KitPlus | Articles

Supporting broadcast quality control

With the ever-increasing number of program channels and range of different program distribution formats, the process of ensuring program quality has become a complex one for contribution/capture, production, post production, server ingest and content distribution. Add to this the complexities of HDR and WCG gamut, it is essential to ensure that the...

Submitted by Alan Wheable

Published 02 November 2017

The party is not over until the video is online

When we were introduced to the team behind Sensation dance events in Amsterdam they had one big question for Timecode Systems: could our SyncBac VR wireless sync and control solution theoretically make it possible for a high quality, professional 360-degree video of a live dance music event to be edited in the time it takes the DJ to fly to his or...

Submitted by Paul Scurrell

Published 19 October 2017

Immersive Audio

In 2012, the Oculus Rift Kickstarter campaign burst onto the scene, initiating a new wave of public interest in sense-enveloping immersive experiences. 5 years later, the consumer reality is mixed with some very public let-downs like Google Glass (which is coincidentally enjoying a re-birth at the time of writing, now as a technical tool in the wor...

Submitted by Jon Schorah - new

Published 19 October 2017

Peace of mind in a complicated world

For many in the broadcast industry these are challenging times. With competition coming from all angles and different technological camps advocating different approaches to infrastructure and the way forwards. With the number of different variables increasing, the choices of whether to use SDI or IP infrastructures, and the choices around HDR and W...

Submitted by Alan Wheable

Published 19 October 2017

The Dressing Room - shooting steamy scenes

i W\'s latest factual entertainment series relies completely on the ability of fixed rig filming setups to make cast members forget their inhibitions. Described as a fly-on-the-wall documentary, "The Dressing Room\" gives TV audiences unprecedented access to team-sport dynamics off the field of play by inviting them into the hidden world of dressin...

Submitted by Josh Portwine

Published 07 September 2017

The challenges of media workflow automation

i The media workflow challenge has never been more complex, and it\'s growing. In response exploding consumer demand for high-quality, engaging programming, media operations are under the gun to create content and deliver it to an ever-growing range of platforms and devices. Managing video assets - that is finding them, accessing them, and using th...

Submitted by Dave Clark

Published 07 September 2017

Can university really set you up?

i When deciding what career you want to go into and which University to go to, there are so many questions that go through your head. I know when I first started considering University, my grades just weren\'t good enough. I knew which undergraduate course I wanted to do, but I still had a way to go. Well, I decided to go back to College just so I...

Submitted by Jess Sutton

Published 01 August 2017

Object Based Audio - The first steps

i The world of broadcast audio is about to reach new levels as we embrace the future in terms of Next Generation Audio (NGA). Although at this stage we can\'t be precise about what this will bring, we do know that some 3D Immersive formats are already under development and will find their way into broadcast production and distribution very soon. Un...

Submitted by Peter Poers

Published 01 August 2017

Mr Cloud, as much about cashflow balance as technology

It was an ordinary Tuesday, the last day of February 2017. It was getting late in the day and I was online doing my monthly management accounts and was just finishing the data entry for a very long Invoice when refreshing the expenses Tab on my browser showed this delightful picture. Woah, I thought, someone has updated the package and not done the...

Submitted by Bruce Devlin - new

Published 04 April 2017

Swimrun World Championships - LiveU report

Through the open waters and across the islands of the Swedish wilderness, battling the elements in the OTILLO Swimrun World Championship isn\'t for the faint-hearted. The total distance is 75 kilometres, of which 10 km are open-water swimming and 65 km are trail-running, presenting a huge physical - and doubtless mental - challenge. Taking place in...

Submitted by Kim Svensson - new

Published 04 April 2017

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

Self contained and expandable commentary systems

Adopting innovative technologies and techniques is always fundamental to the control of capital and operational costs - the key to broadcast facilities or technology providers gaining competitive advantage. Sports commentary has continually suffered from high operational costs, whether at the sports venue itself or "off-glass", due to the need for...

Submitted by Chris Collings

Published 26 September 2016

Dance hall days are over for professional lighting

Photon Beard has made lights since before the days of electric power. "What\'s that, you say"? Well, it\'s true. Photon Beard started in 1882 when the founder, R.R. Beard, invented the automatic gas regulator. Yes, the thing that allows you to barbeque that steak in summer sunshine, or any time of year that you fancy grilled food. In the days befor...

Submitted by Peter Daffarn

Published 24 August 2016

Building Blocks

by Dick Hobbs Issue 112 - April 2016 That is the MIT Media Lab saying, in a typically American academic way, that they want to help producers make better content. That is what you find if you Google "object-based broadcasting". Which is what I did on your behalf this month, because BT Sport - which seems to have taken up the idea of innovation in b...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 25 April 2016

Object Audio - whats all the noise about

We all know that getting the audio right makes the pictures better. Anyone who has seen a movie created for Object Audio like Dolby Atmos will know that there is something special about it. To figure out what that is, let's rewind a little and see why we might need it. Remember the good old days of mono audio on TV? Mono audio gives a single channe...

Submitted by Bruce Devlin

Published 01 April 2016