KitPlus | Articles

Mixing console displays - central to usability

Since the introduction of assignable controls on mixing consoles, it has been essential to provide sound engineers with a clear picture of what the function and status is of each fader and other associated controls. Consoles can have over 100 faders. To allow the sound operator to keep track of the function of each panel and its current settings, c...

Submitted by Paul Hooper

Published 15 February 2017

The future of post production

Love it or hate it, 2016 will certainly be a year to remember, for many reasons. In the world of post-production, we\'ve seen high dynamic range become incorporated into UK studio pipelines for the very first time. We watched Ang Lee demonstrate exactly what you can do by shooting at 120 frames per second in combination with stereo 3D. We\'ve even...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 15 February 2017

Scopes, a creative trilogy

The purpose of color correction is to fix any problems with exposure and color, ensuring the final image looks right. Color grading is used to set the mood by adjusting the colors of the video imagery to achieve a certain look or feel. At the core of color correction is tonal range: the range of brightness from dark (black) to light (white). When t...

Submitted by Paul Issacs

Published 07 December 2016

Taking a hybrid approach to the SDI/IP transistion

Broadcasters are not newcomers to technological transitions. As an industry, we\'ve survived analogue to digital, baseband to file-based workflows, SDTV to HDTV and now 4KUHD resolution, not to mention weathering a barrage of new compression formats. Today, we\'re facing one of the most dramatic transformations we\'ve ever undergone: SDI to IP. Unl...

Submitted by Matthew Coleman

Published 07 December 2016

10 Ways to make your trade show booth stand out

With 15 halls and over 1600 exhibitors, there\'s little chance of seeing every stand at the IBC trade show - but this year I gave it a good try and racked up an impressive number of daily steps to prove it! Unlike most show visitors, however, I wasn\'t looking for the latest bit of tech or next product to purchase, instead I was focussed on how IBC...

Submitted by Candice Cowan

Published 10 November 2016

Heading towards brightness regulations

I like IBC in the same way that I find NAB grating. Maybe I have been living in the UK for too long, but the bright morning Amsterdam sun breaking through clouds and reflecting off the canal while fit young things on bicycles pedal to college; snapchatting with their friends and avoiding collisions with practised ease has a certain charm. You just...

Submitted by Bruce Devlin

Published 10 November 2016

Self contained and expandable commentary systems

Adopting innovative technologies and techniques is always fundamental to the control of capital and operational costs - the key to broadcast facilities or technology providers gaining competitive advantage. Sports commentary has continually suffered from high operational costs, whether at the sports venue itself or "off-glass", due to the need for...

Submitted by Chris Collings

Published 26 September 2016

Ask the experts - Transitioning to IP

1) What has been the broadcast industry's feeling about the move to an all IP workflow?Transitioning from conventional signal transport to an all-IP environment in broadcast or content production operations seems to be a matter of "when\" rather than "if,\" as it brings a great number of advantages with it. IP is touted as offering numerous benefit...

Submitted by Craig Newbury

Published 22 July 2016

5 Things I Saw At NAB

by Peter Savage Issue 113 - May 2016 ARRI Trinity stabilisationIt may look like something that was dreamt up for a sci-fi film but the Trinity stabilisation system is a truly remarkable bit of kit that is most certainly real. Available as an upgrade to the Artemis or a third-party camera stabiliser, it consists of a compact and lightweight two-axis...

Submitted by Peter Savage 2

Published 13 May 2016

Waveform Monitors in 4K Production

by Alan Wheable Issue 112-April 2016 Waveforms have always been one of the essential tools for anyone working in the video industry and are used for level alignment, grading and quality control to touch on just a few areas. Working with HD and 3G-SDI waveform technology may have been a solution in the early days of UHD/4k to display the waveforms f...

Submitted by Alan Wheable

Published 25 April 2016

Raising the bar at BVE

Azule's Peter Savage managed to drag himself away from his countless BVE meetings (and the show bar) for long enough to discover that ˜easy-to-use' was the tipple of choice at this year's show. Trade shows are funny things. When you arrange a lot of meetings, it is quite easy to spend an entire week at an exhibition and not see any kit or attend an...

Submitted by Peter Savage 2

Published 01 April 2016

The importance of maintaining digital audio paths

A portable, handheld, digital audio stream analyzer/generator is an essential piece of test equipment in the broadcast environment. It allows engineers and system integrators to quickly monitor and verify the composition, and integrity of, audio signals at any point from production all the way through the distribution chain. While the process of te...

Submitted by Larry Schindel

Published 01 April 2016

How to solve a problem like 4k

with Peter Savage Issue 108 - December 2015 A lack of standards and content is holding back sales of 4k television sets and, until that situation changes, there is very little the consumer electronics business can do about it, writes Peter SavageSince the late 1960s and early 70s, when we began to ditch our old black and white TV sets in favour of...

Submitted by Peter Savage 2

Published 15 December 2015

In media monitoring, as in medicine, a quick fix is not a...

by Simen Frostad Issue 107 - November 2015 A man is rushed to hospital with a suspected heart attack. The priorities of the medical team that treats him are clear: keep the patient alive, contain the damage to the heart as far as possible, stabilise the situation until the patient is out of danger. They work under the pressure of these immediate pr...

Submitted by Simen Frostad

Published 01 December 2015

The future is smaller, more powerful batteries

by Steve Emmett Issue 106 - October 2015 High-quality cameras are getting smaller and lighter all the time, making them suitable for new applications. Nearly every production we see today includes shots acquired by drone and gimbal mounted cameras. The batteries required to power these cameras have to meet new criteria. They must be able to withsta...

Submitted by Steve Emmett

Published 01 November 2015