Mo-Sys Engineering, a global leader in real time camera tracking and remote systems, today announced the launch of U50. Designed and manufactured during the lockdown period, the U50 is a heavy-duty remote head that enables camera operators to safely return to work and control the biggest box lenses and heaviest broadcast camera set-ups remotely.

Offering the ultimate for camera remote control and remote production, U50 combats the current challenges and unique requirements in the Covid-19 affected world. Making it possible to operate large box lenses and cameras remotely, U50 achieves the same precision and agility when camera operators are controlling manually and on-site. With no other remote head capable of smoothly and quickly operating box lenses and with on-site production crews dramatically decreasing, this innovation offers a new solution to tackle current challenges.

Danny Zemanek, Freelance Camera Operator explained, “Previously remote production technology was an additional cost for broadcasters, but now it is essential to ensure camera operators can work safely. The U50 remote head from Mo-Sys represents a new way that operators can control big box lenses with the same precision and agility that we have come to expect.”

Custom Consoles announces the completion of two studio control desks and MediaWall monitor displays for a new UHD production facility at the London headquarters of Fidelity International. Supervised by systems integration specialist ATG Danmon, the project formed part of Fidelity's relocation to new premises in the centre of the city's financial district. The studios will be used for a range of applications including participation in finance-related broadcasts.

"We recommended Module-R and MediaWall on the basis of long experience with both product ranges," comments ATG Danmon Managing Director Russell Peirson-Hagger. "Their inherent modularity allowed us to specify exactly the required parameters in the full knowledge that the results would be robustly built, ergonomically sound, attractively styled, accurately sized and easy to install."

Largest of the two desks is a six metre wide in-line unit positioned along the main wall of the Studio 1 production gallery. This is configured for use by up to six operators including camera shading, robotic camera control, lighting control, graphic effects, vision mixing and control room to studio talkback. Sloping 3U high equipment pods run almost the entire width of this desk. All equipment above and below the main worktop remains easily accessible.

Intinor Technology, Sweden’s leading developer of products and solutions for high quality video over the internet, will be demonstrating how to do remote production in a series of live webinars with Danish company Skaarhoj, manufacturers of universal broadcast control panels. The aim is to showcase how the remote production tools from both Intinor and Skaarhoj complement each other to give a flexible, secure workflow for live production using a variety of different content sources and locations.

Interest in remote production workflows (or REMI) has been on the increase for some time now already. Even before the current global social distancing requirements created an added incentive for broadcasting companies to seek an alternative to the traditional travel-dependent methods of production, the economic and productivity benefits that REMI offers enables companies to more easily meet the rising demand for live content.

SugarHill Recording Studios, one of America’s best-known music recording facilities, has upgraded its Neve Genesys Black console by installing the GenesysControl plugin.

Designed to future proof analogue workflows, the Neve GenesysControl plugin provides the final link to total integration between Genesys and Genesys Black consoles and Digital Audio Workstations. With the GenesysControl plugin on board, recording professionals can mix traditionally using the console, work in-the-box, or combine both approaches in a highly effective hybrid workflow.

Based in Houston, Texas, SugarHill has been helping internationally acclaimed artists create hit records since it first opened its doors in 1941. It has played host to artists such as Lightnin' Hopkins, the Big Bopper, Freddy Fender, Willie Nelson, Ray Price and Destiny's Child.

SugarHill’s Genesys Black console is used for recording and mixing projects. It was originally istalled in 2018 and has been used on many sessions for artists such as Chance the Rapper, George Thorogood, Kevin Gates, 21 Savage, Maxo Kream and North Mississippi Allstars. 

Densitron, a creator of HMI technologies and a global leader in display, monitor, and embedded computing solutions, today announced that it has become an alliance partner with Panasonic IT/IP Platform.

Panasonic has chosen Densitron’s new UReady Touch Control Surface with Embedded Ethernet to be used as an AUX monitor. The control surface offers an ultra-high performance display, proprietary transparent tactile-touch buttons, and TCP/IP connection in a 2RU form factor.

As many broadcast stations are operating in a work-from-home environment amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, TSL Products has altered its R&D roadmap for the short term, in response to specific customer requirements and to meet the current needs of the industry.

Since TSL’s acquisition of DNF Controls in April 2019, the U.S. team based out of Northridge, CA, has remained focused on the developing and supporting the Flex Control Network and range of Universal Control Panels. “We have many customers across the United States who use our Flex Control Network for critical production and playout in news-based Hub and Spoke systems that connect network stations. Due to heightened demands in remote broadcasts, we recently altered our R&D to service our Flex customers and assist them in response to the pandemic,” says Fred Scott, regional sales manager U.S. at TSL and former sales director for DNF Controls. “With many customers working remotely, rather than in-studio, we added a feature called ‘Web Keys’ that, when connected to any DNF powered Universal Switch Panel within the Flex network, allows users to control devices situated in major hub and spoke installations across the U.S. from home.”

Light Illusion, specialists in critical colour management for film, post-production, and broadcast has launched a brand-new colour management product called “ColourSpace CMS”. Currently available for pre-order, it enables participation in the open beta program to provide feedback and input for the final release.

ColourSpace CMS is a software program which connects to a wide variety of display calibration probes in order to accurately assess the colour rendition of any display. It then creates colour management data which can be used to perfect colour accuracy by uploading it into a display that has colour management features, or alternatively, applied as a correction to the signal feeding the display using associated hardware.

Applications include display calibration, colour management, and colour workflows within the professional film, post-production, and broadcast industries, as well as for display manufacturers and home cinema enthusiasts. ColourSpace CMS data is compatible with most colour related post-production platforms such as Resolve, Flame and Baselight.

ColourSpace CMS has been designed to bring a significant improvement to how colour accuracy is measured and reported. 

Light Illusion aims for ColourSpace to become the de-facto standard for advanced colour management, promoting high levels of display calibration and colour control, regardless of final application.

Pixel Power is hosting a massive personalised customer engagement programme with a series of over a hundred one-to-one online meetings over the next six weeks. The aim is to replicate the best and most important aspects of a tradeshow - conversations with customers about their projects and how our technology can help.

“Listening to our customers’ needs is at the heart of what we have always done at Pixel Power – it’s why we are trusted to deliver on what we say we will”, explained James Gilbert, CEO, Pixel Power. “At this time of global lockdown and with all tradeshows either cancelled or postponed, we wanted to find an alternative method to replicate those confidential one-to-one meetings between our customers and technology colleagues”

Densitron, a creator of HMI technologies and a global leader in display, monitor, and embedded computing solutions today announced the addition of three new models to its acclaimed UReady 2RU Control Surface range.

The UReady 2RU display range are large, high-resolution control surfaces that provide a comfortable, wide-angle viewing experience that can be easily configured for multiple applications and user preferences. UReady is engineered to fully respond to the needs of broadcast, telecommunications, and many other networked business applications where monitoring and control are vital operational requirements.

The new models include a standalone UReady 2RU 16.3” control surface with Ethernet connectivity operating on an ARM® platform. HMI options can then be added through the use of Densitron’s proprietary tactile-touch transparent buttons. Options range from a single row of 16 buttons up to a fully populated surface with 54 buttons for even more control and flexibility.

Densitron Global Product Manager – HMI Solutions, Bazile Peter, said, “Densitron’s HMI solutions enable our customers to create exactly the right product for their applications. Whether this is a high-performance multi-touch touchscreen, or a touchscreen with transparent buttons, or a combination of buttons and touchscreen. This modular approach ensures that a vast array of control and monitoring requirements are flexibly met.”

Interra Systems, a leading global provider of software products and solutions to the digital media industry, today announced Interra Cloud Services (ICS), a new subscription-based service that will allow media companies to perform the critical function of content QC in the cloud. The ICS — BATON service will be available immediately for automated QC of file-based content. The subscription-based service, running in the cloud will help simplify and expedite content verification for quality and compliance purposes. Interra Systems will initially offer this cloud-based service for its BATON product running on Amazon Web Services infrastructure, with plans to add more advanced QC capabilities in the future, including its machine learning-based captions and lip sync solutions.

Interra Systems, a leading global provider of software products and solutions to the digital media industry, today announced BATON LipSync, an automated tool for lip sync detection and verification. BATON LipSync leverages machine learning (ML) technology and deep neural networks to automatically detect audio and video sync errors. Using BATON LipSync, broadcasters and service providers can accurately detect audio lead and lag issues in media content in order to provide a superior quality of experience to viewers.

"Lip sync errors are annoying and distracting and negatively impact overall viewing experiences," said Anupama Anantharaman, vice president of product management at Interra Systems. "With our BATON LipSync product, we're extending our video quality control expertise to help address the difficult problem of audio-video sync using advanced image processing and machine learning technologies. In addition to solving the problem of detection, accompanying debug information and comprehensive reporting will go a long way in assuring audio-video sync accuracy and helping our customers to deliver a more satisfying viewing experience."

Rascular, designers of software-based powerful, customisable control and monitoring applications for third-party, professional video technologies, has today announced the launch of three new versions of its RouteMaster Lite virtual routing for Newtek NDI® application: RouteMaster Lite Solo; RouteMaster Lite One; and RouteMaster Lite Four.

RouteMaster Lite - a Windows PC application - brings familiar video routing capabilities to Newtek’s NDI video. Based on Rascular’s proven RouteMaster system, it gives operators a range of familiar control interfaces for controlling video switching. With typical switching times of just one or two frames, RouteMaster Lite is perfect for live and on-air use. This ultra-fast switching makes it suitable for manual intervention and other applications where quick response is essential.

Roddy Pratt, Technical Director with Rascular, says, “Because of our strong commercial relationship with NewTek, we are very pleased to be able to provide ultra-fast switching, a uniquely powerful capability. RouteMaster Lite is ideal for OB and production environments, supporting up to 20 sources and 20 destinations. The built-in GUI is ideal for preset and take switching, showing resizable video previews and audio metering of the current video and the chosen source.”

No video streams are passed through the router system, instead traffic is redirected at the network level. This means only minimal bandwidth and processor requirements are needed, regardless of the number of video streams and resolution. There’s also no additional video delay through the system. Additionally, RouteMaster Lite does not become a central point of failure: if the router system fails for any reason, video continues to flow from sources to destinations uninterrupted.

Rascular, designers of software-based powerful, customisable control and monitoring applications for third-party, professional video technologies, has today announced the availability of comprehensive software control of Ross’ MC1 family of Channel Branding and Master Control Switchers via its flagship control and monitoring system Helm.

Responding to considerable customer interest, Rascular, using Ross’ powerful and flexible openGear® protocol, can now provide user-defined panel control of Ross’ widely deployed MC1 family. This is a significant addition to Helm’s already extensive third-party technology control capabilities. Helm can access not only a wide range of on-air control functionality – keyers, squeezeback transitions, logos, voiceovers and so on – but also configuration and monitoring information. Users can easily design their own panels, using simple dropdown menus, containing only the functionality they require.

DHD Audio GmbH, a leading manufacturer of professional mixers and audio devices, announces a new addition to its management team. Anne Philipp is promoted to General Manager, reporting to Managing Directors Joerg M. Deubner and Sven Hoffmann.

Graduating in 2006 with a Business Administration degree from the University of Leipzig, Anne Philipp joined DHD in January 2007 as an executive assistant responsible for materials procurement and accounting. She later also took on production planning. In 2010 she left to work on public tender preparation for a municipal organisation, returning to DHD in 2016. Since then she has resumed her former roles within the company as well as supervising DHD's human resources.

"Anne Phillip is a highly efficient and effective administrator who has proved her management skills within DHD over many years," Joerg Deubner comments. "Sven and I are still deeply involved in hardware and software development so fully appreciate having a colleague of her competence in charge of general company operations."

GB Labs, the leader in intelligent storage solutions, has announced that the latest version of its Analytics Centre, a dashboard that runs seamlessly in GB Labs’ SPACE, ECHO, and VAULT intelligent storage devices, will now include full access traceability.

Of interest to everyone that requires storage, Analytics Centre continuously analyses how data handled by the storage system is being used. The display provides a highly accurate and easy-to-interpret look at crucial network and storage usage, including real-time speed and data consumption. With full traceability, file access history is logged giving a complete picture of data usage.

GB Labs CEO-CTO Dominic Harland said, “Analytics Centre gives GB Labs users the visibility they need to ensure their workflow is fully optimised at all times. It takes all the time-consuming, and often incorrect, guesswork out of blindly shopping for storage in hopes that it will improve a workflow.

“Analytics Centre automates the system analysis process with carefully designed algorithms that identify not just potential problems, but precisely where to find and fix them. Moreover, it now includes a significantly updated interface that includes full data logging and full, detailed tracking capabilities that we’re excited to demonstrate for the first time.”