KitPlus | Articles

Supporting the transition to 4K

by David AckroydIssue 84 - December 2013 Plasma, LCD and LED screen technologies brought broadcasters HD audiences that justified their investment in HDTV. Recent computer monitors, tablets, mobile phones, digital cinema and 3D have driven an explosion in viewing formats. Together they have created an appetite for continued change and development i...

Submitted by David Ackroyd

Published 01 January 2014

Will Strauss rounds up IBC 2013

by Will StraussIssue 82 - October 2013 Dear Reader. I have a confession. I did not visit every single one of the many hundreds of stands at IBC this year. In fact, I didnt even visit all 11 halls within the RAI. And I didnt talk to all 52,974 attendees. I was there. I have the stroopwafels to prove it. Its just that IBC is a massive show. And I am...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 November 2013

Audio phase: Robin Palmer asks why it is wobbly?

Phase meters and audio vectorscopes are to be found on most test kit involved with audio monitoring. This is important because left/right audio correlation problems between the channels will distort the stereo ‘image’ and could degrade mono compatibility. If left and right phase should ever be inverted, any centered identical audio would be cancell...

Submitted by Robin Palmer

Published 01 June 2013

Ask the Experts Monitoring sound in the stdio

1. Why do I need monitors? And why can't I just use my Hifi speakers?It may sound like the most obvious thing in the world, and it is, but along with your headphones your monitoring system is the only thing in your mix room that actually makes sound. All the decisions you make in relation to mixing, mic placement, balancing and more are coloured by...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 December 2012

The highs and lows of histograms

Histogram displays for video analysis probably followed those found in common computer graphics programs such as Adobe Photoshop. This can be very useful in finding video signal problems that would be difficult or impossible to see with a conventional waveform display. The histogram is a way of showing statistical results as a bar-chart. The range...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 December 2012

Wibbly Wobbly Waveforms

The very first analytical electronic instrument, developed in the late 1890s, was the oscilloscope. This used a cathode ray tube (CRT) to paint a graph of voltage on the Y axis versus time on the X axis. Once television became a practical reality in the 1930s, the same instrument was applied to the video output from the camera and became the very u...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2012

Our third digital revolution?

Our third digital revolution?By Bob PankA little history – the first digital revolution for the TV production and post industries started somewhere about 1972 and then involved introducing digital islands into an analogue world. The introduction of much more affordable digital VTRs such as Sony’s DigiBeta in 1993 heralded the beginning of the end o...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2012

Sennheiser 8060 Review

It’s always good to strive to better yourself, or at least the quality of your work. Here at TV-Bay it’s something we always aim to do. So this year, for our NAB 2012 coverage we wanted to see if we could improve upon our sound recording during the BroadcastShow interviews. If you don't know, I walk around these shows, camera crew in tow, interview...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 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

Sennheiser MKH 8060, 8070 and MKE1 Lapel microphone revie...

Sennheiser recently asked me to review two new MKH series microphones, and a new Lapel MKE 1I had a job coming up and I thought this would be the perfect time to try the two MKH microphones out. The job was a TV commercial. We would shoot on the beach and in Jumeirah Beach Park. For my set up, I decided I would use a PSC Alphamix Mixer, a Sound Dev...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

The art of 3D

Two recent events have expanded my understanding of 3D. BVE North turned out to be quite busy – both around the exhibition and at the many free seminars. Of course I made a beeline for the 3D Revolution Theatre where there were sessions throughout the two days of the show. The ‘Storytelling in 3D’ session was of particular interest. There’s been pl...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

3D Five years on

For me, IBC2006 was the beginning of the modern 3D era. At an invitation-only presentation, 3ality’s CEO Steve Schklair described what his company was achieving with S3D. Suddenly it all made sense. With the accuracy of digital shoots and computer technology replacing difficulties and expense of working with film, 3D could now be viable. Unlike the...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2011

All the Things You Want to Know About Cloud Computing

Though the current buzz surrounding the concept of cloud computing makes it seem like an all-new technology, the idea and practice originate from IBM’s pioneering use — nearly three decades ago — of virtualized mainframes with “thin clients.” These thin clients allowed users to centralize processing in the very expensive mainframe components, CPU m...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

A little bit over the top

Vertical disparities in 3D stereoscopic images have several causes: principally they would be due to one camera being mounted such that its optical axis is higher than the other. Effectively, one eye could be seeing more over the top of objects than the other. The vertical registration is impaired and will cause headaches for any viewers as their e...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2011

BVE 2011 retrospect

BVE 2011 had much of the buoyancy and buzz of an IBC. The organisers claimed an attendance of over 15,500 visitors and 240 exhibiting companies. Many of the UK-based stalwarts who make the annual pilgrimage to Amsterdam could be seen exploring the show, confirming that BVE is now taken seriously by mainstream broadcasters. It is perhaps over-optimi...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2011