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Pan Shot, the news from the audiovisual market
Is Technology in Our Industry Converging or Fragmenting? By David Ross
NAB SHOW
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5G NEW RADIO
Test zone
Test zone
EOLEMENTHE
MULTICAM RADIO STUDIO
First trials with this technology at Winter Games
A professional online audiovisual processing platform
Editor in chief Javier de Martín
Creative Direction Mercedes González
editor@tmbroadcast.com
design@tmbroadcast.com
International Account Director Cristina Feduchi international@tmbroadcast.com
Editorial staff Daniel Esparza press@tmbroadcast.com
Key account manager Beatriz Calvo
Administration Laura de Diego
b.calvo@tmbroadcast.com
administration@tmbroadcast.com
Preview What to see this year
“Watch the Radio”, all-in-one
TM Broadcast International #56 April 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 By the time you get to read these lines, you are probably already on your way to Vegas. The NAB Show will once again bring together the leading players in our industry with the latest trends and products under their arms. The show is growing, and so is TM Broadcast, so, as Media Partners for the event, we will be bringing a much larger team this year so as not to miss a single detail. The advances towards IP productions or the unstoppable evolution of technologies such as virtual reality or artificial intelligence will be just some of the topics of conversation. This issue offers a virtual tour of the most interesting innovations of the stands that we consider unmissable for you to get a head start in preparing for the show. As usual, the NAB gives us the privilege of first-hand knowledge of the most innovative solutions and products. Our next issue shall contain a selection of the most relevant ones, accompanied by an extensive analysis of the hottest topics of the event. Also, for readers who prefer information on the go, we will launch daily newsletters from NAB to your e-mail with brief and precise information about the most important highlights. This issue also explores one of the most promising technologies for our market, 5G. In addition to drawing up a diagnosis of its current status, we have also analysed the tests carried out with this technology during the last Winter Games by Yeray Alfageme, one of the experts of our editorial team, who participated as Broadcast Engineer of the Olympic Channel in these games. We hope you enjoy our varied menu of contents this month, and we take this opportunity to wish you a good show. See you soon.
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STREAMGUYS AND BARIX ENHANCE IP AUDIO DISTRIBUTION WITH NEW UNCOMPRESSED DELIVERY AND CLOUD ENCODING WORKFLOWS StreamGuys, a SaaSbased streaming solutions provider, and IP audio innovator Barix have announced powerful enhancements to the companies’ joint Reflector stream delivery and management service. Support for uncompressed audio streaming with metadata enables new cloud-based encoding, processing and distribution workflows that lower customers’ costs and expand their output capabilities while elevating quality for point-to-point transport. The upgraded solution will be showcased at the upcoming 2018 NAB Show (April 9-12 in Las Vegas), where Barix will exhibit in booth C1139 and StreamGuys will co-exhibit with ENCO in booth N3824. Developed by Barix and hosted, operated and supported by StreamGuys, the Reflector managed service allows broadcasters and content producers to easily create IP-based audio delivery links without the effort and complexity of configuring static IP addresses and firewalls. TMBi - 6
Audio from a Barix hardware endpoint is transported across StreamGuys’ robust content delivery network, bolstering reliability, while management of the link is simplified through an intuitive, cloud-based portal. The enhancements build on this proven foundation to enable new distribution architectures and use cases. Processing audio streams for distribution in multiple formats and bitrates has typically required customers to purchase, deploy and maintain full-featured encoding systems, many of which run on the Windows operating system and require frequent software updates for security and stability. New cloud-based encoding services powered
by the upgraded Reflector unchain users from these burdens, bringing down total cost of ownership while exponentially expanding the number of simultaneous encoded outputs they can create and deliver. Leveraging the dependability of dedicated hardware, a currentgeneration Barix Exstreamer 500 encoder/decoder unit transports source audio via Reflector to StreamGuys’ broadcast-grade cloud infrastructure as an uncompressed PCM stream with metadata. StreamGuys’ virtualized Remote Encoder offering then transforms the uncompressed audio into any desired combination of bitrates and profiles for subsequent distribution.
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YAMAHA MIXES WITH THE BEST AT ABBEY ROAD With the free bar open, Jamiroquai’s Derrick MacKenzie (drums), Matt Johnson (keyboards), Paul Turner (bass) and Hazel Fernandez (vocals) performed a few songs, mixed by the band’s Front of House engineer Rick Pope on the Yamaha RIVAGE PM10, through a Nexo M10 PA system and 45N12 monitors.
On 14th March around 60 of the UK’s most renowned live mixing engineers, theatre sound designers and representatives of audio rental companies assembled in the legendary Studio Two at London’s Abbey Road Studios for an informal workshop on Yamaha’s RIVAGE PM series digital mixing systems. Although most famous to the general public for the groundbreaking albums recorded by The Beatles and producer Sir George Martin in Studio Two, Abbey Road has played host to a literal Who’s Who of the pop and rock industry, as well as many classic orchestral and film score recordings. So it was the ideal location for Yamaha to showcase its latest digital TMBi - 8
mixing technology. “This was a way of giving key members of the UK pro audio community a chance to informally network and learn more about Yamaha’s RIVAGE PM series systems, in an inspiring location and friendly, low-key atmosphere,” says Yamaha Commercial Audio UK/RoI sales manager Alex Warren, who coordinated the event with UK/RoI marketing manager Chris Irvine. After meeting for a complimentary lunch, followed by a bracing walk along Abbey Road to the studios, guests were welcomed by Chris. This was followed by an interesting potted history of the studios by its head of audio products, Mirek Stiles.
Yamaha’s Andy Cooper then hosted an interesting Q&A session with Rick, which included questions from the assembled guests. Rick spent much of 2017 on tour with the RIVAGE PM10 system and a highlight of the Q&A was his honest, direct response to being asked how many times the system has gone down: “Never”. From here, guests were able to get hands-on with the RIVAGE PM systems - a brand new PM7, supplied by Subfrantic Production Services, and two PM10s. With Yamaha’s Tim Bamber, Christoph Haertwig, Hans Metger, Tom Rundle and Reece Stead also on hand to discuss the systems and answer questions, it gave guests unfamiliar with the systems ample opportunity to discover more.
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24I ACQUIRES VIGOUR TO ACCELERATE INNOVATION IN OTT MULTISCREEN SOLUTIONS
24i Media, an industryleading streaming applications developer for the world’s top media companies, has announced that it has acquired Vigour, a leading multiscreen video platform provider. The acquisition further enhances 24i’s leadership position globally and accelerates its innovation and growth, with its technology platform at the heart of its ambitions. Dutch video technology providers 24i and Vigour have joined forces to build a powerful, innovation driven partnership within the global market that will develop TMBi - 10
foundational multiscreen solutions to meet the evolving needs of today’s digital subscribers. With the acquisition of Vigour, 24i executes on its vision to drive innovation for video application technology, grow its international market share and build the most talented team in the industry. For Vigour, the acquisition provides an opportunity to expand the reach of its unique multiscreen vision across a much larger network, within an environment that provides the optimal operational conditions for the execution of a shared vision.
“Reaching consumers regardless of the devices they use is crucial in securing their long-term business. The more devices they use, the more hours of content they will consume, and the more value they will gain from their subscription. In pursuit of these goals, the rate of innovation has accelerated considerably over the last few years,” said Martijn Van Horssen, CEO at 24i Media. “Our acquisition of Vigour strengthens our ability to lead this innovation curve and provide attractive, cutting edge applications that empower our customers to deliver immersive experiences for their subscribers across any device.” 24i’s module-based technology framework allows broadcasters, operators and media companies to create and launch personalized streaming services on all screens, tailored to their needs. “Our platform is like a giant box of Lego, where customers can build their own apps with our state-of-the-art components, or they can purchase a fully completed package,” Martijn commented.
“This is a tremendous step forward for 24i and our growth as a company. Bringing together our two companies ties directly to 24i’s strategy to deliver valuable outcomes to our customers and to extend our leadership in the rapidly expanding market for personalized cloud TV and video app technology. Together, our strong engineering talent, leading technology and deep video app expertise will unlock incredible innovation, choice and value for customers around the world. We warmly welcome the Vigour team and its leading technology expertise to 24i.” Martijn added. The acquisition will result in a unique combination of Vigour’s innovation, design, and engineering expertise with 24i’s industry knowledge, platform and full range of solutions and technology. The combination will enable the creation of an integrated set of flexible products for creating cross-screen, personalized Internet TV applications, better positioning 24i to help companies rapidly develop OTT business models and capture new revenue streams in the high-growth and fast evolving market. Together with newly acquired Vigour, 24i will be showcasing their feature rich set of TV applications at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, booth SU9301CM, April 912. Visitors are welcome to drop by the booth or book a meeting to discover how they can leverage 24i’s next generation tools and technologies to stand out from competitors and capitalize on 24i’s flexible and proven solutions.
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TELEVISA PURCHASES 25 JVC PROHD WIRELESS BRIDGE BONDED VOIP UNITS JVC Professional Video, a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, has announced Televisa, the largest mass media company in Hispanic America, has purchased 25 JVC ProHD Wireless Bridge bonded video-over-IP units to transmit live ENG field reports from 21 different markets throughout Mexico. The first unit was tested last year at XEFB in Monterrey; now, there are three Wireless Bridge units at XEFB and three at XHG in Guadalajara, with the rest assigned to 19 other Televisa Regional stations. According to Gabriel Herran Galaviz, Televisa technical director of regional stations, news crews are TMBi - 12
very happy with the JVC news-over-IP solution. “Before this, it was very complicated to produce a live report because we needed a microwave truck – and it cost a lot of money and required a lot of resources,” he explained. “Now they can report from anywhere using one of our fleet vehicles.” Previously, Televisa had used its JVC GY-HM850 ProHD cameras to send files via FTP, but the Bridge investment has allowed its news stations to provide more live reports for their viewers. “We think that we don’t need to buy microwave trucks anymore,” Galaviz said. “Although we depend on the bandwidth and
service of the 4G providers, we think this is the best solution for the moment.” Compatible with JVC’s ProHD and 4KCAM streaming camera models, the ProHD Wireless Bridge is suitable for broadcasts that require high reliability and camera mobility. Each camera in the system is equipped with a transceiver module, which plugs directly into the camera’s USB connector and operates up to 2,000 feet from the vehicle-mounted base station. The cellular uplink with high-gain antenna turns the vehicle into a remote broadcasting hub, receiving signals from one or more field cameras and creating a virtual private network (VPN)
PAN SHOT
for secure transmission. Broadcasters like Televisa can equip all their fleet vehicles with ProHD Wireless Bridge systems and direct them to a single IP address. While the stations in Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tijuana have
their own IP routers, the other 18 stations use a cloud-based Peplink FusionHub virtual appliance to connect their cameras to a Zixi cloud-based server, which routes live footage to a JVC BR-DE800 ProHD decoder at each station. The Wireless Bridge units
were installed primarily for local news, but Galaviz said they could be used for commercial projects as well as Univision content for U.S. audiences as well. Televisa is already planning to invest in more ProHD Bridge units. “We are very happy with this solution,” Galaviz added.
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THE ISRAELI PUBLIC BROADCAST CORPORATION DEPLOYS DANTE AUDIO-OVER-IP NETWORK
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC) commenced broadcasting on May 15, 2017, to succeed the former Israeli Broadcast Authority (IBA), the 70-year old state TV and radio broadcaster that abruptly ceased broadcasting earlier in the month. The creation of the new network, publicly known as KAN, inspired a new technical design to the workflow and infrastructure that was completed in the ensuing months. A key design strategy from Israeli systems integration firm Broadcast Design LTD was to establish an IT backbone for all technical TMBi - 14
systems and operations – with a Dante Audio over IP network from Audinate supporting all low-latency, multichannel audio transport for TV and radio. In addition to simplifying signal management and routing, enhancing audio quality and strengthening redundancy, Dante significant reduced labor and equipment costs – by upwards of $30,000. According to Blum, the project uses more than 200 Dante Virtual Soundcards, which are installed on multiple PC workstations across more than 20 studios and on multiple news, editing and production desks. The Dante Virtual Soundcards operate in conjunction with 32 off-the-shelf IT servers to support the network’s AudisiOne Automation system. Additionally, Dante modules have been added to the facility’s DHD audio 52/RX console and associated
52/XC2 Cores for digital signal processing. Since the DHD audio has dedicated Audinate modules, operators have the flexibility to send audio from Dante Virtual Soundcards throughout the building within seconds, as well as directly to the broadcast console from any PC on the network. Operators also use the Dante network to send audio to live streaming encoders. The 20 studios support three over-the-air TV channels from its automation system (plus separate cable/satellite feeds), eight FM stations, and seven pure internet radio feeds, with plans to grow to 40 studios as more TV and radio stations are added. Each studio has its own Danteenabled DHD audio 52/XC2 Core digital signal processor and localized switch to the Dante network, which enables a highly efficient way to share content while also fortifying network redundancy. The DHD audio solutions also accommodate MADI-to-Dante conversion in the TV studios.
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BFE WILL RENEW THE INGEST AND PLAYOUT SERVER INFRASTRUCTURE OF GERMAN BROADCASTER ZDF German broadcaster ZDF entrusts systems integrator BFE with the renewal of their ingest and playout video server infrastructure. Main, backup and test playout systems in Mainz as well as a DR playout server in Berlin will be replaced with Harmonic Spectrum X components. The ingest systems will use Harmonic Spectrum X components with a Harmonic MediaGrid
storage system as well as Adobe Premiere Pro Creative Cloud for editing and error correction. The new servers will be integrated in the existing Pebble Beach Automation Marina and the Avid Interplay MAM system. BFE was able to demonstrate the performance and qualification of the offered system and thus began working on the detailed specifications in
February. In this phase, BFE is collaborating with the ZDF to create a detailed migration concept, which ensures safe “on air” exchange of the video servers while maintaining the performance of the running system at any time. Following the project handover, ZDF will rely, within a 60-month SLA contract, on BFE’s service and support competencies.
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RED DIGITAL CINEMA INTRODUCES THE NEW GEMINI 5K S35 SENSOR RED DIGITAL CINEMA® introduces the new GEMINI™ 5K S35 sensor for its RED EPIC-W® camera. The GEMINI 5K S35 sensor leverages dual sensitivity modes to provide greater flexibility for a variety of shooting environments. The GEMINI 5K S35 sensor delivers low-light performance allowing for cleaner imagery with less noise and better shadow detail. Operators can switch between modes through the camera’s on-screen menu with no down time. The GEMINI 5K S35 sensor offers an increased field of view at 2K and 4K resolutions compared to the higher resolution HELIUM® sensor. In addition, the sensor’s 30.72 mm x 18 mm TMBi - 16
dimensions allow for greater anamorphic lens coverage than with HELIUM or RED DRAGON® sensors. “While the GEMINI sensor was developed for low-light conditions in outer space, we quickly saw there was so much more to this sensor,” said Jarred Land, President of RED Digital Cinema. “In fact, we loved the potential of this sensor so much, we wanted to evolve it to make it have a broader appeal. As a result, the EPIC-W GEMINI now sports dualsensitivity modes. It still has the low-light performance mode, but also has a default, standard mode that allows you to shoot in brighter conditions.” Built on the compact DSMC2® form factor, this
new camera and sensor combination captures 5K full format motion at up to 96 fps along with fast data speeds of up to 275 MB/s. Additionally, it supports RED’s IPP2 enhanced image processing pipeline in camera. Like all of RED’s DSMC2 cameras, EPIC-W is able to shoot simultaneous REDCODE® RAW and Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD/HR recording and adheres to RED’s dedication to OBSOLESCENCE OBSOLETE®— a core operating principle that allows current RED owners to upgrade their technology as innovations are unveiled, as well as move between camera systems without having to purchase all new gear.
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BLACKMAGIC DESIGN POWERS THE 2018 X FACTOR LIVE ARENA TOUR Blackmagic Design has announced that IMAG projection for the 2018 X Factor live arena tour was produced with a PPU, built around an ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K with ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Panel. Live acquisition was delivered by an HD multicam set up which included the URSA Broadcast. The tour, produced by live specialist, PRG XL Video, took the talent show’s winners to 15 cities across the UK in just three weeks. Vis a Vis Video’s Stuart Merser led on all video production for the tour and collaborated with X Factor’s studio director, Diccon
Ramsey, to ensure the live set up matched the format and feel of the popular television series. “The live set up is similar to the Saturday night show, with a presenter and acts performing for the audience’s vote each night, so Diccon was responsible for editorial consistency between broadcast and arena content,” explains Stuart. “We fed live camera signals, prerecorded content of each contestant’s journey, and the iconic X Factor graphics into the switcher, with Diccon at the helm on the ATEM panel, delivering a seamless production every night.”
Stuart paired the URSA Broadcast with a Canon 14ex4.5 ENG lens to deliver 1080i footage for twin LED big screens at either side of the stage. Operating via VizLink RF, Stuart captured the action on the main stage, or quickly shoulder mounted the URSA Broadcast, to turn around and film performers on a second solo stage positioned in the middle of the crowd. “Getting the audience involved is so important in any arena tour, so I love that I can be working from the tripod, and then racing around the camera runs in a matter of seconds,” Stuart continues. “The camera’s flexibility allows us to be spontaneous and make sure we’re always close to the performance.” With six very different live artists on stage each night, Stuart explains that the camera handled a wide range of staging set ups very well. TMBi - 17
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CP AND MOBILE VIEWPOINT PROVIDE 4K COVERAGE FOR THE NYC HALF-MARATHON “All the systems worked flawlessly with excellent coverage across the entire course. We actually use a hybrid model of coverage for these types of races," says Kurt. "Our hybrid is a combination of traditional COFDM coverage and the new IP bonded cell technology. In the end we did not need the COFDM at all as the bonded looked and performed so well.” CP Communications and Mobile Viewpoint just recently entered into an OEM partnership to provide Mobile Viewpoint bonded cellular and IP streaming solution in the Unites States. This past week the technology was put to test. CP deployed a 4k Agile Ultralink on their Smart Car as the lead vehicle. A Sony F55, provided by Inertia Unlimited, was used on the Smart Car as the lead vehicle. A 12G signal was sent to the 4k Agile Ultralink mounted in the car. That signal was received at CP Communications HD-21 mobile unit via a Mobile Viewpoint 4k1 playout server. The 4k video format was then down converted to a 720p signal for WABC Channel 7’s broadcast of the race. “The 4k signal was TMBi - 18
encoded at 15mbps and looked great with great coverage”, says Kurt Heitmann, CEO of CP. “The Mobile Viewpoint is very robust and very flexible when it comes to encoding settings, prioritization of sources and QOS. Our engineers were able to manipulate and change settings on the fly as the cell phone coverage on the course changed. We also had the luxury of playing with the bit rate for the two set up days and the system looked good at rates from 8mbps to the 15mbps we ended up using.” CP also deployed 4 additional Mobile Viewpoint systems on two motorcycles and two wheelchair follow scooters. A total of 5 systems were deployed and playout of HD-21 to the WABC broadcast truck.
In addition to 4k video acquisition CP also deployed a first ever IP communication network using Clearcom LQ and Dante audio for communications to the Smart Car and Unity cellular comms interface for the motorcycles. Another first was the use of a Virtual Press Room and a CP Engineering monitor wall. The Virtual Press Room, developed by Red House Streaming, was used to stream WABC program video and audio plus the individual on course vehicles to the press and clients using a log in and password for any device. The CP Engineering monitor wall allows all of the technician and engineers to monitor all sources whether on the rooftops of buildings or on course in vehicles.
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THE WEATHER CHANNEL CHOOSE GRASS VALLEY TO IMPROVE ITS LIVE PRODUCTION CAPABILITIES The Weather Channel provides millions of viewers around the United States with up-to-the-minute weather forecasts, storm coverage, and educational programming. The company has chosen Grass Valley, a Belden Brand, to provide its integrated live broadcast solutions. The Weather Channel purchased the Kayenne K-Frame Video Production Center switcher and Ignite Automated Production System with the Katalyst Programmable Automation Panel. “We’ve had a productive partnership with Grass Valley for years. When we decided to update our
automated production system, our operators’ preference for Kayenne made Ignite the natural choice,” said Mike Smereski, vice president of broadcast engineering at The Weather Channel. “Due to the nature of our programs, in particular live coverage of severe weather, we need live production solutions we can count on. We feel that the Ignite automation and Kayenne will provide tighter, cleaner and more consistent live production across all shows, regardless of the operator.” Kayenne is configurable up to 192 inputs, 96 outputs and up to 9 M/Es with six
keyers in every full M/E; and Ignite Katalyst is an ergonomic and flexible fastaccess hardware control system that works harmoniously with the powerful Ignite system. “Our production switcher workflow is second to none especially when combined with the power of Ignite,” said Kyle Luther, vice president of sales, western U.S., Grass Valley. “The viewers of The Weather Channel depend on effective, quality broadcasts and we’re thrilled to be providing systems that will help the company continue to deliver exceptional programming.” TMBi - 19
Technology
Is Technology in Our Industry Converging or Fragmenting? There’s a saying: “What any damn fool can do for a dollar, an Engineer can do for a nickel”. The idea is that engineering, and product development, is about creating value for money. What that value actually is will depend upon the requirements of the application. For example, if a customer has no need to go beyond 1080i during the lifespan of the equipment, building in UHD support is a waste of their money, unless it comes at zero extra cost. Similarly, if a customer is building a compact live production fly pack for a UHD concert series, is that customer well served by adding the complexity of uncompressed 2110 IP? On the other hand, if a network is building a large green field multi-studio TMBi - 20
By David Ross
facility with thousands of video sources, perhaps installing the world’s largest baseband SDI router infrastructure is a poor choice. It’s easy to broadly state that “it’s all going to be in the cloud in two years” or “everything should be IP now” or “we should all be producing in 4k HDR” but someone has to pay for the equipment. Content creation CTOs and Finance Managers have a responsibility to make good economic decisions to the people that create the actual content. Everyone is
Technology
ultimately part of a business and spending too much on capital purchases leads to equipment depreciation budget overruns in subsequent years that ultimately leads to job cuts to balance the books. In other words, if we spend too much on the wrong equipment, we won’t have as many people to create the content for whom we bought the equipment in the first place. Certainly, it should be obvious that going 4k when you don’t need it adds cost by requiring expensive extra bandwidth, more exotic technology, and larger storage devices. For many, it’s not as obvious that going IP when you don’t need the scale can also add costs. SDI routers are now generally “processing routers” with built in MultiViewers, video processors, audio processors, and more. It is highly efficient to have everything in a single box as long as the routers don’t get too big. On the other hand, IP routers can handle vast scale, but these switches are extraordinarily dumb routers that don’t even know about vertical interval switching. All of those MultiViewers and video and audio processors also now need to hang off of them as external boxes with their own power supplies and cabling. These can make sense in large facilities but add significant unnecessary complication in smaller applications like fly packs and small production studios. The bottom line is that the industry won’t be converging for a long time. Instead, it is going through an unprecedented period of technology fragmentation. It’s the responsibility of equipment suppliers to recognize this fact and supply an expanded range of solutions so that every customer can benefit from the best value possible for their needs and applications. TMBi - 21
NAB Show Preview
WHAT'S NEW AT THE NAB SHOW 2018? By Daniel Esparza
Essential Developments The NAB is just around the corner. The volume of information generated at the close of this issue, without the green light having lit up yet, is enormous and unparalleled by any other event in the sector. The exhibiting companies are eager to display their latest technological innovations and proposals for this niche market. The NAB Show will bring together the leading global players in this industry from 7-12 April. The figures estimated by the organisation reflect the sheer magnitude of this event. They predict the arrival of more than 102,000 visitors from some 160 countries, called to visit the stands of more than 1,700 exhibitors over 100,000 square metres. In this article, we want to take you on tour through the essential developments of the show, grouping the most attractive products and solutions of the stands that we consider a must see. TMBi - 22
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Exhibit Demo at the 2017 NAB Show. Photography courtesy of Robb Cohen Photography and Video.
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IP Productions Many manufacturers will be testing their latest solutions designed to smooth the industry's transition to full IP production, one of the hot topics of the day. One such company is FOR-A, which will unveil several of its video production tools at the show. It will focus on 12Gcapable products and on solutions that integrate IP and baseband for several applications, such as live sports productions or productions made in the studio. "From video switchers to signal processors, and graphics solutions to virtual studio systems, FOR-A offers a comprehensive line of technologies for every part of the production process", emphasises Takaaki Imoto, Senior
FOR-A’s newest switcher, the 12G-SDI supported HVS-6000, will make its NAB show debut
General Manager of FOR-A Overseas Sales & Marketing Division. FORA’s newest switcher, the 12G-SDI supported HVS6000, will make its NAB show debut. NewTek will once again take advantage of the show to further consolidate its end-to-end NDI-enabled IP workflows. This manufacturer plans to organise an event on 8 April to showcase new developments with the participation of other partners.
Many manufacturers will be testing their latest solutions designed to smooth the industry's transition to full IP production, one of the hot topics of the day. TMBi - 24
Embrionix, on its part, will present its IP gateway and processing solutions built to optimise IP and 4K productions. Among other new features, we can highlight its emMODULAR's compact 1RU frame, suitable for navigating 4K UHD environments through a 25GE network. This solution is especially useful for mobile units. In this vein, IP Showcase will defend the benefits of adopting real-time IP signal flows for the fourth time at an international show. This professional grouping is made up of more than 50 manufacturers, including Ross Video, Ericsson, AJA, NewTek, Grass Valley or Lawo, to name but a few, and is supported by AIMS,
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AES and NAB. The visitors of their stand will learn more about how to migrate to all-IP workflows using SMPTE ST 2110 standards, from SD systems or hybrid solutions. Among the advantages that the organisation highlights to undertake the transition, are the following: • Format flexibility and efficient cabling • Resiliency and data-loss protection • Plug-and-play connection management • A broad choice of interoperable audio equipment
Image Matters will introduce the new IM-M20, its latest generation of high-speed FPGA video processing modules for its origami ecosystem. Its purpose is to pave the way for 8K-IP. This edition will be, according to JeanFrançois Nivart, Image Matters CEO, "the show of 8K over IP delivering the immersive experience viewers demand". In the audio section, GatesAir will defend its advances in network interoperability with Intraplex IP Link 200A, its first Audio over IP codec compatible with AES67. This solution facilitates
Image Matters paves the way for 8K-IP with the new IM-M20 module
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the connection between studios and remote locations. It is a hybrid model that connects AES67 and analogue/AES3 signals simultaneously and allows conversion between the two formats. Manufacturer Magewell will announce its support for HDR technology at the show through a selection of HDMI models from its ProCapture family of cards. This support will extend to the Pro Capture HDMI 4K Plus, Pro Capture 4K Plus LT and the upcoming Pro Capture Dual HDMI 4K models. They all support resolutions up to
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Qligent is one of the companies that will offer its advances to drive this next-generation DTV standard
4096x2160 at 60 fps via HDMI 2.0 interfaces. Existing cards can be upgraded to allow HDR by downloading a new EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) file. Quicklink will offer its Studio-in-a-box 2.0 for the first time in the States. This solution allows for interviews or panoramic views of an audience and is useful for remote productions, parishes or television conversations with guests. The firm will make a detailed TMBi - 28
presentation of its main features and improvements during the days of the event. Plisch will present its new Multistandard Liquid Cooler Transmitter, the Series 5000 transmitter. It is available with highefficiency Doherty Amplifiers, IP seamless switching and integrated pump unit.
ATSC 3.0 Another cool section will be the transition to the
ATSC 3.0 standard. Qligent is one of the companies that will offer its advances to drive this nextgeneration DTV standard. The manufacturer will present its new VisionATSC cloud-based content analysis and monitoring software, integrated into Qligent Vision. “For broadcasters adopting ATSC 3.0, this transition is actually a complex forklift upgrade to a completely different DTV standard—in fact, a set of over 20 different
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“The SMPTE ST 2110 standards suite is critical in ensuring the interoperability that customers need to transition smoothly from SDI to IP”, assures John J. Humphrey, Vice President of Business Development, Hitachi Kokusai. standards—involving new multi-layered protocols and native IP streaming”, argumenta Ted Korte,
Qligent’s Chief Operating Officer.
SMPTE 2110 In the image capture field, Hitachi Kokusai announced that it would be demonstrating the implementation of SMPTE 2110 standards in its wide range of broadcast camera systems at the NAB. The manufacturer plans to use this technology with all of its Hitachi HDTV models when combined with the
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Bluefish444 will focus on the presentation of its KRONOS range of video, audio and I/O data processing cards.
CU-HD1300 family of IPenabled camera control units. “The SMPTE ST 2110 standards suite is critical in ensuring the interoperability that customers need to transition smoothly from SDI to IP”, assures John J. Humphrey, Vice President of Business Development, Hitachi Kokusai. Bluefish444 will focus on the presentation of its KRONOS range of video, audio and I/O data processing cards. The firm has developed this new product to enable workflows that require UHD, HDR and SMPTE 2022/2110 technologies. TMBi - 30
The KRONOS range supports high frame rates of up to 120 fps. and is also ready to support future 8K video workflows. “KRONOS Elektron more than doubles the SDI capacity over the existing Epoch range, and KRONOS Optikos provides SFP+ module support, allowing our customers to swap the SFP+ modules providing access to numerous video interfaces in addition to SDI”, summarises Tom Lithgow, Product Manager, Bluefish444. Phabrix will be showcasing, among other innovations, its Qx Series. This product range offers the hybrid IP/SDI
measurement and test tools required to move to the next generation of video formats. The top of the range Qx IP now offers SMPTE 2110 with PTP and 2022-6 support.
Streaming A prominent area of the show will be the manufacturers' innovations in streaming technologies. As part of its commitment to the AV1 codec, Bitmovin will use this edition of NAB to boost its use. Visitors to the stand will be able to see an end-to-end workflow AV1 in action.
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The AV1 codec has been designed to send OTT content and is supported by giants such as Netflix, Google or Amazon. Its implementation is a threat to its rival, the HEVC codec, which, according to its creators, is 30% more efficient. It will measure its strength at this NAB.
LiveU will take advantage of the show to promote its LU600 portable transmission solution, one of the smallest cellular bonding units on the market.
LiveU will take advantage of the show to promote its LU600 portable transmission solution, one of the smallest cellular bonding units on the market. Combined with the 4K HEVC Pro Card, this solution allows journalists and content creators to stream their videos live. The LiveU Solo device also makes it
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TVU Networks and Panasonic will offer two new integrated solutions at this NAB
easy to post live content to social networks such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. AVIWEST will unveil its new encoder and transmitter for cellular networks with HEVC Premium encoding. We refer to the PRO3 Series, its fourth generation of uplink portable video systems, designed for live video producers and press professionals. TMBi - 32
The event will also be the setting for new alliances, such as the one signed by TVU Networks and Panasonic. Both companies will offer two new integrated solutions at this NAB. On the one hand, they will present the combination of Panasonic's P2 camcorders with TVU Transceivers and TVU Grid. And on the other, they will announce the partnership between the PTZ cameras with TVU
Vista, which will let you perform streaming, management and control tasks for the PTZ, based on IP and from remote locations. The new Panasonic/TVU ecosystem will be on display at both manufacturers' stands. The famous acquisition of SAM by Belden is worth mentioning here. Grass Valley, of the Belden brand, will bring the new catalogue of solutions of
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The famous acquisition of SAM by Belden is worth mentioning here. Grass Valley, of the Belden brand, will bring the new catalogue of solutions of the newly created combined company.
the newly created combined company. Grass Valley President Tim Shoulders rules out further acquisitions for the time being: “We have no
plans to announce any additional acquisitions at NAB or in the near future. Our focus right now is to complete our product and solution integration
strategy and deliver a superior level of service to our customers. While there has been some speculation about further consolidation in the market, it is not currently a focus for Grass Valley.� Another Belden Group company, Thinklogical, will unveil a new all-inone solution for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) architectures. The TLX Client Integration
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Cantemo will present its new hybrid-cloud content management platform, iconik.
module is a virtual machine processor combined with a highperformance keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) extender, eliminating the need for a separate client device in VDI implementations. The system can be installed in point-to-point applications or implemented in conjunction with a Thinklogical matrix switch, enabling connectivity between multiple sources and user destinations for enhanced productivity and collaborative workflows. TMBi - 34
Artificial Intelligence Artificial technology (and its use in the most varied of fields) is perhaps the most interesting technological topic of the moment. Its wide range of applications within our industry will be evident during this NAB, following the advances made by many manufacturers. Mobile Viewpoint is an example. The company will present its visitors with three new products
that use Artificial Intelligence to automate low-cost content submissions from remote locations, and improve the efficiency of content indexing, storage and search. The company will provide further details on these developments during the event. “Artificial intelligence will bring new and exciting capabilities to the next generation of content solutions�, says Michel Bais, CEO at Mobile Viewpoint.
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Cantemo will present its new hybrid-cloud content management platform, iconik. The solution uses Artificial Video Intelligence to automatically tag content after ingestion, and it even recognises objects. Because it is cloud-based, iconik is continually developing, with recent updates improving the Video Intelligence workflow and image analysis. The platform now
Artificial technology (and its use in the most varied of fields) is perhaps the most interesting technological topic of the moment. Its wide range of applications within our industry will be evident during this NAB, following the advances made by many manufacturers. uses AWS Rekognition and Cloud Video Intelligence from Google.
In the sports productions section, the company Tedial will present
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SMARTLIVE, a pioneering solution that uses Artificial Intelligence tools to increase the amount of information automatically created about an event (players file, calendars, records). This platform increases the usefulness of MAM GUI interfaces, bringing content management closer to live production.
VR/AR Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are making their way through our industry, although some companies in the industry feel that their customers are still thinking about how to make the most of these technologies.
making their way through our industry, although some companies in the industry feel that their customers are still thinking about how to make the most of these technologies. For example,
SGO will be showcasing the latest version of its Mistika VR stitching software
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Kevin Collins, President of the audiovisual integrator Diversified, an exhibitor at the show, admitted in a recent interview with TM Broadcast that "today VR technology is only just starting to mature. We feel
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Sennheiser will bring its full portfolio of audio production tools to NAB, including new microphone and headset solutions.
customers are still trying to figure out how to use it best.” Even so, there is every indication that these technologies will do no more than expand their presence in the future. At this NAB, many companies will demonstrate their progress in this respect. The manufacturer MOG will present, among other novelties, its Media Solutions Factory, which facilitates the creation of a complete virtual AR production studio by integrating all the required components (such as lights, cameras,
tracking systems, chroma keyer, video rendering). Using a video graphics engine with support for all the main rendering/graphics features can be adapted to Green Screen or LED video-wall and floor technologies. Shotoku will also offer NAB SmartPedVR attendees the VR/ARenabled version of its SmartPed pedestal, which combines VR tracking capabilities with robotic pedestal functionality so that it can be used in VR/AR environments. “NAB will see the first official
demonstrations of SmartPedVR at an American industry event”, highlighted James Eddershaw, managing director at Shotoku UK. SGO will be showcasing the latest version of its Mistika VR stitching software, which includes more than 20 new features to improve VR 360 post-production workflows. The company will offer public demos to demonstrate these improvements during every day of the fair. Sennheiser and Neumann will bring their full portfolio of audio TMBi - 37
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Enco will use the show to present the second generation of WebDAD, its cloud-based remote control solution for studio workflows.
production tools to NAB, including new microphone and headset solutions. The companies’ stand will show audio solutions for mobile journalism, newsgathering, film productions, studio work and monitoring, in addition to presenting the AMBEO range of products for VR and AR productions. stYpe will showcase TMBi - 38
RedSpy, an infrared AR/VR camera tracking system suitable for indoor operation that can be used on Steadicam, pedestals and cranes. This product has already won over some of the world’s biggest broadcasting houses like Fox Sports, BBC, TF1, United, ETS Finland and TV Azteca Mexico.
HTML5 ENCO is another company with an obligatory presence at NAB. The company will use the show to present the second generation of WebDAD, its cloud-based remote control solution for studio workflows. The platform has been completely redesigned
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and optimised through an HTML5 architecture. The open and flexible nature of HTML5 programming allows professionals to move beyond being limited to specific web browsers, enabling them to undertake full native control from any workstation or mobile device. Ken Frommert, President at ENCO, details what this development entails: “WebDAD has introduced the ability to manage and drive on-air presentation, playlist manipulation,
voice tracking, and other critical production tasks across the end-to-end workflow. With our HTML5-based re-design, WebDAD gives broadcasters and production teams a direct line to DAD and complete control of the one-air interface over IP via any standard web browser.�
professional to edit videos and prepare them for broadcast from a single platform, without the need for another non-linear editing (NLE) system. Among the new features of Wedit, we highlight its voiceover capability, which allows users to record voiceover tracks directly to the timeline.
VSN will bring the latest developments in its Media Asset Management (MAM) software, VSNExplorer, to NAB. The solution includes the web-based editing tool developed in HTML5 Wedit, which allows the
ChyronHego will focus its exhibition on teaching attendees the latest updates on each component of Camio Universe, its end-to-end ecosystem for crossplatform content delivery.
VSN will bring the latest developments in its Media Asset Management (MAM) software, VSNExplorer, to NAB.
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NAB Show Preview
The centrepiece of its stand will be CAMIO 4.4, which includes new features to publish content directly to social networks from the newsroom. Thanks to LUCI5, the new HTML5based LUCI plug-in, producers can browse, create and sort CAMIO's images and videos without having to leave their newsroom computer systems. “We're seeing broadcast customers on all continents head down the migration path to IT-based operations powered by solutions such as the CAMIO Universe for News Production”, points out CEO de ChyronHego, Marco Lopez. The market trend towards software solutions is evident in the latest innovations developed by Jünger Audio. The manufacturer will launch NAB AIXpressor, an audio processing platform that, unlike its predecessors, acts as a hardware foundation for softwaredefined products. Thanks to this, professionals are TMBi - 40
ChyronHego will focus its exhibition on teaching attendees the latest updates on each component of Camio Universe, its end-to-end ecosystem for cross-platform content delivery.
free to choose the most suitable products for their installations and projects through the purchase of software licences.
Spectrum Repack The event will also be the setting for a conversation on one of the most relevant challenges for the US industry, the Spectrum Repack. This reassignment of channels will affect 987 television stations. The first station moves will begin in November 2018, so companies are preparing
for this transition. Of these 987, Dielectric has drawn up initial technical proposals for 917 stations concerned. It will bring its latest VHF and UHF TV antennas to the show, which are capable of covering power levels from 1kW to 240 kW. So far, 300 orders for repack antennas have been placed.
More news of interest We can mention a few more things that we
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consider very interesting. PROVYS will focus its attention primarily on demonstrating its ability to support the operations of sports channels such as BT Sport. The company plans to organise a seminar on this topic to explain how to plan live matches, detailing all aspects of this type of production. RTW will present, as a novelty, its new TouchMonitors TM3 Smart and TM3-3G Smart, in addition to its well-known TM7/TM9 TouchMonitors. "RTW created these very flexible and fully functional Smart versions of the TouchMonitors for our customers so that they don't have to worry about the additional cost of licences", explained its CEO, Andreas Tweitmann. Wisycom will take advantage of the event to announce the launch of Wisycom USA, which was born with the aim of offering support to the company's customer base in the country, Canada and Puerto Rico. Veteran Jim Dugan will head this
new subsidiary. Wisycom USA will showcase some of its leading innovations for the first time in the United States. The NAB will also be an excellent opportunity to get to know Red Bee Media's catalogue of products, the former Broadcast division of Ericsson, currently an independent unit within the brand. The firm will focus on showcasing its Access Services, with new developments in ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition) and Content Discovery. SYES will be exhibiting its multiple standard wide band ultra-high efficiency
broadcasting TV, DAB and FM transmitters. Focusrite Pro will also be launching the new RedNet X2P and Red 16Line products at NAB. RedNet X2P is a portable 2x2 Dante audio interface featuring two Red Evolution mic pres, stereo line out and a stereo headphone amplifier, and Red 16Line is a 64-in/64out Pro Tools | HD and dual Thunderbolt 3 audio interface with ultra-low latency A-D/D-A conversion, Red Evolution mic preamps, up to 121dB dynamic range, ultra-low round-trip latency, and expansion over Ethernet for networked audio.
RTW will present, as a novelty, its new TouchMonitors TM3 Smart and TM3-3G Smart, in addition to its well-known TM7/TM9 TouchMonitors.
TMBi - 41
Technology
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Technology
5G NEW RADIO By Yeray Alfageme
The latest Winter Games have marked the first great milestone of the 5G. There, in PyeongChang (South Korea), the first trials with this technology were carried out. We can’t forget that we are referring to a technology 10 times faster than its predecessor, 4G, and that it has the coordinated financial support of the European Union, China, the United States, Japan or South Korea. Yeray Alfageme, a widely renowned broadcast engineer from Olympic Broadcasting Services, participated in these tests. In this article, he tells us the main conclusions he got from this experience.
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Technology
The new standard that promises to provide faster mobile broadband access will be 5G New Radio (NR). It is expected to be ten times faster than 4G. The European Union is participating in its development with a research project funded through Horizon 2020 and the 5G Public-Private Partnership, in cooperation with China, USA, Canada, the United States, Japan and South Korea. The first tests took place at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang (Korea). This standard provides a faster access rate capable of responding to the huge increase in mobile data
This standard provides a faster access rate capable of responding to the huge increase in mobile data traffic at an affordable cost. TMBi - 44
The European Union has very high expectations of the potential of 5G as a transformer of industries and a generator of growth opportunities and new jobs. traffic at an affordable cost. Spaces such as stadiums, trains or airplanes, where large numbers of people gather, will be able to offer Internet access without interruption.
The transforming potential of 5G The technology of the new NR (New Radio) standard will also be an important step in the economy, as it has the potential to transform economic sectors. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), an organisation that develops standards for mobile communications, has approved the first specifications of this standard. The European Commission has encouraged this
organisation to address strategic cases of forwardlooking use of 5G in the next versions of the standard. The European Union has very high expectations of the potential of 5G as a transformer of industries and a generator of growth opportunities and new jobs. The Commission believes that it will improve access to digital skills and change the way people work. Its benefits will result in safer mobility, cheaper energy and better health services. The Commission hopes that the next versions of the standard will be ready this summer and will address new use cases. The 5G Public-Private Partnership already has â‚Ź700 million, and the European Commission plans to mobilise a further
Technology
â‚Ź200 million from the Horizon 2020 programme for the next trial calls. 5G will mean a ten-time reduction of the cost per gigabyte compared to 4G
5G at the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games There are high expectations for 5G as technology moves from experimentation to commercialisation, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has also taken a leading role here, so it may well be the first 5G live streaming video application.
TMBi - 45
Technology
Small 4K fixed cameras have been installed in the front of the Olympic Bobsleigh (some with fake modules of the same weight and profile) to provide an extraordinary fisheye view that will be instilled in live production. Although the cameras record in 4K, the transmission output will be HD. “These real-time links are only possible thanks to the low latency (almost zero) of 5G," explains Sotiris Salamouris, CTO of Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS). "This is a critical test of the value of 5G technology not only for distribution to mobile devices but also for contribution links. We are very interested in further exploring the use of 5G more with a view to replace traditional RF contribution solutions than content distribution." KT (Korea Telecom) has installed the 5G network over which these signals are transmitted with base stations around the bobsleigh rink and at other Winter Games TMBi - 46
venues, including Gangneung Olympic Park, home to ice sports such as skating and hockey.
Intel as the newest Olympic contributor Also, the partnership with Olympic sponsor Intel has revealed other 5G applications within these games. Although not part of the host broadcaster's broadcast, OBS, and only viewers in areas using 5Gready mobile devices can watch it, these tests include temporary views of moving skaters and the ability to track competitors on the Olympic Cross Country course with the ability to select different viewpoints in real time. Intel has used PyeongChang as a test site for Olympic athletes, who are prolific when it comes to social networking, like their subjects to see how well our devices work with the latest high-speed connections.
“The 5G Experiment" has quietly made PyeongChang the fastest wireless location on Earth. Over the past few weeks, everything from phones to drones in PyeongChang has been faster than ever with a goal of global coverage after the Olympic Games. “The demand is enormous," said Aicha Evans, who is leading the experiment for Intel. “You
Technology
to be following your favourite athletes or countries on the social networks and, while you're at it, to be in one of the Olympic cars without a driver. “We'll have a 5G selfcontained driving test site," Evans said. Indeed, the cars have been autonomous and based on 5G technology in PyeongChang also. With everything from 5G distribution networks for mobile devices, to special and miniaturised cameras contributing to the powerful KT Telecom network, enriching the broadcast of the games that OBS offered us, to Intel’s 5G experiments, to autonomous electric cars circulating on the streets of the Olympic city, PyeongChang has become a leader in technology and, particularly, in 5G, over the past few weeks. can use 5G, implement it and see how it behaves in a real environment”.
the United States and then to the whole world in 2020," Evans said.
“We want to take 5G to
For now, it's great news
The results couldn't be more positive, so it won't take long for all these advances to be applied in our daily lives. TMBi - 47
We try
Eolementhe The mint cloud
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Eolementhe
A professional online audiovisual processing platform Lab conducted by Carlos Lapuente
The advent of the 21st century and the increase in bandwidth of conventional Internet access networks brought with it the resurgence of data storage on the Cloud. Data storage on distributed Internet servers had already been devised in the 1960s, but due to the shortcomings of the networks back then and their low transmission speed, their implementation was not profitable. Companies offering cloud storage services or Big Data calculations did not begin to flourish and make their computer, server and disc cabinets available to businesses or regular users at affordable prices until 2006. This gave way to the concept of cloud computing that allowed the rental of online services of virtual
computers where users were wholly abstracted from the hardware but had the power of an entire hive of mega-computers working for him or her with a simple port device and Internet access. Since then, companies such as Amazon (AWS), Microsoft (Azure) and Google (Google Cloud PlatForm) have been joining the race as spearheads offering the most powerful and reliable services. Thanks to this computing paradigm, companies and users who hire them can make the most of all the advantages they offer, since, among other things, it allows them to save on costs; they do not have to think about renewing or extending their equipment, updating software licences; they are billed TMBi - 49
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 TEST AREA
Features
only for the services they use, do not need personnel to carry out maintenance and do not need spaces with enormous electrical or refrigeration with the cost that they come with, etc. They are easy to use, give you peace of mind and are scalable, as they are elastic services that adapt to peak workloads by automatically distributing machines and calculation processes. Nowadays, this wonderful and growing sector continues to bring new services and products to make life easier for the basic user and allow us to be technologically up to date. We would like to talk to you about a new product that TMBi - 50
has reached our laboratory. It is Eolementhe, an online multimedia workflow platform brought by Videomenthe. Videomenthe, a French start-up created in 2008 and based in Montpellier, is a software publisher and distributor specialising in multimedia file workflow solutions, including IP file transfers, transcoding farms, quality control farms for professional audiovisual files and audio volume. With a staff of under ten people, Videomenthe has created an entire range of value-added professional solutions designed to be simple, scalable and affordable for users to ensure the
Eolementhe
continuity of their workflows. Among them is the one we are about to present to you, Eolementhe.
LET' S GET TO KNOW THE SYSTEM For this laboratory, we had an online demo access to Eolementhe, which Videomenthe kindly provided us. Our access basically consisted of an online cloud computing platform with a package of integrated tools to ingest, process, control and deliver multimedia files. Although
Based on the SaaS (Software as a Service) distribution model, Eolementhe offers multi-vendor tools to cover a series of simultaneous video and audio file workflows in a very simple to use interface Eolementhe is not only a cloud solution, it also exists in Standalone and Hybrid SaaS modes. Based on the SaaS(Software as a Service) distribution model, Eolementhe offers multi-vendor tools to cover a series of simultaneous video and audio file workflows in a
very simple to use interface. Eolementhe is the solution for automated processing of multimedia files designed for all audiovisual professionals, be they producers, broadcasters, journalists, post-production departments, etc. It has been created for all professionals in the
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audiovisual sector, regardless of their technical profiles. You can create your workflow simply by dragging and dropping files, and you can also save and share it with other users. Eolementhe allows you to customise your working environment to suit your needs.
standard Amazon S3, Azure or OpenStack object storage or through files already in the user's cloud account (Orange BS). In Premium mode, you can use the Signiant or Aspera protocols that provides a higher loading speed. You can also retrieve or ingest a video stream from the Internet.
Media files are stored on the OBS 'FE' cloud, on Amazon S3 or Microsoft Server, and you can configure the uploading options so that objects are stored on these 3 same services.
TRANSCODING
Among the different tools that can be used, we have the following - Ingest: Fast and secure transfer of video files. - Transcoding. - Quality control. - Volume correction and analysis. - Subtitles. - Dictation to text. - etc. INGEST MODES In standard mode, you can ingest multimedia files via HTTPS into TMBi - 52
There is a variety of tools to transcode your video files, ranging from WFS
Carbon and Harmonic's Xpress, KFE HEVC 4K from French broadcast company Ateme and other professional transcoders, such as Cambria FTC from Capella Systems. QUALITY CONTROL The first level of quality control is performed automatically when ingesting, but the Interra Systems Baton tool is what monitors the quality of video and audio files. Most containers and codecs
Eolementhe
available on the market are available and include DPX and continuous transmission. SONORITY Minnetonka's popular audio processing solution integrates with AudioTools to analyse and correct audio volume. You can enable this feature on the Harmonic WFS Carbon Node. DELIVERY You can choose between
manual or automated delivery mode for files processed in Eolementhe. Just by adding e-mail addresses, your recipients will receive an e-mail link where they can download the files they are interested in. This process is secure and quick thanks to Signiant technology, although you can also, as we mentioned earlier, deliver content on other object storage platforms, such as Amazon (AWS),
Microsoft Azure or OpenStack. But this is not all, it also allows deliveries to be made with a custom API to an FTP, a YouTube channel or through IBM's Aspera client. Besides, there are more options under ‘File Lib’, offering key features to manage, enrich a video, then collaborate to get a final and correct version of this video.
FIELD TESTS As soon as you log on to the Eolementhe platform with your credentials, you will see a desktop with very relaxing appearance, reminiscent of a clear sky or the bottom of a pond in summer crossed by a sunbeam. An idyllic and relaxing place, perfect for a future stressed user, which seem to be common in the audiovisual media, post-production, journalists, or content producer departments. We see that it stands out for its simplicity and for being very intuitive, as the tools are visible. TMBi - 53
 TEST AREA
First, you see the "New workflow" option come up on the screen, as well as the primitive ingest option with its configuration options. An arrow next to it offers the possibility of adding the following options. Each process works by adding options or 'cubes' that are nothing more than successive processes generated automatically by the platform before delivering the final release or delivery. You can configure the corresponding settings for each processing or workflow. Everything is very visual and simple. Let's start with the ingestion. It allows you, through a cloud icon, to choose the video files you want to ingest. In our facilities, we have a 2 TB disc space on a distributed server with different multimedia material to carry out the tests. We have three folders of video files, two of them with RTB or Ready-toBroadcast files. In the first folder, we have low-resolution files TMBi - 54
Each process works by adding options or 'cubes' that are nothing more than successive processes generated automatically by the platform before delivering the final release or delivery. You can configure the corresponding settings for each processing or workflow. Everything is very visual and simple.
Eolementhe
Then we must choose whether we want to process the file to be ingested. By clicking on the '+' symbol, we can choose from among these options: - Delivery Methods: Allows you to select how you would like to deliver the files to the recipients of the production chain. - Quality control: Allows you to select the quality control criteria for your video files. - Transcoding: Allows you to select the desired type of transcoding.
to be published on our corporate website. In the second folder, we have large high-resolution (HD) RTB files encoded in Apple ProRes 422 HQ and Avid DNxHD. In the third folder, we have files provided by our Viewing department that we know have some audio or video problems such as drops, clicks, volume problems, MoirĂŠ effect, etc.
Next, we select the test files we want. As easy as "drag and drop". In our case, we started with lowresolution files. From the options available, we can select whether we want to mark the ingestion as priority or not. Next, we can select between the different possible storage options: standard on the cloud (Orange), from previously uploaded files (if any), Internet videos, FTP, Aspera, Facebook or Twitter.
- Correction and Volume Analysis: Allows you to check, adjust and normalise the overall volume of the video file. - Automation and editing of metadata. - Pause the job: Requesting a pause in the processed video lets you continue working on it later and automatically inform other parties in the production chain. - Dictation to text: Allows you to select the subtitle languages and format. TMBi - 55
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- Subtitles: Allows you to select the subtitle format of the subtitles. - Workflow sharing: Allows sharing workflows with users in the production chain. - Graphics engine: Allows you to set graphical engine parameters. - Antivirus: Scans the files to be uploaded with ClamAV open source antivirus ensuring the absence of viruses and other malware. - Video Clippings: Allows extracting clips from a master video simply by writing the TC in and the TC out. We are not going to explain all the options in detail, but we are going to review some of the most important ones. Let's start with a typical example with 4-process ingestion. In this case, we added the Metadata, Quality Control, Transcoding and Delivery processes to the ingest. We then marked the ingest as priority, chose the destination folder "Tests1" and the video files we wanted to process. TMBi - 56
Next, we chose the Metadata model 1 and the.XML and.TXT file format. This step was to request, at the end of the ingest, that a file be generated with the metadata of the video files that will be used to extract and make queries with the data obtained.
Next, in Quality Control, we selected the BATON type with our settings and a PDF generation. This will help us monitor quality and know what problems the video files came with from origin. Here, you can see if the transfer rate is correct, if the resolution is as requested, if the
Eolementhe
or chose the e-mail accounts of the users who should receive information regarding this ingest. Once the different options have been chosen, click on 'Run Workflow' button and... VoilĂ ! The video files are ingested, and the different tasks are processed in a matter of seconds. The emails arrive at their destination with a link to the content. Once the process has finished, you can, as I mentioned earlier, obtain quality control reports to be reviewed manually or automatically.
compression and decs are as desired or if there is any problem with bars or pillars (such as letterbox). Later, in the Transcoding phase, you can choose between the FFmpeg, Harmonic WFS, Rewrapp AS10, Titan or Cambria options, as well as the type of Workflow (XDCAM,
J2K, X264, X265....). Finally, we chose the type of delivery to be made. You can select between different locations: Manual, in object storage in AWS, Azure or OpenStack, FTP export, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Aspera. We also inserted
The Videomenthe team is at the disposal of companies and users for special requirements. In our case, they generated a quality control plan tailored to our needs, and all we did was send them several test RTB video files. On the other hand, if you can ask your system administrator or IT team (or do it yourselves) to open the UDP port 49221 of your firewall, you will TMBi - 57
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be able to use Eolementhe's Premium option, which lets you upload videos to the Videomenthe servers at the maximum upload speed, thanks to the use of Signiant, which uses this port. Another interesting fact is that the interface is translated into several languages, for the time being, into French, English and Spanish. In short, the platform worked smoothly, without breaks or problems and without hanging or freezing when it came to making the different ingests and transcodings. It has responded perfectly to the different stress tests we carried out, working in our workflow. Unfortunately, we have
not been able to use all the features of the Premium version due to the limitations, and the initial server space has been a discreet 50 GB.
WHAT COULD WE BE MISSING? Eolementhe's platform may sometimes come across as being too minimalist because it offers us few visible options on the screen, but its simplicity becomes the most important feature in the end. Perhaps when it comes to configuring the settings in the audio correction process, there is a slight lack of user control. For standard use, Eolementhe will require us to have a generous
Eolementhe combines simplicity, flexibility and responsiveness, and its easy-to-use interface promotes intuitive workflow design for automated multimedia file processing, making it easy to deliver across all platforms. TMBi - 58
Internet bandwidth of at least 100 Mbps, as professional highdefinition video files are usually quite heavy (a few tens of GB) and with a connection of this type, we would be able to upload at least 1 GB of video every 2 minutes or so.
CONCLUSIONS We come across an 'allin-one' platform that provides us with a platform for professional audiovisual archiving workflow. Eolementhe combines simplicity, flexibility and responsiveness, and its easy-to-use interface promotes intuitive workflow design for automated multimedia file processing, making it easy to deliver across all platforms. The simple and user-friendly interface facilitates the creation, exchange and reception of multimedia content, including Ready-toBroadcast files. Among other concepts already explained above,
Eolementhe
we can highlight the following: - One-click project. Backup and redundancy. - Absorption of activity peaks (e.g., dates, events, etc.). - Disaster Recovery. - Timely file processing. - Cost flexibility. - Overflow management. - Little investment in hardware/software. - Creation and management of corporate workflows. - File sharing between collaborators and partners. - Access workflows from a smartphone and process files. With all this, we can affirm that the “mint leaves” brand (menthe in French means mint) brings freshness to the cloud and takes away the not-so-nice after-taste of the problems arising in the workflows of centres operating in local mode used by many media
production companies, post-production, TV stations, etc. that do not have many of these features. It is a true and competent integrated ingest system that will facilitate all the operations described above, all integrated on a single software through a web (SaaS), with the most popular professional transcoding options and with the simplicity of use through our smartphone or a simple laptop. A platform to be considered for future integrations in our professional video workflow. It should be noted that France 24 uses Eolementhe to streamline the choice of solutions and encoding options used for instance. If you want to try the
free trial version, get more information or get a personalised evaluation of the different solutions it offers, I recommend you contact Videomenthe and visit their website at http://Videomenthe.fr/en/s aas-eolementhe.html. You can also find presentations of the platform or view straightforward tutorials on YouTube: https://goo.gl/j2fKVa. Thanks to Muriel Le Bellac, CEO of Videomenthe, as well as to her Head of Communication Christie Araboux and Bertrand Coutré, Project Manager, for the welcome, support and for letting us use the demo access to the web platform, as well as to IB3 TV for the lending us its installations and technical equipment to perform this laboratory. TMBi - 59
We try
MULTICAM Radio,
Studio
“Watch the Radio”, all-in-one” Lab testing performed by Pablo Martínez and Carlos Lapuente
We have been immersed in the need to give "vision" to our radio stations for some time now. It is inevitably becoming an imperative necessity in this market marked by interaction with social networks and the creation of instant audiovisual content. There are numerous radio channels including IB3 Radio due to my professional proximity- that need to expand and take the leap of faith to the field of vision, generating live or recorded content with their own resources within the radio studios themselves. This implies the need to provide video capture and processing elements, linked within radio systems, for the creation of "audiovisual programmes", either to broadcast live on their respective television channels or to stream on the different social platforms we all know. TMBi - 60
MULTICAM Radio
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The conditioning factors of most radio studios force us to implement PTZ camera systems, due mainly to space limitations and the financial impossibility, in most cases, of having camera operators. Integrating this type of cameras allows us to perform a non-invasive intervention within the radio studio itself, occupying minimum space yet without losing the image and sound quality that we are looking for in this type of live performances or recordings. Technical and productive studies of the programme(s) need to be done to make the most of this installation. We have many examples in this globalised world, with more or less technical means and excellent broadcasting quality. This is what we can call "Watch the Radio". The technical complexity of these processes involves the intervention of technical personnel trained in the domain of TMBi - 62
MultiCam Radio Scene Preview.
various systems not to mention the costs involved in their implementation and operation process. Nowadays, there are several products on the market that allow the automation of these more or less reliable processes; an important development market to be considered.
In this laboratory, we will be analysing the system created by MULTICAM systems. MULTICAM systems is a company of French origin, created in 2010 to provide solutions for this niche market. Among other things, we will be focusing on the solution inside the
MULTICAM Radio
facing a fascinating challenge on a productive level. We will have a complete production system interacting with the audience in social networks, content management, titling and effects. One of the great strengths of the system is the so-called "AI", a complete system that allows us a "Full-Auto" configuration without the need for additional system operation.
LET' S GET TO KNOW THE SYSTEM
MULTICAM container, Radio and Studio. We want to offer you an overview of the system and how it works. We also want to talk about the particularities and added values that this development provides us, both for the use in radio studios and for diverse
environments, where an event capture system is needed, all on PTZ cameras remotely controlled from the MultiCam systems equipment itself. As we will see, we are not only talking about a video switcher and a couple of cameras; we are
We had a demo system for this laboratory, which was not provided by MultiCam systems. It consisted of a 19" rack server and 3UR with 4 SDI inputs (each input is associated with a control port of the PTZ cameras), a programme output in SDI/HDMI, 4 analogue audio inputs and one AES audio input, a touchscreen screen, a configurable camera control joystick and two Lumens PTZ cameras with all the TMBi - 63
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cabling required for installation. The connecting cable between the PTZ cameras and the server is a multipair cable with a BNC connector, but it also has a RJ45 network cable and a five-pin XLR connector that provides power from the server point. There is no need for a physical power point at the location of the cameras, which makes it much easier to integrate into any studio by centralising the entire distribution of peripheral elements (TPZ power supply) into the server location. The physical connection between the different elements is perfectly identified in the server chassis, so there is no room for error when integrating the entire system on the server. I did not actually pay too much attention to the physical integration of the server. I checked the typical parameters of the accessible location of the different connectors, the correct cooling of the system and the firm TMBi - 64
integration of the different cards in the server. Everything adapted correctly with no further pretensions. The important thing is to start the system and check how MultiCam systems' proprietary software behaves. Getting down to business, and as I
MultiCam Radio ProgramLinker
mentioned earlier, we will be analysing the MULTICAM Radio software in its two aspects: FULLAUTO, SEMI-AUTO and MULTICAM Studio. The best way to start "messing around" with the system is to perform the implementation, configuration and start-up,
MULTICAM Radio
by yourself without depending on the technical support of the server, validating the manufacturer's promise that the system is easy to install and operate. After connecting all the physical elements and finding a place for the first contact, we started the server. The
first thing we saw was that it works on Windows as an OS. Our demo system had direct access to it on the desktop. I understand that the end user will no doubt have a routine to start the programme on the server. After, we accessed the programme and found the screen to access each
We can define the type of audio mixer that we want to connect to the server in the "console". MultiCam systems work with several manufacturers natively
application. We started with the "settings" icon to define the system settings. In our case, we configured the capture to 1080i 50 with two cameras and the destination of the live streaming that we were also going to do. We can configure all the necessary parameters on this menu, from licences to user management to communicate with the MULTICAM remotely, as well as the templates for our work area in the RADIO and STUDIO applications (we will see this in further detail in the field tests). TMBi - 65
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Among the options for RADIO and STUDIO applications, we have the following add-ons: TITLER: This is a module to create titles and graphic elements that we can integrate into our programme, as well as interact with social media such as Twitter. When working on the RADIO application, it allows us to display the metadata associated with a track of the server-compatible playout programmes. COMPOSER: This module lets us create PiP or PaP compositions of images among the different available sources. It is only available in the STUDIO and E-LEARNING applications. PUBLISHER: With this module, we can manage the videos we have recorded on the server and edit them (at a basic level) and publish them in different online content platforms. Once the work profile is created, we entered the RADIO application and selected the template of the project we want to TMBi - 66
ASSIST Tablet
work with. The system performed the hardware checks and adapted the set to the defined configuration. It then showed us the work screen where we can start to "Play" with the different options provided by the system. We configured the workspace with one of the predefined geometric shapes or an image of
ourselves. We placed the cameras and microphones associated with our working environment in the image. In the next tab "mics", we defined the roles of each micro, presenter, DJ, etc. We continued to define the preset, particularly, which microphone will be associated with which camera and what shot we
MULTICAM Radio
will get from each camera (we can define several shots, medium, short, American, etc.). Each microphone can be covered by different cameras, and each defined shot can include a priority system depending on the active microphone. Depending on the manufacturer, the system allows storing up to 128
shots per camera. Once the camera shots were configured, and the microphone associations were made, we defined the type of audio mixer that we wanted to connect to the server in the "console". MultiCam systems work with several manufacturers natively. In our consultation, we were informed that they could
adapt the console system to the needs of each client. Once we defined the audio console and the micro gain level (limit in dB), we moved to the part that generates a great advance with respect to the other manufacturers of this type of servers integrated together: AI ", an artificial intelligence engine that automatically selects the predefined shot of each camera according to the activation of the microphones. We can adjust the delay in seconds in automatic video commutation. With the next step "programme", we defined the graphic scenes to show the permanent ones, for example, the "bug" of the TV channel or depending on the playout software, the defined scene. When working in FULL-AUTO format, the intervention of any technician during the execution of the programme is not necessary, as the system will manage the camera shots directly, switching them according to the TMBi - 67
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Pablo MartĂnez, our specialist, during the test.
times and shots defined for each microphone (Example of automatic production sequence: General shot (starting of the talk show), close up of the presenter (the presenter speaks), general shot (the presenter and the talk show guest speak), medium shot talk show guest 1 (talk show guest 1 speaks)...) Everything automatically! Within this automation process, another advantage is the possibility of interacting via social networks with TMBi - 68
the audience. The editor, the presenter or the designated person, may edit, select and insert live messages from Facebook and Twitter, among others, remotely from the application for Windows ASSIST, a free application developed by ARES Interactive Media that can be integrated into MULTICAM RADIO. We worked in manual mode on the MULTICAM Studio application. The start-up is similar to MULTICAM Radio. We had a working profile that we
created according to the needs of the event to perform. The system performed the hardware check and presented the working screen, depending on the cameras to be used (a maximum of 5 PTZ in SDI format and more if we choose the IP version that we were not able to test due to the configuration of the demo system). The application let us define up to 6 sequence settings per camera. We had the option of determining all the adjustments of colour, pan and tilt, among others
MULTICAM Radio
for each camera, with the support of the configurable joystick and pre-established sequence settings on the touchscreen control. It is relatively easy to manage the system, including inserting labels, transition curtains between events and integrating social networks, among others. This definition of the possibilities is only an initial contact with the server; it has many configuration parameters. You will not miss a thing,
not even specific applications. I think MULTICAM Radio and MULTICAM Studio give a sound, initial base to work with the rest of applications, which we will not speak about too much in this laboratory but which I want to list. They are the MULTICAM In Situ (developed for medical training and video debriefing purposes), MULTICAM Tracking and MULTICAM E-Learning (focused on the education sector, presentations,
master classes, etc..) and the MULTICAM CONF (focused on institutional events, plenary rooms, etc. in FULL-AUTO mode without the intervention of a permanent operator or SEMI-AUTO). In this first contact with the server, I wanted to highlight how easy it was to configure and use the system. In under 20 minutes, our demo server was fully operational, with projects created both in the MULTICAM RADIO and in the MULTICAM Studio.
MULTICAM Sectors
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This indicates a practically non-existent learning curve, something we must be grateful for within the broadcast market in which we usually move.
FIELD STUDY As we have said in the "Let's get to know the system" section, the first test consisted of creating an island, within a controlled environment, to be able to perform the first test. In this case, we started the MULTICAM Studio application, all in manual mode with the TMBi - 70
two cameras available in the demo equipment. We defined a workspace with three intervention positions, with the initial thought that the operation with three positions and two cameras could slow down the work of changing shots between the different positions. The audio was introduced by the analogue inputs of the server, and we adjusted the audio delay from the camera configuration (we have to match the delay that it generates, as in most PTZ cameras, by processing the video
signal, although in this case, the delay is minimal). We assigned manual white-balance adjustments to balance the two cameras as well as manual iris and focus with low auto sensitivity. We recorded 6 adjustment and position presets per camera (more than enough). We have the possibility of intervening on each camera with the joystick for possible finetuning (the joystick is configured simply and intuitively). We started with the simulation. The touch screen allowed us to
MULTICAM Radio
In this first contact with the server, I wanted to highlight how easy it was to configure and use the system interact efficiently with the layout of the MULTICAM Studio, mixing and operating it, including the insertion of labels, bugs and videos (with curtains between the different scenes) in a fast
and easy way (do not be fooled either, it is true that this operation, does require some previous knowledge and skill to handle all the changes, although, I still insist that the learning curve is almost non-existent). After a few hours on different days, I can ensure the ease and quality of the system met the requirements we had foreseen for this first test by far. As we have a manual video/audio production system in one of the radio
studios with three PTZ cameras in our facilities, it was logical to implement it (not in real time) relying on our cameras already mounted in the studios and replacing the manual system we installed with this server for h the MULTICAM Radio application in FULL-AUTO mode. We connected the three PTZ cameras (by Panasonic) that we have in the studio and work in HDSDI to the server. We configured this to work with this manufacturer (self-detection) and
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checked that it controlled all its parameters with no problem. The next challenge was to associate the audio with each position we defined within the studio. We decided to work with three microphones (our test was based on a sports programme), and this posed no problem whatsoever. It passed the test. With the whole system implemented, we generated a bug for
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broadcast, and we associated the management of the social networks for the publication of this live content using the ASSIST application for Windows (ARES Broadcast Control). We could not test the integration with the radio Playout to generate the automated lists of titles and videos, but this option is indeed possible with the different systems with which the manufacturer
has development agreements. We initiated the MULTICAM Radio FULL-AUTO system, and we pushed it to the backs of our minds. We reviewed all the transitions and authorisations from a monitor with the system PGM output, and the behaviour was perfect with the configuration parameters that we provided MULTICAM Radio to produce this event. It was fully
MULTICAM Radio
automated and inserted comments from social networks (control, management and authorisation) from a computer connected to the server network (we did this interaction ourselves, obviously!). Test passed with flying colours!!
WHAT WE COULD BE MISSING Depending on our needs, we would choose one or another MultiCam system application. As far as the MultiCam RADIO
application is concerned, the truth is that I did not find any significant errors. As for the MultiCam STUDIO application, I could have done with a "previewing" window of the signal to be shown on the programme, but this depends very much on how we work.
CONCLUSION We are dealing with an "All-in-One", a truly integrated system that will facilitate all the operations described above, all on a single
server with all the possible options. It has excellent automated behaviour, and it is definitely a piece of equipment to be considered in your future integrations. I recommend you visit the manufacturer's website for comprehensive information about the different solutions offered. Thanks to Jennifer from MultiCam systems for her kindness and for lending us the demo equipment, as well as to IB3 for letting us use its facilities to carry out this laboratory. TMBi - 73
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