VueTech News MPTS 2024 Ultimate Guide

Welcome to VueTech News’ Ultimate Guide to MPTS 2024!

It is time to gear up for another exciting edition of the Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS)! This year promises to be a scorcher, packed with cutting-edge innovations as industry leaders showcase their latest offerings. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, MPTS is the place to be to stay ahead of the curve.

In this special edition, we’ve curated a comprehensive guide to highlight ‘What is hot. And where to find it.’ to help you maximise your time and navigate the whirlwind of MPTS 2024. We’ll delve into the hottest trends and technologies taking centre stage, from live visual radio made easy, virtual production and AV over IP to the next generation of cloud storage solutions.

Also, it is with great pride that we are able to announce VueTech News is now an Official Media Partner of IBC. We’d like to extend our thanks to the IBC team for their trust in us, not just to cover the event, but to support exhibitors with our modern, far reaching, and cost-effective communications. We’ll be announcing our IBC Ultimate Guide packages very soon!

GB Labs Previews its New Cloud Storage Solution and NVMe SPACE servers at MPTS 2024

Stand E30, Olympia London, MPTS 2024, 1516 May: GB Labs will be showing its new cloud storage solution, NebulaNAS, previewed at NAB Show in Las Vegas, in April.

NebulaNAS evolves traditional on-prem NAS storage into a global storage solution by linking an enterprise’s post-production teams together for seamless collaboration, from anywhere in the world.

NebulaNAS bridges the gap between an organisation’s physical sites and offers a reliable, robust, and lightning-fast central hub for media data. It’s fast, and scalable and requires no additional hardware or infrastructure to set up.

New SPACE NVMe options for 2024

GB Labs has introduced two NVMe options to its SPACE range, a 24-drive server for rackmount facilities, SPACE NVMe, and a lightweight desktop option, ideal for small office workflows, MiniSPACE NVMe.

Speed is one of the key advantages of NVMe over disk technology, with over 10GB/s writes and up to 40GB/s read back.

This is ideal for editing uncompressed image sequences, with 4 to 5 times the performance of SSD servers for post-production editors, working with any codecs (4K, 8K and 16K) and frame size, to accelerate video sequences.

With these new faster NVMe additions to the SPACE family, GB Labs offers even more flexibility and high-performing storage, for on-premise and off-premise workflow requirements

To find out more or discuss your media storage and workflow requirements, grab a coffee on our stand E30 at The Media Production and Technology Show!

www.gblabs.com/events/mpts-2024

GB Labs at The Media Production and Technology Show

CINEMA LOOK BROADCAST SPEC

The FUJINON Duvo™ Series

FUJINON Duvo HZK14-100mmT2.9-3.9

Three broadcast lenses offering diverse focal ranges and shooting styles Native PL mount

Duvo HZK24-300mmT2.9-4.2 FUJINON Duvo HZK25-1000mmF2.8-5.0

Providing a Platform

Now with over 50 OEM’s licensed, developing and delivering Dante enabled video products (add that to the 600+ OEMs delivering audio products) the family of Dante networked audio and video solutions continues to grow rapidly. In fact, 2023 saw Audinate hit the impressive milestone of shipping over 1 million units, and with this endorsement from the market, the company is also delivering on ambitious plans to expand their control and management options as well.

AV over IP will, undoubtedly, be a point of discussion for many at MPTS – in the seminar theatres and on the show floor, but what are the benefits and real-world challenges for end users – and perhaps more importantly, how are the solutions currently available addressing them? With a choice of protocols and products to choose from, how do you choose the right solution for your AV over IP project? With these questions in mind, we’ve asked Audinate to walk us through the focus of Dante AV Ultra, and outline the future plans for Dante.

Summary of benefits of AV over IP.

For AV over IP systems in general, the obvious

benefits are that they are easy to install and just as easy to extend or scale up, they are not limited by physical ports on switches and can accommodate a large number of devices (endpoints) over a greater distance. As AV over IP often utilises the existing network infrastructure, minimal costs are involved in moving to AV over IP or expanding at a later date. Importantly, an AV over IP system can be managed securely and remotely with the creation of zones and authorisation tools. Pointto-point technologies are inherently less flexible than the network, requiring additional hardware devices to send to multiple locations. With the network, multicast makes that possible with a click of a button. While SDI and Cat 6 cable both have a distance limitation of 100m, IP networks with multiple switches or fiber runs extends this significantly further.

Dante AV comprises hardware and software products that serve the needs of real time or live interactive applications where tight audio and video sync is required (Dante AV Ultra), limited bandwidth environments for conferencing and streaming (Dante AV-H), one-to-many AV distribution for commercial install (Dante AV-A)

VueTech News talks to AV over IP trailblazers Audinate.

Achieving true synchronized audio and video. Audio and video are difficult to keep synchronized, and manual operations are often required to maintain lip-sync to endpoints. Dante AV Ultra uses a single network clock for both audio and video, providing deterministic latency for all video and audio, which means that it’s easy to keep audio and video in perfect sync.

Imperceptible latency between presenters or performers and screens.

In-room video distribution requires lower latency than many compressed networked video solutions provide. Dante AV Ultra delivers sub frame latency that looks and feels natural for audience members with no awkward delay between live action and visual reinforcement.

Catch Audinate’s Joe Ingless and Marc Risby from Digibox at MPTS at their ‘Future of IP Video’ seminar 11:35am on 15th May.

Visually lossless video.

4K60 4:4:4 video encoding and decoding for applications that demand visually lossless video quality and ultra-low latency means you can use Dante AV Ultra for IMAG, sending artifact free images to stages and confidence monitoring in near real time.

Interoperability!

You can send audio to any of the thousands of Dante-enabled devices available today while sending video and control to any number of Dante AV Ultra endpoints.

Sending audio and video streams to separate locations.

In legacy and other video systems, audio and video are often linked as they are delivered to endpoints. In order to send audio to locations other than a video monitor, expensive matrix switches or embedders/disembedders are required. Dante AV Ultra delivers audio and video as separate, synchronized streams so, audio and video may be sent to different locations no demuxing required.

Finding a 4K video distribution solution that doesn’t require new network infrastructure beyond 1Gbps. Dante AV Ultra works anywhere that Dante Audio over IP works on standard 1Gbps networks. With no need for new network infrastructure, Dante AV works with readily available, cost-effective gear so there’s no need for complex and expensive specialty switches supporting higher bandwidths.

Keeping the network secure.

With Dante management solutions such as Dante Domain Manager or Dante Director, control is simplified through a single interface with secure user access control, active monitoring, and remote access to simplify system maintenance and support.

The future roadmap for Audinate

The plan for Audinate is certainly to continue to add complimentary elements to the Dante AV over IP platform, in turn bringing more value, service and capability to Dante networks. New cloud-based offerings such as Dante Connect delivering synchronized audio from ground to cloud for broadcast products and Dante Director for control and remote management underpin the strategy to provide that comprehensive, interoperable AV over IP solution for customers.

Dante - One Connection. Endless Possibilities. (getdante.com)

SMALLER, LIGHTER, FASTER

Duvo™ is a term combining the Latin words duo (dual) and vivo (live). It represents the series’ two-faceted nature, with both cinema- and broadcast-lens characteristics – as well as compatibility with two types of mainstream large sensors for cinema cameras.

For a demonstration or more information, please email FUJINON-UK@FUJIFILM.COM

Prism Sound Showcases High-Quality Audio Conversion at MPTS 2024

The company will show its DREAM ADA-128 modular conversion system, along with other audio interface products from its range.

Cambridge, UK. May 7th 2024: At the Media Production & Technology Show 2024, Prism Sound will showcase high-quality audio conversion products designed to suit the demands of professional users in broadcast, music, film and live sound.

On stand N52 at MPTS, which takes place in London from May 15-16th 2024, Prism Sound will show the Dream ADA-128 modular audio conversion system that provides up to 128 channels of premium Prism Sound 32-bit A/D and D/A conversion in a single 2U rack.

Dream ADA-128 brings exceptional levels of flexibility, functionality, and cost effectiveness to the professional audio market without any compromise in sound quality. Designed as both a conversion system and a high-performance, networkable audio distribution and processing system, the ADA-128 is built around a 2RU mainframe that can be fitted with up to 16 analogue and digital IO modules (each of which nominally provides eight input or output ports, or both). There are also four Host cards offering various connection options such as Dante, DigiLink and AES. Users can mix and match these, and even route audio between them for maximum flexibility, and because the ADA 128 houses four internal, independent clocks, these systems can all run at different sample rates at the same time.

Dream ADA-128 is aimed at audio professionals across many different disciplines, including music recording, post-production, broadcast, installation, Dolby Atmos

and archiving. At MPTS, Prism Sound will show the system in conjunction with Ginger Audio’s GroundControl Sphere, for which it is now optimised. This professional multichannel audio routing and control room software accepts up to 128 different inputs and outputs from mono to 9.1.6 and is the perfect solution for any surround or immersive audio set up such as Dolby Atmos. It can also be used to tackle speaker tuning and room correction using Sphere’s independent level adjustment and delay line - and thanks to its compatibility with AVID EUCON it can be used with any Digital Audio Workstation and AVID control surface.

Prism Sound’s MPTS line-up is completed by the Titan and Atlas multitrack interfaces that offer flexible expansion and unsurpassed sonic clarity. Titan is ideal for music and sound recording, multi-tracking, overdubbing, stem-based mastering, analogue summing and critical listening applications. Atlas also fulfils all these functions but has the advantage of more preamps, making it suitable for a wider range of recording scenarios. Finally, the company will show the Lyra 1 & 2 interfaces, which pack Prism Sound’s uncompromising AD/DA conversion into a compact chassis, making these units ideally suited to studio and live sound recording.

Please come and see Prism Sound at MPTS 2024 – stand N52. Alternatively please visit the company’s website for more information: www.prismsound.com

• Up to 768 channels of Digital connectivity / 160 channels Analogue connectivity.

• Compact space and energy saving 2U chassis.

• Four independent clock domains for multi system and backup redundancy

• Point-to-point routing for seamless data flow.

• Channel data tagging for swift recognition.

• Industry leading audio performance and unmatched sonic accuracy.

• Dolby Atmos ready - speaker calibration, Monitor control, bass management and Eucon integration included.

Dolby Atmos | Post Production | Recording | Film | Live | Theatre

CJP Presents Live Mo-Cap Demos at MPTS

D70, Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), London, 15-16 May: CJP Broadcast Service Solutions, systems integration, production and content digitisation specialist, will feature live motion capture demonstrations at the 2024 Media Production & Technology Show (stand D70, Olympia London, 15 – 16 May). The demonstrations, featuring technology from Xsens, Faceware and MANUS, are part of a presentation showing how CJP can build tailored, productive and cost-effective virtual production facilities.

With a strong track record of designing and building facilities for a broad range of broadcast and production clients, CJP has recently built a large number of virtual facilities, including many for educational and business operations. Joining the company at MPTS will be representatives from StartUp Croydon, where CJP recently implemented its Digital Creative Lab. Available for dry or wet hire, it offers full virtual production facilities to businesses and organisations in and around the area.

CJP has also built a virtual production studio and lab in its headquarters. Like StartUp Croydon and many recent installations, CJP is delighted to be supported by Mo-Sys Engineering, providing both its industry-standard StarTracker camera tracking technology, and the very powerful VP Pro virtual graphics engine, driven by the Unreal engine.

“We now have unrivalled experience in specifying, designing and building green screen and LED volume virtual production facilities,” said Kieran Phillips, sales

and marketing director at CJP. “That means we really understand what is important to make it a working, practical, productive studio. We have developed our own workstations to bring all the elements together into a simple, single control layer, for example.

“Virtual production is a very hot topic at the moment, but there is a natural nervousness around the subject because of the fear of getting bogged down in technology,” Phillips added. “At MPTS we will be able to talk through all the issues and suggest solutions drawing on our unrivalled experience, and backing them up with strong service and support. The result is that, as we have already shown, virtual production and motion capture can be made available wherever there is a creative need for it.”

CJP has very strong relationships with the leading suppliers, like Mo-Sys for camera tracking and virtual environments, Xsens and MANUS for motion capture and Faceware for facial detection. As an independent systems integrator, it can also call on many other vendors to provide a complete infrastructure, from the latest in high resolution LED panels to lighting; from cameras to microphones; from production switchers to servers.

CJP also designs and delivers traditional production studios, post production facilities and streaming platforms. In addition, the company has a services division, offering complete live shooting systems and archive preservation. Visit CJP on stand D70 at MPTS, or see www.cjp-bss.co.uk.

o r b o o k a p r i v a t e d e m o a t o u r s t u d i o .

An upgrade to the extremely popular AVN-DIO10, the new AVN-DIO10-12G now adds support for the full range of SDI standards from SD-SDI through to 12G-SDI.

• Dante to SD-SDI Through to 12G SDI Capability

• Simple Plug and Play Interface

• Dante Domain Compliant

• Web Interface for Configuration

• Simultaneous Embedding & De-Embedding for up to 64 Channels

• Insert Mode Feature to Either Overwrite or Clear SDI Audio Selectively per Channel Pair

• Test Tone Available on Embedded Outputs

• Integrated SDI Generator

• AES67 Compatible

• Light Weight Aluminium Construction

• Dual Redundant Network Ports with PoE

• SFP Ports for Alternative Transceivers

The Commentary Family

AVN-CU1

Dante Commentary Unit For 1 Commentator

AVN-CU2

Dante Commentary Unit For 2 Commentators

AVN-CU4

Dante Commentary Unit For 4 Commentators

CM-CU1

Commentary Unit For 1 Commentator & Line Input

CM-CU21

Commentary Unit For 2 Commentators & 1 Guest

• 1 Comms Position

• Simple to Use Fixed Format

• Lightweight Aluminium Form Factor

• Ember+ Control

• 4 Dante I/O Channels

• Web Server Restriction of Operator Control

• OLED Display for Configuration, Metering and Status Indication

• High Impact VU or dBFS Metering

• RGB LED Downlighting for Status or Decorative Illumination

• Dual Redundant Network Ports with PoE

• SFP Ports for Alternative Transceivers

• 4 Pin DC Input

LED for Cinematic Virtual Production

Why productions should use LED tiles designed specifically for Virtual Production

There are basically two genres of LED tiles: those we look at with our naked eyes (Direct View tiles), and those we point cameras at and capture real-time visual effects content with (VP tiles). LED tiles designed for each use case are very different products with widely different characteristics.

• Direct View LED tiles - only have to display a previously captured or created video stream, where the image elements have already been matched and blended. Providing that the video’s colour reproduction is broadly correct, viewers will be satisfied e.g. LED tiles used for live events or music tours.

• Virtual Production (VP) LED tiles – are used as virtual backdrops for camera shoots where the talent/object is positioned in front of the LED screen. This technique is called In-camera Visual Effects (ICVFX), and for this technique to work effectively the LED screen content has to be perceived as the real world. It

also has to match the talent/object in front of it, any colour/lighting imbalances between the real foreground and the virtual background will break the illusion.

In the early days of LED ICVFX (2018-2020) productions used direct view tiles sourced either from live event/touring rental companies because they had the quantities required, or they purchased direct from LED manufacturers. At this point in the development of LED ICVFX, productions were learning about the capabilities of LED ICVFX, and weren’t fully aware of some of the challenges.

Over the next few years people began to realise that the red, green, and blue (RGB) emitters in each LED pixel of an LED tile, produced much narrower bandwidths of coloured light, and as a result the range of colour values (the colour gamut) they could reproduce compared to lighting fixtures, was significantly less.

The result being that the light from RGB LED walls and ceilings gave talent or objects a redorange tinge, making the balancing of skin tones much more challenging.

Productions learned to use external lighting fixtures with wider colour gamuts to compensate for LED wall light, and to better balance skin tones and object illumination.

The introduction of RGBW LED ceiling tiles (the white emitter helping to provide more colour values), and Image Based Lighting (IBL) panels and strips with RGBWW LED emitters (cold white plus warm white emitters), have further improved the tools available to ‘blend’ together the foreground and background scene elements.

Production teams can overcome one of the biggest challenges in LED ICVFX, speed up and increase throughput with cinematic LED tiles.

However, there is a big difference between making the talent/object ‘blend’ with the LED wall background, and making both realistically match each other and look like they are in the same location and time. This is one of the biggest challenges in LED ICVFX, and its success is determined by how well a crew can solve or mask the combining of different types of light sources.

This process takes time though and it impacts production throughput. One way to reduce this time is to use the very best imaging LED tiles, those specifically designed for LED ICVFX, with very high colour gamut reproduction, wide dynamic range, and extended bit depth capability - QST LED’s Holodeck tile is exactly this.

It is therefore highly beneficial for production companies to find out what type of LED tiles are deployed in the LED VP studio or pop-up LED backdrop they are considering using. Because this will ultimately help determine the ICVFX image quality, how long the lighting for each shot takes to set up (effectively the shooting throughput), and how smoothly any colour grade will go.

For more information on the QST Holodeck VP tile, contact info@holodeckVP.com or their UK partner TetraVP at info@tetraVP.com

Glensound shows the latest in IP audio at MPTS

Stand M47, Media Production and Technology Show, Olympia London, 15 – 16 May 2024: Glensound, industry leader in high quality audio systems, is showcasing the latest additions to its extensive portfolio of networked audio products at MPTS. Audio over IP (AoIP) is now an essential ingredient of production architectures for broadcast and AV, and Glensound leads the way in utility and practicality.

Typical of this practicality is the AoIP22M, a small format portable interface for two audio channels to Dante/AES67 networked audio. This new version provides microphone and line level switching on the inputs, together with independent 48V phantom power and gain controls. The unit can draw its power from the ethernet (via a rugged Ethercon connector), or from a simple USB source, making it extremely convenient to operate virtually anywhere. The output can also be switched to come from the network or the amp itself, thus making the AoIP22M a network mic amp, or a stand alone analogue mic amp.

Also new is the DARK DAWN 1616M, the first of a new generation of the industry standard interfaces from Glensound. The range provides an interface for Dante/ AES67/SMPTE ST2110 streams, offering up to 16 inputs and outputs per device, as analogue feeds. This new device adds microphone level inputs with high quality amplification, providing even more flexibility and convenience in rigging. Inputs can be individually switched between line, mic and 48V phantom power remotely from the dedicated app, and gain can be controlled on the front panel or from the app. Outputs from the network can also be monitored.

All this functionality, plus dual redundant power supplies, is contained in a compact 1U cabinet.

Reflecting the trend for AV and fixed installations to move towards the Phoenix connector and away from XLRs, Glensound is increasingly making these available on its Dante/AES67 interface products. The DARK8MAIP, for example, has Phoenix connectors on this high performance eight input microphone amplifier and network interface.

Users and installers found the Vittoria network bridge device hugely useful, providing a firewall between two Dante networks, two Ravenna networks, or translating between Dante and Ravenna across the firewall. The original provides 32 I/O streams, but in response to customer demand Glensound now offers a 64 x 64 network bridge, for Dante or Ravenna, at sample rates from 44.1kHz to 96kHz, with primary and redundant network connections on copper or SFP fibre.

“We have built a very strong reputation in the UK, because we understand what is really needed and quickly develop to meet new challenges,” said Marc Wilson, managing director of Glensound. “From the very beginning we built in robustness and reliability, which is vital in the sort of applications our kit is used. Now AoIP forms a major part of our business, but that is still developing and we need to understand what the industry needs. That is why events like MPTS, where we have time to talk with our users, are so important for us.”

Visit Glensound at MPTS on stand M47. For more information on Glensound products please see www.glensound.com

Solving the graphics challenge for live visual radio

For years, radio has dabbled in visualisation. From Chris Evans’ simulcast on Sky One in the 90s (and Nicky Campbell more recently on BBC daytime TV) to highlights from the day’s breakfast shows dropping into social media feeds.

Radio visualisation is not a new idea — the difference now is that it’s expected.

This increasing demand for visual content presents a new set of challenges for already stretched radio production teams. Understanding the kit required, as well as camera positioning and lighting, is one thing (and there are some great consultants who can help with this). But how do existing teams produce live visual content with dynamic graphics, without a TV gallery or a TV-sized team? The answer is found in streamlining workflows and building an integrated solution, designed just for radio.

Broadcast Bionics has been on the visualisation journey from the beginning. Its BionicDirector system is widely used throughout local and national radio, and CameraOne offers a cost-effective route into visualisation for smaller stations, podcasters, and standalone setups. These automatic camera switching solutions allow radio stations to record or livestream shows at the touch of a button. For some stations, this is enough. The show goes out, then a producer selects the best bits to publish later online. But what about live visualised radio where there is no edit option? Can radio stations realistically generate news-style rolling TV graphics for their live streams?

With ConTEXT they can.

ConTEXT is a dynamic, data-driven graphics extension that works alongside BionicDirector and vMix. Director handles intelligent camera switching, recording, and streaming, while ConTEXT provides graphics management through a customisable browser interface.

From ingesting RSS data and displaying live caller information to changing layouts and controlling studio branding, the ConTEXT interface can be configured to control all visual elements. Live operation is simple, allowing producers to select from predefined options to deliver a polished production. ConTEXT also presents monetisation opportunities by enabling on-screen sponsorships both in-studio and online.

ConTEXT allows you to create the graphics control you need. Find out more at https:// bionics.co.uk/context

Discover ConTEXT and other audience engagement solutions at the Broadcast Bionics stand (N42) at MPTS 2024.

Mo-Sys to Showcase MoCaptury at MPTS 2024

Booth J42, MPTS, London 15-16 May 2024

– Mo-Sys Engineering (www.mo-sys.com), a world leader in image robotics, virtual production and remote production solutions, will be demonstrating Mo-Captury, its innovative markerless mo-cap solution and introducing the latest updates from the Mo-Sys Academy on booth J42 at MPTS.

Unveiled at NAB Show 2024, Mo-Captury is a revolutionary markerless motion capture solution that allows anyone to step in and get tracked, interacting with the virtual world. It provides a transparent avatar over an individual, interacting with the virtual world, for the first time, without the need for cumbersome suits. This opens up new possibilities not just for the broadcasting and film industry, but also for commercial presentations.

Developed in close collaboration with Dari Motion, Mo-Captury offers superior integration and specific features for virtual production applications. This truly unique product allows

users to track fingers and facial expressions without suits, enabling instant calibration. Users can seamlessly blend real-world actions with stunning AR graphics, creating content that captivates viewers.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to see MoSys’ StarTracker Max in action. Widely recognised as the most accurate camera tracking solution for virtual production, StarTracker enables creatives to seamlessly blend the real-world foreground with unreal virtual scenes, both in green screen and LED virtual studios.

Finally, Mo-Sys will demo the latest edition of its content server solution, VP Pro 5.4.0. Announced within 24 hours of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5.4 release, this update demonstrates Mo-Sys’ commitment to ensuring clients have access to the very latest VP tools.

Join Mo-Sys Engineering at Booth J42, MPTS, London on 15-16 May 2024 to experience the future of virtual production.