Cutting-Edge, IP-Based Solutions Reduce Operational Costs Through Centralised Control of Remote Broadcasts

BURY ST EDMUNDS, U.K., and LONDON — Dec. 6, 2019 — Sky News Australia has made a major investment in state-of-the-art robotic camera support systems from Vinten and Intelligent Prompting solutions from Autoscript for its six remote studios in Australia. With the latest build-out just completed in Sky News' Canberra Parliament House studio, the Vinten and Autoscript equipment is a vital link in the network's strategy to reduce operational costs through centralised, IP-based control of remote broadcasts.

Sky News is a 24/7 multi-channel network providing international news, local news, and current affairs programmes to viewers throughout Australia and New Zealand. With headquarters, master control, and main studio based in Sydney, the network operates remote studios in Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

Sky News has fitted its Canberra Parliament House studio with three Vinten FH-145 robotic pan/tilt camera heads, driven by the Vinten HD-VRC control system, three Vinten Quattro pedestals, and three Autoscript EPIC-IP 19" prompting monitors with integrated talent feedback monitors, driven by Autoscript WinPlus-IP News prompting software. Amber Technology, a Vitec Production Solutions Premier Partner, supplied the Vinten and Autoscript solutions and partnered for the build-out.

Testronic, a leader in quality assurance (QA), localization services, and compliance for the film, television and games industries, has achieved Dolby Vision® Certification following an intensive period of training and investment in their Burbank facility. In order to achieve this certified status, the facility was subjected to rigorous review and is now configured and set up to meet the standards of a Dolby Vision certified facility.

Dolby Vision® certification ensures that all of Testronic’s Master QC personnel have been trained by Dolby and that the facility has been commissioned by Dolby engineers. Dolby Vision post production tools and workflows give content creators what they need to efficiently create both Dolby Vision, HDR, and legacy SDR content. Dolby Vision ensures that the look they create in the color suite stays true when experienced across TV’s PC’s, tablets and mobile devices.  Testronic can now test that this stays true across all OTT Platforms.

Blackmagic Design today announced that CHEAT has continued its expansion with DaVinci Resolve Studio, adding a new HDR ready grading suite as well as a research and development lab.

This adds to CHEAT’s three preexisting grading suites, which include Linux machines with dual Intel Xeon E5-2600 v4 processors supported by four Nvidia GTX 1080Ti GPUs and the DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel.

The first project to be realized through the new workflow is The End of the F***ing World season 2. Returning following the critically acclaimed first season, which has been nominated for BAFTA and Primetime Emmy Awards, the grade on series two was led by CHEAT’s owner and colorist Toby Tomkins.

“Season two was a challenge because it introduced a new director, new DPs and a new production designer. It was also our first Dolby Vision grade as a facility,” says Toby. “There was a lot of pressure to ensure we delivered to the same high standards expected of us from our work on season one.”

Yamaha Unified Communications announced that its award-winning CS-700 Video Sound Bar was selected and successfully installed at Jetblack's headquarters in New York. The CS-700's integrated high-quality audio, video, and collaboration capabilities surpassed the requirements for the text-based personal shopping and concierge service company, allowing Jetblack to easily deploy, manage, and operate its 19 conference rooms that are used daily for internal and customer meetings.

"At Jetblack, we promise impeccable service and communication from the very first interaction with our customers," said Henry Yee, IT manager for Jetblack. "The CS-700 reflects that commitment to quality. We are not only able to keep pace with multiple rotating users on a daily basis but also provide an intuitive, natural, and exceptional quality experience without IT assistance or plugging and unplugging multiples cables and peripherals to make meetings happen."

Dalet, a leading provider of solutions and services for broadcasters and content professionals, today announced that the latest release of the Dalet AmberFin media processing platform is the first software-based transcoding asset management system to include Dolby Vision® technologies, a leading HDR technology for media professionals, studios and streaming service providers. In addition to Dolby Vision and a raft of new software-only features, Dalet AmberFin can also be enhanced with hardware acceleration tools such as the M820L HEVC encoder plugin card from SoC (System On a Chip) specialist Socionext.

Steve Higgins, Product Manager, Dalet AmberFin, states, “The latest release of the Dalet AmberFin media processing engine marks a new era for this renowned high-quality content processor. Whether you process on-premises, in the cloud or with a mix of both; the efficiency of the processor coupled with high throughput and exceptional audio-visual quality are key for delivering your content in a timely and cost-conscious fashion.”

Unique in its class, Dalet AmberFin media processing capabilities enable automated Dolby Vision mastering and distribution workflows that generate outputs from IMF, through broadcast, cable and satellite packages to OTT HLS and DASH bundles. The integrated BPMN-compliant workflow engine and API let administrators configure user interfaces, assign tasks for operators, and push through ad-hoc QC processes; creating workflows that are just right for their facility.

Leading London boutique post house Fifty Fifty has added a second Baselight grading suite as part of its expansion programme. With the growing interest in top end content for broadcast and streaming, both suites are equipped for 4K and HDR Ultra HD, and certified for Dolby Vision grading and delivery.

bTV Media Group, Bulgaria's TV audience leader, has installed state-of-the-art teleprompter and camera support equipment from Autoscript and Vinten in its all-new innovative studio. Located in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, the futuristic broadcast newsroom incorporates seven Vinten Quartz pedestals with Vector 750 pan-and-tilt heads, along with Autoscript EPIC-IP17 teleprompters.

In addition to bTV, Bulgaria's first private national TV station, the bTV Media Group's television unit consists of market-leading channels bTV Action, bTV Cinema, bTV Comedy, bTV Lady, and RING. The new studio is the largest-scale technological project in the history of bTV and is unique in Central and Eastern Europe, featuring three multifunctional sets, 11 video walls, and a total area of 450 square metres.

The Autoscript and Vinten equipment is part of an overall design based on maximum flexibility in camera choreography and functional efficiency. Each camera setup includes an Autoscript EPIC-IP17 teleprompter sporting a sleek carbon-fibre hood, together with an integrated talent monitor.

vinten.com.