TM Broadcast International 61, September 2018

Summary

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Pan Shot, the news from the audiovisual market

LIVE BROADCAST AT TOUR DE FRANCE Interviews with Dejero and Aviwest

SOLUTIONS IN THE CLOUD Interviews with Primestream, Zixi & KnoxMediaHub

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IBC 2018 What is the audiovisual industry onto now?

Go Configure!

By Provys

Test Zone Bolero, by Riedel Sachtler Flowtech 75 Tripod

Editor in chief Javier de Martín

Creative Direction Mercedes González

editor@tmbroadcast.com

design@tmbroadcast.com

Key account manager Beatriz Calvo b.calvo@tmbroadcast.com José Rodríguez j.rodriguez@tmbroadcast.com

Editorial staff Daniel Esparza press@tmbroadcast.com

Translation Natalia Álvarez Macarena Ortiz Administration Laura de Diego administration@tmbroadcast.com

TM Broadcast International #61 September 2018

TM Broadcast International is a magazine published by Daró Media Group SL Centro Empresarial Tartessos Calle Pollensa 2, oficina 14 28290 Las Rozas (Madrid), Spain Phone +34 91 640 46 43 Published in Spain

Editorial We have everything ready to attend IBC one more year. The broadcast show of reference for EMEA will once again be the global stage for the main technological innovations in the market. As usual, many companies will take the opportunity to debut their products in Europe.

Once the fair finishes and the

This year there have been two high level sports championships -the Winter Games and the World Cup-, which is a factor that always helps manufacturers to be encouraged to launch their innovations. Therefore, this IBC will have that additional interest.

development of cloud technology,

In order to make it easier for our readers to prepare for the event, we present a broad overview of the solutions and products exhibited there that we consider of greatest interest. In addition, we will launch daily bulletins from IBC to the email of our subscribers with the most interesting information for the editorial team deployed in Amsterdam.

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avalanche of news passes, it will be time to analyze what technological trends we have observed. We will include our conclusions in the next issue.

A focus of interest will be the which is increasingly widespread in our sector. In this sense, we have analyzed some of the most advanced cloud solutions in the market, with the help of three leading companies: Zixi, Primestream and Knox Media Hub. This month, we also include a special report where we approach the challenge of connectivity in the last Tour de France. We explore through two practical cases, explained by their protagonists, this key parameter in cycling competitions.

See you at IBC!

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HKR CHOOSES LAWO FOR NEW ZAGREB STUDIOS

Croatian Catholic Radio (HKR) has completed construction of all-new broadcast studios built around Lawo mixing & routing technology. Lawo Crystal mixing surfaces, a Power Core DSP engine, and RƎLAY VSC software were installed, with integration and commissioning provided by AVC Group.

Established in 1997, HKR is one of just half-a-dozen radio channels in Croatia which are licensed to broadcast on a national basis. Programming originating from their Zagreb headquarters is heard across the country via terrestrial and online distribution.

“After 20 years, HKR moved their studios to a new building,” says Zeljko Pemper of AVC Group Zagreb, which performed the studio integration. “They chose Lawo because of its reputation for flexibility and reliability — after all, when you’re broadcasting to a TMBi - 6

national audience, there’s no room for error.”

AES67, analog, MADI and

4 Crystal mixing consoles with Compact Engines are installed. The main on-air studio and its redundant backup studio are both fitted with 12-fader Crystals, with twin 4-fader Crystals at work in the two production & editing suites, with VisTool GUI Builder software providing context-sensitive screen displays for each of the four consoles. A Power Core DSP engine is used in the Tech Center to provide systemwide routing and audio I/O, while multiple copies of RƎLAY VSC Virtual Sound Card software interface PC audio workstations with HKR’s RAVENNA / AES67 audioover-IP network.

DSP channels, a routing

“Power Core proved to be the centerpoint of the entire build,” notes Tomi. “With hundreds of channels of

AES3 capacity, dozens of matrix with more than 1,900 crosspoints, plus SMPTE 2022-7 Seamless Protection Switching, we think that Power Core is an amazing tool for broadcasters large or small. What else can do so much in just one RU of rack space?”

Lawo has a complete line of virtual radio solutions designed to provide more capability for less cost, including the popular Ruby, Crystal and Sapphire mixing consoles, the amazingly flexible Power Core mixing engine, powerful VisTool touchscreen GUI Builder software, and the complete line of RƎLAY Virtual Radio Mixer products.

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LIVEU BRINGS EIGHT DAYS LIVE FROM THE 2018 SILK WAY OFF-ROAD RALLY IN RUSSIA taking care of the remote production. LiveU’s remote production solution enabled Auto24 to live stream all the feeds simultaneously to the Moscow studio for switching and remote production. This enabled simplified onsite logistics and operations, and reduced costs, allowing the production team to work conveniently from their studio. Video then went live to Silk Way Rally’s Facebook, and YouTube pages as well as Auto24 and other international TV channels.

LiveU in action at the Silk Way Rally Russia

LiveU and Auto24, the official Silk Way Rally 2018 production and broadcasting company, have joined forces to bring all the excitement of the international off-road rally in Russia to car race enthusiasts everywhere. For the first time, live transmissions were shared during the rally itself. With 50 participating teams, the annual eight-day rally along the historical silk way is one of the highest-profile, challenging sporting events in the country. Competing in trucks, jeeps and large cars, international teams travel across the same route as TMBi - 8

LiveU’s LU600 HEVC units were used for the start and finish points, along the route in the Russian’s team truck and overhead on a helicopter.

LiveU’s Xtender remote transmission device was used in both the truck and the helicopter, ensuring extra resiliency and high video quality from the most bandwidth-challenged areas.

Dmitry Efimov, CTO of Auto24, said “In previous years, we were limited to covering the start and finish points using fibre transmission. This year we were keen to show all the action along the route.

LiveU’s technology provided the video quality and robustness, as well as the portability, to help us achieve our goals allowing viewers worldwide to follow every stage of the rally from beginning to end.”

The feeds were streamed live via an OB van with Auto24’s Moscow studio

The Chinese part of the race is scheduled to take place in September 2018.

merchants journeyed hundreds of years ago, crossing remote desert regions and rural terrain.

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HITACHI HDTV CAMERAS ENABLE SUPERIOR STADIUM, MOBILE AND CLASSROOM PRODUCTIONS AT UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO “I like the HITACHI cameras because they’re reliable, they make great images, and they’re very competitively priced,” said John Eidemiller, executive producer, ESPN3 and athletic video productions at the University of Toledo. “In my experience, to buy a camera in the same class from another major manufacturer costs a lot more money.”

At the University of Toledo in Ohio, the Department of Communication provides students with practical, hands-on video production learning experiences while creating live in-venue programming and ESPN3 streaming broadcasts for the school’s Athletics department.

The department relies on HDTV cameras from Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd. (Hitachi Kokusai) to provide high-quality image acquisition for its productions, most recently adding four ZHD6000 studio and field cameras for the university’s football stadium.

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a student-centered, public metropolitan research university with over 23,000 students. The school’s Toledo Rockets compete across 15 NCAA Division I sports in the Mid-American Conference.

The football stadium, known as the Glass Bowl, previously used very old standarddefinition cameras from multiple manufacturers that required an unsustainable amount of maintenance.

When it came time to replace them and upgrade to HD, the department’s satisfaction with the existing HITACHI ZHD5000 cameras on its mobile production truck led it to again turn to Hitachi Kokusai.

Supplied by systems integrator Duncan Video, the Z-HD6000 cameras provide video for in-house productions that are shown on the stadium’s 40-foot wide video board and TVs throughout the venue. Three of the cameras are stationed on tripods, while the fourth is operated handheld on the sidelines. All four are connected via fiber to CUHD500 camera control units in the control room over cable runs of more than 1000 feet each, with MultiDyne SMPTE-HUT transceivers converting between SMPTE fiber and Tactical fiber for transport over the stadium’s existing single-mode fiber infrastructure.

Between football seasons, the stadium’s handheld Z-

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HD6000 is also used as a fifth camera on the department’s mobile production truck, complementing four HITACHI Z-HD5000s permanently assigned to the vehicle. The truck’s cameras are used in varying fixedposition and handheld combinations depending on the particular sport or event being covered, which include soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, swimming, and non-athletic activities such as concerts and commencements.

Meanwhile, three earlier HITACHI SK-HD1000 cameras are used for classroom education in the department’s instructional TV studio.

the HITACHI cameras as exceptional. “I really like the way the HITACHI cameras look right out of the box,” he explained. “The color, saturation and contrast all look great. That superb quality really stands out when we produce ESPN3 broadcasts in our basketball arena, where cameras from a different manufacturer are used for the video board. Iso feeds from our HITACHI cameras are seen side-byside in the control room with shots from the other vendor’s cameras. It takes a lot of adjustments on the other cameras to get them to look nearly as good as the HITACHI units, and the other cameras still don’t quite get there.”

Eidemiller highlights the image quality produced by

The durability of the HITACHI cameras has

proven similarly impressive.

“The cameras are primarily used by students who have extremely varying levels of competency and experience,” said Eidemiller.

“The HITACHI cameras handle abuse very well, and have withstood some pretty severe conditions in the field. Even the decade-old SK-HD1000s we use in our classroom studio are still going as good as the day we bought them.”

Eidemiller also touts the valuable educational benefits that the cameras have enabled. “The HITACHI cameras let us expose students to broadcast-quality equipment at a cost that we can afford as a university,” he said.

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RENEWED VISION AMPLIFIES LIVE PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY AND REDUNDANCY IN LATEST PVP RELEASE

ATT Stadium Dallas

Renewed Vision has released a new version of its ProVideoPlayer3 (PVP3) multi-screen media server, video processor and screen control solution for live production environments.

Now available for download at the company’s website, the PVP 3.2 release centralizes playback functions to a single workstation, simplifying live production operations for today’s largest broadcast and commercial AV events. The software also adds powerful TMBi - 12

new synchronization, control and management functions that further elevate its market-leading price-toperformance ratio.

PVP 3.2 retains all enhancements introduced in the 3.1 release, including support for the industrystandard DMX512-A lighting control protocol and an integrated HTTP control server for improved data management and integration.

PVP 3.2 amplifies the overall value proposition for

customers with the ability to synchronize SDI feeds across multiple outputs, while simplifying how users manage effects and transitions in dynamic live productions.

PVP 3.2 also strengthens its effectiveness for live productions by integrating network triggering for backup instances. This effectively adds a redundancy layer with seamless backup protection while in midst of a big event.

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“Renewed Vision has consistently improved stability with each PVP release, and we have reached a new level in PVP 3.2,” said Weston. “That said, when the unforeseen should occur, our customers can retain the efficiency of single-machine operation while also achieving redundancy through network triggering that seamlessly triggers backup machines throughout the event.”

While centralizing operations to a single machine is the main value proposition of PVP 3.2,

Renewed Vision has also responded to rental market requests to simplify license use across different workstations. The latest release allows users to transfer licenses between machines using a USB dongle without online activation and deactivation.

This is especially useful for PVP3 customers working in rental and touring environments as it puts customers in control of their own license management.

PVP 3.2 empowers users to design and deliver rich visual experiences spanning

multiple interactive, resolution-independent displays. The new playback, control and stability benefits of PVP 3.2 complement the extensive communications and control advances introduced in PVP 3.1; as well as other foundational features of PVP. These include direct SDI outputs, interactive screen control functionality, an enhanced low-latency video playout engine, and the integration of NewTek’s Network Device Interface (NDI®) technology for live, IP-based production workflows.

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HUNAN TV RELIES ON GENELEC FOR CHINA’S FIRST DOLBY ATMOS EQUIPPED OB TRUCK As one of the largest television broadcasters in China, Hunan TV has set itself apart with a pioneering attitude and string of ratings hits. Building on its success, the station has launched the first Chinese OB truck capable of producing Dolby ATMOS 5.1.4 – with Genelec audio monitoring at its heart.

Leading Chinese systems integrator NDT Group worked closely with Hunan TV’s Senior Recording Engineer Long Hongliang on both the design and integration of the truck’s audio systems. “This project represents a milestone for Hunan TV, as well as a significant step forward for Chinese broadcasting,” Hongliang explains. “There could be no compromise on the equipment chosen – everything had to be the best.”

The interior of the vehicle is split into four distinct zones: the main mixing area, the broadcast area, equipment racks, and storage. The vehicle’s constrained dimensions meant that optimal loudspeaker placements were simply not TMBi - 14

technically possible, particularly for the surround and height speakers. The lack of internal space also meant that it was unrealistic to apply any more than a limited amount of sound isolating treatment, and in its untreated form the vehicle suffered from an imbalance of midrange and low frequencies, leading to a somewhat ‘boomy’ sound.

coaxial monitors. They are joined in the left and right surround positions by two 8240 two-way monitors, while four compact 8320 two-way monitors are installed discreetly in the vehicle’s ceiling – with an enclosure depth of less than 6 inches, these monitors are easily contained within the roof space.

To solve these problems, Hongliang turned to Genelec SAM monitors, which integrate tightly with GLM software to allow the entire monitoring system to be calibrated for an optimal listening environment.

Occupying the LCR speaker positions are three 8351s, the largest of Genelec’s The Ones series of three-way

Adding a solid LF foundation to the truck’s immersive system are two Genelec 7260 SAM subwoofers. Crucially, via GLM, users can switch between monitor configurations and surround formats at the touch of a button – from simple stereo to surround and all the way up to ATMOS.

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CIS GROUP WELCOMES NEWTEK TO PRODUCT PORTFOLIO CIS Group Corporation had announced it has been chosen as IP Series Partner in Brazil for leader in IP video technology, NewTek Inc. For over 30 years, CIS has been a distributor and digital systems designer and integrator, providing innovative technology solutions to a multitude of clients in various regions. In doing so, CIS has focused on putting its clients’ budgets to good use by optimizing their workflows, ultimately enabling them to maximize creativity.

“The NewTek IP Series is a forward-thinking, modular video production system with virtually limitless access to video sources and video mixing options,” said Filippo Ferlini, Director of Sales Operation, NewTek, Inc Latin America. “Our solutions enable you to keep pace with your vision for storytelling, even in the face of a rapidly changing video landscape.

When looking for an IP Series Partner who could keep pace with our solutions, there was only one choice – CIS Group.”

Matt Silva, Director of Corporate Development at CIS Group, adds, “NewTek uses innovation and technology to transform the way people create networkstyle television content and share it with the world. We are delighted to be able to provide the NewTek IP Series, the first large production system designed for IP video, to our clients enabling them to redefine their productions, workflows, and business now and for years to come.”

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VISLINK PROVIDES BROADCAST TECHNOLOGY AS OFFICIAL SUPPLIER TO VOLVO OCEAN RACE

xG Technology, Inc. (“xG” or the “Company” (Nasdaq: XGTI, XGTIW), whose brands are recognized as the global leaders in live video communications in the broadcast, law enforcement and defense markets, has announced that its Vislink business has supplied a comprehensive suite of wireless video transmission equipment as Official Radio Frequency Broadcast Equipment Supplier to the Volvo Ocean Race event.

Vislink wireless broadcast video equipment was selected to ensure that highquality footage of racing yachts taken from cameras on chase boats and helicopters would be transmitted without degradation back to shore TMBi - 16

live, as it happened, for viewing on giant video walls at the Race Village as well as on international TV broadcasts.

Vislink’s extensive experience in transmitting video across large distances, in all weather, and in challenging conditions during racing, sports and broadcast events was critical.

“As the world’s leading provider of end-to-end live video communications solutions, we are proud to have partnered with the Volvo Ocean Race as an Official Supplier,” says David Robins, Global Sales Director for IMT Vislink. “This prestigious event is considered one of the most extreme sporting venues in the world. It was an outstanding opportunity to

showcase our expertise in live broadcast technology and in delivering exceptional performance and reliability, even in the most demanding and unpredictable environments.”

Round-the-world yacht racing is one of the most grueling sporting challenges, and the Volvo Ocean Race is considered the ultimate one of its kind—circumnavigating the globe over a course covering 45,000 nautical miles, facing waves of over 40m and extremes temperature ranges from -5 to 40°C. During the event, teams on 22m-length yachts crossed four oceans over 9 months, competing in 11 legs between a dozen host city ports, and finishing up in The Hague, Netherlands.

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GLOBECAST AND HPOWER PROVIDE MULTIPLE PRODUCTION SERVICES FOR ROYAL BRITISH LEGION’S WW1 GREAT PILGRIMAGE 90 PARADE AND ONE HUNDRED DAYS CEREMONY Globecast, in partnership with event management company HPower, provided complete production and associated technical services to the Royal British Legion (RBL) for its recent Great Pilgrimage 90 Parade and One Hundred Days Ceremony. This included preevent filming, two production facilities including the crew and Director, live coverage for news channels via satellite, the crew and coordination for various regional TV live down-the-line interviews as well as social media clips during the event.

Globecast, who partnered with HPower, marking the second time the two have

worked together, supplied complete production solutions to create end-to-end coverage. They provided camera crews along with drone facilities for pre-event filming. Footage of WW1 memorial sites was captured for later use in postproduction edits. There were two production facilities with full crew supplied, the first with three RF cameras, including a jib, to cover the Parade with over 2,000 Standard bearers and wreath carriers taking part. This also provided coverage of the post-ceremony remembrance celebrations.

The second facility was at the Menin Gate itself with four

cameras, again including a jib, to cover the formal ceremony and wreath laying.

The two trucks were linked so that adjacent big screens could carry the entire event from start to finish. The Director worked to a brief supplied by RBL. Central to the project was Globecast’s ability to provide ultra-fast turnaround social media clipping capabilities via its Live Spotter technology.

This allowed the RBL social media team to post to multiple social media channels as the event was happening.

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ARCHIWARE PROVIDES PURE VMWARE® BACKUP FOR DEUTSCHES MUSEUM Deutsches Museum, one of the most prestigious museums for science and technology, has chosen Archiware Pure to secure their 68-strong VMware® server ensemble. The museum relies on these virtual machines for most of the internal services from mail, web and print servers, administration of all the museum’s objects through project planning and financial data.

The Deutsches Museum is one of the most important museums of science and technology in the world.

Released in 2017, Archiware Pure is the newest product to come out of Archiware’s innovative data management software development. Offering incredible simplicity and TMBi - 18

absolute reliability at a highly competitive price, Archiware Pure is the perfect backup software for businesses employing VMware® virtual server environments.

The choice was made predominantly due to the simplicity and ease of use offered by Archiware Pure: “Running and maintaining so many different services is a challenge. Some of them are exotic and needed for very specific tasks. A solid backup provides us with the security we need. Archiware Pure makes it extremely easy for us to achieve this with a minimum amount of time invested. We especially like the central interface that shows all VMs being backed up as well as their status, last run and storage needs. This saves us a lot of time.” says Thomas Mondt, engineer in charge of the installation.

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TVU NETWORKS EXPANDS SALES AND SUPPORT PRESENCE THROUGHOUT LATIN AMERICA TVU Networks has announced the company is expanding its team in Latin America following the appointment of Rafael Castillo as General Manager, Latin America, last May. Castillo will lead the new team, comprised of: Edgar Chavez, Regional Manager, Mexico and Central America; Ludwyng Cuervo, Regional Manager, Andean Region and Caribbean; and Mateus

Domingues, Solutions Architect, Latin America. All three are experienced engineers. Together they will offer sales and local area support for the entire TVU product portfolio to Latin American broadcasters.

“Latin America provides significant opportunities for our company,” said Paul Shen, CEO, TVU Networks.

“We’ve always been very active in this region. Now,

we’ve got an excellent team in place, with local focus, who know the technology and the needs of our customers. They will elevate the level of communication with our current customers as well as outreach to those considering TVU. This new regional support is a further reflection of our commitment to meeting the needs of our customers wherever they may be - today and into the future.”

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Inside Tour de France 2018

How to deal with challenging connectivity The audiovisual coverage of professional road cycling poses a specific key technical challenge: connectivity. Remote locations or bad weather are common conditions in this type of events. So, in this context, the transfer of information can be really difficult.

In order to learn more about this issue, we have analyzed two practical cases occurred during the last edition of the Tour de France, held from July 7 to 29, 2018.

On one side, we have approached the winning team of the tournament, Sky, to learn first-hand their experience with the new Dejero GateWay solution, which they have used to receive and deliver race related information wherever they may be. Scott Drawer, head of the Team Sky Performance Hub, has answered our questions.

On the other hand, we know that Agence France-Presse (AFP) provided real-time pictures of the event using AVIWEST’s PRO180 video transmitters. We have analyzed the details of this service with Cyril Hamelin, Area Sales Director of Aviwest.

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Inside Tour de France

Team Sky using Dejero GateWay TMBi - 22

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The 2018 winner of Tour de France, Team Sky’s Gerraint Thomas, could not have won without the unwavering support of Team Sky Performance Hub, who provide year-round technical support and technical innovation to the British cycling team.

Scott Drawer, Head of Team Sky Performance Hub, explains how the team took a look outside of its normal industry to tackle some of communication challenges the race presents; posed by terrain, location, crowds, and weather.

Partnering with connectivity technology expert Dejero, they fitted Dejero GateWay, an in-vehicle mobile connectivity solution, into the Sport Director’s ‘follow car’. Monitoring live TV feeds and tracking live environmental data, it helps to anticipate the route ahead of the cyclists, buying them precious seconds to prepare support tools in case of crash, injury, punctures, and other unforeseen events.

Photos ©Russ Ellis

Interview with Scott Drawer, Head of Performance at Sky Hub This year you have used the Dejero GateWay in one of your team’s cars to provide you with a mobile connectivity system. What specific needs did you have to solve?

Professional road

cycling is one of the most complex environments in which to transfer information and the Tour de France presents challenges such as terrain, crowds, and weather, with stages often in remote locations. We needed to find a solution to help us anticipate the roads ahead and buy our cyclists and team some time to deal with incidents and take opportunities to win stages.

Why did you choose this solution, compared to others available in the market?

The reason we worked with Dejero is twofold: We tested their system with the Sky Mobile Vehicle Technology team and it showed great potential. But more importantly, they recognized that this was a very different domain and were willing to support Team Sky to customize our workflow TMBi - 23

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to provide connectivity in the cycling environment with the GateWay solution. The Dejero team have been really helpful in working with us and we’re excited to continue to develop our workflow to support the team in future races. The opportunity is significant not just from a performance perspective, but also how we can begin to use the information for TMBi - 24

fans and to change the way people think about the sport.

How would you rate its performance during the Tour de France?

In France mobile connectivity can be a challenge, especially in the remote areas of the Tour. The GateWay solution gave us a much better connection than we have had before. When we

get a video stream from a race that the TV cannot provide – then we know the reliability is better. We are still in the very early phases of this journey – but the potential is huge.

Its already been very promising, there is no doubt it will help us provide an infrastructure to make better decisions on and off race. We’ll have a competitive advantage but also make a difference

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to the way people see and experience the sport. This should not be underestimated.

What specific challenges did you find when using it during the race?

Historically, connectivity was the main challenge but the GateWay solution allowed us to lock on to different kinds of networks, blending them to provide a more

powerful signal. The Dejero GateWay solution was put through its paces during some of the harshest segments of this year’s Tour and during these early days of our R&D journey, it was made clear to us that it’s crucial we continue to use this solution, which will be, no doubt, very beneficial in the world of professional cycling.

Which technical features of Dejero GateWay would you highlight, after your experience using it?

The GateWay solution is simple to use. Having connectivity where we race and train is the key functional requirement we need in a way that does not add a significant amount of time and effort for us operationally. For the Tour de France, we

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were constantly moving around a country that has stronger signals on some networks than others.

When there is a network to lock into with a strong enough signal - we can

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find it, however, there are times - when you are up a mountain or on bumpy cobbled terrain where there is no network, so we have nothing to connect to.

Unbroken connectivity doesn’t exist yet, but the GateWay solution helps us to lock onto the strongest networks wherever possible to improve the probability of us

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understanding what is going on during a race and to deliver effective information and support at the right time.

The Dejero GateWay gives us additional reliability in ensuring we can receive and deliver race related information in most conditions locations. Increasing the reliability and consistency of connectivity enables us

to make informed and faster decisions.

Do you need any other specific hardware or software to make the solution work successfully?

No.

How would rate Dejero’s technical support after deciding to use this solution?

We have been working

with and supported by Dejero for the last 7 months, which is when Team Sky started on its R&D journey, bringing Dejero into the mix to improve race day connectivity. We love working with the Dejero team. They are ready and willing to help us work through any challenge that arises and we look forward to continuing on this journey with them.

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Inside Tour de France

Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Aviwest

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Interview with Cyril Hamelin, Area Sales Director of Aviwest Your PRO180 video transmitters were used by AFP during the Tour de France. What do you consider that this system brings to the news agency?

Our PRO180 offers AFP photo journalists greater mobility with a truly portable solution. It enables real-time and secured photo coverages as well.

By using PRO180 bonded cellular transmitters, remote journalists were able to considerably enhance their live coverage sending real-time pictures from the heart of the race, without being worried TMBi - 30

about the networks conditions.

By detecting and bonding together multiple IP network interfaces, the PRO180 enables journalists to take advantage of every IP networks in their immediate area as they become available.

(All of this is automatically managed by the AVIWEST SafeStreamsÂŽ technology, an intelligent IPbonding stack and powerful contribution network protocols.)

Another key benefit of the PRO180 is its simplicity and ease of use. It features a userfriendly intuitive interface that allows to automatically transmit live

AVIWEST PRO3 Series

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you introduced any changes to this edition?

What technical challenges do the clients have to face when using these transmitters in this type of live events?

In live event coverage, time is of the essence.

When on the go, journalists need real-time photo/video delivery solutions that are compact and portable, ensuring they can quickly get to where they need to be and forward files or broadcast live instantly.

Moreover, journalists have to deliver amazing video/photo quality. Yet, given the unpredictability of pictures delivery over unmanaged networks, this can be a challenge.

In this sense, does the Tour de France pose any specific challenge to overcome?

videos and photos instantly without any action required by journalists.

You conducted the first the large-scale tests with AFP during the Tour de France 2017. Have

During the Tour de France, AFP photo journalists have to provide fast real-time coverage while riding on a motorcycle. The solution they use has to be really TMBi - 31

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powerful, efficient and portable.

What would you say that are the main features of the PRO180 video transmitters, regarding other solutions available in the market?

Part of what differentiates the PRO180 from other video uplink systems is its compact and robust design, and its unique features and benefits: Simplicity: The PRO180 has been designed with ease-of-use in mind. its interface allows broadcasting live videos in 2 touch screen taps.

Versatility: Used as on-

camera or in a backpack, the PRO180 is lightweight, flexible, and agile, allowing broadcasters to quickly cover breaking news, conduct interviews, and efficiently transmit professional real-time photos.

High performance: By implementing the best-inclass encoder in a compact design enclosure, the PRO180 enables video professionals to provide seamless high-quality news and event coverage at low bitrates and low latency.

Multi-network distribution: Leveraging AVIWEST’s SafeStreamsŽ

technology, the PRO180 ensures the delivery of live video even in the midst of unpredictable and unmanaged network conditions.

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Would you like to add something?

AVIWEST has launched the next generation of its PRO1 transmitter series:

the PRO3 Series. Its brandnew and powerful bonded cellular video uplink system supports both best state-of-the art H.265/HEVC and H.264/AVC hardware

encoder. With its high versatility, the PRO3 Series is the ideal companion when a robust and reliable solution providing the ultimate performance and picture quality is needed.

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TECHNOLOGY

Flexible and scalable solutions in the cloud We analyze the current state and future of this technology through three leading companies Cloud technology is increasingly widespread in the world of media. In this sense, migration to the cloud is becoming a strategic necessity for many companies in the sector, forced not to be left behind in in this highly competitive market.

On this occasion, we approach three leading companies in this industry -Zixi, Primestream and Knox Media Hub- to learn through their top managers what cloud solutions are offering to the market. We also explore some of their recent projects and what trends they see for the future.

Text by Daniel Esparza

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TECHNOLOGY

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TECHNOLOGY

Primestream

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TECHNOLOGY

Two decades adapting its solutions to the demands of the industry Primestream® offers a seamless end-toend platform for the digital acquisition of live and file-based content, editing, logging, control room and master control playback, Web publishing, smartphone video contribution, and archiving.

Primestream’s proven solutions are implemented by some of the world’s leading broadcasters, uplink service providers, online digital media operations, corporations, and production/postproduction facilities — and is ideally suited for multi-site operations.

Primestream customers include some of the world’s leading news, sports, education, enterprise, and digital media operations such as VICE Media, Microsoft Studios, Cisco Studios, The Tennis Channel, CNN, NYSE, NASCAR, NFL, CNBC, Reuters, Star News India, SunTV, RTL, Albavision Network, Disney, Yahoo Studios, The Wall Street Journal, Modern Times Group and many more.

Primestream is based out of Miami, Florida and The Netherlands.

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TECHNOLOGY

Cloud Workflow

Interview with David Schleifer, Chief Operating Officer at Primestream Could you let us know the recent evolution of your company? What milestones would you highlight?

Primestream is entering its 22nd year of delivering modern, flexible, Dynamic Media Management solutions to leaders of the TMBi - 38

media production industry. We have grown from a company managing SDI workflows to one that is focused on the cloud, IP workflow, and AI integration.

What main innovations will you be showcasing during IBC2018?

For the first time in Europe, Primestream will demonstrate the next generation of its Dynamic Media Management platform at the IBC show in Amsterdam. Loaded

with updates, the platform features new solutions for IP capture and delivery, a cloud-based review and approval system, robust 4K workflow, public APIs to enable 3rd parties to easily integrate into the Xchange™ platform, and a new configuration framework for quick and easy installations.

Tell us about the cloud services you offer for the audiovisual world.

Primestream’s ReviewHub™ is a cloud-

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based platform for media review and approval that is tightly integrated into its Xchange™ platform.

Easily and securely share files for review with users in or outside of your facility, with powerful tools for commenting and annotating content fully integrated and managed within Xchange Media Asset Management. We also offer solutions that integrate with cloudbased object storage, and

even cloud-based Asset Management solutions in conjunction with Tata Communications.

In this field, what makes you different from your competitors?

The software platform integrates the capture, production, management and delivery of all your assets and provides a manufacturer agnostic, end-to-end solution, natively integrating with

over 100 leading industry manufacturers and professional services to meet your demands. For many modules, Primestream offer the choice of integrating with 3rd party best in class systems, or using our own tightly integrated components. Overall, the solution bridges signalbased architecture and file-based workflow to form a seamless end-toend sports, enterprise and broadcast solution.

VICE MEDIA, Primestream customer

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ReviewHub™

What would you say that are the main benefits of migrating to the cloud in a broadcast environment, considering the experience of your clients?

We have seen a steady progression from some initial first steps to test the cloud, to customers looking to manage longterm storage, transcoding, streaming, disaster TMBi - 40

recovery and more in the cloud. All of these solutions focus on reducing cost without compromising on functionality. They supplement and expand the complete workflow requirements a customer might have, some are steps along the way to building a complete solution in the Cloud, and they integrate with existing solutions that are

already within the bricks and mortar of a facility to extend that facility’s reach. The first organizations embracing the Cloud are companies that rely on file-based workflows and deliver content via OTT or streaming. Workflow where real-time ingest and playout are not core to the delivery of the product, with projects that might rely on efficiency

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that demand real time, high resolution, quick turnaround solutions; and this is coupled with the need to connect geographically separate locations, reduce costs, and extend access to assets regardless of where the data is stored with multi-format distribution capabilities. All of this has meant that we have needed to ensure that cloud-based solutions integrate seamlessly with on-premise systems while still delivering measurable benefits.

that can be delivered in a virtualized cloud-based solution.

What challenges do you usually have to solve when implementing a solution in the cloud?

The Cloud itself is pretty simple, but for broadcasters, leveraging it can be complex. It isn’t that difficult technically, but Broadcast still straddles requirements

In this sense, could you tell us about a recent project for a client in which you have been participating, focusing on the technical challenges?

We have a customer who is growing quickly, interested in innovating, building their workflows up from scratch, and expanding their deliverables. At Primestream, our experience with VICE Media has required both sides to work together to solve a host of workflow and technical challenges

Primestream recently expanded the deployment to further connect VICE Media’s workflow across its multiple locations, including the New York and London production hubs, with project sharing across sites, archiving, metadata tagging integrated with Associated Press® data services, Adobe® Premiere® editing integration and more. The solution is based around Primestream’s Xchange™ platform which enables VICE Media to access, publish, and control content via Xchange’s web interface and automation platform. The solution also features integrations with many third-party systems for non-linear editing, transcode, Quality Control (QC), object storage and archival workflows. All of this is built around cloud-based storage and infrastructure that deliver tremendous new functionality and collaboration between sites.

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Zixi A mission: making the Internet work for broadcast quality live video Since 2007, Zixi has grown to serve well over 250 customers representing most of the top media brands around the world.

Unmanaged IP networks have become a deeply necessary tool for every aspect of video production, from contribution through distribution. They are experts ready to help to stream any video, anywhere, anytime, at scale.

More than 250 customers throughout the world trust this company.

Viacom, BBC, RTL Group, FOX, Turner, Bloomberg TV or NBC Universal are some of them.

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TECHNOLOGY

Interview with Michael Poppler, Director of Global Channel Sales at Zixi Tell us about your company and the cloud services you offer for the audiovisual world.

Zixi provides a comprehensive Broadcaster software platform enabling live broadcast-grade video delivery over the internet.

The Zixi Broadcaster platform makes it easy and economical for media companies to source, manage and distribute live linear channels and live events with broadcast QoS, securely and at scale.

Zixi provides enhanced management with ZEN Master, a cloud-based portal to configure, orchestrate, and monitor sources, cloud clusters, channels and targets.

delivery solution and service partners and serves most of the world’s top media brands with thousands of live linear channels and live events delivered daily.

Zixi works with many leading broadcast video

Zixi provides a complete, fully supported software platform for either self-hosted fully managed on-premise,

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What makes you different from other competitors?

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cloud-based or hybrid service delivery. The Zixi Broadcaster platform is designed to ensure perfect, secure and scalable broadcast-grade 24x7 live linear channel and/or live event delivery over IP including the internet.

Zixi provides a comprehensive platform that can be used to deliver content from any source video encoder point-to-point or multipoint to any destination including decoders, IRDs or mobile subscribers. The Zixi platform features include: - Real-time QoS-protected delivery of live broadcastgrade content at a fixed and predictable latency that can be sub-second globally - Bandwidth optimization and intelligent content and network-aware hybrid forward error correction + packet loss recovery technology - Delivery of flawless, low latency broadcast video channels even in high jitter and up to 40+% sustained packet loss conditions - Multiple unicast or multicast, UDP or RTP, SPTS or MPTS inputs or outputs

- MPEG-TS PID filtering and selection - TR-101 290 stream analysis for P1 and P2 errors - Encoder backpressure feedback for congestion avoidance - Network bonding with hitless failover - Clustering, load-balanced and auto-scalable cloud deployment capability - Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) for UDP protection and authentication of users via certificate authority - AES stream encryption (up to 256-bit) - Matrix mosaic display of all input and output streams - Stream recording and replication - Time-shifted delivery (up to 24 hours) - Accelerated VOD file transfer capability - Individual custom slate failover for each unique channel at Receivers - Network QoS statistics - Hitless failover of binary identical sources (<1sec failover across multi-Geopaths if not binary identical) TMBi - 45

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- Content analysis detection and reporting on audio silence, audio clipping, blank image and still image - HTTPS secure browser and SSH reverse secure tunnel access - SNMP monitoring alerts - Edgepoint apps, plugins and SDKs for all encoders, decoders, IRDs, STBs, PCs, Macs and mobile devices - API control of all features and functions and already integrated with Dataminer The Zixi Broadcaster platform also supports optional licenses and services for: - Stream and server Redundancy – 1+1 hot active redundancy - Transcoding – software only and GPUaccelerated transcoding from/to any MPEG codec, resolution and bitrate and creating adaptive bitrate outputs - Repackaging – UDP, RTP, RTMP, RTSP and HLS inputs – and – UDP, RTP, RTMP, HLS, MPEG-DASH, TMBi - 46

FLV, SHOUTcast and VOD outputs - Centralized management – Management monitoring and orchestration of Zixienabled cloud clusters, on-premise servers, edge encoders and decoder/IRDs and channel deliveries via secure cloud-based portal

What would you say that are the main benefits of migrating to the cloud in a broadcast environment, considering the experience of your clients?

The primary benefits to Zixi cloud-based customers are: - Eliminates the need for upfront capital expenditures - Ensures soonest possible delivery of video content to clients - Allows highly costeffective, reliable and secure delivery of live linear channels and live event content to global affiliates, CDNs and subscribers

- Provides unparalleled scalability to support any number of channels and subscribers

What challenges do you usually have to solve when implementing a solution in the cloud?

The main challenges are: a.) proving to customers that reliable live broadcast-grade video ingest and delivery is possible via the internet, and, b.) factoring in the egress data charges from cloud providers.

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In this sense, could you tell us about a recent project for a client in which you have been participating, focusing on the technical challenges?

We supported a major content owner to deliver hundreds of mezzanine feeds to the cloud for OTT delivery. It quickly became apparent that they needed a way to manage and monitor all of the source servers, cloud clusters, channel creations and CDN targets from a central managed portal.

This became the impetus

for us to develop ZEN Master which ensures complete visibility and control of across the video channel delivery workflow.

The migration to the cloud can be made step by step, gradually adapting the different elements of the workflow to this environment. Is this the most common situation among your clients, or do they prefer to move to the cloud at once?

Smaller broadcasters have been satisfied to

move directly to a cloudbased playout and delivery solution.

Larger broadcasters, content owners and service providers have tended to migrate to the cloud more gradually starting with - Live news and sports ingest - Pop-up channel playout and distribution - Back-up to fiber, leased line or MPLS - Distribution to affiliates outside of a satellite footprint - Satellite replacement distributions for focused geographical regions This is changing rapidly as most large media companies are now recognizing that they will absolutely need to embrace IP delivery and virtualization in order to stay viable in a highly competitive market.

You also have an ecosystem of partners which integrate your solutions into their devices. Could tell us more about this?

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Zixi has a large and growing global partner ecosystem including most leading: - Contribution camera vendors - Contribution encoder vendors - Decoder, IRD and STB vendors - Satellite uplink providers - Playout service providers - OTT multiscreen video delivery platforms You can find a listing of Zixi integrated products at https://www.zixi.com/i ntegrated-products.

Do you think that virtualization technology is ready enough to work seamlessly with it?

Definitely. We already have many major broadcaster, content provider and service provider customers utilizing Zixi seamlessly and at scale to deliver their TMBi - 48

channels from public and private clouds.

In general terms, what main advantages and disadvantages do you observe between the private, public and hybrid cloud when deployed in a workflow?

Zixi is facilitating 99.999% broadcastgrade video delivery performance over the internet. Zixi is enabling global broadcasters to reduce their telecom costs by over 50% while simultaneously increasing revenues for: - Live linear channel and live event contributions - Primary 24x7 channel distributions - OTT multiscreen delivery

Should this choice depend on the type of company?

Not really. We are seeing small companies that need

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to quickly deliver a single channel to affiliates all the way up to the largest content providers leveraging Zixi in the cloud to perfectly uplink thousands of live linear mezzanine channels main, backup and tertiary from content owners & aggregators for OTT multiscreen processing and delivery to millions of subscribers.

Cloud is usually considered as a storage platform, but some manufacturers claim that it can work as a production platform for television.

What is your stance regarding this?

The answer is both.

Customers are using the cloud to store and manage VOD content as well as cloud playout services with Zixi as a platform for preparation and delivery of live linear content to global affiliates and subscribers.

What about the tasks of edition? How

possible do you find executing them in a cloud environment?

The Zixi Broadcaster platform is designed for clustered, loadbalanced and autoscaled deployment on cloud services. It can also be self-hosted on on-premise servers or hybrid deployments.

All of the Zixi-enabled servers, sources, channels and target deliveries can be executed in the cloud and are easily managed, monitored and orchestrated from the customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own ZEN Master portal running on AWS.

Would you like to add something?

Broadcasters or solution providers looking deliver broadcast-grade live linear channels or live events from/to anywhere via the internet should contact michael (@) zixi.com and/or schedule an appointment to meet at IBC in Amsterdam.

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KnoxMediaHub

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achieved, without having to move their content out of it. A space where they will be able to operate with the best partners and applications.

Interview with Santiago Miralles, Founder&CEO What cloud services do you offer to your clients?

KnoxMediaHub supplies a complete cloud Platform where all Media companies, Content Producers, Post Production Studios and Distribution platforms or Broadcasters can host their content and execute most of their business and technical operations related to it (picture 1).

More specifically, we provide the ability to Ingest both small and large volumes of video and metadata in any format, be processed (transformed) in parallel, the content stored as required and then delivered in multiple formats to any global destination. All is controlled from just a Web Browser.

Content is collected and ingested in any media file format or live and is ingested to the cloud via a suitable means. This can

Our current toolkit is described in the picture 2.

be a basic TCP/IP connection or via Aspera/Signiant Fast File Transfer services. Once in the cloud, content can be transcoded and have metadata added or amended. Delivery to any platform or device can then be made.

What do you consider that makes you different from other competitors?

The main reason is that KMH is an open Platform: a Cloud Toolkit KMH offers native functionalities, as well as third-partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. We believe in offering to clients an ecosystem where most operations can be

Another source of differentiation is our ability to offer customised Product roadmaps: Our unique product & tech architecture allows to customise the product to each client real fast, whilst sharing the same foundation.

This provides an unprecedented of Flexibility, as no one is open to adapt and enrich its platform with clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; requirements as we do.

Clients are delighted whilst the capabilities of our platform are boosted.

Tell us about your integration with the IBM Aspera Fast File Transfer services. What does it bring to your SaaS-based platform Fast transfer of files or streaming media efficiently are critical requirements. Since our TMBi - 51

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Picture 1

foundation in 2014 we have relied on Signiant acceleration technology.

This year, due to our Strategy in Live and Playout services and new clients who operate globally, we have decided to become Technology Partners of IBM Aspera and progressively integrate their Technologies into our Platform.

We are not only looking at IBM Asperaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fast Transfer Technology, but also at FaspStream, as live TMBi - 52

signals will become a significant part of our business in the quarters to come.

We are happy to share that at the IBC this year we will be hosted at the IBM Aspera Booth 7.B25

What other innovations will you exhibit at IBC2018 KMH will release a significant amount of novelties this year at the IBC. First of all, our brand new 100% Cloud Playout

service (in partnership with Veset). From now on, our clients will be able to create TV channels seamlessly using the content of their catalogue.

A new way of distributing content, a new Business Model that will produce its own revenue streams.

Moreover, established TV operators with traditional Playout systems and premises can now easily migrate to KMH Cloud Playout services saving between 70% and 90% of their current OPEX cost

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Picture 2

and 100% of any further CAPEX. Other important releases are: ●Integration with Rights Tracker (rightstracker.com) ●Dashboard User Roles allowing finely tuned user permissions and conditions ●Media Information Filters enabling filtering asset lists using extracted media information attributes ●Instantaneous ingestion

workflows triggered by Lambda (serverless) functions Read more here: https://www.knoxmediahu b.com/?na=v&nk=5445d2142b9915&id=25

Could you highlight to us some recent success stories that you consider especially relevant?

What technological challenges did you find?

How did you solve them?

KMH Platform has recently been chosen by

one of the biggest UK Distributors to power its global Sales & Delivery Operations. (We cannot yet disclose the company) The system is now being customised. When it’s done, KMH will be the core of its content catalogue, more than 15,000 hours, and will manage in the Cloud all content operations: inbound, transformation and outbound. All operations managed from a simple browser.

The biggest challenge is TMBi - 53

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related to the volume of Content to ingest, in the range of 450 TB. Fortunately, the excellent capabilities of AWS in terms of scalability make this process smooth.

Another case is Dorna Sports (MotoGP). With hundreds of clients across the 5 continents, Dorna is able to deliver edited content and raw footage in few seconds after having been shot from its headquarters in Barcelona. Content Client association is 100% automated and Distribution is completely unmanned.

The main challenge here is speed, as Sports News are as critical as hardNews, and producers across the globe are expecting footage to feed their programs in sync with the event.

Again, AWS excellent performance in the 5 continents allows an excellent Quality of Service.

Considering these experiences, what would you say that are the main benefits of TMBi - 54

KnoxMediaHub at NAB 2018

migrating to the cloud in a broadcast environment?

KnoxMediaHub improves the business of Media companies in multiple ways.

Financial The use of the KMH platform relieves our clients from need to acquire expensive hardware and software to support their operations: intensive storage and complex and demanding computing is all done by KMH in the Cloud, and Clients pay only for what they use. This means huge

savings in Capex investments and therefore an immediate improvement in the cash and financial situation in general.

Opex costs are also significantly reduced as Cloud economics allow to reduce unit costs in some cases by a factor of 30: this means 97% of reduction in such costs.

Moreover, these costs become variable instead of fixed, so they are fully aligned with the Business.

This impacts in their P&L as their margins soar.

The combined effect is that more resources can

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be devoted to the core business: Content, creative resources and marketing & sales.

Increase in Sales Content in the Cloud is at zero distance from any Client in the world. Our Clients’ reach becomes global and they can start to operate in the antipodes as they do with a Client next door.

Moreover, as transaction costs have been dramatically reduced, formerly considered “low margin sales” now become high margin sales and can be executed without concerns on risk.

New Business Models Digital Content in the Cloud is liquid, ready to go at all times, in any format.

So, our Clients can easily start experimenting and building new business models, such as licensing targeted linear Channels or VoD services instead of licensing their content unit by unit.

Teams focus in creativity by having Technological complexity removed It’s KMH that manages the operations: creative teams just have to care about producing the best Content. Any click outsources all the

complexity to the KMH Platform.

“Infinite” Scalability The KMH Platform is totally elastic and will manage and process dozens or hundreds of thousands of tasks equally. Storage and computing power are infinite in the Cloud: growth, no matter how fast, will never again be a cause of crisis to our Clients. last but not least…..

Quality of Service to Clients The absence of bottlenecks and the huge speed of parallel processing in the Cloud allows our Clients to deliver unprecedented QoS to their own.

You have partnered with AWS to deal with the security issues of your architecture. What does this company bring to you?

KnoxMediaHub offices

Allowing intellectual property to be stored and manipulated away from a media company’s premises opens the possibility for piracy. In TMBi - 55

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truth, the bigger the organisation the more resources it can devote to security.

Amazon Web Services is the global leader in Cloud Computing services and noone has the more capacity to invest in close to perfect security. That investment, in turn, is amortised across all its users and services, so each individual ends up paying a tiny fraction of what it would cost to employ a well-qualified in-house security expert, even if there were people with the right experience available.

Actually, Banks and insurance companies trust AWS. The CIA is prepared to be publicly quoted that it is content that AWS’s security – including a “top secret” rating – is good enough for its spy material. More about this: https://aws.amazon.com/ blogs/publicsector/annou ncing-the-new-aws-secretregion/ More important for our industry is AWS alignment with the set of best practices established by TMBi - 56

the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The MPAA represents the notoriously sensible Hollywood production community among others, and

compliance with MPAA guidelines guarantees freedom from piracy. More about this: https://aws.amazon.com/ compliance/mpaa/

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challenges related to security in a cloud environment?

AWS provides an unprecedented level of Security. Never in the past the Industry has enjoyed so much protection of its content.

The main challenge is the “perception” of the term “Cloud”, as there are people in the Industry who are still reluctant to this Technology. The reason is not the real, objective and quantifiable risk, which, as has been said, is degrees of magnitude lower than with on-premise systems, tapes and hard-disks; the true reason is their perception of risk, and, very often too, their reluctance to evolve and to embrace new technologies that, of course, they need to learn.

What will be the next steps in the use of cloud technology in the near future, according to you?

The Cloud will go mainstream and spread everywhere in the media.

For all the reasons explained above, we believe that media companies who do not go Cloud in the next few years will cease to be competitive and sustainable and will disappear.

Security should not be seen as a constraint. AWS sets out its various security and compliance programmes at https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/prog rams/

In general terms, what are the main

The Mission of KnoxMediaHub role is to provide media organisations with a smart and smooth way to embrace the Cloud.

By integrating it with legacy systems and workflows that are still functional, it can progressively be extended as in-house systems reach saturation or end of life.

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IBC 2018

IBC2018 What is the audiovisual industry onto now?

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IBC 2018

Text by Daniel Esparza

IBC lands in Amsterdam one more year. The leading broadcast show in Europe will once again bring together the entire industry to offer a diagnosis of the current market situation, with an eye -as always- on its upcoming development.

Two top-level sporting championships -the Winter Games and the Football World Cup- have been held so far this year, a factor that always drives manufacturers to rush and launch innovative solutions to meet new needs and demands. This IBC will, therefore, have an added interest.

in Russia. Once again, we saw how 4K resolution or IP technology continues to spread. Artificial intelligence is gaining ground in sports productions and, with different applications, throughout the broadcast world, as we regularly hear from manufacturers and televisions.

These events have been a state-of-the-art audiovisual technology catwalk so to speak. In the last Olympic Games, we saw pioneering tests with 5G technology and various RV/RA developments, among other things, as you know from previous issues. We can say the same about the World Cup

It is estimated that more than 57,000 visitors from 170 countries will be coming, of which 30,000 are considered â&#x20AC;&#x153;senior decision makersâ&#x20AC;?, and a total of 1,700 companies will be exhibiting. Besides, the event will feature the participation of more than 400 speakers, who will address the challenges

The Amsterdam RAI will be held from 13 to 18 September. It is expected to be a global showcase for manufacturers to let us into the secret of what they have come up with to smooth the transition to these new technological scenarios.

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IBC 2018

and opportunities posed by the industry throughout the conference cycle that the show hosts each year.

One of the highlights of the event will be the IBC Leaders Forum, a gathering of influential and reputable industry leaders to explore key trends and issues that will shape the future. Under the theme â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Search for Growthâ&#x20AC;?, its 150 attendees will discuss strategies for dealing with upcoming challenges in this closeddoor meeting. Key profiles such as Erik Huggers

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(former CEO of Vevo), Anders Jensen (EVP and CEO of Nordic Entertainment, MTG), JB Perrette (president & CEO of Discovery Networks International), Lindsay Pattison (Group Transformation Officer at Group M & WPP), or Martin Stewart (CEO at OSN) are expected to attend.

One of the areas of interest will be the IP Showcase, a space within the show where the leading technical and standards organisations

will offer case study presentations and a series of demos with IP products to highlight the benefits for companies in the broadcast industry to move towards an IP infrastructure.

This initiative has been taking place since IBC2016, with the participation of the following associations: Audio Engineering Society (AES), Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA), European

IBC 2018

Broadcasting Union (EBU), Society of Motion Picture and Television EngineersÂŽ (SMPTEÂŽ) and Video Services Forum (VSF).

Essential novelties The primary focus of attraction of the show will be yet again in the technological innovations brought by the manufacturers. Although they are many and varied, we will now look at some of the most important ones.

Transition to an IPbased world Imagine Communications will demonstrate practical innovation and strategies for making a gradual, managed transition to next-gen architectures and business models across three major solution pillars: Ad Tech, Live and Playout.

In this sense, IBC attendees will have the opportunity to bring their technical, operational and business questions to TMBi - 62

Imagine experts who can share insight on key industry issues from how SMPTE ST 2110 actually works in the real world, to how value can be extracted from remnant advertising inventory, to when it makes sense to virtualize playout operations or transition content origination and distribution to a public cloud.

PHABRIX will be exhibiting its latest hybrid IP/SDI, HDR, 4K/UHD and HD test and measurement solutions. They'll be featuring strengthened IP analysis with both SMPTE ST 2110 and 2022-6 support, support for all live HDR production formats, as well as their

brand new SDI STRESS option for SDI interface stress testing.

Whilst recognizing that SDI still has its place, IPbased solutions offer a more cost-effective approach which is already displacing traditional broadcast hardware, according to the vision of Suitcase TV. Among other innovations, the company will highlight Iphrame Flyaway, a solution that offers centralized production of outside broadcasts and other live events. The technology enables more flexible working arrangements for equipment (virtualization as well as traditional hardware) and for staff who can work from home.

Phabrix Qx Series.

IBC 2018

TSL Products will showcase the latest advancements for its audio monitoring solutions. The company will feature the latest capabilities for its PAM1IP and PAM2-IP Precision Audio Monitors supporting SMPTE ST-2110 networks as well as debuting the MPA-1 Mix SDI, MPA1-MIX8 and MPA1-SOLO-8 Studio Audio Monitors to the European market.

"Regardless of technical advances made across the industry, customers require products that can both support and improve new and existing workflows," thinks Stephen Brownsill, Audio Product Manager.

After listening to its partners and customers and having worked hard since the last IBC, Multicam brings to this edition new AI based fully automatic and semiautomatic features. We can highlight its new MULTICAM IP Box. FOR-A will demonstrate the benefits of a combined 12G/IP approach at IBC. FOR-A’s TMBi - 64

TSL Products:IP Audio Monitor

IBC show theme will be “Gateway to IP.” To that end, the company is developing IP interfaces and remote-control capability via standard protocols for all the company’s 12G products and designing IP interfaces for the existing 3G/HD product line.

GatesAir will unveil a new Intraplex Audio over IP transport technology demonstration that directly addresses the convergence of broadcast operations with IT infrastructure. “As broadcast and IT convergence accelerates, the industry is in need of

solutions that cleanly integrate into the IT infrastructure and implement secure, reliable transport across wide-area networks,” claims Keyur Parikh, Vice President and General Manager, Intraplex Product Line.

Black Box will show off solutions that connect users with multiple remote servers and virtual machines across IP networks to leverage collaboration and sharing of costly and critical IT infrastructure. Black Box will showcase their Unified, 4K KVM System, Emerald, and their video wall Radian Flex.

IBC 2018

Bluefish444 has announced IngeSTream IP streaming software and workflow demonstration at IBC. IngeSTream captures up to 8 channels of SMPTE 2022/2110, SDI, and/or HDMI video and audio from Bluefish444 Epoch and KRONOS hardware, and converts them to IP streams such as NDI, SMPTE 2022-6, SMPTE 2110 or RTP/RTSP. Bluefish444 will demonstrate IngeSTream streaming live video as an NDI signal to a NewTek TriCaster® Mini.

On the other hand, BHV Broadcast will launch a series of openGear IP to SDI cards at the show. The streamGear card range features quad core processing and superfast graphics capability and this flexible platform can support broadcast, graphics or streaming applications by serving as a hardware engine or a standalone receiver.

Demonstrations across a range of operating platforms will be held on BHV Broadcast’s IBC stand.

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Bluefish444 IngeSTream

Media Links will debut its new MDP3040 IP Media Gateway at IBC. This multi-channel device is a two channel 4K/UHD TICO lightweight compression encoder/decoder, supporting several configurations.

Digigram will showcase its IQOYA X/Link Audio over IP codecs range. The new IQOYA X/LINK range facilitates the migration to end-to-end IP audio infrastructures. It offers products based on a new powerful and low consumption dedicated hardware platform, which directly inherits from the technologies used on the IQOYA *SERV/LINK (the 1U rack multichannel codec able to support up to 64 stereo channels) and

IQOYA *LINK (stereo IP audio codec).

IABM, the international trade association for broadcast and media technology suppliers, will be out in force at IBC2018 to support its 500+ member companies.

Member services at the show include lounges, meeting rooms and IABM TV. In addition, IABM is continuing its mission to drive collaboration between all sides of the industry through the State of the Industry breakfast session, rewarding technology innovation with its BaM Awards party, and helping to lift the lid on what’s coming next – and afterwards – in the IABM Future Trends Theatre.

IBC 2018

SHOTOVER U1

MultiDyne Fiber Optic Solutions has designated IBC2018 as the European debut of SilverBack V, the latest innovation in its SilverBack series of camera-mounted fiber transport solutions. The industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first 12G- and 4K-capable camera-back system to incorporate an IP output, the SilverBack V enables the convergence of fiber and IP-based production workflows.

European debuts Indeed, many companies take advantage of the show to debut their solutions for the first time in Europe. In addition to those mentioned, we can highlight some more.

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Vitec Group will show its new Dionic XT (Anton/Bauer) line of highly dependable, longlasting, and rugged batteries in Europe for the first time at IBC2018.

Dionic XT is the newest generation of Anton/Bauer's Dionic battery series for broadcast and 14.4V cinema applications.

Primestream will demonstrate the next generation of its Dynamic Media Management platform. The platform features new solutions for IP video capture and delivery covering professional and consumer formats, a cloud-based review and approval system, robust 4K workflow, public APIs

to integrate third-parties into the Xchange platform, and a new configuration framework for quick and easy installations.

At IBC 2018, Telemetrics will also unveil for the first time in Europe the new OmniGlide Roving Platform (model RRP-1).

This solution features an orbital drive system offering complete freedom of motion. This provides ultra-smooth direction changes and movement along curved paths.

SHOTOVER has announced the European debut of the SHOTOVER M1. It is a small and lightweight 6-axis gyro stabilized gimbal platform designed to meet the

IBC 2018

needs of 2K, 4K and 8K live broadcast. The system features fifth-generation SHOTOVER technology and open platform design to accommodate the world’s rapidly changing camera technology.

IBC will also see the launch of the Weebill LAB, a mirrorless camera stabilizer manufactured

by ZHIYUN. “Whereas previously stabilizers were seen as a tool for professional filmmakers,

in the future they are going to become a universal consumer electronics product that everyone can use,” highlights Leo Wang, Vice President of ZHIYUN. Imagine Products and StorageDNA will take advantage of the event to launch their joint longterm storage solution, myLTOdna. The two companies have collaborated on an integrated solution that enables random access to

files on an LTO tape, essentially turning it into a hard drive with HyperTape — an LTFS adaptation that was never available before. According to Doug Hynes, Senior Director of Business Development at StorageDNA, "this solution is a first for the industry.”

Rascular will be showing its recently updated, comprehensive range of router control technologies across SDI and NDI domains.

IBC 2018

Mediaproxy announced that its new source comparison feature for real-time identification of mismatched content will make its European debut at IBC. This new engine enables network operators, managing multiple stations and playout facilities, to compare video content from one or more live sources and provides realtime alerts when there is not a match.

Cantemo is going to offer a pre-release preview of the latest version of Cantemo Portal, its media management platform. Cantemo Portal 4.0 features core upgrades, improving the simplicity of file transfers and downloads, and offering better control over user access.

IBC2018 also sets the scene for the European premiere of new TimedText hybrid platform NEXT-TT powered by Profuz Digital from PlayBox Technology EU (PBT EU).

At this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s IBC Show, Simplylive will showcase TMBi - 70

TVU Producer

its ViBox production system. With its modular approach consisting of 3 hardware models combined with one common backend software, the eco-system offers four different applications: an all-in-one live production system, a slow-motion and playback solution, a video referee system or a master recording and streaming solution. For the first time in Europe, Simplylive will show their new addition to the product family â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Mini versions. For all

applications, such as the ViBox live production system, SloMo or Ref&Box there is a Mini version available with 4 or 8 channels.

Live production TVU Networks will launch a new functionality to enable operators increased flexibility. On stand demonstrations will show how the TVU Networks portfolio of media acquisition products provide a solution for every use

IBC 2018

case, such as contributing thousands of hours of uninterrupted live video for many of the world’s largest broadcasters during this summer’s World Cup as well as enabling France Télévisions to provide live coverage of May’s UK Royal Wedding from a moving vehicle.

Nevion will be showcasing a new update to its flagship

orchestration and SDN control software, VideoIPath, at the show.

Ahead of the event, Nevion is also rebranding its VideoIPath solution as Nevion Maestro (though it will be referred to occasionally as Nevion Maestro VideoIPath in the interim). This new name reflects the fact that Nevion Maestro has grown substantially from VideoIPath’s original

functionality of providing video connections over IP networks.

It can be noted here that IBC TV, the official channel of the IBC show, will be rolling out a fully IP-connected live production workflow driven once again by EVS technology. This is the tenth year running that IBC TV partners with EVS to deliver IBC-related news and interviews live

IBC 2018

to screens throughout the RAI exhibition center and to the IBC TV website. This year, IBC TV and EVS will go a step further in showcasing the latest live production technologies, as the entire network will operate using the SMPTE 2110 standard.

The IP live production workflow will be deployed across several locations within the venue. The production team will operate from the master control room in hall 13, controlling live video feeds captured on Grass Valley LDX 86 cameras connected to ST-2110 via a GV IP enabled XCU base station and transported from the conference venues and main studio over a 10Gbs/s and 40Gbs/s connected fiber network. The room will also be equipped with EVS’ IPDirector live PAM system, providing a centralized application for content browsing, control, edit and playout.

MOG Technologies will be showcasing its broad range of products and solutions related to 360º TMBi - 72

Dejero Engo

production, central ingest, production analytics, AR studios and video online publishing.

For its part, LiveU will offer attendees to see the ground-breaking Griiip G1 Formula car with LU200 on-board to learn how the company is live streaming the G1 Series in Italy. The G1 Formula race car brings new features and improved performance to the race track and for the first time drivers and fans are connected to a LiveU powered Multiview platform, allowing viewers to switch between drivers'

views throughout the race.

Dejero will introduce its most powerful version of the EnGo mobile transmitter at IBC. The latest EnGo is designed to give a picture quality advantage to broadcasters, especially when capturing highmotion news and sports content. Broadcasters will benefit from the EnGo transmitter’s increased processing power and enhanced implementation of the HEVC compression standard.

Brainstorm will showcase a theatre

IBC 2018

presentation based on photorealistic virtual sets, augmented reality and broadcast applications, where the synthetic images will be indistinguishable from the real ones. It will be more impressive given the combination of the Brainstorm eStudio renderer with the Epic Games Unreal Engine within the new Combined Render Engine

application. And, with the recently launched version 3, the merging of Aston graphics material with InfinitySet adds another level of visually engaging content within the virtual studio environment.

Tedial will showcase SMARTLIVE, its live automated live sports solution. The system automatically generates an increased number of

highlights during or after an event and delivers advanced storytelling to a targeted audience. Fan engagement is increased, while production costs are reduced.

Globecast will launch its new Digital Media Hub suite of services for sports and live events. By aggregating multiple virtualized technologies into a single ecosystem,

IBC 2018

the Digital Media Hub allows a live feed to be treated in multiple ways to create content suitable for cross-platform use, in both real-time or for use at a later date. The live feed can be used for linear playout or to stream to live platforms of the rights holderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choice, including social media or websites. Using the same live feed, content can be manually or automatically clipped, edited, metadata attached and shared either short or long-form.

ChyronHego Paint 7.4

At IBC2018, ChyronHego will preview CAMIO 4.5, the next release of the company's graphic asset management solution, with key features designed to make producer-driven news workflows more versatile, flexible, and cost-effective. CAMIO 4.5 enhancements include a new render engine; the ability to publish content straight from the newsroom to social media; and the latest version of LUCI5, the HTML5 plugin for fulfillment interface.

automation solution designed to modernize live production with synchronized multiplatform distribution.

An extension of the Dalet Galaxy five platform, Dalet OnePlay leverages the MAM, NRCS and workflow orchestration capabilities to open up new forms of collaboration inside productions, automating more complex events, and eventually helping create new forms of audience engagement and revenue opportunities while optimizing costs.

Dalet will also unveil Dalet OnePlay, a studio

ENCO has earmarked IBC2018 as the European

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debut of its secondgeneration WebDAD platform, a cloud-based solution that now allows broadcasters to take full, native control of the radio station from any networked location. Part of ENCOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enCloud family, WebDAD provides users with a fully virtualized platform to remotely access and control their studio-based ENCO DAD radio automation systems.

Cloud, storage Qvest Media will be showcasing its latest product development, Qvest.Cloud, in a pre-

launch presentation. Qvest.Cloud is an advanced management platform that enables third-party cloud applications to be networked into one integrated end-to-end workflow and used and monitored via a central user interface.

Integral components of the platform that has been designed as cloud native application are crossapplication functions such as workflow orchestration, cloud automation, user management with single sign-on, access management, monitoring, measuring & billing and comprehensive IT security.

“Qvest.Cloud will be fully marketready at the NAB show next year“, announced Peter Nöthen, CEO of Qvest Media Group. “The pre-launch at IBC is an important milestone on this development path. Here we will get to know first-hand what business and technological aspects can play an additional role for Qvest.Cloud.

Moreover, the trade show offers the best opportunity to win further manufacturers and partners for the Qvest.Cloud ecosystem”, he concludes.

Veset will showcase a new scheduling and planning software-asa-service module, Veset Altos, strengthening Veset’s Nimbus cloud playout platform. According to Veset Chief Executive Officer, Igor Krol, “after years of resistance, the linear TV origination and distribution market has started rapidly shifting to fully IP and cloud-based workflows and

IBC 2018

QScan Automated Quality Control (AQC) family of products, among other innovations. QScan detects the existence of the corresponding XML files (CPL, PKL, OPL, AssetMap, Volume Index) reading the contents and providing information about the structure of the entire IMF package (IMPs), identifying any errors that may be present.

Editshare

applications. However, despite planning and scheduling being at the heart of linear channel creation, the majority of scheduling solutions are tied to on-premise noncloud legacy. This solution enables providers to move scheduling to the cloud and with that drastically reduces both costs and complexity.”

VSN is introducing VSNCrea, an HTML5 and cloud-based version of its previous software called VSNCreaTV. Visitors will be able to see a first version of the new VSN software for TV, radio and second-screen traffic and scheduling throughout the event and discover how it enables the management TMBi - 76

of a company’s content production catalog, either owned or acquired from third parties, as well as its advertising, production workflows, programming and broadcast planning — all from a unique user interface.

Simplestream will demonstrate its VOD-in-aBox, a solution that includes everything required to launch a global, on-demand service in under six weeks. It includes flexible billing, customer data analytics, powerful CMS and unified brand management across multiple platforms.

On the other hand, EditShare will show its support for IMF in its new

Facilis will demonstrate Version 7.1 features and FastTracker 2.5 for the first time in Europe. New features currently in development will be previewed as well.

Rohde & Schwarz will make a number of strategic new product introductions designed to impact on many sectors of the broadcast industry from postproduction storage to satellite and terrestrial transmitter networks. “IBC 2018 will be a key landmark event for Rohde & Schwarz since it enables us to demonstrate the newly expanded capabilities of the company including our acquisitions in recent

IBC 2018

years and our focus on R&D in the company,” comments Stephan Krafft, Vice President of Marketing & Technical Sales at Rohde & Schwarz.”

Audio On show for the first time in Europe, Calrec Audio will exhibit Type R, a new modular, expandable, IP-based radio system. Type R

makes use of standard networking technology and combines it with configurable soft panels that can be tailored to operator needs. Type R’s physical control system consists of three slimline panels: a fader panel, a large soft panel and a small soft panel. Each is compatible with COTS hardware and powered over Ethernet to keep cabling to a minimum.

bundles as well as updates to its Loudness Toolkit bundle of products will be also on display for the first time at IBC. The Loudness Toolkit, which includes the VisLM loudness meter, ISL limiter and LM-Correct quick fix tool, will natively support track counts of up to 7.1.2, suitable for monitoring and limiting Dolby Atmos bed tracks in real time.

NUGEN Audio's newly released post-production

DPA Microphones will hold a press briefing,

IBC 2018

which will take place at 15.30 on Friday September 14th. In a break with tradition, this briefing will be celebrated in Room G109. DPA will use this opportunity to launch a brand new capsule technology designed especially for broadcast but also for film and theatre. By hosting the event off its booth, DPA will have optimum conditions to demonstrate the audio quality of this capsule in a quiet environment.

Clear-Com will highlight the high- density audioand-intercom-over-IP connection card for the Eclipse HX digital matrix intercom family called EIPA.

More innovations Digital Nirvana will introduce Version 5.2 of its MonitorIQ media management platform.

The latest version of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flagship MonitorIQ Media Management Platform offers a host of new userfriendly features, including support for H.265 TMBi - 78

recording, strengthened IPTV protocol support for and updated calendar controls.

Zero Density will showcase the newest version of Reality Engine, Reality 2.6 at the IBC Show, in addition to announcing new features in collaboration with multiple pioneers of the broadcasting and media industry.

The IBC2018 exhibition will also provide the backdrop for the European debut of new audio transcription features in the SGrecast live stream repurposing, rebroadcasting and podcast management system from StreamGuys.

Powered by the patented enCaption4 cloud-based, automated captioning

technology from ENCO, the new capabilities enable fast generation of accurate transcriptions and captions from recordings and uploaded files. StreamGuys will coexhibit with ENCO. Videomenthe will showcase the version 5.0 of Eolementhe, its collaborative media tool box.

Matrox will showcase its Monarch LCS video encoding appliance, which delivers dual-channel streams to live streaming platforms. Monarch HDX and HD H.264 broadcast streaming and recording appliances offer native support for Facebook Live and YouTube.

Broadcast Solutions will display its full system integration portfolio and

IBC 2018

unveiling its latest technological innovation – the Quicklink Studio Solution.

SGO Mistika

new product developments. As a tradition, the company will occupy the largest outdoor stand (O.E02) of the show. A 16 camera HDR/UHD OB Van and built for Polish broadcasting company Ekstraklasa Livepark will be on-site.

Ikegami will introduce its latest HDR-compatible range of camera systems and an expanded range of monitors. "The 2018 summer of sport encouraged many production companies to invest in High Dynamic Range which enables them to capture images with a much wider dynamic range than previously possible," explains Michael Lätzsch, Broadcast & Professional Video Division Manager at

Ikegami Electronics (Europe) GmbH. In addition, Marshall Electronics is adding to its miniature and compact camera offerings with its new ultra-high-definition (UHD) compact camera, the Marshall CV380-CS, which will premiere at IBC. The CV380-CS uses an 8.5-Megapixel, 1/2.5-inch sensor, to capture detailed video images, and outputs in 6G/3G/HD-SDI and HDMI 1.4.

Irdeto will be showcasing its recently launched Irdeto Armor for Android TV solution, which provides operators with the ability to manage this open platform and achieve a faster deployment time for hybrid set-top boxes.

Quicklink will be

Brightcove will be showcasing its innovative solutions for OTT, Live, monetization, and encoding. Additionally, they will be releasing new industry research.

At IBC 2018, Norwia will showcase an ultra-high frame density optical transport platform with its latest addition to the miniHUB Optical Transport Platform. In addition, the company is also introducing the brand new HUBbox MkII for applications requiring only single or dual optical conversions.

Finally, SGO will bring two new products as a part of its natively integrated Multidimensional Workflow Concept and demonstrate the latest version of Mistika Ultima. Industry experts will also be taking part in regular presentations sharing insight and knowledge to some of the industry’s most demanding technologies and workflows.

TMBi - 79

WORKFLOW

Go Configure!

By Provys

: Examples of different configurations

Author: Martin Junek, Provys In the world of modern broadcasting, there are two main styles of professional workflow management. The first and classical system is driven principally by the predefined functionalities of the software, leaving little or no scope for individual preferences and creative input. But, there is always light at the end of the tunnel (the end of the licensing period) affording the TMBi - 80

opportunity for broadcasters to step up to the second style which provides considerably greater flexibility and opportunities for creative changes arising from the enhanced configurability of this kind of system.

This short article will focus solely on the beauties of the varying but advanced configurability offered by higher level Broadcast

Management Systems.

Several levels exist, namely, configurability of GUI, Usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Rights, Workflows + Messaging, Reports, Data Model, and even the Code itself. Of course, the package must originally be delivered configured to the best practice in the industry, and compatible with modern workflows and contemporary operational demands. The key to the

WORKFLOW

beauty of the higher level system is that once adopted, it can be adapted.

Let us consider GUI (Graphic User Interface) first of all. GUI configurability gives the operator not only satisfaction for his/her creative soul (e.g. through different colours and skins), but offers administrators and superusers maximum flexibility for the ergonomic positioning of icons (selected from a wide range), columns, fields, tables, screens, symbols, tabs, etc. together with the possibility of adding or removing preexisting items.

Turning now to Users’ Rights, we enter the domain of the administrator who has the responsibility for allocating the access control of different users. A sophisticated configurable system must have the power to offer the administrator total control over the definition, adjustment and allocation of roles and their relationships to different attributes.

Workflows and messaging are particularly subject to frequent updates and changes. Therefore, the configurability of all related management procedures is crucial. For example, the management of TV production or resources can

be understood as specific items for project management. Different types of production and postproduction, content delivery and processing, orders, approvals, etc. require flexible change tracking and adaptable messaging to run the whole broadcasting organisation smoothly and efficiently.

Reports have always been a critical output of any Broadcast Management System as they provide commercial, managerial and legal information on the ever-changing state of the business thus enabling proper decision making. In an advanced system, there must always be an integrated reporting tool which can create a series of standard reports or provide assistance and definition to any number of ad-hoc reports which may be required from time-to-time.

In addition to this functionality, there should also be a standard API interface which can give access to our data to approved third parties to generate their own specialised reports.

The question of accessing the Data Model raises the spectre of “thin ice” and should only be made available to more experienced administrators.

In a state-of-the-art management system, there must exist the opportunity to create new attributes in the data models, but one must always bear in mind that any changes in the data model carry the risk of incompatibility with future upgrades. Provys for example allows administrators to operate the upgraded system whilst being able to switch on or off the new features which could be influenced by the re-configured data model.

The last, but certainly not the least subject for configuration is the Code. An advanced knowledge of programming languages such as PL/SQL is required.

This can be undertaken by skilled members of the broadcast staff or is often prepared by consultants of the software house as and when required. This type of configuration is used to provide new functionalities or the import of data into the system, for example.

“Configuring workflow systems is more and more an integral part of daily broadcast operations owing to the increasing prevalence of disruptors in this sector creating the need for ever more flexibility in workflow management.” Renata Chytkova, Senior Consultant, Provys.

TMBi - 81

We try

Bolero

by Riedel Now you need less to achieve more

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BOLERO

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ï&#x201A;¤

 TEST AREA

Bolero, Riedel’s intercom device, from this year onwards comes fit‐ ted with a standout feature that makes it even more versatile and affordable.

Lab test carried out by Luis Pavía

Bolero is the renowned and prestigious Riedel intercom system, a German manufacturer of broadband signal distribution systems, data communications and transport whose products have been justly lauded TMBi - 84

and have attained an undeniable position in the most demanding production environments the world over.

Since its launch in 2017, Bolero has stood at the fore by providing a collection of unique

features that no other similar product can match.

Some of the differential characteristics came into being in the Artist system of support matrixes and control of audio signals within Riedel itself, which significantly conditioned

BOLERO

the investment required to be able to enjoy the excellent equipment.

Thus, it is in this sense that the new feature unveiled in the most recent NAB in Las Vegas and what means that nowadays, Bolero needs less to create more: the standalone version, fully operational without needing anything other than the antennae network or any Artist matrix in the kit.

Yet, first, let us delve inside the Bolero, regardless of its set-up. It is an intercom system based on DECT radio technology, operating on the 1.9GHz band and which, as is common in this type of device, does not require the granting of any licence for its use. It features the same technology as that used on mobile telephones, whose security and reliability are more than proven. The equipment

can function interchangeably as a wireless belt-pack transmitter (with its different earpiece models: single, double, open, closed, and diverse microphone styles), or as a wireless dashboard. Yet it can also function as a radio walkie-talkie, establishing earpiece-free communications thanks to its built-in microphone and speaker, a feature that no other product on the market boasts.

TMBi - 85

ď&#x201A;¤

 TEST AREA

Amongst the main aims of its design, a userfriendly approach to operating, set-up, reliability and security were considered paramount. Proof of this is its selection for communications environments of the most demanding, such as Formula One or the new BBC studios in London to get an idea of its potential.

If we think about Formula One, for example, we need to guarantee that our communications are reliable in a saturated radio-electric spectrum environment, with possible interference from all types of signals, meaning we can always ensure seamless communications between members of the same team, though beyond the reach of the team in the box alongside us using the same device. With this in mind, we begin to comprehend the level of demand it is capable of handling and overcoming.

In its set-up as an Artist matrix, the centralised audio control equipment of the actual Riedel device, communications TMBi - 86

are performed using standard IP networks with AES67 protocols, connecting the antennae in a decentralised manner via AES switches to the matrix to create a distributed network in which the wireless beltpacks will make automatic and clear commutations between antennae (roaming) similar to the way our mobile telephones do. In this way, the antennae keep the connection with the beltpacks recorded in our network, irrespective of their own movements registered.

Thanks to smart use and the methods of frequency assignation, each antenna can generate up to ten belt-packs, with the system’s limit of 100 simultaneous antennae with up to 100 belt-packs in total. The antennae are devised with PFGA reprogrammable systems so that they can be updated with new protocols and standards if required.

The registry of the beltpacks on the network has

been optimised using NFC protocols, meaning that instead of having to browse between menus, the operation is simplified by having merely to touch one of the antennae with the belt-pack. Of course, with one eye on security, the registry will solely be recorded if it is performed from control software we have “opened” in the

BOLERO

system, the antenna is in discoverable mode and the belt-pack is one our list of recognised devices.

In this way, maximum comfort is accomplished whilst not compromising security.

Thus, it is sufficient to connect the belt-pack to the control, turn it on and on our way to the set, register it by touching the

antenna we have closest.

Now, the device is on-line and with the set-up assigned to our belt-pack instantly loaded.

In terms of operations, the belt-packs have a large colour screen, easily readable in any position thanks to its tilted design and the possibility of inverting the image, with 6 buttons for each one of

the intercom channels, easily distinguishable both due to their position as well as the braille style markings so that, as with any panel, individual or groups calls can be made depending on our personalised settings. The latter may be controlled remotely from the Artist dashboard and showing up immediately on each TMBi - 87

ď&#x201A;¤

ď&#x201A;¤ TEST AREA

device, including the assignation of buttons, accessible functions or volume controls or muting.

They are physically very sturdy devices, designed and built to withstand arduous daily tasks without risks to their integrity, combining different materials, and offering simple usage, even when wearing gloves. Furthermore, it has been granted the IP65 seal which means it can be used in damp environments without any risk.

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Peering inside, with respect to the means to maintain the maximum levels of sound quality, the best tools available at the present time have been developed and implemented so that the clarity and quality of the sound received, the separation of background noise from voices, the signal / noise range are always maintained within maximum values. In this sense, ADR technology, for example, is used internally in the reception of multiple channels to ensure that the communications are kept

clean even when our endeavours lead us into shifting radio-electrical conditions or those with multiple reflections.

To augment its versatility, and as features that have not been found in any other intercom, Bolero comes fitted with a Bluetooth interface that allows for the use of wireless headphones, and, even more interestingly, as hands-free devices for our mobile telephones, so that we can take calls via the earpiece, and, even much more interesting, if that is possible, the ability to insert these calls into a

BOLERO

communications network in the system to, for example, include in the group a person who is located outside the network or connect a call during a broadcast without the need to have a hybrid telephone.

Another of the functions that enhances userfriendliness is the direct redial button to respond to the last call received by simply pressing it.

In the functional aspects as an independent dashboard, it behaves just like any panel that we might find in any control room, with the same functionality and settings

menu, with the sole restriction being the number of physical buttons directly available.

Indeed, with regard to Artist matrixes, belt-packs always have a dashboardlike appearance, irrespective of its use as a wireless remote dashboard, intercom beltpack, hand-held walkietalkie or liaison device for mobile telephones.

Finally, with the standalone version, the only requirement is that one of the antennae acts as a master system and thus the Artist matrix can be wholly done away with if we do not need the control and management

of a powerful audio network added to and integrated with the intercom system, thereby reducing the investment needed greatly.

To end with an anecdote, that reinforces the idea just how much care has gone into the design considering all usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; possible needs, the beltclip comes with a hollow especially devised to act as aâ&#x20AC;Ś bottle opener! Who has not needed one at some point? Especially at the end of those neverending working days, when we have accomplished our aims and it is time to relax.

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ď&#x201A;¤

We try

Sachtler Flowtech 75 Tripod Lab test performed by Ă lvaro Bernal

Today we are trying out the Sachtler Flowtech 75 Tripod. The first thing that strikes me is why nobody invented one beforehand. Its system is revolutionary and each time you try it, you never want to go back to other systems.

The Flowtech 75 forms part of a series of tripods in which we logically find different heights and weight handling capabilities, though this unit displays a proper balance for many TMBi - 90

current cameras and recording styles.

The most eye-catching aspect is the quick release legs so that the desired height can be achieved. The three locks (just one for each leg) can be released with ease thus endowing the tripod with a good size and hold them in place.

Supported on the ground, we simply have to move upwards without concern for which segments of the leg are stretched. This unit

SACHTLER FLOWTECH 75 TRIPOD

reaches a maximum height of 153 and a minimum of 26 without the central triangle. To this, we must logically add the height required by the tripod’s ball-head.

With the central triangle that provides stability in circumstances requiring greater loads, the distances range from 63 to 157 cms. The mechanism to take “low shots” and leave the tripod almost at ground level is similarly comfortable and allows for the legs to be wholly opened, as well as offering pre-set positions.

rubber feet that can be removed, are very comfortable and offer excellent “grip” to the floor in testing conditions, such as on slopes, slippery surfaces etc. The idea I wish to transmit is that you overlook the typical inconveniences when setting up the tripod and just start shooting, which is what we all want in the end.

Other pertinent data is the measurement of the tripod’s ballhead, at 75mm and a closed length for easy transportability of 68 cms which means it takes up little space in the boot of a car or can be simply carried over-theshoulder in its flexible carry-pack.

My summary is clear, try it out, all tripods should be like this.

The carbon tripod weighs just 2.9 kilos and can withstand a weight of up to 20 kilos, a more than respectable rate.

Likewise, the TMBi - 91

