KitPlus | Articles

Modular Studio Design for the BBC New Broadcasting House...

In an uncertain World with constantly changing demands and technical formats it is very difficult to plan and build a large facility that will be absolutely fit for purpose when it is finished. This was especially true of the BBC when it considered the needs of New Broadcasting House. Munro Acoustics was given the task of developing a completely mo...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2012

Do you think 3D Broadcasting in its current format is lik...

There are two issues that affect the potential growth of 3D in broadcasting: they are the widespread availability of 3D enabled devices, and the cost of producing and broadcasting 3D content. All HD TV sets from major manufacturers over 40 inches that are sold today include 3D capability, so the end-user market of 3D capable viewers is growing by d...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

Without training will there be future for the TV Industry...

It might come as a surprise to you but do you know that there in the UK 80,000 people working in the TV industry. That's 10% of the work force. And some more facts:The UK has overseas programme sales of £980 million. Non-terrestrial TV spends £193 millions on content whilst terrestrial TV spends £2.6 billion on content. Independent producers in the...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

Building an HD MCR for The Associated Press

The Associated Press delivers fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, it has grown into a large and trusted source of independent news and information. AP’s activity in the broadcast market centres on the supply of live and edited video to over 500 broadcasting operations and 200 news...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2011

tv-bay Questions

Name & Title?Doug Garside, Chief Engineer at Edit 19 Ltd. based in ManchesterWho are you? (about yourself and who you work for)?As a teenage performer, I attended Manchester Youth Theatre for two years running and appeared in numerous amateur and college productions, including once being naked on stage at a catholic college! Having completed my A l...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2011

Cut the risk out of developing and operating connected se...

When is an opportunity also a threat? In fact, most opportunities also pose some element of inherent risk. And for today’s media operators, the opportunities have never seemed riskier, and the risks have never offered so much potential gain. A diversifying, multi-screen, ‘connected’ media landscape is like a vast new hinterland for traditional broa...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2011

Fast 3D

It is easy to make the assumption that 3D should comply with existing standards, as in the 2D video streams of television or movie images running at 24, 25 or 30 frames per second, according to the relevant 2D standards. However, the recent step up to doubled frame rates, generally referred to as 50p or 60p for television and 48p (or higher) for mo...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2011

COUNTING DOWN TO BVE NORTH

The engines are revving in the countdown to BVE North, the new event that is designed to serve the needs of the rapidly growing broadcast and production industry in the North. The exhibition and seminar program will address the myriad challenges facing broadcast professionals, from multi-platform broadcasting to the realities of 3D for television,...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2011

Ask the Experts - Integrating Social Media

Why should I care about integrating social media into my broadcast operations?Viewers are the lifeblood of any broadcaster, whether public service or commercial, major national broadcaster or special interest, free-to-air or pay TV, RF or IP delivery, fundamentally it's all about getting, and keeping, as many viewers as possible. Social media provi...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

Storage and archiving

Anyone looking closely at a helical scan video tape mechanism, particularly the miniature variety, might be forgiven for wondering how such an elaborate technology ever came to be invented. The first experimental video tape recorders were essentially audio recorders running at very high speed to achieve the bandwidth needed for television signals....

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

How the mysteries of Library and Archive have changed in...

As I walked into the ATV Bridge Street studios in Birmingham in November 1974 I could not have known what a revolutionary time I would experience in my career as a “Library Guy”. Since 2” tape became the recording medium for television in the late fifties nothing much had changed in its cataloguing, storage and usage. A few stickers on the tape, a...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

The benefits of Business Process Management in Media Asse...

How have Media Asset Management systems changed with integration of IT platforms?Traditionally MAM providers use wired logic for point-to-point integration based on dedicated custom links connecting two systems through a single communicating path. This rigid approach is not recommended for integrating the multiple third-party systems and technologi...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

Ultra-slow motion in live broadcast

What is ultra-slow motion?Slow motion has been around since the beginnings of cinematography and broadcasting, but ultra-slow motion for broadcast is quite a recent development. It’s only been possible since the advent of super high-speed video cameras, which were initially developed for scientific use. Slow motion can be produced with conventional...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2011

Intercom for Sports Production

The best kind of intercom system is one that works so well that it only takes a button or two to push when communication is required. Because of how quality intercom systems simplify communication, it is one of the broadcast industry’s most undervalued technologies. However, it is absolutely essential to a successful broadcast, especially in the fa...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2011

Game, Set and Match

It was only three months ago that this column hailed featured the new DVB-3DTV standard. But already there’s talk of a second version, or rather ‘phase’, as described by David Wood of the EBU in the new 3D Roundabout newsletter. In a way this is healthy. It shows just how fast 3DTV is moving and, whereas phase 1 is designed to work with existing 2D...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2011