Newsletter from 18/05/2018
10 Days to IBC in Amsterdam
It was on 24 July 1916 that the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (television was added in 1950) held its first meeting. The primary driver for the foundation of the society was a call for standards to allow interoperability, something which remains central to SMPTE’s work.
Today, SMPTE is regarded as one of the cornerstones of our industry. SMPTE members have volunteered to research, ratify and publish thousands of standards, recommended practices and engineering guidelines. The society is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and recognised by global bodies such as the International Standards Organization (ISO). During the IBC2016 Awards Ceremony, the hundred year history of SMPTE will be recognised. SMPTE is the leading standards-setting body for the industry, and one of the six trade bodies which form the IBC Partnership.
As of today we feature 66 companies and their approach at IBC2016. This list is continously updated until IBC opens on September 8th in Amsterdam.
2wcom - Adder - AIMS - Aret - Artel - Avid - AviWest - Axon - Bannister Lake - BB&S - Belden - BFE - Bluebell - BT Media & Broadcast - Calrec - Canare - ChyronHego - Clear-Com - Custom Consoles - Danmon - Dejero - DNF - EBU - Elemental - EVS - Facilis - Gearhouse - Grass Valley - Guntermann & Drunck - Harmonic - Hitachi - I-MOVIX - IABM - IHSE - Ikegami - Imagine Communications - Jünger - Leader - Media Links - Megahertz - MOG - MSE - Neunann - Nevion - NOA - Octopus - Omnitek - Polecam - Rohde & Schwarz - Ross Video - SAM - Sennheiser - Sixty - Sonnet - Sony - SSL - Tektonix - Telestream - Timecode Systems - TSL - Utah Scientific - Video Devices - Vimond - Vizrt - Wisycom - Wohler
The link "IBC2016" will always show you the featured companies in alphabetical order
MOBILE PRODUCTION
Broadcast Solutions Delivers SNG to Austrian Production Company remotion
Broadcast Solutions recently delivered a SNG vehicle to Austrian Broadcaster remotion. The car, a Volkswagen T5 Caravelle, is equipped with a ProSat antenna and is currently used for daily show “Guten Morgen Österreich” of Austrian public broadcaster ORF. Using a mobile Studio on wheels each daily show is broadcasted from another Austrian city. The SNG is realised using a Volkswagen T5 Caravelle with long wheelbase and offers enough space for 3 complete workplaces. It is possible to drive with 4 people in total plus, there is enough space in the rear for additional mobile equipment. With powerful UPS, generator and air-condition the SNG runs independently and offers maximum working guaranty. The SNG system comprises of a ProSat D120 M antenna, including an Eutelsat autopointing system.
NEP’s first 4K OBVan in Switzerland relies on Panasonic 4K cameras
Following numerous tests and intensive consulting, NEP opted to equip its latest OB truck “Ultra HD-41” with Panasonic AK-UC3000 4K cameras. “As the results show, the UC3000 offers an unprecedented performance and 4K picture quality. Additionally to the quality, we are also impressed by the camera’s user-friendliness and handling,” says Trond Hermansen, CTO at NEP Switzerland. “The UC3000 achieves an excellent balance between the different image quality parameters – such as sensitivity and resolution, a good signal-to-noise ratio and a large dynamic range. Also worth mentioning is the low power consumption as well as the camera’s compact size.”
Mobile TV Group Rolls Out 4K Production with Grass Valley Kayenne
Denver-based Mobile TV Group (MTVG) has successfully produced a number of events in 4K/UHD with its new 53-foot 39 Flex double-expando mobile production truck. Built around a 4K-capable Kayenne K-Frame switcher (192 inputs/96 outputs HD, 48 inputs/24 outputs 4K) with 7 M/Es from Grass Valley, a Belden Brand, MTVG’s 39 Flex was deployed to provide 4K coverage of the Masters and PGA Championship and several concerts including one by Garth Brooks at Yankee Stadium in the past few months. Designed to support a variety of sports or entertainment productions, 39 Flex is purpose built to easily switch from HD to UHD and back again or provide parallel feeds as production needs dictate. With this capability, the company is able to maximize the use of the truck and meet the needs of its clients for any event.
Mobile TV Group's 39 Flex and NEP Switzerland's Ultra HD-41 plus 22 more Ultra HD Trucks are covered in PURE LIVE 2016
In PURE LIVE 2016 you find detailed descriptions of 24 new 4K/UHD OBVans from all around the world: Australia, China, Canada, Europe, United States, in particular AMP VISUAL TV, Arena, Clark Media, Croatel, Dome Productions, Euromedia, Gearhouse, Hunan TV, JSBC, Mediapro, NEP, Telecenic, Timeline\TV, TopVision, TV Skyline, TVN, Videohouse.
PURE LIVE also presents portraits of international system integrators, rental facilities and production houses as well as case studies and reports highlighting the areas of video, audio and lighting in TV Live Productions for sports and entertainment: UEFA EURO - Adele - Le Mans - Royal Opera Stockholm - Formula E - Montreux Jazz - Trotting - PAC-12, to only name a few of the Highlights.
SPORT EVENTS
Rio 2016 sets records on the field of play and online
The Olympic Games Rio 2016 delivered many remarkable and inspiring athletic achievements that were witnessed and shared by a vast global audience through record-breaking media coverage and unprecedented levels of digital engagement.
Media Coverage: *More media coverage than ever before, with record numbers for TV and digital broadcast hours, *Nearly 350,000 total hours, up from fewer than 200,000 hours for London 2012, *More than 500 TV channels, more than 250 digital platforms, *More digital coverage than ever, nearly double TV and 2.5 times more than London 2012 (218,000 hours versus 81,500 hours), *NBC exceeded 2.5 billion live streaming minutes, over 1 billion more than all previous Olympic Games combined, *We anticipate half the world’s population will watch at least some coverage of the Games, *More than 90 per cent of the Brazilian television audience watched at least some coverage of the Games.
Olympics viewing: Digital takes Gold
The numbers are now in, and it is clear that while viewers to conventional broadcast channels enjoyed the Rio Olympics, it was digital viewers, whether on ‘red button’-type options, or simply viewing via second screens which took the main prizes. NBC, which paid a massive $1.23 billion for its TV and digital rights, reported that some 2.25 billion web-streams were supplied via its dedicated – and multi-option – website. NBC probably got value for money despite its TV viewing numbers being the lowest since the 2004 Games in Athens, when the time difference between Europe and the US was much more severe.
TV Takes Gold in Rio
This year’s Olympic Games in Rio were a massive TV and online hit in every corner of the globe. Nine countries have put together TV viewing data for the opening and closing ceremonies and for high performing Olympic moments. Different countries tuned in to different moments depending on the involvement of their own competitors. For example, Andre de Grasse winning the silver medal for the 200 meter sprint athletics for Canada was watched by 7.2 million Canadians, and Germany playing Brazil in the football final attracted 8.3 million German fans. And, although live TV audiences for the opening and closing ceremonies were lower than for the London Olympics due to time differences, millions still watched at all hours of the day.
Panasonic Delivers Wide Range of Audio-Visual Solutions and Equipment
Panasonic Corporation announced the full lineup of equipment and wide variety of solutions the company provided to support the staging of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 110 compact DLP projectors (PT-DZ21K2) offering 20,000 lumen brightness were used to help open one of the world’s largest sporting spectacles two weeks ago, and the same state-of-the-art technology has helped conclude what has been one of the most exciting Games of recent times. From beginning to end, Panasonic technology helped to bring the Olympic Games to life. More than 200 Panasonic broadcast cameras were on hand to capture the thrills and spills of competition, alongside 72 LED large screen displays at 35 Competition Venues providing 1,886 square metres of gigantic Games imagery.
Extensive use of RTS intercom at the Games in Rio
The Games in Rio saw the most extensive deployment of RTS intercom to date, allowing the Games‘ major broadcaster an unprecedented degree of comms control and connectivity between three control rooms at the International Broadcast Center (IBC) in Rio and eight control rooms at the home base in Connecticut. Whereas the setup in Sochi for the 2014 Winter Games was almost all analog, the setup for Rio was almost all digital, with extensive and successful use of OMNEO Dante-based networking technology, MADI and RVON (RTS Voice Over Network). Along with the largest RTS trunking system ever deployed (with extensive use of RVON), the Games also represented the most extensive installation of OMNEO-enabled devices, which worked flawlessly.
Air Racing thrills return to EuroSpeedway Lausitz on 3-4 September
It’s what German motorsport fans have waited six long years to see: on 3-4 September 2016, the Red Bull Air Race will return to Germany’s EuroSpeedway Lausitz – formerly known as the Lausitzring – for the first time since the ultimate motorsport series in the sky debuted at the famed oval in 2010. Adding to the anticipation, the race will be a homecoming for Germany’s own Matthias Dolderer, the pilot who is at the top of the World Championship standings. Thirteen elite Master Class pilots will be desperately chasing Dolderer, because the ace from Tannheim has a substantial lead (over 18 points) in the overall standings with only three races to go in the season.
SHOW EVENTS
Robe Gets Emotional with Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots (TØP) are among the most exciting and original bands right now, and while they cross and defy genres and pigeonholes with glee and their reputation grows for delivering an emotive high energy live show … these are crafted with love by many talented individuals into a ‘must see’ phenomena and real-world social experience. Production designers Daniel Slezinger and Justin Roddick have embraced this eclectic theatrical mix of spectacle, mood and thought provoking performance since 2012, and the first time they saw TØP play at 12th & Porter, a Nashville club they owned at the time. Taking it from a US trailer tour to a sold-out multiple truck arena / amphitheater world tour, they have spec’d nearly 180 Robe fixtures for the current “Emotional Roadshow.”
Robe BMFLs Rock Roskilde Arena
Customer service is a core value for any lighting designer visiting the 17,000 capacity Arena Stage at Roskilde Festival, one of Europe’s leading music events, and this year production lighting designer Sune Verdier used 40 x Robe BMFL Spots at the heart of the rig, which he co-ordinated for the fifth year. These were supplied - together with other lighting including 24 x Robe Pointes - by leading Danish rental company, Comtech, based in Copenhagen which has invested heavily in Robe over the last year. The Arena accommodated a wide variety of bands over the four day festival – from breaking talent to established headliners like Slayer, PJ Harvey, New Order and James Blake, with a total of 21 acts, many bringing their own floor packages.
Ampco Flashlight Rental Sends dLive On Soulwax Tour
Belgian electro rock band, Soulwax, has embarked on a summer tour of Europe with Allen & Heath dLive digital mixing systems and a ME personal monitoring system to manage FOH, monitors and recording. Soulwax’s band members wanted to create a "20th Century" sound by incorporating several vintage Trident Fleximix consoles on stage for pre mixing. FOH engineer, Hugo Scholten, needed a system that could manage up to 128 input channels to blend the vintage stems with any of the individual mic/line channels for the final FOH mix. Virtual soundcheck capability and the option to add Waves plug-ins, were also required at FOH, as well as a digital mic preamp split between Monitors and FOH, and a separate integrated system providing hands-on personal monitoring for the artists.
PRODUCTS
YLE bolsters its EVS production solutions for summer of worldwide sport
Finland's national public service broadcasting company, Yle, has upgraded a number of its live production systems with technology from EVS, the leader in live video technology for broadcast and new media productions. Yle operates four national television channels as well as six radio channels and is renowned in Finland as a reliable source of news and current affairs throughout the country. To cope with the demands of 2016’s summer of sport, Yle upgraded its live production infrastructure and bolstered its facilities for the creation of its weekly entertainment, sports and news programming. The upgraded systems are implemented across both Yle’s Media Centre in Helsinki and in its outside broadcast facilities. The systems integration was performed by EVS’ Finnish SI partner TV Tools.
FOX Sports scores with Lawo Remote Production Kit
When Chile’s team left the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford with the prestigious Copa América in their hands – after an exciting match with penalty shoot-out against the team from Argentina, the FOX Sports team behind the scenes celebrated the successful commentary remote-production coverage of this 2016 tournament. This year’s Copa (June 3 to 26) at venues in the USA, was broadcast live by FOX Sports using two recently purchased IP-based Lawo Remote Production Kits, each one comprising two Lawo V__remote4 devices for video and audio signal transport and processing, two Lawo Compact Engines providing AoIP interfacing and DSP, and a Lawo Commentary Unit. The Lawo kits were in use at each venue, providing stadium commentary back to the FOX Sports’ production area.
TV Integração Turns to Grass Valley for Production Solutions to Drive New Content Delivery
“We investigated a lot of different options for this project, ultimately choosing Grass Valley for its quality, the available features and performance of the products, and the dependable local presence in our market,” explained Paulo Feres, director of engineering, Rede Integração. “From the beginning, the Grass Valley team worked closely with us to design the ideal solution, work through all the testing and demonstrate the solutions to the executives at our TV Globo headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.” The NVISION 8144, which is part of the NVISION 8500 HYBRID router series, combines exceptional resilience with cost, space and power efficiency to serve as an ideal enterprise-class routing solution for production and playout applications.
4K / 8K ARISING
BT Reveals the Future of Ultra HD Outside Sports Broadcasting at IBC2016
BT will unveil the latest Ultra High Definition (UHD) outside broadcasting links truck at this year’s IBC conference in Amsterdam. The vehicle will be used by BT’s Media and Broadcast (BT M&B) division to broadcast BT Sport’s live coverage of the Round 2 AVIVA Premiership Rugby Matches in 4K. The TES52 truck, which was designed and built by systems integrator, Megahertz, is the first vehicle in the UK capable of transmitting multiple HD and UHD/4K visions via fibre and satellite simultaneously. The truck will also use the latest encoding equipment, which has been specifically designed for premium live sports broadcasting. BT’s digital and media broadcast services arm will display the TES52 truck on their stand [O.C01 in the Outside Exhibition area] from 9 - 13 September.
Immersing sports fans with augmented reality
This sporting summer’s broadcast coverage has not only been a celebration of medal achievements and Premier League football firsts, it also marks a huge leap into the world of immersive video. The BBC pushed the boundaries for the summer games in Brazil, bringing 360 degree video to UK audiences for the first time ever and BT Sport kicked off its football coverage showing the latest dynamic augmented reality techniques in all their glory. Part of this rise in immersive innovation has brought more ambitious VR and AR applications, and throughout 2016 sports broadcasters have stayed one step ahead of the game with the latest technological trends. Whether it is clever immersive graphics and visualised data, or the innovative AR studios we have seen on BT Sport – the clear winners are the viewers, who are being treated to the ultimate enhanced viewing experiences. The great news is that technological advancements in the AR arena are constantly evolving, and this could be just the start for broadcasters.
Global VR revenues $162bn by 2020
According to forecasts from the International Data Corporation (IDC), worldwide revenues for the augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) market will grow from $5.2 billion in 2016 to more than $162 billion (€143.7bn) in 2020. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 181.3 per cent over the 2015-2020 forecast period. IDC’s new spending guide expands on previous AR/VR forecasts by offering greater detail on revenues by technology, industry, and geography. “For many years augmented and virtual reality were the stuff of science fiction. Now with powerful smartphones powering inexpensive VR headsets, the consumer market is primed for new paid and user generated content-driven experiences. Recent developments in healthcare demonstrated the powerful impact augmented reality headsets can have at the industry level, and over the next five years we expect to see that promise become realized in other fields like education, logistics, and manufacturing,” Chris Chute, vice president, Customer Insights and Analysis.