KitPlus | Articles

Ask the experts: What is MAM?

by Rino Petricola Issue 85 - January 2014 Media asset management: what exactly is it?While the precise definition varies from person to person, a common description tends to emerge. Media asset management (MAM) is a solution that allows media content including audio, video, and graphics to be ingested, annotated, cataloged, managed, protected, sear...

Submitted by Rino Petricola

Published 01 February 2014

The impact on media workflows for multi site and cloud op...

by Peter Gallen Issue 85 - January 2014 Many broadcasters are considering multi-site operating or even using the cloud to make their content more widely available. In fact, the trend in broadcast operations is towards distributed operations and cloud will be used increasingly to support workflows over multiple locations in order to maximise efficie...

Submitted by Peter Gallen

Published 01 February 2014

Three big questions on OTT

by Simen FrostadIssue 84 - December 2013 Every media operator wants to deliver OTT services, or is already doing so. Growth over the past 18 months has been phenomenal, and a media operation without OTT is almost inconceivable now. But for many coming from a broadcast background, the technical side of OTT is terra incognita, and a mixture of fear a...

Submitted by Simen Frostad

Published 01 January 2014

Moving into the IP based 4K UDTV camp

by Chuck MeyerIssue 84 - December 2013 There appear to be two parallel trains of inertia currently taking place in broadcast, one of course being the onset of 4K UDTV, the other being the transition to an IP-based content transport infrastructure. For many, the rapid changes and associated question are daunting, even for experienced professionals....

Submitted by Chuck Meyer

Published 01 January 2014

OTT: Back to basics

by Lorna GarrettIssue 84 - December 2013 Going over the top opens up boundless opportunities. Just make sure you work with someone who can help you over the potential pitfalls. Not that long ago, if asked to envisage a family watching television, you probably would have pictured Mum and Dad seated on the sofa, while a couple of children lay sprawle...

Submitted by Lorna Garrett

Published 01 January 2014

Ooh ahh.. just a little DIT with Will Strauss

by Will Strauss Issue 84 - December 2013 Issue 84 - December 2013 Like the Offshore Windfarm Engineer or the Waste Management Consultant, the Digital Imaging Technician (DIT) is very much a 21st Century profession and one that didnt exist 10 years ago. Generally recruited for a digitally-shot feature film, commercial or TV drama, the role was initi...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 January 2014

Will Strauss looks at automatic QC for the people

by Will StraussIssue 83 - November 2013 The method in which television producers should deliver their programmes to UK broadcasters is changing. From 1 October 2014 it will be digital files, rather than HDCam SR tapes, that are the preference. It is a fundamental and fairly disruptive change that is the cause of much debate right now. The parameter...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 December 2013

The international worship market: shoot, compress and del...

by Kieron SethIssue 81 - September 2013 The worship TV market in the U.S. is big business, with an output that rivals many international broadcasters, both in terms of quantity, production values, audience size and commercial success. John Hagee Ministries leads a 17,000-strong congregation and broadcasts to the USA on 160 TV stations, 50 radio sta...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 October 2013

Cellular bonding now and going forward

by Ronen ArtmanIssue 81 - September 2013 The worship TV market in the U.S. is big business, with an output that rivals many international broadcasters, both in terms of quantity, production values, audience size and commercial success. John Hagee Ministries leads a 17,000-strong congregation and broadcasts to the USA on 160 TV stations, 50 radio st...

Submitted by Ronen Artman

Published 01 October 2013

Sportsnet stays ahead of the game with Quantel

by Roger ThorntonIssue 81 - September 2013 Over the last 15 years, Sportsnet has risen to become one of Canadas leading sports media operations. The Sportsnet and Sportsnet One TV channels are complemented by Sportsnet Radio, Sportsnet Magazine and its premium international sports channel, Sportsnet World. In May 2013, parent company Rogers Media a...

Submitted by Roger Thornton

Published 01 October 2013

Will Strauss looks at the growth of MediaCityUK and dock...

by Will StraussIssue 81 - September 2013 Whats up Dock?In less than three years Dock 10 has grown from a mere studio operator with add-ons to a fully-fledged digital media service provider. Will Strauss tracks the changes. MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester is exactly as the name suggests: a towering metropolis pumping out TV, radio and dig...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 October 2013

Dick Hobbs roasts television rare

by Dick HobbsIssue 80 - August 2013 I was at a conference about workflows the other day. One of the presentations was by a very nice man called Eric Minoli, who is chief engineer at TFO, the French-language public broadcaster in the Canadian province of Ontario. He illustrated his presentation with a great story. Some friends were invited around to...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 September 2013

Storage news: Space 4K Duo, the facility goes on location

Issue 80 - August 2013 The 4K location shoot is now commonplace, particularly in film, music video and drama production. However, for digital imaging technicians (DITs) working in the field, UltraHD is extremely problematic. Once data is ingested, replicating the material for insurance purposes can be taxing and the process of offloading files onto...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 September 2013

Redefining the archive with Raj Patel

by Raj PatelIssue 80 - August 2013 The entire broadcast workflow has changed dramatically in recent years. Predictably, its been a slow-process. The enormity of transitioning from an analogue to a digital workflow is huge for a variety of reasons - planning, testing, implementation and budget, can mean some installations taking up to two years to c...

Submitted by Raj Patel

Published 01 September 2013

Do you have the computing horsepower you need? XMac Mini...

by Greg LaPorteIssue 80 - August 2013 In high-pressure audio/video production environments, adequate computing horsepower is critical for handling the volume of tracks and channels to be recorded, played back, mixed, edited and streamed. The Apple® Mac Pro® offers great performance and extensibility but its heavy, bulky tower configuration doesnt l...

Submitted by Greg Laporte

Published 01 September 2013