Shotoku Broadcast Systems, a leading international provider of robotic and manual camera support solutions ranging from pan/tilt heads through fully robotic studio pedestals and floor or ceiling track systems, has announced that Hunan TV has installed a range of Shotoku systems in its recently opened 400m2 state-of-the-art news studio. Hunan TV, China’s leading free-to-air commercial satellite station that regularly tops ratings for its popular programming, upgraded the studio in keeping with its continuous initiative to incorporate technical advancements into its infrastructure. The studio, entirely equipped for 4K production and fully VR/AR ready, launched live on 1st October 2020, China’s National Day - a day of great importance across the country.

Shotoku Broadcast Systems, a leading international provider of robotic and manual camera support solutions ranging from pan/tilt heads through fully robotic studio pedestals and floor or ceiling track systems, has joined the Grass Valley Technology Alliance (GVTA). The Alliance, comprised of 22 diverse companies, is a certification program established to strengthen collaboration between members and provide vital benefits to customers, including improved purchasing confidence and access to a wide range of systems and solutions interoperable with Grass Valley platforms and workflow components.

Shotoku USA, Shotoku Broadcast Systems’ North American operation, has expanded the U.S. team with the appointment of Jim Travers as Robotics Support Engineer effective October 1. Travers will provide remote and on-site robotics support and will perform installation and commissioning services for Shotoku’s North American customer base. Shotoku is a leading international manufacturer of high-quality, easy-to-use, robust and reliable robotic and manual camera support systems found in broadcast studios, financial institutions and legislative bodies around the globe.

Nixer Adds Enhanced Feature Set to PD Dante

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.

On Wednesday June 24 at 10:00 a.m. PDT Clear-Com will be hosting a webinar alongside Elevation Church about how their widespread campuses are able to maintain worship services during COVID-19. Church Production’s Brian Blackmore will moderate the discussion with Elevation Church’s Technical Director Zach Kimrey and Justin Emge, Clear-Com’s Applications Engineering Manager. Elevation Church, based in North Carolina, has an extensive broadcast production setup, including audio, visuals, front-of-house, lighting, multi-site streaming and master controls, creating a fairly complex comms environment. Now, consider that Elevation Church has 20 sites and over 25,000 members in attendance across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Florida, and Toronto, needing to engage and connect with the same standard of worship they’re regularly accustomed to.

London, UK, 19 June 2020: Mo-Sys Engineering, a global leader in real time camera tracking and remote systems, has announced a revolutionary approach to bringing the atmosphere back to live sport amid covid-19 restrictions. Providing precision, zero-latency tracking for any camera (including ultra-long box lenses for sport), the Mo-Sys camera tracking kit interfaces directly to the Unreal Engine or any broadcast render engine, allowing production companies to add virtual crowds to stands.

“After so many weeks, sports fans are desperate for any action,” said Michael Geissler, CEO of Mo-Sys. “But the frustration will turn to disappointment if the atmosphere of the game falls flat because of empty stands. We have developed a camera tracking kit which any outside broadcast can implement quickly and simply, capable of filling the stands with a virtual, but enthusiastic, crowd.”

The Mo-Sys camera tracking encoders are quickly mounted onto broadcast standard Vinten Vector heads, with no impact on the camera’s perfect balance and no backlash when panning and tilting. Zoom data is collected either by gear encoders or by a serial data link to digital lenses. The combined tracking data is sent over ethernet to the workstation hosting the augmented reality software.

“We are known for the absolute precision and stability of our camera tracking – that’s why Hollywood relies on our technology,” Geissler added. “In this application, we deliver precise tracking, including compensation for lens distortion, even when a 100:1 lens is zoomed fully.”

Mo-Sys has worked with Epic Games to develop a tight interface to the Unreal Engine, including support for the latest version 4.25 software. The result is that highly photo-realistic augmented reality – such as crowds filling the stands – can be integrated into live production with no limitations and negligible latency. The kit includes the bolt-on encoding kit for Vinten heads and the lens calibration tools.

Users can see the technology in action in a Mo-Sys LiveLab webinar, which will also include contributions from Epic Games and Canon. The webinars are on 30 June, at 10.00 (register at https://bit.ly/2N1Ve44) and repeated at 18.00 (register at https://bit.ly/30GqFZP). Michael Geissler of Mo-Sys will also join a distinguished panel with the RTS Thames Valley Creative Centre’s look at production techniques for audience shows in a time of pandemic on Thursday 25 June at 17.00 (register free at https://rts.org.uk/event/future-studio-audience).

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About Mo-Sys:

Mo-Sys is a world-leading provider of camera tracking and camera robotic systems supplying to broadcasters such as BBC, Sky, Fox, ESPN, CNN Discovery Channel, The Weather Channel and Netflix among many more. With a passion for innovation and design, Mo-Sys is at the forefront of live AR and virtual production technology with their StarTracker camera tracking system now powering more than 100 virtual TV studios around the world. For further information, www.mo-sys.com

Mo-Sys Company Contact:

Adam Smith, Marketing

adam@mo-sys.com

+44 (0) 208 858 3205

Mo-Sys Media Contact:

Jennie Marwick-Evans

jennie@manormarketing.tv

+44 (0) 7748 636 171

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.

Sachtler's flowtech100 carbon-fibre tripod was a critical tool in the production of "Skid Row Marathon," an award-winning documentary from filmmakers Gabriele Hayes and Mark Hayes. "Skid Row Marathon" tells the inspiring story of Superior Court Judge Craig J. Mitchell and the people of the Skid Row Running Club in Los Angeles, who have turned their lives around through the empowering sport of long-distance running.

"At least 60,000 people live on the streets and in the shelters of Los Angeles County — many of them stuck in a downward spiral of addiction and despair. As the founder of the Skid Row Running Club, Judge Mitchell has helped to save hundreds of them," said Gabriele Hayes. "It's an incredibly powerful story, and the flowtech100 tripod helped us tell it. A tripod this lightweight and easy to set up and adjust, while sturdy and stable enough to handle our heaviest payload, really is a game-changer."

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.