KitPlus | Articles

Ask the experts with TMD looking at LTFS

by Tony TaylorIssue 80 - August 2013 Not another acronym! What is LTFS?LTFS stands for Linear Tape File System. It is a file system for data archives, developed by IBM but published as an open standard and now widely adopted by all the leading vendors of large-scale data archiving. If it is a data product, why am I reading about it in a broadcast m...

Submitted by Tony Taylor

Published 01 September 2013

Helping prevent photosensitive epilepsy

by Dr Mark HodgettsIssue 79 - July 2013 Photosensitivity is sensitivity to flickering or intermittent light stimulation and visual patterns. It is a condition which affects approximately one in four thousand people. A number of young people have this sensitivity but have not yet had a seizure and therefore have not been diagnosed with the condition...

Submitted by Mark Hodgetts

Published 01 August 2013

A cinematic makeover with Blackmagic Design

With the announcement of Blackmagic Cinema Camera at NAB 2012, Mark Linnhoff, a France based cinematographer, began to see the future of filmmaking in a new light. “Finally, an affordable acquisition tool that doesn’t compromise on image quality,” he recalled. “When I got the camera, I carried out some tests with a series of Carl Zeiss ZF.2 and Nik...

Submitted by Mark Linnhoff

Published 01 July 2013

Product update with DSM

DSM has been manufacturing batteries for the TV and Film industry for over 35 years and have always been at the forefront of new technologies, the new 84Wh direct fit BPU-60 replacement batteries are no exception. They are guaranteed to work with all Sony®PMW range of cameras as well as showing the minutes remaining in the cameras viewfinder. All D...

Submitted by Dave Martland

Published 01 July 2013

Planetary scientists stream galaxy worldwide

Sky-live.tv is a website that broadcasts real-time astronomical occurrences. It is the result of collaboration between Ciclope Group, at the Technical University of Madrid’s Montegancedo Astronomical Observatory, and Shelios, a nonprofit organization aimed at promoting and disseminating lectures, courses, exhibitions, and the results of scientific...

Submitted by Raymond Burns

Published 01 May 2013

Professional Video Editing Just Got Better

Endorsed by twenty five thousand Facebook fans, six industry awards and thousands of new users through the trial download and active forum communities, Autodesk, Inc.,announced that the new Autodesk Smoke 2013, professional video editing software is now shipping. “The anticipation for Smoke, since its thrilling announcement at the National Associat...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 February 2013

The evolving face of post production

By Will StraussIn the latter half of 2012, Assimilate made an interesting announcement about payment options for its Scratch and Scratch Lab software products. Instead of buying a license outright, it said, now you can choose to simply rent either of these Digital Intermediate (DI) ‘dailies’ tools for any period of time from a single day to three m...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 February 2013

Addressing SAN Allocation and Permission Challenges

Facilities today face a number of management complexities when allocating storage resources, especially as frame-based and 3D workflows increase in popularity and the amount of multi-format media that professionals are managing continues to grow. Camera acquisition formats are various, many workflows employ proxy generation to save space and bandwi...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2012

Metadata rules

Regular readers of this column will know that I am frequently tasked with covering the sexiest of broadcast industry subjects. Indeed, just two months ago I got to discuss test and measurement (T&M). Well, if you thought that was intense, just wait for this month's topic. Not only is it potentially even less glamorous than T&M, it has the potential...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 October 2012

February is where its at

January is an overrated time of year to make new year’s resolutions. There's too much food, port and chocolate in the system to make wise decisions. February is where it's at. I've never really been one for goals, especially work related ones. At college, though we were encouraged to think more for ourselves, all our time was dictated by the exams...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

Putting the Realism into Reality Television

“Reality television’ as a category of programming emerged in the late 1990s with the introduction of shows that attempted to portray real people responding to real challenges under more or less continual public gaze. Unlike sport, where the focus is primarily on physical skills and endurance, reality television shows place their participants in a w...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

Glasses wars again

It was never going to be easy. Even now, over four years into the modern 3D era, reliably creating and displaying 3D still presents many challenges. Everyone says that the footage must be technically ‘good’ and, for television, the need for glasses is an issue for viewers, though glasses are pretty well accepted for cinema. The good news is that hu...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

September. My new year

September. My new year. The new year in January is just logistics. The new financial year in April is just maths. But September, September is a new beginning. Its ironic how when everything begins to die, school starts up again. Symbolic you might say. But autumn is my favourite season. Going back to school meant new pencils, new shoes, and having...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

Using Panasonic AG-AF101 HD Camera

Introduction When award winning film maker and photojournalist Fiona Lloyd-Davies announced her latest project to embark on a journey to The Democratic Republic of Congo, she described the place as “probably one of the toughest environments that a camera can work in - very hot and very, very dusty” but, this was to be just one rigor amongst many du...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2011

What are the most important opportunities and challenges...

What are the most important opportunities and challenges facing the TV industry today?To answer this question we need to look more broadly at consumer behaviour and the changing way people are consuming content. Viewers no longer solely want a passive experience with a TV programme in their front room. They want to watch catch-up TV on a laptop, do...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2011