KitPlus | Articles

Multi Function 2D and 3D Signal Monitoring Capability

We find ourselves in a constantly evolving industry with an ever increasing variety of video sources and devices that require monitoring. There is still a significant amount of analogue equipment requiring both composite and component monitoring, and then there is the whole raft of digital video equipment supporting SDI, HDSDI, 3G and now HDMI conn...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2011

Top ten from a top gun

Another IBC has come and gone. I peaked early: for me the highlight came before we even set out for Amsterdam when, as I wrote here last month, I met Sir David Attenborough, winner of the International Honour for Excellence. On site two things stand out. One was a delightful lunch, courtesy of my old and esteemed friend Roger Thornton of Quantel. I...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2011

File-Based Workflows

For perhaps two decades, much of the broadcast industry has made a fuss over “workflow,” treating the term as if it were something lofty and complicated - which of course, it isn’t. Workflow simply refers to the steps that users take to complete a task, start to finish. Thinking about workflow typically has been easy for the people and companies wh...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 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

Avid solutions create a stellar workflow for Mwnci Post P...

The ChallengeTo ensure that the thousands of hours of HD footage which pass through busy Welsh post-production house, Mwnci, each year are efficiently managed, stored and archived. The SolutionTo implement Avid ISIS 5000, a scalable shared storage system that collaborates with third-party applications, as the backbone of the facility to manage digi...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 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

Introducing Front Porch Digitals Archive eXchange Format

Ever since the Tower of Babel fell, human beings have sought a common way to communicate with one another and with future generations. Technological innovations — writing, for example — did a lot to preserve communication but at the same time posed new problems. Today the diversity of discrete formats for processing and storing digital media makes...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

So what is Digital Television. Part 3

Last month Richard described moving forward from analogue to Digital video. This month he covers Gamma and conversion difference…Gamma correctionAn analogue factor to be considered in the handling of the video signal is the perception that the video display is accurately reproducing the brightness of each element of the scene. The Cathode Ray Tube...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2011

Can second-screen apps really add value to the broadcast...

As today’s consumers watch television, many of them are engaging with media through multiple devices at once. In fact, some studies indicate that as much as 50 percent of television viewers are regularly online as they watch. They are posting and tweeting on social networking sites, checking movie and actor facts on sites such as IMDB, and even vis...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 August 2011

So what is Digital Television - Part 1

It is tempting to think of “digital television” as something very scientific and even complex. But when we view the end result, we find something very familiar; something television engineers have sought since the very beginning…an experience that just keeps getting better and better…quality video and audio conveying great entertainment, sport, mov...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2011

Reviewed DSC Labs Chroma Du Monde

Visual Impact were provided with a DSC Labs CamAlign CDM 28R Chroma Du Monde to test at their Teddington base this week, and unsurprisingly were impressed with what they found. Upon first impressions, the test chart seemed to employ a far too reflective surface which would inherently cause unwanted reflections and thus yield incorrect results. A br...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2011

Test and measurement in digital television

Do we need to worry about test and measurement in digital television?Let’s be clear about this. Test and measurement tools are not there to make life difficult for you, they are there to ensure that we get the best quality pictures and sound through the long path to the home within a required technical specification. So yes, simply put, checking th...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2011

Easy and accurate testing of low-power transmitters for d...

Using portable TV analyzers for gap filler installation, maintenance, and service measurementsTwenty-five kilograms or more: That is how much the test equipment needed for testing digital television transmitters – a test receiver, spectrum analyzer, and power meter – weigh all together. This weight is not an issue for a transmitter like the one on...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2011

Its a MADI World

At this year’s NAB Show in Las Vegas, 3D solutions were still a hot topic — but one emerging technology threatened to steal the show. In fact, the rapid growth of devices that support the Multichannel Audio Digital Interface (MADI) has more potential for simplifying broadcasting operations than perhaps anything else. But what exactly is MADI and wh...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 June 2011

True Colours Shine Through With CCS

When you are a broadcast engineer working in front of a stack of LCD monitors, seeing a significant difference between the brightness and colour of each monitor can be both annoying and tiring on the eyes. Worse still, if you in a Master Control Room and the pictures have taken on a sickly green hue, how do you know that it is just the monitors at...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2011