KitPlus | Articles

Video Tape recorders cannnot die.

In its simplest form, Tape Archiving requires:- 1) Playback decks 2) Tape Cleaning Facilities 3) Tape Baking Incubator/Oven 4) Ingest Platforms 5) Storage This article concentrates on what is often described as the weakest link, namely 1) above i.e. the Playback Decks and what could be another weak link, namely 2) i.e. Tape Cleaning Facilities. I h...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 02 November 2017

Leveraging licensed broadcast spectrum assets

There are several different approaches to transmitting live and file-based content from the field to the studio. Traditional microwave Electronic News Gathering (ENG) provides high bandwidth, high-quality transmission with low latency. Using the secure, dedicated BAS spectrum keeps control in a broadcasters hands. The past few years have seen a shi...

Submitted by John Payne

Published 02 November 2017

A bluffers guide to image stabilisation

i(Due to the number of image references this articleis best read via the digital magazine on the link above)This month’s article is about Jelly. Unfortunately, not the kind that can be served with whipped cream after about four hours in the fridge (sorry) – but instead the video artefact seen from improperly stabilised video cameras. One of the gre...

Submitted by Mike Colyer

Published 19 October 2017

Top Tips on becoming an IBC Jedi

IBC is upon us once more. The doors of the RAI will open for the European electronic media and entertainment industry to scrum together to gather inspiration, keep abreast of developments in tech, and generally take the temperature of the industry. With a show of this scale, it's important to plan ahead to make sure that you squeeze every drop of w...

Submitted by Aaron Dunleavy

Published 19 October 2017

5 reasons to use a soft box with LED lighting

LEDs are a highly efficient light source, and putting aside any color spectrum issues, (that have generally been improving) they still have limitations for lighting people. The naked illumination coming off a single emitter, or an array making up a larger fixture, such as a panel, is just not the soft, beautiful glow that we seek for human subjects...

Submitted by James Mathers

Published 19 October 2017

The now and how of LED Lighting

LED lighting has come a long way from the days when companies like Outsight were ridiculed by major manufacturers at trade shows because, the manufacturers asserted, technology couldn\'t be entrusted with the requirements of our industry. During this time the market has moved from that initial question, "What is LED?\" to "Is LED ready?\" and final...

Submitted by Tama Berkeljon

Published 15 March 2017

Polecam user review

When it comes to filming from above, drones have dominated in recent years. But restrictions on where and when they can be used means there is still a demand for traditional style jibs. Polecam has been a major player in the crane market for nearly two decades and its rigs have captured everything from interesting perspectives of major sporting eve...

Submitted by Phil Vinter

Published 15 March 2017

Not all power is created equal

Battery companies are quickly coming to realize that as new technologies continue to emerge, power solutions cannot be a one-size-fits-all commodity. There is no single battery for every situation, but instead a myriad of choices to accommodate even the most complex requirements. Below are five common videographer or photographer scenarios with the...

Submitted by Jose Flores

Published 15 March 2017

Health and Safety gone mad

The first true broadcast television service started 80 years ago, on 2 November, 1936. Its home, famously, was Alexandra Palace, a vast and really rather run-down building on top of Muswell Hill in north London. Originally opened in 1873, and re-opened in 1875 after a catastrophic fire, it was built primarily as an entertainment venue. Indeed, it w...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 13 January 2017

The return of the Minimoog

The iconic Minimoog is making a return and a return well worth the wait! As this was the world\'s first portable synthesizer and became the role model for all electronic keyboards, the Minimoog Model D was and now is a synthesiser force to be reckoned with. First released in the 1970\'s, it became popular worldwide and attracted attention for its f...

Submitted by Beth Zarkosh

Published 24 August 2016

Innovations getting you ready for the transition

There has been much speculation about the migration away from cable and the potential disappearance of set top boxes. However, regardless of what happens in the future, we cannot escape the fact that a multitude of sources is streaming content into people's living rooms and this is having a significant impact in consumer's use and choice of devices...

Submitted by Menno Koopmans

Published 22 July 2016

Measurement and Visualization of Loudness

by Michael Kahsnitz Issue 113 - May 2016 Today\'s audio engineers and editors have to fight various battles, including constantly shrinking production budgets, less time to create the final program content and more tech specs to match than ever. For this compilation, we take a deeper look at the required major indicators common to all the standards...

Submitted by Michael Kahsnitz

Published 13 May 2016

Resolute over Resolution

by Leighton Chenery Issue 112 - April 2016 According to an industry think-tank, the end of 2017 will see the tipping point for UHD in the UK. But, ask the people working on the frontline, and that picture is not so clear. As we approach NAB, talk will once again return to the thorny subject of picture resolution. I say \'thorny\' because it has div...

Submitted by Peter Savage 2

Published 25 April 2016

Shooting the Extreme

by Mel Noonan Issue 112 - April 2016 Steffan Hewitt started covering extreme sports as a cameraman and learnt to ski backwards while shooting skiers in front of him. Surprisingly he survived, and went on to design and use a lightweight pole with an early SD minicam slung at the top operated via a remote pan and tilt head from the other end. He call...

Submitted by Mel Noonan

Published 25 April 2016

Object Audio - whats all the noise about

We all know that getting the audio right makes the pictures better. Anyone who has seen a movie created for Object Audio like Dolby Atmos will know that there is something special about it. To figure out what that is, let's rewind a little and see why we might need it. Remember the good old days of mono audio on TV? Mono audio gives a single channe...

Submitted by Bruce Devlin

Published 01 April 2016