATA-DRIVEN GRAPHICS AND TEMPLATES IN UNREAL ENGINE

ADDITIONAL HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY FOR UNREAL ENGINE

PBR HDR 360º LAYERS

Suite 4 has been designed to enhance content creation and output for InfinitySet, Aston and eStudio. www.brainstorm3d.com

NEWS OPERATIONS

PUBLIC BROADCASTER RADIO TELEVISYEN Malaysia (RTM) has launched Saluran Berita RTM (RTM News Channel). The 24-hour multilingual service is available through Malaysia’s MYFreeview channel 123, the Apple Store, Google Play, YouTube, and RTM’s myklik app/ portal.

23

NEWS OPERATIONS

Ross Launches Voyager V4.0 Graphics Rendering Solution

Dejero Launches Solutions for Remote Production

ROSS VIDEO HAS ANNOUNCED the launch of Voyager V4.0 – the latest version of its graphics rendering solution for virtual studio and augmented reality applications.

DEJERO HAS INTRODUCED new short-depth versions of its 1U rack-mounted WayPoint receiver and CuePoint return video and teleprompter server to its portfolio.

The smaller chassis of WayPoint 50 and CuePoint 50 make them fit for remote production vehicles where space is at a premium, and for portable flyaway kits that simplify transport and enable rapid response in case of a disaster recovery scenario or for contingency preparedness as part of a broader business continuity plan.

Voyager is based on Epic Games’ Unreal engine and, according to Ross, provides content creators with unparalleled creativity and realism when producing on-air graphics.

Voyager V4.0 has been built on the latest Unreal V4.25 release (which offers internal chromakeying within the engine for the first time) and features a number of valuable enhancements. Voyager V4.0 includes support for multiple composition layers, 3D models (meshes) and garbage mattes, and also offers a new way to integrate the talent into the virtual environment.

From a workflow perspective, V4.0 supports HTML 5-based MOS workflows for newsroom environments, enabling journalists to work on their stories from any browser in any location.

V4.0 of Voyager comes hot on the heels of V3.1 which introduced a number of workflow enhancements, including HDR and also a new Voyager Designer License enabling designers to create on any platform or workstation and then move their projects directly to the Voyager engine for playout. V3.1 also offered creators the ability to create off-axis projection (a virtual window or portal) on a physical LED wall.

The new WayPoint 50 single-output compact receiver reconstructs broadcast-quality video transported over multiple IP connections from a Dejero transmitter, decodes HEVC or AVC, and outputs to SDI or MPEGTS workflows. In addition to in-vehicle and portable kit installation, WayPoint 50 is suitable for stations that need just a single output for their broadcast workflow.

The compact Dejero CuePoint 50 return feed server sends low-latency live program video and teleprompter feeds to on-air presenters, camera operators, and other production personnel in the field, to help them stay synchronized with central production during live broadcasts and allow them to adjust their on-camera position to account for overlays and graphics. Up to eight output feeds can be viewed on tablets, smartphones, or regular monitors.

Customers with existing maintenance contracts can upgrade to V4.0 without charge, and the latest release will be available by the end of August 2020.

Combined with a Dejero GateWay network aggregation device which provides reliable connectivity using multiple connection paths, and Dejero PathWay encoder, the small form factor WayPoint 50 and CuePoint 50 can be integrated into a portable flyaway kit and easily moved to any location to support remote production workflows.

Visit www.rossvideo.com

Visit www.dejero.com

Viz Engine 4.1 Re-Imagines Rendering VIZRT HAS UNVEILED Viz Engine 4.1, a major update to the company’s real-time graphics and video compositing platform which introduces multiple render blades, including support for game engines that allow media producers to choose which blade to use for any given job and mix and match them in the same environment.

New in Viz Engine 4.1 is the gaming engine render blade with its first integration - Unreal Engine 4. This development supports multiple inputs, improves performance, and runs simultaneously with classic and Fusion render blades in Viz Engine to bring the latest gaming graphics technology seamlessly and quickly into functional broadcast workflows.

NEWS OPERATIONS

The classic Viz Engine render blade offers 600+ plugins and a rich feature set which allows it to be integrated and employed in any kind of broadcast workflow.

24

The Fusion render blade introduced in Viz Engine 4.0 runs in parallel with the classic Viz Engine render blade and supports ‘physically based rendering’ (PBR) plus a wide variety of photorealistic capabilities. This provides a further

using lift, gamma and gain.

The new video I/O system in Viz Engine 4.1 delivers parallel processing of colour conversion, de-interlacing, and chroma keying on input streams, giving render blades more time to compute advanced effects for improved performance.

Dynamic channels functionality enables mixing of different inputs including ST 2110, NDI, and SDI in the same workflow.

layer of engagement and realism, particularly to virtual sets and augmented reality graphic elements.

The updated Fusion keyer in Viz Engine 4.1 now fully supports HDR. The advanced multi-matte Fusion keyer, upgraded with 16-bit colour difference, delivers accurate keying even in the most challenging environments. The updated Fusion keyer also offers enhanced de-noising and detail preservation, edge compensation, preservation of fine details including hair and transparent objects and full colour adjustment

Viz Artist 4.1 puts even more photorealism into virtual sets and augmented reality scenes through the quick addition of post-processing effects. Furthermore, a shader development environment enables material and object shader creation along with adding post effects quickly to scenes. The Fusion shader plugin, rendergraph editor, and shader development environment assist in creating photo-realistic effects or backdrops on videowalls and displays instead of utilizing UHD clips, by modifying pixel and vertex data. Finally, improvements to the substance shader plug-in offers added realism to scenes by allowing designers to use substances to generate textures.

Visit Vizrt.com

NEWS OPERATIONS

Secure Gateway for IP Contribution and Distribution

VITEC’s MGW ChannelLink is ideal for stream management, routing, rebroadcasting, or IPTV stream reflection over WAN or the internet. For broadcasters, it simplifies content delivery of live channels from news agencies as well as from sports or entertainment venues. Designed to meet stringent security criteria, it is also suited for secure government and military full-motion video applications.

As latency is key to any IP streaming application, MGW ChannelLink achieves the lowest processing time for IP-based channels. When used in conjunction with VITEC’s MGW Ace Encoder and Decoder in its ultra-low-latency HEVC profile, the gateway provides the best end-to-end latency without compromising video quality. The solution enables remote production

and contribution over the internet and avoids the use of expensive fibre or satellite transmission infrastructure, leading to dramatically reduced OPEX. MGW ChannelLink is fully interoperable with third-party encoders and decoders. In addition, the compression-standard-agnostic gateway is compatible with MPEG-2, H.264, and HEVC codecs, any resolution and frame rate (SD, HD, 4K, and more), and is engineered to evolve and support future transport protocols. Tailored to streamline IP video contribution, backhaul, and distribution, users benefit from the solution’s straightforward interface. They can manage all incoming channels from around the world and view information and statistics, such as quality of the network link and packet loss. The gateway also provides users with a centralized location for aggregating content and monitoring incoming

Viz Mosart 4 with NDI Live Sources in Touch Interface VIZ MOSART 4 HAS CHANGED the studio production dynamic by adding live IP video support directly within the touch-based user interface, opening the door to entirely new workflows and allowing producers to build shows that can be run more easily, from a wide variety of locations. Further improvements to usability also mean that anyone in the organisation is able to execute a pre-built show, reducing dependencies on limited resources.

Viz Mosart 4 features a fully customisable interface with interactive live sources. Viz Mosart integrates video over IP directly to the user’s monitor to give an unrivalled view of the show – displaying any video source, program and preview directly in the user interface. Building on the software-based and IP leadership within Vizrt Group and NDI, this setup can be deployed to an existing network environment and does not require radical infrastructure or monitoring changes.

streams. Designed to facilitate the setup for operators, a large number of channel sources (encoders) spread around the globe can be set to target a single IP address associated with the MGW ChannelLink. Additionally, the user-friendly interface is designed to simplify channel sourceto-destination routing.

VITEC encoders and decoders are capable of encrypting audio and video streams. MGW ChannelLink handles the management of such encrypted streams to secure content end to end.

Visit www.vitec.com

Web-Based Weather Data Management and Curation POLYGON LABS, A DEVELOPER OF interactive data applications and visual branding, has launched a centralised web-based weather data management and curation solution, Ipsum Weather. This announcement follows the recent release of Ipsum 2.0, the company’s data aggregation and visualisation platform for broadcast news, sports, weather and branding.

Ipsum Weather, a data aggregation, management and playout scheduling solution for on-air weather presentations and sponsorship graphics, aggregates and curates weather data (point-data, satellite, radar, isobars, wind conditions, etc.) and weather alerts from a number of different providers. For gallery and studio weather graphics, the real-time weather data solution is fully integrated with Viz Trio and Viz Director for Viz Engine playout control, as well as newsroom templates in Viz Pilot. It can also provide database management and automated playlist control of master control weather graphics played out on Unreal Engine or Viz Engine.

The template organisation capability introduced in Viz Mosart 4 significantly reduces the time spent on creation and maintenance of automation templates, allowing users to focus on their show and not the tools needed to create and bring their vision to life.

“While significantly streamlining operations, Ipsum Weather generates customer value with simplified weather data and content aggregation integrating with Vizrt’s playout tools and with the Viz Engine and Unreal Engine outputs to provide the most engaging weather graphics,” explains David Jorba, Polygon Labs’ Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer. “The software supports full screen, ticker, augmented and virtual studio weather graphics and is fully integrated with weather data providers like WSI, Weather Bell, or NOAA, as well as data feeds coming from local providers, AP, Reuters, Twitter, Facebook, XML, JSON and RSS sources.”

Visit www.vizrt.com

Visit www.polygonlabs.us

Designed for breaking news, new functionality gives instant and unscripted access to assets including templates, show openers, and much more. The new graphics panel lets users access all their Vizrt graphics, preview them and then put them directly on-air.

NEWS OPERATIONS

VITEC HAS ANNOUNCED its new MGW ChannelLink IP distribution gateway. Designed for broadcast, corporate, and government, the appliance acts as a central hub where IP channels from the field can be received and reliably retransmitted live over any IP network. It can receive a large number of input streams and translate them into a multicast or unicast MPEG Transport Stream over UDP (UDP TS) or an SRT-protected stream.

25

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & MAM OTT a Silver Lining for Silver Trak C+T speaks to Christian Christiansen, COO of media supply chain provider Silver Trak Digital, about the resilience of streaming services during the COVID-19 crisis and the benefits of diversification.

“INITIALLY, WHEN THE LOCKDOWN happened, we took a quite substantial financial hit,” says Silver Trak Digital’s Christian Christiansen. “We were involved – we still are involved in the DCP distribution market and we all know that the cinemas have basically been in lockdown. That business disappeared overnight more or less, or within a week. Another large part of our business was working with sporting organisations, and we are all aware of the trouble that they’ve hit with the lockdown and no sport. The initial hit was quite substantial, and was a shock to the system.

“We had foreseen that changes were going to take place, and we worked for two to four weeks prior to the lockdown taking place, allowing the staff that could work from home to facilitate them to work from home.

“After the initial shock, it was really business as usual. Our business was quite well diversified, and there are areas of the business that obviously have been very busy, such as delivering to OTT, AVOD, SVOD, and so forth. We’ve kept everyone busy, so that’s our offices in Australia.

“In Malaysia, it was slightly different. They have had a really hard lockdown up there, and we’ve just come back and are actually quite busy with orders that we haven’t been able to work on up there. They’re still somewhat in lockdown, but everyone’s back in the office up there, and they’re actually quite busy as well. That was almost, I think, six to eight weeks that they were locked down, but all’s going well. We’ve got a new hire that started this week, and I think we’ll be really busy over the next two months up there, from what we can see.”

C+T: Besides staff working from home, what other measures have you taken to manage staff, offices, physical space?

“I guess we got the ruler out, like everybody else did, and made sure that there was enough space between people. In general, we stagger work hours. The operational staff that had to come in and work in the business in the office, because of security and so forth around content, we’ve staggered their hours, and in general we tried to work with one person per room as much as we could. It hasn’t actually been so bad. I guess the biggest challenge we had was allowing all the staff to have the flexibility around being able to be at home when they were required to be at home for home-schooling, picking up kids, and delivering kids to wherever they were going. It’s been challenging in that sense to just manage to have people in the office to do the work that was required to be done, allowing people to meet their requirements at home – and that’s still, to some degree, ongoing.”

What effect have you seen on the OTT projects you’re working on?

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & MAM

“It’s been actually quite busy. There’s been a couple of platforms that’s made us really busy. I won’t mention any names, but they’ve certainly kept us busy.

There’s staff that we had in Malaysia that, doing a lot of project management specifically around the Netflix work, have been able to do that from home.

That’s worked out really well, and that’s kept them busy up there. In Australia, it’s been several platforms that kept us busy, and certainly we’ve seen a surge in the demand for content, for Australian content, for international platforms, and that’s been really good for us. There’s been a demand locally for Foxtel for 4K content, and that’s also kept us busy.

26

“Where we saw an immediate downturn in the business based on those two large sectors that disappeared overnight, I guess our business is well diversified and the other sectors have really picked up and everyone’s been busy. I’m proud to say that we haven’t had to lay off any staff, and the disruption to the business in general has been quite minimal. Yes. The initial two weeks were a bit of a shock for everyone.”

Did your clients bring in any new requirements as a result of the situation?

“No, not really. A lot of the platforms that we deal with are international, so that hasn’t changed in how we get introduced to content providers and project manage that content going to the platforms. I think that everyone in Australia has been quite positive in all the conversations that we’ve had with our clients and suppliers, is that everyone’s really been supporting each other.

I think it’s certainly been a goal for us to make sure that all our clients come through this, and if we can help and support them to come through this in any way or form, whether that is reduce our cost to them, delay payments, support them with potentially free services and what-have-you, we’ve certainly been willing to do that.

Silver Trak Digital Chief Operating Officer, Christian Christiansen.

“We’ve been lucky, I guess, in the sense that we’ve had the Media Room platform that’s allowed us to continue working with our clients in the Cloud, and that’s been really, really worth the investments we’ve made over the years, and we have offered that to clients that traditionally has not been on the Media Room platform to use Media Room while they’ve been in lockdown at home. I’m proud to say that that platform has performed incredibly well.”

How do you see this increase in OTT traffic going forward?

“I think that there’s been rumours that some cinema chains have been getting together and they’re actually going to get into the OTT market themselves.

“I can’t see it stopping. We support, I think, at the moment across broadcast, OTT, AVOD, SVOD, I think we’re up to 58 platforms that you can order your content to, and we see that growing. I think there’s not a month where we’re not putting another one or two on. I think it’s going to continue to grow. I think that there’s been rumours that some cinema chains have been getting together and they’re actually going to get into the OTT market themselves. I can’t see it stopping. I think it’s the way of the future. I really hope that the cinemas going to get back because it’s a very, very different experience, and they’ll certainly have their challenges, but I think that it’s a market that’ll come back and come back strong.”

How are you guys feeling about the resumption of sport?

“Good. I think that our sports clients, obviously they’ve been doing it very tough, and we’ve seen some staff that we’ve been dealing with are no longer there, unfortunately. I think sport’s going to come back, of course, and it’s going to be strong. I think the problem is we don’t know how long the tail of this pandemic will be, and the longer it goes on the harder it’s going to be for sport to come back. Sport is consumed in groups at venues, whether it’s the pub or whether it’s at a stadium or with a group of friends at home, and that’s obviously very, very challenging at the moment. The longer this pandemic goes on without a vaccine or solution, this is going to continue to hurt sport in terms of the codes getting sponsorships and television rights, and so forth.

Eventually, we’ve got to get past this, we will get past this, and sport will come back really, really strong.

“I think we’ve certainly done our part, I feel, to make sure that the media landscape’s not going to look that different at the other end, but no doubt there’s going to be some changes. For our size, with less than 100 staff, I think it’s been fairly easy for us to negate the problems that we’ve come up against in this pandemic, but I also know that for large media organisations, it’s been a much, much larger challenge. I hope everyone comes through at the other end, whether it’s based on business, common supports – and we worry about what’s happening in the US, of course, we worry about what’s happening in Europe. But I think that, at the moment, we’re doing really well in Australia and I think that the feedback we’re getting from our clients is that they’re all going to make it through at the other end, and that’s something I’m incredibly happy about.”

Visit www.silvertrak.com.au

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & MAM

Rohde & Schwarz Enhances SpycerNode Broadcast Storage System Avid Media Composer and R&S CLIPSTER. It seamlessly integrates the tools and creates its own “project mounts” for project management on SpycerNode. Access rights are assigned to users in order to guarantee content security and audit compliant software multi-tenancy. Smart linking mechanisms prevent redundant storage of assets from various projects in SpycerNode memory and sustainably reduce the storage capacity needed. In addition, rough cuts can be created quickly with the integrated web-based Preditor and then linked in the user’s preferred processing tool.

ROHDE & SCHWARZ has introduced two enhancements to its R&S SpycerNode media storage system. R&S SpycerPAM is a production asset management system that enables workgroup editing and seamless integration of various editing and mastering platforms.

In addition, Rohde & Schwarz has introduced several new SpycerNode JBOD capacity extension units, which provide affordable storage capacity expansion for their other SpycerNode models. Up to two JBOD systems can be added to each of the SpycerNode 2U12, 2U24 and 5U84 systems.

all major creative applications. It makes workflows more efficient, especially for post-production companies. Managing access rights, proxy administration and avoiding multiple copies of assets are just a few of the challenges that complex productions may face. SpycerPAM addresses these issues and significantly simplifies project handling. It offers functions such as asset management, rights management, metadata management and proxy generation as well as many features that simplify collaboration such as project sharing, allowing users to focus on being creative.

SpycerPAM is a software extension of the SpycerNode storage platform that simplifies project management and integration of

SpycerPAM supports numerous production tools, including Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Avid Pro Tools,

According to Hannes Strobel, Vice President, Media Technologies at Rohde & Schwarz, “In SpycerPAM, we offer media specific applications to increase workflow efficiency in postproduction environments. In playout scenarios our unique virtual storage access (VSA) technology enables total storage redundancy to ensure seamless streaming without a single dropped frame. With a unique system hardware and software architecture, SpycerNode has a no single point of potential failure. And it is totally scalable from entry level to data centre set-ups. Utilising our market-leading development capabilities, SpycerNode is built to perform with constant bandwidth, low rebuild times, zero performance degradation over time and advanced self-diagnostic and healing capabilities.”

Visit www.rohde-schwarz.com

Forensic Watermarking to Protect Short Form Content

MOG Announces Support for ProRes Formats

NAGRA HAS ANNOUNCED the launch of NexGuard ClipMark, a forensic watermarking technology designed to detect the source of pre-release content leaks on very short video clips, down to thirty seconds. The launch enables content owners and post-production houses to supplement existing NexGuard watermarking technologies for pre-release workflows and extend those capabilities to all types of high-value pre-release assets.

MOG TECHNOLOGIES, the supplier of end-to-end solutions for broadcasters and professional media, has announced full support of ProRes formats in all its Media Production product line.

NAGRA has partnered with industry-leading transcoder vendors to make NexGuard ClipMark available on premise and in the cloud in transcoder plug-ins. These partnerships ensure the seamless deployment into existing workflows, while leveraging the cloud-based NexGuard Detection Service for fast, highly scalable and fully automated detection of watermarks on any type of assets.

NexGuard ClipMark is the latest addition to the suite of NexGuard forensic watermarking technologies designed to deter and combat leaks during premium content production, postproduction, promotion and distribution, including for direct-to-consumer services. It is a key component of NAGRA’s comprehensive line-up of solutions to guard against service and content piracy.

Visit www.dtv.nagra.com

The release of products like MAM4PRO, mDECK and mxfSPEEDRAIL allows for content creators and producers to natively encode and decode high-quality ProRes content, with significantly reduced video file sizes while preserving full-frame 10-bit 4:2:2 quality.

Products are now supporting Apple ProRes 4444 XQ, ProRes 4444, ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes 422, ProRes 422 LT, and ProRes 422 Proxy. These will also include high dynamic range modes HLG and HDR10 (2084 PQ) for better video experience, when available.

Products supporting ProRes include: • mxfSPEEDRAIL – Professional Media Gateways • mediaCARD, mediaMOVE, mediaPLAY, mediaREC, mediaNDI • mDECK – Professional Media Decks • MAM4PRO – Digital Media Production • 4PRO mediaREC, 4PRO mediaMOVE, 4PRO mediaPLAY Visit www.mog-technologies.com

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & MAM

“NexGuard ClipMark is a game changer in the fight against pre-release leaks, enabling traceability of short form assets that previous watermarking technologies could not protect,” said Jean-Philippe Plantevin, Vice President Anti-Piracy at NAGRA. “While being very short in duration, most dailies, trailers and scenes extracted from proxy deliveries of full features or TV series are just as valuable as the mezzanine and master files. With NexGuard ClipMark, content owners and post-production houses have an extra tool to actively fight any prerelease leaks.”

27 27

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & MAM

Frame.io Unveils v3.6 and Beta of Transfer App for Remote Workflows VIDEO REVIEW AND COLLABORATION platform, Frame.io, has announced the launch of Frame.io v3.6 (pictured above) along with a new application: Frame.io Transfer, now available in beta (pictured at bottom). Frame.io v3.6 offers new features designed to meet the fast-evolving needs of today’s remote workforce, with a particular focus on speed and security. The expanded toolset addresses demands for lightning-fast project downloads with the Frame.io Transfer app, adds enhanced and powerful security features like Watermark ID for Enterprise accounts, and continues to improve the overall collaborative experience with additional new features like iOS Offline Mode and Folder Sharing that make Frame. io the most intuitive workflow solution for video and creative teams.

Frame.io Transfer Beta for Mac and Windows Frame.io Transfer is a brand new file transfer app for both Mac and Windows. Available in beta, Transfer lets users download large files and sophisticated folder structures—even entire projects—with one click. It supports EDL and XML formats, so users can identify specific files, accelerating the process of relinking to original camera files for final conforms, color grading, or sharing assets for VFX. Transfer also makes it possible to monitor active downloads and to drag and drop to reprioritize their order. Finally, Transfer facilitates fast and secure downloads, regardless of unstable internet connections; if there’s a disruption mid-download, Transfer pauses and automatically resumes once reconnected.

Sharing More Secure & Streamlined Remote work has brought many new challenges, not the least of which is ensuring that high-value content is shared securely. Enterprise customers

can now secure Presentation and Review Links using Login-only access, which means that only specified recipients can view Share Links. Recipients will see a list of everything that’s been shared with them in Frame.io’s new Inbox, which offers a clean and focused view that’s especially useful for busy clients or executives.

Realtime & On-demand Security using Watermark ID Also announced in Frame.io v3.6 is Watermark ID, which provides customers the ultimate layer of visible security.

When any viewer presses “Play,” Frame. io completes a realtime, on-demand transcode of the video with their personal identifying information burned into every frame. A two-hour video starts playing back in less than two seconds, providing peace of mind when sending work out for review.

Folder Sharing and New Move/Copy-to Flow Finally, users can now add folders to Review Links, allowing them to easily organize and share assets across teams or projects. Any changes made to folders after they are shared are dynamically updated in the Review Link. This is especially useful for teams who produce episodic content or programming that relies on a library of media.

Frame.io also made it faster, easier, and more intuitive to organize assets with an improved “Move-to” and “Copy-to” flow.

With this update, Frame.io users will now be able to see all the Presentations they’ve shared and access their settings from one organized list. The display shows folder sizes so users can see which are the heaviest projects at a glance, making it

ATTO Removes Obstacles to Storage Network Optimisation ATTO TECHNOLOGY, INC., the provider of network, storage connectivity and infrastructure solutions for data-intensive computing environments, has announced that Ethernet storage networks can be fully optimized within minutes when built with ATTO FastFrame 3 Ethernet network interface cards (NICs) and managed by ATTO 360 Tuning, Monitoring and Analytics Software.

Up until now, Ethernet network technology has been a challenge to optimise even for seasoned professionals, who rely on multiple tools and often multiple people to keep a network working properly.

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & MAM

ATTO has removed the complexities of Ethernet network optimisation through an integration of hardware and software. The process is simplified in such a way that a single user can manage a diverse network from a single location with a minimum of effort. This efficiency is achieved through a combination of ATTO Ethernet hardware and ATTO 360 tuning software.

28 28

ATTO 360 Tuning, Monitoring, and Analytics Software is an Ethernet network optimization application that unlocks the full potential of networks when used with ATTO FastFrame NICs and ATTO ThunderLink Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapters. With only a few clicks from a single management panel, ATTO 360 achieves the highest possible network performance with pre-configured tuning profiles and intelligent diagnostics that identify problems before they can occur.

Supporting speeds up to 100GbE and with latency as low as one microsecond(1µs), endto-end quality of service, and congestion control, ATTO FastFrame 3 NICs are ideal for collaborative creative workflows, IT applications such as data analytics, high-performance computing (HPC) clusters, hyper-converged servers, large database analysis, and other latency-sensitive high-performance applications.

ATTO 360 is available for macOS, Windows and Linux.

Visit www.atto.com

easier to optimize projects and storage.

Smarter Notifications Save Users Time Frame.io v3.6 consolidates notifications made on the same video within short periods of time, grouping them together into one notification.

Users can filter by “Read” or “Unread,” see comment previews, and scrub asset thumbnails to easily spot what needs to be reviewed or addressed.

Go Off the Grid with iOS Offline Mode “Offline Mode” for Frame.io’s iOS apps empowers users to truly work from anywhere. Simply tap a file to make it available offline, then review and leave comments – as soon as the app comes back online, comments are automatically synced to the project.

Visit http://frame.io

FileCatalyst Announces Partnership with Dropbox FILECATALYST, the developer of managed file transfer solutions has announced that it has partnered with Dropbox to bring UDP accelerated file transfer capabilities to and from Dropbox.

The newly launched FileCatalyst Direct v3.8, has the added capability to connect Dropbox as an External File System in the FileCatalyst Direct server. This will allow users to transfer their files at accelerated rates, through the power of UDP. Through this FileCatalyst integration with Dropbox, users gain access to the entire FileCatalyst application suite, which offers automation, customizable/brandable web portals, ad-hoc transfers, and centralized monitoring and administration, all at accelerated speeds.

“We are excited to be partnering with Dropbox to provide customers with the ability to accelerate file transfers from Dropbox.” said Chris Bailey, CEO and co-founder at FileCatalyst, “As of FileCatalyst Direct v3.8, organisations can combine the file sharing and collaboration capabilities of Dropbox with file transfer speed, monitoring, administration, and reporting capabilities of FileCatalyst.”

Visit www.filecatalyst.com/dropbox

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & MAM

Quantum’s StorNext Software Makes Cloud Content More Accessible, Speeds Data Retrieval QUANTUM CORP. HAS ANNOUNCED new advancements for its StorNext file system and data management software which are designed to make cloud content more accessible, with significantly improved read and write speeds for any cloud and object store-based storage solution. The new StorNext software features enable hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud storage use cases, delivering greater flexibility for media and entertainment and other data intensive environments such as genomics, academic research, video surveillance, oil and gas and government security. Quantum recently unveiled StorNext 6.4 software. This latest version of StorNext software advances Quantum’s software-defined product portfolio strategy and extends Quantum’s leadership in managing video and other unstructured data.

New: Cloud Content More Accessible Using Self-Describing Objects StorNext 6.4 software incorporates self-describing objects to make cloud content more easily accessible, enabling new hybrid-cloud workflows. The client writes files into StorNext file system then, based on policy, StorNext 6.4 software copies files to the public or private cloud, with the option to include additional object metadata. Non-StorNext software clients and cloud-resident processes may now access objects directly, leveraging the new extended metadata.

Cloud-based Standards Conversion of UHD Video Streams

INSYNC TECHNOLOGY HAS ANNOUNCED that the company is augmenting its FrameFormer Link software standards conversion engine with support for motion compensated frame rate conversion of live video streams.

Improved Retrieval Speed from Large Object Stores Multi-threaded put / get operations improve retrieval speed to and from large object stores and the cloud. Users can expect to see a 5X to 7X performance increase with StorNext 6.4 software, depending on the size of their objects and other factors. This feature enhances performance where single stream object performance is limited.

Other Features in StorNext 6.4 StorNext Dynamic Library Pooling: This feature improves resiliency for large tape archives, enabling the use of multiple libraries for performance and redundancy, including scale-out tape with vertical libraries like Quantum’s Scalar i6 tape library. Customers can rotate file stores to different libraries to increase availability.

Support for AWS Glacier Deep Archive Service: Quantum’s StorNext 6.4 software adds support for Amazon Glacier Deep Archive to StorNext’s already-robust integration with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and others.

Visit www.quantum.com

Facilis Shared Storage v8 and FastTracker MAM v3.5

VERSION 8 OF THE FACILIS Shared Storage System includes softwaredefined Bandwidth Priority, SSD Tiering and Multi-disk Parity:

InSync Technology is currently working with a number of SaaS partners and expects the first availability of a cloud-based integrated service for live motion compensated frame rate conversion in 3Q 2020.

• Bandwidth Priority delivers full throughput to all workstations during normal operation but prioritizes workstations to maintain greater throughput when the server enters a high-load condition. This priority setting is dynamic and can affect client performance within seconds of applying.

• SSD and HDD tiering was developed to deliver dedicated speed for projects needing SSD-level performance, while maintaining a perpetual HDD-based mirror.

• Software-defined Multi-disk Parity can be enabled for up to 4 drive failures per drive group, on a virtual volume-basis. This technology allows owners of aging systems to better protect their assets from data loss due to drive failure.

Facilis FastTracker v3.5 media asset management software continues to advance with file movement profiles, duplicate file reporting, and a secure browser interface. FastTracker can now flush and pre-fetch files and folders from cloud and LTO locations through the Object Cloud feature, while reporting the status of archived media. Facilis Object Cloud will introduce a new Multisite Sync feature that can bring together groups of editors on the same file system across multiple locations. Using the cloud storage included with the feature, projects can be shared and linked on remote workstations, as easily as linking to a local drive.

Visit www.insync.tv

Visit http://facilis.com

The new FrameFormer Link Live tool kit can be integrated into any live production automation or workflow management platform through its open API and can support live conversion of all formats up to and including UHD/4K. It can be deployed on premises or in any cloud environment and requires CPU-only processing, which is the optimum approach when instant availability of compute resources and scalability are key.

As broadcasters and service providers increasingly look to host live event production and distribution in the cloud, FrameFormer Link Live fills one of the few remaining gaps in terms of the content processing chain.

“We are bringing the unique ability to apply motion compensated frame rate conversion to live UHD streams in the cloud,” said Daryl Blair, Marketing Director of InSync Technology Ltd. “This evolution of our popular FrameFormer software engine can be easily integrated into any customer, partner, or service providers’ platform for the highest-quality conversions.”

iconik Interoperability with Amazon Web Services

Iconik’s interoperability with AWS provides a seamless and fully cloud-based media management workflow from ingest to storage.

At the same time iconik is able to keep all of that media well organised, making it easy to find the right versions, collaborate with other stakeholders, and distribute to multiple platforms.

Users are able to house media content within Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), while being able to access, edit, and share those

same assets from within iconik. Interoperability with AWS Elemental MediaConvert allows customers to easily and reliably transcode ondemand content for broadcast and multiscreen delivery. API integration with Amazon Rekognition means that iconik can analyse assets and apply time-based metadata tags based on the detail within that content, whether that is a specific item, environment, color, or portrayal of emotion. iconik also recently announced its new Versioning feature, which enables users to update the same assets concurrently whilst tracking update history and relevant conversations regarding the media. This feature allows users to streamline content editing and management by allowing

users to effortlessly revert to previous versions.

A further addition to iconik is transcription support. Users will be able to automatically transcribe assets, with the transcriptions stored in the asset, making them searchable and browsable on a time code level.

Parham Azimi, CEO, iconik, commented: “We are seeing a growing demand for hybrid architecture workflows, enabling much more efficient global collaboration. We recognize that our customers are continuously pushing the boundaries by finding new ways to produce, edit, and distribute content so we built a video platform to revolutionize media management and enable the future of media discovery.”

Visit https://iconik.io

MEDIA IN THE CLOUD, STORAGE & MAM

SWEDISH DEVELOPER ICONIK has launched the latest version of its hybrid architecturebased media management hub featuring interoperability with Amazon Web Services (AWS).

29 29

POST PRODUCTION www.content-technology.com/postproduction

Lightstorm Boosts Production Techniques on Avatar Sequels Using Blackmagic Design LIGHTSTORM ENTERTAINMENT used an extensive array of Blackmagic products, including the Teranex AV, Smart Videohub 40×40 12G, ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K and more for its recent work during production for the “Avatar” sequels.

But just as the story of the Na’vi will evolve in the sequels, so will the technology behind the films.

A key element is the ability to evaluate content as it’s being shot, rather than waiting until post production.

“We evaluate live camera feeds in a manner as close to the theatrical experience as possible, so we can make real time decisions on set,” said Geoff Burdick, Senior Vice President of Production Services & Technology for Lightstorm Entertainment. “This saves time during shooting, benefits Weta Digital, our visual effects vendor, and helps streamline our post production and mastering process.”

This necessitated the need to view live feeds from multiple 3D camera systems, simultaneously.

“In the past, we viewed live and playback material in 3D HD at 24fps,” said Burdick. “Now, we acquire

at 4K 3D, and feed through our pipeline at various resolutions and frame rates.”

These include 3D 48fps in 2K and 4K, 3D 24fps in 2K and 4K, and 3D 24fps in HD. Blackmagic Design provided a unique and comprehensive product set that allowed for numerous solutions throughout the pipeline.

“It was very challenging for our engineering team to come up with a signal path to enable this workflow,” said Burdick. “When incorporating new formats and techniques, it’s critical that we don’t cause a delay or disruption for any department.”

Having the ability to review multiple resolutions and frame rates in real time allowed the team to remain in step with issues that may have gone unnoticed before, only to be found later in post.

While Blackmagic Design played a critical role at many points along the path, one of their simplest products became a production workhorse.

“What appeared to be a mundane piece of equipment, the Teranex AV, did much of the heavy lifting for us,” says the Lightstorm team.

Geoff Burdick, SVP Production Services & Technology, Lightstorm Entertainment.

perform the necessary real time conversions and image transforms our process demands.

Having the ability to mix and match key pieces of equipment and having support for nonstandard formats across a very deep product line throughout our R&D and production process would allow us to see what was possible very quickly.”

And in the end, how did this affect production?

Not at all, which was the goal at the start.

The Teranex family allowed for a hybrid HD 24fps/4K 48fps workflow on set.

“At the end of the process,” said Burdick, “these technologies were invisible to the creative teams on set.”

“Without these products, we would not be able to

Visit www.blackmagicdesign.com

Lightstorm - Lightning Speeds and Secure Storage TIM BICIO IS CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER at Lightstorm Entertainment, the production company founded by James Cameron and Lawrence Kasanoff currently working on the Avatar sequels Appearing on a recent Dell Technologies webinar, Bicio outlined some of the company’s New Zealand-based network and storage infrastructure.

gig speeds, and it just improves the entire collaboration process. It allows us to securely get them large amounts of data, they’re able to then re-deliver that data back to us on the Isilon directly, and in addition to that we also leverage ECS as a data channel for our proprietary bin sync tools which allow us to automatically share data between sites and vendors.”

According To Bicio, “We set up Isilon and ECS storage at our production facility in New Zealand and our production facility is part of a private ring network that is inclusive of Weta and Park Road Post, which is our post facility, and what we have done is while we use our Isilon and ECS for our own production purposes, we’ve carved out space for both of our partners in New Zealand to leverage our storage via Isilon’s access zones.

The Lightstorm CTO says that when the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated staff working from home, the company arrived on a plan in around 12 hours and has stuck to it ever since.

“What this allows us to do is to securely stage media and data for both companies separately, very easily on our own file system for them to access at land speeds, 10 gig speeds, 40

“I have to tell you that a lot of people look at technology as a tool and at this point we look at technology as a partner,” he says. “We couldn’t have done what we did without technology. Every day that we work from our homes we’re getting better at working from our homes. This may be one of those watershed moments where we change the way the industry works, where we create better life balance for our teams and our

POST PRODUCTION

Join over 9,000 industry professionals who receive our weekly e-newsletter.

30

partners, and to be honest, I’m very optimistic about what we’ve done and what it means for the future of film making.”

As to the future of film making technology, Bicio says “We used to talk about the ‘film industry’ and now we don’t talk about the film industry anymore, we talk about the “movie industry” because it’s no longer film, it’s all digital and as we move more and more into virtual photography and, obviously, Jim is one of the lead players in virtual photography, we’re seeing that not only are we moving towards – and we are at a hundred percent digital in terms of process but we’re moving more and more to a hundred percent virtual, right? So, that may never come but as you can see from Avatar, which was now some time ago, and Alita, which was released recently, we’re able to do quite a bit in this virtual space. I wouldn’t be surprised if in a few years we could do virtual capture in our garages at home.”

Visit www.delltechnologies.com

Sign up at www.content-technology.com

POST PRODUCTION

Automated IMF Package Creation from within Adobe Premiere Pro

IMF packages are the preferred method to deliver show masters to companies like Netflix, 20th Century Studios, Disney and many others.

Through the use of automated processing, editing staff can focus on the creative functions of storytelling and pacing without worrying about the complexities of the IMF delivery format.

“While IMF has become the delivery format of choice for many media-services providers and production companies, Adobe Premiere Pro users need to primarily focus on the storytelling process,” said Sue Skidmore, head of partner relations for Adobe video. “Having a plug-in panel to Adobe Premiere Pro for Vantage’s automated IMF packaging workflows gives editors confidence they can deliver compliant

Zixi Partners with Blackbird for Global Live Video Editing

ZIXI, THE PROVIDER of solutions for live broadcast-quality video over IP has announced a partnership and integration with Blackbird, the cloud video editing and publishing platform that provides rapid access to video content for the easy creation of clips and highlights to multiple devices and platforms.

A professional video editor developed specifically in, and available for the browser, Blackbird delivers speed, scalability and richness of editing features and video output. The platform allows users to quickly go to market, scale effortlessly and flexibly across organisations, ensure content quality and drive massive efficiencies across any enterprise organisation. This fast, powerful cloud video editing and publishing platform can be deployed in Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud instances with live Zixi workflows, and enables the ability to insert branding, advertising and sponsored content for delivery to subscriber platforms.

The integrated SDVP provides ultralow latency video delivery with the

IMF masters right from their Timeline.”

IMF is a SMPTE standard for providing a single, interchangeable master file format and structure for the distribution of content between businesses around the world. IMF provides a framework for creating a true file-based final master. Part of the Vantage Media Processing Platform, IMF Producer automates the creation of all files required in an IMF package from a single output render of an Adobe Premiere Pro timeline. In addition to generating the primary package, editors can create additional sequences, which become supplemental IMF packages that contain different versions of audio, subtitles, edit points, Dolby Vision HDR metadata and more.

“The ability to manage IMF workflows in an application like Adobe Premiere Pro is an economical and highly powerful way of managing IMF supplemental package requirements,” says Scott Matics, Director of Product Management at Telestream. “Creating

Zixi protocol, proven reliability and extensive transport, network and content quality analytics through Zixi Video Solutions stack. ZEN Master, the industry’s leading virtual control plane, allows remote users to maintain business continuity by enabling them to securely orchestrate, manage and monitor broadcast quality, low latency live video workflows from anywhere in the world.

Visit https://zixi.com and https:// www.blackbird.video

IMF Packages that properly conform to specifications is a complex endeavor, and by automating the task, we ensure that humans and computers focus on the skills they are best at.”

Vantage IMF Producer automatically creates well-formed supplemental IMF packages which can be sent to media management systems that can automatically extract the correct content for final distribution.

IMF Producer can process up to four jobs simultaneously from Premiere Pro. Using Vantage Timed Text Flip, IMF Producer also provides full support for IMSC-1 Subtitles. The subtitle feature is required for IMF packages and is frequently missing from other solutions.

Visit www.telestream.net

set up multiple computers for distributed rendering. Never before has creating a render farm for After Effects been so simple and painless.

“We initially created RenderGarden for a specific project where our artists were working off-site with limited infrastructure and no ability to leverage our studio’s large render farm” explains Mekajiki and Swordfish founder, Matt Silverman.

Visit www.mekajiki.com

RenderGarden Software for AE Artists

DEVELOPED BY SAN FRANCISCAN motion design studio, Swordfish, RenderGarden is a suite of tools for After Effects which takes advantage of all of the CPU cores in your Mac or PC, resulting in a significant speedup for your final renders. A typical 12-core workstation can see as much as a 4x speed increase depending on the project, and the more cores you have the more significant the speed up. In addition, RenderGarden’s muti-machine rendering functionality allows you to quickly

Facial and Body Motion Capture for Cinema 4D

MAXON HAS ANNOUNCED Moves

by Maxon for the Apple App Store.

The release follows Cineversity‘s facial capture app, CV-AR. Moves by

Maxon capitalises on the emerging technology of Apple’s AR-Toolkit, which enables users to capture facial motion and whole body movement, enabling artists to bring motion sequences into Cinema 4D with limited technical effort.

The facial capturing app Cineversity CV-AR is still available as a separate product on the Apple App Store. However, designers who want full body motion capture are now able to use Moves by Maxon, an application that combines both technologies. Moves by Maxon is immediately available from the Apple App Store and is compatible with iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Plus, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPad Pro (3rd Generation).

A separate plugin is required to transfer the captured data from your Apple device to Cinema 4D and can be downloaded for free from the Cineversity website. This plugin is only compatible with the latest version of Cinema 4D – Release 21, or later (instead of This plugin is only compatible with the latest version of Cinema 4D – Release 2, or later.).

Visit www.maxon.net

POST PRODUCTION

TELESTREAM, THE PROVIDER of workflow automation, media processing, quality monitoring, and test and measurement solutions for the production and distribution of video, has announced Vantage IMF Producer, a Vantage option that automates the creation of IMF (Interoperable Master Format) packages from Adobe Premiere Pro, an industry leader in video editing. Using a Vantage panel within Adobe Premiere Pro provides direct access and significant workflow efficiencies for editors wishing to use Vantage’s comprehensive IMF processing and packaging.

31

POST PRODUCTION

Maxon Cinema 4D S22

MAXON, THE DEVELOPERS OF professional 3D modelling, animation, and rendering software solutions, has announced Cinema 4D Subscription Release 22 (S22). The next generation of Maxon’s 3D application and first subscription-only release affords customers early access to massive performance and interactivity improvements including UV unwrapping and editing tools, improved selection and modelling tool functionality, organisational licensing for volume customers and updated viewport technology with support for Metal on macOS. In addition, Maxon has boosted Cinema 4D’s pipeline compatibility with GLTF export, improved GoZ integration with Z-Brush, and support for node-based materials in FBX and Cineware. Cinema 4D S22 is immediately available for subscription customers. For perpetual license holders of Cinema 4D a release is scheduled later this year that will incorporate the features of S22, as well as additional enhancements.

S22 highlights include: • New UV Workflow Enhancements, Improved Packing and Automatic UVs – Improved selection tools, visualization tools and a progressive unwrapping workflow make it much simpler to define a UV map, while new packing algorithms optimize texture resolution. A new automatic UV unwrapping option based on the Ministry of Flat licensed technology developed by Eskil Steenberg of Quel Solaar makes it easy to create a basic unwrap with minimal distortion and overlaps for baking and texture painting.

• Enhanced Viewport – Cinema 4D’s new viewport core provides a framework to make the best use of graphics technology in the coming years, with full support for Apple Metal. Users enjoy a more accurate view of the 3D scene, improved filtering and multi-instance performance.

Nagra, Avid Enable Forensic Watermarking for Editing Workflows

NAGRA, A LEADING INDEPENDENT provider of content protection and multiscreen television solutions, has announced the launch of a new forensic watermarking plug-in for editing and collaboration workflows on Avid’s Media Composer video editing software. The NexGuard Plug-in for Editing Software allows studios, content owners and post-production houses to ensure protection of high-value assets when sharing prerelease content such as feature films or TV series with their editing department, reviewers or their creative agencies. The integration simplifies the watermarking process within the editing software while providing traceability and a strong deterrent against pre-release content leaks. Media Composer is the first non-linear editing software to be integrated with the NAGRA plug-in.

“Any leak occurring on pre-released or pre-aired content has a high negative impact on revenues and marketing activities,” said Jean-Philippe Plantevin, Vice President Anti-Piracy at NAGRA. “With the NexGuard Plug-in for Editing Software, we’re able to ensure an added layer of security and traceability in editing and collaboration workflows while limiting the number of steps in the watermarking process. Content owners now have an extra safeguard in place to protect high value assets as they edit, review and approve the rough cuts or final cuts of their full feature films or TV series.”

“The integration of NexGuard forensic watermarking with Media Composer brings added value to content owners to trace any leak back to the source in their editing and collaboration workflows,” said Ray Thompson, Director of Market Solutions, Broadcast and Media at Avid. “This new watermarking plug-in for editing software allows post- production teams to stay focused on creating content while providing an end-to-end media security solution.”

POST PRODUCTION

The NexGuard Plug-in for Editing Software, which works as a simple video filter, quickly and seamlessly adds a unique, robust and imperceptible forensic watermark to each copy of the content exported from the nonlinear editing software, regardless of input and output file formats.

32

The NexGuard Plug-in for Editing Software is supported by the NexGuard Detection Service, a cloud based forensic watermark detection service that is fast, highly scalable and fully automated, meeting the needs of content owners who require detection in conjunction with anti-piracy services.

Visit http://dtv.nagra.com

• Pipeline – GTLF export, GoZ Integration and More – GLTF export offers users a flexible and efficient format for sharing 3D animations on the web and within AR applications, while GoZ integration offers a smooth workflow with Pixologic Z-Brush for advanced sculpting. Support for Nodal materials within FBX and Cineware expands the pipeline for advanced materials.

• Modelling Tools Improvements – In addition to many small usability enhancements, modelling tools are faster and more robust, and better preserve mesh attributes like UV and vertex maps, thanks to a new core architecture.

• Organisational Licensing Options – Volume License Customers can leverage organisational accounts within the MyMaxon ecosystem to assign licenses to individual users or groups, coupling the flexibility of floating licenses with the accessibility and reliability of Maxon’s servers.

Visit http://www.maxon.net

EditShare Extends Collaborative Editing into the Cloud

EDITSHARE IS PUSHING to make collaborative cloud-based media production possible with its virtualised video editing and storage platform – EFSv. Initially running on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure, the open EFSv platform supports industry-standard third-party creative tools for editing, audio mixing, and grading with best-in-class security capabilities such as file auditing to propel secure, end-to-end editorial workflows in the cloud. EFSv native drivers eliminate traditional IT bottlenecks and deliver superior performance in virtual environments.

And, by leveraging the EditShare RESTful API, customers and technology partners can easily automate advanced storage management workflows.

“Only the cloud can bring the depth of flexibility that’s essential for today’s unusual and disruptive circumstances. Overnight, the advantages offered by the cloud have changed from being ‘nice to have’ to ‘necessary,’” states Sunil Mudholkar, vice president of product management, EditShare. “We have real-world experience successfully deploying EditShare customer workflows to run in AWS and Tencent Cloud. EFSv is the culmination of these successes.”

Mudholkar explains EFSv’s capabilities, “Everything, including project sharing, editing, and bin locking, is virtualised. Users can spin up an entire virtual facility in moments, with all the computing power they need to complete real-world projects in the cloud.”

EFSv packages include the workstation and GPU resources required to support teams of all sizes. The EFSv packages also include EditShare’s Flow media management and remote production workflow tools. Flow adds a control layer to virtualised storage pools, with tools to scan, log, search, and organize media, assemble story packages, and move content between object and block tiers of storage and also between cloud and on-premise tiers. Flow’s automation capabilities let users orchestrate redundant tasks and complex workflows, optimizing workflow efficiencies.

The flexible EditShare pricing structure provides customers transparency with options to purchase the EFSv subscription alone or inclusive of cloud services.

Visit https://www.editshare.com

POST PRODUCTION

A First Look at Unreal Engine 5

EPIC GAMES RECENTLY released a first look at Unreal Engine 5 in the form of “Lumen in the Land of Nanite,” a real-time demo running live on PlayStation 5.

Although Unreal Engine 5 will not be available in full release until late in 2021, the company says, “One of our goals in this next generation is to achieve photorealism on par with movie CG and real life, and put it within practical reach of development teams of all sizes through highly productive tools and content libraries.”

The demo previews two of the new core technologies that will debut in Unreal Engine 5: • Nanite virtualized micropolygon geometry frees artists to create as much geometric detail as the eye can see. Nanite virtualized geometry means that film-quality source art comprising hundreds of millions or billions of polygons can be imported directly into Unreal Engine—anything from ZBrush sculpts to photogrammetry scans to CAD data—and it just works. Nanite geometry is streamed and scaled in real time so there are no more polygon count budgets, polygon memory budgets, or draw count budgets; there is no need to bake details to normal maps or manually author LODs; and there is no loss in quality.

• Lumen is a fully dynamic global illumination solution that immediately reacts to scene and light changes. The system renders diffuse interreflection with infinite bounces and indirect specular reflections in huge, detailed environments, at scales ranging from kilometers to millimeters. Artists and designers can create more dynamic scenes using Lumen, for example, changing the sun angle for time of day, turning on a flashlight, or blowing a hole in the ceiling, and indirect lighting will adapt accordingly. Lumen erases the need to wait for lightmap bakes to finish and to author light map UVs—a huge time savings when an artist can move a light inside the Unreal Editor and lighting looks the same as when the game is run on console.

To build large scenes with Nanite geometry technology, the Unreal team made heavy use of the Quixel Megascans library, which provides filmquality objects up to hundreds of millions of polygons.

The demo also showcases existing engine systems such as Chaos physics and destruction, Niagara VFX, convolution reverb, and ambisonics rendering.

In an effort to encourage developers, the company has announced it will waive Unreal Engine royalties on the first USD$1 million in game revenue.

Developers can download and use Unreal Engine to build games for free as they always have, except now royalties are waived on the first $1 million in gross revenue. The new Unreal Engine licence terms, which are retroactive to January 1, 2020, are designed to give game developers an unprecedented advantage over other engine license models.

See the demo at https://youtu.be/qC5KtatMcUw Visit https://www.unrealengine.com

NVIDIA Omniverse Delivers Interactivity and Collaboration

Creating visual effects, architectural visualisations and manufacturing designs typically requires multiple people collaborating across teams, remote work locations and various customer sites for reviews. 3D assets take shape using an assortment of software tools.

But seamless data transfers across applications have long been the challenge for millions of artists, designers, architects, engineers and developers globally. Using Pixar’s Universal Scene Description and NVIDIA RTX technology, Omniverse allows people to easily work with applications and collaborate simultaneously with colleagues and customers, wherever they may be.

For years, collaborating in visual effects has been through exporting and importing large datasets and scene files. In 2010, Lucasfilm and Sony Pictures Imageworks joined together to create Alembic, an open computer graphics interchange framework that helped multiple studios ensure consistency and accuracy when working on the same project.

Pixar developed USD to provide the interchange of assets and enable collaboration on 3D scenes

that may be intricately composed from many elemental assets. With a single scene graph and consistent API, USD delivers a rich toolset for reading, writing, editing and rapidly previewing 3D geometry and shading.

Omniverse benefits from the flexibility and consistency of the USD interchange format and builds upon it with synchronised workflows. Entire studio teams around the world can collaborate in real time as they create, with version control support needed to ensure production stays on track.

In Omniverse, the Portals connection module unites top industry tools into a collaborative space for users to work seamlessly on real-time modelling, shading, animation, lighting, visual effects and rendering, introducing incredible new opportunities for creativity and production.

Up until now, there have been two types of renderers. Real-time rendering is geared toward producing images at 30 or 60 frames per second and adheres to the lowest device targeted for use. Offline rendering focuses on delivering photorealistic final images or scenes that take hours per frame to render with a CPU. To achieve top speeds, many corners often get cut — from simplifying geometry to baking lighting and normal maps — and this can reduce image quality.

To overcome this, Omniverse introduces a new type of rendering with Omniverse View. This module is accelerated by multiple NVIDIA RTX

GPUs and built for extreme scalability on arrays of GPUs to provide high-quality, real-time output, even on very large scenes.

Omniverse View displays the 3D content aggregated from different applications inside Omniverse, or directly in the 3D application being used. It’s also designed to support commercial game engines such as Unreal Engine and Unity as well as offline renderers.

Many industry software leaders are integrating their applications into Omniverse so artists can work collaboratively through the 3D creative process.

Omniverse’s Portals is made possible by using Omniverse Kit, a software development kit that enables RTX View capability to be directly integrated into the software partner’s application interface. This gives their product an ultra-highquality, real-time, ray-traced application viewport.

Since Omniverse is a software-defined platform, vendor applications can also benefit from NVIDIA RTX acceleration or other technologies, like PhysX, as soon as new features become available. NVIDIA has been working closely with companies like Epic Games, Autodesk, Pixar, Trimble, McNeel & Associates, and Teradici, with other partner announcements coming soon.

Visit https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidiaomniverse-platform

POST PRODUCTION

NVIDIA OMNIVERSE is a computer graphics and simulation platform that makes it possible for artists to work seamlessly in real time across software applications on premises or around the world via the cloud, is now available for early access customers in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) market.

33

AUDIO Digital soundwaves

www.content-technology.com/audio

Stage Tec Launches Two-User Operation for AVATUS STAGE TEC HAS INTRODUCED new features with the latest software release 1.12 for the AVATUS IP console. One of the most innovative new features is simultaneous operation of AVATUS with two sound engineers. The virtual division of a console, which can also consist of several physical buckets, is currently offered by no other console on the market. The division takes place in blocks of 12 control strips each, which make up one cassette. Both sound engineers have unlimited and independent access to various functions: They have their own SOLO and PFL functionalities at their disposal, each in its own control room.

The global layer switching, function selection and synchronous scrolling of lists (Aux, N-1, groups, EQ bands, …) only affect the respective user area.

Even functions such as spill, the temporary link function or Aux-/N-1 to faders (including auto

lists) can be altered independently by both sound engineers. Furthermore, both users can access all audio channels simultaneously and work with the same channels (e.g ambience).

With the new software release, AVATUS performance and response times are enhanced significantly. And the talk functionality of the two command paths can now be assigned to any user button.

Designed especially for collaboration, AVATUS now offers the possibility of temporarily linking one of the two control rooms to the other at the push of a button. Both control rooms always carry the same monitoring signal, but can be operated independently, and volume, mute functions, DIM, side and polarity swaps are independent.

The alternative monitoring function for both

AVATUS control rooms is another new feature.

It is possible to switch between two monitoring systems in both control rooms. The cross-points for the outputs of the monitoring systems are stored system-wide and no longer depend on the project.

Software release 1.12 for AVATUS is available now.

Visit www.stagetec.com

TC electronic Introduces Master X and Brickwall DESIGNED AND ENGINEERED in Denmark, TC Electronic’s MASTER X HD and BRICKWALL HD plug-ins are the ultimate dynamics duo combining unparalleled transparent performance with an easy-to-use interface.

MASTER X HD NATIVE With expansion, compression and limiting separate for each of the three bands, the MASTER X HD is a multi-band dynamics processing plug-in. Designed for use on single sources, buses and master mixes, its combination of software and optional hardware control gives users powerful algorithms combined with the latest in dynamics technology.

MASTER X HD delivers studio-grade expansion, compression and limiting separate for each band.

The studio-grade algorithms provide ultimate transparency while staying true to the TC Electronic legacy sound and include a built-in soft clipping feature.

The MASTER X HD combines technologies from the MASTER X for Pro Tools and the legendary POWERCORE platform with TC Electronic’s latest

dynamics technologies found in the Finalizer application ecosystem.

The overall processing characteristics of MASTER X HD are controlled via target curves, i.e. either flat, bass-emphasising, air-adding or the classic smiley curve. These specialised starting points gives users total and easy control via global processing styles for all bands in all algorithm blocks while reducing the number of complex parameters in a similar three-band processor by approximately 2/3.

BRICKWALL HD NATIVE BRICKWALL HD is a true-peak brick wall limiter plug-in. It sports both classic transparent limiting and modern loudness-oriented workflow.

Designed to be an ultra-transparent master limiter, BRICKWALL HD protects audio without ever sacrificing sonic impact. Its studio-grade algorithm is built on the foundation of the original Brickwall Limiter from System 6000, BRICKWALL HD lets users increase the apparent loudness of a mix without losing audio quality.

BRICKWALL HD sports a modern take on limiting.

The loudness limiter safeguards sonics for easy delivery to streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud and Tidal.

Unlike most limiters that stop at 0 DBFS, BRICKWALL HD identifies the inter-sample peaks and eliminates the risk of down-stream audio clipping. The premium ISP limiting algorithm ensures clean and predictable results every time.

The adaptive content-optimised limiter profiles guarantee maximum sonic transparency.

For hands-on usability and improved workflow, optional USB-powered hardware controller addon’s for MASTER X HD and BRICKWALL HD are available.

BRICKWALL HD and MASTER X HD are compatible with all major DAW’s (Standard VST, Audio Units and AAX-Native plug-in processing on Mac and Windows PC) and deliver full support for standard DAW automation and project recall.

As a supplement to the classic, transparent limiter,

Visit www.tcelectronic.com

suite of tools focused on the SuperVP Engine to process complex audio editing tasks that includes full automation of parameters such as: pitch, transposition, time stretching, remix noise, sinus and transient.

• Multi regions editing with cross-fades.

Audio Editor/Time Stretch App IRCAMLAB HAS RELEASED a new version of its flagship TS (Time-Stretch) application, now renamed ‘TS2’.

The ircamLAB TS2 application is an audio toolbox application for professionals to edit or transform, time-stretch and manipulate audio files.

The new TS2 is now a full mono/stereo audio editor. It can edit any audio regions (copy, cut, paste), transpose, ‘Transient Design’, and offer remix, extensive mastering capabilities and much more with unprecedented accuracy.

AUDIO

TS2 now supports the hosting of third party external VST/AU effects from plug-in manufacturers.

34

The new TS2 application is a comprehensive

Post-production professionals, audio engineers, sound designers, musicians and video editors alike can use TS2 to transform recordings into production-ready audio files.

New features in the TS2 Audio Editor include: • Full audio editing capabilities.

• Copy, cut, paste, loop functions on audio regions.

• Unlimited undo.

• Multiple audio files management.

• Multiple documents.

• Multi ruler control (time, second).

• Loop and tempo calculator.

• Multi windows and multi-screen visualization.

• Real-time sonogram view.

• Export of audio and command lines.

• Full Automation over the SuperVP engine.

• Multi-format VST2, VST3 and AU

• Individual volume control with fade in and out.

Visit www.ircamlab.com

AUDIO

AMS Neve Unveils New 8424 Console FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS of the Genesys Black console, British manufacturer AMS Neve has unveiled another classic in the shape of the Neve 8424 – a small format console with a large format sound based on the iconic 80-series console range.

The 8424 console is designed to fit the needs of the modern hybrid studio where the speed of in-the-box workflow is enhanced with the ultimate sound quality of analogue outboard gear. Designed to be straightforward and accessible to all, this versatile and powerful desk provides a centralised platform with unparalleled connectivity, facilitating an ergonomic link between the linear analogue processing world of outboard gear, analogue synths and instruments, to the digital world of DAW workflow, software plugins and session recall.

Capitalising on Neve’s sixty years of technical heritage and highly revered analogue circuit design, the British-designed 8424 fits perfectly into many different applications. Whether you’re a music producer or an artist with your own project studio, the owner of a small professional recording studio or the person in charge of an educational facility, this compact, budgetconscious desk delivers everything you need to record, mix, monitor and master music quickly, marrying Neve’s revered sonic excellence with the speed and flexibility required for today’s connected workflows.

Recording: The 8424’s dual-input channel strip allows for seamless switching between recording and mixing inputs without additional patching.

Simple input connectivity via 24 line-level inputs,

dual 1073 preamps, and dual Instrument DI channels makes the 8424 the perfect console for artists to effortlessly connect and record their instruments, and performers can record directly from the control room, taking advantage of the 8424’s dual cue mix system with talkback/return talkback capability and dual headphone amplifiers.

Mixing: The 8424 offers the ultimate analogue mixing platform with 24 DAW returns across 24 channel faders or, for larger DAW sessions, a 48Mix mode that allows a total of 48 mono inputs with individual level and pan controls to be mixed through the 8424’s Marinair transformer-coupled stereo mix bus. Engineers can take advantage of the 8424’s mono and stereo aux busses to connect to their favourite outboard FX units and route them back into the console’s two dedicated stereo reverb returns. Four mono groups with 2-band shelving EQ, Inserts, and Direct Outs make this console ideal for stem mixing. The 8424 stereo mix bus gives true voltage mixing into Marinair transformers, as found in the legendary Neve 80-series consoles, while additional features such as Stereo Insert, 2-band shelving EQ and Neve’s proprietary Stereo Width

control give engineers, artists and producers all of the tools they need to create polished, professional recordings.

Connecting: Each Channel, Group and Stereo Mix bus has its own switchable insert point, giving a level of connectivity to analogue outboard units only found on large-format consoles. Dual on-board 500 series slots allow engineers to customise their signal chain and build a modular hybrid recording system, all connected and centralised through the 8424 console.

The 8424 has an on-board Recall system, which further integrates the console into the modern hybrid studio workflow. This unique feature enables this pure analogue console to save, load, and recall all settings, faders and pot positions for on a session by session basis.

With this unrestricted workflow, engineers can take advantage of all analogue features without the added worry of losing console settings and wasting valuable studio time.

Visit https://www.ams-neve.com

Dolby Introduces Dolby.io for Developers

Traditionally, businesses and developers outside of the music and entertainment industries often lacked the resources and experience to integrate Dolby’s technologies. Dolby.io changes that through a collection of scalable, easy-to-use interactivity and media processing APIs. According to Aaron Liao, Vice President, Developer Relations, Dolby. “With Dolby.io, developers can now take the magic Dolby has instilled into billions of devices, thousands of films, billions of conference call minutes, and use it to fuel nearly any real-time interaction or piece of content – all at an accessible and transparent cost, designed to inspire iteration and creativity. The future of experiential media never looked or sounded better.”

The initially available APIs can analyse and enhance the quality of media content or enable multi-party audio and video communications to

be embedded within an app. Dolby.io will also enable developers to bring Dolby experiences to new industries such as healthcare, distance learning, digital collaboration, online training, podcasting, and social media.

The core offerings of Dolby.io include: Interactivity APIs - Keeping people connected effectively, from bridging geographies to working remotely in distributed systems, has never been more critical. Businesses and developers building communications and collaboration into their apps want control over quality and engagement that third-party services often cannot provide.

Dolby.io brings all of Dolby’s experience and specialisation in delivering immersive, engaging interactivity and communication to the world of developers without them having to be experts in the underlying technologies.

With Dolby.io’s new interactivity APIs, developers can build everything people need to communicate, collaborate, and succeed with powerful tools that map to existing workflows and ensure users are seamlessly engaged, in-app, and in-flow throughout the experience. Powerful cross-platform capabilities such as Spatial Audio, advanced noise reduction, HD Video, broadcasting and screen-sharing can combine to make distance learning, telehealth visits,

training sessions and other live events feel lifelike and familiar, no matter the physical distance separating participants.

Media Processing APIs - Today, media is more crucial than ever to the success of businesses, and the proliferation of easily accessible, premium entertainment has dramatically increased consumer expectations for any type of audio or video content. Before today, high quality sound required dedicated resources and potentially entire teams to deliver professional, consistent results that keep pace with customer demand.

With Dolby.io, developers and businesses can now analyse and enhance all their media costeffectively and at scale. These new and powerful media processing APIs can reduce background noise and improve dialog levels to increase intelligibility and engagement, in addition to providing quality metrics, audio analytics, and deeper content insights that help any developer, any industry, any size company effectively upgrade and manage media content, at scale.

Dolby.io features a free trial for new users that includes 30,000 interactivity minutes and 200 media processing minutes. Beyond the free trial, interactivity APIs will cost USD$0.0045 per participant, per minute, and media processing APIs will cost $0.05 per minute.

Visit https://dolby.io

AUDIO

DOLBY LABORATORIES HAS ANNOUNCED Dolby.io, an API platform that further broadens the opportunities to create in Dolby for the enterprise and application development space.

Dolby.io will enable businesses, developers, and content creators to enhance every interaction and every piece of content in order to deliver spectacular communications, collaboration, and audiovisual experiences in their apps and services.

35

AUDIO

CEDAR Announces Cambridge v13 CEDAR AUDIO has announced the availability of CEDAR Cambridge v13 – the latest incarnation of its audio restoration, noise reduction and speech enhancement system, used worldwide for audio forensics, in sound libraries and archives, as well as for premastering and in other areas where the highest processing quality is required.

This update includes: • The introduction of INR, the most powerful impulse noise eliminator we’ve ever developed

capabilities to CEDAR’s spectral editor.

• Retouch 8: the next era in spectral editing

There are many occasions when you will encounter similar instances of unwanted sounds in a track – things such as hi-hat spill in a multi-track recording, over-excited sibilants and plosives in a vocal track, or even the repetitive noise caused by a piece of machinery in the background. Traditionally, one would remove these by identifying each event individually and then defining it manually prior to processing. This is very time consuming.

• The introduction of PDF reporting • Other processes upgraded for improved performance.

New Module – INR INR is a real-time Impulse Noise Reduction module that was developed as a more powerful alternative to Declickle. It digs deeper into the signal to remove clicks and noise bursts that Declickle cannot and, while its primary use is in the forensic arena, it can also be used for badly degraded commercial audio such as optical sound tracks with noisy clicks and bursts that are not recognised by other declickers.

If you are working with material that contains very fast, high energy transients such as percussion and plucked sounds, INR’s transient modelling protects these during processing, retaining their energy even when heavy processing is applied. Similarly, the harmonic modelling allows INR to remove clicks and bursts accurately in the presence of harmonic signals such as music and strong tones.

Retouch 8 – the Next Era in Spectral Editing CEDAR says it invented spectral editing and still holds the patents to it. But not content to leave things as they were, it has continued for two decades to research ways to improve it, over the years making it faster and easier to use, as well as much more productive in a wider range of settings. Retouch 8 adds two fundamental new

Matching: Applying machine learning to identify problems

Match allows users to mark one of the offending sounds and then ask the machine learning algorithm in Retouch 8 to find all of the other instances within the recording. A threshold control even allows you to bias its decision making toward including more or fewer possibilities so that you can find the level that includes everything that you want to remove but precludes events that seem similar but are actually wanted signal.

Having identified all of the matches, you can then eliminate them using the appropriate Retouch tool. You can process them individually, authorising and applying the chosen tool to each, or you can process all of the matches as a group, whereupon Retouch 8 will fly through the whole file in a tiny fraction of the time needed with human intervention. The increase in productivity is remarkable.

Repair: Putting the AI into Spectral Repair With traditional spectral editing, you may want to suppress or eliminate a noise, but interpolation

doesn’t work quite as well as you want, you can’t patch it, and if you attenuate the whole region you create a hole in the audio that generates an audible artefact.

Using artificial intelligence, CEDAR’s Repair function can suppress the event while leaving the background untouched. Just mark the sound and some of the surrounding signal and then use the single knob to suppress it or even completely eliminate it. Unlike other spectral editing tools, only the significant signal within the region is identified and processed; all low-level signals as well as the ambience are left unaffected.

Alternatively, you may have a clip in which there’s something – for example, a quiet word or some other understated sound – that you might like to bring to the foreground. Repair allows you to do this too. Just amplify the event while leaving the rest of the signal unaffected.

PDF Reporting One of the most frequently requested upgrades for CEDAR Cambridge, PDF reporting allows users to output reports as standard PDF files as well as the HTML files and XML files that can be used to generate bespoke databases and reports.

This is particularly useful if you’re using multiregion processing with the reporting system as a transcription system.

You can also generate individual reports for every track processed by the Batch Processor and send these to the destinations of your choice.

Visit www.cedaraudio.com

Noise Suppression Plugin

AUDIO

SOUND DEVICES has announced the NoiseAssist Noise Suppression Plugin for its 8-Series mixerrecorders. NoiseAssist is an advanced signal processing algorithm that reduces background noises such as traffic, generators, HVAC noise, and more. It features a simple user interface with only one adjustment, the amount of background noise to suppress.

36

NoiseAssist automatically and continuously monitors the background noise independently from the desired speech in the signal. There is no need to ‘learn’ the signal, as this is done automatically. NoiseAssist very accurately discriminates between the desired speech signal and background noise through proprietary advanced multi-band frequency, level, and statistical calculations. The background noise and

reverberation can then be seamlessly suppressed by a user-selectable dB level without affecting the desired speech signal. This is all done in real time with just 1 ms of latency, thanks to the 8-Series’ high-horsepower FPGA processing.

a BSEE from University of Illinois, ChampaignUrbana. Between the two of them, Steve and Matt collectively hold over 20 patents, and have several decades of experience designing audio algorithms and systems.

Up to two instances of NoiseAssist can run on any combination of isolated channels (excluding 17-32 on Scorpio), bus L, or bus R. NoiseAssist maintains the two independent audio channels’ excellent frequency bandwidth, while effectively suppressing the background noise and reverberation.

The optional NoiseAssist plugin is compatible with all 8-Series mixer-recorders running firmware version 5.00 or higher, which may be downloaded from www.sounddevices.com/ download. Firmware version 5.00 also includes support for the Sonosax SX-LC8+ Control Surface.

This algorithm is the result of two years of in-house research and development by Staff Engineer Steve Popovich and CEO/President Matt Anderson. Steve holds a BSEE, MSEE, and PhD in EE from UW-Madison and Matt holds

Visit https://www.sounddevices.com/

8-Series users may visit http://store. sounddevices.com/product/noiseassist to hear a demo of the plugin and purchase NoiseAssist for their mixer-recorder.

AUDIO

Solid State Logic Delivers S300 Broadcast Audio Console SOLID STATE LOGIC (SSL)has announced the release of the new S300-48 fixed layout 48+1 fader compact control surface. Providing a muchrequested addition to the S300 console family, it can be combined with the complete portfolio of SSL’s System T consoles, remote tiles and screen interfaces, Tempest Processing Engines, and Network I/O options. The expanded console configuration is designed to integrate with larger System T installations or in stand-alone configurations for smaller broadcast facilities or OB vehicles.

The S300-48 provides a larger fader count and multi operator usage in the System T S300 form

factor. Channel metering directly above each fader provides direct monitoring and control of signals on the current surface layers, with an overview providing metering of console wide signals. System T’s unique modular approach allows all surface variants to utilise the same software, providing full flexibility and interoperability across the entire range. This includes access to all features including full AoIP routing from the console, DAW control, immersive audio, Dynamic Automation, Access Control, Event Manager, Scene Automation and a fully featured onboard Effects Rack.

AoIP functionality is further enhanced with Dante and DDM support directly in the console software. All System T and Network I/O devices simultaneously support Dante, ST 2110, ST 2022-7, ST 2059-2, PTPv2 and PTPv1. AoIP routing is available from the console software with immediate discovery of stageboxes and the ability to resource share directly from the console, leveraging the benefits of a dynamic IP infrastructure.

Visit www.solidstatelogic.com

AMS Neve Introduces 1073OPX Mic Pre-amp

The analogue and digital monitor signal path of the 1073OPX allows it to be used as a complete standalone I/O interface or as a live room remote preamp with a full, latency-free monitoring cue mix signal path. The optional digital I/O card comes with Neve’s industry-revered masteringgrade converters with up to 192kHz/24-Bit A/D conversion over USB connection. This ensures that the unit can be used as a Primary Audio Interface

to any connected DAWenabled computer, as well as Primary and Secondary Dante connectivity for Audio-over-IP applications.

Key features include: • 8 Channels of remote-controlled 1073 Mic/ Line/Instrument Preamplifiers.

• Exclusive Neve Marinair transformers on both the Line and Microphone input.

• Remote control software can control up to 8 1073 OPX racks at a time (64 preamps!)

• Automatic Total Recall of all settings.

• Front Transformer-coupled Mic/Line combi input

Open-Source AI Tool Analyses Samples and Loops IN COLLABORATION WITH Dr. Scott Hawley, Physics Professor at Belmont University, Art+Logic has unveiled Vibrary, a software platform which uses machine learning to analyse short samples and loops. Its design makes it easy for producers, composers, and musicians to train their own models and classify sounds by sound, genre, feel or other characteristics, defined by users’ needs and preferences.

The open-source AI tool features a helpful interface to make training algorithms accessible to anyone with a computer, internet connection, and a massive sound library.

“Much of the technology involved is straightforward, but what is unique about us is that we built a user-friendly utility that lets people train their own AI,” explains Hawley.

Before Art+Logic embraced the project for its incubator initiative, Hawley had been playing around with algorithms and audio files for years, a hobby, of sorts, of the busy physics professor and musician. He dug into the work of top researchers using spectrograms, the visual representations of sound, as objects for algorithmic classification. It enabled him to

find and tag sounds in a massive, confusinglylabelled sample and patch library, something producers and composers often struggle with.

He dubbed his experiments Panotti, named for the big-eared people of medieval legend, and eventually he took his prototypes to Nashville’s ASPIRE Research Co-op, a gathering dedicated to audio innovation. He and his fellow researchers worked to improve Panotti.

There was a problem, however. Hawley’s model gave good results, but it was a pain to set up and train. Hawley imagined a better way, one accessible to audio pros, and Art+Logic helped him find it, creating a simple, attractive interface. This interface ensures Vibrary leaps past a major sticking point for many specialised machine learning projects: Domain experts aren’t data scientists, and data scientists may have no clue how domain experts use or perceive the data. Vibrary empowers audio pros to build their own AI without a data-science background.

Visit www.artandlogic.com

• Rear Transformer-coupled Mic/Line D-Type connection • 80Hz High pass filter • -25dB pad • Phase flip • Smart Phantom Power control • Hi/Lo Impedance selector from 300Ω to 1.3KΩ • Separate stereo monitor path with Independent level control Visit https://www.ams-neve.com

RTW Adds SMPTE ST 2110 to TouchMonitors

RTW HAS ADDED SMPTE ST 2110 compliance to its Dante- and Ravenna-compatible TouchMonitors, the TM7 and TM9.

New TM-Dante and TM-Ravenna units will ship with ST 2110 functionality, and existing owners will be able to add this option via a free firmware update.

“ST 2110 is the latest standard within Audio and Video over IP and we expect it to replace SDI solutions over time,” says Mike Kahsnitz, RTW Senior Director of Product Management.

“SMPTE ST 2110 is a major contributing factor in the development toward a single IP-based mechanism for the professional broadcaster. Like SDI, it carries audio, as well as video and metadata, but unlike SDI, it is based on IP technology, which makes it a true network, rather than point-to-point. Broadcast is beginning to make a shift toward a truly networked infrastructure and we obviously want to continue developing our solutions accordingly. In conclusion, truly professional audio meters are now available for broadcasters and content providers that are adopting the new IP-based infrastructure.”

The ST 2110-compliant TM-Dante and TM-Ravenna meters are now available worldwide.

Visit www.rtw.com

AUDIO

TO MARK THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY of its legendary 1073 microphone preamp, AMS Neve has brought the story full circle with the launch of the 1073OPX, a brand-new Octal Microphone/Line/Instrument Preamplifier that designed to meet the needs of the modern studio environment.

37

RADIO The original broadcast media

www.content-technology.com/radio

ARN Launches Dynamic Audio Advertising Technology

AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK (ARN) has launched ARN Dynamic Audio which the company says is a “world-first dynamic advertising technology that delivers more personalised and measurable campaigns for ARN’s radio clients”.

The technology gives ARN the capability to provide dynamically targeted advertising on AM, FM and DAB+ radio in real time, ensuring the messaging is relevant, engaging and timely.

The technology was developed in partnership with A Million Ads, a developer of dynamic audio technology. ARN is the exclusive production partner of A Million Ads in Australia, having already implemented its dynamic technology across the iHeartRadio Australia app.

ARN says research has shown that compared to non-targeted messaging, this new technology delivers a 52% uplift in advertisement recall, a 49% increase in engagement and a 240% increase in customer conversions.

The rollout of ARN Dynamic Audio, across AM, FM, DAB+ and iHeartRadio, is part of ARN’s long-term strategy to expand and diversify its comprehensive commercial offering for clients

AES67 Remote Monitoring Solution AUSTRALIAN COMPANY CLOUDCAST SYSTEMS has launched RemotePlay, an AES67 remote monitoring solution which can be used with smartphone, tablet or desktop computer.

According to the company, “During the current COVID pandemic, the ability to listen to your sources remotely has clearly come up across the world and, for a lot of broadcasters, and it was really one part of the IP domain that was untouched. There’s plenty of products out there that will do IP monitoring on-site but nothing from your home or from the comfort of your lounge.”

RADIO

RemotePlay sits inside a station’s IP audio network and listens to either the Session Announcement Protocol, or Apple’s Bonjour, or the Livewire Announcement Protocol, and presents users with a list of audio sources that are on the multicast domain. Users ‘subscribe’ to the multicast, then RemotePlay takes that audio and encodes it using Opus and then sends it to either a smartphone, mobile device or your desktop. The application enables engineering/technical staff, as well as content and programming-type staff, to be able to listen to their stations, particularly if they’re not in that market.

38

Audio is streamed to browsers in real time with low latency and can be made available via the

with more personalised creative campaigns.

Another key part of this strategy is the use of the interactive ShakeMe audio advertising technology which allows audiences to ‘connect’ with an ad by responding immediately to a call to action either by shaking their mobile phone or using a voice command.

Ads said, “Personalisation is the next frontier in advertising so it’s great to be able to bring it to ARN’s broadcast platforms as well as streaming and podcasts. Partnering with ARN was an obvious choice for us as they share our vision of a personalised future, driven by data and great creative that helps clients stand out.”

ARN’s Chief Commercial Officer Pete Whitehead said: “ARN’s implementation of ARN Dynamic Audio via our partnership with A Million Ads is revolutionary. Never before has a media company been able to automatically deliver tailored advertising to radio audiences in real time, but that is exactly what ARN can now do. We can help advertisers send the right message, to the right audience at the right time… in real time. This technology can be applied by ARN for any client across any industry, whether it’s a retail business who want to advertise a sale or a food delivery business who has a new menu item they want their customers to try. The increased conversion of personalised, real-time messaging is undisputed and will radically change the way we help our clients connect with audiences, through AM, FM, DAB+ and iHeartRadio.”

On the implementation of ShakeMe technology, ARN’s Chief Commercial Officer Pete Whitehead continues, “What is so exciting about the ShakeMe technology for our clients is we have removed all barriers that usually come following traditional advertising’s call to action. For example, a person listening to an ad for a new car can now simply shake their phone or give a voice command to open a website, get directions to their nearest dealership or even call the dealership directly – making it easier than ever for our advertisers to ‘close the loop’. A listener doesn’t even have to unlock their phone or look at their screen to access an advertiser’s offer.

Visit https://www.arn.com.au and https://www.amillionads.com/

Steve Dunlop, Founder and CEO of A Million

CUSTOM AUDIO LISTS

USER AUTHENTICATION

PLAY CONTROL

AUDIO METERS

public internet if so desired.

The app also includes a custom audio list builder which enables streams to be labelled according to the needs of the listener. For example, ‘Studio 1 program bus’ for technical staff might make more sense as ‘On-Air Output’ to programmers.

Permissions can also be assigned to streams so that only authorised staff are able to gain access.

The company has also developed Broadcast Profanity Delay software which allows users to run up to six Profanity Delay units on a single windows machine. Features include: expand and compress modes; censor tone insertion; email notifications with dumped audio; and

compatibility with Axia, Wheatstone and Ember+ control protocols.

Meanwhile, the company’s Emergency Player is a windows-based service which allows up to six concurrent players running on a single PC. Emergency Player offers a range of features, including: built-in silence detection and audio player; Station position-er injector; Email notifications; Built-in Shoutcast Streamer for remote listening; External Control via control protocol; and Axia GPIO and Audio BlackOut which allows for special events of extended silence Visit https://cloudcastsystems.com.au/

RADIO

Digigram Launches IQOYA CONNECT for Remote Broadcasting

.

DIGIGRAM HAS RELEASED its newest addition to the ONE IP audio solution: IQOYA CONNECT, a cloud-based service and platform that provides a flawless, secure, reliable and intuitive connection for both technicians and journalists, each operating at one end of the broadcasting chain.

“Because we have extensive experience in the Broadcast industry, we have observed that achieving a seamless remote show is often complex, as it requires both a technician and a journalist to set codecs parameters.

Sometimes this happens just minutes before going live,” says Xavier Allanic, Digigram’s VP Sales.

On the journalist’s end, IQOYA CONNECT features a unified web platform where the user’s custom profiles and audio settings are saved, offering unmatched autonomy and flexibility in live situations whatever the device used. Through a two-step process (log on to the platform, press the “live” button), media professionals can immediately go live. IQOYA CONNECT overcomes technical issues journalists might face while attending live shows, working on street interviews or performing sport commentaries.

Designed for technicians, the “codec fleet” monitoring page of Digigram’s IQOYA CONNECT. A “users” monitoring page is also available for journalists and producers.

On the technician’s end, IQOYA CONNECT has a global monitoring interface that enables real-time monitoring of the codec fleet on one screen, whether from the studio or from remote locations, as well as direct access to devices on the field if required. Programming portable codecs, or providing live support to journalists is more flexible and effective than ever.

professionals’ daily experience while offering more flexibility, security and

“When designing IQOYA CONNECT, our goal was to simplify the audio

Visit https://iqoya-connect.digigram.com

efficiency. This new service is a natural addition to the IQOYA product range, and it makes the traditional remote broadcasting obstacles ancient history,” says Allanic.

New DAB+ Pro Range Chips and Modules from Frontier FRONTIER SMART TECHNOLOGIES has launched a new Pro range of chips and modules with enhanced memory, allowing audio brands to “create the most feature rich and advanced digital radios in the market”.

The software for the Pro product range (DAB 7 SDK), supports the following features: • Premium colour UI – Create a premium user experience with beautiful high contrast colour interface. Fully customisable. Integrated support for 2.4 - 3.5 inch colour TFT, OLED, and LCD displays.

• Multiple slideshow format – Delight users

with support for broadcaster’s slideshows in both PNG and JPG format.

• Store demo mode – Design eye capturing store demo with custom slideshow, which can be easily enabled / disabled. Easy way to inform users on key features of the product.

• Multiple clock face - Supply up to four high quality clock faces, that can be configured by the user.

• Multiple theme selection – Empower users with up to six themes, allowing the user to configure the look and feel of the radio.

• Night mode – Create great bedside products with dimmable back lights and soft colour scheme to allow users to sleep close to the radio. In addition to fully configurable clocks, alarms, and timers.

• ActiveScan technology – Improve user experience by ensuring that radio station pre-sets and station list is always up to date.

ActiveScan technology continuously monitors air waves and updates the station list. This feature will also be made available on Siena (standard) modules.

Visit https://www.frontiersmart.com

Telos Updates Omnia VOLT Audio Processor It’s been nearly three years since Telos Alliance introduced Omnia VOLT, the successor to the best-selling processor of all time, Omnia ONE. Omnia fans have put more than 2,200 VOLTS on the air around the world. Customer feedback since the product’s introduction served as the inspiration for version 2.0. Highlights include: Reimagined Factory Presets – When VOLT was created, the goal was for it to be fast and easy to set up, with minimal adjustments needed to get the right sound dialed in. The QuickTweak adjustment feature was Omnia’s solution. The company has completely revamped Omnia VOLT’s FM factory preset list, carefully revising nearly a dozen of the most popular original presets to make them sound smoother and more open, but with no significant loss in loudness. Eight brand-new FM presets have also been added. Preset offerings have been

expanded and refined for HD/DAB and AM versions as well.

Improved ITU-R BS.412 Performance – Customers in countries requiring the use of BS.412 power limiting will find sonic improvements in the FM version of VOLT 2.0, with nine revised or brand-new dedicated factory BS.412 presets. These presets make the most of the allotted deviation without the audible artifacts sometimes heard with BS.412 limiters. VOLT’s FM interface has been revised with the integration of a new BS.412 Drive control to help customers more easily tune how hard to lean on the BS.412 limiter.

multiple Omnia VOLTs on their network and prefer to use a single external IP address can now assign a unique port for each VOLT and take advantage of the security benefits and conveniences of port forwarding.

SNMP for All Configurations – Telos Alliance introduced SNMP for the FM version of VOLT in the last update (v1.3). VOLT 2.0 brings SNMP to the HD Pro, AM, and SG versions as well.

Since the product was launched, VOLT has allowed a single 1RU hardware platform to serve as a processor for FM, HD/DAB, streaming, AM, or as a standalone stereo generator via free firmware packages. This built-in flexibility means there’s a VOLT 2.0 update for every VOLT configuration, and software downloads are available now on Telos Alliance’s VOLT 2.0 Page.

Port Forwarding – Customers who have

Visit https://www.telosalliance.com

RADIO

TELOS ALLIANCE HAS ANNOUNCED the free v2.0 update for its broadcast audio processor, Omnia VOLT.

39

RADIO

GatesAir and StreamGuys Translate GPIO Triggers into Streaming Metadata

GATESAIR HAS PARTNERED with StreamGuys to automate server-side applications in the cloud for broadcasters moving live AM/FM audio over IP networks. The technical innovation translates GPIO contact closures into in-stream metadata, enabling server-side ad breaks, program recordings and other functionality without physical intervention.

StreamGuys, a provider of SaaS-based streaming and podcast solutions, will receive and interface server-side cloud services as program streams move between send and receive sites. GatesAir Intraplex IP Link codecs will provide the connectivity and audio transport between locations, with the added protection of stream redundancy and network resiliency from Intraplex Dynamic Stream Splicing software.

“We are not aware of other broadcast codecs that can translate physical GPIO triggers into streaming metadata,” said Eduardo Martinez, Director of Technology, StreamGuys. “This opens a variety of new revenue models and production workflows, such as customers that want to support ad triggers or automate content publishing. It establishes a path to enhance traditional STL and satellite-based workflows in the digital domain. These solutions also provide a simpler yet secure architecture for broadcast networks receiving live feeds direct from a sports team, a remote content producer, or an at-home broadcaster.”

IP Link users can flexibly configure up to eight GPIOs for triggered events within the codec’s firmware at the send location. Each built-in contact closure can be mapped with a unique, customised metadata string, and sent in-band with the encoded stream. The codec supports both Icecast and RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol) streaming formats with Dynamic Stream Splicing and works in conjunction with GatesAir’s cloud-based Intraplex Ascent server for added reliability. At the server side, StreamGuys receives the audio and translated metadata flow that identifies an ad break within the live feed, triggering midrolls as part of a dynamic ad insertion strategy.

As metadata is used for digital signalling and switching, users can also trigger server-side program recordings and air checks.

Furthermore, a delimiter function supports sending multiple contact closures to more receive locations, including streaming servers that replicate live AM/FM streams online. According to Keyur Parikh, Vice President of Engineering for GatesAir, this provides a foundation for terrestrial broadcasters to launch a new simulcast streaming service, podcast or side channel when using StreamGuys’ cloud-based SGrecast platform

for advanced content repurposing. A new auto-publishing feature within SGrecast’s Audio Logger can also reuse live ad triggers to dynamically monetize podcasts, without requiring post-production work.

“Intraplex customers now have the unique ability to take advantage of cloud-based revenue-enhancing services,” said Parikh. “Built-in transcoding and transmuxing capabilities will allow our customers to use the same encoding device to generate multiple streams of the same content with different encoding and stream formats.”

One example, according to GatesAir CEO Bruce D. Swail, would allow radio stations to support IP STL connections and web streaming from the same platform. “Working with StreamGuys, GatesAir has co-developed a highly configurable and extensible, standards-based solution that brings traditional trigger-based services and events into the cloud,” said Swail. “Our customers can now take advantage of advanced, dynamic server-side ad insertion and recording without added latency, and with the secure and reliable transport of Icecast streaming or redundant Dynamic Stream Splicing software.”

GatesAir and StreamGuys recently co-presented “Using Contact Closures to Improve Streaming Workflows,” a special webinar exploring their joint solution and its benefits for broadcasters. It is available on-demand at https://www.gatesair.com/media-center/webinars.

“GPIO contact closures are a radio industry standard for switching hardware and signaling workflows, while live-streaming media uses metadata for the same functionality,” said Kiriki Delany, President. StreamGuys. “These workflows have operated in parallel for too long. GatesAir and StreamGuys will change this by bridging the physical and digital domains with unified solutions for radio and streaming media.”

Visit www.streamguys.com and www.gatesair.com

Liquid-Cooled Transmitter for FM and HD Radio

RADIO

ROHDE & SCHWARZ HAS UNVEILED a number of strategic enhancements to its THR9 liquid-cooled transmitter for FM and HD Radio applications.

40

With the latest version of the R&S THR9 transmitter not only are the transistors liquid-cooled but also the entire power amplifier stage, including power supplies, coupling units and absorbers. Consequently, the power amplifier stage of the THR9 has no moving parts which may break, nor can it introduce humidity and dust to the amplifier units. Rohde & Schwarz’s fully redundant liquid cooling technology generates lower electrical costs for cooling and ventilation, features a smaller footprint and offers increased reliability. The THR9 transmitter is designed for permanent reliable operation at 45°C/113°F at full output power. At 40kW output power only 1kW of heat is dissipated into the environment, so air conditioning requirements are minimal. The unit’s footprint is comparable with competitive systems that offer 20 kW less output. Importantly, the THR9 runs on architecture that is independent of Microsoft Windows for all HD Radio entities including its Importer,

Exporter and Exgine. As a consequence, users of this fully professional solution are not dependent on the availability of security patches for MS Windows for reliable efficient operation. Compared with rival manufacturers, Rohde & Schwarz’s HD Radio transmitter is significantly more robust and provides a richer feature set. For HD Radio applications, the THR9 features a new HD Sync functionality, which provides automatic alignment of the HD Radio Diversity Delay between the analogue and digital signals of a radio station. Developed by Rohde & Schwarz, HD Sync eliminates unwanted blending artifacts that can degrade the listening experience and prevent recurring and extensive time alignment procedures for station engineers.

HD Sync for Exporter ensures full compliance to the HD Radio time alignment specifications, which means the analogue and digital signal time alignment is always in the permitted range of –3 to +3 samples and is fully automatic. This minimizes stress for engineers, reduces costs for station owners and enhances listener experience, especially when receiving radio in an area of weak digital but still strong analogue coverage.

For optimum operation, the THR9 works in unison with the R&S RelayCaster solution, which enables the use of public internet connections for the STL (Studio Transmitter Link) of HD Radio transmitters. As a result, dedicated and expensive IP links for the feeding I2E or E2X streams are not necessary, helping radio stations to reduce infrastructure costs while not compromising reliability nor transmission quality.

Visit www.rohde-schwarz.com

RADIO

Wheatstone Remote Mixing App WHEATSTONE’S REMIX is a remote mixing application that can be installed on a Windows PC or tablet for home access to a studio’s WheatNet-IP audio network.

A software extension of the WheatNet-IP audio network, ReMIX provides an affordable, quick alternative to a physical home studio for remote broadcasting and voicetracking by remotely accessing existing equipment at the station.

With ReMIX on a home laptop or tablet, an existing WheatNet-IP audio network at the studio and an internet connection between the two, all facility resources such as codecs, hybrids, and playout systems, are remotely available to the home studio.

ReMIX allows talent in home studios or other remote locations to access station sources and codecs, turn channels on or off, control levels, advance to the next track in the automation system and build mixes on the fly through one standalone mixing application.

The application can be installed on a Windows desktop, laptop or tablet in a home or remote studio or on a station PC that can be accessed by talent remotely through a secure VPN. ReMIX provides a direct UI to the utility mixers found in the I/O BLADEs that make up the WheatNet-IP audio network. Each I/O BLADE includes two built-in 8×2 stereo mixers, the inputs and output busses of which are available as resources on the network. Utility mixers are unique to WheatNet-IP and accessible anywhere in the audio network for simple functions such as summing, splitting, and level adjustment, performing crossfades and segues between sources, as well as creating custom mixes

or intercom systems. I/O BLADEs also include Wheatstone ACI (Automation Control Interface) for third party control of automation systems and other Wheatstone partners’ gear and can be used for functions such as routing, ducking, panning, logic control, mixing and silence detection.

WheatNet-IP is a complete IP audio network ecosystem of consoles, talent stations, I/O units, accessories and virtual tools. Its gigabit Ethernet architecture provides online mixing and processing, scripting tools, audio drivers, and more.

Visit https://www.wheatstone.com

Logitek Expands mixIT Series with 6-Fader and 12-Fader Systems Logitek’s mixIT console series, the company’s budget-priced console which includes the convenience of touchscreen control plus networking, are now available in both 6-fader and 12-fader system sizes.

Designed specifically for Radio, mixIT-6 and mixIT-12 systems include a tabletop-mounted console along with the rack-mounted JET67 engine. As with Logitek’s award-winning Helix consoles, mixIT consoles provide metering, source selection and scene selects via 7” touchscreens above the faders (mixIT-6 has one

touchscreeen; two are provided with mixIT-12).

On-board router widgets enable easy selection of transmission, recording or codec feeds. Controls are also provided for talkback to Studio / Remote, Monitor (control room, studio and headphone) and the console’s built-in cue speaker. A program meter simplifies operation by providing indicators for “too high / too low”, enabling at-a-glance setting of optimum levels.

The included 1 RU JET67 engine provides multiformat networking via built-in AES67, Ravenna, Livewire and Logitek’s JetNet. A Dante option is

planned for later in the year. The JET67 provides multiple analog and digital inputs and outputs, mic inputs with phantom power, multiple mixminus buses, and EQ/Dynamics control along with routing functions. Connections to/from JET67 are made via quick-wire terminal blocks.

Consoles are also available individually for expansion of other Logitek console systems, which are based on the JetStream routing platform.

Visit www.logitekaudio.com

Manage Radio and Digital Ad Campaigns Simultaneously

Marketron NXT streamlines the process of enabling a broadcast organisation to expand its offering to a full, cross-media suite of ad services. NXT consolidates all major digital categories into a single system that includes capabilities for proposal creation, order entry, execution of radio and digital, campaign reports and invoicing. In the past, each proposal had to be built from scratch and insertion orders had to be created for multiple platforms, leading to delays and possible errors. Reporting was

inadequate for digital tactics, and business offices often struggled to create workflows that could account for all revenue streams and show accurate reporting and margins.

Marketron NXT addresses these challenges with an easy-to-use proposal creation tool that gives broadcast sales representatives access to premium, third-party digital inventory. Within a single platform, sales teams are able to package all products and multiple tactics — air time, third-party digital display ads, non-spot revenue, O&O digital, sponsorships and more – into a single proposal with consolidated order entry, full invoicing and reporting. Sales reps are able to add creative to campaigns and convert proposals to insertion orders. Integrated reporting allows them to report back to advertisers on success or identify areas that need adjustment midcampaign in order to maximise results.

“With the ability to create professional proposals in minutes and then show digital campaign ROI through detailed reporting, sales teams can demonstrate additional value to advertisers and

increase the likelihood of renewals. Automatic creation of insertion orders reduces time and the potential for error, and Marketron NXT’s end-to-end workflow makes it easy for business offices to track invoices, payments and margins,” said Jimshade Chaudhari, senior vice president of product at Marketron.

Marketron NXT also includes training and support for salespeople on how to sell digital products and how they can help advertisers effectively use digital tactics to meet their goals. Marketron also offers creative services to assist broadcasters with the creation of digital ad assets. Tailormade for radio broadcasters, Marketron NXT is a cloud-based software platform that requires no on-premise equipment or servers. For current customers, Marketron NXT becomes a seamless component in their existing Marketron technology stack.

Marketron NXT is now available in beta and will be available for wide release in the fourth quarter.

Visit https://www.marketron.com

RADIO

MARKETRON, A DEVELOPER OF enterprise revenue management and digital software solutions, has introduced Marketron NXT – an all-in-one platform that enables radio broadcasters to increase revenue and amplify their existing advertising programs by selling third-party digital advertising. According to Marketron, this “first and only digital advertising platform built specifically for radio”, Marketron NXT provides a single software solution for managing integrated radio and digital campaigns from proposal to invoice.

41

CONTENT DELIVERY Terrestrial, Mobile, Broadband

www.content-technology.com/transmission

NAGRA Secures Taiwan Broadband Communications’ Android TV STB 4K service NAGRA, THE PROVIDER OF content protection and multiscreen television solutions, has announced that Taiwan Broadband Communications (TBC), one of Taiwan’s leading multi-system cable operators, has selected NAGRA to secure its new Android TV 4K Ultra HD pay-TV service integrated with Realtek system-on-chip (SoC) solution.

The service leverages the NAGRA Android Fast Track Program and utilizes the NAGRA Security Services Platform (SSP) and NAGRA Connect content protection to deliver premium 4K Ultra HD programming, interactive services, as well as public OTT services. TBC’s 4K service gives access to more than 200 channels and allows subscribers to download and watch legitimate online content. TBC’s OTT partners include HBO GO, friDay, LiTV, myVideo and supports services such as YouTube and Google Play.

“NAGRA has been a longtime partner to TBC and continue to show their commitment in providing a reliable and secure platform for our Android TV deployment, hence being our natural choice,” said Jimmy Chen, Chief Executive Officer, TBC. “Thanks to their robust content protection solutions for Android

The NAGRA Security Services Platform is a flexible and modular backend security platform that takes CAS and DRM technologies to the next level enabling secure premium content delivery over any network to any device, with any business model. NAGRA Connect is a single converged CAS/ DRM client that fully supports the multi-network, multi-device, multi-use case reality of telco and cable providers to reduce complexity and improve performance.

Visit https://dtv.nagra.com

Thaicom and CAT Form Satellite Business Joint Venture

PAPUA NEW GUINEA, SOLOMON ISLANDS and Fiji will have access to more Australian television content through the PacificAus TV initiative delivered by industry group Free TV Australia. The initiative is worth AUD$17.1 million over three years.

THAICOM PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED and CAT Telecom Public Company Limited have announced a satellite business joint venture in order to strengthen Thailand’s telecommunications infrastructure and to support the growth of the digital economy industry and satellite industry.

Free TV Australia was selected to work with Australian commercial free-to-air television networks and Pacific partner broadcasters to supply premium Australian content, free of charge, to the Pacific broadcasters.

Content availability is based on consultation by Free TV Australia with Pacific broadcasters, and the additional Australian content is provided for programming by partner broadcasters as best meets their audience needs and other country-specific requirements.

CONTENT DELIVERY

The NAGRA Android Fast Track Program offers comprehensive support for operators looking to deploy Android TV services. Leveraging a long-standing experience in Android-based OTT and hybrid TV deployments, it combines a highly secure and fully featured ecosystem of technologies, partners and services to assist pay-TV operators in hybrid and OTT deployments and help them successfully execute on the Android TV journey.

PacificAus TV to Distribute Australian Content Across the Pacific

The PacificAus TV initiative is the result of a partnership between Free TV Australia and the Federal Government. It will make the broadcast rights to 1000 hours of Australian television content available to broadcast partners in Pacific nations each year for three years.

42

TV, we can now deliver a new premium 4K experience to our customers with advanced and interactive pay-TV services.”

PacificAus TV content will be supplied directly to Pacific Partner broadcasters using either a filebased internet distribution portal or satellite. The local broadcasters will then incorporate the PacificAus TV content into their own broadcast

services. In some markets, such as Tuvalu and Nauru, broadcasters do not currently have the necessary satellite dishes to receive the PacificAus TV content. Free TV has ordered satellite dishes for these broadcasters and, given the constraints on travelling presented

by COVID-19, will offer remote support to local broadcasters with their installation.

“NBC is excited to be part of this Pacific TV initiative to incorporate Australian TV programs into our existing TV schedule,” said Kora Nou, Managing Director, National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in Papua-New Guinea.

“We are equally appreciative of the Australian Government’s commitment, through Free TV, to cover the licence costs of this content.

The two companies are partnering to form a joint venture company called ‘Nation Space and Technology Company Limited’. The joint venture has a registered capital of Baht 10 million. Thaicom holds a 75 percent stake, whereas CAT holds a 25 percent stake in the joint venture.

president of CAT Telecom, commented: “In today’s world, where satellite communications become increasingly necessary, we must continue to push forward the development of satellite technology.

As the country’s leading digital and telecommunications service provider, CAT is well prepared to meet the needs of consumers. The establishment of this joint venture company will help to increase the opportunity to develop telecom services via Low Earth Orbit satellite systems in order to meet all kinds of future communication all over Thailand.”

“The programs will greatly enrich the television content available to all Fijians,” said Stanley Simpson, Director Mai TV, Fiji. “We have received a great mix of drama, entertainment and educational programs that will both delight and inform our viewers on Mai TV. Sincere thanks to the Australian Government for the initiative.”

Anant Kaewruamvongs, Thaicom Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The announcement of a new joint venture company, Nation Space and Technology Co., Ltd., will enhance a strategic partnership between the two companies. Thaicom has long experience and expertise in the satellite industry. Together with CAT’s extensive know-how in providing digital solutions, the two companies will leverage advanced solutions and advanced satellite services for various applications and digital industries. We believe this strategic alliance between Thaicom and CAT will lay the foundation for a long-term partnership and a sustainable growth of the country’s telecommunication services.”

Thaicom and CAT says they realise that the COVID-19 pandemic is resulting in drastic changes in people’s lifestyles. Both public and private organizations are increasingly adapting to digital technology, which is leading to more and more online transactions. In this environment, the development of technology services via Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites will benefit everyone with access to high-speed internet services via 5G technology, IoT (Internet of Things) devices, M2M (Machine to Machine) technology, as well as drone technology and applications in areas that require high levels of accuracy, such as remote surgery. LEO satellite systems are ideal to power these applications due to their low latency.

Visit www.pacificaustv.com

Colonel Sanpachai Huvanandana,

Visit http://www.thaicom.net

“While the initial arrangement will see us receive many popular Australian programs, we also look forward to sharing some of our local NBC content with our close Australian neighbours in the future.”

CONTENT DELIVERY

IN BRIEF

The video content and targeted commercials are stitched into a single stream to produce a seamless experience for the viewer. The system automatically detects the final data in SCTE-35 and matches it with the playlist data to ensure that the broadcast content is always in sync with that of the playlist. Etere gives VTVCab the flexibility to replace ads without re-authoring and Visit www.etere.com ---------------------------------------------------------------

NEC CORPORATION HAS ANNOUNCED that the Asia Direct Cable (ADC) Consortium is building a high-performance submarine cable connecting China (Hong Kong SAR and Guangdong Province), Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The consortium has selected NEC to construct the 9400km long ADC cable, which is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022.

The cable will feature multiple pairs of high capacity optical fibres and is designed to carry more than 140 Tbps of traffic, enabling high capacity transmission of data across the East and Southeast Asian regions.

The ADC is a global consortium comprised of leading communications and technology companies, including CAT, China Telecom, China Unicom, PLDT Inc., Singtel, SoftBank Corp., Tata Communications and Viettel.

Visit www.nec.com --------------------------------------------------------------NOKIA HAS HAS BEEN SELECTED

by Taiwan Mobile (TWM) as the sole supplier of its 5G network in a three-year framework deal

worth approximately 400 million euros. The initial phase of the deal, includes 5G RAN, 5G Core and 5G IMS with the deployment of 5G non-standalone with the aim of migrating to 5G standalone within a three-year period.

The deal will see Nokia provide its 5G RAN portfolio including its Nokia AirScale Radio Access products that will enable TWM to deliver market-leading 5G experiences to subscribers with ultra-low latency, connectivity and capacity. Nokia will also provide digital design and deployment for a faster time to market as well as optimisation and technical support services.

Visit www.nokia.com --------------------------------------------------------------SATELLITE OPERATOR SES RECENTLY REVEALED the results of its first-ever TV market reception survey in the Philippines.

Out of the 3000 residential households interviewed across the Philippines, SES unveiled that households who subscribed to satellite TV ranked highest in terms of satisfaction with their TV service. Satellite TV is also the second-most popular mode of

TV reception in the Philippines, according to the SES Satellite Monitor report.

Key findings from the report include: 76% of satellite TV households were very satisfied with their TV service in comparison with cable TV (70%), digital terrestrial (69%), analogue terrestrial (59%) and IPTV (54%) respectively; Satellite TV (17%) is the secondmost popular mode of TV reception in the Philippines, behind terrestrial TV (66%) but ahead of cable TV (15%) and IPTV (2%); 99.6% of Filipino households indicated image quality and viewing experience as important or very important; 57% or 12 million households in the country already own HDTV screens, yet only about 13% of TV channels are broadcast in HD quality; and SES now serves 98% (over 3.5 million) of all satellite TV households in the Philippines, and 39 million households across the Asia Pacific region.

Visit www.ses.com ---------------------------------------------------------------

CONTENT DELIVERY

VTVCAB, ONE OF VIETNAM’S largest pay-TV players has selected Etere to drive its smart advertising and remote ad insertion opportunities using the SCTE-35 standard.

Timed metadata is inserted by the driver to signal an ad insertion in the transport streams. It pre-defines exactly when an advertisement can be inserted in the stream and how long the duration should be. This metadata that marks the start and end of a pre-produced advertisement is embedded in the transport stream.

43

CONTENT DELIVERY

Contingency During Contagion

By Phil Sandberg.

RESPONDING TO THE COVID-19 Pandemic and customer requests, Ideal Systems has launched a cloud-based broadcast platform for Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity.

of the bridges and adaptors for content, signals, schedule files, graphics and data in to and out of the physical world to the cloud.

According to James Taylor, Head of Cloud Solutions with the Ideal Systems Group, “How the DR solution came about was we were seeing a lot of need for disaster recovery in the market, especially just after COVID time. We’d also seen a general need and an identification of Cloud DR as being the first logical step to take in a transition into the more cloud-based workflow and a cloudbased ecosystem. We’d already been looking at this as an easy path to entry - especially for our Asian customers - where we’d seen a lot more caution with the uptake of cloud compared to Europe and America. There have been some things that have been very successful, of course, the OTT platforms being launched in Asia that have become huge and generated a lot of revenue. And archiving, things like DIVA Cloud, several companies have moved to take advantage of those solutions. But more generalpurpose cloud platforms and more adventurous, shall we say, uses of cloud, people had stayed away from.”

• BCNexxt’s VIPE is a virtualised cloud-based publishing ecosystem for both linear and non-linear content. VIPE manages multichannel operators and service providers’ IP channel playout as well as their OTT and VOD deliveries. Being virtualised, there is no fixed relation between number of streams that are published (in either linear, OTT or VOD) and the number of physical servers that are needed.

The Ideal Systems platform offers three quickly deployable services: • The first service is cloud-based automation and playout for live linear broadcast TV channels. The system which can be remotely deployed and operated allows operators to run their TV channels with all of their branding, graphics, subtitles, languages and SCTE triggers in SD, HD or 4K and deliver these channels to DVB-S, T, IPTV or to other platforms.

• The second service is a low latency bandwidth efficient multi-viewer which provides the remote monitoring for Program Control Rooms, Master Control Rooms or Studio Galleries that can be operated securely off-site from the broadcast facility. It supports multiple operators in multiple locations thus enabling the physical distancing as recommended by the WHO in a situation where access has been restricted to any of a broadcasters control rooms.

CONTENT DELIVERY

• The third service is a remote live studio workflow that enables the quick setup of offsite or remote studios for the situation where access to TV studios becomes restricted. Full studio operating functionality is created using cloud-based NDI infrastructure that enables remote camera operation, all signal mixing, processing and routing for video, audio, graphics, multi-viewers, and distribution over SRT.

44

The Ideal DR platform is cloud agnostic and can be deployed in the customer’s choice of provider such as AWS, Tata or Alibaba Cloud. The endto-end platform is based on Ideal’s own cloud integration fabric which has been pre-integrated for speed of delivery with best of breed solutions from BCNexxt, Sienna and Caton. Ideal supplies the platform as a rapid turnkey solution with all

Those best-of-breed solutions include:

• Sienna.Cloud for NDI allows users to get content to and from the cloud over private or public connections, with manageable bandwidth, low latency and high reliability.

Sienna NDI’s module-based Processing Engine allows users to build complete signal chains in the cloud using Sienna.Cloud NDI Contributions, other IP stream contributions, and connectivity to other NDI based software running in the same cloud. NDI Processing Engine also allows users to build Multiviewers to visualise large numbers of sources, then download the Multiviewer as an NDI Stream via Sienna.Cloud. The platform also includes a vision mixer module. Meanwhile, Sienna NDI Router allows for remotely controlled IP Video routing within a cloud-based system.

• Caton provides secure transport solutions for video. The company’s solutions include Reliable Real-Time Transport Protocol (R2TP) and Fast Files Transfer Protocol (F2TP) technologies.

“The basic idea of our cloud platform is we’re a system integrator,” says James Taylor. “We want to help our customers find the products that fit their workflows the best, that give them the optimal priced performance for their budgets rather than just try and sell them a single vendor solution or just provide the easiest solution for a use case.

“The first thing we started doing was ditching the cloud sales approach and we went back to representing signal flows and topologies as a traditional broadcast system, leveraging Sienna and BCNEXXT to sort of give a very traditional visualised interpretation of that signal flow, which is much more graspable for broadcasters.”

The Ideal Systems integration platform brings all functionality into a single platform with a single dashboard.

“If I move to an à la carte solution which has got seven products, I’ve got seven different UIs to learn, seven different support teams to contact, seven integration layers to go wrong,” says James Taylor. “Well, we basically give that single platform type experience. I’ve got a single user management. I’ve got a single sign on. I’ve got a single set of backups I need to do.

“As an SI, we will deal with that integrations bit, that communications bit, give you that dashboard, that single sign on entry point to your system, but it’s still your system, still your

James Taylor, Head of Cloud Solutions, Ideal Systems Group.

“Well, we basically give that single platform type experience.

I’ve got a single user management.

I’ve got a single sign on.

I’ve got a single set of backups I need to do” licences, not our SaaS, it’s your infrastructure.

We’ve just helped wrap that up into what we call a bespoke platform experience.”

Meanwhile, at the back end, the platform renders ahead, cutting down on processing and delays in the cloud.

“So, if I want some subtitles, some audios, I need it muxed together, I need to deliver it – our solution does that stuff out of the box,” says Taylor. “Because it doesn’t have down streaming coding, it renders ahead. Stuff like QC, DVB subtitles, audio, it’s kind of already solved. A lot of that complexity of doing that stuff in the cloud has already gone.

“In terms of DR, within a few hours we can have the system spun out And, if you can give us a playlist, we can start to get basic content and a logo up really quickly. Then we can backfill the detail.

“You’ve still got that experience of a vendor pre-defined platform, the big traditional MAM, playout, and live TX systems, you’ve still got that kind of single UI experience as much as possible, the single point of contact, single dashboard, single logging point, all those good things.

“For us to take that to a DR scenario was the natural step, where infrastructure is code, we’ve got all of the integration layers all around it so that we can very quickly hook into the sources we might need to make that integration step, which is always the thing that people overlook in DR. It’s not about the technology anymore. It’s about how do I hook these technologies into the business?”

Visit www.idealsys.com

CONTENT DELIVERY

8-11 SEPTEMBER 2020

EMPOWERING CONTENT EVERYWHERE Register Now: ibc.org/ibcshowcase

Featuring: DAILY NEWS: All of the latest news, product launches and annoucements from the IBC Daily team

PROGRAMMES: Free-to-access programmes packed with inspiring future-facing content

CONTENT DELIVERY

EXHIBITOR SHOWCASE: A one-stop-shop to explore the latest industry innovations

45

CONTENT DELIVERY

How to Get Your End-to-End OTT Service Online Fast

By Luke Durham, CTO, Switch Media THERE’S CERTAINLY NO DEBATING that we’re living in very strange and unfamiliar times. With people locked down across the world, many of us are turning to subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) as a major source of entertainment. In many ways this is good news for the industry, but it still poses challenges, as production across the board has halted and delivery costs for providers rise as consumption continues to grow.

But despite these challenges, industry analysts predict that long-term SVOD will remain on the upswing at least until 2025.

To meet this increase in demand, content providers need to ensure they are supplying viewers with quality content via platforms that are simple and easy to navigate. This is more important now than ever, but online video isn’t a one-size-fits-all market, and content owners are hesitant to invest in case they don’t get the return they’d expected. They’re much more aware of the risks, which has put increased scrutiny on the costs involved. And to minimise costs you have to minimise complexity; it’s a Catch 22. The challenge for companies like Switch Media is to provide services to fit budgets by simplifying complex workflows whilst meeting (and even exceeding) customer goals and expectations.

Understanding global challenges If we look back to the original television model, we know that audiences grew over time. As a broadcaster you were delivering a single channel for decades, then digital launched and broadcasters jumped to three or four channels.

Now services are evolving rapidly, with audience expectations keeping pace. Viewers no longer want to wait for scheduled content but rather, they want it now, on every screen. In order to maximise revenue, content owners and aggregators not only have to maintain their current business model, they also have to make their content available online, possibly across ten or more platforms, and many different devices.

This online video platform must also be managed and maintained in parallel with the traditional platform and there’s a very real danger of operating costs and complexity spiralling.

CONTENT DELIVERY

Netflix and Amazon Prime have become a benchmark, and consumers expect all their online viewing experiences to match that high level of quality. Delivering this type of service often takes a large workforce with ongoing customisation, testing and validation. Throw in advertising as the primary revenue source and the challenge increases exponentially. This makes it particularly challenging to address with an in-house team unless you are backed by huge budgets.

46

This means that companies like Switch Media have had to develop a deeper understanding of the challenges facing customers globally as well as a clearer view of the current variances from market to market. Some target markets – on a

geographic basis - are less evolved and have different economics in terms of monetisation.

We learnt a long time ago that providing a complete end-to-end solution to a large customer is a complex process. By creating a modular product suite, we can draw on our vast experience across video workflows and provide specialist expertise in key areas. Today, a modern online video platform may consist of many different components, supplied from multiple vendors, and delivered to multiple markets. The potential for customisation is appealing, however the exponential growth in complexity doesn’t always make good business sense.

Many broadcasters are challenged by bespoke integrations, coordinating vendors, the high costs of app development and increasing overheads.

And second and third tier content providers who are entering the market need similar functionality to the top end providers to be relevant. But they often have much smaller budgets and a lack of experience navigating in that space.

Best-of-breed online video service The answer to these challenges is an online video platform that provides a comprehensive feature set, at a cost-effective price, without the complexity therefore enabling swift delivery.

By utilising a best-of-breed solution, content providers can extend their reach, free up operational resources and adapt to the changing OTT landscape and consumer expectations.

This means they can launch an online video service quickly and easily without any kind of customisation other than adapting to their own company branding. Features include secure VOD and live streaming with DRM, a global CDN service, real time analytics reports, comprehensive metadata, high definition ABR encoding, dynamic ad-insertion and a range of ready-to-go applications across every screen.

Alternately, some customers prefer to retrofit their existing application suite and still benefit from reduced complexity.

Switch Media’s MediaHQ Lite provides all of this capability by drawing on key components and features from the company’s advanced MediaHQ online video platform. It maintains the lion’s share of features and value without the complexity or the need for a big budget. A costeffective, fast-to-market online video solution, MediaHQ Lite is aimed at content providers who want to push content to the market quickly and cost effectively.

MediaHQ Lite includes full-featured dynamic ad insertion (DAI) integration providing uncompromised addressable ad experiences.

And the simplicity of the service means that customers can get it up and running within a matter of weeks with full 24/7 technical support along the way.

Like many other companies across the sector, we’re fully aware of the extraordinary circumstances that our industry is currently facing and we’re continuing to make our customers and their viewers a priority. Our main focus is streamlining processes and delivering maximum value for our customers. Consumers tend to move at an incredibly fast pace, followed by technology and then business transformation.

With the current situation and growing demand for online video, it’s our aim as a business to provide solutions to address and conquer these challenges.

Visit www.switch.tv

CONTENT DELIVERY

IP Roll-Out Continues at Nine Charles Sevior, APAC Field CTO with Dell Technologies, speaks with Nine’s Director of Broadcast Operations, Geoff Sparke, about the network’s new IP-based HQ in North Sydney.

ACCORDING TO THE NINE NETWORK’S Geoff Sparke, the period between 2017 and 2018 was very much a tipping point in broadcast standards.

“In 2017, at IBC, SMPTE 2110 standards were approved, so we were watching the clock, our plans for moving forward were very much around what we knew, which was SDI,” he says.

“However, IP was something that we needed to be mindful of. Spill forward to 2018 and the choice was very clear, we needed to build this on an IP platform.”

Charles Sevior: What, for you, made it the right time to take that step into an all IP network core backbone?

Geoff Sparke: “There’s so many different elements pushing us towards IP. The support functions moving forward, the fact that the vendors jumped on board 2110 from the get go and within 12 months of the SMPTE 2110 standard being ratified, they were showcasing things and making things available on a 2110 platform. So, it was obvious to us that anything that we did on an SDI platform was always going to have to ramp on/ramp off and the support life for that stuff would just disappear. All of those things merging, and us having to move and going into a brand-new, greenfield site, I think we didn’t really have much of a choice, to be honest, we had to go IP.”

Charles Sevior: You chose Qvest Media, based in Germany, to help deliver the project. Why? Geoff Sparke: “We had to look at the project and how we were going to carve it up into sections that were manageable. Of course, we’ve got inherent engineering and function here that can look after some things, and we’ve done very well over the years, but when you’re doing everything

at once, and moving onto another platform, and trying to merge silos of newsroom systems and all of the other different systems we have here for sport, and for promos, and for postproduction, we decided we’d cut the whole pie in four and went, ‘Righto, we’ve got a network infrastructure, we’ve got a news, we’ve got a post and we’ve got a live element for our studio staff.’

“Once we did that we stared at the page for quite some time and realised that news and post, which worked on different platforms here, needed to merge and we needed a partner to help us with that particular piece so that we could then focus on the live piece and the network and infrastructure which we thought we could pull off, and that’s where we sought help from Qvest Media. You need someone like Qvest who’s got connections with those vendors to be able to at least give you some help in that space.”

Charles Sevior: You’re in the construction fit-out phase, do you have many of the Qvest people, or is it a local team?

Geoff Sparke: “They were due to have four or five people on the ground. They came in Q4 last year, they spent the whole time doing the high-level design with our internal teams. By that time, we’d established a very good rapport by working from home. The remote working has been extremely good.”

Charles Sevior: How has been with deliveries and obtaining core components?

Geoff Sparke: “We were fortunate in the fact that we didn’t really experience any delays with respect to hardware because it was just prior to the pandemic being called. All of the building and the fitout plans are going to time. As I said, we had all the major technology hardware

Nine Network Director of Broadcast Operations, Geoff Sparke.

delivered so we really are still tracking to time for the moment. We’ve just now realised that there’s probably not going to be anymore travel this year internationally, so any of the professional services that were slated to actually come out and do the commissioning part and the training piece, we’re going to probably have to use people in-country to do that. So, we’re just going through the process of having to work that out and then also the issue of VPN and being able to give people access to their equipment for remote access-type commissioning.”

Charles Sevior: So, having an all IP infrastructure in the future makes that much more possible for Nine Network and Fairfax?

Geoff Sparke: “Indeed, and we know now, as we start to actually commission these things, we understand that it’s so much easier. And I say that there’s other hard elements to it, but there’s bits and pieces that you normally struggle with which are far, far easier. Cabling, connectivity, being able to move things around, suddenly become so much simpler.”

Visit www.delltechnologies.com

Grass Valley Turns Up the Power of Cloud Production with GV AMPP

The first application available for the platform, AMPP Master Control, has been on air with Blizzard since the opening of the Overwatch League 2020 season in early February. In response to the COVID-19 crisis and building off this solution set, AMPP has been an essential system enabling the esports leader to keep its Overwatch League and Call of Duty League matches live since March 28, enabling truly distributed remote production with all operators and talent working from their homes.

With AMPP Master Control, Activision Blizzard Esports’ production teams can create highly configurable “virtual” master control rooms

accessible from anywhere in the world and eliminate the need for a conventional equipment room. Multiple distribution streams with separate graphics and languages for each audience region can be produced by a single operator — all from one web-based interface and equipped with only PCs, screens, and a connection to the cloud. All monitoring and local program distribution processes take place entirely in the cloud.

GV AMPP allows production teams to flexibly create customisable workflows, with a variety of apps such as multiviewers, router panels, test signal generators, switchers, graphics renderers, clip players and recorders — all of which can quickly be deployed to support a wide range of workflows. Built on a microservices architecture based on five core technologies — fabric, timing, connectivity, identity, and streaming, GV AMPP enables elastic media

services and directly addresses many of the issues that complicate common IP and cloud deployments, delivering seamless network connectivity, timing and ultra-low latency.

GV AMPP is the core technology powering the newly announced GV Media Universe, a comprehensive ecosystem of cloud-based tools and services designed to change the way live media is produced. The GV AMPP platform is cloud native and cloud-agnostic, while supporting the processing of video/audio both in the public cloud, in a private, on-premise datacentre, or in hybrid topologies.

Visit www.grassvalley.com

CONTENT DELIVERY

GRASS VALLEY HAS LAUNCHED a new cloudbased software as a service (SaaS) Agile Media Processing Platform (GV AMPP). The solution unlocks the power of elastic compute for live sports, news, and playout workflows.

47

CLASSIFIED + EVENTS

As well as the features below, EVERY ISSUE of Content+Technology contains features on the following:  Image Acquisition

 Media in the Cloud

 Content Transmission & Delivery

 News Operations

 Digital Asset Management

 Signal Distribution

 Sportscasting

 Audio

 Command & Control – Automation,

 Post-Production & VFX

 Radio

Monitoring, Systems Management.

C+T AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND FEATURES + DEADLINES 2020 ISSUE

EDITORIAL + AD DEADLINES

PUBLICATION DATE

July-Aug

Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork:

22-07-20 23-07-20 29-07-20

1st Week August

Sept-Oct

Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork:

21-08-20 24-08-20 27-08-20

Nov-Dec

Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork:

23-10-20 26-10-20 02-11-20

PRODUCT ROUND-UP

SHOW COVERAGE

+ 5G for Media + 4K/8K Acquisition & Delivery Solutions + IP-based Production + Content Security

+ Preview: IBC SHOWCASE (Online: Sept 8-11) + Remote Production Tools

2nd Week September

+ Live Streaming + ENG/Newsroom Systems + Focus on Startups + OTT/IPTV/VOD Solutions

+ Preview: BroadcastAsia (Sept 29-Oct 1, Online) + Remote Production Tools

2nd Week November

+ Content Delivery + DAB+ Digital Radio + Channel-in-a-Box Solutionsy + Podcasting + HDR in Post & Broadcast

+ Preview: Siggraph Asia, (Online) + Remote Production Tools

C+T ASIA FEATURES + DEADLINES 2020 ISSUE

EDITORIAL + AD DEADLINES

PUBLICATION DATE

Sept-Oct

Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork:

24-08-20 24-08-20 28-08-20

3rd Week September

Nov-Dec

Editorial Submissions: Ad Bookings: Ad Artwork:

01-10-20 08-10-20 15-10-20

3rd Week October

+ 5G for Media + Loudness Solutions + Cloud Solutions + Content Security + Podcasting + Live Streaming

+ Preview: BroadcastAsia (Sept 29-Oct 1, Online) + Remote Production Tools

+ Cable & Satellite Delivery + Focus on Startups + Digital Asset Management Solutions + OTT/IPTV/HbbTV Solutions + DAB+ Digital Radio

+ Preview: AVIA (CASBAA) Asia Video Summit + Preview: Siggraph Asia, (Online) + Remote Production Tools

ADAM BUICK

LUCY SALMON

PUBLISHER/EDITOR

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER

CO-FOUNDER

He has also produced the ABE2016, Sportscasting (2014-2016), and 3D-Day (2011) industry conferences.

Adam’s previous role as Manager of the SMPTE Australia Exhibition, along with strong family ties in Australia and SE Asia, has given him a unique perspective on the broadcast and content creation sector throughout the region.

Co-founder and Production co-ordinator Lucy Salmon has worked with Broadcastpapers.com since its inception.

She also holds a PhD in the field of sports medicine.

Contact Phil via +61(0)414 671 811 or papers@broadcastpapers.com

You can contact Adam on +61(0)413 007 144 or adam@broadcastpapers.com

You can reach her via +61(0)412 479 662 or production@broadcastpapers.com

His credits include launching Content+Technology, Broadcastpapers.com, the SMPTE Australia Exhibition, Directory, and Cinema Technology Asia-Pacific.

CLASSIFIED + EVENTS

SHOW COVERAGE

PHIL SANDBERG Phil Sandberg has spent 28 years reporting on technology issues across the Asia-Pacific.

48

PRODUCT ROUND-UP

ADVERTISER INDEX Brainstorm--------------------------------------------23

Harmonic--------------------------------------------------5

Mediaproxy------------------------------------------------3

VSN-------------------------------------------------------19

Elevate Broadcast------------------------------------11

IBC Showcase-------------------------------------------45

Riedel----------------------------------------------------OBC

Lawo-------------------------------------------------------17

GatesAir------------------------------------------------43

Ideal Systems--------------------------------------------9

Ross Video-----------------------------------------------IFC

WEBINARCHANNEL.TV--------------------------IBC

the Free Library of Technology & Business Videos

SO MANY WEBINARS, SO LITTLE TIME? CATCH UP ON-DEMAND, LEARN ON YOUR TERMS.

REGISTRATION IS FREE AT >

INTELLIGENT

MEDIA NETWORKS FOR VIDEO, AUDIO, DATA AND COMMUNICATION

MEDIORNET

Real-Time Media Network

ARTIST

Digital Matrix Intercom

BOLERO

Wireless Intercom

www.riedel.net