TV Tech - 0462 - June 2021 by Future PLC

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I T ’ S A L L I N W H E AT N E T- I P

THE INTELLIGENT NETWORK

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SPORTS BETTING • CLOUD ADVANCES • RF INTERFERENCE ISSUES

What you can learn from a unicorn p. 6

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www.tvtech.com | June 2021

Progress Report Some advice from early deployers

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contents

June 2021 volumn 39, issue 6

The Rapidly Changing Face of Today’s News Sets Increased efficiencies, immersive VR sets help to produce more compelling content By Susan Ashworth

Media's Move to Cloud Masks Complexity

Vendors stress importance of IP management tools, services By Adrian Pennington

Is Sports Gambling a Sure Thing for Broadcasters?

Industry reaps benefits from increased viewer time, interaction By James Careless

Getting Ready for NextGen TV

As deployments ramp up, now is the time to prepare By James E. O’Neal

Making Use of Small Lights for Specificity

Advances in technology offer new options and expanded useage By Julia Swain

Offsetting Transmitter Frequency to Reduce Interference And the latest on my testing of the Hauppauge WinTV quadHD USB ATSC tuner By Doug Lung

editor's note

in the news

eye on tech

people Cover image: Courtesy of ATSC

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editor's note

Honoring a TV Visionary It’s hard to believe that we are now entering the fourth decade of high definition television. Over the past 25 years, along with the move to digital and now OTT, HDTV has had the biggest impact on how viewers watch (and make) television. A lot of the best minds in our industry played an important role in the development of HDTV and recently we saluted one of the most prominent individuals who just announced his retirement. Larry Thorpe began his career 60 years ago with the BBC. His career spanned a period of rapid development of cameras and related imaging technologies for both broadcast and film—from the RCA TK 47 all the way to Canon EOS digital cinema cameras. He holds 10 patents and has received numerous industry honors and awards, including the Charles F. Jenkins EMMY Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. I recently spoke with Larry and he was his usual humble self, acknowledging his many accomplishments while also honoring his colleagues who helped him along the way. He talked about his experience helping to develop the TK 47, the world's first fully automatic studio camera in the latter part of the 1970’s, his role in developing standards for HD as well as his work with Filmmaker George Lucas on development of Sony’s digital film camera, which was first used on the first batch of “Star Wars” sequels two decades ago. What surprised Larry the most over his six decade career? “There's always surprises, but one particular surprise is the durability of the 2/3-inch image format. I was at RCA when we gave birth to that image format, with a small pickup tube that later became CCDs. Forty years later it's still pretty well the center of the universe for live broadcasting, Larry Thorpe because you can make gigantic 100:1 zoom lenses in that small format and it's still reasonably sized, etc." From the BBC to RCA to Sony and for the last 15 years with Canon, Larry was among the few who were at the forefront of the most influential camera and lens developments in our industry. His impact on television and professional cameras will be felt for decades to come. I know I speak for my colleagues in saying that we will all miss Larry. For the more than two decades I’ve covered this industry, Larry has been among my “go-to” persons when I’ve had questions about cameras. Larry’s industry updates at the Canon press dinners at the NAB Show were the “must-see” events for those of us covering the industry (several years ago, Larry celebrated his 50th NAB). He was patient with those of us trying to keep up with the rapidly changing technologies as well as a trusted friend and confidant. His enthusiasm was infectious. Hopefully our paths will cross again, but either way, congratulations and best wishes from TV Tech on a long, healthy and well-deserved retirement! Tom Butts Content Director tom.butts@futurenet.com

A NEW FACE

George Winslow joins TV Tech! With this issue, we welcome a new colleague to the TV Tech family, someone who may also be a familiar face to many of you. George Winslow—who has written for our sister publications B&C and Multichannel News—is coming onboard as our new Senior Content Producer. George is stepping into the shoes of Michael Balderston who is moving to our sister online brand whattowatch.com. George is also the producer of our popular summits, which are expected to soon return to live and in person. Best wishes to Michael and welcome aboard George! Got a story idea? Email him at george.winslow@futurenet.com

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

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Vol. 39 No. 6 | June 2021 FOLLOW US

www.tvtech.com twitter.com/tvtechnology CONTENT VP/Global Editor-In-Chief Bill Gannon, william.gannon@futurenet.com Content Director Tom Butts, tom.butts@futurenet.com Content Manager Terry Scutt, terry.scutt@futurenet.com Content Producer Michael Balderston, michael.balderston@futurenet.com Contributors Gary Arlen, Susan Ashworth, James Careless, Gary Eskow, Steve Harvey, Craig Johnston, Bob Kovacs and Mark R. Smith Production Manager Heather Tatrow Managing Design Director Nicole Cobban Senior Design Directors Lisa McIntosh and Will Shum ADVERTISING SALES Director of Sales, Media Entertainment & Tech Laura Lubrano, laura.lubrano@futurenet.com SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE To subscribe, change your address, or check on your current account status, go to www.tvtechnology.com and click on About Us, email futureplc@computerfulfillment.com, call 888-266-5828, or write P.O. Box 8692, Lowell, MA 01853. LICENSING/REPRINTS/PERMISSIONS TV Technology is available for licensing. Contact the Licensing team to discuss partnership opportunities. Head of Print Licensing Rachel Shaw licensing@futurenet.com MANAGEMENT Senior Vice President, B2B Rick Stamberger Chief Revenue Officer Mike Peralta Head of Production US & UK Mark Constance Head of Design Rodney Dive FUTURE US, INC. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10036

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in the news OPINION

What You Can Learn From a Unicorn Don’t laugh; they exist near the foothills of the Rockies

Local TV Saw Increased Employment, Boosted Salaries in 2020 WASHINGTON—Local TV news ended 2020 with both a record high in employment and increased salaries, according to a survey by RTDNA. However, 2021 has already seen some of those gains erased. A total 500 jobs were added to local TV news in 2020, more than making up for the 300 jobs lost in 2019. This brings the total full-time jobs in local TV news to 28,000, beating out the previous high set in 2009. However, more stations (30.2%) did report cutting jobs in 2020 than adding them (22.9%). Staffing was up across most market sizes, regions and networks, and digital and solo journalists positions were among the biggest gainers. Salaries also saw an uptick after a down 2019, increasing by an average of 3.5% (2.1% after accounting for inflation), which was the largest increase since 2016, per RTDNA. Despite all this, the start of 2021 has been rough. RTDNA reports that more than 400 jobs were lost through March. y Michael Balderston

NAB Doubts Streamers Can Provide EAS Alerts Reliably WASHINGTON—While acknowledging the benefits that would likely stem from expanding access to EAS alerts via internet services, including streaming platforms, NAB does not believe that an expansion is currently possible. In comments to the FCC in response to the proposed expansion for EAS alerts to internet, NAB believes there are two main obstacles for pure-play online streamers to participate in the existing EAS ecosystem—the fact that streamers lack the infrastructure and local presence needed to send out EAS alerts and geo-targeting technology needed for EAS alerts does not currently exist, making it “virtually impossi-

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com

The unicorns at Denver7 are ou might think unicorns emblematic of the qualities are mythical creatures, broadcasters must possess to but if you know where thrive during today’s seismic to look, you’re bound to shifts in the media landscape. find one. And after a recent virtual Like these unicorns, broadcasters conference, I can guarantee you must leverage existing skills in it’s well worth the effort. new and unique ways to meet A good place to start the search today’s challenges. is at Denver7, the E.W. Scripps You need look no further than Company’s KMGH ABC-affiliate Denver7, which not only offers serving the Mile High City. Phil Kurz the 24/7 linear news channel as Dean Littleton, vice president an OTT stream, but also a similarly strucand general manager of Denver7-KMGH, had tured 24/7 weather OTT channel, a linear a lot to say about unicorns during a weekly OTT channel of Scripps-produced shows Zoom conference in mid-May put on by the like “Court TV” and “Right This Minute” and Oconsortium. another called the “Zen Stream,” featuring “…[W]e hired a number of what we refer to user-generated content. as ‘unicorns’,” said Littleton. “These are peoThen, for good measure the broadcaster reple who can run the presets on the [NewTek] spins all of the content from these linear OTT TriCaster; they can be on camera, and they channels as VOD offerings. can write.” Not only do the free ad-supported OTT channels generate revenue, but equally as important they track the changing habits of viewers, who in droves are subscribing to OTT services like Amazon Prime and Netflix. It’s also worth noting the availability of the OTT channels strengthens the broadcaster’s OTA position. For instance, the OTT news channel feeds Denver7’s 1 p.m. newscast over the air, said Littleton. While being “a tough position to hire for” Further, the availability of the stream means in Littleton’s words, these unicorns are a critLittleton can spin up a new 24/7 OTA local ical part of the station’s larger OTT strategy, news channel whenever needed or desired. which has seen the launch of a streaming With IP-based NextGen TV rolling out 24/7 local news channel that operates on the around the nation—70-plus percent of the na“news wheel” concept with frequent break-ins tion is expected to be covered by year’s end— for live breaking news. it might make sense for other broadcasters Littleton likens the unicorns to radio DJs to get serious about similar OTT streaming who can run the board, go on-air and write channels that can be easily simulcast over the their own stories—skills and a propensity air via 3.0 when available. towards flexibility not typically found in Learning a lesson or two from a unicorn a single person. That makes finding these might make it easier to find the pot of gold at unicorns about as tough as tracking down the the end of that rainbow. l mythical creatures.

in the news ble.” NAB says that this debate over expanding EAS to the internet is similar to the previous consideration of requiring EAS obligations to DBS providers, when the FCC recognized the technical difficulties that would require.

cut more than one type of service. A quarter of respondents want to get their monthly TV spending down to around $50 per month. y Michael Balderston

2021 NAB Show Registration Now Open

OTT companies told thethe FCC that while delivering potentially life-saving emergency alert information to the public is of "paramount importance," they don;t think their streaming services should have to participate in the EAS system because they don;'t believe it would appreciably increase the number of people who get such alerts, y Michael Balderston

Report: Majority of Consumers Plan to Cut Some TV Services Post-Covid ELLISVILLE, Mo.—As COVID-19 vaccines are allowing the world to slowly open up again, many consumers are planning to reduce their spending on TV services, according to a new study from Antennas Direct.

In its “Post-COVID TV Viewership” report, Antennas Direct found that during quarantine two out of five consumers said they limited spending elsewhere to better afford cable and streaming subscriptions. Now, four of five admit they will need to cut back on these TV services post-COVID to pay unaddressed bills or household utility costs, while others hope to use that spending on other activities. Digging into the specifics, Antennas Direct found that half of consumers intend to keep all of their TV services post-COVID, while one of three already have plans to cut cable or streaming services and two in five plan to

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

LAS VEGAS—The NAB Show is back and in person, with registration for the 2021 exhibit and conference, Oct. 9–13, now open. NAB is co-locating the Sales and Management Television Exchange (Oct. 8–9) and the Radio Show (Oct. 13–14) during the NAB Show. NAB has also begun to announce programming for the conference, including mogul and broadcast host Nick Cannon, who will speak about his TV career during SMTE on Oct. 9 and take part in an NAB Show Main Stage celebrity session, Oct. 10. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com/2021 y Michael Balderston

Verizon, Canon, RED Among Founding Members of Volumetric Format Association LOS ANGELES—Seven companies have formed the Volumetric Format Association, focusing on ensuring interoperability across the volumetric video ecosystem. The founding companies are Verizon, Zeiss, RED Digital Cinema, Unity, Intel, Nvidia and Canon. Volumetric video is a new way to experience content in holographic 3D, giving the viewer a more immersive and interactive experience, VFA says. It is characterized by the process of simultaneously capturing content from multiple cameras, which can then be viewed from any angle at any point in time. The goal of the VFA will be to facilitate collaboration, innovation and technology sharing to establish a specifications that will help drive faster development, adoption and ecosystem growth. Member companies will be able to share intellectual property

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within the confines of the organization while protecting the value of that IP. The VFA Technical Steering Committee has defined four initial working groups to create the specifications, including Capture Acquisition, Interchange of Data, Decode & Render and Persistent Metadata. "The Volumetric Format Association is leading the way in how content, especially in sports and M&E, is being presented, and we are seeing the biggest shift since B+W went to color" said Tian Pei, head of business affairs for sports at Unity. "Volumetric technologies encompass the process of capturing, viewing, and interacting with the real world and here at Unity we are pushing the limits of what's possible and transforming the interactive experience forever." For more information, visit www.volumetricformat.org. y Michael Balderston

Verbit Acquires Vitac Captioning Provider NEW YORK—Verbit, an AI-powered transcription platform, announced its acquisition of Vitac, a provider of captioning products and solutions. Vitac has been in the captioning space for 35 years, serving broadcast companies, cable networks, program producers, corporations, educational institutions and more.

With the acquisition, Verbit says that its enhanced transcription and captioning platform will feature industry experts, AI-based tools, establishing integrations with video cloud platforms and be able to translate transcriptions into any language. “The combined company will harness decades of transcription and captioning experience to offer customers a best-in-class solution based on our proven technology,” said Tom Livne, CEO and founder of Verbit. “We will continue to invest in our platforms, top talent and domain expertise to evolve and develop our solutions to meet our customers’ dynamic needs,” y Michael Balderston

live news

The Rapidly Changing Face of Today’s News Sets Increased efficiencies, immersive VR sets help to produce more compelling content By Susan Ashworth

SAN FRANCISCO—If the last year has proven anything, it’s that broadcasters are a resilient bunch. In March 2020, when newsroom stations began to be shuttered, news staff scrambled for ideas to pull off productions at home. Despite some hiccups, many stations across the country pulled off a successful, on-thefly runaround because newsroom production technologies proved up to the task—the ability to pull in content, edit proxy material, upload graphics, cache locally—all with the final goal of covering breaking news faster even though they weren’t in the newsroom at all. Consider the obstacles: security restrictions, VPN hurdles and the related problems of less-than-adequate broadband connections, licensing limitations, news workflow disruptions and more. Despite all that, the work needed to be done.

Mo-Sys’ StarTracker Studio virtual system is combined with a pre-configured rack of switching, keying and the graphics power to sustain photorealistic virtual environments in real time.

THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF CLOUD “While anyone can bring an on-premises editor into their house, it’s the team collaboration, news production workflow and management of files that is problematic. There is simply no editorial process or metadata management [in place],” said Raoul Cospen, director of product strategy for news at Dalet. For any station pushed into a pandemic workaround, access to the cloud proved key as did a way of managing many reporters and editors in multiple locations. “We had a number of news customers asking for help to support their remote workforces and adjust their infrastructure so that it could support editing from home,” said Bea Alonso, chief market officer at Dalet. The company’s answer to newsroom shutdowns was Dalet Galaxy xCloud, a cloud-based newsroom solution, she said. “[It] allowed our customers to offload some of their teams to work on Dalet-hosted infrastructure while being away from the physical newsroom,” Alonso said. “Other clients used it as an extension of their on-premise Dalet installation, to provide business continuity to reporters, producers and editors.”

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

The Vizrt XR Extended Reality system gives journalists virtual, augmented, mixed and extended reality storytelling capabilities.

One interesting element about Galaxy xCloud, Alonso said, is that it provides tools familiar to anyone used to working in a physical newsroom. This meant there was no additional training required to enable people to produce, edit, write scripts and collaborate with their teams from their homes, Alonso said. One broadcaster that made quick use of this tool was France Télévisions, the national television network of France, which employed Galaxy xCloud to enable news workflows from home. The SaaS-based system helped facilitate

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end-to-end remote news production workflows, giving them the flexibility to support remote work for its more than 300 journalists. In addition to concerns over bandwidth, security and licensing issues, working from home created another speedbump: how does a broadcaster handle team collaboration, news production workflow and management of files when your team is no longer in the same room? By working with Amazon Web Services and their cloud capabilities, Galaxy xCloud securely connected staff at home to the Dalet

live news Galaxy five on-premise media asset management system. This gave journalists during the pandemic access to tools like the Dalet OneCut news editor so they could search the production system, collaborate with producers and edit growing files. “It’s seamless integration whether you are at home, in the newsroom or in the field,” Cospen said. News organizations also tapped into new mobile applications such as the Dalet Onthe-Go mobile newsroom application, which enables a remote reporter to connect to their newsroom with a mobile device and write scripts, upload content to the newsroom and use the mobile device as a teleprompter. “User demand during the pandemic accelerated the development of this mobile app,” Alonso added.

GOING VIRTUAL But newsroom production technology wasn’t the only tool that stepped into the abyss during the early days of the pandemic. When U.K. radio station talkRADIO wanted to create video programming to stream online alongside its radio programming, it consid-

ered using a virtual set system, but this was made trickier by the fact that guests had to stay socially distanced while in the studio or had to call in by Zoom. “We were looking at innovative solutions to engage our audiences and satisfy our advertisers, over and above what other radio broadcasters are doing,” said Nick Prater, head of broadcast technology for Wireless Group Media, which operates 11 radio stations in the U.K. “We determined that virtual studio technology was now mature and could provide the unique advantage we needed.” The answer turned out to be a StarTracker Studio virtual system from Mo-Sys. The broadcaster only had a small space to convert into a studio, Prater said, “but we wanted it to look big, to look luxurious,” he said. As part of the virtual set, talkRADIO installed Panasonic PTZ cameras and the Unreal Engine from Epic Games running on standard HP workstations. The system is combined with a preconfigured rack of switching, keying and the graphics power to sustain photorealistic virtual environments in real time. Using three tracked cameras—one on a rolling tripod, one on rails and one on a jib —customers can

set up a variety of shots and scale up to 16 cameras.

PARTY OF ONE Beyond the new realities imposed by the pandemic, advanced visual storytelling remains a key goal for many newsroom systems. Vizrt’s Newsroom Solution Suite, a cross-platform newsroom content creation system, allows journalists to independently prepare, script, plan and create with graphics, video, stills, data visualizations and maps. With this system, one journalist can be a one-person production crew. Journalists can scale and adjust the tools they need based on the volume of required output and the type of content needed for a specific platform, and can also create data-driven election graphics and submit breaking news stories and publish as needed to different platforms. That’s the simple reality: The pace of the news cycle has never been faster, said Daniel Nergard, president of Vizrt. “Today’s journalists need to be able to create on multiple output formats, often at the same time, in order to reach and engage their audience,” he said. Nergard added that

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live news

cloud-based production

Newsroom Suite simplifies workflows and offers easier access to a comprehensive set of tools, making it so that journalists can focus on what matters most—telling the story. “Vizrt Newsroom allows journalists to scale and adjust the tools they need to the volume of required output and produce any type of content for any kind of show, program or platform,” said Gerhard Lang, CTO for Vizrt. “Content production teams can create anything from data-driven election graphics and breaking news stories, to social media aggregation, and republish and adapt to any combination of output needs.” Using Vizrt Newsroom’s browser-based interfaces, journalists can plan, create and edit stories from either their newsroom, the road or from home. This feature proved vital during the early days of the pandemic. “During the pandemic we saw creative use of virtual technology not only from broadcasters but also the corporate world,” said Andre Torsvik, head of marketing strategy for Vizrt Group, referring to a corporate event organized by Janssen, an immunology company that saw its COVID-19 vaccine receive emergency use authorization in the U.S. in early 2021. The three-day corporate event took place using Vizrt virtual environments. The company used Viz Arc to control graphics and handle virtual camera transitions. All material was produced in the Amazon Web Services cloud and controlled from three international locations, Torsvik said.

The cloud-based Galaxy xCloud newsroom system gave journalists the opportunity to work while away from the physical newsroom.

“We have seen some brilliant work from our customers in leveraging software-based solutions to break through old hardware-based limitations,” he said. Vizrt also recently released the Vizrt XR Extended Reality system, which gives journalists virtual, augmented, mixed and extended reality storytelling capabilities. Used in the studio or at a home location, the virtual set can be reset from one show to the next in a matter of minutes. A wall at home can serve as a blank canvas allowing for interaction between presenters and graphics objects. l

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

Avid | Edit On Demand makes all the company’s post-production tools available as a service.

Media's Move to Cloud Masks Complexity Vendors stress importance of IP management tools, services By Adrian Pennington

LONDON—Adoption of cloud and IP-driven solutions for video production has rocketed as media operations have had to adapt to remote collaboration workflows to protect their teams and ensure production continuity. But “cloud and IP” are catch-all phrases that disguise a myriad of complexities that must work differently to the pace, strategy and existing models of individual businesses. The merits of IP and cloud are well understood along with the acknowledged end game, but getting there is “a journey of many paths,” as someone once said, and not of a little faith during which broadcasters have to be prepared to fail. But at least with cloud they can fail fast and move on.

AT THE SPEED OF LIGHTNING It’s also why vendors talk of wanting partnerships with broadcast clients and that they will evolve solutions and services together. Here’s Avid’s Director of Product Marketing Raul Alba: “As a result of the pandemic, large organizations are increasingly incorporating cloud at the early stages of their planning.” TVU Networks’ Senior Director of Product Strategy, Luc Comeau believes the transformation and transition into IP and cloud-na-

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tive models have “circumvented on-premise dependencies and legacy hops, because of all the efficiencies you’re gaining in the pipeline. This is all moving at lightning speed.” While post-production teams are already used to working remotely, arguably TV workflows and certainly live TV cannot be fully moved to the cloud yet. A case in point is Avid | Edit On Demand, which makes all the company’s post-production tools available as a service. “It’s addressing the need to have geographically dispersed teams collaborating to create high-quality content,” Alba says. “We’ve had feedback from Hollywood editors who cannot tell the difference between Avid | Edit On Demand that can be connected to a cloud service miles away and Media Composer on their own computer.” When considering the next evolution of IP-based video transport in the cloud, Primestream asks us to think of a browser as a “tuner” that works in much the same way as traditional RF-based tuners. Instead of sending a video signal on an RF frequency, you’re sending it over the internet—but without the high-power antennas and cumbersome field equipment needed for RF transmissions. “That said, one of the key challenges of video production in the cloud is management,” says Namdev Lisman, Primestream

cloud-based production executive vice president. “Producers need to be able to switch, manage and control IP streams just as they’re used to doing with an RF-based network operations center [NOC] in an SDI-based environment.” Consider a conventional production, in which the NOC controls the routing switcher and manages camera signals and calibration, color correction, embedded audio and other functions such as chroma-keying remote sources without artefacts. “Until now, the ability to switch and manage IP signals in the same manner has been missing,” Lisman says. “An IP NOC has been the missing piece of cloud video adoption.” Primestream says its IP NOC answers these signal management challenges. It consists of the company’s Media IO for IP-based signal acquisition and Xchange Media Cloud for asset management. Since the IP NOC is cloud-based, it can acquire signals from unlimited baseband or non-baseband sources using the usual protocols (SRT, WebRTC, HLS, RTSP, etc.), and then output the signals via an Ethernet switch. Explains Lisman, “Remote operators are able to log into the IP NOC for live multicamera monitoring, real-time transcoding

to house formats, live editing, and finally publication, distribution and/or retransmission. Since MAM is a core component, remote production teams are able to access all the video assets they need from any location and at any time.”

“In today's IP project implementation, the physical build and cabling is only half of the way. The other half consists of configuration.” AXEL KERN, LAWO

In broader terms, the IP NOC enables video operations to leverage the power of IP to produce programs from anywhere and transmit them instantly anywhere. “Gone are the days when global signal transmission required multiple satellite hops, sometimes up to

seven or eight, resulting in sometimes-unacceptable latency,” Lisman asserts.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME Infrastructure management is also the focus at Lawo, which recently launched its "Home" IP configuration system. “In today’s IP project implementations, the physical build and cabling is only half of the way. The other half consists of configuration,” says Axel Kern, Lawo’s senior product manager. “Home significantly increases efficiency in setting up IP system installs.” Built on “cloud-ready microservices architecture” the software enables broadcasters to connect, manage and secure networked production setups over IP ST 2110 from the ground up. Of course, it also provides centralized access and control for all Lawo gear. One challenge it's designed to solve is registration and discovery via NMOS. It enables automatic plug-and-play discovery of IP audio and video devices, which are registered with their name, location, status and type. This applies not only to Lawo’s but to third-party kit as well. Home is built on a “cloud-ready microservices architecture,” which Lawo defines

cloud-based production as built to run detached from hardware constraints. This does not automatically mean that services must be outsourced to an external service provider whose meter is running 24/7. “With Home, the cloud starts on your campus, private and locally, on COTS hardware,” Kern said. “The Home platform is designed as functional blocks that provide microservices, which are self-contained and supply functionality to operators or other services.” One of the pitfalls that vendors marketing cloud-native products like to point out are vendors touting cloud-enabled products. They aren’t quite the same thing. “Cloud-enabled usually means that whoever has that cloud-enabled service hasn’t completed the transition to a fully cloud-native approach,” suggests TVU’s Comeau. “They have connectivity to cloud resources but remain reliant on premise or a physical dependency while still providing connectivity to cloud resources.” In a cloud-native scenario, by contrast, there’s zero dependency on on-premise, and the user experience can be from any device; a browser is all you need. “We’re very focused on removing the reliance on buildings and people’s locations, putting the focus more on the creative’s talent as opposed to the skills and hardware used to support those skills,” Comeau says. “It’s akin to editing a Google Doc wherever you are and collaborating with your colleagues wherever they are. Take that concurrent, real-time editing process and apply that to a live cooking show, where you have multiple talent and creatives in different studios, or in their homes with a guest somewhere else. “We are bringing that same level of live content production natively to the cloud and applying the common concepts of the tech world to the broadcast world. It’s about breaking down these barriers where you’re no longer locked down by a legacy approach.” With TVU’s new cloud-based TVU Remote Commentator, producers can add real-time, synchronized and broadcast-quality audio commentary with on-air talent remotely. The cloud-based multicamera live production platform and its cloud-based TVU Partyline “people router” allows producers to run virtual events over IP.

ELASTICITY AND RESILIENCY One of the drivers to cloud is the need to scale up and reach more audiences, in targeted fashion, as consumption proliferates in line with new content platforms. With benefits like scale, reach, flexibility and more,

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

With TVU’s new cloud-based TVU Remote Commentator, producers can add real-time, synchronized and broadcast-quality audio commentary with on-air talent remotely.

Marco Lopez, general manager, live production for Grass Valley

Grass Valley firmly believes everybody in the industry needs a “cloud” strategy. “Cloud-based technologies built on cloud-native applications [like production switchers or clip players in the cloud] benefit from improved efficiency of compute/storage and automated scaling,” argues Marco Lopez, general manager, live production. These technologies offer what Lopez terms “true elasticity and enhanced resiliency” by enabling models that use multiple availability instances, which a number of data centers offer by all cloud providers. This elasticity, he says, makes cloud-based workflows ideal for remote and live productions. “It provides more flexibility while aligning with the OPEX models most managed service production companies offer to their customers,” he said. GV’s cloud platform GV AMPP (Agile Media Processing Platform) now features several

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applications including master control and playout and recently the company debuted a SaaS version of the K-Frame switcher engine on AMPP that provides a hybrid transition to cloud-based video production. “The functionality of the recently launched AMPP Audio Mixer further demonstrates what is possible in the cloud,” Lopez says. “It’s a true, cloud-native, microservices-based application that can interact with audio flows from sources within AMPP or external third-party sources, such as the NDI software standard.” Telestream points to the changing skillsets of the media teams implementing the workflows. “There are changes occurring in who manages the operations of the media companies,” says Marketing Director Alan Repech. “More and more there is core competency in software development able to use API-first software to be flexible in their workflow deployments.” Telestream’s new Cloud Transform enables development teams to build transcoding and media processing workflows without having to understand the intricacies of the many file formats in use worldwide. “Transform is meant for both traditional media companies such as broadcasters and post houses, as well as relative newcomers such as social media platforms and app developers,” Repech says. “Traditional broadcasters are looking towards an architecture that shifts some or all of their existing workflows into the cloud to take advantage of the massive scalability and cost-effective SaaS solutions to be found there.” Truth is, as large media enterprises scale up or shift load into the cloud, in addition to flexibility and security, they need a foundation of technology they can trust to meet their demanding and detailed specifications. l

sports betting

Is Sports Gambling a Sure Thing for Broadcasters? Industry reaps benefits from increased viewer time, interaction By James Careless

ONTARIO—Legalized betting has become an increasing source of revenue for broadcasters since the Supreme Court struck down federal laws prohibiting it in 2018. According to Nielsen, online gambling ad sales increased from $10.7 million in Q1 2019 to $154 million in Q1 2021. Local television received just under 80% of these ad dollars, with the remaining amount being shared between national online sites, network TV, local radio and outdoor advertising. Hand-in-hand with the growth of online gambling ad sales is the integration of betting information into national TV sports broadcasts on networks such as CBS, ESPN and NBC.

“When it comes to the betting audience, we know that’s growing as legalization of sports betting expands across the country,” said Scott Clark, ESPN senior coordinating producer, sports betting & fantasy sports for ESPN. “We have been aggressive in looking to attract that audience in the last couple years and will continue to look to expand what we do across TV and other platforms.” Here’s a look at how some broadcasters are integrating betting information into their sports programming.

CBS SPORTS In February 2020, CBS Sports and sports book operator William Hill US (now rebranded as "Caesars Sports" by new owner Caesars Entertainment) announced a

strategic partnership that made the sports betting firm the "Official Sports Book and Wagering Data Provider" across all CBS Sports platforms. Since that time, CBS Sports has integrated William Hill’s betting information, content and products into its digital platforms. “When it comes to linear content, it is our CBS Sports Digital streaming service that is really benefiting from William Hill’s betting information,” said Kieren Portley, CBS Sports Digital’s senior vice president of programming and production. “Through our partnership with William Hill, we provide the over/under and winning percentages for each team in each game. This goes along with the scores and standings, and other data that signals to the fans that we offer the

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sports betting most innovative gambling-centric ticker in the business.” To assemble the ticker, CBS Sports Digital integrates betting information from William Hill with live sports data provided by Sportradar. All of this data is analyzed and packaged by SportsMEDIA Technology (SMT), and then sent to CBS Sports Digital where the network’s own graphics teams package it for air. “We designed and built the entire functionality of the ticker,” said Portley. “The impact of offering all this data during our program streams, including betting information, has been significant. Time spent on our program feeds per viewer is up, which means that their involvement in the content has increased as well.” Worth noting, Sportradar provides turnkey sports data solutions to media rights holders worldwide. These solutions integrate with the visualization tools these content creators utilize, such as tickers, graphical overlays, as well as research products for producers and talent. “For the content itself, Sportradar works with the majority of sportsbooks, offering our customers pre-game and live odds, as well as player props for each league and game,” said Per von Rosen, Sportradar’s product director of broadcast solutions. “On top of this, we offer betting market insights, which allow our customers to leverage sports betting content for deeper storytelling. Between our betting data and media data streams, we have created an automated solution ready for broadcasters to take to air.”

ESPN ESPN is a big believer in the power of sports betting information to attract and retain loyal viewers, which is why the network has a deal with Sportradar to ingest odds from its official partner, Caesars Sports, among other sportsbooks. Sportradar receives those odds via API from the sportsbooks, and this data is then received by ESPN for formatting into its on-air tickers and graphics, as well as for use in a range of its programs, according to Michael Protos, ESPN associate director, Stats & Information Group.

"We know our fans engage with sports through betting. The reaction has been very good and has led to growth." SCOTT CLARK, ESPN

“Sports betting content is part of the majority of shows on ESPN, with the amount and type of content varying from show to show,” said ESPN’s Clark. “It differs from a standard sports broadcast in terms of the types of conversations being had throughout the game, with the focus being on tracking pregame odds, discussing live odds and providing context around all sports betting storylines. It also has a unique look, with odds integrated into graphics throughout the game.”

Daily Wager, ESPN’s sports betting news and information show is basically everything a sports bettor would need to get ready for the night in sports, with odds discussion, picks, bigger picture sports discussion and reaction to the biggest news of the day.

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

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The use of sports betting content varies on ESPN programs. Shows such as “Get Up” and “First Take” regularly use odds to frame discussions, while SportsCenter features odds in every episode. “Then there’s 'Daily Wager,' ESPN’s sports betting news and information show,” said Clark. “It’s basically everything a sports bettor would need to get ready for the night in sports, with odds discussion, picks, bigger picture sports discussion and reaction to the biggest news of the day.” This daily show is reinforced on an occasional basis by shows such as ESPN’s ‘Daily Wager Special,’ which was the first linear broadcast of an event focussed solely on sports betting. ESPN sees betting information as fundamental to its future success. “We know that our fans engage with sports through betting,” Clark said. “The reaction has been very good and has led to growth. For example, in the time since we launched ‘Daily Wager,’ we moved it from its original home on ESPNEWS to ESPN2. “We also have expanded our sports betting content with a thrice-weekly digital show ‘Bet’ and most recently a ‘Daily Wager’ podcast,” Clark added. “We also have ‘Daily Wager’ radio specials connected to big events like the NCAA Tournament and the NFL Draft.”

NBC SPORTS Last year, NBC Sports announced a partnership with online sportsbook operator PointsBet, in which the network provides PointsBet with multiplatform media and marketing opportunities across its many platforms, including the “NBC Sports Edge BetCast.” In return, PointsBet content is used in linear/streaming content produced by the eight NBC Sports Regional Networks, and in the NBC Sports Predictor app, among others. This data is fed from PointsBet for integration into NBC Sports content by the network’s graphics department. “Our original ‘NBC Sports Edge BetCast’ presentation focused on basketball,” said Nicolina O’Rorke, senior vice president, NBC Sports Enterprises and GM, Sports Betting & Gaming. “It was in April 2019 on our regional sports network NBC Sports Philadelphia with a 76ers regular-season game, followed by a playoff game.” The experience, which included audio from sports-betting analysts, was enhanced for the 2019–20 season to feature expanded sports-betting data and other information during a 10-game 76ers schedule on NBC Sports Philadelphia+ (formerly Comcast Network). In February, NBC Sports and PointsBet broadcast the first-ever betting companion

sports betting show during the Waste Management Phoenix Open PGA TOUR event. This live second-screen experience also included “NBC Sports Edge BetCast,” which was shown on the Peacock Premium streaming service. “It was a fully betting-focused alternate viewing experience where fans watched along with an engaging group of analysts as the drama of the tournament played out,” said O’Rorke. “The production uniquely presented golf entirely from a bettor’s perspective, integrating PointsBet odds, with the head oddsmaker at the PointsBet trading desk in Denver providing regular updates as outcomes unfolded and odds shifted.” The results from this event are worth noting. Working together, NBC Sports and PointsBet were able to create over 1,000 unique markets for the “Waste Management Phoenix Open” betting show, which NBC says was four times as many as the next sportsbook for that event. NBC Sports also launched a pick tracker with PointsBet (“EDGE Tracker”) where bettors can track their bets and auto sync their betslips from PointsBet. As well, PointsBet has a “Name-a-Bet” feature where people can suggest betting for

In February, NBC Sports and PointsBet broadcast the first-ever betting companion show during the Waste Management Phoenix Open PGA TOUR event. This live second-screen experience also included “NBC Sports Edge BetCast,” which was shown on the network’s Peacock Premium streaming service.

events not yet covered by PointsBet, which has been used in some NBC Sports productions. Based on viewership and feedback from fans, NBC Sports plans to extend this second-screen experience into broadcasts/streams. “We

learned from the golf BetCast, and will add that knowledge to the takeaways from our prior BetCast experiences,” O’Rorke said. “We expect that there will be potential for BetCast presentations across other sports.” l

twitter.com/tvtechnology | www.tvtech.com | June 2021

rolling out atsc 3.0

Getting Ready for NextGen TV

This map shows markets where ATSC 3.0 has been deployed as of May 24, 2021.

As deployments ramp up, now is the time to prepare Part 1 of 2

By James E. O’Neal

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—As pandemic-driven restrictions start to ease around the country, U.S. broadcasters are increasing their focus on rolling out ATSC 3.0 (aka NextGen TV). Despite some hurdles imposed by COVID-19, more than two dozen stations over the past year have transitioned, and interest among others is growing. In this, the first installment of a two-part article, we explore what it takes to put a 3.0 signal on the air, with information supplied by several broadcasters and equipment suppliers. All agreed that while the first step (coordination among stations within a market) is non-technical, it will require a substantial amount of time spent in meetings to hammer out details and agreements as to which station will carry off-loaded ATSC 1.0 streams from those moving to 3.0, and details of the hosting of those station’s 3.0 transmissions.

SOFTWARE-FOCUSED As for the equipment needed, the old days of using specialized hardware to process and distribute content are long over. “It’s all about the software,” said Dave Folsom, engineering consultant to the Pearl TV group, and someone who’s accumulated a wealth of information on transmission and reception of ATSC 3.0 through his work in the Phoenix Model Market project. “Everything is

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

generally running on off-the-shelf servers.” “To put an ATSC 3.0 signal on the air, you need encoding, signaling guide service equipment and a scheduler gateway that coordinates multiplexing of all of the signals involved,” he said, explaining that all of these functions are handled by server-based virtual machines and noting that manufacturers of 3.0-related broadcast products are chiefly software developers.

“Other than the necessary equipment, a sense of humor is essential, as there will be surprises.” —MATT BRANDES, WRAL-TV

“This approach allows the software to be hardware-agnostic,” Folsom added. “The trick in developing software [is that it] must be portable. ‘Hardware’ failure takes on a whole new meaning with ATSC 3.0, as at a given installation this software may be running on one, two or three separate servers.” Folsom observed that while manufacturers of 3.0 software may provide the server hardware, they don’t necessarily manufacture such devices. “Each manufacturer preconfigures their own server or specifies a server and will configure it for you,” he said. “These are usually

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HP and Dell servers; however, these servers are not unique.” He added that NextGen adopters may even want to consider taking things a step further by harnessing the power of cloud hosting. “These logical services could all be up in the cloud,” he said. “They are in a virtual machine environment. Software manufacturers are generally ready for cloud implementation. By putting software in the cloud, they don’t encounter boundaries such as [a limitation on] the number of computational threads, speed of storage, or the amount of virtual memory available.” Detailed information transitioning to ATSC 3.0 is available in Pearl TV’s “Host Station Manual” publication, available for free at https:pearltv.com.

PREPAREDNESS GOES BEYOND NEW GEAR Pete Sockett, director of engineering and operations at Raleigh, N.C.’s WRAL-TV, took 3.0 to the air experimentally in June 2016, and has now racked up some 30,000 hours of experience with this next wave of TV broadcasting. Sockett, along with Matt Brandes, manager of RF and transmission and Mike Mory, senior design engineer at WRAL, were asked about the most important items for converting to ATSC 3.0. The trio agreed that patience was high on the list, since transmitting and receiving ATSC 3.0 has moved through a number of iterations since it was standardized. Brandes added that “other than the necessary equipment, a sense of humor is essential, as there

rolling out atsc 3.0

To illustrate what an ATSC 3.0 infrastructure might look like, Sinclair’s Ian Hoots provided this photo of the equipment setup in connection with SBG’s NextGen TV Class A television operation (WIAV-CD) in Washington, D.C. In addition to 3.0 processing, it includes additional ATSC 1.0 encoders for feeds

will be surprises.” They all stressed that education is a big component in moving to NextGen TV. “Read the [ATSC’s] RF standards and recommended practices, along with A331-220-Signaling-Delivery,” said Sockett. “Understanding the little pieces makes all the difference in understanding the system. This is a whole new way of thinking. You’re not going to be successful by simply stumbling through it.” Mory echoed this, stating it’s essential to “learn the concept of ATSC 3.0 instead of how

to simply ‘operate the boxes.’” Another broadcaster with 3.0 on the air is Todd Achilles, co-founder, president and chief executive officer at Evoca TV, which operates several low-power TV stations in the Northwest. He took two of these to NextGen TV status in June 2019. “We basically redesigned stations,” Achilles said. “We changed antennas, going to a full CP pattern. We also swapped out the 1.0 transmitters for 3.0 transmitters.” He added that the 3.0 stations, which are located in Idaho, follow a “hub and spoke” model, with

FIRST, WE BROKE THE MATRIX. NOW WE’RE PUTTING INTERCOM IN THE CLOUD.

fiber interconnections to a data center in Denver where content is ingested and then passed through a router and gateway to the transmitter sites hundreds of miles away. While he’s happy with the NextGen TV move, Achilles admits that getting there was no piece of cake. “We were super early in getting 3.0 service on the air,” he said, observing that the Idaho stations became the fourth and fifth in the country to join 3.0 ranks. “There were many bugs to contend with. We worked through a lot of software issues with a really great

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rolling out atsc 3.0 group of suppliers. Everyone involved worked with us [in clearing up the problems].” Achilles noted that Evoca is providing its viewers with the full hybrid OTA/broadband 3.0 delivery experience by providing them with a specially designed set-top box, the Evoca Scout.

operating digitally for more than a decade, most transmitters should be able to handle ATSC 3.0. “After you get the exciter upgrade or replacement out of the way and the transmitter is not too old, you should be OK, however, some tube transmitters may have a bandwidth problem,” he said, adding that “3.0 does squeeze every last drop out of 6 megahertz.”

One of Evoca TV’s Idaho LPTV transmitter sites, which has been transmitting ATSC 3.0 since mid-2019

AN ‘IP-FIRST’ APPROACH Sinclair Broadcast Group has a very large (and rapidly expanding) list of NextGen TV stations now on the air in 15 markets. Ian Hoots, SBG’s director of NextGen development in their ONE Media 3.0 division, said that the first step to consider in moving to 3.0 is a revamping of the transmission chain. “You’re going from MPEG-2 to HEVC; you’ll need to upgrade or replace older encoders,” said Hoots, reiterating Folsom’s remarks about the need for installation of signaling, packager and scheduler/gateway servers to get the signal ready for transmission. He noted also that in moving to 3.0, broadcasters should critically examine—and make changes if necessary—to data handling at remotely located transmitter sites. “You need to think about adding a network switch at the transmitter site and folding this in as part of the company IP space,” he said, observing that while IP delivery may be available at a transmitter, it often exists as an isolated “wild west” island. Hoots observed that as stations have been

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

DON’T FORGET AUDIO

With NextGen TV’s ability to deliver crystal clear 7.1.4 immersive sound, enhanced dialog, multiple languages and more, broadcasters should be especially careful not to neglect audio. ATSC’s choice for the audio standard in the U.S. is Dolby’s AC-4 codec. Mathias Bendull, vice president of living room audio for Dolby, commented on the importance of the audio component, citing a recent Magid consumer survey on 3.0. “The study found that ATSC 3.0 had an influence on new TV purchase decisions and that consumers are very excited about its benefits, with improved audio ranking very high—like dialog intelligibility, which is enhanced with Voice+, and Dolby Atmos,” he said. The company has worked closely with Phoenix Model Market participants and others launching NextGen TV to fine tune Dolby’s technology to best suit the needs of broadcasters, he added. “Through this collective work, we have been able to design our tools to offer maximum agility to broadcasters so that they can deploy ATSC 3.0 as they choose—i.e. autonomously or in partnership with us,” he said. Dolby offers a free guide, “The ATSC 3.0 AC-4 Audio Handbook for station operations’ managers,” available at https://professional. dolby.com. Tools are also available to monitor and troubleshoot ATSC 3.0 streams, according to Brick Eksten, CEO of Qligent. “From a monitoring perspective [3.0] introduces new challenges, but the technologies and standards being used for data carriage on ATSC 3.0 are not new,” he said. “They are just being leveraged in a new way, and combined with a technical advantage through the unique capabilities of terrestrial broadcast systems.”

is a member of the NextGen Video Information Systems Alliance (NVISA), thinks so, stating that a number of companies have invested quite heavily in producing products for the new DTV standard. Launched a year ago, NVISA includes a dozen manufacturers of ATSC 3.0 gear, and includes suppliers of emergency alerting equipment, scheduling products, NextGen TV software products, transmitters, test and monitoring packages, and engineering services. Associate members include a number of station groups, public broadcasters and NAB. NVISA’s chairman, Ed Czarnecki, also weighed in. “Support of 3.0 in the station environment is there,” he said. “Everything the broadcaster needs to deploy ATSC 3.0 effectively is on the market now. Our membership represents a large core of what’s needed to deploy ATSC 3.0 today.” l In part 2, we’ll highlight the suppliers of the equipment and services broadcasters will need to implement ATSC 3.0.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Since 3.0 is still relatively new, skeptics may ask if all of the bits and pieces—and vendor support—necessary for moving to NextGen TV broadcasting are available right now. Bill Robertson, vice president of business development of Digital Alert Systems, which

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lighting technology

Making Use of Small Lights for Specificity Advances in technology offer new options and expanded useage

here are so many reasons why the use of larger lighting sources is preferred a lot of the time on set. The ability to cut, soften and shape a larger source tends to be much easier than a smaller one. Output is not lost as quickly as from a smaller source and these bigger lights can be used to cover a large surface area and create ambience. I have written on the versatility of smaller sources before, but technology is advancing so quickly that new options have since become available and the ways to use them have expanded.

COMPLETELY WIRELESS Popular small lights that have held up in-

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

were in a barn and had barrels clude ARRI’s smaller fresnels and and other foreground elements the Dedolight. Small tungsten that were falling into shadow. So units such as these for uplights adding a little shape to them with or as extensions of practicals that an AX5 was a great way to make already exist in the frame are so them more interesting in the useful. ARRI has a variety of lower frame. Now we have the ability wattages to choose from, which with a smaller unit like the AX5 to adds versatility in being able to be completely wireless. Not only shape and soften them more. A are they battery-powered, but newer unit of similar size is the EXPERTISE they’re completely controllable Astera AX5 and, like Dedolight’s, wirelessly in terms of color, intengreat for things in the frame other Julia Swain sity, etc. This ultimately saves than talent. I find the most useful time within a setup. function they serve is adding a splash of highOther small units are panels such as Apulight in the frame. ture’s MC-4, which can act as a replacement For example, on a recent commercial, we

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lighting technology may want to bring the subject out from walls, you might not win the argument to do so. Something like a Litemat 2L or Leko is great when you want a focused key. Quality is something to take into consideration—the moment you soften, you spread the light everywhere. A popular lighting approach right now is one that is minimal. Smaller units play into more specificity. When we think minimal, it’s just a couple large sources doing all the work for a space. The use of smaller lights lends itself to adding interest in the frame and creating separation. It can also help heighten the design that is in front of the camera. Practicals are just one way to achieve this, but adding highlights with other film lights just outside the frame can add even more dimensionality to the image. Small cinema lights are becoming more versatile than ever before, with battery life becoming longer and longer and the abilities on the apps becoming increasingly more adaptable and fast. l

Aputure MC-4 Kit

Julia Swain is a cinematographer whose work includes films such as “Lucky” and “Speed of Life” alongside dozens of commercials and music videos. She continues to shoot on a variety of formats, seeking to create compelling visuals for every story and brand. She can be reached through TV Tech.

for a bulb in some instances. In a different commercial, this light served as a great interior refrigerator light where I needed a light gag of changing frequency. Like the AX5, the battery-powered MC-4 can be controlled via an app. We had a refrigerator out in the middle of a crop circle and needed a flicker effect inside during the morning. Not only were we able to set the flicker frequency, color and intensity over the app, it was also bright enough to read on camera during ambient daylight.

I find the most useful function [small lights] serve is adding a splash of highlight in the frame. The app even had a flicker-effect preset so we could immediately choose that effect and then alter the characteristics of it to our liking. Aputure has many panels like this that are magnetic too. You are saving time not having to run power or going to the unit to change a setting, and now rigging can be made simpler, too, depending on the surface.

‘SMALL UNITS’ FOR LIGHTING HUMANS When lighting human subjects in the frame, lights such as those mentioned earlier would not come into play for me. But there are still “small” units that I would lean toward. Again, using a large source is great but it becomes a bit of a “grip jungle”—so many stands and flags and diffusion have to surround a large source in order to focus it on a subject. Sometimes it is appropriate to downsize your key, and in my experience it’s usually when you don’t have much space. If you have your subject close to walls or other elements in space that light would spill onto, key with something smaller. As much as you

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rf technology

Offsetting Transmitter Frequency to Reduce Interference And the latest on my testing of the Hauppauge WinTV quadHD USB ATSC tuner

One of the offsets remains ately I’ve seen a number of relevant—between two ATSC 1 discussions about adding a stations operating on the same frequency offset to an ATSC channel. This offset is defined 1 signal to reduce interferin ATSC Recommended Pracence. The issue came to light when tice A/64B, (section 5.1.6.1). It it was discovered that at least one states: major manufacturer’s transmitters “In the DTV co-channel do not meet the manufacturer’s FCC interference condition, it has emission mask test when the recombeen found that a DTV pilot mended co-channel ATSC offset is frequency offset that is an odd added. EXPERTISE multiple of half the DTV segment This month I’ll look at what ATSC Doug Lung rate provides improved interferhas to say about frequency offsets ence rejection. There are several and how they work. The ATSC 3.0 choices that meet this requirement. An offset standard also includes options for not only of 1.5 times the segment frequency (i.e., 19,403 frequency offsets but bandwidth reduction as Hz) appears to provide the best performance. well. The frequency tolerance of the DTV transmitters Finally, I’ll report on my recent testing of should be ±10 Hz.” the Hauppauge WinTV quadHD USB ATSC This ensures the frame and segment syncs tuner. It uses a different tuner/demodulator of the two signals don’t line up. With this chip than I’ve seen used with any other ATSC offset, they will alternate and be averaged out USB tuner. in the receiver.

REDUCING CO-CHANNEL INTERFERENCE I’m often asked what the tolerance is for the ATSC 1 pilot frequency. Many assume it is the same ±1 kHz tolerance that was used for analog TV, not including the 10 kHz offset the FCC specified in some cases. The correct answer is that the FCC does not specify a frequency tolerance for digital TV (ATSC 1 or 3.0) transmissions except in relation to lower adjacent analog TV stations. Excluding that case, the only requirement is that the emissions from the transmitter comply with the mask requirements in Section 73.622(h) (see sidebar, p. 25). Back in 1998, I wrote about frequency offsets for ATSC 1 in my column; most related to analog stations. The FCC rules mandate an ATSC station must have its pilot carrier 5.082138 MHz above that of the lower adjacent NTSC station’s visual carrier. This is 22.697 kHz above the normal 309.440559 kHz offset from the channel edge, assuming the DTV signal is centered in the 6 MHz TV channel. The tolerance is ±3 Hz. (This offset won’t be relevant after July 13, 2021, when all LPTV stations must cease analog broadcasting.)

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

The FCC does not specify a frequency tolerance for digital TV (ATSC 1 or 3.0) transmissions except in relation to lower adjacent analog TV stations. Will a transmitter meet the requirements of FCC 73.622(h) with a 19,403 Hz offset? It seems it should, since when analog stations were on the air, some DTV transmitters had to meet this requirement with an even greater offset, 22,697 Hz, to comply with FCC 73.622(g). A number of devices, including transmitter exciters and external devices like the Avateq receivers display the 500 kHz shoulder levels in dB. However, I suspect these are referenced to the pilot carrier frequency, which, if offset, may not represent the 6 MHz channel spec-

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trum and could show compliance when the transmitter’s emissions are actually outside that allowed by 73.622(h), which only references channel edges. I welcome comments from transmitter manufacturers on this question and also would be interested in any studies that show how much a precision offset reduces co-channel interference. With the repack complete, we now have stations on the same channel closer together, particularly LPTV stations, so it is important to see if offsets are worth employing to reduce interference.

ATSC 3.0 BANDWIDTH, FREQUENCY OFFSET OPTIONS The ATSC references frequency offsets to avoid interference between ATSC 3.0 stations. According to the A/324 standard, section 10.3.3.1: “Pilot pattern overlap always occurs when neighboring co-channel stations use the same FFT sizes, guard intervals, and pilot patterns. Even when neighboring co-channel stations use some different Physical Layer parameters (FFT sizes, guard intervals, or pilot patterns), there may be partial pilot overlap, depending on the choices of pilot patterns. Such pilot pattern overlap (both full and partial overlap) causes the sorts of channel estimation errors described above, which result in reception failure or performance degradation. To avoid overlapping pilot patterns, offset of Transmitter Center Frequencies shall be used.” The offset is zero or ± the 8K carrier spacing, which is 843.75 Hz. This is more important than the ATSC 1 co-channel offset because the ATSC 3.0 configurations can allow reception at low signal-to-noise ratios, which makes interference more likely where signals overlap. Obviously this will require coordination between stations, possibly over a wide area. If required by the ATSC 3.0 transmitter and filter, the overall occupied bandwidth can be reduced from 5.832844 MHz to as little as 5.508844 MHz (see the ATSC A/327 Physical Layer Recommended Practice section 4.2.2 for details).

rf technology

Fig. 1: Inside the Hauppauge WinTV quadHD USB

Bandwidth reduction is unlikely to be needed to handle a less than 1 kHz offset but may be needed to work with existing filters or in adjacent channel interference situations when combined with an offset.

HAUPPAUGE WINTV QUADHD USB TUNER After seeing support for the Hauppauge WinTV quadHD ATSC tuner was in Linux, I ordered one so I could put it to the test. Fig. 1 shows what's inside. I haven’t had a chance to test it on the road yet so I didn’t want to risk removing the RF shield. All that’s visible is the EM28274 Empia controller and the Maxlinear/Exar XR22404 4 port USB hub, which is connected to a USB-C connector. While Hauppauge says USB-C is required to supply the power and speed for the quad tuners, the supplied cable has a USB 3 type A connector on one end and worked fine on my laptop’s USB 3.1 port in limited testing. Unlike most ATSC USB ATSC receivers that have a separate tuner (such as the Si2157) and a separate demodulator (like the LGDT3306), the MxL692 chip includes both, taking an RF input and producing an ATSC transport stream output. Maxlinear says the tuner has integrated channel filtering and “excellent immunity to LTE and Wi-Fi interference.”

Installation on Ubuntu requires installing the Hauppauge media tree. I had no issues with Ubuntu 20.04 and following the instructions on the web page, but note there are different instructions if Ubuntu’s hardware enhancement (hwe) kernel is installed. I recommend using the hwe kernel to get support for the latest devices. The good news is that the tuner works great in Kaffeine (a Linux TV viewer and recorder) and, with four tuners, multiple channels can be recorded simultaneously. The bad news is that the current quadHD driver does not provide usable statistics with the DVB utilities dvb-fe-tool and dvbsnoop for measuring channel power and SNR limiting usefulness for signal monitoring. I’ve listed this as an issue on the Hauppauge Ubuntu-media-tree-kernel-builder Github page (https://github.com/b-radNDi/Ubuntu-media-tree-kernel-builder). You can monitor it for updates. My WinTV dualHD with the Si2157 tuner required a –80 dBm UHF input level to deliver an error-free picture with an SNR of about 17.8 dB. Without changing the attenuation, I

switched to the quadHD and Kaffeine did not display a picture. After reducing attenuation to get stable reception on the quadHD I found it required –77 dBm, 3 dB more than that needed by the WinTV dualHD. This is likely due to the additional losses splitting the signal to twice as many tuners. The tests were performed with an outdoor nondirectional vertically polarized antenna so signal quality was not pristine—I’ll be doing more testing next time I’m in Los Angeles. One plus is scanning the post-repack TV band with the quadHD takes seconds compared to minutes with the dualHD. The quadHD works with TSReader in Windows 10 after installing the quadHD driver available on the Hauppauge support web page. I prefer TSReader to Hauppauge’s WinTV software. Broadcast engineers will want it to check ATSC PSIP. The WinTV quadHD USB should appeal to enthusiasts who want to record program streams from more than two channels at the same time and to broadcast engineers that want to monitor multiple stations at the same time, perhaps using multiple instances of TSReader. I look forward to doing more testing with it and hope that, at some point, the driver will support the dvb utilities. l As always, I welcome comments and questions. Email me at dlung@transmitter.com. I try to answer all emails promptly, but if I’m busy and the email gets buried I might miss it. If you don’t get a response within a week or so, email me again.

FCC DTV Table of Allotments (FCC Section 73.622)

(h)(1) The power level of emissions on frequencies outside the authorized channel of operation must be attenuated no less than the following amounts below the average transmitted power within the authorized channel. In the first 500 kHz from the channel edge the emissions must be attenuated no less than 47 dB. More than 6 MHz from the channel edge, emissions must be attenuated no less than 110 dB. At any frequency between 0.5 and 6 MHz from the channel edge, emissions must be attenuated no less than the value determined by the following formula: Attenuation in dB = −11.5(Δf + 3.6); Where: fΔ = frequency difference in MHz from the edge of the channel. (2) This attenuation is based on a measurement bandwidth of 500 kHz. Other measurement bandwidths may be used as long as appropriate correction factors are applied. Measurements need not be made any closer to the band edge than one half of the resolution bandwidth of the measuring instrument. Emissions include sidebands, spurious emissions and radio frequency harmonics. Attenuation is to be measured at the output terminals of the transmitter (including any filters that may be employed). In the event of interference caused to any service, greater attenuation may be required.

twitter.com/tvtechnology | www.tvtech.com | June 2021

eye on tech | product and services

Selenio Network Processor

PRISM Waveform Monitors Six new models of Telestream’s PRISM waveform monitors have been released, featuring a smaller form factor to better fit in mobile trucks/ OB vans. Three of the monitors are built as a single half-rack, while the other three are dual-screen full-rack units. The monitors provide full remote viewing of the PRISM display screen and detailed monitoring and analysis of ST 2110 IP video when paired with Telestream’s Inspect ST 2110 probe. The monitors are designed for SDI monitoring, IP analysis and local and remote productions up to 8K HDR. z For additional information, contact Telestream at 530-470-1300 or visit www.telestream.net.

The Selenio Network Processor (SNP) is a 1RU, network-attached device with four independent processors designed to assist with synchronization, SDI/IP conversions, colorspace processing and conversions, including HDR, video scan format and production multiviews. A new software update brings support to SNP for DR/FR style 100G QSFPs. With this, connection of four SNP units can be made to a single 400G network switchport through straightforward optics. Future software updates are expected to add processing personalities for JPEG XS compression. z For additional information, contact Imagine Communications at 866-446-2446 or visit www.imaginecommunications.com.

VP Pro Virtual Production Software

3Play 3P2 Replay System

VP Pro virtual production software from Mo-Sys has been paired with Sony’s Venice camera to capture dynamic camera settings data in virtual production workflows. Whenever Venice goes into record mode, so does the VP Pro. Mo-Sys software captures the file naming format the camera uses to name media files and uses the same name for the metadata file containing the camera settings data. The software also supports live or recorded virtual production workflows, the use of green/blue screen studios or LED volumes and provides additional lens data for VFX compositing. z For additional information, contact Mo-Sys at 917-503-1100 or visit www.mo-sys.com.

3Play 3P2 is a software-driven, network-based 10-channel replay system designed to produce 4K-quality instant replays for sports productions. With built-in NDI Telestrator capabilities, the NewTek product is a native IP and SDI replay system. 3Play 3P2 replay system offers eight inputs and two outputs. The inputs can be any combination of NDI sources with four SDI connectors built directly into the chassis, while the outputs can work independently or together in a preview/program workflow. Additional features include zoom and tracking features and shareable playlists that work with NewTek TriCaster. z For additional information, contact NewTek at 800-368-5441 or visit www.newtek.com.

XtraMotion EVS’ XtraMotion is an on-demand, cloud-based system that uses AI to transform video into super slow-motion replays. XtraMotion creates high frame rates in the cloud rather than in the camera to create super slow-motion shots from nearly every camera angle. XtraMotion uses advanced machine-learning algorithms that work with production formats ranging from 1080i to UHD/HDR, as well as any original frame rate. The system also integrates with existing EVS replay and post-production environments and does not require any hardware on site. z For additional information, visit EVS’ website, www.evs.com.

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UReady Control Surface There are now one- and three-row variations of Densitron's UReady 2RU universal control surface designed to give more versatile control. The three-row variation of UReady has 54 total buttons in rows of 18. Each button has an array of 54x54 pixels. It also uses MVA technology for wide-angle symmetric viewing. The single-row version, meanwhile, has 18 buttons on the bottom of the unit, with the touchscreen located at the top. Both units are packaged in a 2RU 19-inch rack metal chassis, with Densitron’s X86 CPU architecture and a software ecosystem that supports deployment. z For additional information, contact Densitron at 951-284-7600 or visit www.densitron.com.

eye on tech | product and services

ATSC 3.0 Air Chain

9910DA Distribution Amplifiers The 9910DA-1Q and 9910DA-2Q openGear cards are two new models to Cobalt Digital’s lineup of distribution amplifiers, with the 9910DA-1Q a one-channel model and the 9910DA-2Q, a dual-channel model. The new amplifiers offer the same features as 9910DA quad-channel card, including user enable/disable reclocking abilities and support for SDI and ASI/DVB on all inputs and outputs. In addition, channels on all 9910DA cards can be crosspoint-routed to any of 16 DA outputs. Up to 10 cards can be installed in one frame to provide up to 160 outputs. z For additional information, contact Cobalt Digital at 217-344-1243 or visit www.cobaltdigital.com.

DigiCAP has updated its ATSC 3.0 Air Chain that it debuted in 2017 as an 8RU unit to now be used as a cloud application. In February, DigiCAPS posted the first ATSC 3.0 Air Chain on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The ATSC 3.0 Air Chain cloud-based service is designed to simplify the installation of ATSC 3.0 systems. Since it is now in the cloud, DigiCAP customers can pay for ATSC 3.0 Air Chain through a monthly service fee rather than making an upfront equipment payment. z For additional information visit DigiCAP’s website, blog.digicaps.com.

Multiviewer and Monitoring Platform

TM-200SG Shotgun Mic

Updates to TAG Video Systems’ Multiviewer and Monitoring platform now enable users to manually set a recording of an OTT channel, record all metadata elements of additional OTT formats, and set 32 channels to be recorded simultaneously. The new recording feature is designed to help users analyze and report detected error events. Users can manually set a recording for an OTT channel so that it can be used for investigation, testing and analysis. In addition, users can now include elements and headers of HLS, MPEG-DASH, MSS and CMAF OTT streams in their recordings. z For additional information, contact TAG Video Systems at 313-646-8400 or visit www.tagvs.com.

The TM-200SG is a compact shotgun mic designed for situations where fixed audio is not an option. The microphone features Supercardioid directivity for focused audio capture; built-in low-cut filter for environmental noise reduction; 30 Hz/20 kHz frequency response; and the ability to operate with +48V Phantom Power. Tascam provides the TM-200SG with three accessories: a microphone clip with shockmount suspension; a soft case protective porch; and windscreen. z For additional information, visit Tascam’s website, www.tascam.com.

Kairos Core 1000

LiveU 360°

Kairos Core 1000, the latest version of Panasonic’s Kairos live production platform, provides a new mainframe option with a higher CPU and GPU that increases the system’s video processing capacity. The mainframe also supports 4K and CANVAS function as standard. RTP/SRT/RTMP streaming options have been expanded from six to eight inputs with two outputs. Recording capacity for video on the Kairos Core 1000 has also been increased to 64 GB uncompressed RAW player capacity. In addition, there is less restricted use of multilayered video composition and output in high resolution. z For additional information, contact Panasonic at 877-803-8492 or visit na.panasonic.com.

LiveU 360° is an all-inclusive, subscription-based service and video production solution designed to be a one-stop shop for live broadcasts. This scalable turnkey package offers a combination of hardware and software, cloud workflow connectivity, unlimited data and value-added services. LiveU offers multiple plans for LiveU 360°, including 360° Essential and 360° Premium, each optimized for specific markets, including news, sports and other live productions. The packages can be upgraded at any time. LiveU 360° is currently available to customers in the U.S., Canada, EU, U.K., Monaco, Norway and Switzerland. z For additional information, contact LiveU at 201-742-5229 or visit www.liveu.tv. twitter.com/tvtechnology | www.tvtech.com | June 2021

equipment guide | transmitters & rf equipment

La Solution RF Simplifies Video Multiplexing With Aviwest USER REPORT By Mikaël Gentil Executive Manager La Solution RF

TOULOUSE, France—La Solution RF is a French company specializing in HD video transmission and 4K broadcasts in HF (high frequency) or over 4G/5G. Since 2003, we have offered our services to TV channels and broadcast facilities providers in sports, news, events, film and advertising. No matter what distances need to be covered, La Solution RF adapts its technology and provides the required means to transmit images on the ground or in the air.

A STREAMLINED SOLUTION FOR MULTIPLEXING BMV Communication recently asked us to build an HD video multiplex between its studio and 11 remote sites across France, as they were conducting an awards event with prizes for their employees. Due to COVID-19, the awards event could not take place in person and the price was too steep to deploy a fleet of 11 SNGs, so we offered them a complete system with Aviwest solutions. Using Aviwest, we were able to successfully transmit video from each site, while also sending BMV the full live content and managing sound returns for the different duplexes. Ultimately, we distributed 11 HD filming units equipped with Aviwest’s PRO380. This allowed us to transmit the HD signal from the cameras via 4G networks with a video latency of 800ms. In addition, we were able to broadcast live on each site thanks to Aviwest’s return video function, which makes it possible, via an Aviwest encoder, to send the stream back

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

Aviwest’s PRO380 helped connect 11 different production sites for coverage of an awards ceremony.

to the PRO380s connected to an Aviwest StreamHub transceiver in the control room. People could then remotely view the live stream at each site. For sound feedback, we used Aviwest’s IFB feature. Thanks to a Berhinger X32 Rack connected to the StreamHub via USB, we produced personalized sound feedback to each site and avoided delay effects by having 11 differentiated IFBs. We were pleasantly surprised at the low latency of the device since we only had 900ms of latency for the video feedback. Using Aviwest’s device with VMix was the perfect solution to deliver video quality and cost savings for our customer. It completely addressed their technical requirements for live video transtwitter.com/tvtechnology

mission quality, while adapting to current travel limitations.

RELIABLE TRANSMISSION FOR REMOTE PRODUCTION We are now also using VMix and Aviwest devices for remote film and advertising services. The remote monitoring interface for producers is fully configurable in terms of video signal content using VMix, as well as for transmission within the Aviwest environment. Depending on filming locations, we use Aviwest systems to simplify signal transmission to our media center for streaming and conferences, or as a highspeed access point to manage directly on site. Our customers are reassured by having this reliable solution as a backup, even if an

internet connection is available in the studio. Aviwest technologies are essential tools for us, providing reliability, efficiency and simplicity for innovative transmission applications. l Mikael Gentil is the co-founder and manager of La Solution RF, a company specializing in RF video transmission and networking in the broadcast industry. A sound engineer by training, Gentil, with his partner Lewellyn Rodriguez, created La Solution RF in 2003 after having worked for 10 years in the television and events industry. He can be contacted through LinkedIn or the LA Solution RF website, www. lasolutionrf.com/en. For more information, visit www.aviwest.com.

equipment guide | transmitters & rf equipment

cmiAV Powers Through the Storm With Dejero EnGo USER REPORT By Dan Lamphier Director of Production & Client Services cmiAV

NEW HAVEN, Conn.—Over the past 15 years, cmiAV, an audiovisual event production company, has handled the AV and live broadcast of an annual high-profile Catholic organization conference delivered to multiple Christian TV networks and has watched it become a flagship program by driving viewers to these channels. This year, however, due to Covid-19 restrictions, the gathering in Connecticut had to go virtual and for that reason, coverage of the event—which can attract up to 2,500 attendees— had to be a roaring success not only for those networks, but also for those who couldn’t attend. During the conference, a violent storm struck the Northeast just as we were streaming an evening Mass over a wired connection from a church in New

Haven, Conn., to thousands of online viewers and to multiple broadcasters nationwide. The feed was being directed and switched out of a Basilica located in Washington, D.C., just as the storm hit the East Coast. This caused significant power outages and shut down multiple ISP services in the region. Losing connectivity during a live broadcast is the stuff of nightmares for anyone in the live content transmission game. Before we met Dejero, this kind of challenge would have been difficult for us to plan for.

KEEPING THINGS CONNECTED Thankfully, we remained unaffected by the storm as we were using five Dejero EnGo mobile transmitters to capture camera feeds, and one as backup. As soon as the wired network surrendered to the storm, the EnGo transmitters seamlessly reprioritized the available cellular connections. Already connected to a Dejero WayPoint receiver for return video, the stream carried on uninterrupted. Viewers and broadcasters,

such as EWTN Global Catholic Network and CatholicTV, continued to enjoy a smooth live feed from the church. Some networks even had their own Dejero FlexPoint transceiver on premise and could take the feed straight from the Dejero MultiPoint IP video distribution network we had set up for content sharing. For the cmiAV team, the extent of the storm disruption was a simple alarm on the monitoring devices notifying us of the change in the status of the wired connection. Other than moving the intercom from an ailing third-party cloud-based service to several free RU channels on one of the EnGo transmitters, we didn’t need to do anything, as the unit simply blended bandwidth from all the available cellular networks to ensure connectivity wasn’t interrupted. Our voice intercom remained unaffected, routed through a dedicated IFB channel on the EnGo.

ADJUSTING WITH THE TIMES Discovering Dejero last year was a game changer. Pre-COVID, a team of up to 25 people for the

Dejero EnGo mobile transmitters provided the connections to transmit coverage of a Catholic conference to networks along the East Coast.

streaming/TV production alone would have supported such a gathering, grappling with internet connectivity in challenging locations, using cumbersome and expensive satellite links. The effects of the pandemic forced our industry to adapt and we had to figure out how to deliver and live stream virtual events with fewer people and minimal technology, while avoiding the pitfalls of network black spots and corporate firewall restrictions. We continue to utilize Dejero to easily capture and send broadcast-quality footage from anywhere in the country back to our studio in Rochester, N.Y., where the program director is able to switch remotely. We built a New York studio—and another in Maryland during “lock down”— knowing that we’d be doing more virtual events for our clients. The world has changed and knowing we can rely on Dejero for live video transmission and connectivity is transformative for our workflows. Dejero is just solid, it works and it’s easy to use. Our clients aren’t asking for the Dejero product by name, they just know that if cmiAV is supporting an event, it will go very smoothly. l Dan Lamphier has been a leader within the production industry for over 25 years, with experience as the department head of audio and lighting to design to production management. He has worked extensively on live events and broadcast network support. Lamphier has been with CMI since 2003, and in the last 17 years moved from department manager to leading hundreds of teams. He can be reached at dlamphier@ cmiav.com. For more information, contact Dejero at 866-808-3665 or visit www.dejero.com.

twitter.com/tvtechnology | www.tvtech.com | June 2021

equipment guide | transmitters & rf equipment

WSMV-TV Expands Partnership With Comark PARALLAX Additions USER REPORT By Dana Lyons Director of Engineering & Operations WSMV-TV

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—WSMV-TV has been a fixture in Nashville for more than 70 years and we have been very proud of our reputation as a key broadcasting presence in the community. Recently we recognized that our current RF equipment was beginning to show its years and since it was past the typical service life we began to look for something that we could depend upon again to carry our transmission without fail with a support team to back it up.

A FAMILIAR CONNECTION We’ve had a longstanding relationship with Comark dating back to September 2002, and there is a reason we stick with them. Our prior transmitter, an Optimum TDV2-7K50 LV two cabinet, was also supplied by Comark and for nearly two decades of operation, they provided helpful and reliable customer service. Given their reliability, we sought out our trusted partner to see what they had to offer for today’s broadcaster. Considering all the accolades their PARALLAX series has received, we decided on an HPTV-PRLX-V6 model, a single cabinet VHF that houses six power amplifiers rated at 8.7 kW TPO rated and 6.35 kW while running. In operation we are putting out a

tremendous signal at 45 dB SNR with 61 dB shoulders. We’ve also employed the EXACT-V2 exciters in the PARALLAX transmitter and we are seeing excellent synergy within the system. The front panel user interface is both simple and informative, allowing us to dig down to the individual transistor’s operating parameters.

EASY & EFFICIENT Despite our conveniently located transmission site, there are always sweat and tears that go into the work of replacing such large and complex machinery, but the Comark and WSMV Engineering team was more than prepared. The turnkey installation was a breeze and we were up and running on the PARALLAX system in

WSMV switched from a previous two-cabinet Comark transmitter to the HPTV-PRLX-V6 single cabinet model.

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

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less than a week, ensuring that we did not experience any down time transitioning from our old transmitter to our updated system. The PARALLAX liquid-cooled transmitter touts its cooling system as simple and effective when it comes to removing waste heat evenly with the utmost efficiency, and despite it being installed in December, we immediately noticed a difference. With the conspicuous reduction in consumed energy we saw a subsequent reduction in our energy bills. Within weeks of installation we recognized that our new system was helping to pay for itself with its impressive efficiency. The “WSM” of our call signs hearkens back to the motto of the National Life and Accident Insurance Co. that was based in Nashville: “We Shield Millions.” While National Life has resettled themselves into the history books, we seek to embody that motto with our work, broadcasting for the greater Nashville area and with the help of Comark’s equipment and customer service we can assure our service will continue uninterrupted. l Dana Lyons is director of engineering & operations of the WSMV engineering team, using over 17 years of practical and leadership experience to lead his maintenance and operational staff in the technical department. Lyons takes great pride in the station’s operations and improvements including all IT electronics and broadcast equipment as well as building-related enhancements. He can be reached through www.wsmv.com. For more information, contact Comark at 800-345-9295 or visit www.comarktv.com.

equipment guide | transmitters & rf equipment

GatesAir Maximizes Power and Efficiency for Louisville Duopoly USER REPORT Gary Schroder Chief Engineer WDRB Media

LOUISVILLE, Ky.–The Louisville market has a busy over-the-air presence with nearly 30 TV stations. WDRB Media operates two of Louisville’s network-affiliated stations: WDRB-TV (Fox) and WBKI-TV (CW), both of which had Phase 6 repack assignments. WDRB Media’s corporate owners, Block Communications, standardized on GatesAir transmitters during the recent repack for their stations in Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio, replacing long-operating tube transmitters from other manufacturers.

A SOLID APPROACH GatesAir made sense for many reasons, including a generous warranty that represents their customer service emphasis. New transmitters were required given the substantial frequency shifts (Channel 49 to 32 for WDRB; Channel 51 to 16 for WBKI), and GatesAir’s solid-state designs were impressive in both performance and maintenance evaluations. GatesAir’s energy-efficient designs were of exceptional importance given the very high TPOs (transmitter power output) required. Our transmission facility sits at 964-foot elevation, with signals transmitting from a 1,000-foot tower. Clear sightlines ensure we reach viewers 60 miles from the tower. Our new Maxiva ULXTE liquid-cooled UHF transmitters are designed to optimize that market coverage, with WDRB’s ULTXE-120 model maximized for its 1MW ERP (68kW); and WBKI’s ULXTE-150

model operating at 725 ERP (58kW). The ULXTE-150 has extra headroom for an expected power raise this summer, and another possible boost in the future. While our previous transmitters were liquid-cooled, moving to solid-state required an entire plumbing refresh and a completely new liquid-cooling infrastructure. Nine heat exchangers were installed just outside the building, while the installers from RF consulting firm Jim Stitt and Associates moved the multicabinet transmitters into The new ULXTE transmitters are ATSC3-ready with Maxiva XTE exciters. their new positions. Lines were run from can monitor the status of each the transmitters to the redunthe days of tube-type technolomodule, identify a power supply dant Maxiva pump modules, gy. If we reduce power, the RTAC issue and understand when an which transfer heat to the software will re-adapt the shoulamplifier firmware upgrade is outdoor exchangers. This enerders to appropriate levels. And needed. gy-efficient process keeps our while RTAC is designed to keep cooling bills as low as possible. the signal within its frequency, Solid-state offers several the ULXTE performs so well it NEXTGEN-READY benefits when it comes to liquid is hard to imagine when that Our ULXTE transmitter cooling. Our old system required correction would be required. includes redundant GatesAir SR-1 ethylene glycol, which As we look ahead to NextGen ATSC3-ready Maxiva XTE exneeded a complete refresh every TV, we’re running our new RF citers, which brings impressive three years. The Maxiva system systems with the confidence that performance and design traits. uses off-the-shelf Prestone, our Maxiva transmitters and GatesAir builds a mini UPS and requiring little maintenance beexciters will seamlessly transiits real-time adaptive correction yond removing some particulates tion to ATSC 3.0. The additional (RTAC) software into the XTE. with a strainer upon adding. headroom will also ensure we The latter is useful for monitorOpening the front cabinet can add new NextGen TV sering signal-to-noise and shoulder door reveals a beautiful layout vices when needed. l performance, which will often that is easy to grasp. There is a point to problems in the antenna minimum of parts, with redunor transmission line if outside Gary Schroder is the chief dant power amplifiers and power the threshold. engineer of WDRB Media. He can supplies. Each module is about The XTE currently shows our be reached at gschroder@wdrb. 700W; if one is lost, GatesAir’s shoulders at –47, which is 10 Db com. adaptive correction software better than the FCC specificaFor more information on Gamasks any performance drop. tion. It was also much easier to tesAir, please visit the company’s With the front-panel GUI, we obtain this number compared to website at www.gatesair.com. twitter.com/tvtechnology | www.tvtech.com | June 2021

equipment guide | transmitters & rf equipment

Raleigh Stations Stacked and Repacked with Dielectric USER REPORT By Dale Scherbring Director of Engineering WRDC-TV & WLFL-TV

RALEIGH, N.C.—Hindsight brings perspective to any broadcast installation, particularly when we look back at the unique challenges of the recent repack. A Phase 5 project for MyTV affiliate WRDCTV and CW affiliate WLFL-TV was no exception as we navigated the deadline-driven pressures of this particularly active phase. Both stations transmit to the Raleigh-Durham market from atop a candelabra tower, which has six top-mounted antenna positions with exceptional sightlines. To maximize signal coverage and reduce weight, we opted for a stacked omnidirectional UHF antenna system from Dielectric that would serve WRDC’s Channel 14 assignment and WLFL’s Channel 18 assignment.

TWEAKING THE DESIGN The omnidirectional coverage is necessary due to the market’s size and terrain. Since the antennas are stacked, both transmit into free space as true top-mounted arrays that do not interfere with each other. In a typical stack, the bottom array becomes directional due to the effect of the transmission line feeding the top antenna. Both the horizontal and vertical azimuth patterns are affected, with the vertical seeing more negative impact. The Dielectric engineering team overcame this drawback with an innovative design that results in the bottom of the stack being as omnidirectional in both polarizations as the top. This is a significant engineering breakthrough that assures WLFL will not suffer

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

from interference issues. The design includes plenty of vertical polarization to enhance signal reception through the region’s rolling hills and valleys. Both stations broadcast NextGen TV content today, and that vertical signal component will increase in importance as more viewers consume NextGen TV content on mobile devices. We scheduled a helicopter lift to raise the stacked antenna system, with WRDC’s center of radiation (1,950 feet) roughly 60 feet above WLFL’s (1,888 feet). A temporary Dielectric TFU-WB side-mounted antenna continued on-air operations while the old antennas were removed. The stacked system, which comprises two Dielectric slot antennas, positions WRDC’s more compact custom 27-bay TFU-ETT antenna atop the larger 26-bay TFU-JBH structure. The new antennas are each fed by seven 3/16-inch Dielectric transmission line runs, with one newly installed digiTLine run. The post-installation RF sweeps confirmed that both overall system VSWR results were excellent, comfortably bettering our minimum requirements and enabling the transmitters to run at optimum efficiency.

A NEW KIND OF FILTER This system requires an unusually complex filter design for WRDC since it operates on Channel 14. A typical UHF transmission system requires a six- or eight-pole filter to reduce out-of-band emissions to meet FCC specifications. Channel 14 is unique in that it requires a very steep roll-off at the lower side band to prevent interference into land mobile frequencies just below the band edge. Dielectric engineered a very sharp-tuned 12-pole filter to twitter.com/tvtechnology

Dielectric’s engineering team redesigned the antenna design to maximize signal coverage for WRDC-TV and WLFL-TV.

eliminate out-of-band emissions from WRDC’s (Channel 14) 108 kW transmitter. While the 12pole design creates a larger physical footprint, we worked closely with Acrodyne Services to ensure a clean installation in a tight space, including temporary use of their 20 kW MAT (Mobile Acrodyne Transmitter) outside the building to facilitate new equipment placement inside. The filter was floor-mounted alongside WRDC’s six-cabinet transmitter, WLFL’s four-cabinet transmitter and filter, a dual-channel combiner and all associated plumbing and switching systems. Moving forward, we plan to

install Dielectric’s RFHAWKEYE to monitor antenna and RF performance for both stations over IP. That will add a new level of operational efficiency for our Raleigh-Durham engineering team, especially as we put more emphasis on ATSC 3.0 and NextGen TV signals in the years ahead. l Dale Scherbring is the director of engineering for WRDC-TV and WLFL-TV. He can be reached at 410-487-3492. For more information, please contact Jay Martin at Dielectric at 207-655-8138, or visit the company’s website at www.dielectric. com.

equipment guide | transmitters & rf equipment buyers briefs MultiDyne VF-9000 The VF-9000 is a 1RU fiber optic transport platform with SNMP monitoring, offering reliable signal transport for intra-facility connection, inter-facility connections, sports broadcast, ENG and any studio or mobile truck application where space is limited. Dual hot-swappable power supplies ensure optimal power redundancy. The VF-9000’s high-density design includes 18 or 36 optical I/O (9 or 18 SFP Ports) and can be configured with up to 18 full-size BNCs

or 36 HD-BNCs. If populated with CWDM SFPs, all 36 signals can be multiplexed/de-multiplexed over/from two SM fibers. The system also supports 1 GbE optical extensions for handling SDI and LAN signals in one frame. z For more information, contact Jesse Foster at jesse@multidyne.com,

or visit www.multidyne.com.

TVU Networks TVU Anywhere SDK A free software development kit for the TVU Anywhere live IP video streaming app, TVU Anywhere SDK provides high-quality, low-latency live video transmission to iOS or Android apps to allow for easy contributions of live video programming. Through TVU Anywhere SDK, live transmissions feed directly into the TVU ecosystem, providing compatibility with TVU Grid for IP video distribution. The live footage is also compatible with TVU hardware devices and cloud-based solutions. It also accesses the IS+ protocol, which automatically bonds with a mobile device’s available cellular and Wi-Fi connections to provide maximum bandwidth and connection redundancy. z For more information, contact TVU Networks at 650-440-4812 or visit www.tvunetworks.com.

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NEERAJ KHEMLANI AND WENDY MCMAHON Presidents/Co-Heads CBS News and Television Stations

GARY HERMAN Director of Channel Partner Programs

SCOTT BARELLA

ANDY BUCKLAND

DAN GLAVIN

Director of Product Management Cooke Optics

Western Region Sales Manager Dielectric

Cooke Optics has appointed Andy Buckland to the newly created role of director of product management. Reporting directly to Tim Pugh, CEO, Buckland is responsible for developing Cooke’s product roadmap, including launching forums to enable the design and development team to engage more effectively with the company’s range of customers and users.

Dielectric has appointed Dan Glavin as Western Region sales manager, responsible for all U.S. TV and FM sales and customer service west of the Mississippi. He replaces Steven Moreen, who is retiring. Glavin reports to Jay Martin, Dielectric’s vice president of Sales. He joined Dielectric in 2018 as an electrical engineer, with an emphasis on system design, data analysis and antenna testing.

PESA Switching Systems has named Gary Herman director of Channel Partner Management for the company. In his new role, Herman will lead PESA’s channel sales, business development initiatives and FSI Alliances Programs worldwide. The company also promoted Scott Barella to chief technology officer. He will lead PESA’s charge into the secure IP domain, heading up a seasoned development team with a track record of developing successful products on schedule.

TRIP WOOTTEN

DAN MARSHALL

DAVID COHEN

MEGAN CLAPPE

U.S. Southeast Regional Sales Manager Riedel

Chief Revenue Officer Signiant

Global VP, Strategic Marketing TVU Networks

SBE Fellow Society of Broadcast Engineers

Signiant has appointed Dan Marshall to the newly created role of chief revenue officer. He will report directly to CEO Margaret Craig and be responsible for driving the company’s global sales activities. Marshall joins Signiant from Amazon Web Services, where he led teams involved in implementing media workflows in the cloud. He joined AWS in 2015 via its acquisition of Elemental Technologies where he led the sales organization.

TVU Networks has appointed David Cohen its new global vice president, Strategic Marketing. He will report to TVU Networks CEO Paul Shen. Cohen will develop and oversee the marketing strategy across the company’s worldwide digital, sales enablement, branding and communications efforts. His primary focus will be to accelerate the transition of the TVU Networks brand identity as the company delivers on its cloud-based production and media supply chain vision.

Megan Clappe, director of SBE certification, has just been raised to the membership rank of Fellow by the Society of Broadcast Engineers. Clappe is tasked with operating and growing the SBE Certification Program, which includes implementing and maintaining certifications to match those needs. She also provides SBE member and chapter certification support, manages the SBE Awards Program; and manages the SBE convention and expo presence.

CBS has combined CBS News and CBS Television Stations with Neeraj Khemlani and Wendy McMahon taking the lead. They have been named presidents and co-heads of the newly formed division with editorial and business oversight of CBS News broadcasts and operations; the 24/7 streaming news service CBSN; CBSN Local streaming networks; cbsnews.com; 28 CBS-owned stations and their Digital extensions; CBS News Audio; and CBS News’ affiliate service Newspath.

Riedel Communications has hired Trip Wootten as regional sales manager for the U.S. Southeast, leading sales for Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina. With more than a decade of sales, sales support and sales engineering experience, Wootten most recently oversaw a large Southeastern sales territory as regional account manager for Grass Valley and for Telestream.

June 2021 | www.tvtech.com |

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Chief Technology Officer PESA

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