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May-June 2014 I TV Technology Europe 3www.tvtechnology.com

Contents

4 TRENDS:

BROADCASTING & MOBILE BROADBAND Davide Moro reports on an EBU event

that discussed the various ways

‘broadcast’ might evolve

10 SPORT: RIO 2014 What a difference four years

makes, says Andy Stout

12 OPINION: M&A Craig Norris reminds us that M&A fever

is nothing new, and that it takes time for

the dust to settle on a merger.

14 TECH NEWS: DPP D-Day Looms, reports Ann-Marie Corvin

16 BUYERS GUIDE: SIGNAL PROCESSING A user report, and product news

19 SMPTE UPDATE Alan Lambshead reports standards

progress on several fronts

24 SHARPSHOOTER: IAN O’BRIEN Motorsports & More

In this issue

This issue falls after NAB and before the World Cup.

The NAB exhibition, and Q1 2014 in general, was awash in

so many mergers, acquisitions and name changes that it’s been

hard to keep up. I think I called Imagine Communications

‘Harris’ around 10 times in a 20 minute both meeting at the

show, directly to Harris, er, Imagine personnel. Thankfully

they had a sense of humour about it, or maybe they just know

I’ve had a more than a few concussions over the years.

That specific name change took place less than one month

before the show----it takes me a few years to get old names

out of my vocabulary. I still call Harmonic’s server products

Omneon, at least in my head. I am slowly getting that mistake

beaten out of my booth visits finally. The longer you’ve been

around the harder it is to change, I suppose. For more on

M&A see Craig Norris’ good reflection piece on page 12.

NAB, along with the September IBC show, sort of

‘bookend’ our industry year. This year we’ve got the World

Cup between the two, and this big real-world event reflects

many of the vibrant, very real tech and consumer trends that

made NAB a positive show. Look at Andy Stout’s good

World Cup story on page 10----multiscreen, 4K, and remote

(cloud) production will all be central to Rio 2014. Those were

big trends at NAB, and now they are being implemented in a

real application, albeit in trial form for 4K.

It’s a positive thing for an industry when ‘show themes’ are

actually saving broadcasters money or providing a new income

stream fairly quickly. I never would have said this about 3D

conversely, which most of us took as a novelty rather than

as something driving projects or revenue. There are other

big changes that are not as directly tied to consumer trends,

such as AVB and the basic desire to make facilities IP-based.

Expect more on that subject moving forward this year:

Why do it and when, and how will this inevitable

transition take place?

4K certainly seems real, even if it is early days. Within the

last few months I’ve seen news releases cross my desk about

4K in terrestrial, satellite, cable and streaming applications.

By July 15, Sony’s new 4K Ultra HD Media Player,

compatible with any Sony 4K Ultra HD TV or 4K Ultra HD

projector, should be available. The media player has 1 TB of

built-in storage. Users can download, stream and store more

than 200 titles from Sony’s Video Unlimited 4K service as

well as stream 4K content from Netflix. Sony says its library

is the world’s largest repository of 4K content and includes

such recent titles as “American Hustle” and “The Monuments

Men.” Over 50 titles in the library are available to customers

at no charge.

I’ve been noticing the news a bit more lately as I’ve been

feeding and producing a weekly e-mail newsletter called TV

Technology International (with Broadcast Engineering).

This newsletter----called TVTI for short----taps the vast,

global resources of many NewBay Media titles, and reaches

around 18,000 readers across EMEA and Asia/Pacific.

Watch for it…

Game Changes, Name Changes

Get ConnetcedTVTechnology

@TVTechnology

EDITORIAL

Editor Mark Hallinger

Tel: 1 301 467 1695 Email: [email protected]

Tech Editor Craig Norris

Contributing Editor James Careless

Contributors Ann-Marie Corvin, Kevin Hilton, Phil Reed

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TV Technology Europe

ISSN 2053-6674 (Print)

ISSN 2053-6682 (Online)

is published seven times annually by Intent Media.

©2013 by Intent Media. All rights reserved.

Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road,

London, N18LN, England

Free subscriptions are available to professional

broadcasting and audio visual equipment users.

Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome for review –

send to Mark Hallinger at the feedback address.

Cover Credit: Our cover is of course not from the World Cup

in Rio which starts right about when you get this issue. It is

of 4K trials conducted by Sony at the Confederations Cup in

Brasil last year.

Mark HallingerEditor & Associate [email protected]

Page 4 May-June 2014 I TV Technology Europe

TRENDS

Broadcast Moving Forward

By Davide Moro

The FORECAST’13

seminar staged by the

European Broadcasting

Union late last year

focused as usual on what

the future might hold for broadcast

technologies. This time, the event’s

headline – Mission Critical for Public

Service Media -- warned about the

potential seriousness of the situation

for broadcasters.

The event at EBU headquarters

in Geneva was well-attended. More

than 110 delegates from broadcasters,

network operators, manufacturers,

national regulators, policymakers and

research labs attended.

FORECAST ‘13 opened with

a reminder of why the discussions

about spectrum use and broadcast

technologies are so important.

The reason: Recent World

Radiocommunication Conferences

(WRC) have resulted in a potentially

progressive reduction path in the

spectrum available for broadcasting.

EBU Media Director Annika

Nyberg Frankenhaeuser, in her

keynote presentation, reminded the

delegates that the EBU’s mission

is to make Public Service Media

indispensable. She also stressed

the importance of a sustainable

terrestrial platform in making this

indispensability a reality.

Many EBU members rely on

digital terrestrial emissions to fulfil

their statutory universal coverage,

with guaranteed quality of service

and free-to-air accessibility. The

time has come to consider how to

secure the future of digital terrestrial

platforms.

The 800 MHz band has already

been cleared in Europe for mobile

telecommunications and, following

last year’s decision at WRC-12,

the 700 MHz band is set to follow

a similar path in many countries.

According to the EBU, any further

erosion of the spectrum available

for broadcasting would significantly

constrain the ability of DTT to

compete and to develop in the future.

Technology convergence

actually means more divergence in

distribution for EBU members: More

platforms to cover, more types of

service to produce and more costs –

and all with less funding.

But this is just the lesser threat:

Still accustomed to being the

incumbent parties safely within their

allocated ‘home range’ – that is, their

spectrum -- broadcasters need to

accept that nowadays there is no safe

home range. Moreover, the ever-

increasing pressure on

spectrum from mobile services is

something broadcasters can no

longer address simply through

technological solutions.

Speakers called on the

broadcasters present to make

their voices heard more loudly at

the World Radiocommunication

Conferences that decide such matters,

Who will benefit from the money mobile viewers will eventually pay for the service?

Broadcasters must have a role to play in meeting the demand of wireless data delivery in the future.


TRENDS

and the national administrations

who are represented there. There is

a strong alliance pushing for more

spectrum for wireless broadband

-- broadcasters need to work hard

to balance this. “If you don’t use it,

you will lose it,” was the message at

FORECAST’13.

Other items were raised at the

EBU session. For instance, broadcast

technology is evolving faster than

ever, and many questions are on

the table. Distribution networks

can approach the theoretical limit

of what’s possible, but end-user

receivers are beyond public service

broadcasters’ control.

UHDTV is now possible on

distribution networks. But will

consumers replace their legacy

receivers way before UHDTV2

becomes a must on the production/

distribution side?

Lots of discussion focused on

content consumption on mobile

devices. While all seemed to agree on

the importance of the issue, the open

question still is: Who will benefit

from the money mobile viewers will

eventually pay for the service?

Currently, end users are

typically charged a monthly fee for a

mobile data plan: Will broadcasters

be entitled to share the revenues

generated through their content? Will

they run their own mobile viewing

system? Or will the mobile business

model remain as it now is?

Anyway, the audience agreed

that broadcasters must have a role

to play in meeting the demand of

wireless data delivery in the future.

HYBRID NETWORK POSSIBILITIESDay Two opened with an examination

of the concept of hybrid networks,

where a combination of broadcast

and mobile broadband techniques

might deliver efficiencies and the ‘best

of both worlds.’

By focusing on common user

cases – VOD, tablet/smartphones

viewing, portable reception

-- Sudewestrundfunk’s Dr.

Roland Beutler tried to correlate

broadcasters’ expectations (unlimited

audience, linear and nonlinear

viewing, QoS, some free-to-air

channels, mobile reception) with

the possibilities currently offered by

available technologies.

Dr. Beutler pointed out that

there is no “single” platform capable

of satisfying each key requirement

demanded by both end users

and broadcasters. Moreover, the

total amount of data delivered via

broadcast networks in 2012 was

about six times greater than the

total amount of data delivered via

fixed+mobile broadband in 2012.

In 2017, it is expected to be

about three times greater than the

forecasted fixed+mobile broadband

data volume; assuming the total

data delivered via broadcast will not

increase in these five years.

So the convergence of content to

a single delivery platform is far away.

According to Dr.Beutler,

integrating multiple platforms

in order to maximise

consumers’experience and seamless

availability of content could be

the solution. Driving tablet and

smartphone manufacturers to

integrate broadcast receivers into

their devices is one possible solution.

In-home re-transmitting of broadcast

content via Wi-Fi is probably a more

viable one. In any case, “there is no

one-fits-all solution,” concluded

Dr. Beutler.

Frieder Juretzek from

the Technical University of

Braunschweig spoke about the

latest developments achieved at

his institute with respect to hybrid

network innovations.

There is no “single” platform capable of satisfying key requirement demanded by end users and broadcasters.

A “tower overlay” hybrid future could allow a profitable re-use of existing broadcast networks, where (international) frequency co-ordination was already done.

Tower overlay demo, spectrum

Western Europe broadband traffic forecast for 2013


TRENDS

A combination of broadcast and mobile broadband techniques might deliver the ‘best of both worlds.’

EBU Media Director Annika Nyberg Frankenhaeuser keynote speech

DigiTAG DVB-T2 EventDigiTAG (Digital Terrestrial Television Action Group), the organisation

bringing together stakeholders from the Digital Terrestrial Television

(DTT) industry, held a workshop on DVB-T2 in Istanbul late last

year as well.

Turkey launched DTT in December, beginning in the capital Ankara,

with region-by-region launches and approximately six-month analogue

simulcast. The analogue switch-off is scheduled for March 3, 2015.

About 160 delegates from Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia heard

from local industry players such as RTUK (Turkey’s regulator), TRT

(public broadcaster), Anten AS (network operator) and the commercial

broadcasters associations TVYD and RATEM, speaking on introducing

DTT using the DVB-T2 standard.

“Turkey is at a delicate phase of the launch of DTT,” said Taha Yucel,

RTUK’s Deputy President. “However ,this workshop has shown the positive

developments in other markets. We must move forward as it is important

that Turkey goes digital. There is no future for analogue. There is the

possibility to make digital terrestrial television a success, and we should

take this opportunity.”

A broad range of speakers from the DigiTAG membership shared their

experiences in markets where DVB-T and DVB-T2 have been established.

Lessons learned included the need for an inter-operability testing

environment, interactive standards such as HbbTV, detailed coverage

maps, and taking advantage of the flexibility made possible by the DVB-T2

standard (mobile and multiple local regional services included).

The need for a flexible environment, where channels can be shuffled and

multiplexes restructured in the future as technology develops, was also a

key area for discussion.

“It is exciting to see the broad range and diversity of DVB-T2

deployments throughout the world,” said Simon Fell, the EBU’s Director

of Technology and Innovation, and DigiTAG’s President. “The DigiTAG

Workshop in Istanbul is an ideal opportunity for members of DigiTAG

and others to bring this experience together for Turkish colleagues who

can benefit from the developments that have taken place elsewhere, as they

prepare for DVB-T2 services throughout Turkey.”

According to Juretzek, cellular

networks will probably not be able

to cope with the growing demand

for “live” data (like live video) and

will not be efficient to distribute live

video and audio at “tablet quality”

(1.4 Mbps or more) in thousands

of networks cells, and possibly by

several mobile network operators

in parallel.

To remedy this, T.U.

Braunschweig’s researchers

imagined using DVB-T2 as the

physical layer to carry LTE point-to-

multipoint (P2MP) carrier traffic.

DVB-T2 Future Extension Frames

(FEF) would enable time domain

spectrum sharing with other wireless

networks, like LTE. Variable length

and number of both frame types

(DVB-T2 and FEF) would also

enable flexible resource allocation,

through cooperative spectrum use

by terrestrial broadcast and mobile

access networks.

This “tower overlay” hybrid

future could allow a profitable re-

use of existing broadcast networks,

where (international) frequency

co-ordination was already done. It

would be an attractive approach for

today´s broadcast network operators,

as well as a joint resource for the

operators of cellular networks; or a

country-wide network provided by

an independent (broadcast)

network operator.

At IBC 2013, T.U. Braunschweig

showcased a demo where a 6 Mbps

broadcast video stream was managed

as a standard DVB-T2 content and

a 2 Mbps mobile targeted video was

managed as a LTE-P2MP one.

One hybrid modulator blended

the two streams using DVB-T2

FEF capabilities, and a DVB-T2

transmitter was airing them on

UHF channel 31 (554 MHz). On

the receiver side, one off-the-shelf

TV displayed the broadcast-quality

content, while a LTE-A prototype

receiver (with no DVB-T2 capability)

did the same with the mobile-

targeted content.

In her closing remarks, the

EBU’s Elena Puigrefagut wrapped

up the seminar. Assuming that a

sustainable DTT future requires

certainty of spectrum availability,

it’s key to strengthen the horizontal

market: consumer electronic

manufacturers, content owners,

platform owners and operating

system designers should all work

together, she said.

Broadcasters’ voices should

be louder, to reach European and

international regulators but also

national regulators: “We do a lot

of technical work, but not enough

on political lobbying!” Puigrefagut

concluded.


SPORT

Game Change W

hat a difference

four years makes.

The last time the

world gathered itself

together for the

FIFA World Cup, the second biggest

tournament on the global sporting

calendar after the Olympics, all the

talk was of 3D. This time round it’s

likely that there won’t be a single

frame captured in the format.

You have to track back all the

way to the Athens 2004 Olympics

to come across a sporting event

that has been the cause of quite so

much panic and uncertainty in its

build-up. Bedevilled by significant

infrastructure problems that have

reached all the way from the airports

that will receive the international

arrivals to the stadia of the 12 host

cities that will stage the games,

hamstrung by the communications

problems caused by an overloaded

telecoms system and marred by

protest and unrest, broadcasters the

world over have learnt the painful

lessons that Modern Brazil is at best

an awkward place to operate in.

In fact, even with the tournament

just around the corner as of this

writing in early May, there are some

significant worries regarding the

production of the unilaterals ahead,

though happily these have coalesced

round the logistics of production

rather than the production itself.

As far as that goes the consensus

is that host broadcaster HBS has

done its usual sterling job, especially

in ensuring diversity connections

and implementing an impressively

redundant form of production that

has seen 12 identical, containerised

production centres built in Germany

and shipped over to Brazil.

Moving equipment around the

country, especially after the group

stages are over, was always going to

be a major problem, and it’s one that

HBS has decided it doesn’t want to

be involved with. All of which is part

of the reason why EVS loaded 234

servers on a container ship bound for

Rio sometime in March. But it’s what

some of those servers are doing when

they’re installed that is probably the

real story from Brazil 2014.

REMOTE PRODUCTION COMES OF AGEForget the headlines surrounding

the Ultra HD effort, it is with remote

production that this year’s World Cup

really -- and appropriately enough --

moves the goalposts. Not just simply

an add on, remote production lies

at the heart of the HBS production

workflow in Brazil

Sixteen EVS XT3 servers are to be

installed at each venue and, alongside

them, two of the company’s C-Cast

Agents which represent the sharp

end of its connected content

production architecture.

C-Cast Contribution will be

used to link the IBC and the twelve

venues across the country together,

live streams passing through the

two C-Cast Agents at each venue

where they will then be transcoded

and transferred into an Amazon

Cloud-based infrastructure. About

45 seconds later at the most they will

then hit the C-Cast Central servers,

which will then govern the material’s

distribution on the network. This

means passing the footage on to

the Adobe Premier-based HBS

production teams (there are 36

Premier suites in the IBC) and other

rightsholders at the IBC and further

afield too.

The servers automatically

generate proxy files, allowing the

various remote teams to access

content at low resolutions, create

clips and then import a high

bandwidth version.

“I think in total there are 75

media rights licenses distributed for

the IBC in Rio, and in addition there

are offsite production teams that have

web browse access from their own

home cities, and there are 83 licenses

distributed so far for that,” comments

Nicolas Bourdon, SVP Marketing

at EVS.

There have probably been

more distributed since too, as this

is far more than just a plain vanilla

distribution of the nine feeds

from each venue round the world.

Mirroring the way the C-Cast second

screen app works, the remote teams

can add content — including camera

angles and highlights — that have

By Andy Stout

4K trials were conducted by Sony at the Confederations Cup in Brazil last year.(Picture from the Confederations Cup courtesy of Sony)

May-June 2014 I TV Technology Europe Page 11www.tvtechnology.com

not been made part of the world feed

into their coverage, switching it from

a gallery as if they were in a truck

outside the stadium.

It’s a neat solution, especially

for multi-venue live events, and the

number of broadcasters deciding to

‘dial-in’ from their home territories

into the FIFA MAX server in

Rio makes it feel like a genuine

game-changer.

THE RISE OF THE SECOND SCREENFIFA’s estimates are that around 50

million people will be downloading

its official application, which is being

white labelled and has been picked up

by more than 100 rightsholders so far.

“Broadcasters can have a white

label app that they can put their own

logo on,” explains Bourdon. “Viewers

can then access different types of

content, up to six live camera angles,

clips and key actions from

a game, statistics, and a full

language translation of all the

logs and captions.”

C-Cast Central manages

availability of material via APIs, and

while the white label smartphone

and tablet apps, not to mention a

customisable web player (based

around deltatre’s Diva system), are

proving popular, many of the major

broadcasters around the world are

folding the multiple C-Cast streams

into their own fully-featured apps.

Add these figures to FIFA’s 50 million

and you undoubtedly have the biggest

outing yet for the technology.

Content will reside on an

Amazon server farm controlled by

EVS from where it will be passed

to deltatre’s platform (deltatre is

also the main data provider from

the tournament). From there it will

be either be encoded for delivery

using Elemental technology over the

Akamai CDN or, if the stream is to be

integrated into a broadcaster’s own

efforts and a third-party CDN, via the

Microsoft Azure cloud platform.

Expect to see some interesting

new features crop up too. HBS will be

using the as yet unreleased C-Cast 3.0

out in Brazil, with the idea that this

will then be productised into C-Cast

v3.1 in time for IBC.

ULTRA HD TESTS BECOME BROADCASTSFour years ago, Sony was limbering

up to broadcast 25 matches from

South Africa in stereo 3D.

Measured against that, the 4K effort

for Brazil 2014 seems relatively

minor: a mere three matches being

captured in the format, all from Rio’s

Maracanã Stadium.

However, the significance is the

same: the company is using the World

Cup to seed demand for the format

that it hopes will break through to

the mass market by the time of the

following Olympics. Maybe this time

it will work.

4K trials -- indeed trials of pretty

much all of the World Cup workflow

-- were held at the Confederations

Cup last summer and though the

Telegenic truck that was shipped

from the UK for them isn’t available

this summer, the crew will still be

sourced from the British OB provider,

albeit working in a 4K-capable

Globocast truck.

The matches will probably

represent the most comprehensive

coverage afforded a 4K production

yet, with 12 Sony F55 cameras slated

for each game and a number of the

speciality cameras from the standard

HD broadcast also being upconverted

for the occasion.

What’s more it seems that the

final will now be actually broadcast

in the format as opposed to being

simply being beamed into cinemas

or destined for a souvenir film for

online distribution. Names aren’t

being discussed as yet, but it seems

that there is a queue of interested

broadcasters and, according to

Sony, “More than one will broadcast

the feed.”

How many will be watching is, of

course, another matter entirely.

4K gives the HD production increased flexibility in choosing shots. (Picture from the ConfederationsCup courtesy of Sony)


OPINION

2014: A Big Year for M&A Craig Norris reminds us that M&A fever is nothing new, and that it

takes time for the dust to settle on a merger.

The unexpected news at

NAB this year was the

changing of company

uniforms and signage

on so many booths.

Considering the pattern of the past

twenty years, we shouldn’t be so

surprised by these announcements

of mergers and acquisitions. It isn’t

really a new thing. But it’s always an

interesting thing.

Perhaps it’s the frequency of

company name changes that might

be more than we’ve come to expect.

For example, it was only December,

2012, when Harris Corporation

announced their sale of the

Broadcast Communications division

to Gores Group. In February, 2013,

they announced the ‘done deal’,

after which the new member of the

Gores Group family started calling

themselves Harris Broadcast, with an

awkward fine print disclaimer on all

of their outgoing communications

that Harris Broadcast is not

associated with Harris Corporation.

We all suspected that another name

change was imminent.

In January, 2014, Harris

Broadcast completed the acquisition

of Imagine Communications.

Then, on March 17, allowing

just enough time to change

all their NAB booth designs,

Charlie Vogt announced that

Harris Broadcast had undergone

a mitosis style of cell division

into two separate companies---

-Imagine Communications and

Gates Air. Just as all the ex-Harris

staff were adjusting to their new

corporate identity on the booth

at NAB, Charlie made another

announcement that Imagine

Communications was acquiring

Digital Rapids.

The Imagine Communications

family tree is quite a complex thing.

I first came into contact with some

of the upper branches of that family

tree in 1993 and 1994. I met and had

dealings with Ken and Hayley Louth

of Louth Automation in relation

to STAR TV’s multi-channel

automation rollout in Hong Kong.

At around the same time I met some

Drake Automation people who were

working on BSkyB’s multichannel

rollout in the UK. At around the

same time I met senior people at

Columbine in Denver who were

working on STAR TV’s new traffic

and scheduling systems. Much later

I met some Leitch people who were

trying to do a deal with Phoenix TV.

In a short space of time, and

forgive me if I have the wrong

sequence here, the following

occurred: Columbine merged with

JDS to become CJDS, and they

acquired Drake Automation and

then merged with Enterprise to

become Encoda. Meanwhile, Harris

Corporation had acquired Louth

Automation. Then Harris acquired

Encoda, and then they acquired

Leitch the following year.

If genetic diversity is a healthy

thing, Harris Communications

was a picture of health. But then

came 2007 and 2008. Nearly

every American company lost

considerable muscle mass during

the recession that followed. And in

particular, the broadcast equipment

business became “not what it used to

be”. It was time for some corporate

children to leave the Harris nest.

A similar history can be traced

for the MPEG encoding equipment

sold currently under the Ericsson

brand name. I first met that

development group in England

when they were called NTL, circa

1995. Then they became DMV when

News Corporation bought them, and

then then they became a part of NDS

after it was launched. They were

eventually sold to Tandberg and

then finally the broadcast encoder

group was sold to Ericsson. NDS has

since been sold to Cisco. And Cisco

has also bought the teleconferencing

arm of Tandberg.

It’s a common pattern, and

perhaps it’s all a necessary part of

a strategy for corporate survival.

It doesn’t always work. There are

many successful and failed examples

in every industry for Business PhD

students to analyse.

This year, 2014, is particularly

interesting though, because

in addition to the Imagine

Communications bloodline story

we also have the story of Quantel

acquiring Snell, just five years

after Snell formed out of a merger

of Snell & Wilcox with Pro-Bel.

Before merging with Pro-Bel, Snell

& Wilcox spun off Amberfin. And

this year, Dalet acquired Amberfin.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if Snell

now merged with Dalet? I’m not

starting a rumour, just laughing at

the possibilities.

And there’s more. Belden

acquired Miranda a short while

ago. Belden acquired Grass Valley

quite recently. Masstech acquired

Playbox, and Vislink acquired

Pebble Beach. And Vitec Videocom

acquired Autocue. Apologies if I left

somebody out. It’s hard to keep up!

Mergers and acquisitions

are typically pursued as a way of

expanding a business. The product

line is usually enhanced. The

technology and intellectual property

base is expanded. The sales channels

are bolstered. In some cases, sales

territory is expanded geographically.

Backroom administrative costs can

be shared. But these benefits can’t

always be realised overnight. It takes

significant time for the dust to settle

on a merger.

The so-called synergy benefits

of bringing disparate but related

product groups under one corporate

umbrella can take significant time

to be realized, because the newly

married product groups don’t

necessarily integrate perfectly until

a lot work is done in that direction.

These “integration” activities are

an overhead while they last, not an

asset.

And finally, the value of the

original brands before they merged

is sometimes sacrificed in favour

of the older or bigger sibling. Take

for example Avid’s acquisition

of MAM vendor Blue Order and

its good software a few years ago.

Blue Order as a brand disappeared

pretty much overnight, and in this

author’s opinion, the loss of that

brand softened the benefits of the

acquisition. But that’s just one

person’s opinion, and he’ll be happy

to debate it over drinks with his

friends at Avid during IBC or NAB-

---assuming they’ll still be called

Avid by then. Again, not starting a

rumour, just making a joke.

Why M&A Now?By Ethan E. Jacks and John C. Bowen

NAB 2014 had more M&A

announcements that we can

remember in our 15-year history

of attending the show. In reviewing

activity over the last 18 months, we

have noted several catalysts for buyer

activity, ranging from operational

efficiency and cost rationalization,

to addressable market expansion, to

improving core strategic capability.

Seller rationales included gaining

access to a larger organization’s

resources, attaining global marketing

reach, and heading off elimination

from customer short lists due to size

and perceived “vendor risk.”

MediaBridge Capital has recently

completed transactions with Pebble

Beach System/Vislink, X2O Media/

Barco, Teradek/The Vitec Group,

and RadiantGrid/Wohler. Other

important transactions in the recent

past include Belden/Grass Valley/

Miranda, Snell/Quantel, Imagine

Communications/Digital Rapids,

and various acquisitions by Ross

Video, Dolby, Vizrt, and IBM. All

of these transactions reflect the deal

logic described above.

Macro and micro economic

strength is creating an improved

risk environment with a lower

cost of capital. More importantly,

our industry is in the midst of a

significant period of realignment

and change driven by the growth

of multi-platform and new-media

distribution, increasing adoption

of IT-based/software architectures,

and the emergence of transformative

and lower cost, high-performance

technologies. The move toward

software running on standardized

IT platforms, software-defined

networks, open standards, and

innovative wireless products

will drive our industry forward.

Software-based business models

enable customers to evolve and adapt

more quickly to changing business

requirements, and

vendors benefit from higher margins

and the potential for recurring

revenue models.

Ethan E. Jacks and John C. Bowen are Managing Partners with MediaBridge Capital Advisors, a global investment bank with a focus on the media technology marketplace.

It isn’t really a new thing. But it’s always an interesting thing.


TECH NEWS

DPP D-Day Looms By Ann-Marie Corvin

Key DPP developments in 2014: January 13, 2014: TG4 joins the DPP. The Irish Language broadcaster

joins ITV, BBC and Channel 4, Channel Five, Sky, UKTV, S4C and

BT Sport.

March 31, 2014: Quality Control Guidelines are issued by DPP to

help producers carry out the necessary QC checks to ensure they deliver

broadcast quality files, which meet the necessary standards. The DPP

has taken the EBU definitions and created a minimum set of tests and

tolerance levels required for UK broadcasters. Included in the new

guidelines are AS-11 file compliance checks, and Automated Quality

Control tests for Video and Audio. Examples are loudness levels, and

freeze frames.

April 3, 2014: The DPP agrees on an industry document format

standard for the exchange of subtitles for the hard of hearing and audio

description, aligned with the EBU’s new subtitle document format

(EBU-TT). The format is a flavour of XML whose format can be validated

using off the shelf tools and extended to meet specific requirements while

still being interchangeable

W: www.digitalproductionpartnership.co.uk/what-we-do/ technical-standards/delivery-standards/

Contact:

From October the uptake

of a common file format

for HD and SD delivery

among UK broadcasters,

first agreed in principle

over two and half years ago, looks set

to become a reality.

The date is being dubbed as

“DPP D-Day” ---- named after a

coalition of UK broadcasters, the

Digital Production Partnership,

which has been working tirelessly

towards achieving take-up of the

AS-11 standard.

The self-imposed deadline

means that UK broadcasters now

require all content to be delivered

by UK programme makers

digitally, using the AS-11 standard,

a subset of AVCi100 AS-1, the

internationally-recognised standard

from the Advanced Media Workflow

Association (AMWA).

Any suppliers still delivering

content on tape this autumn,

however, are unlikely to be shown the

door, according to Kevin Burrows,

DPP’s Technical Standards Lead,

who is also CTO for broadcast

and distribution at UK terrestrial

broadcaster Channel 4.

“There’s not going not to be a

cut-off date as such, but it will depend

on what the suppliers’ contract cycle

is with the broadcaster. But the rules

will apply to all new TV shows,”

he explains.

The last update to the main

spec (Version 4) was announced in

October, and according to Burrows,

while there is still some fine tuning

to be achieved in relation to the

QC process, the UK TV industry

is “pretty much there” in terms of

nailing the standard.

In the meantime, Burrows has

been working with manufacturers on

a compliance programme, defining

the minimum criteria by which

vendors can label their kit as

‘DPP-Compliant’.

“A lot of production companies

have been asking us: “What can we

buy that can help us?’ There are lots

of products out there that are capable

of creating files, but they might not

necessarily be in the right format, so

we are working on the compliance

now and looking at an AMWA

certification process.”

Burrows adds that while the DPP

has a metadata app that can create

digital files in the correct format,

there are some manufacturers out

there ---- such as Avid and Apple ----

which have already integrated this

functionality into their latest

releases of Media Composer and

Final Cut Pro.

Initially there was reluctance

from some of the manufacturers and

playout service providers to engage

with AS-11, particularly among those

based outside the UK, but Burrows

adds that because the standard has

gained such a broad following, “they

are taking it very seriously.”

As with any standard, there are

inevitably areas that will need to

be clarified. Bruce Devlin, CTO of

workflow software vendor Amberfin

and a recently appointed membership

director of the Society of Motion

Picture & Television Engineers

(SMPTE) is a keen supporter of the

standard. This did not prevent him

however, from publically highlighting

interoperability dilemmas.

“If you take all the combinations

of wrappers, video codecs, audio

codecs, track layouts, time code

options and other ancillary data

and complete a ‘minimal’ in/out

test matrix then you end up with a

test plan that will take at least 1800

years to complete,” he warned in a

statement issued late last year.

Burrows’ sanguine response to

this however, is that this is true of any

standard ever tested. “If you tested

every possible function on Windows

software then it would take the same

amount of time. We’ve tried to keep

it simple. There is an HD standard

and an SD standard. In terms of

metadata what we’ve tried to do is

constrain it greatly ----yes, language

can be misinterpreted, but we are

aiming to make the process and the

standard as bombproof as possible to

minimize errors.”

Devlin also highlights the

importance of planning DPP

deployments well in advance of the

looming deadlines and allowing for

‘dress rehearsal’ runs as early

as possible.

To this end, Burrows adds that

many companies have been trialing

out workflows for at least two years,

and the DPP already has a test bed set

up at the BBC’s R&D facility at Centre

House in West London. Another

pan-UK broadcaster initiative is being

managed by a test manager seconded

from ITV.

The DPP has also held a number

of seminars this year to equip content

producers with all the knowledge they

need to know about AS-11 file delivery

– the sessions were sell outs and all the

information has subsequently been

uploaded on the DPP’s website.

But what if some companies just

aren’t ready by ‘DPP-Day’?

“We will just have to manage that

process,” says Burrows. “Broadcasters

are ramping up and what we are trying

to focus on is October. At this point in

time there is no reason to suspect that

this won’t happen. The kit is out there

to convert files into the right formats.”

So far the signs are encouraging--

-even broadcasters from much further

afield are keeping a close eye on the

activities of the DPP. According to

Burrows there has been lot of interest

from the US and the partnership is

in conversation with two of the big

networks about the AS-11 file format.

Norwegian broadcaster NRK has

also based its working practices on

the DPP Technical Standards “It has

adopted the SD standard – it will be

interesting to see where they are going

with that,” Burrows adds.

Looking to the future, Burrows

says the DPP may look at archive

standards, but right now the focus in

on compliance ahead of ‘DPP-Day.’

DPP IN FILE TESTAt NAB 2014 Digimetrics launched Aurora 5, its next-gen of automated

file-based QC product. Aurora 5 dynamic thread allocation for better

throughput and scalability for workstations, servers blades, VMs and

cloud roll-outs; 64-bit architecture and enhanced GPU acceleration to

make 4K workflows fly, with complete support for IMF, including 4K

essence and complex CPL; enhanced adaptive bit rate support; 8x faster

manual review; and more. Digimetrics also says Aurora also provides a

fast and efficient method to test files for AS-11 compliance. www.digi-metrics.com

TECH NEWS

DPP IN RADIANTGRIDDuring the 2014 NAB Show,

Wohler showcased further

improvements to version 8 of the

RadiantGrid platform in which

a brand-new media processing

engine parallelizes complex audio

and video processes at great speed.

Along with optimized video pipeline features such as anamorphic video

handling, 2K/4K UltraHD support, and bit depths of up to 16-bit YUV,

the RadiantGrid platform has been enhanced with the RadiantGrid

Detect and Correct video legalization option, which leverages Wohler’s

RightHue algorithm to ensure comprehensive NTSC and PAL colour

compliance within the file-based domain. RadiantGrid version 8 enables

fully compliant over-the-top offerings for leading formats and also

introduces a solution for U.K. DPP file support. www.wohler.com

DPP FRIENDLY INGEST & PRODUCTION SERVERRohde & Schwarz DVS

offers its VENICE ingest

and production server.

VENICE accelerates

production processes

and cuts down on the

need to invest in third-

party equipment, as it

is optimized for live

studio production and

centralized content ingest

applications. When used in Avid work environments, VENICE offers

new key features. Thanks to the seamless integration of the Avid ISIS

central storage system and the Avid Interplay PAM system from ingest

to outgest, faster and more user-friendly Avid Studio workflows can

be realized. HD-SDI sources can be ingested directly in real time into

Avid ISIS as well as file-based material from electronic media, such as

P2 cards and XDCAM discs, and their metadata. Thanks to the new

outgest function, clips and entire sequences can be played out directly

or distributed onward once edited – all without the editor having to go

through the time-consuming process of exporting the material.

VENICE supports all broadcast-standard file formats – flexibility

which has been further increased thanks to the ingest and production

server’s support for the new AS-11 contribution format. The AMWA

(Advanced Media Workflow Association) developed AS-11 to simplify

and accelerate the distribution of finished programming. Indeed, the

British initiative DPP (Digital Production Partnership) specified AS-11

as a future base format for all aspects of program contribution. . www.dvs.de

CADENCE CORRECTOR; DPP INGESTAmberFin, acquired by Dalet at NAB, unveiled its

Adaptive Cadence Corrector (ACC) software-based

system for correcting mixed cadence material back

to 24p film and progressive HD video within file-

based workflows. AmberFin has also developed

DPP-specific media ingest workstations and file

transcoders: designated iCR-100-DPP (transcoder), iCR-300-DPP (media

ingest workstation) and iCR-500-DPP (media ingest, transcode, playback,

metadata entry and QC review), available through ATG Broadcast in the UK. www.amberfin.com


USER REPORT

Consistent Production Processing

By Steeve Morales

The Swatch FreeRide

World Tour by The

North Face is one of the

most breathtaking winter

sport events, with top

skiers and snowboarders executing

incredible stunts on the very top of

the world’s biggest and best mountain

resorts. Capturing this is logistically

challenging, but our team’s production

expertise enables us to live streams

rider runs down untouched terrains, at

high altitude and at temperatures that

drop as low as -25C.

At each of the tour’s four

European stops, my 14 strong

production team uses a helidrop

to transport over three tonnes of

broadcast equipment to the top of

a mountain range. We construct a

full, self-contained production unit

in just a few hours to live stream the

competition direct from the mountain.

This is a critical element of the tour, as

it helps bring the excitement and drama

of the event to a global audience.

The production desks are set

up in a tent with heating underneath

to protect from winds of up to 100

kilometres per hour, and we have an

uninterrupted power supply system

to keep everything working, even if

temperatures plummet.

We use six cameras on the

mountain, with six ATEM Camera

Converters from Blackmagic Design

and more than 3 kilometres of optical

fibre cable to set positions at the finish

line, judges’ and presenters’ seats.

We then use three wireless cameras

that transmit from the start gates and

provide overhead wide angle shots

from a helicopter. The fibre signals

are converted back to SDI using two

ATEM Studio Converters and then

routed through a Smart Videohub

router to an ATEM 2 M/E

Production Switcher.

The ATEM Camera Converters

are an essential part of our setup.

Not only are they tough enough to

withstand the extreme conditions,

but the optical fibre network is also

much more reliable and more cost

effective than our previous RF link

set up. The tally and talkback features

give us clear, constant contact with

the camera operators, so everyone is

aware of which shot is being streamed,

regardless of where they are on the

mountain, or if cloud cover impedes

visual contact between team members.

The vision mixer also takes feeds

from a slow motion instant replay

system, and laptops with onscreen

graphics, visual indents, judges’ scores

and the ranking updates, all of which

is mixed together on an ATEM 2

ME Broadcast Panel. We also use the

ATEM’s SuperSource multilayering,

for example, producing multi camera

views of a stunt, or picture in picture

showing highlights of a run, alongside a

live feed of the rider at the finish.

SmartView HD monitors with

Ultrascope are on the main production

desk to monitor video signal quality

from camera sources. The switcher

produces a programme output and

a clean feed, which has scoring and

graphics removed, both at 1080i50.

Both go back through the video router

to a series of Teranex 2D Processors,

which are used to embed audio feeds

into the TX feed.

One Teranex embeds both

the clean ambience audio and dirty

audio, containing the presenters’

commentary, into the programme

output, which is then scaled to 720p50

for live streaming. This is encoded and

transmitted via satellite to Red Bull TV,

dailymotion and our FreeRide

online player.

The remaining two Teranex

units are used to create two versions

of the clean feed, one with the clean

audio embedded, and one with the

dirty audio feed. These are fed to two

HyperDeck Studio Pro recorders for

two editing workstations to create

highlight packages for distribution

to sponsors and for our website.

The ability to embed audio with the

Teranex and create consistency in

our feeds is essential. We are able to

manage the programme and clean TX

feeds much more smoothly, and we

have the formats we need for instant

and future distribution.

Flexibility and reliability are critical

for us, because we have to balance

the safety of our crew and riders with

getting the very best footage, but the

Blackmagic Design kit has withstood

the most extreme weather conditions

and production demands. For example,

in Fieberbrunn, Austria, the entire

production suite was caught up in

a terrible storm and the whole tent

collapsed. We had to collect the kit in

avalanche conditions, and reassemble

on another mountain 200 kilometres

away, which was deemed safe to ski, in

less than 48 hours.

Previously we would have had to

rent equipment at each stop, which

is not only more expensive, but also

doesn’t give us the consistency a

production of this scale dictates. You

don’t want to be worrying about kit not

integrating properly when you’re trying

to set up in freezing temperatures.

The Blackmagic Design equipment

has given us a fixed infrastructure that

we can rely on, whatever the weather

chooses to do.

BUYERS GUIDE: SIGNAL PROCESSING

Blackmagic Designwww. Blackmagicdesign.com

Contact:

Steeve Moralesis Technical Manager, Europe, for the Freeride World Tour.

IP GATEWAY MODULEGrass Valley, a Belden Brand and incorporating Miranda products now,

has expanded its IP portfolio with the launch of the IRG-3401 IP Gateway

module, one of two new IP products that join the previously announced

NVISION 8500 IP Gateway. The IRG-3401 IP Gateway is a high-density,

bi-directional DVB-ASI/IP gateway card, which runs on the Densité

modular platform. It provides a transport stream of up to 12 MPEG per

card, facilitating an efficient bridge between ASI and IP for multiple

workflow applications in broadcast and multichannel service providers.

Miranda says broadcasters transitioning from DVB-ASI to IP-based

technology need to keep incoming DVB-ASI signals from remote

locations fully operational — and jitter free — while connecting them

to new IP networks. Legacy equipment such as DVB-ASI encoders

or splicers must also remain fully functional to mitigate the costs of

transitioning to IP infrastructure. Compounding the problem is that

there are, and will continue to be, a lot of DVB-ASI signals to incorporate.

The new IRG-3401 IP Gateway card resolves those issues. Each bi-

directional IRG-3401 IP Gateway card includes 12 DVB-ASI configurable

connections. Ten such cards will fit within a single 3RU Densité frame,

which equates to a total of 120 IP gateways. The direction of each gateway

is selectable with two modes of operation, either as 12 individual DVB-

ASI streams or as six redundant pairs with automatic switch over. The

card can also be used for a variety of other applications.

www.grassvalley.com

Picture courtesy of the Freeride World Tour.


MARKETPLACE

UNCOMPRESSED BASEBAND OVER IPImagine Communications has

launched the Selenio X100, the latest

enhancement to the company’s facility

signal processing and mobile production solutions. The X100 ensures support for

hybrid, next-gen TV and production systems by offering a unique architecture

future-proofed for unco mpressed baseband over IP and Ultra HD (UHD). The

intelligent, dual-channel 1RU Selenio X100 frame synchronizer and converter

delivers a broad range of processing capability for video, audio, data and metadata.

From ingest and outbound processing and tape archive to production and post-

production applications, the Selenio X100 processor easily integrates into the signal

workflow of any broadcast environment, including mobile production trucks,

small stations, production studios and larger networks.

The X100 addresses disparate signal types in the workflow to bridge analogue,

digital, SD, HD, and future IP infrastructures. It is also extensively future-proofed,

providing support for 10 GigE, uncompressed baseband over IP, Ultra HD and

MPEG encoding/decoding. The Selenio X100 also gives the user a single point in

the workflow to control and monitor the video and audio essence along with any

associated data and metadata.

www.imaginecommunications.com

NEXT-GEN HDMI MINI-CONVERTERAJA Video Systems has announced its new Hi5-

Plus, its next gen SDI-to-HDMI Mini-Converter.

Capable of handling 3G and Dual Link inputs,

Hi5-Plus outputs deep colour 30- and 36-bit video

for driving HDMI monitoring solutions. Embedded

audio is passed through to the output and a

2-channel RCA analogue output allows easy audio monitoring.

New features include PsF to P conversion; audio delay control, 0 to 7 frames;

new USB connection for configuration via AJA MiniConfig software for Mac

and PC; compact size; 16-channel embedded SDI and 8-channel HDMI audio;

2-channel RCA analogue audio output; 5-20VDC power; and a 5-year warranty.

www.aja.com

AUTOMATIC LOUDNESS PROCESSING; MODULAR UP/DOWN/CROSSLMNTS (Loudness Manager for N

Transport Streams) is Cobalt Digital’s

multiple award-winning, unique

loudness processing technology that

provides a practical and cost-effective

path to ATSC A85 and EBU R128

compliance. The easily integrated and

streamlined chassis requires minimal

space and offers low cost-per-channel,

sophisticated neutral loudness

processing.

LMNTS achieves automatic loudness

processing across many transport

streams without the need or complexity

of external codecs transferring between

baseband and MPEG interfaces,

making it ideal for MVPDs and MSOs.

Using unique depacketing/repacketing

processing and decode/re-encode,

LMNTS extracts and decodes audio

codec packets from the program stream,

performs high-quality PCM loudness

processing, and then re-encodes and

re-packets the audio with its stream.

An ASI option provides additional ASI

transport stream support. Physically, all

data connection to LMNTS is via GigE

IP or ASI interfaces using an industry-

standard IT hardware platform with no

intermediary breakouts. Emphasis on

pre and post loudness measurements

and multi codec support with DD+ and

HEAAC push the ease of integration.

The new Blue Box Group BBG-

1002-UDX Modular Up/Down/Cross

Converter is available in two different

formats. The BBG-1002-UDX-AAV-

AES with universal I/O and character

burn provides a high-density standalone

modular unit that offers multi-input

support, flexibility, and ease of use,

with full support of 3G/HD/SD-SDI,

CVBS, AES

and analogue

audio inputs and

outputs. The

BBG-1002-UDX

model features auto-changeover input,

character burn and a web-based user

interface. The unit is also available in

card format (9902-UDX) for openGear.

www.cobaltdigital.com


SMPTE UPDATE

Standards Progress on Several Fronts

By Alan Lambshead

The Society of Motion

Picture and Television

Engineers (SMPTE)

is an internationally

recognized standards

development body. As such, we abide

by the International Organization for

Standardization (ISO) and American

National Standards Institute

(ANSI) due process for initiating,

approving, revising, and removing

standards. SMPTE has been the leader

in standards for the motion imaging

industry, facilitating interoperability

and therefore business since 1916.

SMPTE has more than 100

committees and other groups working

on a myriad of technical topics to

create, approve, revise and remove

standards for the industry. Each

year, usually quarterly, the Standards

groups meet in week-long “block”

meetings to report on progress and to

move ahead on standards work that is

more easily accomplished in face-to-

face meetings.

In March 2014, nine SMPTE

Technology Committees and eighteen

subgroups met at Niagara-on-the-

Lake in Ontario, Canada; hosted

by Semtech Corporation. Some 60

members attended in person over

five days, and there was additional

participation by remote access.

The summary below captures

some of the more notable projects.

More information on the current

status of the 160+ active projects is

available online at www.smpte.org/

standards/meeting-reports.

There has been a change to

the Technology Committee (TC)

structure, and the Time Labelling

and Synchronization TC and its

sub-groups have now moved to a

Working Group of the Network and

Facilities Architecture TC.

Two subgroups did not need

their allocated time and an excellent

high-speed tutorial on colour science

by Charles Poynton was fitted in at

very short notice.

The following new projects were

launched at the Niagara Meeting:

Coding of Tactile Essence --

adding the “feeling” and “impact” of

an event.

Two additional project proposals

for revisions related to Digital Cinema

Stereoscopic Subtitle and Timed Text

rendering.

Two Registered Disclosure

Document projects on Dolby Atmos

A system for synchronizing

auxiliary data in D-Cinema;

applications include Immersive

Sound and control for Motion

Systems.

Two new projects related to

Ad-ID.

Four new projects have been

added to the suite of documents on a

new network-based synchronization

system. They are Engineering

Guidelines on “Introduction to the

New Synchronization System,” “Time

Discontinuities,” “Facilities Migration

Guide,” and “Best Practices for

Large Scale SMPTE ST 2059-2 PTP

implementations.”

Further revisions projects

have been added to the project on

extending the code-space for the ST

337 family, as well as new projects for

the carriage of AC-4 and a reference

document for carriage of Dolby E

over AES3.

A presentation was given on a

ruggedized optical connector suitable

for use with many SMPTE optical

standards including the emerging

multilink serial digital interface (SDI)

interfaces. A standard is proposed.

Integrating IT, UHDTV ProgressA substantial piece of work from

the SMPTE study group on Media

Production System Network

Architecture has been completed.

Their report “Beyond the Analog to

Digital Conversion - The Integration

of Information Technology and

Professional Media” was finalized.

The Study Group on the ultra

high definition television (UHDTV)

Ecosystem has added a great deal of

material to its initial report, and the

Study Group on Immersive Audio

Systems: B-Chain and Distribution

have completed their work. These

reports are all now available online at

www.smpte.org/standards/reports

A further four documents in the

Interoperable Mastering Format suite

have now been published, bringing

the published total up to six. Work

continues on an Output Profile

List, an extended format for higher

specifications (resolution, frame rate,

colour space) and Sample Material

Interchange.

There has been good progress in

the last quarter on projects aimed at

extending the bandwidth capacity of

real-time video interfaces.

Three more Parts in a document

suite defining how sets of two and

four 3Gbps SDI interfaces can be

combined are now published.

Six draft standards from a

Working Group defining 6, 12 and

24Gbps SDI interfaces (targeting

UHD) have passed Final Committee

Draft ballot. Further standards in

these suites are being drafted.

A project on UHDTV Multi-link

10Gbps interfaces will extend the

ST 2036 suite to include transport of

120fps UHDTV-1 and UHDTV-2.

There are currently 14 material

eXchange format (MXF) projects

in process, adding features to this

file-based suite of standards or

creating constraints for improved

interoperability.

The three High Dynamic Range

(HDR) video projects mentioned last

time have moved on quickly, with

two of them already at ballot. There is

also a Study Group examining all the

issues involved with creating “better

pixels” and how this can fit in with

established standards.

The next quarterly Standards

meeting round will be held the first

week of June in Tokyo, Japan and will

be hosted by NHK/ITE. Attendees

will also be able to visit the NHK

Science and Technology Research

Labs. To learn more and participate

in the SMPTE Standards Community,

please visit: www.smpte.org/

standards/engineering-committees

www.www.smpte.org/standards

Contact:Alan Lambshead is Vice President of SMPTE Standards.

Alan Lambshead, VP of SMPTE Standards


MARKETPLACE

UNIVERSAL SCALERtvONE, has announced its newest CORIO2 Universal Scaler, which has

more input/output flexibility than any other previous tvONE scaler. It

can be set up and managed using a new front panel or via a computer-

based emulator that allows setup in less than 1/3 the time of the previous

generation. It provides high quality bi-directional conversion between

a variety of analogue and digital video formats. Inputs and outputs can

be SD/HD/3G-SDI, HDMI, DVI, Composite Video, YC, YUV, YPbPr or

RGB. An included key feature allows an image to be keyed over another

and faded in and out due to the

4:4:4 sampling format for RGB

sources, precise keying at the

pixel level can be achieved. www.tvone.com REMOTE HYBRID INTERFACE PLATFORM FOR 10GE

As part of Evertz’ SDVN 10GE solution, the 3000REM REMote Hybrid

Interface platform forms the optimal SDI interface access points for next

generation Hybrid Baseband / IP broadcast infrastructures. With direct

conversion of nine signals from electrical to optical and direct mezzanine

compression via JPEG2000, the REM series delivers high processing densities.

The 3000REM platform features Evertz 3rd generation ultra low latency,

high density JPEG2000 codec technology over 10GE. The platform also

provides per input Audio and Video Monitoring, auto-timing, time stamped

Ethernet outputs, and multi-resolution JPEG2000 streaming outputs. Evertz’

new 3000REM has been developed to offer massive cable reduction in an

economical size and price. A single REM can eliminate up to ten traditional

SDI cables all while only occupying a single rack unit. www.evertz.com

NEXT-GEN FRAME SYNC & FRCAJA’s new FS1-X is a compact single rack-mount frame synchronizer

and converter designed to match up disparate audio and video formats.

It supports up-, down- and cross-conversion between SD and HD

signals ensuring the highest quality output possible. Featuring a flexible

architecture, FS1-X simultaneously works with 3G/HD/SD-SDI 10-bit

video and incorporates a massive number of embedded audio, AES,

MADI and analogue audio channels. It is also available with a Frame Rate

Converter (FRC) option. FS1-X’s high quality motion adaptive linear FRC

offers smooth motion conversion between a wide range of frame rates,

including 1080p 50 to 59.94. www.aja.com

NEW BRIGHTEYES SOFTWARE; HDMI MIXEREnsemble Designs released version

2.0 software for its BrightEye NXT

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SHARPSHOOTER

Motorsports & More Name: Ian O’Brien.

Age: 67 years.

Star sign: Pisces.

Hometown?

Wellington, Central West in NSW,

Australia; just near Dubbo. Dad

had a property out of town with his

brother. My mother was a housewife.

It’s all changed since I was there, I

can tell you. I haven’t been back for

a while.

Occupation?

Basically I’m a television

cameraman. I used to own a

television production company

called Videopac. In those days it

was the biggest independent

production company with OB

facilities and editing.

First shooting job:

I walked into Channel 9 on the 11th

of the 11th, 1964, and I think I was a

stagehand first up. Then I moved up

to become a studio cameraman.

What are you doing at

the moment?

On Thursday nights I do a show

on Seven Mate, called SportsFan

Clubhouse; and on Saturday I cover

athletics out in Sydney’s West. Last

Sunday I drove to Goulburn and

covered Australian Superbikes

for ABC.

So you’ve been reasonably busy?

Mostly busy. My preference is

motor sport or sport in general;

swimming, soccer, football.

I’ve even done bocce.

I’m a little into swimming:

When I was young I won a gold

medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics

for swimming. (Editor’s note:

Swimming for Australia,

Ian O’Brien won the 200 metre

breaststroke in world record time.)

Where have you been shooting over

the last year or so?

This time last year I did the V8

SuperCars and they travelled

overseas. We did New Zealand and

Austin, Texas. We were away for

eight days all up, five days shoot and

two or more days travel.

To shoot motor sport, what do

you think it demands in the way of

specialised skills?

You have to know the event,

who’s in it, the drivers obviously,

and what cars.

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SHARPSHOOTER

The technique has changed over the

years. The lenses are getting bigger

and bigger, which makes it easier in

some respects - until you get

heat haze.

Early on in the Bathurst race, for

instance, you had 15, 20 or maybe

30 cars coming up the hill and you

couldn’t see through the shimmer in

black and white. The director would

say, “go with car 14,” because he

can see 14 in living colour but your

viewfinder was black and white.

In those days there was no return

vision, but nowadays you can press

a button.

What would the number of cameras

be these days?

Well around the track I think we’ve

got about thirty-six cameras, plus

in-car cameras so you could have 50

or more. Plus cameras in choppers,

cameras in curves, cameras on walls,

so it’s all happening. It’s changed

enormously in the last 35-40 years.

What gear do you own?

Very little now. I’ve got seven

cameras stored away that are sort of

just sitting there because they’re no

longer viable, not the current format.

Why buy, when you can hire

the latest technology. You go out

and spend a 100 grand on a camera

system, then six months later you get

the same system for 60.

What’s some of your most recent,

interesting assignments?

Shooting jobs with Gearhouse, the

V8 SuperCars, that’s exciting. Doing

athletics on the weekend is really

good. I’m also into super bikes.

You shot the Australian

Top Gear series?

Oh, that was really great. It was

different obviously to the English

series. I enjoyed it.

It was great. The guys were really

good, the team we worked with and

the sound were tremendous

What current gear do you use?

If I rent anything, it’s an XDCAM,

Sony’s disc-based system, with any

sort of lenses from a wide angle lens

to a 32x.

Any preference for lenses?

Oh, no, not really. I like Canon

and Fuji lenses. I haven’t done a lot

with Nikon.

These days you mostly hire.

Who from?

Oh, it’s been great. Gearhouse supply

all those, the outside broadcast

facilities for the V8 SuperCars, and

they do a stunning job. They’ve always

got plenty of backup, which is really

important; and nothing is a problem

with them, they’re one of the best.

If somebody told me they want

a 25 camera OB in two weeks time at

Ayers Rocks, just ring up the

boys at Gearhouse straight away and

we’ll be off. And terrestrial links aren’t

a problem.

What’s your equipment “wish list”?

Mmm. That’s a hard one. I like

to operate a big lens, so probably

a Canon 100x. I’m also pretty

impressed with the Hitachi systems

that Gearhouse have got. The

viewfinders are great. That’s a great

system for shooting motor sport.

What’s the best thing about

your job?

I enjoy every minute of it. I just

enjoy working and I enjoy the

camaraderie, all the guys that have

done it for years.

What’s the worst thing about

your job?

Catching bloody airplanes.

You know, getting out of bed at

half-past-three in the morning to go

to the airport.

You’ve got to put up with Sydney

traffic. The road to the airport the

other day was locked solid for 2

kilometres. A five car prang on the

freeway. I’ll be catching the train in

the future!

What was one of your dullest

assignments?

I was recording an archive of a court

case in a closed room. A lot of people

were being interviewed about what

had happened, and the tapes had to

be sent to a law firm in the States.

There were two VCRs and you

had to roll on the interviews, so

you didn’t miss a thing. With a

locked-off dual camera recording, no

operating at all.

It went on for two weeks.

I think that’s probably one

of the most boring jobs I’ve

ever done.

Tell me one of your hairiest or

scariest assignments you’ve had:

You know, I’ve had some dangerous

times shooting motor sport where

parts have come off cars.

I think the worst one was down

in Tasmania years ago and there was

a sports sedan race with a couple of

Mustangs. My camera was right on

side of the track down a hairpin, just

down the bottom of the straight.

The next thing I knew, this thing

went whoosh past me. I felt heat

come off it, and that was a Mustang

that had hit the wall.

I didn’t hear it because it had hit

an earth bank and it went up, right

up the wall and sideways in the air.

As it went past me, I felt the heat

from underneath the body. I think

that’s the closest that I’ve come to

being killed.

How much 16:9 do you shoot?

Everything. No 4x3 at all.

What country would you most

like to shoot in?

Australia. I’ve done too much

overseas. I’ve travelled everywhere.

What’s your taste in music?

Everything, you know, back as far as

the 60s and 70s; a bit of rock’n’roll.

I also like jazz.

What’s your favourite food?

Seafood.


SHARPSHOOTER

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