KitPlus | Articles

REVIEW Canon UJ111x8_3B UHD Lens

Shooting in ultra high definition and high dynamic range has become the preferred option for all television productions with a potentially long commercial life. The hir-ing charge and indeed the outright purchase cost of cameras of this standard are not significantly greater than those of high definition standard dynamic range models. With half the...

Submitted by Andy McKenzie

Published 10 September 2019

The Wireless Way to 4k

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?For a start, sport continues to drive technical innovatio...

Submitted by JP Delport

Published 09 November 2018

VR and the importance of tracking

I would like to begin this article by clarifying what we at Shotoku mean when we talk about VR in live production. It’s not the production of immersive, 360 content where you need to wear a headset; we are talking about virtual studio (VS) and augmented reality (AR) work, such as placing graphics into a green screen environment or physical set. The...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 26 March 2018

A new AEON in Wireless 4k

Whatever production companies are doing right here, right now, today, with wireless HD production tools, they want to do right here, right now, today with 4K UHD. That’s great, but common wisdom would share a host of challenges around 4k UHD, not least, the fact that 4K UHD requires 8x the processing power to transmit, then demands additional horse...

Submitted by JP Delport

Published 12 February 2018

State of the Nation - part 2

This is, of course, the IBC issue of this splendid magazine. Much of the rest of its pages are filled with what you will see there, or (in some cases) what vendors and their marketing communications agencies want you to see there. This year’s IBC is a particularly special event, though. It is 50 years – almost to the day – since the very first Inte...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs - new

Published 19 October 2017

OBs are still outside and so are broadcasts

With the advent of new and emerging technologies, and with the one getting the most oxygen at the moment being video over IP, a number of people are asking whether the ability to move control rather further way from an event has, or will, change the nature of OB production. Well, yes...and no. OB requirements always depend on what type of broadcast...

Submitted by Mike Ransome - new

Published 04 April 2017

The Tour June 2015 review

Issue 103 - July 2015 The KitPlus Tour once again attracted record registrations and visitors at MediaCityUk and Shoreditch in June. The tour gives people the chance to see newly released kit from NAB (Las Vegas) for the first time but more importantly to spend quality time with manufacturers learning about new technologies. The event took a twist...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 August 2015

Cautionary notes from GTC Member number 001

by Dick Hibberd Issue 101 - May 2015 Recently I was invited to be on the panel of judges charged with selecting the winners of the 2014 \'Bill Vinten GTC University Awards\'. This was just the second year of this excellent scheme and, if the submissions from universities increase annually pro rata, then we will soon have a major logistics problem i...

Submitted by Dick Hibberd

Published 01 June 2015

DOPs discuss minicams, lenses, 4k and all

by Mel Noonan Issue 100 - April 2015 If anyone knows about the practical reality of using minicams and lenses it has to be the DOPs who are out there using them. We are now seeing minicams used in all areas of production, some with 1080p and 4K capability at prices you would not have believed possible a few years back. I spoke to some of the DOPs I...

Submitted by Mel Noonan

Published 01 May 2015

Capture and Produce

Issue 94 - October 2014One of the hot topics at this year’s IBC was undoubtedly the growing adoption of end-to-end IP production and the imminent death of SDI. During a panel session, hosted by Mediasmiths and Cognizant, and including representatives from BBC, Sony and more, the key point made was that the adoption of IP production technology and w...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 November 2014

Capture and Produce

Issue 93 - September 2014 Amongst all the new cameras, support and other production kit being touted prior to IBC, it was a less tangible announcement that really captured the imagination: Atomos’ announcement that it wants to standardize its Start/Stop Trigger connectivity for HDMI by making it available to other manufacturers. Locking SDI interfa...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 October 2014

Making the invisible visible

by Charlie Watts Issue 92 - August 2014 September 2014 will see a brand new communication and televisual experience unleashed for University of Portsmouth students within the newly opened Eldon Building. Catherine Harper, Professor and Dean of the Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) Faculty, and Gary Bown, Principal lecturer, have both made it t...

Submitted by Charlie Watts

Published 01 September 2014

Black magic studio camera

by Mark Stopher Issue 92 - August 2014 Blackmagic Design recently released their new Studio Camera - it’s a small, portable broadcast camera, intended for live studio productions. There’s an HD version that you can pick up for £1,289 and a 4K version is said to be shipping soon. At tv-bay we were shooting some product demonstration videos in our st...

Submitted by Mark Stopher

Published 01 September 2014

Information Control and Automation but not as you know it

by Sandra Squire Issue 90 - June 2014 Cameras, branding, lighting and timers all at the touch of a button. Accurate clocks, timing and cue information are essential components of any broadcasting environment directors, production teams and presenters have always depended on them for the delivery of broadcast critical operations. This is still the c...

Submitted by Sandra Squire

Published 01 July 2014

Packed to Protect: What you need to know

Issue 86 - February 2014Peli Cases have become well established in the market as essential protection for broadcast and photographic equipment, offering watertight, dustproof and crushproof security. Combining durability, security and style, Peli Hardback cases have been introduced to protect iPads, tablets and laptops from drops, knocks and scratc...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 March 2014