KitPlus | Articles

Ask the experts with Shotoku

by James EddershawIssue 82 - October 2013 Shotoku has been around for quite some time, but for those who may not be familiar, can you explain who you are and what you do?Shotoku Broadcast Systems is an international leader in the manufacture and marketing of a full range of camera support products including manual and robotic pedestals as well as v...

Submitted by James Eddershaw

Published 01 November 2013

Dick Hobbs going large

by Dick HobbsIssue 82 - October 2013 First, I would like you to watch a five minute video. You can find it at adayinbigdata.com. Watched it? Good. Yes, I know the girl is intensely irritating no-one in real life is ever that cheery. But it gets over an important point, I think: we generate huge amounts of data which, if we are happy to share it, ca...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 November 2013

Wireless cameras at live events

by Scott WalkerIssue 81 - September 2013 While wireless cameras have been used in high end broadcast for years, prices have dropped and there are now a variety of products on the market to suit lower cost broadcasts, and the technology is creeping into events with live outdoor screens and lower budgets, where it adds a creative angle to the show. I...

Submitted by Scott Walker

Published 01 October 2013

Polecam delivers 500th rig

by Mel NoonanIssue 81 - September 2013 We in the UK should be rightly proud of Polecam and what it has achieved, with news that the 500th rig has been delivered. Extreme sports cameraman Steffan Hewitt designed the lightweight jib for his own use, as a tool to get the shots he wanted. He kept refining it as he used it. Others saw it and wanted it....

Submitted by Mel Noonan

Published 01 October 2013

Dick Hobbs roasts television rare

by Dick HobbsIssue 80 - August 2013 I was at a conference about workflows the other day. One of the presentations was by a very nice man called Eric Minoli, who is chief engineer at TFO, the French-language public broadcaster in the Canadian province of Ontario. He illustrated his presentation with a great story. Some friends were invited around to...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 September 2013

A preview of this years IBC with Will Strauss

by Will StraussIssue 80 - August 2013 Writing an IBC preview when the show itself is still seven weeks away is never easy. Despite best intentions, lots of exhibitors havent yet shown their hands (or are still deciding which cards to play) and many of those that have, are really not giving much away. However, fear not dear reader. The next two page...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 September 2013

4K is bigger than size alone

by Bob PankIssue 79 - July 2013 It seems that numbers are a great eye-catcher and 4K was everywhere at NAB, and will be at IBC too. Here, of course, we are talking about a TV system with four times the number of pixels of HD, namely a picture area of 3840x2160 for TV, or for cinema 4096x2160. At the recent BeyondHD conference in London discussion a...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2013

Crystal Balls and the future of television TandM

by Steve NunneyIssue 79 - July 2013 Best to keep well away from the Australian fast bowlers then! Joking apart, what is the future of television test and measurement? Or should we rather refer to media dispersion MD for short. MD is taking off big-time. After the five year digital switchover process was completed, everyone had digital terrestrial t...

Submitted by Steve Nunney

Published 01 August 2013

Ask the experts: Content readiness in time-deferred workf...

by Sudeep BoseIssue 79 - July 2013 What are the fundamental considerations that must be addressed to ensure the quality of non-real-time content, whether played out from a broadcasters media server or time-shifted for VOD and other OTT services?When focusing on the actual content itself, rather than the service, network or other components, the key...

Submitted by Sudeep Bose

Published 01 August 2013

Increasing creativity and functionality with Q-Ball

By Jim Daniels, technical director, Camera CorpsTell us more about Camera Corps and its position within the industry…Camera Corps was founded almost 20 years ago to offer broadcasters video system design and rental services. Having focused on rentals from the very beginning, we have provided high-volume cameras, pan-and-tilt heads and tracking syst...

Submitted by Jim Daniels

Published 01 July 2013

4K at NAB with Bob Pank

As we head once more to NAB you may wonder what this year’s big thing will be. I put my money on 4K. As I write there must be many exhibitors polishing up their ‘4K solution’ message, ready for their customers at the show. With the extraordinary situation of screens costing more than cameras, a viable business model clearly remains far off. But, to...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2013

The cushion quotient

I have just been to a conference organised by the Mobile Data Association. I was very grateful to the organisers for the invitation, as it is the sort of thing that appeals to me: some of the top analysts in the industry throwing out statistics and predictions. Of course, at this sort of conference you get a lot more about where we are than where w...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2012

Next generation monitoring - in the studio and in the fie...

HD pan, tilt and zoom cameras are very popular in self-operated studios, conference rooms, theatres and houses of worship. Typically, PTZ systems are remotely controlled by RS-422 or over Ethernet, with video signals routed over SDI cable into the production desk. Previously, live monitoring was only possible via the switcher that could be as remot...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 December 2012

OMNEO Networking Technology

Why are digital media networks becoming more and more important? For two main reasons. First, if designed properly, they allow plant communications infrastructure to be used for multiple purposes: the same “pipe” can carry audio, video, control, and other needed signals. This reduces costs of materials and installation. Second, if designed to pub...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 December 2012

The social geek

Today I want to consider this Venn diagram. It has been widely circulated on the internet: it appears to have been created by the Californian producer and publisher Scott Beale in 2009. It is a laudable attempt to differentiate between nerds, geeks, dweebs and dorks. You may feel that, given all the other pressures on our busy lives, time spent det...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2012