Newsletter from 17/01/2019
CES the Counterpart of NAB
CES® Is the Global Stage for Innovation - CES is the world's gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for 50 years — the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), it attracts the world's business leaders and pioneering thinkers.CES showcases more than 4,500 exhibiting companies, including manufacturers, developers and suppliers of consumer technology hardware, content, technology delivery systems and more; a conference program with more than 250 conference sessions and more than 180K attendees from 150 countries.And because it is owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™ — the technology trade association representing the $398 billion U.S. consumer technology industry — it attracts the world’s business leaders and pioneering thinkers to a forum where the industry’s most relevant issues are addressed. TV tech always dominates CES, and we’re expecting all things 8K to reign supreme at CES 2019. Samsung really got the 8K ball rolling in late 2018, with the release of the £15,000 Samsung QE85Q900R, and CES 2019 is where LG and Sony − which have only managed to showcase 8K prototypes so far − announced their own 8K releases. Word on the street is that Sony is prepping an 8K camera to go alongside its 8K TV product. Sounds expensive.
MOBILE PRODUCTION
tpc ag UHD 1 HDR
Technology and production center switzerland ag (tpc) builds one of the first OB vans for IP-based UHD live production worldwide, choosing Sony’s HDC-4300 camera. The multimedia market leader and technical service provider for radio and TV in Switzerland purchased 214 HDC-4300 cameras. lso compatible with the new UHD OB van are Sony‘s PMW-F55 and PMW-F65 cameras, which tpc is already using. tpc’s „UHD1“ features two high-end 4K IP video switchers, the XVS-8000 and the XVS-6000. The OB van will operate completely IP-based in uncompressed SMPTE ST2110. The high degree of difficulty of tpc’s technical requirements severely narrowed the field of qualified technology partners, leading the Swiss broadcast service provider to Imagine Communications, which wascollaborating with sonoVTS, a leading European systems integrator based in Germany, to deliver to tpc what is expected to be the industry’s first OB truck to support uncompressed IP UHD production capabilities using SMPTE 2110.
4K Garden
4K Garden, a major 4K content services platform of Alibaba group in China has signed an agreement with Sony China Professional Solutions Group (CPSG) to purchase an IP- 4K outside broadcast truck. The full-IP 4K outside broadcast truck that Sony China iwas contracted to build haseight 4K cameras, and will be the most advanced of its kind in China. Thanks to Sony's core 4K/HDR/IP production equipment and solutions, the truck can also be upgraded to utilise up to 16 cameras in the future. Kit included is: HDC-4300, 4K/HD system camera, XVS-7000, Multi-format production switcher, PWS-4400, 4K/HD multi-port AV storage unit, Live System Manager Software
TV Skyline HD9
TV Skyline... is THE innovative service provider for television and broadcasting from Mainz. The HD OB-van fleet is equipped with the latest and highest-quality broadcast technology. For over 20 years, TV Skyline realize dproductions for customers at the highest level in the fields of sport, entertainment, music, events and industry. The fleet covers several OB vans, SNG and editing vehicles in different sizes. This enables TV Skyline to offer customized production concepts at all time
STUDIO PRODUCTION
Bringing a new Perspective to Studio Production
Despite audiences’ ever-changing viewing habits, weekly, event-based studio shows still remain an incredibly popular format for broadcasters across the world. However, producers still have a challenge to ensure their show stands out from its competitors. As staging and production values become increasingly sophisticated, so too must the studio camera solutions. ringing an aerial viewpoint into a studio environment can add a whole new perspective, and is exactly what Israeli reality singing show, The Four, chose to do, alongside its dozen-strong multicam setup.
Calrec’s Brio prepares students for audio careers at University of Surrey
The University of Surrey, UK, has upgraded its television studio with a Calrec Brio audio console as a key part of the refurbishment. Internationally recognised as the UK centre for the prestigious Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) Audio Degree, the school has now introduced an equivalent film and video production technology programme, which is in its third year. Andy Attwell, Television Studio Manager, said, “To support the introduction of this new programme, we took the opportunity to give the television studio a major infrastructure upgrade, including cameras, a vision mixer, signal routing, audio, IT networks and fibre optic connectivity to the wider campus. The previous sound desk couldn’t keep pace and we needed something which provided increased flexibility and capacity. The Brio met all our requirements.”
New Views for ZDF Gala "Sportsman of the Year 2018" with Robycam Compact
Twenty years ago, German public broadcaster ZDF broadcast the Sportsman of the Year award for the first time. To mark the event's 20th anniversary, the station raised the number of cameras capturing the event to ten. One of them was the Robycam Compact, which was used for the first time as a cable camera system in the Kurhaus Baden-Baden to "fly" three-dimensionally through the Bénazetsaal. Robycam Compact is a smaller version of the Robycam 3D cable camera system, which is only half as heavy and designed for smaller venues. Just as its big brother, the Robycam Compact moves freely in the vertical and horizontal in venues to produce spectacular images from all angles and heights unique in the broadcast business.
SPORT PRODUCTIONS
FOX Sports’ College Football Pre-Game Show Relies on Clear-Com
Soundtronics Wireless of Las Vegas, NV relied on Clear-Com® to service long-time client, FOX Sports, with an Eclipse HX digital matrix and FreeSpeak II digital wireless intercom system for the network’s college football pre-game show, broadcast live from Fair Park (State Fair of Texas) on October 6. Soundtronics has been the RF vendor serving FOX Sports for several years, handling the NFL Sunday desk show when on the road, as well as championship games, Super Bowl LII and Veteran’s Day specials. “FreeSpeak II is one of the primary reasons we have this agreement with FOX Sports,” said Jason Waufle, Partner, Soundtronics Wireless. “It is just so far ahead of the system they were previously using. You get reliability and quality with a large number of channels, and it just works.”
Results of Independent Test Conducted on TRACAB Optical Tracking System
ChyronHego announced that its TRACAB Optical Tracking System, the world's leading technology for tracking players and balls within competition sports, achieved the highest accuracy results of any comparable system based upon scientific tests conducted by the Technical University of Munich, which is highly regarded for its research in the field of motion capture. The tests, commissioned jointly by ChyronHego and the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga (German Football League), were designed to measure the accuracy of the systems for collecting data during play — a capability that has implications for physical and tactical coaching, as well as for broadcast, digital media, and more. The results not only provide independent validation of TRACAB's accuracy in capturing sports data, but also give ChyronHego valuable information it can use to further improve upon the current system and refine the next generation of TRACAB.
Esports Arena Las Vegas Sounds Off With Lawo
That’s what Allied Esports International set out to do, with a new venue in the Luxor Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. “Our mission was to build a turnkey infrastructure to do many different live events, as well as produce content in a style and quality that meets or exceeds current broadcast standards,” says Drew Ohlmeyer, Head of Content, Allied Esports International and Esports Arena Las Vegas. To repurpose a former nightclub space, Allied hired CBT Systems to design and build an A/V system tailored for high-availability streaming video broadcasts.
SHOW PRODUCTIONS
Robe for Roger Waters’ Us+Them Tour
Lighting designer Pryderi Baskerville has one of the most demanding lighting briefs in the industry, as well as the pleasure of working with a highly talented and focused creative team including creative director Sean Evans, production designer Jeremy Lloyd from Wonder Works, video director Richard Turner, production manager Chris Kansy and production director Andrew Zweck … to deliver this masterpiece of subversive industrial scale art! Pryderi has worked for Waters since 2013 and as LD / lighting director / lighting programmer since 2016. This Us+Them world touring cycle originally started in May 2017 and runs until December this year. Pryderi specified 97 x Robe BMFL WashBeams for the stadium version of the shows and 57 x BMFL Spots and 8 x BMFL Blades for the arena gigs.
“Shania Now” World Tour Features Claypaky
The Queen of Country Pop’s “Shania Now” 2018 tour is using a large complement of Claypaky Mythos2 and Scenius Unico fixtures to enhance the show’s dazzling visual palette. ACT Lighting, Inc. is the exclusive distributor of Claypaky lighting in North America. “Shania Now” takes multi-Grammy winner Shania Twain across North America and to South America and Europe this fall before culminating in a swing through Oceania prior to Christmas. Twain has sold over 100 million records making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and among the best-selling music artists of all time. Last year she released her fifth studio album and her first in 15 years, entitled “Now.”
Utilitarian Elation Lighting Rig for Protest the Hero Canadian Tour
For Canadian shows celebrating the 10th anniversary of Protest the Hero’s “Fortress” album, lighting operator/programmer, Michael ‘Herk’ Herkimer, deployed a comprehensive suite of Elation lighting fixtures. Provided by Hamilton-based Soundbox Productions of Canada, the rig was comprised exclusively of Elation ACL 360 Matrix™ panels, Cuepix Battens™, Fuze Pars™ and ZW19s™. To say Herk maintains a busy schedule is an understatement. In mid-October 2018 he’d been touring for roughly 29 months, splitting his time between Rise Against, Billy Talent and Protest the Hero (PTH). With his previous knowledge of the PTH gig,
PRODUCTS
PWS-4500 live server ticks all the right boxes for Reckord Outside Broadcasting
In the beginnings (1998-2005) Reckord co-operated with TV PRIMA, Česká televize (Czech television) and TV NOVA in the media coverage production. For TV NOVA Reckord provided live reports for the regional news broadcast „Právě teď“ („Right now“) from the Ústí nad Labem and Karlovy Vary regions. At the same time Reckord produced advertising films, DVDs, promotion spots and multimedia presentations. Since 2006 Reckord my company has specialized in providing services in the field of television transmissions and records as well as services associated with this field. In June 2012, Reckord bought the establishment “Přenosy ACE a.s.” and in 2017 the Polish company “MultiProduction z.o.o” was bought. Recckord has integrated these new production capacities into the structure of the company Reckord – outside broadcasting s.r.o.
Available Today: HDR Image Analyzer and FS-HDR Firmware Update
AJA Video Systems is now shipping HDR Image Analyzer, a powerful real-time HDR monitoring and analysis solution developed in partnership with Colofront to help high dynamic range productions achieve more engaging visuals. HDR Image Analyzer features waveform, histogram and vectorscope monitoring and analysis of 4K/UltraHD/2K/HD, HDR and WCG content for broadcast and OTT production, post-production, QC and Fusing AJA’s production-proven video I/O with HDR analysis tools from Colorfront in a compact 1RU chassis, HDR Image Analyzer features a comprehensive toolset for monitoring and analyzing HDR formats including PQ (Perceptual Quantizer) and Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) for 4K/UltraHD workflows. HDR Image Analyzer takes in up to 4K sources across 4x 3G-SDI inputs and loops the video out, allowing analysis at any point in the production workflow.
Andøya Space Center relies on Clear-Com intercom solutions
Clear-Com® is pleased to announce what is believed to be its northernmost installation in the world, at the Andøya Space Center (ASC) located two degrees north of the Arctic Circle in northern Norway, and a separate rocket launch site several hundred kilometers away at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. The new Clear-Com installation is based around the HelixNet digital network partyline system with LQ IP interfaces, and was chosen to overcome challenges including audio quality and long cable runs, as well as introducing flexibility to the system configuration and taking advantage of IP technology.Established in 1962, Andøya Space Center is a solution provider for sounding rocket, balloon and remotely piloted aircraft operations. A sounding rocket is designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight.
4K / 8K ARISING
Blackmagic Design Powers World’s First 4K esports Live Broadcast Over 5G
At Huawei’s Global Mobile Broadband (MBB) Forum, the world’s first 4K esports live stream over 5G was delivered with a mast from mobile network Three, and a Blackmagic Design live workflow. The esports livestream featuring YouTuber Vikkstar123, playing Fortnite Battle Royale, was the perfect medium to demonstrate the speed and quality of 5G. Freelance audio and video specialist Jon Pratchett needed a small, discrete but high quality camera that would be easily mountable on a specialised gaming chair on stage, in order to capture Vikkstar’s reactions.
Japan's national public broadcaster deploys latest-generation EVS server
EVS, the leading provider of live production solutions, today announced that its XT-VIA live production servers have been purchased by NHK Media Technology (MT) and NHK Global Media Services (GMS), subsidiaries of NHK, one of the world leaders in higher-resolution content creation. Three of the latest servers from EVS have been integ“As we prepare to launch our new higher-resolution content, we need a mobile production facility that features the latest, state of the art technology. This truck enables us to create the highest-quality content as efficiently as we can,” said Koji Mochizuki, Manager at MT.rated into a new 4K-OB1 mobile production truck as it’s rolled out for live UHD productions.