Nixer Pro Audio expands the feature set of its Dante network ‘Swiss Army Knife’ device, PD Dante, as part of a firmware update. With version 2.11, users now get access to a new 16-channel horizontal view that supports long Dante channel names of up to 31 characters, which allows them to get a quick overview of the status of each channel on the network.

It is also possible to scroll by simply swiping the screen, making it more intuitive and easy to use during daily operation. Further, an 8-channel view that is also swipe-compatible has been added. The Home unit is now marked in blue for quick identification and sample rates can be changed except from when on an AES67 network. Also, users may now edit device names on the network directly from PD Dante.

Finally, a number of existing features have been refined for an even better user experience and ease of use. These improvements include e.g. clear display of each routed source and subscribed name, direct control and routing of any device on the network, make and remove subscriptions, high resolution monitoring, display of sample rate for each source and built-in tone generator for swift testing.

NetRange MMH GmbH (‘NetRange’), the global provider of white-labelled, turnkey Smart TV and OTT ecosystems and SonyLIV, India’s first premium video on demand (VOD) service, today, announced a collaboration. Through this alliance, the Indian users of the NetRange Smart TV App Store will now be able to gain the SonyLIV app on their Smart TVs.

MCR Broadcast Hire and Video Europe Ltd today announce they have entered into a strategic partnership, formalising the existing and longstanding relationship between Mike Ransome and Steve Green and aligning the two companies’ business operations.

Steve Green and Matt Marner, directors at Video Europe, have entered into a shareholding agreement in MCR Broadcast Hire alongside MCR’s Managing Director, Mike Ransome. Video Europe has invested significant funds into the live broadcast sector over the past few years and considers the alignment of MCR’s business a natural fit.

Rise, the membership group for gender diversity within the broadcast technology sector today announced the pairing up of mentees and mentors for its third annual mentoring scheme in the UK, and its first mentoring scheme in the APAC region.

The 2020 programme sees a variety of experienced broadcast sector industry leaders, at a diversity of levels of seniority, ready to offer expertise, knowledge and guidance to 30 women.

The scheme is made possible due the support from industry partners including:

• Gold sponsors – Avid | Sky

• Silver sponsors – Clear-Com | Audio-Technica Europe | Ross Video | Sony | DPP | Pixelogic

This year, Sports Video Group (SVG) Europe Women, a powerful network of women working in the sports media arena made up of members from across TV sports broadcasting, production, distribution and technology, joins as an industry partner. The initiative is supporting two women in the programme. SVG Europe Women will offer those women specific sports industry advice, sessions, events and additional guidance.

Turkuvaz Media Group (TMG), Turkey’s largest private media group operating in television, radio broadcasting, as well as newspaper and magazine publication and printing, has chosen Sony solutions and services to build an ambitious new media centre in Istanbul, spanning 7 studios and control rooms, as part of a multi-million Euro deal with systems integrator Teratek. This project consolidates TMG’s distributed studios into one location to improve efficiency, future-proof its capabilities for 4K broadcasting, and create a scalable system ready for the group’s future growth.

With over 1,200 students a year enrolled on a range of courses from television and radio, to visual and animation, Salford University is well known for preparing students for the realities of the media industry. Central to this preparation are its dedicated studios, opened in 2011, which offer students practical experience and are also used by industry veterans including the BBC and ITV.

Since their opening, the studios have evolved Salford University’s capabilities substantially. Where previously they had one single older 4 camera, 4 mic system, the university now houses 3 industry compliant TV studios and a vast array of cameras, lighting and audio solutions.

“In this space we produce everything from 1 on 1 interviews all the way through to performances of 18-piece Latin bands. We have a large variety of different shows that come in and out. It’s not only for the students, it’s also for working with commercial clients like the BBC, CBEEBIES and ITV,” commented Ash Tidball, the TV studio manager.

Sony has appointed Giles Wood as its new Head of Services for Sony Professional Solutions Europe.

Giles will lead Sony’s European Professional Services division, creating and delivering a wide portfolio of professional services from systems integration and through to consultancy and full managed services. Sony’s B2B customers extend across the Media, Corporate, Education, Healthcare and Sports sectors.

Sony has seen its services business grow to over one third of its B2B revenues in Europe and sees opportunity for further innovation and significant growth, complementing its renowned product strengths.

Adam Fry, Vice President, Sony Professional Solutions Europe, said: "Giles joins Sony at an exciting juncture for our professional business as we transform towards a true solutions company offering a broad technology and services proposition to our professional customers. His passion for innovation and his impressive track record in leading business transformation will be great assets to drive the next phase of our growth."

Giles brings over twenty years of experience in the B2B technology sector, having held leadership roles in organisations including BT, Fujitsu and Nortel as well as successfully overseeing start-up technology delivery businesses.

TVN24, the largest and the most-watched 24-hours news channel in Poland, becomes the first customer to receive ten Sony PXW-Z750 4K camcorders to future-proof its infrastructure for advanced 4K/UHD output and increase the agility of its news broadcasting operations.

As an existing Sony customer, TVN24’s investment into the latest PXW-Z750 4K camcorders will help replace more than 80 PDW-700 and PMW-500 Sony shoulder camcorders currently in use. With the Z750 camcorders, the news channel’s production team will now be able to shoot in 4K, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and High Frame Rate (HFR), delivering 4K image quality with high sensitivity and vivid colour reproduction, ideal for news and live production.

Jarosaw Kielmel, Technology Department Director at TVN Discovery Polska explains: “Having invested in various Sony broadcasting solutions over the years, we were keen to work with Sony to help us future-proof our news production capabilities, ready to migrate to 4K in the years to come. We're incredibly impressed by the picture quality of the PXW-Z750, particularly when shooting in HD thanks to its 3CMOS sensors. Combined with the increased flexibility it provides us with, the PXW-Z750 is fast becoming our go-to camcorder for our 24-hour news broadcasting operations.”

Gravity Media, the leading global provider of complex live broadcast facilities and production services to content owners, creators and distributors, has provided BT Sport’s exclusive PPV coverage of the Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury 2 heavyweight title fight. Columbus, Gravity Media’s Los Angeles-based 4K multi-purpose mobile unit, was deployed at Las Vegas’ iconic MGM Grand venue alongside its operational B Unit for the rematch on February 22, which was expected to become the biggest fight this year. This follows the split-decision draw between the Gypsy King (Fury) and Bronze Bomber (Wilder) in December 2018.

The two Gravity Media mobile units joined three additional OB trucks and six SNG vehicles within the TV compound at MGM Grand showing the scale of the intense media interest. They were used to produce BT Sport’s on-site presentation studio as well as coverage from ringside. In addition, Gravity Media also supplied commentary and comms solutions to the UK rights holder.

Shotoku USA, Shotoku Broadcast Systems’ North American operation, will launch the next phase in technical and operational developments for robotic control systems at NAB 2020 in Booth C 9108. The international manufacturer of high-quality, easy-to-use, robust and reliable robotic and manual camera support systems will demonstrate advancements that incorporate an IP interface into its flagship SmartPed robotic pedestal; a self-contained and easy to connect pan/tilt head; numerous enhancements incorporated into the Company’s TR-XT control system and will also highlight its height drive and pan/tilt head ideal for legislative applications.

SmartPed Fully Robotic Pedestal – Absolutely Brilliant Navigation

SmartPed with Absolute Navigation is perfect for those applications where referencing the fully robotic pedestal is inconvenient or the design of the studio leaves no scope for a floor tile reference position. SmartPed now comes with two optional additions depending on the environment – AN-I is an IP interface within SmartPed enabling it to interface to existing external optical tracking systems such as Mosys StarTracker or Stype RedSpy using the absolute tracking information to reference and adjust the pedestals own internal navigation systems. AN-S provides a full integrated solution, including the optical tracking system for situations where customers do not already have installed optical tracking.