KitPlus | Articles

CLASS - Where do captions & subtitles live?

by Bruce Devlin Issue 104 - August 2015 Its not uncommon to see ability to insert/extract captions/subtitles as part of a tender requirement or product specification. But in a file-based world, what does this mean and where are we inserting/extracting to/from?For this article, well define captions and subtitles as text overlay that the user turns o...

Submitted by Bruce Devlin

Published 01 September 2015

The Tour June 2015 review

Issue 103 - July 2015 The KitPlus Tour once again attracted record registrations and visitors at MediaCityUk and Shoreditch in June. The tour gives people the chance to see newly released kit from NAB (Las Vegas) for the first time but more importantly to spend quality time with manufacturers learning about new technologies. The event took a twist...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 August 2015

SDV - Shaping the Next Generation of Linear TV Service Of...

by Lionel Bringuier Issue 103 - July 2015 Software-defined video (SDV) solutions are shaping the next generation of linear TV service offerings for both content distributors and content programmers. Live-to-VOD services such as catch-up TV, start-over TV, nPVR and delay TV offer new ways to enrich live TV experiences and package live content alongs...

Submitted by Lionel Bringuier

Published 01 August 2015

How to go Over the Top with your video experience

by Lorna Garrett Issue 103 - July 2015 Going over the top opens up boundless opportunities. As a viewer, you can watch content on any device you have connected to the Internet without going through an ISP (internet service provider). As a broadcaster you can use OTT to enhance what you already offer, like Channel 4s Box TV service. These days, with...

Submitted by Lorna Garrett

Published 01 August 2015

Back to the future

by Dick Hobbs Issue 103 - July 2015 I was recently talking to the estimable James Gilbert, who runs the equally estimable graphics and automation specialist Pixel Power. He said something that made me think. We were talking about scalability, and he said that it works in two directions. There is the sort of scalability that we all readily understan...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 August 2015

#TVFUTURES

by Callum O\'LearyIssue 102 - June 2015I made it! So here we are, the last feature to write for Kit Plus and the end of my time as a BSc (Hons) Television and Broadcasting student at the University of Portsmouth. I remember my first year at the University fondly. Lecturers and students told me that it would fly by and however cliched it sounds...it...

Submitted by Callum O Leary

Published 01 July 2015

Every election counts

by Charlie Watts Issue 102 - June 2015 "We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard.\" - JF KennedyThis may seem slightly overblown, but that is how we face things here in the University of Portsmouth. It\'s possibly because we have to try that little bit harder due to our...

Submitted by Charlie Watts

Published 01 July 2015

Cautionary notes from GTC Member number 001

by Dick Hibberd Issue 101 - May 2015 Recently I was invited to be on the panel of judges charged with selecting the winners of the 2014 \'Bill Vinten GTC University Awards\'. This was just the second year of this excellent scheme and, if the submissions from universities increase annually pro rata, then we will soon have a major logistics problem i...

Submitted by Dick Hibberd

Published 01 June 2015

Finding the Oracle of audio capture

by Simon Tillyer Issue 101 - May 2015 With over 300 hours of YouTube video uploaded every 60 seconds it\'s not hard to understand why any manufacturer would be looking closely at the new generation of emerging filmmakers whether they be in the consumer (creating content for "fun") or prosumer (creating content for a fee) markets. You might however...

Submitted by Simon Tillyer

Published 01 June 2015

A wide spectrum of choice

by Andy Clements Issue 101 - May 2015 Without microphones, in-ear monitors (IEMs), intercom and distribution systems based on wireless technology, many of today\'s large-scale television studios, outside broadcast and film productions would be very difficult, if not impossible, to stage. Wireless solutions provide convenience and, in the main, grea...

Submitted by Andy Clements

Published 01 June 2015

Transmitting love...live

by Kieron Seth Issue 101 - May 2015 A year after its launch, Transmitter is developing a real name for itself. A partnership between the BPI and music media company LoveLive, it\'s a dedicated online music channel designed to promote the best music talent Britain has to offer. The content produced is shaped and driven by its viewers, and optimised...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 June 2015

Extreme equipment for the Film and TV industry

Issue 100 - April 2015 Big films require big shots and to get the action in camera, you need grip equipment and the latest camera support technology to make that vision a real possibility on set. Whether filming underwater or capturing high speed vehicle to vehicle action, Chapman Leonard UK have always looked to supply productions in the UK and Eu...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 May 2015

DOPs discuss minicams, lenses, 4k and all

by Mel Noonan Issue 100 - April 2015 If anyone knows about the practical reality of using minicams and lenses it has to be the DOPs who are out there using them. We are now seeing minicams used in all areas of production, some with 1080p and 4K capability at prices you would not have believed possible a few years back. I spoke to some of the DOPs I...

Submitted by Mel Noonan

Published 01 May 2015

Rise of the drones

by Jeremy Braben Issue 100 - April 2015 Drones are taking TV and film productions where they have never gone before. But how can they be used to best effect, what challenges do they present and will they replace helicopters in aerial filming? Jeremy Braben of Helicopter Film Services (HFS) has some of the answers... The recent explosion of unmanned...

Submitted by Jeremy Braben

Published 01 May 2015

Ride on time

by Alistair Horne Issue 100 - April 2015 The highly competitive sport of track cycling emerged in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century as a way to continue the sport year round, and velodromes soon became a common sight on the Continent. Whether indoors or out, track cycling is one of the world\'s most intriguing spectator sports and, as...

Submitted by Alistair Horne

Published 01 May 2015