KitPlus | Articles

Getting real with virtual

It's only February (or it is when I am typing this) but already we are suffering from exhibition overload. I did not go to Mobile World Congress, having no real desire to be mugged in Barcelona. But I did look in at BVE somewhere near London where a conversation with an exhibitor and old friend set me thinking. And perhaps wishing I was at Mobile W...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 April 2016

Keeping pace with your true value

by Leighton Chenery Issue 106 - October 2015 Avoid the pitfalls of underinsuranceWandering around IBC, marvelling at the latest technical advances and innovations and viewing the major strategic themes for the future direction of the Broadcast & Media industry, it would be easy to overlook the importance of adequately insuring new purchases and add...

Submitted by Leighton Chenery

Published 01 November 2015

Lessons Learnt - Webcasting live to the web

by Larry Jordan Issue 105 - September 2015 When I first started in this industry, more than 40 years ago, live television broadcasts were plentiful and popular. In fact, I got my start as a director in live television. However, the only way to create a live broadcast was with lots of equipment, large crews and plenty of money. Today, the paradigm h...

Submitted by Larry Jordan#

Published 01 October 2015

Making multi-camera shooting faster & more affordable

by Datsa Gaile Issue 105 - September 2015 Multi-camera filming has been known for years. There was a time when shooting any production involving multiple-camera positions would require a very large studio budget. Today we have many solutions for live vision mixing and great editing platforms what offer multi-camera editing. As there are so many gre...

Submitted by Datsa Gaile

Published 01 October 2015

Three days to launch a TV station

by Neil Hutchins Issue 104 - August 2015 We go on-air in less than 100 hours is an alarming statement when the studio and control room in question contain no technical equipment whatsoever. But this was the situation that we faced upon arrival at the new Local TV channel in Manchester for the first time as we began to unload the van late on a Thurs...

Submitted by Neil Hutchins#

Published 01 September 2015

The production desk finally gets innovative

by Kieron Seth Issue 104 - August 2015 The video switcher (aka vision mixer) is at the heart of all live television, all AV and many a live webcast. But despite its core role, its remained essentially the same concept for decades, consisting of a digital video effects processing unit, matrix switcher and control panel. Fundamentally this hardware-b...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 September 2015

The evolution of vision mixers

by Liam Laminman Issue 104 - August 2015 At the heart of any multi-camera production is a vision mixer or production switcher as some people call them. Its core role is the switching of different sources, primarily cameras, often VTs and sometimes incoming external sources such as remote feeds from broadcasters. Even for non-TV types, thats relativ...

Submitted by Liam Laminman

Published 01 September 2015

How we got live streaming to work for us

by Larry Jordan & Megan Paulos Issue 103 - July 2015 We originate three hours of live programming from our studios every week. In fact, everything we do is designed for live web streaming. For the last several months, we have been exploring a number of options that would enable live video streaming with live audio mixing and support an unlimited nu...

Submitted by Larry Jordan#

Published 01 August 2015

The importance of storage

by Larry Jordan Issue 102 - June 2015 "What\'s the best computer to edit video?\" It\'s a great question - it\'s just the wrong question. Yes, CPU speed is important and the Internet is buzzing with the latest specs on GPUs. But, today, virtually any currently shipping computer is more than adequate to edit video; even 4K. The critical component th...

Submitted by Larry Jordan#

Published 01 July 2015

Every election counts

by Charlie Watts Issue 102 - June 2015 "We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard.\" - JF KennedyThis may seem slightly overblown, but that is how we face things here in the University of Portsmouth. It\'s possibly because we have to try that little bit harder due to our...

Submitted by Charlie Watts

Published 01 July 2015

Audio basics

by Larry Jordan Issue 101 - May 2015 It is an absolutely true statement that the best way to improve the quality of your image is to improve the quality of your sound. Viewers will happily watch grainy, black-and-white images and consider it "art.\" However, nothing you can say will keep them in their seats if the audio is too loud or unintelligibl...

Submitted by Larry Jordan#

Published 01 June 2015

Sky takes sports to the limit

Issue 99 - March 2015Sky, Europe\'s leading entertainment company with more than 20 million customers across five countries, is renowned for being one of the world\'s top sports broadcasters. From the massively popular Premier League, to a raft of other sports rights including rugby, cricket and darts, Sky provides sports fans with an unrivalled of...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 April 2015

Tune in and turn on

by Dick Hobbs Issue 99 - March 2015 It was World Radio Day last month. Friday the thirteenth, to be precise, but I do not think the date was chosen with disaster in mind. In fact the date was set to celebrate the anniversary of the launch of United Nations Radio, on 13 February 1946. Unesco created World Radio Day much more recently: the first was...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 April 2015

The road to Sundance Film Festival

with Kivu Ruhorahoza Issue 98 - February 2015 Things of the Aimless Wanderer, the latest feature from Rwandese filmmaker Kivu Ruhorahoza (Grey Matter) is a beautifully crafted narrative about paranoia, mistrust and misunderstandings. Premiering at this year\'s Sundance Film Festival, audiences can expect an arresting film that reveals a series of c...

Submitted by Kivu Ruhorahoza

Published 01 March 2015

Stars of the show - A visitors view

by Ben Sheriff Issue 96 - December 2014 Yesterday TV-BAY - Kit Plus came to East London\'s Brick Lane showcasing a roadshow packed with great seminars and kit to whet our appetites in advance of BVE in February. It was no great surprise that, for the DPs and camera operators at least the star of the event was the Sony PXW-FS7. Sony\'s latest large...

Submitted by Ben Sherriff

Published 01 January 2015