TV Tech 492 - December 2023 by Future PLC

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HYBRID CLOUD • TV AND THE METAVERSE • HOLLYWOOD SETTLES EL ’S N RI PA AR Y 22 K S p. EW N

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TV in

2023 Transitional or Transformative?

equipment guide Editing & Graphics/ Media Asset Management

contents

December 2023 volumn 41, issue 12

TV in 2023: Transition or Transformation?

Between Hollywood strikes, changing viewer habits and concerns over AI, the past year showed an industry deep in rapid evolution By Gary Arlen

Entertainment Strikes Take a Huge Toll on Production— But It’s Coming Back

Artificial intelligence played a role in both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA contracts By Frank Beacham

Live Broadcast Productions Open a Gateway to the Metaverse

NBC, Sinclair, among others, are embracing a more nuanced version of virtual reality By Fred Dawson

Is a Hybrid Cloud a Better Choice?

equipment guide

Many organizations adopt a hybrid cloud platform to reduce costs, minimize risk and extend existing capabilities By Karl Paulsen

22 Raising the Bar on LED Panel Lights

ARRI’s new SkyPanel X will likely become a “must have” for rental houses and large studios By Bruce Aleksander

user reports editing & graphics/media asset management

in the news

• Blackmagic Design • Tedial • Avid • Vizrt

eye on tech

Front cover: Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director and chief negotiator, speaks, flanked by SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and union members, during a press conference following the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike in Los Angeles, on November 10, 2023. Photo credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

people

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editor’s note

Recruiting New Talent As we say goodbye to 2023 (TV Tech’s 40th!), it’s fairly obvious that the term “change is constant” was never more relevant. In Gary Arlen’s cover story, we examine the important events and technologies that grabbed the attention of media and entertainment in 2023. In 2024, we’ll get a better idea of how the writers and actors strikes—our vote for the most significant M&E event of the year—will impact the television and film industry. Labor issues have been a continuing dilemma for broadcasters as our industry faces incredible competition from high-tech with fatter salaries, benefits and better life-work balance issues. Recruiting a younger and more diversified workforce was the subject of a panel during the TV Tech Fall 2023 virtual summit last month. TV Tech Senior Editor George Winslow discussed the challenges our industry faces with several experts in human resources and education. Making new talent aware of the opportunities in the TV industry is one of our industry’s weak spots, according to Nikki Bethel, president and CEO of the Emma Bowen Foundation, an organization that promotes inclusiveness in media and technology industries. “Today, you’ve got to stretch,” your recruitment efforts, she said. “The days of everyone coming to you are over. There are too many fish in the sea to think that you can just be the big bear and watch all the salmon come in. You have to be thoughtful about partnerships” and make a real, carefully planned effort to “be in the trenches attracting talent.” Emphasizing the attractiveness of a career behind—rather than in front of—the camera is key, according to Michelle Duke, chief diversity officer and president, NAB Leadership Foundation, at the National Broadcasters Association. “When most people think about local radio and television media in general, they think about what they can see on screen or what they can hear on whatever platform they’re using,” she said. But there is all this “technology involved that goes beyond that. When we attend conferences, we run into these engineering students who are asking us `why are you even here’ because `none of us want to be on camera.’ And we’re saying, `no, you need to understand that there are so many other important things that go on behind the camera.’ So there’s an education piece that has to take place in the industry.” Organizations like the NAB, Emma Bowen Foundation, SBE and SMPTE are all stepping up outreach efforts to recruit new talent and promote inclusiveness, but it’s also up to all of us to promote the opportunities and satisfaction that come with careers that involve more than just sitting at a computer and coding. That’s the philosophy of Gray TV CTO David Burke, who said during a summit keynote, “one of the things that we try to promote within the broadcast industry is that when you come in and you work in engineering staff and TV station, you get your hands on all aspects of it,” he said. “And most people with that type of mindset are very attracted to that type of work. They don’t like to be pigeonholed.” You can access all of the free summit sessions at www.tvtechsummit.com. Tom Butts Content Director tom.butts@futurenet.com

Doug Lung receives the 2023 Jules Cohen Award for Outstanding Broadcast Engineering from IEEE-BTS President-elect Tom Couglin.

December 2023 | www.tvtech.com |

Vol. 41 No. 12 | December 2023 FOLLOW US

www.tvtech.com twitter.com/tvtechnology CONTENT Content Director Tom Butts, tom.butts@futurenet.com Content Manager Terry Scutt, terry.scutt@futurenet.com Senior Content Producer George Winslow, george.winslow@futurenet.com Contributors: Gary Arlen, Susan Ashworth, James Careless, Kevin Hilton, Craig Johnston, Bob Kovacs and Mark R. Smith Production Managers: Heather Tatrow, Nicole Schilling Managing Design Director: Nicole Cobban Art Directors: Andy McGregor, Anthony Wuillaume ADVERTISING SALES Managing Vice President of Sales, B2B Tech Adam Goldstein, adam.goldstein@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 SVP Wealth, B2B and Events Sarah Rees MD, B2B Tech & Entertainment Brands, Carmel King Head of Production US & UK Mark Constance Head of Design Rodney Dive FUTURE US, INC. 130 West 42nd Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10036

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TV Tech Columnist and VP of NBC Universal Local Doug Lung was honored last month with the Jules Cohen Award for Outstanding Broadcast Engineering during the 2023 IEEE-BTS SympoFuture plc is a public Chief Executive Zillah Byng-Thorne company quoted on the Non-Executive Chairman Richard Huntingford sium. This is Doug’s second industry London Stockrecognition Exchange Chief Financial and Strategy Officer Penny Ladkin-Brand (symbol: FUTR) Future plc is a public Tel +44 (0)1225 company quoted on442 the 244 received this year; at the NAB www.futureplc.com Show he received London Stock Exchange (symbol: FUTR) the NAB TV Engineering Excellence Award. www.futureplc.com

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Chief Executive Officer Jon Steinberg Non-Executive Chairman Richard Huntingford Chief Financial and Strategy Officer Penny Ladkin-Brand

Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244

in the news FCC Proposes Plan to Eliminate Pay TV ‘Junk Fees’ Responding to longstanding consumer complaints about so-called "junk fees," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced a proposal last month to eliminate some video service fees and billing practices by cable operators and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service providers. She also wants the FCC to study their impact on consumer choices. The proposal for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking relating to those issues will be voted on during the Dec. 13 Open Meeting. “No one wants to pay junk fees for something they don’t want or can’t use. When companies charge customers early termination fees, it limits their freedom to choose the service they want,” Rosenworcel explained. “In an increasingly competitive media market, we should make it easier for Americans to use their purchasing power to promote innovation and expand competition within the industry.” In addition to the proposal to eliminate

some fees, the FCC said it is also implementing Broadband Consumer Labels and has proposed ‘all-in-pricing’ for cable and satellite services. If passed, the FCC would adopt customer service protections that prohibit cable operators and DBS service providers from imposing a fee for the early termination of a cable or DBS video service contract and require cable and DBS service providers to grant subscribers a prorated credit or rebate for the remaining whole days in a monthly or periodic billing cycle after the cancellation of service.

The FCC noted that TV video service subscribers may terminate service for any number of reasons, including moving, financial hardship, or poor service. Early termination fees require subscribers to pay a fee for terminating a video services contract prior to its expiration date, making it costly for consumers to switch services during the contract term. Because these fees may have the effect of limiting consumer choice after a contract is enacted, it may negatively impact competition for services in the marketplace, the FCC said. Additionally, billing cycle fees require TV video service subscribers to pay for a complete billing cycle even if the subscriber terminates service prior to the end of that billing cycle. These fees penalize consumers for terminating service by requiring them to pay for services they choose not to receive, according to the FCC.

George Winslow

National Museum of Broadcasting Plans Begin to Take Shape Plans are in the works for the creation of the National Museum of Broadcasting in Pittsburgh that will explore the timeline of electronic media, from its humble beginnings in AM radio all the way to our modern era of streaming and social media. The city of Pittsburgh was selected for its stamp on broadcasting history: Station KDKA(AM) began broadcasting from the Steel City more than 103 years ago. “[Our museum] will be an experience to show how electronic media began and evolved in immersive and interactive ways,”

said Bill Hillgrove, Pittsburgh broadcaster and president of the museum board of directors. The National Museum of Broadcasting is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of radio and television and related broadcast and electronic industries. The museum will include artifacts and tell stories through vintage equipment like products used during the early days at KDKA, and illustrate how the industry has evolved by highlighting the use of radio, television and media technology through the decades. The museum also intends to have in-house radio/

podcasting and video production facilities where students can learn media, production and technical skills. Construction of the museum is expected to take several years but Hillgrove and the board credited the support of Pennsylvania State Sen. Jay Costa and the Regional Industrial Development Corp. who are helping to raise the millions of dollars it will take to build it.

based live broadcast technology space. Together, we will not only enrich Amagi's product offerings, but also bring investments in the Eastern European region and create new possibilities for local talent and global customers." Tellyo’s Stream Studio is designed to help media and content teams to produce compelling live video that can be streamed to multiple digital and social media destinations. The company enables branded video clips, highlights, and compilations to be created and published to channels simultaneously and instantly, from anywhere, all with one click.

Tellyo also helps deliver high-quality web conferences, events, and presentations in real time that bring external contributors and commentators into productions from multiple devices. Using Tellyo, athletes, actors, sponsors, ambassadors, and influencers can amplify their reach and engagement across social media. The agreement will also help Amagi expand its footprint in Eastern Europe. Earlier last year, Amagi set up a development center in Croatia, its first outside India. It also has a product development center in Poland and technology centers in India and Croatia.

Susan Ashworth

Credit: PM Images, Getty

Amagi Acquires Tellyo Amagi has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the business of Tellyo, a real-time live cloud remote production, clipping/editing, and social sharing platform. The deal will strengthen Amagi's video toolset for live sports and news broadcasts and improve live video streaming and editing experiences for customers worldwide. "We are excited about the opportunities this acquisition presents for Amagi,” explained Amagi's co-founder and CEO Baskar Subramanian. “Tellyo brings a wealth of expertise, a strong team, and innovative products that align perfectly with our strategic vision of being a frontrunner in the cloud-

December 2023 | www.tvtech.com |

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George Winslow

in the news Gray Opens Atlanta TV Film Studio Gray Television held the grand opening of Assembly Studios, its new television and film studio in the Atlanta suburb of Doraville, Ga., last month. Gray had assembled 135 acres for a new mixed use complex in 2021 that included 43 acres for Assembly Studio’s film and production studio space. Two years later, 19 sound stages are ready to support productions with full-service TV and film studios. "We are excited to unveil Assembly Atlanta, a hub of creativity and innovation that will redefine storytelling in the entertainment industry," said Hilton H. Howell, Jr., Gray’s executive chairman and CEO. "We look forward to witnessing the impact of Assembly Studios on the community here in Doraville,

Atlanta, and in all of Georgia." Located within the Atlanta Perimeter, adjacent to Gray’s Third Rail Studios, the sound stages at Assembly Studios boast superior infrastructure, equipping filmmakers and content creators with the perfect canvas to bring their visions to life, the company said.

Once home to a GM Assembly Plant, Assembly Atlanta is expected to generate more than 4,000 jobs, producing economic growth around the Metro Atlanta area. For the project, Gray has partnered with Universal Production Services to lease and operate the facilities and otherwise support the television and film production needs for NBCUniversal Media, LLC (NBCU) and other users and tenants at Assembly Studios. Assembly Studios is a full-service studio providing all essential production needs including Set Lighting & Grip, Costume, Transportation, Sign & Fabrication Shop, Paint Shop, an expendables store, plus warehouse and mill buildings, dressing rooms, rehearsal halls, and office and event space.

George Winslow OPINION

Are We Putting The Cart Before The Horse? Verance’s announcement of watermarking to fight deepfakes raises a troubling question

ith the beginning whom said they trusted the media. of the 2024 Overall, only 7% of respondents campaign season said they had a “great deal” of trust and elections and confidence in the media. just around the corner, video Perhaps Pew Research unwatermarking expert Verance covered the reason why. Polls announced in November a conducted in February and March collaborative watermarking 2022 found that 76% of the public initiative it’s spearheading along said journalists should work to with the help of TV and digital give every side of an issue “equal news organizations as well as coverage.” Journalists on the other Phil Kurz CE manufacturers to combat hand didn’t show a similar level of deepfakes. commitment to “bothsidesism,” as Pew dubbed The idea is to give viewers a way to tell if the it. Only 55% of journalists told Pew media they are consuming has been tampered all sides of an issue should receive with or modified during distribution. equal coverage. While on-target—a recent poll showed more Or maybe it can be chalked up than half of Americans are concerned about to the public’s general inability to the impact of deepfakes on the election—the distinguish between fact and opineffort raises a troubling question. Does the ion. A February-March 2018 Pew public even have enough confidence in the Research poll gave respondents five media to believe what it reports in the first fact-based and five opinion-based place, regardless of whether the video is legit statements and asked them to or a deepfake? identify what type of statement Consider the findings of a September 2022 each was. Only 26% could correctly Gallup poll. Thirty-eight percent of responclassify all five statements. Twendents had no trust in the media. Only 14% of ty-four percent got four right. The Republicans said they trusted the media, while results for correctly categorizing 27% of independents said they did. Driving the opinion statements were somewhat average of all respondents who trust the media better, but still poor. Thirty-five to 34% were Democrats, seven out of 10 of percent identified all five opinion

December 2023 | www.tvtech.com |

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statements correctly, and 24% got four correct. While Verance’s effort to protect the public from deepfakes is commendable, it seems a bit like putting the cart before the horse. It proposes to use technology to solve a problem that is much more deeply rooted. Before the public can ever trust a watermark the media provides for its content to head off deepfakes, they first must begin trusting the media in greater numbers. Maybe good places to start are more balanced coverage, a hard separation of fact and opinion and clearly identifying each.

reviewing 2023

TV in 2023: Transition or Transformation?

Between Hollywood strikes, changing viewer habits and concerns over AI, the past year showed an industry deep in rapid evolution

PHOTO CREDIT: MR.Cole_Photographer, Getty

By Gary Arlen

What lies ahead is often more important than what just happened, and the media technology developments of 2023 augur plenty of upheavals in store for 2024. Despite the flurry of streaming and artificial intelligence activity, the comatose NextGen TV inactivity and the shape-shifting Hollywood strikes, the past year has largely been a quiet period—typical of a transition presaging a looming overhaul in the production and delivery of video content and paving the way for whatever comes next. As usual, the major topics overlap and interweave in an irregular pattern of business relationships that are intensely affected by technological, financial and regulatory factors. For example, the dominance of streaming video arrives along with ownership changes (such as Disney’s acquisition of Comcast’s share in Hulu) and a reevaluation of retransmission consent rules and fees as they apply to streaming carriage of TV shows. Similarly, the frenzy about Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT)—a core tool of AI—became a critical negotiating element in the TV actors and writers’ strikes. The emerging opportunities in 5G broadcasting reflect the dominating role of video in the mobile

December 2023 | www.tvtech.com |

communications sector, but also raise competitive questions about which industry (legacy broadcasters or mobile carriers) will dominate in these ventures. Such uncertainties tie into the evolving issues of targeted advertising and the concomitant shifting audience attitudes toward media and marketing. Change is afoot. Even in this turbulent yet intertwined media evolution, a handful of topics emerge as benchmarks for the new broadcasting landscape:

STREAMING: FAST GROWTH BUT STILL FINDING ITS WAY Streaming video is now the dominant viewing option, according to Nielsen and several other audience studies. In a report released last summer, Nielsen said that 39% of viewing time was spent on streaming, while cable channels gleaned 30% and broadcast had 20% (the “other” 11% included gaming and DVDs). Although the streaming tally may have been inflated by summer doldrums, Nielsen’s historical data showed the continual shift towards streaming options. And there are plenty of choices, although aside from the biggies (Netflix, Hulu, YouTube TV, Roku, Disney+), streaming channels seem to come and go. At the same time, streaming bundles are popping up in endless configurations. For example, Verizon’s

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wireless service recently discounted Netflix and Max (formerly HBO Max) when bought together, and all the major streamers are toying with ad or no-ad versions: Netflix with commercials costs $6.99 per month, while its lowest priced ad-free version costs $15.49. Likewise, Amazon automatically puts commercials into Prime Video unless subscribers pay $2.99 per month to squelch them. An analysis in October found that 47% of U.S. homes use a FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) service at least once a week. That was part of the Kantar Entertainment-on-Demand study which found that 120 million homes use at least one video streaming service. Indeed, FAST has become the new benchmark in the streaming category with Netflix boasting 15 million monthly active users for its ad-supported subscription tier. FAST’s acceptance is also evidence by the growing number of programming alliances, such as the deal between Golf Nation and TV maker Vizio, which will put the golf events on its “WatchFree+” menu of its FAST on-demand smart TV receivers (connected TV). Meanwhile, fickle viewers are still churning galore. A TransUnion analysis found that 52% of subscribers canceled a streaming service because of price increase, and 29% dropped off because they had finished watching a specific show on that

reviewing 2023

Ratings for streaming services outpaced U.S. broadcast and cable TV in July according to new numbers from Nielsen, marking the first time that viewing for broadcast and cable fell below 50% since the ratings researcher began tracking streaming services in the fall of 2020.

platform. A similar number canceled “due to lack of new content,” and 17% admitted that they abandoned a streaming service because they got access to someone else’s credentials.

PHOTO CREDIT: C. Taylor Crothers

NEXTGEN TV’S ROLLER COASTER YEAR Is ATSC 3.0 (“NextGen TV”) the “AM Stereo of our age?” That cynicism spread throughout the year, especially after LG Electronics had to abandon production of 3.0 sets and broadcast networks continued their lackadaisical embrace of the standard. LG, which spearheaded NextGen TV receiver efforts, announced it would no longer include ATSC 3.0 tuners into its 2024 models after losing in court against Constellation Designs LLC, which claimed it held patents over some of the receiver technology LG used. LG’s retreat (albeit possibly temporary) fueled concern that other TV set makers would also back down, given the paucity of audience uptake—and despite pronouncements from the Pearl TV consortium that more than 10 million NextGen TV “capable” devices will be in homes by the end of 2023. (That sales figure amounts to about half the number of TV sets that have been sold annually in the U.S. during the past few years.) LG asked the FCC to intervene in the patent case, but the National Association of Broadcasters urged the commission to stay out, asserting that it does not have authority and that its rules would not resolve the problem. The faceoff underscored the ongoing complexity of technical and regulatory inter-relationship. On the other hand, broadcasters eager to switch off 1.0 have asked the FCC for help in establishing a deadline. FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel responded with the formation of a “Future of TV” initiative at the NAB Show. The NAB has hosted a number of meetings and first reports should be

December 2023 | www.tvtech.com |

forthcoming by next summer. Despite the setbacks, NextGen TV promoters could boast that their TV signals are now available in New York City as well as another 75+ cities, with a dozen more markets (including Chicago and San Diego) “coming soon.”

HOLLYWOOD STRIKES The dramatic (and sometimes comedic) Hollywood labor disputes involved a variety of issues that will affect the future of entertainment, and (since wordsmiths are performers and were at the core of these disputes) this is not the last word or final act. The artists wanted—and won—residual payments

from streaming video productions and assurances regarding use of their likeness in future artificial intelligence-generated productions. Although “talent” got what it wanted (to some degree), the longer-range effect is still unclear (see Frank Beacham’s analysis on p. 14.) Analysts expect that studios and networks will pare back the number of productions and make other financial cuts to handle the costs of these latest labor deals. Although the Hollywood strikes focused attention on the looming impact of AI throughout the media industry and society the resulting settlements barely just scratched the surface of AI’s potential role in the video and media category. Developers are already touting AI tools that can manage newscast production, create short-form videos (such as teaser promos) and maximize search-engine-optimization keywords and category placement plus social media presence. Anna Chauvet, vice president-Public Policy for NAB envisioned what’s next in her May blog: “AI technology brings immense potential for unlocking operational efficiencies in broadcasting when it’s used responsibly,” Chauvet said. She cited, “efficiencies and operational help” for tasks such as scripting commercials, first drafts of content, speeding up transcription services and social media posts for on-air talent. But Chauvet also reminded broadcasters of AI’s threats regarding use of copyrighted works plus its ability to distort and spread misinformation and urged that “responsible development and use of AI should ensure the integrity of our broadcasters’ work and the trust … [and should] adequately

A highlight for NextGen TV was the launch of 3.0 in the nation’s largest market.

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reviewing 2023

‘CREATOR ECONOMY’ GROWING IN VIDEO SECTOR Homemade videos have been part of the video ecosystem for decades, but thanks to TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and other social media, the broad “creator economy” has grown to a $250 billion business this year, and Goldman Sachs Research expects it could nearly double to $480 billion by 2028. In an April report, the investment analysts noted that increased technology has “lowered barriers to content creation” triggering more digital media consumption. The investment firm expects the current 50 million global creators to increase by up to 20% compound annual growth rate during the next five years, monetized by access to large pools of capital and fueled by “strong AI-powered recommendation engines,” which will match relevant content creators with interested users. Such new production sources (and distribution via video blogs and podcasts) bolster Goldman’s mega-billion-dollar forecast. The impact on legacy TV operations is expected to become significant.

OWNERSHIP OVERHAULS When the $8.6 billion merger of broadcaster Tegna Inc. (which owns 64 TV stations) into hedge fund Standard General was abandoned in May, analysts attributed the move to concerns that the deal would lead to higher prices for consumers and job losses. A planned FCC investigation into the acquisition led to a Standard General suit against the

December

In celebration of our 40th anniversary, TV Tech is offering a month-by-month look at some of the headline-making industry news of the past four decades.

Commission, which was overturned. As part of the deal, Cox Media Group would have acquired several major market stations that Tegna owned. Although there was considerable finger-pointing about the culprits in this failed transaction, the plan has become a poster-child of the rearrangement of industry’s ownership. A few months later, Disney CEO Bob Iger indicated he may jettison some of the firm’s legacy holdings. Insiders believe the company will hold on to network brands best suited to streaming, including ABC and the Disney Channel.

5G BROADCAST: COLLABORATION OR COMPETITION? It’s hard to claim that the “jury is still out” on another alternative media option—5G Broadcasting—because the trials are still underway. LPTV station WWOO-LD in Westmoreland, N.H. (near Boston), is currently operating on a temporary special authorization to transmit programming and data via 5G. The station, licensed by Milachi Media LLC, began its transmission of a 5G signal over its licensed ATSC 3.0 facility in June. The test, which is scheduled to run through mid-January 2024, is intended to gauge the viability of a national 5G broadcast infrastructure for carrying data and emergency alerts. Rick Ducey, BIA Advisory Services’ managing director, said in a Forbes interview that the U.S. broadcast and mobile industries are waiting to see if it’s possible to combine “multicast and unicast networks to offer integrated services over common devices.”

...AND SOME FINAL WORDS FROM WASHINGTON The moribund FCC did what it could in 2023, given its limited ability with 2–2 partisan voting blocs until Anna M. Gomez was sworn in as a commissioner in September to bolster the Democratic roster. Meanwhile, an array of regulatory issues awaits federal action, including: • Retransmission consent for streaming: Cord-cutting’s impact on broadcast income has popped up via several initiatives with members of Congress urging the FCC to find a way to make vMVPDs (virtual Multichannel Video Program Distributors such as YouTube TV and Hulu) pay compulsory licensing fees to broadcasters akin to the current requirements for pay TV operators’ payments. • Blackouts: FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has floated a proposal to force cable and satellite operators to pay rebates to subscribers if MVPDs that blackout local broadcast stations. These policymaking issues underscore the array of 2023 topics that are being tee’d up for further action. And it’s anyone’s guess about how much will be done in 2024, which is already shaping up to be an ultra-contentious election year. l Gary Arlen is a media analyst based in Bethesda, Md.

1983: RCA and NEC stunned broadcasters by

select the fifth and final “key component” needed

demonstrating cameras with conventional pickup

for its proposed HDTV system, the transmission

tubes replaced by solid-state CCD arrays. The new

methodology. (The audio, scanning, compression,

cameras are lighter, don’t require time-consuming

and transport components have been locked in and

registration, display no lag or burn-in, consume

are scheduled for testing that will begin in early

less power and produce images comparable to

1994.) Transmission system candidates include

those from 2/3-inch pickup tubes. While RCA’s unit

32-QAM, 4- and 6-VSB, and COFDM for over-the-air

is still in the prototype stage, NEC is taking orders,

broadcasts. The group is also studying the use of

with $20,000 (about

256-QAM and 16-VSB for cable TV.

$62,000 in today’s money) set as the

2003: Industry pundits fear that a new license fee

introductory price.

requirement could delay the implementation of the new and highly-efficient video compression

1993: The Grand

technology, MPEG-4. (One estimate pegs the cost at

Alliance announced

some $10 million per year.)

that it’s almost ready to 2013: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has decided to put the brakes on the next television broadcast

Thirty years ago the Grand Alliance was ready to select the transmission protocol for ATSC 1.0.

PHOTO CREDIT: Glenn Reitmeier

compensate broadcasters.”

spectrum auction, as the NAB and others are questioning the validity of the TVSTudy repacking software being used to determine post-repack station reach. In light of this, Wheeler is delaying the planned June 2014 auction by a year.

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media tech

Actor, director and cinematographer Mark Gray pickets in Hollywood during the actors strike.

Entertainment Strikes Take Huge Toll on Production—But It’s Coming Back Artificial intelligence played a significant role in the WGA and SAG-AFTRA contracts

Photo credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

screenwriters had gone on strike elevision and film at the same time since 1960. production is slowly coming back after Hollywood’s unions WGA SETTLEMENT representing actors and screenThe WGA strike began on May writers shut the production indus2. On Sept. 24, the guild reached try down. Both the Writers Guild a tentative agreement with a of America (WGA) and Screen coalition of Hollywood’s biggest Actors Guild-American Federation studios, streaming services and of Television and Radio Artists production companies after 146 (SAG-AFTRA), have finally reached days on the picket line. Late-night EXPERTISE an agreement with the Alliance talk shows resumed then. Frank Beacham of Motion Picture and Television The three-year WGA agreement Producers (AMPTP). includes significant wins in The effects of the twin strikes shut down the main areas writers had fought for— production in not only Los Angeles and compensation, length of employment, size of New York City—the two major production staff and control of artificial intelligence. It centers—but throughout the world. It was the was mostly what they had sought at the outset first time the unions representing actors and of the strike.

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The union sought minimum increases in pay and future residual earnings from shows of between five and six percent, depending on the position of the writer. The writers negotiated new residual payments based on the viewership of streaming shows, where writers will get bonuses for being a part of the most popular shows on Netflix and other streaming services. The studios initially rejected this proposal. Many writers complained that they weren’t being paid enough to help create heavily watched properties. Also, shows that intend to run at least 13 episodes will have at least six writers on staff, with the numbers shifting based on the number of episodes. The WGA failed to get a staff of six on shows that had not yet been ordered to series, settling instead for a guaranteed three. The agreement also guarantees that writing staff on shows in initial development will be employed for at least 10 weeks and that staff on shows that go to air will be employed for three weeks per episode. The writers got the regulation and control of artificial intelligence: Under the new contract, raw, AI-generated storylines will not be regarded as “literary material”—a term for scripts and other story forms a screenwriter produces. This means writers won’t be competing with computers for screen credits. AI-generated stories will not be considered “source” material—their contractual language for the novels, video games or other works that

media tech writers may adapt into scripts. Writers have the right to use AI in their process if the company they are working for agrees and other conditions are met. However, companies cannot require a writer to use AI in their work.

SAG-AFTRA SETTLEMENT The SAG-AFTRA settled after 118 days. Members have until December 1st to ratify the agreement. The union said the pact is valued at more than $1 billion and includes pay increases higher than what other unions received this year, a “streaming participation bonus” and the right for actors to control the use of AI on their own images. The tentative deal also includes higher caps on health and pension funds, compensation bumps for background performers and “critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities.” If the deal is ratified, the contract could soon go into effect, and if not, members would essentially send their labor negotiators back to the bargaining table with the AMPTP. There is some discontent with the AI provisions of the agreement. Justine Bateman,

an actress-writer-filmmaker and producer, said union members should only approve the deal “if they don’t want to work anymore. If they want to be replaced by synthetic objects that are made by generative AI.’ Though SAG-AFTRA has officially approved the tentative agreement, Bateman, who has actively served as a union advisor for generative AI, said she feels studio executives are choosing to no longer be in the film and series business. “Doing projects that don’t involve humans … you’re not in the film business anymore,” she said. “People who don’t want to have any human involved have never really been on a

“I’ve said from the beginning that the use of generative [AI] will collapse the structure of this business.” —JUSTINE BATEMAN

set. They don’t know what it’s like to make a film. “Soon they’ll have customized films for you based on your particular viewing history,” Bateman explained. “And they won’t bother to copyright them because it’ll be like Kleenex. They’ll make a million of them an hour, it won’t matter to them. … You can get yourself scanned and get yourself put in these pieces. And there will be a novelty that eventually will wear off, because I think people will still hunger for something real and human. “I’ve said from the beginning that the use of generative [AI] will collapse the structure of this business. I want the actors and crew to have enough self-respect to turn over a table and flip the CEOs off as it happens. They’re going to leave you with nothing left to lose.” Bateman urged actors “to study the inclusion in the agreement of ‘Synthetic Performers,’ or ‘AI Objects,’ resembling humans. This gives the studios/streamers a green light to use human-looking AI Objects instead of hiring a human actor.” l Frank Beacham is a New York City-based writer and media producer.

metaverse trends

Live Broadcast Productions Open a Gateway to the Metaverse NBC, Sinclair among others, are embracing a more nuanced version of virtual reality By Fred Dawson

As the roar of the metaverse hype machine fades to a ho hum, there’s growing evidence that what can be called a “metaversal” approach to production is starting to take hold in the broadcast industry. Paralleling the headline-grabbing and often flawed efforts to deliver immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences with sports programming, broadcasters have quietly been learning how to leverage volumetric VR and augmented reality (AR) production tools in their workflows. This has allowed them to add compelling graphics dynamism and personalized viewing experiences to internet-streamed 2D renderings of news, sports, and other live broadcasts that are reaching viewers worldwide. At the same time, by bringing these solutions into the production mainstream, broadcasters are getting the hands-on experiences in volumetric productions that are essential to

producing a new generation of 3D immersive viewing experiences. These efforts are gaining currency with ongoing improvements in extended reality (XR) hardware and software.

IN THE REAL WORLD Notably, while many high-profile sports and other VR programming initiatives were done in by poor viewing experiences, some providers, including the NBA—in a recently renewed multiyear deal with Meta; and NBC with its live VR streams during the 2022 Winter Olympics—have stayed the course. With these new productions they’re demonstrating that it’s possible to eliminate pixelation on VR headset screens, stomach-churning delays in responses to shifts in viewers’ fields of vision, and other impediments to user adoption. Equally important to the improvements in consumer experiences are major advances in headgear, including smaller form factors, tetherless VR head-mounted devices (HMDs) that free users from wired links to computers,

During the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, NBC offered up its Olympics VR by Xfinity app that featured more than 150 hours of live and on-demand interactive virtual reality coverage in 8K.

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and eye movement-tracking sensors that lead to more accurate renderings of what users are looking at. Looking forward, while Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality (MR) HMD set for launch in early 2024 with a starting price tag of $3,499 is targeted to the enterprise and the high-end consumer markets, its incorporation of a dazzling array of advances combining AR and VR technologies exemplifies where mass market user experience is headed as prices for such devices fall over the next few years. The new volumetric production-driven perspective on the broadcast industry’s migration into the metaverse runs counter to the current sense of disarray in the metaverse camp, which may mean new terminology is needed to avoid detracting from the transformative developments now underway. Notably, Apple CEO Tim Cook never used the word “metaverse” when he introduced the Vision Pro in June. Indeed, with Meta’s Reality Labs laying people off in droves after racking

metaverse trends Sinclair Broadcast Group teamed up with Deloitte to provide immersive coverage of this year’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., in the broadcaster’s first project designed to fulfill its goal to build a 360-degree socialized viewing environment.

up a $13.7-billion loss in 2022 and headlines trumpeting the demise of metaverse projects like Microsoft’s AltspaceVR, Walmart’s Universe of Play, and Disney’s Next Generation Storytelling & Consumer Experiences, there’s far less of the metaverse-infused banter that saturated the internet two years ago.

BUILDING A FOUNDATION But no matter how the next phase of engagement with internet-based technology is labeled, there’s no denying that the broadcast industry, along with many other industries is moving inexorably toward building a foundation to operating in a new era blending real-world experiences with immersive virtualization. The pace of XR adoption across all sectors is reflected in many recent research reports. For example, MarketsandMarkets predicts the XR market—encompassing devices, software, and applications—will grow from $40.1 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.7% to reach $111.5 billion by 2028. Researcher Brainy Insights, citing demand for 3D/3600 content in sports and other entertainment as well as advertising, forecasts even faster growth in the global volumetric video segment of the market with projected expansion at a 29.3% CAGR from $2.1 billion in 2021 to $21.2 billion by 2030. The impact of the volumetric production

agenda is noticeable in post production processing, according to Allan McLennan, president of 2G Digital Post, a leading Burbank, Calif.-based post house serving motion picture and TV producers worldwide. “Where we see it is in the sheer size of the files, which are a lot larger than a traditional video capture or film,” McLennan says. Once news, sports and other live content is produced on location for immediate output, the completed files are sent to post production where they’re processed for on-demand access. “Those files need to be compressed, packaged, secured, and pushed out with a very heavy eye on quality control,” McLennan notes. 2G Digital is known for its QC expertise, which is essential to meeting producers’ specifications for packaging and local distribution, McLennan adds. “There’s always something that has to be looked at for delivery to the different platforms in the marketplace,” he said. While the bigger files benefitting from volumetric enhancements might add a second or two to the post production processes, today’s state-of-the-art hardware can handle the loads. “What it really comes down to is updating new types of software,” McLennan says. “We’re on top of that on an ongoing basis.”

ing the use of tools that will take them much farther over time, Gerberman notes. Indeed, as he and others in the field can attest, the migration is well underway with a rapidly expanding spate of initiatives at national and local levels of broadcast operations worldwide. For example, Allan Cook, managing director at Deloitte Consulting, is deeply involved in such initiatives as head of Deloitte’s Unlimited Reality practice, which has been expanding across multiple industries since its genesis several years ago on the heels of metaverse-oriented projects involving the U.S. Department of Defense. There’s a lot of volumetric production activity underway in the broadcast industry, Cook says. Cases in point include multi-year Unlim-

DELOITTE INITIATIVES With the growing focus on volumetric production in 2D programming, the industry is peeling back layers of the XR onion, normaliztwitter.com/tvtechnology | www.tvtech.com | December 2023

metaverse trends ited Reality engagements with the U.S. Golf Association (USGA) and Sinclair Broadcast Group, which, unlike the unit’s other broadcast industry clients, have been willing to publicize what they’re doing with the firm. These applications are based on volumetric 3D production techniques that leverage AI, 3D computing, Web 3.0 technology, and advanced streaming to produce experiences meant for 2D viewing on conventional device screens as well as more immersive 3D viewing experiences if clients want to engage with people through AR and VR eyewear. One of the features offered with the latest version of the USGA App used in this year’s U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open championships allowed viewers to follow play tournament-wide on interactive streams to their PCs, tablets and smartphones. “With our app you could watch any player at any time on any hole from any direction,” Cook says. “You could watch a player in 3D hit the ball and see exactly where it landed on the fairway,” he adds. On the green, “you could zoom down to the ball going into the hole in near real time.” In addition to shot tracking, the app allowed viewers to tap into scorecard highlights of all televised shots and to receive customized alerts about players they

“We created a number of experiences you wouldn’t be able to get in your home or even at the event.” ALLAN COOK

were following. Such capabilities demonstrate the drawing power of this technology. With tens of thousands of users worldwide, the app registered as a top-five app in the Apple store during the men’s open, Cook says. The results are resonating with the USGA, which this year for the first time has extended use of the app with varying feature sets across all 15 of its championship tournaments.

360-DEGREE SOCIALIZED VIEWING ENVIRONMENT The other publicized example of what Deloitte is doing occurred with the Sinclair-owned Tennis Channel’s coverage of this year’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, CA. The app— offered on an invitation-only basis

Earlier this year, the NBA renewed a deal with Meta to broadcast 50 live NBA games in virtual reality (VR) on Meta Quest, including five in immersive, 180-degree VR during the 2022–2023 season.

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to viewers worldwide—delivered a multi-faceted 2D user experience based on 3D volumetric production technology supported in part by Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, a leading provider of 3D creation tools for multiplayer video games. This was the first project undertaken in fulfilment of Sinclair’s goal to build a 360-degree socialized viewing environment with its live sports and possibly other broadcasts. “We created a number of experiences you wouldn’t be able to get in your home or even at the event,” Cook explains. The app made it possible for users’ avatars to play tennis on a digital replica of the Paribas tournament’s center court. “We also allowed you to do a number of 360 tours behind the scenes, so people could see parts of the environment you wouldn’t be able to see as a regular member of the public,” Cook says. Shopping for paraphernalia in virtual merch tents was part of the experience as well, which “proved to be quite popular,” he adds. While Cook declines to discuss what’s next on Sinclair’s metaverse agenda, he makes clear there’s much more in store. “They’re very interested in looking at expanding beyond the Indian Wells event with other viewing engagements,” he says.l

cloudspotter’s journal

Is a Hybrid Cloud a Better Choice? Many organizations adopt a hybrid cloud platform to reduce costs, minimize risk and extend existing capabilities

loud and IT go hand and less risky. in hand, so as IT leadBy looking at known issues, ers, you likely need a we hope to broaden perspective comprehensive, clear and set the tone for understandinsight into the technologies that ing how, why or why not “in the feed both the enterprise and the cloud.” cloud. Of paramount importance to IT leaders and cloud architects LIFECYCLE is keeping your technology assets Most products sold to users secure, well-governed and cost have some concept of how long it effective. This is a far cry from will last. This “lifecyle” is no difEXPERTISE where IT was a decade or more ferent for automobiles, appliancKarl Paulsen ago, whereby IT was pictured es and certainly electronics. Like more as support for the back hardware, software also has its office and keeping “the network” funcown version of how long it will last—sometional—as well as supporting the users and times based on the hardware it lives on and workplace. sometimes just how long the original equipIT leaders need comprehensive, clear inment manufacturer (OEM) wishes to support sights into their technology to fuel this evait or feels it is worthy of maintaining due to sive and evolving data-driven, decision-maktechnology changes (usually advancements) ing processes, which lead to the best of or their cost of keeping it alive. results. The cloud, while convenient and less In IT (and cloud) , there is also a software involved (compared to an enterprise-size lifecycle. In this case, the software asset data center) is not without its concerns. This lifecycle is about having your IT resources is not to be “negative” about the cloud. Quite accounted for, cost-effective and properly the contrary, knowing pitfalls of the cloud employed. Vulnerabilities of the products lead can only make your implementation(s) better the list of concerns about IT assets according

In considering cloud, many look at using a combination of ground-based (on-prem) services and cloud services. to Flexera’s 2021 “State of IT Visibility Report.” This issue is a chief concern of the enterprise information management and staff. The same issues can be and are extended into cloud practices and, like the “ground-based” enterprise, must be carefully understood, watched and protected. The sidebar provides simple definitions as they apply to software systems and hardware components. In considering cloud, many look at using a combination of ground-based (on-prem) services and cloud services. This is generally referred to as a “hybrid” cloud service and

Definitions End of life (EOL) indicates the last date that “full support” for a product is provided by a supplier, vendor or manufacturer. End of support (EOS) is the last date on which any support is provided by a supplier, vendor or manufacturer. From this point on, the user is at the mercy of “self-help support.” Vulnerability, sometimes is referred to as an error in software, which can be exploited with a security impact and gain. All systems have some level of vulnerability. Thus, it becomes imperative that the administrator of the system is up to date, is thorough in their practices of support and maintenance, and that they stay current in technology as it applies to their systems and operations. Credit: werayuth, Getty

Exploitation is most evident when malicious code leaks into a system and takes advantage of any vulnerabilities that might infect a computer or perform other harmful actions.

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cloudspotter’s journal

A hybrid cloud approach is one of the most common infrastructure architectures of modern computing applications for IT, media, healthcare and the list goes on. some feel this is not only important, but it may also be essential to its operation. In this model there is a dual role—that is, here the enterprise must manage its own services (onprem) and in turn manage its cloud services as well.

IS A HYBRID CLOUD THE RIGHT ANSWER? According to Morpheus’ “Gartner Market Guide for Cloud Management Tooling,” “The requirement to support hybrid and/or multicloud deployments is stressing current enterprise operational processes and tooling that had been designed for their on-premises

environment. The main use cases continue to be around cloud governance and resource management as enterprises try to avoid overspending or falling prey to security breaches.” By definition, a hybrid cloud is a mixed computing environment where applications are run using a combination of computing, storage and services in different environments—public clouds and private clouds, including on-premises data centers or “edge” locations. On a broader perspective, hybrid cloud architectures are widespread primarily because almost no one today relies entirely on a single public cloud. Figs. 1 and 2 show the values and benefits of employing a hybrid cloud to your solutions. The value is that in hybrid cloud solutions you need to migrate and manage workloads between various cloud (and ground) environments. In turn, this allows users to create more versatile setups based on specific business needs. Many organizations choose to adopt hybrid cloud platforms to reduce costs, minimize risk and extend their existing capabilities to support digital transformation efforts. A hybrid cloud approach is one of the most common infrastructure architectures of modern computing applications for IT, media, healthcare, and the list goes on. Today, most

cloud migrations often lead to hybrid cloud implementations as organizations often have to transition applications and data slowly and systematically. Hybrid cloud environments allow you to continue using on-premises services while taking advantage of the flexible options for storing and accessing data and applications offered by public cloud providers, such as Google Cloud.

THE GOOD AND THE BAD On the other side of the coin, there are many reasons why there are plenty of workloads that will never go to public cloud—some of which include: regulatory response, life/ safety reasons, subscription vs. permanent cost models, less control over your data security, and of course, you must have good Internet. The “if it’s not broke don’t fix it,” and the “one throat to choke (your own),” along with long-term costs of cloud computing being higher, all stack up against the “all in the cloud” model. Users also say some applications actually run better on a local server along with not knowing “where” your data really is (risk of regulations that could impact data retention or recovery, and how much does it take of your time plus the inability to control reliability. Another not-so-pleasant concern is that every action leaves a trail (i.e., Where’s your privacy?). Many of us grew up thinking that almost everything online was anonymous. Wrong. Connecting to the web generates an IP address. Every website we visit can see that IP address, and others can “see” that information, everything from what operating system we use to the size of our screen resolution. Nothing you do is private any longer, especially when your interaction requires or expects one to “create an account.” The main point in creating an account is to retain certain data in order to display it again later. (Privacy is lost, even if the website “says” differently. If it weren’t important, why does that site need it?)

EVERYONE HAS A DATA PROFILE Every detail about us can, and often is, regularly bought and sold; cookies track us routinely. Even if you don’t accept the cookies, there are means to track and trace you. Artificial intelligence now “fills in the gaps” using other resources, such as Facebook, one of the largest repositories of personal information on the planet. This issue isn’t limited to services with public data (as in Facebook and Twitter/X). Amazon, Google and Dropbox each store dif-

Fig. 1: Hybrid cloud values

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cloudspotter’s journal ferent but very intimate details about each of us. Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”) is valuable to you, to businesses and to hackers. Personable data generates a “profile” that now positions you into “classes” or groupings, which now link to other connections and end up being “mined” by organizations that profit from knowing what they know and, at times, exploiting that information for less than personal reasons. And it’s not just cybercriminals who want your data; countless services and governmental agencies want and collect your personal details too.

CONCERNS BY HR So, think further about your own organization or enterprise data, much of which may indeed include “your” personal data. For good reasons, HR departments take worthy concerns over their employees’ personal information and that you, the employee, trust that data to your employer. The same might go for corporate records, contracts and such. Hence the interest and concern over security whereby they may employ technologies like blockchain to protect transactions, contracts and other confidential information.

Artificial intelligence now “fills in the gaps” using other resources, such as Facebook, one of the largest repositories of personal information on the planet. fit when complying with their national (EU) laws. Essentially, this says that organizations must have a lawful reason for collecting personal data; the amount of personal data collected must be limited to the minimum necessary to complete the lawful purpose; and that data must be deleted once the lawful purpose has been completed. The U.S. (country-wide) has been struggling to develop a similar protection, but has essentially gotten no-where; yet California has implemented similar policies.

WHERE IS MY DATA, REALLY? The depth of these kinds of actions apply not only to local servers and services, but extend into the cloud, which leads to an interesting caveat. What happens when the data actually resides in a cloud that is in a non-EU country? Hence, you can see the concerns for using “the cloud” when you don’t know where the data is or under which jurisdiction that data might be controlled at any given moment. Furthermore, these concerns become more complicated as the cloud providers expand and the resiliency models (data duplication and distribution) grow for faster, more improved services. So, know your solution set thoroughly before jumping on the “all in the cloud” bandwagon. Keep informed or use a knowledgeable entity to help support and maintain your investments.l

Karl Paulsen is a frequent TV Tech contributor who has been writing about storage and media solution technologies for the past three decades. He can be reached at karl@ivideoserver.tv.

TYPES OF PPI Direct identifiers, also called “sensitive PII,” are data sets that can be used to pinpoint you and only you. Quasi-identifiers, also called “non-sensitive,” are those details that can be combined with other quasi-identifiers to “label” you—classify or group you for geographic, domestic or other reasons. Quasi-identifier designations are often used for statistical analysis placing you into group(s) that describe which “you belong to.” Direct identifiers, as mentioned, are about you and only you. Nothing you share with another person is a direct identifier—that data such as your full name, medical history, credit card details, personal identifiers such as social security or insurance numbers, or your passport number. Europe took a hard stand less than a decade ago with its General Data Protection Regulation (GDRP), a European law enacted in about mid-2018). The GDPR concept aimed to protect you (the user) and provided a legal means to have to prove that any collector of said data had actually scrubbed and/or expunged your data from their files, should you request such action. Initially, the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive set goals and requirements, which the EU member states were free to interpret its general goals and requirements as they see

Fig. 2: Adopting cloud benefits

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lighting technology

Raising the Bar on LED Panel Lights ARRI’s new SkyPanel X will likely become a 'must have' for rental houses and large studios This efficient method for creating moonlight uses a ground-based SkyPanel X to bounce a narrow beam of light into a reflector held aloft by an aerial work platform.

gloom of LED’s infancy, but we’re now getting the lighting tools that work the way we do.

he sun has set on incandescent, and the last of the fluorescent tubes are being snatched off the shelves as they too fade to black. HMI still plays a role in the larger fixtures, but their days are likewise numbered. As for LEDs, it’s been an uneven and sometimes clumsy ascension, but there’s no doubt that they’re the current king of light. The industry stubbed a few toes while fumbling through the

BRUCE ALEKSANDER

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TRENDSETTING

EXPERTISE

When ARRI’s original SkyPanel S60 first came out in 2015, it set a trend: With its RGBW light engine and built-in effects, it heralded new possibilities for what a light could do. Like most early iterations of any new technology, it wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough. It even met the

economic utility of staying serviceable long enough for the rental houses to amortize their investment. Well done! But that was eight years ago. What’s next? LED components are still improving at rates reminiscent of the early days of computer chips. Other manufacturers have taken advantage of those advances, making the original SkyPanels look dated today. ARRI was apparently just biding their time working on their updated fixture. Sharing little more than the root name—the SkyPanel X is completely new. ARRI’s new panel follows the practical

lighting technology 2x1 form factor. Rather than offer stair-step increases in fixture size—as they did in the past—they’ve taken a module approach. Different yoke configurations handle one, two or three heads. This approach simplifies everything from manufacturing on down. To paraphrase Darwin, it’s not the brightest light that succeeds in the wild; it’s the most adaptable. ARRI has created an adaptable light by incorporating the best qualities we’ve seen in several of the best lights, rolling them into a single package. With this measured evolutionary step, they’ve raised the bar again. The new SkyPanel X won’t be for everyone, but it will likely become a “must have” item at rental houses and large studios. These lights offer some exceptional features. ARRI is abandoning their RGBW light engine for the broader color gamut of RGBACL (Red, Green, Blue, Amber, Cyan and Lime). This brings their SkyPanel X light engine into line with their Orbiter monolight. This change fits well with the larger landscape of products that ARRI is known for—their cameras. This is where things literally come together.

UNIQUE ADVANTAGE LEDs are discontinuous spectrum emitters, unlike incandescent and natural daylight.

SkyPanel X takes a modular approach with different yokes configurations. Accessories provide a range of light quality modifiers.

Camera sensors are, likewise, discontinuous spectrum sensors. By manufacturing both the lights and the cameras, ARRI now controls both the paint and the canvas. The spectral frequencies of the light can now be tuned to match the cameras. This gives ARRI a unique advantage. And they’re making use of that. With the greater range provided by their RGBACL light engine, SkyPanel X uses software to match the color gamut of various Arri cameras. Although the current software is programmed for ARRI cameras, they could match the LUTs (Look Up Tables) of any camera. Another advantage of an RGBACL LED package is the ability to accurately adjust for a wide range of CCT (Correlated Color

Many of today’s LED fixtures draw so little power that you can almost ignore load calculations. SkyPanel X is not one of them.

Temperature) while staying closely within the perfect Planckian locus of accuracy. Bicolor, RGBW and RGBWW fixtures are limited in this ability with their smaller color gamut and fewer possible metamer combinations. SkyPanel X should be able to cover a CCT range of 1,500K–20,000K, which is huge. SkyPanel X now boasts an integrated power supply, IP 66 (Ingress Protection) rating, the enormous color gamut of RGBACL LEDs, wireless control (LumenRadio CRMX2), and modular scalability with their multiple-head yokes. Old accessories can even be used with an optional adapter, along with new ones, including an unusual, lensed adaptor they call the HyPer Optic. To some extent, SkyPanel X is both a soft and hard source light. The HyPer Optic puts a lens in front of every LED chip, collimating the multiple beams into a single round shaft of light. It’s a nice trick that increases the utility of the fixture, but don’t expect it to take the place of a Fresnel. Although it’s effective for pumping light through a window or into a bounce at a distance, you’re less likely to use the HyPer Optic directly on someone in the same room for anything “natural.” Many of today’s LED fixtures draw so little power that you can almost ignore load calculations. SkyPanel X is not one of them. While the RGBACL light engine provides a broad color gamut, that flexibility comes with a trade-off in efficiency. A single SkyPanel X pulls up to 800W, which is double the original version’s draw. ARRI boasts that the triple-headed version is as bright as a 2400W HMI. Well, it also pulls 2400W. Based on early data, it still has an acceptable 65 LPW (Lumens per Watt), which is OK in a fixture with the color agility of a six-chip light engine. But if you only require “white” light for use in a conventional studio, there are other fixtures that will be a better fit for cost and energy efficiency. Still, I’m impressed with this fixture while acknowledging that nearly all its features are already out there. What the SkyPanel X notably does is combine them into a singular modular light with excellent build quality and high usability. This fixture has undoubtedly set a new bar for other manufacturers to hurdle. As with the original SkyPanel, we not only get a great new tool, but this new version will also encourage the competition to adapt and become even better. l Bruce Aleksander invites comments and topic suggestions from those interested in lighting at TVLightingguy@hotmail.com.

twitter.com/tvtechnology | www.tvtech.com | December 2023

eye on tech | products and services Haivision and Grabyo Integrated Solution for Live Multicamera Cloud Production

AJA DRM2 Frame for AJA Mini-Converters

Haivision and Grabyo have partnered on a fully integrated solution that combines Grabyo’s cloud production platform with Haivision Makito X4 video encoders and Haivision Pro and Air mobile video transmitters to deliver ultra-low latency contribution streams. The solution allows Haivision’s full range of live video contribution devices to be used to stream sub-second latency feeds over public and private networks. These feeds can be sent directly to Grabyo Producer for frame-accurate synchronization and camera switching, instant replay, SCTE-35 ad insertion and multitrack audio mixing with high-fidelity SRT output. The platform is fully distributed and cloud-native; the workflows can be extended back to the studio by including Haivision Makito X4 video decoders for displaying low-latency SRT streams from the Grabyo cloud platform to SDI-based production monitors. z www.haivision.com z https://about.grabyo.com/

DRM2 is a rackmount frame that can house and power up to 12 AJA Mini-Converters of any kind, or up to 24 AJA FiDO Mini-Converters with a new optional DRM2 Y-Cable. Featuring a 200W fanless power supply and sleek 3RU design, AJA DRM2 streamlines broadcast, production and proAV workflows by enabling professionals to rackmount multiple AJA Mini-Converters for signal conversion needs. The next generation of AJA’s popular DRM Mini-Converter rackframe, AJA DRM2, includes customer-requested features like a removable faceplate that allows quick access to the frame. Mini-Converters are mounted to small carriers, which are easily installed or taken out without removing the frame from the rack. Twelve carriers are integrated and replacement carriers can be purchased individually or in a 12-pack. The frame’s power cable harness has 13x D5/10-PC connectors and plugs into a connector on the power supply frame. z www.aja.com

Verance Watermarking System to Authenticate News Sources

Riedel Communications RiMotion R10

Verance has unveiled a watermarking system for digital authentication and tracking of trusted news sources of video. The development of the company’s watermarking system comes as concern grows among the public about the impact of deep fakes on the election and major news organizations are responding to those concerns by taking steps to bolster their vigilance against deep fakes. Verance said it is currently talking with TV and digital news operations and consumer electronics giants about creating partnerships for the trusted news source watermarking system. The watermarks embedded in video content would be detected by receivers in the home, enabling viewers to decide about the authenticity and accuracy of information. The system will give viewers the ability to determine if the media they are watching has been tampered with or modified during distribution. z www.verance.com/

Riedel Communications has expanded the company’s range of live video production solutions with the release of RiMotion R10. The RiMotion replay series is part of Riedel’s family of software-based products for multicamera production and was integrated into its portfolio after the acquisition of Simplylive. Riedel’s RiMotion solutions combine extensive replay capabilities, including super-slow-motion (SSM) camera support, with an innovative, user-friendly interface. The new R10 offers affordable replay packages without compromising on quality and capability and will be added to the existing R6, R8 and R12 bundles, providing six to 12 HD channels, and the R84, with up to four UHD and eight HD 10-bit HDR channels. RiMotion R10 supports 10 video channels, offering up to eight multiformat camera inputs—including SDI, SRT and NDI—plus two outputs in a powerful and compact 1RU server. z www.riedel.net

BitFire BitFire Media Platform

AdImpact Potomac

The latest release of the BitFire Media Platform, Bitfire’s production technology solution for hybrid broadcast workflows, combines the best of traditional broadcast technologies with software-defined tools that unlock the power of the cloud. BitFire Media Platform converges physical and cloud-based tools to enable users to create entire production workflows at any scale. Powered by the company’s ultra-low-latency global IP transmission network, the BitFire Media Platform is a comprehensive, robust IPbased solution enabling seamless hybrid-cloud transmission, production and distribution. The BitFire Transport Network offers a globally distributed architecture, with strategically positioned ingest locations near ground-based sources and destinations. It seamlessly leverages multihop recovery strategies and real-time routing decisions to ensure ultra-low latencies with the utmost resiliency. z www.bitfire.tv/

Ad intelligence company AdImpact has launched a new political media buying software solution, Potomac, which the company is billing as a first of its kind centralized platform for planning, buying, revising and reconciling political media campaigns. With its advanced features and intuitive interface, AdImpact said that Potomac simplifies the buying process, saving users more than half their manual work time. Potomac supports local linear broadcast and cable, national cable and network TV. By the end of the year, the company also plans to introduce additional features, including a financial dashboard, digital buying and the option for automatic makegoods. Potomac simplifies and expedites buying and planning in local broadcast via automation for politics-specialized workflow, allowing users to work more effectively and efficiently. With Potomac’s cloud-based software, users can easily see real-time information about orders, traffic, payments and more. z https://adimpact.com/

XXXXXXXX 2023 December 2021 | www.tvtech.com www.tvtechnology.com | twitter.com/tvtechnology | twitter.com/tvtechnology

eye on tech | products and services Clear-Com EHX Update for Eclipse HX Digital Matrix EHX v.13.1, the latest version of configuration software for Clear-Com’s Eclipse HX Digital Matrix, offers role management advancements for a streamlined configuration process and improved user experience, making it easier for users to stay connected. The update also offers important compatibility with the NMOS4 and NMOS5 standards, ensuring interoperability and discovery across networks, as well as support for Clear-Com’s 2X10 Touch desktop panel. EHX 13.1 offers role-based logins, streamlining configuration and allowing users to move quickly from device to device. System administrators can set a single key to contact a user regardless of the device where they are logged on. This saves the effort of having to configure several keys when a user moves between several devices during a production. The user experience is greatly improved with a simplified login to whichever endpoint device is closest at hand with keys that autofill their specific configuration allowing a “follow-me” operation. z https://clearcom.com

Digital Alert Systems Software Update for DASDEC/ One-Net

Chyron Chyron Weather 2.0 Chyron Weather 2.0 is designed to provide visually rich map-based graphics, custom forecast elements, dynamic global analysis, and realistic 3D panoramas, with exceptionally intuitive graphic design and live presentation. In addition, the platform offers new features including an elegant dark-look UI, CAMIO newsroom integration, secure data retrieval and support for the latest Windows versions. A data-provider-agnostic platform, Chyron Weather 2.0 facilitates the creation of rich weather visualizations from any unique stack of public meteorological data sources or private weather data providers and utilizes powerful visual scripting tools to shape them as needed to suit specific presentation requirements. Accessible design tools make it easy to customize the look of weather visualizations or create dynamic custom forecast graphics/charts based on select data. With a central hub for managing real-time playout and rapid rendering across multiple servers, Chyron Weather intelligently delivers content across on-air, web and social media channels through simple automated workflows. z https://chyron.com

Quicklink SMPTE ST 2110 Support

v5.2 software for Digital Alert Systems’ DASDEC and One-Net emergency messaging devices includes the latest FCC compliance features for the Emergency Alert System (EAS) that broadcasters must implement by December. This third release in the v5.0 series also includes more security features and safelists to restrict access to the device. Changes in v5.2 include three sets of modifications required by the FCC’s recent order on EAS. v5.2 requires a DASDEC or One-Net device with a 64-bit processor in order to install and operate the latest code. All units shipped since 2016 featured a 32-/64-bit processor, so owners of those devices can simply install v5.2 using Digital Alert Systems’ secure field upgrade server. Once a device is running v5.0, all future in-version upgrades will be available at no charge. z www.digitalalertsystems.com

Quicklink has begun supporting SMPTE ST 2110 with its Quicklink ST250 AI-enabled multicamera broadcast studio, ST150 studio-in-a-box, ST100, ST102, ST208, ST200 studio servers, Cre8 STS410 video production platform and Quicklink TX (Skype TX). The technology now supports direct uncompressed video inputs and outputs into 2110 IP-based workflows, conforming to the SMPTE ST2110 standard for IP video. SMPTE ST 2110 specifies the transport, synchronization and description of video, audio and ancillary data over managed IP networks for broadcast. SMPTE ST 2110 support is the latest addition to the company’s IP video production standards portfolio, which also includes NDI, SRT and Dante. z www.quicklink.tv

Magewell Ultra Encode

Sencore ARD 3000 Decoders

Magewell’s new Ultra Encode HDMI Plus and Ultra Encode SDI Plus live media encoders combine encoding and delivery flexibility with simultaneous multiprotocol streaming, file-based recording, NDI HX3 support, 4K encoding at 30fps, Power over Ethernet (PoE) support and advanced live production features. Designed for a variety of applications ranging from live streaming and remote contribution to IP-based production and distribution, the Ultra Encode HDMI Plus can encode at resolutions up to 4096x2160 at 30fps from its HDMI interface, while the Ultra Encode SDI Plus encodes up to 4K at 30fps from the device’s 6G-SDI input. Both support multiple video encoding formats and technologies, including H.264, H.265 (HEVC), NDI HX2 and NDI HX3, as well as many streaming protocols, such as RTMP, RTMPS, SRT, RTSP, RTP, HLS and TVU’s ISSP technology. z www.magewell.com

Sencore has unveiled enhanced descrambling capabilities supporting ATSC 3.0 A3SA digital rights management for its ARD 3000 series of decoders. The enhancement is part of its newly released version 1.17.0 software for the decoders. Use of the new software to support DRM also requires installation of the ARD 3x001 add-on license and adding a USB dongle to ARD 3000 series decoders. Users also will need near full-time internet access for key retrieval to ensure seamless descrambling of encrypted ATSC 3.0 services. Available as a single-channel (ARD 3100) and four-channel (ARD 3400) 1RU appliance, the ARD 3000 series is purpose-built for decoding ATSC 3.0. The series is well-suited for re-encoding and confidence monitoring applications in existing distribution systems. z www.sencore.com twitter.com/tvtechnology | www.tvtech.com | December 2023

editing & graphics/media asset management | equipment guide

Editing Hip Hop Doc `216: Legends of the Land’ With Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve USER REPORT By Jay Kool Director

CLEVELAND—As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip hop, there have been a lot of homages done for its musical pioneers. However, some legends were being overlooked. I realized no one was examining the role that Cleveland artists had in the rise of hip hop, and I needed to change that. With that, “216: Legends of the Land” was born. The four-part docuseries focuses on the people, places and things that helped evolve Cleveland’s hip hop culture from the early ‘80s to the superstardom of Bones Thugs-N-Harmony. It premiered this fall at NerveDJs’ 20th Anniversary & Hip-Hop’s 50th Celebration & Awards Weekend and as a first-time filmmaker, it was a dream to have my project premiere at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Each of the docuseries’ 30-minute episodes focuses on a different part of the culture, and features local legends such as DJ Cochise, DJ Johnny ‘O, M.C. Chill, Cleveland radio station WDMT FM 108, graffiti legends Sano and Mr. Soul, and b-boy Forrest Getemgump.

SOFTWARE FOR COLLABORATION For the docuseries, I worked in lockstep with three other editors (as well as serving as the DP, producer and director). Although we originally started editing the project with one software, it quickly became clear that we needed a different setup as we were running into issues with workflow and digital handoffs, stepping on each other’s toes instead of smoothly collaborating. We were familiar with Blackmagic Designs’ DaVinci Resolve Studio since we were grad-

ing the docuseries with it, as well as shooting select scenes and interviews with a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K. I also had used DaVinci Resolve Studio’s Fairlight audio post-production tools in the past to score movies and I knew what it was capable of, so we decided to dive in. Since DaVinci Resolve Jay Kool turned to Blackmagic Studio combines editing, Design cameras and editing color correction, VFX, solutions for his directorial debut, motion graphics and audio “216: Legends of the Land.” post-production all in one software tool, we knew that not only could we edit the series, we could up green spill and more made life so much also effortlessly transition to the next part better and easier. Additionally, the color of post production with a single click and no space transform tools really came in handy downtime in between, saving us precious time since the docuseries was filmed with multiple and energy. cameras with different codecs. Ultimately, the move to DaVinci Resolve Studio smoothed out all the editing issues STREAMLINED WORKFLOWS we were having, and we were able to take After transferring the entire project to advantage of the program’s additional Fusion DaVinci Resolve Studio, it grew legs and and Fairlight tools, which was an added wings—each editor was able to seamlessly bonus. It was very user-friendly and allowed work on the project without hampering each multiple editors to work together seamlessly, other’s work. Our workflow was smoothed so we could deliver the project in time for its out and became extremely efficient and we premiere at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. l no longer had any lags or crashes throughout the process. With an editing team of four, the ease of digital handoffs was a big benefit. Jay Kool is a hip hop artist, producer, In addition to video editing, we also used songwriter, actor, networker and entrepreneur. DaVinci Resolve Studio for its robust color Currently he runs Kool House Media, a profesmanagement system and ease of use for sional studio for film, soundtrack and music sound design with Fairlight. The animation scoring. Kool makes his directorial debut and and VFX tools it has for green screen work is executive producer, writer and narrator for were also incredibly helpful for the series’ “216: Legends of the Land.” He can be reached narration scenes. On DaVinci Resolve Studio’s at jaykool44108@gmail.com. Fusion page, the motion graphics tools for More information is available at keyframing, dynamic zoom tool, cleaning www.blackmagicdesign.com. twitter.com/tvtechnology | www.tvtech.com | December 2023

equipment guide | editing & graphics/media asset management buyers briefs Rohde & Schwarz CREATE

Aveco GEMINI

Rohde & Schwarz’s CREATE is a software application for creating dynamic on-air graphics templates and a design tool for creating professional graphic templates in Gallium and StreamMaster. Using industry standard 3D design and animation techniques, CREATE’s template-driven workflow and intuitive user interface is designed to empower artists to design sophisticated graphics fast and to allow users to design, set up and playout on-screen graphics in real time in response to changing events, incoming data and operator interaction. More specifically, it offers frame-accurate graphics for automated playout or live production; highly intuitive and powerful graphics template creation interface; full 3D environment with lighting and 3D materials; a customizable workspace, which can be saved and shared between users; and support for external 3D models and live texture mapping. www.rohde-schwarz.com

GEMINI is designed for the Create-Manage-Deliver paradigm of today’s media world. The media asset management platform lets users focus on content and their creative tasks wherever they are—in the facility, at a home office or in the field around the world. Accessible by any desktop or tablet with a web browser and internet connectivity, GEMINI is designed to maximize the value of media, to increase monetization of assets and to minimize cost of ownership. The architecture of GEMINI utilizes microservices, Dockers, Kubernetes and other modern and proven technologies to run in the cloud or on-prem COTS devices, depending on requirements and can scale GEMINI as requirements evolve from thousands to millions of media assets and from tens to hundreds of users. https://gemini.aveco.com

Ross Video Xpression

Signiant Media Engine

Whether it’s graphics for news, sports, entertainment, branding, virtual sets or AR, Ross’ XPression provides a comprehensive graphics solution that equips operators with real-time motion graphics capabilities. Built from the ground up to be a 3D system, XPression fully supports 2D workflows, including clips, and seamlessly composites real-time 3D animation with media assets from today’s hottest design applications. In addition, XPression uses intelligent caching to provide real-time access to content and provides clean user interfaces, logical menus and controls based on other widely deployed creation tools. It’s IP-ready, supporting SMPTE ST 2022-6, 2022-7 and 2110. Completely flexible, XPression handles: SD, HD, in SDI or IP, UHD/4K in Quad-Link or 12G Single-Link SDI. The full suite of Ross graphics systems and workflows includes XPression, XPression Tessera, XPression Maps and the Piero 3D Sports Analysis system. www.rossvideo.com

While media asset management tools have become much more powerful, most users don’t need feature-rich, overbuilt systems or the extra effort required to install and operate. Media Engine—part of the Signiant Platform—simplifies finding and using media. Media Engine isn’t a MAM, but it has the media management tools everyone needs. Media Engine indexes all media on any Signiant-connected storage—on-prem or in the cloud. There’s no need to move or ingest the content. Once indexed, search and preview media. It’s “Google-search” simple: just type in a keyword, phrase, file type or anything else and Media Engine quickly performs a search across all your storage. Files matching the selected criteria pop up instantly in a simple interface. www.signiant.com

Crispin Corp. Core Crispin Corp., a Sony Group Co., is a supplier of broadcast automation and media asset management. Its solution, Core, provides an adaptable approach to master control. From traditional on-prem, virtualized, cloud and disaster recovery options, Core delivers the flexibility to meet customers’ specific requests. Crispin’s web playlist tool, webRPX, allows view and control of playlists from anywhere on the network. LoadingDock is a comprehensive, self-contained, web-based ingest tool for processing long- and shortform syndicated content. A consolidated web view, TimelineView enables playlist control for many channels. CMC-Content Browser expands cloud QC and ingest workflows. www.crispincorp.com

December 2023 | www.tvtech.com |

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EVS VIA MAP EVS’ VIA Media Asset Platform (VIA MAP) serves as the central infrastructure for EVS’ core solutions, establishing a cohesive and open ecosystem that aligns with the dynamic requirements of today’s media landscape. It also capitalizes on EVS’ MediaInfra solutions, enabling users to fully harness the potential of an IP-based backbone in live video operations through advanced routing, monitoring, orchestrating and media processing flows. Built upon a microservices-based foundation, VIA MAP is designed to facilitate a smooth transition from traditional to cohesive media operations. Content professionals are empowered to efficiently create and manage media assets, but also strategically utilize them for distribution and monetization across diverse media channels. www.evs.com

editing & graphics/media asset management | equipment guide

RTVA Works Smarter With Tedial’s smartWork USER REPORT By Pedro Espina CTO RTVA

SEVILLE, Spain—RTVA is the Spanish regional broadcaster of Andalucia, a major Spanish region with 8.5 million people. It consists of Canal Sur Televisión, which broadcasts three TV channels; Canal Sur Radio, with four radio channels; and Canal Sur Media, including the OTT platform “CanalSurMas”, the website canalsur.es, among other online channels (including YouTube). Since 2006, RTVA had been using Tedial’s Media Asset Management (MAM) system across multiple sites in the Andalusia region, where staff worked locally from the eight diversely located sites. But the local systems architecture, which had once worked so well, became obsolete and plans to replace it were delayed due to the difficulty in obtaining CapEx financing.

SHIFTING TO SAAS To overcome this problem, RTVA made the decision to adopt a new business service model using a SaaS-based production and archive system with centralized operations. This approach would solve two problems: the centralization architecture would reduce local teams support and the SaaS model will avoid the difficulty of finding funding for capital expenditures. After a 2021 tender, Telefónica—one of Europe’s leading telecommunications companies—was selected to be the service provider and decided to deploy Tedial’s smartWork. The Tedial solution would become the integration engine for RTVA to transform their business model from a multilocation architecture to a centralized infrastructure hosted on a private cloud in an external data center. The SaaS platform is licensed under an OpEx model. The project utilizes smartWork, Tedial’s NoCode Media Integration Platform, as the core

platform for seamless integration of multiple systems from numerous and varied vendors. These integrations include Tedial Evolution MAM, Avid Interplay PAM, Avid iNews NRCS, Telestream Root6 transcoding farm, Provys traffic system, Pebble Beach Marina Playout, Etiqmedia AI, David DigaSystem Radio production system, Quantum storage, among other Canal Sur Media systems. This new approach also unifies the TV and radio archives in a unique platform, integrated with TV production system (Avid) and radio production system (David). The project also encompasses the migration of eight legacy MAM sites to a new centralized Tedial Evolution MAM, which is being seamlessly facilitated by smartWork’s newest addition, smartPacks. The smartPacks solution streamlines the process of deploying business capabilities by automatically installing everything needed to run the specific service. Telefónica hosts the smartWork platform in Telefónica’s Andalucia Virtual Data Center (VDC-Edge), a private cloud in Telefónica data centers that can be scaled up and down to meet specific needs. Telefónica is also providing the network with enough bandwidth to allow remote users from the different sites to use the new centralized platform. To ensure business continuity, the project includes a Tedial Evolution MAM at RTVA facilities as a Disaster Recovery. This MAM

Pedro Espina spearheaded a new project to transform and radically upgrade RTVA’s operations with a new SaaS-based production and archive system with centralized operations that will allow it to capitalize on new opportunities.

uses a LTO8 tape library to archive all new and legacy content, so RTVA has a copy of our 35 years of existence and more.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION This innovative solution, hosted in Telefónica data centers, enables Telefónica to support RTVA with self-sufficient media services, empowering them with enhanced operational efficiency. Tedial’s smartWork platform speeds up our digital transformation and offers such benefits as unprecedented flexibility, seamless and effortless integrations, reduced costs, enhanced team collaboration, improved profitability, accelerated growth and dramatically shorter delivery times. To meet RTVA’s specific requirements, smartWork’s business intelligence features were incorporated, providing a global Dashboard that perfectly aligns with RTVA’s needs. With this model, RTVA has an always up-to-date platform that can scale up and down to meet RTVA business needs and meet such new challenges as IP production and UHD workflows that may arise in the future. Adding new features and tools in the future will be as easy as adding new SaaS services and won’t require us to find CapEx funding. l Pedro Espina is the CTO of RTVA. He can be reached at pespina@rtva.es. More information is available at www.tedial.com.

twitter.com/tvtechnology | www.tvtech.com | December 2023

equipment guide | editing & graphics/media asset management buyers briefs EditShare FLOW

Dalet Dalet Cut

FLOW media asset management platform supports and manages all media content, whether located on-prem, in the cloud or as a hybrid implementation. FLOW handles all media files by indexing and centralizing them with easy access through a simple efficient UI. Using FLOW as the central asset management system for media allows EditShare’s Universal Projects to bring together DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro and Avid Media Composer—into a free-flowing and productive workflow environment. The integrations transparently transfer all the necessary project data—sequences, clips, bins and markers—between editing tools such as nonlinear editors (NLEs). All relevant information is available remotely through a secure web interface. www.editshare.com

Designed for fast-paced news and media workflows, Dalet Cut powers live webbased editing from anywhere with native access to all assets including clips, sequences, projects and graphics. Released at the 2023 NAB Show, Dalet showcased how it integrates within the Dalet Flex ecosystem during IBC2023. When used within Dalet Flex, Dalet Cut enhances media workflows by allowing users to select and cut down content without leaving the Dalet Flex environment; easily and quickly create social media highlights; accelerate media distribution with easy-to-use compliance editing workflows integrated within the user’s media supply chain platform. Within Dalet Pyramid, Cut allows users to break news first and create multimedia news stories from anywhere through cloud-native proxy editing coupled with intuitive tools for story creation; to package and distribute eye-catching stories for any platform is quick and easy in a single browser tab. www.dalet.com

Chyron CAMIO CAMIO offers MOS-driven, graphics template management, built for fast-paced news, on-prem or in the cloud. Integrating with major NRCS, CAMIO makes it easy for newsroom personnel to access graphics; fulfill them with text, images or clips; and then add them to any story in the news rundown for automated playout. Expanding rundown driven visuals, CAMIO users can also add video wall content, virtual sets and weather segments to their stories. Supporting distributed workflows, CAMIO ensures efficient, consistent branding across remote sites and teams. Additionally, CAMIO brings efficiency and brand consistency to the edit suite through integration with major NLEs. https://chyron.com/

Cablecast VIO Smart Asset Manager Introduced in Cablecast 7.5 software for Cablecast VIO video servers, SAM (Smart Asset Manager) serves as a virtual assistant for video automation workflows. Designed to minimize user effort (and user error), SAM copies content between the video server and other storage locations, such as a SAN, NAS or the cloud. It also integrates seamlessly with Cablecast Cloud Storage, a scalable off-prem solution. With rules-based automation, SAM can automatically move content to archive storage or backup media files to a designated file store for safekeeping, as well as automatically retrieve assets when needed based on the program schedule. www.cablecast.tv

Adobe Premier Pro

ENCO ClipFire

Premier Pro’s new editing tool allows users to create rough cuts fast with TextBased Editing, enabling users to auto-generate a transcript and highlight text to add clips to your timeline. Then users can refine, reorder and trim clips just like they would edit a text doc. For further refinement, the tool allows users to clear all awkward pauses with bulk deletion and use filler-word detection (beta) to remove unwanted filler words. Other new enhancements to Premier Pro include AI-powered Enhance Speech (beta) that removes distracting background noise and improves the quality of your dialogue. Premier Pro also allows users to quickly insert and add clips from bins or drag clips between multiple timelines, use 3and 4-point editing, and create J and L cuts with ease. www.adobe.com

ENCO’s ClipFire automated playout system brings multiple workflow functions together for live and automated media playout in broadcast environments and AV, including televised sports and live events. ClipFire brings automatic ingest, media asset management, graphics and playout automation together into a unified platform. ENCO recently added powerful new features, including the ability to ingest and play out multiple channels of video simultaneously with support for baseband SDI and NDI inputs and outputs. On-the-fly transcoding enables ClipFire to play a variety of mixed file formats and resolutions with transitions, while a new native Clip Editor allows users to adjust in/out points and merge clips within the ClipFire application. A resizable L-bar automates live video squeeze backs to accommodate wraparound graphics for a sophisticated look in live playout environments. Users can also automate dynamic graphic overlays to accentuate real-time information display. www.enco.com

December 2023 | www.tvtech.com |

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editing & graphics/media asset management | equipment guide

Turning an Ocean of `Deadliest Catch’ Footage Into a High-Sea Adventure With Avid USER REPORT By Alexander Rubinow ACE

LOS ANGELES—Editing a documentary requires editors who are organized and who have iron-clad patience to search through and review hours upon hours of footage. But for a show like “Deadliest Catch,” on which I’ve been a picture editor for the last 14 seasons, these talents are stretched to the limit. Up to 47,000 hours of footage is captured for each season of the show and all those rushes—which include footage from shoulder-mounted cameras shot by camera operators/producers who are on deck with the crab fishermen, as well as multiple fly-onthe-wall mounted cameras from each boat— need to be condensed down into just over 20 hours of finished programming. “Deadliest Catch” is the Discovery Channel’s high-octane series that documents fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during Alaskan king crab and snow crab fishing season, which is considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. The show has been a fan favorite throughout each of its 300+ episodes in 19 seasons, the latest of which I was honored to be nominated for an Emmy Award.

RUSHES COME IN WAVES In my work on this show, I work exclusively with Avid Media Composer editing software to turn the hours of footage that make “Deadliest Catch” the suspense-filled show that it is. I work with approximately 10 other editors and together we’re responsible for crafting the daring stories of life on the fishing boats. For “Deadliest Catch,” footage comes in waves (pun intended) because the boats are on remote parts of the Bering Sea for weeks or months at a time. That means we’ll be editing earlier episodes of a season while the season is still being documented and footage is still being shipped back as we only get the rushes once the camera operator/producers come ashore. The unpredictable nature of the job and the delay in receiving rushes means changes need

The producers of “Deadliest Catch” rely on editors using Avid’s Media Composer to turn thousands of hours of footage into 20 hours of finished programming for one season.

to be made to episodes already in the edit—the death of Captain Phil Harris late in season six for example. An unexpected event that happened in the middle of a stint at sea, we were told that we’d soon be receiving footage of his death. We went back to previous episodes to line up what was coming. It made us look at older rushes, considering using things that before his death seemed unimportant but afterwards felt significant.

EDITING FLEXIBILITY In any season we use a lot of different features that help us turn the huge amounts of footage into the episodes that you see on TV. While I edit, I’ll mark up clips in our edit bins with locators that do a few things; reminding us to request other angles of something that happened on board or flag something as a good shot that I might want to use later. As a team of editors, we also narrow down

bins to only show unreferenced clips to our advantage. Seeing only clips that haven’t already been used means we don’t accidentally double up on musical cues in any season. I’ve had the pleasure of working on “Deadliest Catch” for so long and I love seeing how the stories have continued to engage audiences with each season; not only that but I’ve also been lucky enough to have already received an Emmy for my work on the show. But none of that would be possible without the incredible job that the whole production team does bringing us this mountain of footage from which to craft these stories. l Alexander Rubinow, ACE is an Emmy Award-winning and ACE Eddie-nominated editor. He has been nominated for four Emmy Awards, winning one in 2015. He can be reached at alexander@arubinow.com. For more information visit www.avid.com.

twitter.com/tvtechnology | www.tvtech.com | December 2023

equipment guide | editing & graphics/media asset management

TVNZ Relies on Vizrt’s Viz One and AWS for Archives, Media Workflows USER REPORT By Jean-Louis “JL” Açafrão General Manager of Technology Television New Zealand

AUCKLAND, New Zealand—At Television New Zealand (TVNZ)—the country’s largest broadcaster—we work at the forefront of news and entertainment in New Zealand, delivering content to more than two million New Zealanders daily through free-to-air broadcast channels TVNZ 1, 2, DUKE and online platforms TVNZ+ and 1news.co.nz. As New Zealand’s most-trusted news provider, our priority is getting the story out to audiences, so we empowered our news and current affairs (NCA) teams to do as much of the work themselves, with far less reliance on our archivists. The ability to search and pull back content is essential to telling engaging

stories. With an extensive history of footage and valuable media assets, we also knew that investing in a good media asset management system was paramount to making it easy for NCA teams to access the content they need, whether it’s recently archived or decades old. Viz One delivers that for us.

ARCHIVED WITH VIZ ONE In the weeks leading up to New Zealand’s recent general election, for example, we had reporters in the field every day following politicians and party leaders; all that content came back to base and was archived through Viz One so it could be readily accessible by the newsroom if purged from the Avid editing environment. We also had a very busy archive team making sure all the footage could be researched and accessed by producers, journalists and reporters directly from their desktops. We introduced a digital archive managed by the Viz Ardome MAM in 2009. The migration

Jean-Louis “JL” Açafrão’s tech teams have deployed the Viz One archiving and media asset management solution as a key part of their transformation to a digital first media organization.

December 2023 | www.tvtech.com |

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from Ardome to Viz One added NCA to the digital archive through digitizing TVNZ’s legacy tape-based news archive to file format, which was all completed in 2017. Viz One looks after TVNZ’s archive, giving easy access to over a million unique assets spanning decades of archived content across petabytes of storage. With our streaming platform TVNZ+ growing rapidly and with the steady growth of TVNZ’s unique content, we migrated the archive to Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud to benefit from the cost predictability, resiliency and flexibility that cloud offers. Coupled with content classification and intelligent archive rules, Viz One automatically moves content to different levels of AWS S3 archive storage, such as S3 Glacier and S3 Glacier Deep Archive. This maximizes cost efficiencies while still empowering journalists to quickly access and retrieve clips or enable Content teams to recall scheduled content for online delivery and linear playout. The move to cloud not only enables us to protect our invaluable archive, it also opens up additional services, such as AI facial recognition and speech-to-text for metadata logging, optimizing the search and discovery process.

DIGITAL FIRST We’re currently transforming our organization from a traditional linear TV broadcaster to a digital-first media company. What was compelling for us in choosing Viz One was the open API architectures and the partnerships that Vizrt has developed for our other key technologies, such as AWS and Avid. Beyond that, the ability to upskill our team using Viz University gives us further access to the value of our core tools. It was important for us to choose a reliable MAM system to manage decades of media archive content and be able to repurpose it easily and quickly. At TVNZ, we understand the responsibility of being an authority source of the truth, and that comes with being responsible with our footage. Knowing it’s safe and ready to be reimagined is why we chose Vizrt. l With a career that spans over 25 years, Jean-Louis “JL” Açafrão has broad experience in the media sector, starting at Microsoft and moving through various roles in free-to-air, pay TV and OTT services, including BBC, TVNZ, MultiChoice, Spark New Zealand, WPP and MTN Africa. He is currently general manager of technology at TVNZ and can be reached at Jean-Louis@tvnz.co.nz. More information is available at www.vizrt.com.

editing & graphics/media asset management | equipment guide buyers briefs Bitcentral Oasis

Florical MediaMaster

Bitcentral’s Oasis Media Asset Manager is an industry-leading media workflow solution, dedicated to streamlining news production for both in-house and remote teams. This robust and agile search engine retrieves raw, work-in-progress, finished and archival content, all located in a unified platform. Oasis seamlessly integrates with leading NRCS and NLE vendors. Moreover, Oasis facilitates federated searches and content transfers between multiple station locations. With proven reliability, the software offers flexible storage options including on-premises, cloud-based and Bitcentral’s Fusion Hybrid Storage options. Oasis is part of the Core News suite of news production software, which also includes Precis (ingest and playout), and Create (editing). https://bitcentral.com

MediaMaster is a smart media asset management software that helps TV stations manage, transfer and track their video content based on air schedules and content usage. Key features include: the ability to automatically transfer material as needed based on real-time schedules; the ability to “discover” new material on servers; automatic archiving; the ability to process multiple play schedules and multiple file servers; giving users the ability to manage by traffic purge lists, manual purges, expiration dates and automated “priority” purges; the monitoring of on-air and future presentation schedules for missing material; the ability to backup server content to a library automatically based on usage algorithms, and the ability to automatically purge system contents based on asset expiration date or traffic purge lists. www.florical.com

Grass Valley Framelight X Based on the company’s flexible, modular Agile Media Processing Platform (AMPP), new enhancements to Grass Valley’s Framelight X asset management solution include the addition of an AMPP-native MOS Clip List Player, which allows AMPP players connected to Framelight X to be driven by an NRCS rundown for newsroom and live-event production playout. Multiple rundowns can be supported with features such as preview of intro or outro, end clip behavior and post roll support. Framelight X can now also repurpose GV’s Mync universal media player/ organizer as an RMI tool for ingesting media. In addition to this RMI feature, support for HTML5 graphics is now included in the Framelight X Editor. www.grassvalley.com

Imagine Communications Versio Content Portal Versio Content Portal is a content management application for media preparation and distribution for playout that is an integral part of the Versio on-premises SDI/2110 playout ecosystem. It helps to manage all the required playout assets such as video, audio and graphics, and enables control of many key workflows to improve operational efficiency. Versio Content Portal works as a common file orchestration layer, providing storage inventory management and file movement. Its web-enabled tools allow users to search for and browse content, segment it and its associated metadata sitting in different locations, preparing it for playout. www.imaginecommunications.com

products & services marketplace

twitter.com/tvtechnology | www.tvtech.com | December 2023

people on the move For possible inclusion, send information to tvtechnology@futurenet.com with People News in the subject line.

KAREN CHUPKA

MARCO KRAAK

CLAUS GÄRTNER

AJIT PAI

National Association of Broadcasters

Vizrt

Lawo

Vizrt has appointed Marco Kraak GM, Global Channel. Kraak has more than 25 years of executive experience in partner go-to-market strategy and growing both indirect and direct sales. He held multiple senior positions at Cisco developing their Channel business in various areas including recurring software business. Recently he came from SUSE where he led the Channel remit for APAC, EMEA and China, introducing new key channel growth initiatives.

Lawo has expanded its Executive Management Board with the appointment of Claus Gärtner, who will succeed Claudia Nowak as CFO and “Vorstand.” Nowak will retire next September. Gärtner’s international career has included key executive positions at Rheinmetall, Smiths-Heimann and Heidelberg Engineering Group, where he contributed to the growth and success of each company. after she retires next fall.

America’s Public Television Stations

Karen Chupka has been appointed to succeed Chris Brown as managing director and EVP, Global Connections and Events for the National Association of Broadcasters. She comes to NAB after more than three decades of leadership with the Consumer Technology Association, including EVP of CES and chief strategy officer. Chupka will manage business and oversee staff who produce NAB Show, NAB Show New York and NAB Amplify.

MICHELLE SHANAHAN

HAMID AKHAVAN

JEFFERY LIBERMAN

Dish

National Association of Broadcasters

America’s Public Television Stations

Jeffery Liberman has been appointed to the NAB Television Board of Directors by Television Board Chair Pat LaPlatney. He assumes the board seat of Entravision Communications President of Local Media Eddie Melendez. Since 2017, Liberman has served as president and COO of Entravision, a global advertising solutions, media and technology company with 49 TV stations, 46 radio stations and a network featuring nationally syndicated talent.

APTS has hired Michelle Shanahan as general counsel. In addition to leading the association’s governance, regulatory, contracting, corporate compliance and nonprofit legal work, Shanahan will also manage telecommunications and spectrum issues and strategies. She previously worked in National Public Radio’s Office of the General Counsel for 25 years, most recently serving as deputy general counsel and assistant secretary.

Hamid Akhavan has joined Dish as president and CEO. He will oversee the video services, wireless businesses and subsidiaries and will also will continue in his role as CEO and president of EchoStar. Before taking on the leadership roles at Dish and EchoStar he was a partner at Twin Point Capital. Prior to that he was a founding partner at Long Arc Capital and was CEO of Unity (formerly Siemens Enterprise Communications), COO at Deutsche Telekom and CEO of T-Mobile International.

December 2023 | www.tvtech.com |

twitter.com/tvtechnology

APTS has elected former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to a three-year term as an at-large member of the APTS Board of Trustees, effective Feb. 26. Pai got his start with the the Federal Communications Commission in 2007 as a lawyer in its Office of General Counsel and served as chairman from 2017 until 2021. He is now partner at Searchlight Capital Partners.

MATT KESKE G&D North America Inc. G&D North America Inc. has hired Matt Keske as the subsidiary’s new director of business development for Broadcast & Entertainment. Keske will be responsible for developing and implementing strategies to develop new business opportunities in the broadcast and entertainment industry. With his extensive experience and expertise in the industry, he will work closely with existing customers while building new partnerships and customer relationships.

THE TROUBLE WITH USB-C • MEET SMPTE’S NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR • IMMERSIVE AUDIO

lenses & HDR p. 16

www.tvtech.com | October 2022

GEAR ON THE GO • EDUCATING YOUR STAFF ON NEXTGEN TV • CLOUD BASICS

equipment guide recording & storage devices

Fair Play

S AR YE AB 0 N 3 10 OF p. 1

R ST FO CA 5G AD 16 O p. BR

www.tvtech.com | January 2023

WHAT’S NEW IN CAMERAS, LIGHTING & AUDIO? • PREVIEWING NEXTGEN TV • IP SHOWCASE

equipment guide cloud solutions

www.tvtech.com | March 2023

NAB Show Preview

Is it ready for primetime?

Broadcasters’ biggest gathering celebrates its centennial

Broadcasters look to Capitol Hill to level the playing ﬁeld with streamers

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