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An Obituary to Timecode
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A stoic and persistent character that stubbornly refused to change with the times, Timecode has finally passed on, but no-one has noticed. A long-lasting industry veteran, Timecode was brought into this world at an uncertain date in the late 1960s due to the needs of analogue tape workflows and the demand for synchronisation between audio and video devices. A joint activity between SMPTE and the EBU led to the work on Time and Control codes starting its journey to standardisation in the early 1970s. |
| Tags: iss134
| timecode
| smpte
| ebu
| edit
| Bruce Devlin - new
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University and Mental Health
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University study and mental health has been in the media quite a bit over the last year, and I’m sure there are many people wondering what is going on? The issues are complex, and I suppose the focus of employability off the back of a degree course has raised the stress stakes for a lot of young people. I’m only qualified to talk about this from my perspective, and my story began when I joined a course not knowing I had a mental health condition. |
| Tags: iss134
| portsmouth uni
| mental health
| student
| tvfutures
| Rhiannon Jenkins
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Using Wireless Transmission
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Wireless acquisition is a staple of live sports, entertainment and reality shows where cable free capture permits shots not previously possible, for health and safety reasons, and gives the camera-operator greater artistic licence to roam. The same is increasingly true of narrative drama where cinematographers are keen to work handheld or Steadicam where that helps tell the story. Any equipment which frees their movement and time by being lighter, easier to use and reliable in performance is going to tick a lot of boxes. |
| Tags: iss134
| wireless
| 4k
| transmission
| Jeremy Benning
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Sony HDC-4800 Review
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First announced at NAB 2016, the Sony HDC-4800 is a studio camera system capable of shooting 4K/UHD at up to 8x or full HD at up to 16x. With a price point upwards of £250,000 it is a very high-end product with a wide feature set. In Sony's own words, "This is the future of live production, designed to satisfy the storytelling aspect of modern sports production.” Deliveries began in mid 2017 and, after careful preliminary evaluation, we invested in several systems for our hire fleet ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Russia. |
| Tags: iss134
| review
| hdc-4800
| sony
| finepoint
| Andy McKenzie
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GoPro HERO 7 Review
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When I heard I was filming a nature restoration project in the pouring rain this week I was excited. WHY? No Cameraman enjoys the rain, surely but this time I was enthusiastic because I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to try out the brand new GoPro Hero 7 Black Edition. |
| Tags: iss134
| gopro
| hero 7
| review
| liberal media
| Tim Bearder
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The Wireless Way to 4k
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DTC’s AEON group of products have been specifically designed for the 4K market.
We encode with the more efficient HEVC algorithm, which means we are taking a 12G signal and compressing it to a bitrate that can be managed over an RF link.
So what makes this a leading idea in the 4K revolution? |
| Tags: iss134
| wireless
| 4k
| transmission
| JP Delport
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Protecting the continuity of transmission
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Your viewers love you. You consistently bring them their preferred channels 24/7. They’ve come to rely on you for their viewing pleasure. They never miss cheering on their beloved sports teams. They’re the envy of their friends as they watch live concerts of their favourite bands. They gather the family around and catch up on their must-see shows. They don’t have a bad word to say about you. |
| Tags: iss134
| garland
| gpl
| streaming
| artel
| disaster recovery
| Lorna Garrett
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AI in Media and Entertainment
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a term appearing everywhere these days. What is happening in media and entertainment (M&E) that makes the industry ripe for AI? In other words, why does the M&E industry need AI? |
| Tags: iss134
| AI
| wazee
| David Candler
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Accelerated Workflows with eGPU
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From the UK’s National Trust to magazine publishers to manufacturers, digital content creator Mike Griggs has a wide and varied portfolio of clients for whom he creates 3D art, motion graphics and multimedia exhibits. A typical day might involve sampling birdsong near Virginia Woolf’s country estate or creating 3D animations for VR. To keep on top of these demands, Griggs wanted to take the full power of the GPU computing revolution on the road. |
| Tags: iss134
| sonnet
| egpu
| amd
| post production
| editing
| Mike Griggs
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What content providers need to know about OTT
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As OTT (Over-The-Top) technology has gotten more mature and established robust standards over the years, the concept of OTT monitoring is gaining popularity. With customer expectations soaring, it’s vital for OTT providers to deliver superior quality content. To deliver Quality of Experience (QoE) on par with linear TV broadcast, the entire system, starting from ingest to multi-bitrate encoding to delivery to CDN must be monitored continuously. |
| Tags: iss134
| ott monitoring
| qos
| logging
| compliance
| dash
| atsc
| cloud
| Hiren Hindocha
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The brave new world of software based production
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In today’s rapidly evolving broadcast industry, the only constant media organizations can truly count on is change — and the need to adapt as rapidly and cost-effectively as possible. One of the biggest agents of change is the IP revolution, driving broadcasters to migrate their operations to all-software solutions running on commodity, IT-based technologies. |
| Tags: iss134
| chyronhego
| graphics
| sports
| ott
| Boromy Ung
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An Epiphany Moment
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I had been negotiating the sale of my company and had reached the really hard end of the bargain. We were close to agreeing the final sum after a lot of too-much-give-and-not-enough-take negotiation. The solicitors were calling me, keen for a deal. It had come down to one sticking point and, in my hard ball “I am the Wolf of Wall Street” guise, I wasn’t going to let it go. It would make a value difference of 1.5% on the total outcome. Not much, you might think, but I had already nearly fallen out with the solicitors over their fees and I was giving my advisors an extremely hard time because the corporate adviser couldn’t see how I had already given more than an inch and the buyers were taking more than a mile. I was not going to let them win. |
| Tags: iss134
| azule
| finance
| Peter Savage 2
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NEP Student Day
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The world of broadcasting is in constant flux, with undefined boundaries between broadcast, TV, film and interactive media. With a changing consumer demographic now a key influence on the industry, many companies no longer specialise in a single medium, but have had to become adaptable to deliver multiple services through a combination of media. |
| Tags: iss134
| students
| tvfutures
| NEP
| KitPlus
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Why are trade shows still important
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First, the disclaimer: as the CEO of a rather large trade show, my opinion is likely to be skewed. However, I wouldn’t be here – now in my eighth year at IBC - if I didn’t truly believe that well-curated trade shows like IBC are a hugely important resource for our industry. |
| Tags: iss133
| ibc
| innovation award
| Mike Crimp
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How todays technology platforms can make AMAZING seem mundane
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Some things never change. It's September and it's time for another IBC. Maybe I'm getting old and maybe I have selective memory about the past, but recently there hasn't been the buzz of years gone by. Sure, as you wander around the vast halls there will be lots of enthusiastic sales people trying to give you the best demo possible, but something has changed and to survive, I believe that vendors and customers need to change too. |
| Tags: iss133
| ibc
| class
| vulture
| imf user group
| Bruce Devlin - new
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Fast-moving productions need multi-cam RF reliability
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Wireless acquisition creates a level of freedom not possible with any other form of filming yet only a decade ago the technique was barely possible. The technology enabling live real-time connections over radio frequencies has advanced leaps and bounds such that there is barely an entertainment, documentary, sports or news format today that doesn’t benefit from at least one link system. That means the demands on the kit continues to rise and includes the need for fail safe multi-camera operation, ease of use and backwards compatibility all within a small, lightweight and budget-friendly package. |
| Tags: iss133
| boxx tv
| wireless
| mpeg-4
| multicam
| rf
| multi-cam
| Darren Bilton
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The Pace of Change
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The youngest human to stand on the moon (so far) was Charles Moss, the lunar module pilot of Apollo 16. Charlie had a wonderful claim: his father witnessed the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk, and lived to see his son on the moon.
Does anything capture the speed of technological advance better than that? The whole of the history of powered flight in one lifetime.
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| Tags: iss133
| state of the nation
| st2110
| st2110-10
| Dick Hobbs - new
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Live audio contribution over wireless networks
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Wireless “live” contribution from anywhere at any time, this is the ultimate goal for most news reporters. The old favorite of using ISDN is becoming harder and much more expensive to access easily. Today most of us use wireless daily, in particular Wifi and HSPA/LTE 4G networks. These are now mature technologies and widely used for many applications in the home and whilst out and about. However there are still some professionals who prefer to persevere with the traditional, costly and limited ISDN communication technology before jumping into the wireless era. |
| Tags: iss133
| adrl
| wireless audio
| isdn
| cellular audio
| Pablo Rodrigues Altmann
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IBC in a post Brexit world
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Cast your mind forward and we are not in 2018 but next year and, yes, it’s you and me walking to the departure lounge to catch the plane to IBC just as I, and perhaps also you, have done for the last 25 years. (By the way, where is my long service award – and perhaps a new pair of shoes as I must, surely, have walked the equivalent of five Caminos covering the 12 halls in the Rai). We are at the gate and my imagination kicks in as I hypothesize on what the trip might look like next year. I leave it to you to decide which is closest to what might be to come. |
| Tags: iss133
| azule
| brexit
| ibc
| finance
| Peter Savage 2
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Ruth Matos Interview - A Career Unfolds
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We first met Ruth when we employed her as a student to help with our live studio at BVE in 2013. We were struck by her determination, passion and ‘I’ll do anything to help’ attitude. We became friends of Facebook and have since seen her career in the industry develop and unfold. We thought it was about time to catch up and share her inspiring story of where she is now, how she got there and the challenges she has faced along the way. |
| Tags: iss133
| interview
| filming
| career
| education
| Ruth Matos
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Trade shows and their role in the wired world
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Historically trade shows afforded an opportunity to collect the latest brochures relevant to the visitor's chosen industry or career path. Today there seems little reason to store data of any kind, let alone paper brochures, when information is so easily accessible online. Brochure back-packing at exhibitions has become a rare sight, rarer still since the security clampdown on visitor luggage at exhibitions. Today's efficient show delegate need only carry a mobile phone and, in deference to tradition, a bundle of business cards. The phone doubles as a snapshot camera, video camera, dictaphone, email reader, internet browser, Skype communicator, and so on. |
| Tags: iss133
| finepoint
| ibc
| nab
| kitplus show
| bve
| Richard Baker
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DJI Ronin-S Review
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If you read my review of the GH5 in Issue 129 at the beginning of the year, you know I’m a filmmaker that is all about small form factor. My basic setup combines the tiny yet powerful mirrorless Panasonic GH5 with the wonderfully compact Sennheiser AVX wireless mic system. Together you’ve got a run and gun set up to die for.
Unless you actually run!
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| Tags: iss 133
| dji
| ronin-s
| gh5
| Tim Bearder
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Smashing the WTA Tour
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The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is the global leader in women’s professional sport with more than 2500 players representing nearly 100 nations competing for a record $146 million in prize money. The 2018 WTA competitive season includes 54 events and four Grand Slams in 30 countries. In 2017, the WTA was watched around the world by a total TV audience of 500 million – with host broadcast services provided by NEP UK. |
| Tags: iss133
| tennis
| wta
| nep
| outside broadcast
| ob
| Danny Ridler
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Creating Authentic Content That Counts
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We’re deep into the 2010’s and the way in which we consume content has changed forever. Broadcasters and content owners are fighting for eyeballs in a saturated market where consumers are watching their favourite shows on different devices across a number of platforms. To target millennials and younger generations, who generally consume short bursts of video on YouTube and social media - particularly Snapchat, Instagram and now IGTV - media companies are creating more and more authentic stories and are using platforms that are compelling for this demographic. Unlike generations before them, they have totally new video viewing patterns and ideals. |
| Tags: iss133
| insight tv
| monster energy
| amazon
| millennial
| Frank le Mair
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What is next in OTT
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In the past year alone, we’ve seen a substantial increase in the amount of OTT content that’s being streamed. In the first quarter of 2018, there’s been a 114 percent year-over-year growth in streaming video hours, and those numbers are only expected to rise. With OTT revenue predicted to reach $16.6B in 2018, a 40% gain over last year, there’s no question that OTT is booming, and that there’s never been a more critical time to pay attention to the space. |
| Tags: iss133
| ott
| verizon
| cisco
| Mary Kay Evans
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State of the Nation
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I am writing this in the middle of a record-breaking heatwave in southern England. Yet it is time to be thinking about the mists and mellow fruitfulness of autumn, or at least the predictably damp and chilly Amsterdam when IBC hits town.
What will be the hot talking points of IBC this year? I am not in a position to talk about what the big vendors will be showing: I have so far received just the one preview press release (take a bow, Calrec).
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| Tags: iss132
| ibc
| ibm
| watson
| ai
| Dick Hobbs - new
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Run Leaner, More Agile and Scalable OTT Operations
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The migration to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for media processing is underway and growing as broadcasters and content service providers explore new ways to increase agility and operational efficiencies. With media processing SaaS, content and service providers can quickly and easily deploy new channels, deliver a better quality of experience (QoE) to their audiences from anywhere in the world with low latency across all screens. |
| Tags: iss132
| ott
| harmonic
| saas
| cmaf
| vod
| delivery
| Olivier Karra
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How machine learning might affect media
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I have a curious relationship with technology. I’ve been doing it all my life and I see topics come and go over the years. This is the 3rd time around that I’ve seen Artificial Intelligence become trendy and this time, I think it will stick. There are 4 things that are different this time around and they are (in alphabetical order) Amazon, IBM, Google, Microsoft. All of those companies have had AI research programs running for years, but the big change now is that there is enough ubiquitous compute resource in the form of the cloud to make it commercially viable to build products around the platforms. |
| Tags: iss132
| class
| machine learning
| ml
| watson
| ibm
| Bruce Devlin - new
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Investing in the Future of Broadcast Media
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At the time of writing, the summer World Cup is providing its usual challenge to camera crews trying to televise the bright sunlight of the stadium without losing detail in shaded areas such as the covered terraces. It is a perfect demonstration of the need for high dynamic range. Several broadcasters are experimentally covering this year's tournament in 4K HDR, including the BBC which is streaming dozens of matches via its iPlayer service. HDR is also accompanied by a wider colour space, meaning millions more colours can be displayed than previously. Yet another advance is the adoption of 50p delivery rather than traditional 50i. |
| Tags: iss132
| finepoint
| hire
| 4k hdr
| Clive Northen
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Dedo DLED3 Microlighting Kit Review
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Having recently had the immense pleasure of getting my hands on the new Minisoftbox adapter ring for the Dedo DLED3 that takes the soft box that fits the standard DLH4 & DLED7. Size matters here! I discovered that there is only about a half stop difference between the DLED7 and the DLED3 output at the surface of the diffusion fabric which is amazing in terms of efficient light output from these delicious and perfectly formed tiny Bi-colour LED lights. |
| Tags: iss132
| dedolight
| dled3
| review
| lighting
| led
| dled7
| dled4
| Jonathan Harrison
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What is next after University
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I currently find myself in between two landmark moments. A few weeks ago I was completely immersed in producing live television content, and in a few weeks time I will become an official BSc (Hons) Television & Broadcasting graduate from the University of Portsmouth. When I look back at who I was in my first year of university, I remember a shy girl from the other side of Europe, unsure at whether a career in television was the right path to take. Now, after three years of university, I can definitely say that I made the best choice of my life by choosing this degree. I’m leaving university confident and motivated, knowing that I made the right choice in study, and I really want that career in the television industry.
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| Tags: iss132
| portsmouth university
| ccitv
| graduate
| bsc
| degree
| education
| cv
| Ruta Kairyte
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A Sound in Motion QA
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“A Sound in Motion started as a camera test for the new Sony VENICE CineAlta 6K Digital Cinema Camera and evolved into a much bigger project. The film, presented by Golpe Filmes and released this summer, was directed/edited by Ricardo Teixeira. It is a fictional story based on the way deaf people adapt themselves to daily life situations. The intent of the film is to be a positive influence in the way people think about the ‘differences in human beings’ and about issues related to social inclusion, but without turning it into something moralistic or that seems fundamentalist. Through sounds not speech, words or verbal expression we want to relay a positive message and display a clear gaze upon that difference.” |
| Tags: iss132
| miller
| arrow x7
| tripod
| atomos sumo
| sony
| venice
| Antonio Morais
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AoIP Solutions at Sky TV
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Sky UK has recently moved the whole of its Sky News operation into new, state-of-the-art facilities in the Sky Studios building on the Sky TV campus in Osterley, West London. Described as being both the most sustainable broadcast facility of its kind in Europe as well as the most technologically advanced, the Sky Studios project is set to completely change the way that Sky TV works and the scope of content they deliver. |
| Tags: iss132
| aiop
| sky tv
| sonifex
| avn-pxh12
| ravenna
| aes67
| calrec
| Tom Pidsey
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