KitPlus | Articles

Ravensbourne 21st Century Broadcast Education

Just over eighteen months ago, Adrian Scott of the Bakewell House Consultancy was commissioned to guide Ravensbourne through the EU Tendering process to appoint a Systems Integrator to transform the broadcast facilities of Ravensbourne as it moved into its new multi-million pound home at Greenwich Peninsula. Winning the contract, TSL rose to the ch...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2010

Fourteen different formats and thats without 3D

It started so innocuously. I was sitting with a hire company friend of mine reviewing the industry and where it was heading. “What’s going to be new at IBC?” I asked, as a way of keeping the conversation going. And then it all kicked off. Kicking off“What’s new? You should know! New? New! I have bought 14 different formats in the last 18 months – a...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2010

GSOH

This will come as no surprise to anyone who has met me, but I like a laugh. After a hard day at the coal face of incisive insights into the technology of our industry, nothing chills me out quicker than a good comedy. There is a channel on my personal EPG to which I return regularly. I will not mention it by name because I am about to be rude about...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2010

Making the content factory a reality

The expression “content factory” has been around for a while and in a number of contexts. Is this a realistic concept? Can we – producers, facilities, broadcasters – embrace the idea of process in the manufacturing sense, or is making content for television and the new digital platforms too different to making biscuits or cars?We are naturally resi...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2010

Making the grade

As we enjoy the Summer of 2010 the UK production industry remains in the grip of recession. Also, as noted in the recent UK Screen report, competition within the post production industry is damaging its own members with dangerous price wars. However, the biggest threat is coming from another direction – production companies and agencies bringing in...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2010

ALEXA bringing new creative freedom to filmmakers

ALEXA brings new creative freedom to filmmakers. A compact, lightweight and affordable digital camera, ALEXA redefines the limits of motion picture capture with ultra-fast workflows and image quality akin to 35 mm film. From major motion pictures and high-end dramas to commercials, music videos and mainstream TV, ALEXA suits a wide variety of appli...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2010

A dream budget

As the coalition government prepares its emergency budget, Peter Savage looks at what is planned and tells us what he thinks the government should do. Apologies to avid readers of this column that there wasn’t one in the last issue. The editors decided on an article on the effects of the general election on our industries and, sod’s law, the deadli...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2010

Enabling the fans

The days when a simple hotdog, a pint of beer, a score board and good lungs were the main ingredients of a great day at a football game are soon to be a thing of the past. Mike Arthur, general manager, sports and live events, at Harris Broadcast Communications, talks to TV-Bay Magazine about the advances in technology which will enable interactive...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2010

B4 to EX3 adapter

It’s difficult to get excited about things like adapters but that’s exactly what I was when Mike Tapa of MTF Services sent me his latest creation for review and testing. The “Powered B4 to EX3 Adapter” lets you attach any 2/3” B4 mount lens to your EX3, maintaining full servo zoom, auto iris and VF info. This ability opens up a whole new world of f...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2010

Does one size fits all

Economic realities are driving most technical industries toward considering solutions that combine what began as stand-alone, discrete devices into single, multifunction systems. In the broadcast and multimedia production arenas, character generators (CGs) are among the discrete systems now being offered in multifunction platforms. The assumption i...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2010

How to be smart at NAB

Peter Savage continues his discussion on making the most of trade events, combining achievement with enjoyment. NAB is on and, if you are one of the lucky ones, you might be reading this while sitting on the either the Virgin Atlantic or British Airways flight to Las Vegas. I don’t know how many people from the UK go to NAB but I guess it is the eq...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2010

How to Automate HD

HD movies are on average more than three times larger in size than the equivalent SD movie. Naturally therefore, HD material requires more storage and longer to transfer from the archive/storage to the transmission path. Managing these increased file sizes and optimally controlling the bandwidth is one of the main challenges which need to be addres...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2010

2020 television

Television has proved the most popular and efficient form of human communication since the evolution of speech and the development of the written word. The industry has come a long way in a short time and still has a huge future, whatever the delivery route or the receiving platform. My intention here is to outline the key factors influencing the d...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2010

Tv-bay industry recruitment special

The last 12 months have proved to be challenging times for businesses in our industry and there has been mixed reactions on the best way to tackle the issues facing companies. Having been a part of the most difficult economic climate within the last decade a number of businesses are simply focussing on survival, staying afloat and consolidation. Ha...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 December 2009

Automation in Uncertain Times

In light of the unfavourable economic outlook broadcasters need to protect their investment in technology like never before. There is a high chance that some products designed to make the broadcast environment more efficient will become obsolete and this in turn will have a knock-on and negative effect on workflow in transmission suite. Although br...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 October 2009