KitPlus | Articles

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

SDV - Shaping the Next Generation of Linear TV Service Of...

by Lionel Bringuier Issue 103 - July 2015 Software-defined video (SDV) solutions are shaping the next generation of linear TV service offerings for both content distributors and content programmers. Live-to-VOD services such as catch-up TV, start-over TV, nPVR and delay TV offer new ways to enrich live TV experiences and package live content alongs...

Submitted by Lionel Bringuier

Published 01 August 2015

Tapeless Workflows, MAM and Archive: Back to Basics

by Mike Shore Issue 103 - July 2015 The broadcast industrys appetite for file-based workflows existed long before the technology required to implement them was available. With the emergence of cheap capture hardware, the continually decreasing cost of storage and the ever-increasing capabilities of inexpensive computing power, the transition from t...

Submitted by Michael Shore

Published 01 August 2015

Distribution in the UHD Era

by Paul Briscoe Issue 103 - July 2015 Once upon a time, there were few broadcast TV standards. Each used its own regional image formats, color encoding scheme and sound and vision modulation standards. High-power over-the-air (OTA) transmitters broadcast the signal on internationally coordinated and regionally allocated radio frequency (RF) channel...

Submitted by Paul Briscoe

Published 01 August 2015

How HEVC technology is revolutionizing field-based broadc...

by Eli Garten Issue 103 - July 2015 High-Efficiency Video Encoding (HEVC), also known as H.265, is the subsequent generation of H.264 and tapped to be the next widely adopted standard for video compression. As with any MPEG evolution, the new standards goal is to make compression more efficient and allow for reducing OPEX and CAPEX in various video...

Submitted by Eli Garten

Published 01 August 2015

UHD: a long road travelled

by Julian Fernandez Issue 103 - July 2015 Theres no denying it, Ultra HD (UHD) is impressive and the clarity of image is captivating, but its going to take a while for UHD to become mainstream in the home. A fairly expensive large screen TV is a must to get the best picture quality and since the majority of the world isnt yet watching television in...

Submitted by Julian Fernandez

Published 01 August 2015

Combining on-site and cloud storage

by Alan Hoggarth Issue 102 - June 2015 Technology and profitability have an intimate and often complicated relationship. A new invention may open up the possibility of new forms of business, or greater efficiency in existing businesses. Sometimes the invention may be a response to a clear need necessity being the mother of invention. But on other o...

Submitted by Alan Hoggarth

Published 01 July 2015

Advantages of SSD Hybrid Solutions in Post Production Env...

by James McKenna Issue 102 - June 2015 There\'s a plan for everything in life. Think on it, scope it out, ask around and come up with a consensus, you\'ll be prepared when it happens. Like post production for example - you\'re bidding on a job that\'s acquiring in 6K for a UHD DPX deliverable, and you want the whole deal, edit through delivery, so...

Submitted by James McKenna

Published 01 July 2015

Why fast production storage is just not enough

by Martin Bennett Issue 102 - June 2015 UHD, 4k, 6k, 8k¦the proliferation of high-resolution formats and files along with the growing number of skillsets that can collaborate on projects push storage bandwidth and capacities beyond their limits. If we just take a look at the potential storage requirements for a single 8K raw digital cinema format t...

Submitted by Martin Bennett

Published 01 July 2015

Overcoming complexity in remote production leads to more...

by Henry Goodman Issue 101 - May 2015 Despite the instant accessibility of recorded media content, there are many events that are still best enjoyed as a live broadcast. At the same time, such broadcasts are becoming increasingly complex, and with increased complexity comes increased cost. It\'s a fact that limits the number of events broadcasters...

Submitted by Henry Goodman

Published 01 June 2015

Fiber Transport for the future

by Lars Hohmann Issue 101 - May 2015 Broadcasters have access to numerous fiber-based signal transport solutions today. From the simplest point-to-point throw-down boxes to more elaborate optical rings, products come in at a variety of performance and price levels. In most cases, the broadcaster that wants a mix of signals will purchase signal-spec...

Submitted by Lars Hohmann

Published 01 June 2015

From newspaper to broadcaster: VG (Norway) and LiveU

by Ronen Artman Issue 100 - April 2015 VG is a tabloid-format newspaper established in Oslo in 1945. Faced with the challenges that all newspapers face in the age of the video and the internet - fresh competition for readership and rapidly changing viewer expectations of what news is and how it\'s delivered - VG began using video online as early as...

Submitted by Ronen Artman

Published 01 May 2015

Why video codecs matter

by Larry Jordan Issue 99 - March 2015 Video codecs confuse a lot of people. But understanding codecs is critical to just about every element of video production, editing and distribution. Codec is an acronym that stands for "COmpressor/DECompressor.\" It is easy to get intimidated by all the technical jargon surrounding codecs, but, at their core,...

Submitted by Larry Jordan#

Published 01 April 2015