KitPlus | Articles

Do Not Be Cheap With Your Data

by Kieron Seth Issue 94 - October 2014 Everyone used to leave a Betacam or DVCPro tape on the shelf for years. It would probably work fine a decade later (as long as the VTR still worked). Now production companies are stacked high with external hard drives full of archived video projects and media files. It\'s a recipe for catastrophe - apparently...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 November 2014

Swiss Role

by Dick Hobbs Issue 93 - September 2014 Like many in the industry - and everyone concerned with marketing and the press - I am thinking a lot about IBC at the moment. All right, strictly speaking I am thinking about getting a plane to Greece tomorrow, but I know I should be thinking about IBC. But rather than write about the exciting new technologi...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 October 2014

An editors perspective

by Larry Jordan Issue 92 - August 2014 When it comes to chroma-key (also called “green-screen key”) the phrase “Don’t worry, we’ll fix it in post.” is a recipe for disaster, because if you don’t shot your key right during production, it will be painful, timeconsuming and expensive to fix it later during editing. I know, because I’m an editor. Bad c...

Submitted by Larry Jordan#

Published 01 September 2014

Proprietary vs. off the shelf hardware for OTT video deli...

by Nivedita Nouval Issue 90 - June 2014 What are the main equipment at stake in an OTT video delivery system?An OTT video delivery system consists of an array of video servers that are able to store and stream content according to different formats defined by standards (e.g., HLS, HSS, HDS, and MPEG-DASH). Traditionally, there is an origin server,...

Submitted by Nivedita Nouval

Published 01 July 2014

Disaster Recovery the broadcast emergancy service

by Lee Sheppard & Paul Moran Issue 90 - June 2014 Weve all heard the phrase Disaster Recovery (DR), but what does it actually mean for broadcasters and content owners, and what constitutes a disaster?DR is a broad term that encompasses a range of scenarios, from catastrophic disaster (for instance, the complete destruction of a whole facility), to...

Submitted by Lee Sheppard

Published 01 July 2014

Ask the experts: Life behind the rate card

by Mike Ransome Issue 88 - April 2014 From time to time, most people in broadcast and production need to rent in some equipment. It might be to extend capabilities an extra camera channel, for example or it might be to bring in something you do not normally use, like an EVS server, for instance. Now picking a dry hire company sounds awfully simple....

Submitted by Mike Ransome

Published 01 May 2014

Centralised tapeless workflow at BT sport studios

by Steve Montgomery Issue 88 - April 2014 Part of the former International Broadcast Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London has been transformed into the new home of BT Sport with state-of-the-art production and broadcasting systems for BTs new television broadcast operations. BT sport is a broadcasting station with 24-7 operational c...

Submitted by steve montgomery

Published 01 May 2014

Automation...

by Robert Lisman Issue 87 - March 2014 What is broadcast automation and why is it important to me?Broadcasters and media operations face the complex task of managing all kinds of hardware and software, such as switchers, video servers, graphics systems, routers, newsroom systems, craft editors (NLEs), VTRs, tape formats and file codecs. Broadcast a...

Submitted by Robert Lisman

Published 01 April 2014

Disaster Recovery with Peter Savage

by Peter Savage Issue 86 - February 2014 Disaster recovery planning was, on the morning of Sunday 9th February, as far from my mind as was winning the figure-skating gold medal at Sochi. I recall my Rothschild days when we employed one guy whose job was almost totally devoted to what if strategic thinking and preparation. However, Azule is a small...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 March 2014

Ask the experts: What is MAM?

by Rino Petricola Issue 85 - January 2014 Media asset management: what exactly is it?While the precise definition varies from person to person, a common description tends to emerge. Media asset management (MAM) is a solution that allows media content including audio, video, and graphics to be ingested, annotated, cataloged, managed, protected, sear...

Submitted by Rino Petricola

Published 01 February 2014

Quantum StorNext plays a starring role for Framestore

by Laurent FanichetIssue 80 - August 2013 Even Oscar winners need to update tools to cope with the rapid transition from film to digital, for leading post production studio Framestore that meant choosing StorNext File System and Storage Manager to improve digital workflows and automate data management, resulting in a 30-60 percent saving. Data File...

Submitted by Laurent Fanichet

Published 01 September 2013

Bringing increased efficiencies to file-based workflows

by Reed HaslamIssue 80 - August 2013 Most professionals in todays broadcast and media industries can remember a time when the videotape format was ubiquitous. It was the defacto recording, storage, and playback medium for many years, and fragments of the medium still exist today. What clearly contributed to the success of tape is its compact packag...

Submitted by Reed Haslam

Published 01 September 2013

Just the facts with Dick Hobbs

My best ever expenses claim – back in the days when I was employed and had someone to claim expenses from – included the line item “Charter of train”. This was 25 or more years ago, back when IBC alternated with a television exhibition in Montreux in Switzerland. My employer at the time was launching something pretty revolutionary (although they su...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 July 2013

Life live beyond the Premier League

by Kieron SethIn Europe outside broadcast has traditionally been within the reach of a handful of deep-pocketed television companies. Across the Atlantic, small OB vans have been popular for years with niche, regional news crews beaming state pie eating competitions to eager viewers. With the advent of Local TV and low-cost fast turnaround producti...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 April 2013

Bob Pank looks at Editing and the Cloud

By Bob PankHistorically video editing has been one of those operations shaped by technology. For decades it depended on VTRs to play and record. You had to go to an edit room, usually darkened and with loads of buttons and winking lights, to get your edit done by a video editor. It was not cheap. Then, with video stored on computer discs, editing w...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2013