KitPlus | Articles

Protecting the archive

Over the last 20 years or so we have all become accustomed to the expression “asset management” and, as ever, familiarity has bred contempt. In this case, the expression has become a loose descriptor for almost anything with a bit of a database in it. We need to stop and think about what we are trying to achieve. In any media enterprise, the conten...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2012

Building a digital archive

The search for specific content within masses of stored videotape once required a visit to the archive librarian, a great deal of patience, and some luck. Even if one was able to explain successfully the footage you needed, and if the librarian proved able to locate that content, there remained the possibility that tape degradation or generational...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2012

All Aboard The XDCam Recycling Service

For many television producers, archiving content is a fairly simple process. It generally goes something like this: 1) Pick up tape/disc/hard-drive. 2) Extend arm across to wall area. 3) Put tape/disc/hard-drive on shelf. 4) Retract arm. 5) Rinse and repeat. And that’s about it. Some people might add labels and go as far as adopting a cataloguing s...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2012

Parting the Cloud

Every so often a trend looms over the broadcast horizon that gathers pace so quickly it soon becomes the buzzword at every launch and trade show. A few years ago it was MAM and more recently stereoscopic; now the big buzz in town is the cloud. But despite its recent rise to fame in the broadcast sector there’s still a lot of confusion regarding how...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2012

Ask the Experts: Content Storage, Security, Archive and M...

The media and entertainment industry is currently experiencing an unprecedented level of financial pressure. This comes from not only the turbulent economic era in which we are living, but also from increased competition and the need to repurpose content for consumption on different platforms and devices. In order to succeed, businesses need to do...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2012

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

Discussing asset management

Half the stands at IBC claim to have asset management products – do they all do what you do?Yes, it seems like everyone claims to do asset management or workflows. And it confuses the hell out of buyers. So we need to take a step back and think about what we actually mean. So let’s break it down. First: assets. What are your assets? Well, that depe...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2012

Metadata rules

Regular readers of this column will know that I am frequently tasked with covering the sexiest of broadcast industry subjects. Indeed, just two months ago I got to discuss test and measurement (T&M). Well, if you thought that was intense, just wait for this month's topic. Not only is it potentially even less glamorous than T&M, it has the potential...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 October 2012

Ask the Experts - IT and Broadcast converge

Q. ‘Convergence’, specifically the convergence of IT and broadcast technology, appears to be one of those themes that endures. Why does the subject still garner so much attention in 2012? It must be 15-years since the term was first used in this context, are we not a fully converged industry?No, I don’t think we are fully ‘converged’, far from it;...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2012

Waste not, want not

One of the most interesting comments I heard at NAB this year was from Gary Greenfield, the CEO of Avid. Picking up the topic of making the most of content across multiple platforms, he said “nothing is left on the cutting room floor any more”. That started me thinking about how technology has allowed us to get profligate, and whether we are now at...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2012

Say again? What is loudness?

Loudness is making a lot of noise these days, but what does it really mean? There is certainly no shortage of gurus who are happy to posit answers, but are they addressing the right questions?For instance, much has been made of the EBU’s recent Loudness Metering specification (EBU Tech 3341). But it has to be said that the EBU only makes recommenda...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 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

Closed Captioning Comes to IP and Mobile TV

As mobile or IP-based TV becomes increasingly popular with viewers, so will the demand for closed captioning for the deaf or hard of hearing. Lawmakers are already flexing their muscles regarding this issue, with the U.S. federal government enacting regulations making it mandatory for broadcasters to supply closed captioning for IP and mobile progr...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 May 2012

This Is International Playout

There is no such thing as an off the shelf solution where broadcast managed services are concerned. Here Michael Ward, Head of Operations at WRN Broadcast, who provide playout channels for such as NHK, MTV, VH1 and East Africa’s Zuku platform, breaks down a few key requirements to meeting the exacting standards of international content delivery. Tr...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 May 2012

Taking the pain out of collaborative editing

Broadcast and post-production companies face the daily challenge of delivering more for less – both in terms of time and money. Whilst the industry has been quick to embrace the efficiencies of file-based workflows and enhancements in the creative editing process, the reality - for companies of all sizes - is that the effective and secure managemen...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2012