Newsletter from 16/06/2019
FIFA TV production of Women’s World Cup rises to new level
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup is the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) between 7 June and 7 July 2019. In March 2015, France won the right to host the event; it is the first time the country is hosting the tournament, and the third time by a European nation. Matches are are played at nine cities across France. The United States enters the competition as defending champions. It is also the first Women's World Cup to use the video assistant referee (VAR) system. THe following OBVans cover the tournament in the host cities in France:
- Paris, : Euromedia B40
- Reims: TV Skyline Ü8
- Lyon, Grenoble: Euromedia A21
- Rennes: Telegenic T23
- Le Havre: Telegenic T25
- Valenciennes: United OB15
- Nice, Montpellier: CTV OB9
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MOBILE PRODUCTION
Broadcast Solutions and NEP The Netherlands join forces for deployment of large 24 camera UHD OB Truck
The new OB Truck, named UHD 2, adds to NEP Europe’s fleet by following a similar one (UHD 1), Broadcast Solutions delivered earlier to NEP in Sweden. The two new OB trucks, which can be deployed in any European country, are the largest mobile production tools in NEP Europe’s fleet, giving them the flexibility to realise productions with over 24 cameras and operating many different types of cameras. Since the demand for UHD (and HDR) productions grows across Europe, NEP in the Netherlands opted for UHD 2 as a similar new built to ease the exchange of technology and human resources. During the planning phase, the NEP engineering teams in Sweden and the Netherlands together with Broadcast Solutions used UHD 1 as a blueprint for developing UHD 2 by adding new technology and changing workflow designs where appropriate.
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Gearhouse Broadcast USA completes 1850th REMI production
Gearhouse Broadcast USA, the Gravity Media-owned supplier of technical facilities, crew and services used to capture the world’s most watched content, has successfully completed its 1850th multi-camera, remote integration (REMI) production. The milestone was passed at the close of the 2019 US collegiate sports season, when the Washington Huskies took on the University of California Bears in the Pac-12 Baseball and cements Gearhouse’s position as a leader in delivering ‘At Home’ centralized productions. A typical REMI offers an operationally flexible, modern and durable workflow that is cost efficient to deploy. Smaller, purpose built mobile units can be used at the venue, and only video and audio acquisition hardware such as engineered cameras, microphones and announcer headsets, as well as comms hardware, a transmission interface and engineering support are required on site. Video switching, audio mixing, graphics, replays and show production can all be done ‘at home’ at the broadcast center.
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Baku Media Center Trust in Broadcast Solutions OB Trucks at UEFA Europa League Final in Baku
On the 29th may Azerbaijan capital Baku hosted the UEFA Europa League Final between Arsenal London and Chelsea, making it a London derby. BT Sport Channel will broadcast the all-British final with the help of local Broadcast technology provider Baku Media Center together with Sunset + Vine production company. For the final, Baku Media will deploy their mobile production fleet, all developed by Broadcast Solutions. BT Sport, one of the largest telecom providers, will screen the game on their channels plus a free stream on YouTube in UHD. Broadcast Solutions, Europe’s largest OB Van manufacturer, has a long-lasting relationship with Baku Media Center. The German company has delivered several production vehicles, including a 16 camera Streamline S16 trailer plus support vehicle and DSNG. In April this year and just in time for the UEFA final Broadcast Solutions delivered an additional 12 camera OB plus supporting truck to Baku Media Center, that will also be used at the UEFA Europa League final.
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STUDIO PRODUCTION
White Light to present ‘SmartStage’
As sponsors to this years Media Production show, disguise and White Light have teamed up to showcase the ground-breaking ‘SmartStage’ powered by the award-winning disguise xR (Extended Reality) platform. Located near the Broadcast Tech Theatre at London Olympia, this fully immersive production environment will showcase the latest developments in Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) workflows for live broadcast, and explores the opportunities for creating flexible production spaces. White Light has pioneered SmartStage, an immersive video environment which replaces the traditional green screen element of a studio and allows presenters and the audience to interact with the content around them. By creating a physical stage with real content, the need for any complicated keying is removed, along with the challenges this usually introduces. The set-up is scalable to fit any size space and doesn’t need to be installed in a dedicated broadcast studio. The innovative workflow which sits on a robust broadcast-grade infrastructure, delivers 24/7 operation in demanding live environments.
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Dalet Accelerates News Delivery for Times Network
Dalet, a leading provider of solutions and services for media organizations and content professionals, today announced that Times Network, India’s leading broadcast network, has deployed the Dalet Galaxy media asset management and workflow orchestration platform to optimize content utilization and accelerate delivery for its 24/7 news channel “Times NOW”. With a global presence across 100 countries, Times Network houses upscale brands including TIMES NOW, ET NOW, Mirror NOW, Movies NOW & Movies NOW HD, MN+, Romedy NOW & Romedy NOW HD, MNX & MNX HD and Zoom, each of which informs, entertains and engages viewers. “Times Network is the leading broadcast network in India,” states K Yegneshwara Iyer, Senior Vice President & Head of Technology, Times Network. “To sustain this momentum and always be the first to break news, we moved to adopt a platform that could digitalize the archives as well as integrate our media silos, ultimately managing the entire media supply chain for the Times Network. Dalet was the best partner for this mission. Their platform allows us to bring all our content into one place and create seamless access for our users, with tools and intelligence to manage multiple workflows across several locations and business units.”
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Nanyang Technological University Elevates Production Values with Ross
Located in the lush city-state of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is the island republic’s second oldest public autonomous university, with 33,500 students and 10,000 staff. The in-house media production team works on a diverse range of events across the academic year, from concerts and seminars to symposia and graduation ceremonies. With a packed calendar of commitments and the desire to improve overall production values, Mr. Leonard H. Sim, Technical Producer at NTU, turned to Ross Video’s Singapore office or guidance and support. “We have a large auditorium and regularly work on multi-camera productions so are constantly looking at new equipment for our facility, in order to keep-up with the best standards and to ensure our production values meet the expectations of our audience”, notes Mr. Sim. “We wanted to improve the look of our content and also make our productions easier to run and more efficient, so we talked with Ross”.
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SPORT EVENTS
Lawo Takes Star Role in Indian Premier League Broadcast
Now underway for its 2019 season, Indian Premier League (IPL) is the star in cricket’s commercial crown, putting the sport’s best players in front of the largest audiences and paying the highest fees. The IPL broadcast rights for the season are currently held by Star TV as part of a five-year contract, and marks a significant change in the operation but sees a continuation of the longstanding and pioneering use of equipment from German broadcast innovator, Lawo. The IPL was founded in 2008 of eight teams representing cities in India – with players drawn from the world’s best. Live, it is the most-attended cricket league in the world and, in 2010, became the first sporting event in the world to be broadcast live on YouTube. It has an estimated brand value of US$6.3 billion in 2018.
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Liverpool beat Tottenham to win sixth European Cup
The Reds' victory, courtesy of a Mohamed Salah penalty awarded in the first minute and converted in the second, plus a late Divock Origi effort, not only exorcises the demons of last season's 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in Kyiv but also ends Jürgen Klopp's run of six successive club final defeats. It gets sweeter still for Salah. His delight – or was it relief? – at converting from the spot after Moussa Sissoko was penalised for handball after just 24 seconds was no doubt magnified by the fact he was forced off injured in the Ukrainian capital last year. Telegenic provided the UHD/HDR worldfeed to UEFA and BT Sport, a world premiere! UHD/HDR Sony 4300 cameras, replays with EVS Broadcast Equipment in 1080 p. Match was director: Rob Levi: ”With HDR you will see the real red color of Liverpool shirt and much more, amazing! Telegenic also supported BT for VR 360 feed based on 11 caption systems and for BT unilateral feed. Since FIFA WC 2014 Telegenic is always on the cutting edge of innovation.
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L-Acoustics Kara(i) Elevates Sonic Experience at Sprint Center
Widely recognized as a flexible, state-of-the-art arena located in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, Sprint Center recently reached out to local integrator Digital Sound Systems, Inc. (DSS) to explore options for updating its arena sound system used for sporting events. DSS was tasked with updating portions of the arena’s control room, as well as audio and video facilities. After thorough research and consideration, DSS was able to provide Sprint Center with an entirely new front-line sound system, including new speakers, subs and amplifiers, thanks to the powerful and cost-effective solutions provided by L-Acoustics Kara(i) loudspeakers, SB18i subwoofers, and LA4X amplified controllers.
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SHOW EVENTS
Riedel Delivers Agile, Reliable Comms and Signal Distribution for 2019 Eurovision Song Contest
For the 14th consecutive year, Riedel Communications provided advanced intercom and signal distribution technologies and on-site engineering support for the Eurovision Song Contest, broadcast live from Tel Aviv. Riedel provided a complete solution that included not only intercom and signal distribution, but also accreditation, access control, commentary systems, and a comprehensive IT infrastructure for staff, broadcasters, and attending press members. The Riedel gear supplied to the Eurovision Song Contest included the new 2300-Series SmartPanels. These multifunctional user interfaces can be equipped with software apps to provide additional functionality above their primary purpose as intercom panels. With the powerful MediorNet Control App installed, users have flexible routing and control over audio and video signals using the high-resolution, multitouch color displays and intuitive touch-screen UI.
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Robe Dares to Dream at Eurovision 2019
Unashamed glitter, glamour, spandex, multicolour, bounce, camp costumes, fun and some properly superlative pop songs hit the airwaves hard and reverberated around Hall 2 of Expo Tel Aviv, Israel for the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest – currently the world’s largest music television show. Lighting included nearly 300 strategically placed Robe moving lights – a mix of BMFL WashBeams, BMFL Spots and MegaPointes - which were specifically requested by this year’s lighting designers, Ronen Najar and Dakar Azulay, both accomplished and respected practitioners working prolifically in Israel and internationally. They put together a joint pitch to creatively light the high-profile production organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and hosted by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation and broadcast via Israel’s KAN network.
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“Dare to Dream” with Claypaky at Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Tel Aviv - 18th May 2019: The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is considered to be one of the most spectacular and fascinating television events in the world, capable of evoking an endless spectrum of emotions against a scenographic background composed of the best technologies on the market. These technologies are managed by professionals of the highest level, from every discipline. Production Manager for the contest is Ola Melzig, who selected only the best technology for the performances with support from Danish rental company, LiteCom."Dare to Dream" was the slogan of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, won by the Netherlands’ Duncan Laurence and with lighting design by Ronen Najar and Dakar Azulay. Within the lighting rig were an unmissable 406 Claypaky fixtures, including the brand new Axcor 600 and Sharpy Plus, along with the timeless Sharpy Wash and Scenius Unico. Osram was once again the official lighting partner for the contest, which will next take place in the Netherlands in 2020.
Kraftwerk in Tokyo: Immersive sound experience with d&b Soundscape and KSL Systems
In April 2019, Kraftwerk put on four sold-out shows in Tokyo. d&b audiotechnik Japan provided the system solutions used in Orchard Hall, which belongs to the Bunkamura complex. The sound solutions included KSL loudspeakers with D80 amps and d&b Soundscape to reproduce a sound immersion that totally impressed the audiences. The combined use of KSL and Soundscape was a world premiere and a perfect complement to the visual 3D experience offered by the Kraftwerk performances. The main hangs flown at the concerts were five KSL arrays, each consisting of six KSL8 (top) and two KSL12 (bottom). Behind each of the five main hangs were two flying SL-SUBs. They supplemented the KSL arrays in the low frequency range and delivered a powerful bass which was extremely evenly distributed throughout the entire hall.
PRODUCTS
Euro Media Group makes major investment in Sony’s HDC-3500 which bolsters native 4K and IP capabilities
Internationally-renowned European broadcast facilities and services provider Euro Media Group, has today announced the acquisition of 42 Sony HDC-3500 system cameras with 4K and IP capability. Sony’s offering of service and training support together with the powerful combination of native 4K acquisition and IP capability of the cameras, will optimise ROI and enable reliable and high-quality production across a variety of applications and environments - from studios to sports and entertainment. Leading a new generation of powerful yet cost-effective system cameras from Sony, the HDC-3500 gives Euro Media Group flexibility to serve their various clients in the live production environments without compromising on quality and flexibility thanks to backward compatibility with precedent systems & accessories.
AJA Desktop Software v15.2 Available Today
Available today as a free download, Desktop Software v15.2 introduces new enhancements for AJA KONA and Io products. New feature highlights include: Apple ProRes encoding and decoding across Linux, Windows and macOS with AJA Control Room; SMPTE ST 2110 support for up to 4K on Io IP and KONA IP; 8K capture/playback with AJA KONA 5 and AJA Control Room, plus support for 8K rasters within the AJA SDK; a new AJA NMOS application; and SMPTE ST 2110-40 ANC Rx and Tx support with KONA IP and Io IP. “In an ever-shifting market, creative professionals are tasked with adapting to a collection of standards and formats, and we’re always evaluating how we can make it easier for them with consistent software updates that extend the value of our products,” said Nick Rashby, President, AJA Video Systems. “Desktop Software v15.2 introduces a host of strong new features for KONA and Io users, supporting the latest IP video standards, Apple ProRes across multiple OS’s, and cutting edge 8K capability.”
MADI Routing solutions at the heart of South African large festivals
The five-day Afrikaans festival is the largest festival of its kind in South Africa, attracting main stage crowds of around 35,000 people per show. At the helm of the audio control systems is sound engineer Gabriel Le Roux. ‘My journey to large-format MADI solutions started in 2013 when Wild & Marr suggested I buy an M.1K2 router to split signal from my MADI stagebox to multiple digital consoles and audio recorders. ‘After using the router for a few weeks, I began to realize the immense power and flexibility of the unit, and my signal distribution designs became more complex. Within a short space-time we started integrating Soundcraft, DiGiCo, Yamaha, Studer, Allen & Heath, Avid, Midas (via DN9650) and other systems. This “MADI methodology” allowed technical suppliers to hugely reduce the amount of gear needed on a production, with flexible digital splitting made possible between any MADI enabled consoles and stage-racks using the M.1K2 and basic clocking protocols.’
4K / 8K ARISING
Panasonic 4K Cameras Bring Roland Garros to International Audiences
Taking place from May 26 to June 9, 10x AK-UC4000 camera channels, and two AK-UB300 4K box cameras, have been used on the ‘La Fabrique – Toulouse’ OB truck to broadcast live coverage of the main tennis action at Court Phillipe-Chatrier. The highlights from each match are then made available for replay on the channel at the end of each day. “The AK-UC4000 achieves excellent colour reproduction, and was designed to simplify live production broadcasting without compromising on the image quality,” said Andre Meterian, Director Professional Video Systems Business Unit for Panasonic System Communications Company Europe. “This makes the camera systems well suited to the fast-paced filming across the tournament, and brings the audience even closer to the action.”
The PxP (Peace by Peace) Festival is Europe’s biggest benefit festival for children!
Some of the most renowned and sought-after artists and bands come together each year on this day to raise their voices for children. This year the PxP Festival took place on Saturday, 1 June 2019—International Children’s Day. We can’t wait to celebrate this special day with you all as we work together to help build a more peaceful future for the younger generation. Lena, Silbermond, Gentleman, and Fettes Brot were just a few of the many stars who performed live at the PxP Festival at the Parkbühne Wuhlheide in Berlin. Europe’s biggest benefit concert for children was recorded with eight ARRI cameras, including six AMIRAs and two ALEXA Minis, and streamed live in HD on Arte Concert.
Sony’s VENICE Continues to Evolve with High Frame Rate up to 90fps at 6K
Following the Version 4.0 firmware release this June, which includes an HFR license to support 120fps at 4K 2.39:1, 110fps at 4K 17:9, 75fps at 4K 4:3 and 60fps at 6K 3:2, VENICE’s Version 5.0 update will further enable cinematographers to shoot at speeds of up to 90fps at 6K 2.39:1 and 72fps at 6K 17:9/1.85:1. This addition enables VENICE to capture three times slow motion at 24p even in 6K. Cinematographers can utilise the same camera across multiple speeds, maintaining the full-frame shallow depth of field, as well as the high picture quality of oversampling in 6K. “Through an ongoing dialogue with cinematographers, we have continued to evolve VENICE to meet the needs of top talent,” explained Sebastian Leske, Product Marketing Manager, Cinematography, Sony Professional Solutions Europe. “To date, more than 100 features and episodic productions have been shot on VENICE. The new Version 5.0 firmware will allow the camera to be even more flexible, ultimately increasing its benefit and versatility to all cinematographers”.