KitPlus | Articles

Cellular, Satellite or Fixed Link - how do you choose

Having a choice is a good thing. Take apples, for example. While one may look pretty much the same as the next, we know that the subtle differences between varieties can make a huge difference in how we choose to use them some are best for pies, some better for cider, and others just perfect for eating from the tree. Similarly, the subtleties betwe...

Submitted by Lorna Garrett

Published 19 October 2017

Implementing an IP workflow

i The eventual move to incorporate IP into your infrastructures is an inevitability. However, with justified concerns about interoperability and uncertainty about which vendors are best placed to help organisations achieve their IP media networking and content delivery goals, is it any wonder there is hesitation about moving forward? Broadcasters v...

Submitted by John Smith -new

Published 07 September 2017

What happened to audio networking

i It may seem hard to believe, but audio networking has now been with us for over 20 years. In 1996, Peak Audio released CobraNet, the first system that used computer networking of some sort to transport audio. Looking at that early system, it wasn\'t easy to see all the benefits that were to come. Yes, you eventually got up to 64 channels on a sin...

Submitted by Brad Price

Published 01 August 2017

IP-Based Intercom Solutions

i The broadcast market has experienced a huge change over the last decades, resulting in the need for larger and larger intercom systems. As the demands of broadcasters have grown, the central factor for manufacturers keeping up with demand has been IP. A company at the forefront of this development is RTS. In the new millennium, the company has es...

Submitted by Jon Ridel

Published 01 August 2017

Dick brings out his cutting room scales

At this time of year, in the run-up to NAB, my in-box is even more filled than usual with press releases craving my attention. It is one of the universal truths so unloved by PR people that the sheer weight of numbers threatens to overwhelm. Smart companies use blatant tricks to get you to read. An honourable mention must go to the recent press rel...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs - new

Published 19 May 2017

More than just selling cable

Choices facing technology decision-makers are becoming increasingly complex due to rapid changes in the industry like broadcast and IP technology convergence, multiplatform demands, and the rise of 4K and 8K. It is now a constant challenge to balance the need to maintain already-installed equipment and fulfil the desire to provide the highest resol...

Submitted by Chris Smeeton

Published 04 April 2017

Who really benefits from the Cloud?

The transition to "the cloud\" in our industry has been challenging. Why is it so important to have cloud technologies? What do customers really expect? The term "cloud\" has been used to such an extent that it has diminished the real and actual importance of what\'s really going on - off-premise compute power. With typical cloud adjectives still a...

Submitted by Jayson Tomlin - new

Published 04 April 2017

What Virtual Dreams Are Made Of

As you might expect, virtualisation is now a very common topic in terms of the questions we get from customers and partners and it also appears in almost all RFPs that we take part in. Basically, customers want to know what we\'re doing with the cloud, but often when they say this, they are talking about private clouds. The tendency is that people...

Submitted by Mike Jacobs - new

Published 04 April 2017

A Software Based Approach to Video Monitoring

Real-time content monitoring is a mission-critical operation for broadcasters, telecom, and satellite operators. Traditionally, service providers have used monitoring systems based on specialized hardware with a dedicated, fixed interface designed to monitor a specific number of video feeds. Yet, bespoke hardware solutions require a substantial amo...

Submitted by Anupama Anantharaman - new

Published 04 April 2017

Assets in the air

People everywhere are talking about "the cloud", as if it is somehow something (1) new and (2) intrinsically exciting. It really is neither of those things. In the IT world, software as a service (SaaS) has been around since the 1960\'s when organisations bought the use of mainframe software on a time-sharing basis. The important part of SaaS is th...

Submitted by Paul Wilkins

Published 15 February 2017

Trends in IP based broadcast

The momentum behind moving media operations to IP-based environments is unstoppable and to stay ahead of the competition these days, companies need to be migrating operations away from rigid, single-purpose components and towards software-based common computing resources. The good news is a well-architected IP-based production facility is now able...

Submitted by Glodina Lostanlen

Published 13 January 2017

Highlighting YouTube Space

Video, by definition, requires space and light. However, the right space, with the right light, can make or break a production. YouTube parent company Google\'s new London HQ in Pancras Square at King\'s Cross is certainly the right space. In fact, it\'s so right they\'ve called it YouTube Space London, a 20,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facili...

Submitted by Peter Daffarn

Published 10 November 2016

TVFutures - The Battle of the Flowers

Studying on the BSc Television and Broadcasting course at the University of Portsmouth had given me some experience working as a camera operator, but this summer I had the chance to put what I\'d learned over the last two years into practice. Back home in the sunny island of Jersey, in what newsrooms would usually call the \'silly season\', an even...

Submitted by Alex Watson

Published 10 November 2016

The FAQs on automated quality assurance

The transition from tape-based to file-based video and audio recording allowed a completely new approach to the business of checking that programmes and interstitials conform to broad-cast industry standards prior to transmission. The Vidcheck team designed the world\'s first au-tomated broadcast quality control product. We have been working on fil...

Submitted by Thomas Dove

Published 25 August 2016

Ask the experts - Transitioning to IP

1) What has been the broadcast industry's feeling about the move to an all IP workflow?Transitioning from conventional signal transport to an all-IP environment in broadcast or content production operations seems to be a matter of "when\" rather than "if,\" as it brings a great number of advantages with it. IP is touted as offering numerous benefit...

Submitted by Craig Newbury

Published 22 July 2016