KitPlus | Articles

Addressing SAN Allocation and Permission Challenges

Facilities today face a number of management complexities when allocating storage resources, especially as frame-based and 3D workflows increase in popularity and the amount of multi-format media that professionals are managing continues to grow. Camera acquisition formats are various, many workflows employ proxy generation to save space and bandwi...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2012

No more softly softly on the cloud

According to Wikipedia The Cloud is a metaphor for the Internet in cloud computing, and cloud computing itself means using multiple server computers via a digital network, as though they were one computer. Both refer to things that have been going on for years. I can remember seeing graphic cloud symbols on computer system diagrams many years ago....

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2012

Cloud Matter Part 1 - Fear of Fluff!

Although I’m writing this article in the usual way, by sitting at my desk and tapping on my keyboard, the only app running on my computer is the web browser. I can see the article on the screen but have no idea where it’s being stored. Still I have every confidence that it will be instantly recalled whenever I want it.... provided my modem and Inte...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2012

Eye to Eye: Whats new in lighting

The majority of modern digital video cameras and D-SLRs are capable of delivering high-quality images provided the lighting conditions are good. Attempting to shoot in low light introduces the risk of noise and limited depth of field. Whatever the claimed camera sensitivity, good lighting is as essential today as ever. The following is a short over...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

LIGHTS, CAMERA, PROMPTING

Prompting equipment may seem to be one of the most standard, reliable and commonplace pieces of a workflow but that doesn’t mean provision should be treated with complacency. Thinking ahead and selecting best of breed is as applicable in this case as it is for a supposedly more mission-critical asset management, newsroom or production system. In re...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

Eye to Eye on Delivery and Distribution

A notable aspect of the 2010 IBC and 2011 NAB conference sessions was the rapidly increasing focus on IP streaming. Fibre-optic delivery to the home has yet to be turned into widespread reality but transport speeds over existing electrical infrastructure continue to accelerate. Cloud-based storage and distribution services offer a solution to the c...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2011

Cameras for streaming

I first saw true HD pictures years ago at IBC. OpTex had a camera focusing on some beautifully lit fruit. The image on the screen was extraordinary, hypnotising. Leap forward a decade and Amsterdam brought Europe its first taste of Ultra High Definition Television - not 720p, not 1080i, but 4320p. The enveloping cinematic pictures and the embrace o...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 August 2011

Whats new in audio

The NAB show is not the first event that comes to mind for pro-audio kit but in fact rivals any audio-specific exhibition on the planet. The following is a summary of significant new sound equipment seen during a tour of this year's exhibits. AKG's C 544 L head-worn microphone is designed to be worn by gymnastics or (almost the same thing in some c...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2011

DVB-3DTV: A Milestone

In 1822, George Stephenson set his Standard Gauge for the world’s first steam railway at 4 foot 8 inches (1.44m), to match a nearby wagonway that worked well at Killingworth Colliery. Despite Isambard Kingdom Brunel building the London-to-Bristol line (1838) on what he considered to a better 2.2m ‘Board Gauge’ (he was right!), the Gauge Act of 1846...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2011

HD Video on your website

IntroductionVideo has become an affordable way to effectively connect with your customers. Whether you are a content producer or equipment manufacturer there are fewer ways to communicate a message more quickly, concisely and with as much impact. This article looks at how the current state of online video, what the opportunity is, and how to get st...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2011

Will Youview and IPTV change the face of TV Broadcasting

Youview, and the evolution of Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), are set to have a major impact on the UK broadcasting industry. Youview is the latest evolution of Freeview and Freesat, the Set Top Boxes (STB) that give access to additional channels without a monthly subscription. Freeview gives viewers access to terrestrial broadcasts, while Freesat ena...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2011

Realising the full benefits of hybrid broadcast and broad...

We are all clear that there is a great deal of momentum in pay television at the moment. Alongside that driver, though, there are others which are dramatically changing the way consumers watch television. These include the desire to watch programmes at a time of their choice not that of the broadcaster (and in the room of their choice), and the use...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2011

Launching Call of Duty Black Ops

So, how do you get the feed from 8 full HD camera's, games console screen captures, and a remote camera feed from 6 miles away to over 180,000 live game junkies all waiting to see the release of what is likely to be the world’s fastest selling and most anticipated Console/PC Game to date?That was the question posed to us at Mediakinetic by the digi...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 January 2011

Television on television

Just at the moment I am receiving a steady, almost daily, stream of press releases from an American company called IVI. The service they offer is aimed at an American audience so I will not bore you with the details of their campaign. But it raised some thoughts in the back of my mind. IVI has developed some clever (it claims) software, for Mac, Li...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2010

Eye to Eye: Lighting and lighting control

In 1985 I visited the Paris HQ of France Regions 3 with Arthur Garratt, a freelance science broadcaster who worked mainly for BBC World Service. FR3 was one of the first European television networks to make full use of high-efficiency ENG and EFP. We learnt a lot and were able to offer one recommendation in return. Watching a news presentation by t...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 December 2009