KitPlus | Articles

4k Streaming: a Key OTT Differentiator

by Keith Wymbs Issue 96 - December 2014 OTT streaming providers are amongst the first to offer 4K UHD TV services. In fact, 4K UHD may be seen as a key differentiator for OTT services such as Netflix and M-GO as they compete with pay TV operators according to a recent report from ABI Research. Netflix has launched 4K video streaming of shows such a...

Submitted by Keith Wymbs

Published 01 January 2015

REVIEW: Matrox Monarch HD

by Colin Ashby Issue 95 - November 2014 Firstly, a confession; it\'s a fair bet that, technically, I know a lot less than you the reader although I\'ve worked in broadcast television for over 30 years so I have a lot of hands-on experience. To balance this out, I\'m a cameraman so we\'re by nature attracted to new models, bright shiny things, whist...

Submitted by Colin Ashby

Published 01 December 2014

Capture and Produce

Issue 94 - October 2014One of the hot topics at this year’s IBC was undoubtedly the growing adoption of end-to-end IP production and the imminent death of SDI. During a panel session, hosted by Mediasmiths and Cognizant, and including representatives from BBC, Sony and more, the key point made was that the adoption of IP production technology and w...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 November 2014

Training Tomorrows Technicians

by Tony Cahalane Issue 94 - October 2014 Ours is a hungry and demanding industry. It requires a constant supply of highly skilled and dedicated technicians who are willing to work hard, under often difficult circumstances, to help deliver the environment for production teams to thrive, in an ever-evolving media landscape and one where insecurity is...

Submitted by Tony Cahalane

Published 01 November 2014

Manipulate and Edit

Issue 93 - September 2014 Company mergers can be no fun. Staff panic about ‘efficiencies’ and therefore their jobs. The press speculates about ‘what really happened?’ And there are always lawyers involved. And no one likes that. When DiGiCo revealed that it would merge with fellow audio console manufacturers Calrec and Allen & Heath, following a bu...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 October 2014

Keeping it real

by Will Strauss Issue 92 - August 2014 With Sky buying into an immersive video start-up, and the BBC trialling content on an Oculus Rift headset, virtual reality could be about to move from simply sets and studios to a whole new realm. Once residing purely in the realms of science fiction and, latterly, video gaming, it appears that virtual reality...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 September 2014

A new age of teleprompting?

by Jon Hilton Issue 92 - August 2014 Whilst it may not be the first thing on the production agenda, one could argue it is an essential production tool today delivering at least two fundamental production values. Firstly it can save you money by reducing the time required to get that perfect take and secondly it means that your presenter will be wor...

Submitted by Jon Hilton#

Published 01 September 2014

On Set of Top Gear festival live

Issue 91 - July 201420th June 2014, London UK - Zero Division provided a bespoke installation of the Boxx TV Zenith system for the Top Gear Festival in Barbados at the newly renovated Bushy Park race track, and provided on-site support during the event. The Top Gear Festival is a live show staged to tens of thousands of visitors, to bring the spiri...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 August 2014

Is the future virtual

by Dick Hobbs Issue 91 - July 2014 Just a couple of days ago, I went to a memorial service for a very nice man called John Wilson. If you have heard of John, it was probably for his work as the chairman of IBC in the 1990s, leading the move from Brighton to Amsterdam, then to an annual event, then to its management by an independent and professiona...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 August 2014

Box to Box

by Will Strauss Issue 90 - June 2014 Specially designed flyaway OB units are being deployed at the World Cup in Brazil to help bring enhanced coverage of the beautiful game to countries around the world. By Will Strauss. Like many journalists I like to put things in boxes, metaphorically speaking, Regardless of how unwise it may be, it helps to est...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 July 2014

Making 4K mainstream in 2014

by Austin Freshwater Issue 89 - May 2014 4K was one of the hot topics at this years CES. Higher resolutions may be showing more promise as the industry moves on from the latest iteration of 3D, which proved expensive to produce and poorly received by many viewers. However, as we move further into 2014, we continue to see some reticence within the i...

Submitted by Austin Freshwater

Published 01 June 2014

Premier league infrastructure

by Alan Green Issue 88 - April 2014 It is now common practice to cable major sports venues for broadcast operations. It saves time rigging pulling cables in to every camera and commentary position can take a day or more. The efficiency is great for broadcasters it means that the same truck can work at different grounds on consecutive days. As well...

Submitted by Alan Green

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

A new 4k year with Bob Pank

by Bob Pank Issue 85 - January 2014 Throughout 2013 manufacturers were popping up with solutions for 4K which together could take the format all the way from scene to screen. It has been an amazing experience to watch all the technical bricks being developed to complete, well almost, the 4K wall. This rate of progress shows just how fast digital te...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2014