KitPlus | Articles

The circle of life with Dick Hobbs

by Dick HobbsIssue 84 - December 2013 Being a simple soul, I am endlessly fascinated by ideas which are the great new thing one day, rubbished the next, and resurface the day after as the next great thing. In the 1960s, the BBC decided that it was wrong to concentrate all its radio and television production in London, and established national and r...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 January 2014

Broadcasting from the icy tundra

by BJ KirschhofferIssue 84 - December 2013 Polar Bears International (PBI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to polar bear conservation and educating people about the effects of climate change on the arctic ecosystem. PBIs free educational broadcasts connect scientists in the field with students from all over the world who want to learn about...

Submitted by BJ Kirschhoffer

Published 01 January 2014

The UKs PTZ explosion

by Kieron SethIssue 83 - November 2013 The advent of broadcast quality, remotely controlled PTZ cameras has had an enormous impact on television production in the UK. Not only can cameras now be discreetly placed in virtually any location but they can also be operated a very small team of technicians. This combination of creative freedom and the si...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 December 2013

A runaway success at Graduate Fashion Week with Blackmagi...

Issue 79 - July 2013 Encouraging and nurturing raw young talent, Graduate Fashion Week (GFW) is one of the largest international platforms of its kind. Showcasing the future of fashion, over 1,000 aspiring designers descended on London during June for Graduate Fashion Week 2013. Made up of 22 catwalk shows and an exhibition with more than 40 univer...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 August 2013

Singularity - QA and compliance monitoring in one box

by Martin DysterIssue 79 - July 2013 The task of maintaining loudness-compliant, high-quality delivery for broadcast audio is no longer a question of simply using ones ears. Audio channels produced for todays fast-paced productions come in embedded SDI workflow with streaming signals containing a mix of mono, stereo, surround, Dolby encoded and des...

Submitted by Martin Dyster

Published 01 August 2013

Winner of the most viewed interview award

We're happy to announce the launch of the new JVC GY-HM70 shoulder mounted camcorder. This new model offers a professional appearance together with excellent image results in low-light situations, making it ideal for videographers working at weddings and other special events. Offering superior image stabilisation and loaded with new features for en...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 July 2013

How to choose the right broadcast microphone

By Ralph Dunlop, Director, Sound Network– UK distributor for DPA Microphones1. What are most common types of microphones for broadcast use and how far has microphone technology progressed in the digital world?Traditionally the most popular microphone used in broadcast and film sound recording was the “Boom” mounted mic. The problem with older boom...

Submitted by Ralph Dunlop

Published 01 June 2013

Audio phase: Robin Palmer asks why it is wobbly?

Phase meters and audio vectorscopes are to be found on most test kit involved with audio monitoring. This is important because left/right audio correlation problems between the channels will distort the stereo ‘image’ and could degrade mono compatibility. If left and right phase should ever be inverted, any centered identical audio would be cancell...

Submitted by Robin Palmer

Published 01 June 2013

Sony UWP series microphone review

It’s all well and good having a beautifully lit and well framed and focused shot, but if the sound is rubbish then you might as well throw the footage in the bin. Sound is as important as the quality of the video image. This is especially true when interviewing someone or recording a corporate presentation. Here the message is the key reason that t...

Submitted by Jon Pratchett

Published 01 June 2013

The intricacies of capturing phase-coherent surround soun...

By Pieter Schillebeeckx – Product Manager, SoundField at TSL PPLSince its acquisition of SoundField, TSL Professional Products Ltd, a leading manufacturer of surround microphones, audio monitoring, tally and power management solutions for the broadcast industry, routinely field a growing number of questions from the industry regarding the successfu...

Submitted by Pieter Schillebeeckx

Published 01 June 2013

Will Strauss captures some decent sound gear

Capturing decent location sound requires skill, experience and, as Will Strauss discovered when compiling a list of recent audio acquisition innovations, piles of expensive kit. Although some cameramen might disagree, audio is still the most important thing to get right when on location. The odd dodgy shot can, generally speaking, be sorted in post...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 June 2013

Why a new range of cases?

The team here at Ianiro International worked with Luggy for many years - they made wonderful bags with a real Italian quality and an eye for style. Sadly, last year the owner passed away, drawing their business to an abrupt close. For Ianiro International and its customers, this left a real gap. But it gave us an opportunity to reflect on our portf...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 November 2012

An Olympian Effort

For obvious reasons, the broadcasting world does not generally hold mass-murdering dictators in high esteem. But, in a small way, and despite his many, many faults, the world of television has one such tyrant to thank for the connection between technological innovation and the Olympic Games. And no, this is not a joke. The first handful of modern d...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 September 2012

Editors Keys Portable Vocal Booth

More manufacturers these days are sending us kit to try out and for this audio issue of tv-bay we managed to get our hands on the 2nd Edition Portable Vocal Booth Pro 2 which comes complete with floor and desk stands options. We would normally find an expert in the particular field of the product but this was perfect timing as we’ve been meaning to...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2012

How location audio changed with the birth of reality TV

In the twenty-plus years that I’ve been a sound mixer/recordist I’ve witnessed countless changes in our industry from the introduction of digital multi-track recording to the arrival of 5.1 surround sound. But the biggest, most dramatic paradigm shift I’ve seen is much simpler than that – and it’s a social thing. For many years, when it came to rec...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2012