KitPlus | Articles

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

Whats new in broadcast test and measurement

The test and measurement product category continues to expand as the broadcast business itself diversifies. Notable recent developments include higher resolution displays and a gradually increasing number of analysers which, having detected a fault, endeavour to fix it. No sign at NAB 2011 of any tablet-based test and measurement equipment but perh...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2011

Post Production Ask The Experts

IntroductionIt’s a familiar scenario: A client calls with an urgent transfer request. It may be a movie sourced at 23.98PsF that needs conversion for broadcast, and the client needs an HD version at 1080 50i with Dolby E audio and an SD program at 625 50i with PCM audio, as well. Or perhaps the content was shot at 1080 59.94i, but the client needs...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2011

Eye to Eye: Video Post-production

My first direct experience of video post-production involved hauling a heavy Sony U-Matic tape machine up a flight of stairs before going back for an equally heavy playback deck, a bulky CRT monitor and a large box of interface giblets. That was in 1978. 33 years on, an Apple Mac does the whole editing job a great deal better, faster and more econo...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2011

A day in the life of a Royals videographer

Times have changed; no more phone calls, telexes or faxes, - remember them? Now it’s E-mails; what would we do without them?A quiet day in the office-come-edit-suite, the FCP rendering yet another set of archive clips, and the other Mac illuminated with Thunderbird, when ‘ping’ (the Mac version of “You got mail”) wakes one up from the hypnotic tran...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 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

The revolutionary PHABRIX SxA.

The revolution in screen technology has seen a massive miniaturisation of most test equipment in the last ten years, and this coupled with a large increase in the amount that can be fitted into a small package courtesy of VLSI has meant that a new breed of hand held test and measurement devices have come onto the market. The PHABRIX Sx range is jus...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2011

Control and Monitoring with Snell

For broadcasters and content origination facilities, a single issue with content or within the transmission chain can have an impact on millions of viewers. In some cases this can even lead to large financial penalties and affect commercial contracts. To guarantee uptime, minimize disruption of broadcast services, and keep revenue streams flowing,...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2011

Launching Call of Duty Black Ops

So, how do you get the feed from 8 full HD camera's, games console screen captures, and a remote camera feed from 6 miles away to over 180,000 live game junkies all waiting to see the release of what is likely to be the world’s fastest selling and most anticipated Console/PC Game to date?That was the question posed to us at Mediakinetic by the digi...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 January 2011

Expanding Arqiva into HD playout

ATG Broadcast recently completed a major SD to HD upgrade for Arqiva broadcast transmission centre at Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. The expanded system enables Arqiva to process and transmit four fully-operational 1080i HD channels as well as six new SD channels. It includes the installation and equipping of a server-based ingest suite, playout...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2010

Does 2D to 3D really work?

It is widely said that 3D has to be done well as, if it’s not, then it actually can hurt the viewer and give 3D a bad name. Certainly there have been big efforts to make good 3D, with Sky going to great lengths to ensure they set a high standard. Unlike the old 3D celluloid films, digital 3D can be a completely stable medium; it does not degrade wi...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2010

3D to see at IBC 2010

IBC2010 marks the fourth year when the new wave of Stereoscopic 3D took hold at the show. That’s three years of time for development and implementation. While cinema is racing ahead, taking a good extra percentage of people at the door who pay a 3D premium price – television in Europe is only just beginning. Sky is the pioneer for the UK, going on...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2010

Safekeeping for the Future

A CIRENCESTER audio archival engineering company has just finished working on a set of African recordings that are more than a century old. Paul Turney, of Sirensound Digital, was commissioned to digitize the wax cylinders for future safekeeping of the audio. Wax cylinders were patented by Thomas Edison and were one of the earliest form of sound re...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2010

Doremi Silver Anniversary

It was 25 years ago that Doremi founder and CEO Camille Rizko, invented a better way to perform digital audio for postproduction. He was joined by his brother Emil, and fellow engineer Safar Ghazal. And so from humble beginnings in the San Fernando Valley, California, the Doremi partners have never looked back. In 1985, the entertainment industry w...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2010

Ask the experts on cable

Digital, server-based systems in production, post-production, news gathering and playout bring increased efficiencies and productivity. Nonlinear editing and news gathering allow users to access the same material across a data network. Digits are here and are now dictating the form of cables and connectors, from camera through to playout. What qual...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2010