KitPlus | Articles

A testing 4K future...

by Steve NunneyIssue 83 - November 2013 We have only recently started to get HDTV transmitted to our homes with all the headaches of getting 1920 x 1080 50 or 60 fps down cables and compressed over the airways. Then there was the suggestion we could be sitting at home wearing glasses watching 3D however on 13th June 2013, ESPN announced an end to b...

Submitted by Steve Nunney

Published 01 December 2013

Leading digital cinematography seminar with Matt Siegel

by Matt SiegelIssue 83 - November 2013 Multiple-award-winning film producer and cinematographer Matt Siegel chose a Leader LV5381 four-input multi-SDI monitor for use during his recent seminar on Digital Cinematography at The Maine Media Workshops. Designed for emerging cinematographers, the course explained the advantages of using digital technolo...

Submitted by Matt Siegel

Published 01 December 2013

Remote control and monitoring

by Alan WheableIssue 83 - November 2013 Remote Control and MonitoringYou might wonder what remote control has to do with test and measurement. And you might be pleasantly surprised when you find out. For a number of years now, manufacturers of broadcast equipment have used remote controlled test installations to allow them to test systems and modul...

Submitted by Alan Wheable

Published 01 December 2013

Taking the heat out of lighting

by Kevin CookIssue 82 - October 2013 Weve seen a gradual move away from tungsten video lighting for a number of years now and for all sorts of reasons. Firstly theres the ecological issue about using tungsten lights. Burning a metal filament within a gaseous-free glass chamber is not the most efficient way to generate a light source. Most of the en...

Submitted by Kevin Cook

Published 01 November 2013

Could you be powerless on arrival?

by Steve EmmettIssue 82 - October 2013 PAG is now hearing more frequently of incidents where air transport rules for Lithium-Ion batteries are being enforced more rigorously by airlines. Camera crews are often unsure of the regulations and can face problems if they break these rules. We were recently informed of a cameraman, travelling from Denmark...

Submitted by Steve Emmett

Published 01 November 2013

The art of E.P.I.C innovation

by Robin BrownIssue 81 - September 2013 Autoscript has a history of innovation, technological development and investment that push the boundaries of the prompting discipline not just for the sake of selling more stuff but to solve our customers real-world problems or challenges. All of our innovations are derived from intimate customer knowledge, a...

Submitted by Robin Brown

Published 01 October 2013

Evolutions in the media cloud with Bob Pank

by Bob PankIssue 80 - August 2013 Years ago my boss, the sales director, warned me that talk of technical revolutions was not good. After all, a revolution ends up where it started. On the other hand evolutions were much better. Of course he was right. Over the years the technology of television has continuously evolved via numerous incremental imp...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2013

Monitoring Image and Signal Degradation

by Peter LampelIssue 79 - July 2013 OmniTeks latest waveform analysis software focused on assessing the degradation in video and audio quality and timing suffered by images as they are transmitted or stored. What approach has OmniTek taken to measuring these effects? In an ideal world, all broadcasters would love to have a piece of equipment that s...

Submitted by Mike Hodson

Published 01 August 2013

Helping prevent photosensitive epilepsy

by Dr Mark HodgettsIssue 79 - July 2013 Photosensitivity is sensitivity to flickering or intermittent light stimulation and visual patterns. It is a condition which affects approximately one in four thousand people. A number of young people have this sensitivity but have not yet had a seizure and therefore have not been diagnosed with the condition...

Submitted by Mark Hodgetts

Published 01 August 2013

Why test and measurement is for real life, not just for e...

by Will StraussIssue 79 - July 2013 Thanks to its long-standing association with virtually incomprehensible acronyms, dark machine rooms and (lets face it) engineers with unruly beards, the subject of Test and Measurement (T&M) always gets a bit of bum rap. Yet, for all the pre-conceptions, it is a hugely important part of the production and broadc...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 August 2013

Audio phase: Robin Palmer asks why it is wobbly?

Phase meters and audio vectorscopes are to be found on most test kit involved with audio monitoring. This is important because left/right audio correlation problems between the channels will distort the stereo ‘image’ and could degrade mono compatibility. If left and right phase should ever be inverted, any centered identical audio would be cancell...

Submitted by Robin Palmer

Published 01 June 2013

Delivering in all conditions with a Petrol Bags raincover

Autumn in the Czech Republic is damp and foggy, and the higher the altitude, the more piercing and rainy the climate becomes. At an old, remote mill 40 km (25 miles) away from Prague, sludge and mud are everywhere while moisture penetrates the bones. These are the filming conditions on the main set of the psychological thriller Cold Sunday. The oth...

Submitted by Raymond Burns

Published 01 May 2013

IPTV at Frankfurt airport

At Frankfurt Airport, dreams of the future already come as standard: television and radio programmes are distributed all over the airport grounds site using IPTV. The existing network infrastructure is used as a basis here. The operating company, Fraport AG uses the IPTV hardware and software of manufacturer Teracue for its distribution. More than...

Submitted by Raymond Burns

Published 01 May 2013

Monitoring OBs the light and easy way

by Stuart Cameron, MD of Cache-MediaI wonder sometimes whether a successful OB should be measured as Outside Broadcast Coverage per KG or OB coverage per KM. The cost of fuel keeps rising and so the cost of getting to an OB location is also increasing. To anyone who is a cyclist, you know that extra weight slows you down when climbing hills. Theref...

Submitted by Stuart Cameron

Published 01 April 2013

Cue Systems, more important than ever in live OB producti...

An effective cue system performs a crucial role in coordinating broadcast activity, keeping directors, production crew and camera operators informed and in control. Data gathered from vision mixers, routers and other production path components generates tally information that can be displayed on under-monitor displays (UMDs) and multi-screen viewer...

Submitted by Bob Head

Published 01 April 2013