KitPlus | Articles

Why video codecs matter

by Larry Jordan Issue 99 - March 2015 Video codecs confuse a lot of people. But understanding codecs is critical to just about every element of video production, editing and distribution. Codec is an acronym that stands for "COmpressor/DECompressor.\" It is easy to get intimidated by all the technical jargon surrounding codecs, but, at their core,...

Submitted by Larry Jordan#

Published 01 April 2015

How full is your spectrum?

by Ian Muir Issue 98 - February 2015 Colour tuneable (Bi-Colour) LED based lamps are now increasingly commonplace in the world of Film and Broadcast. Their capacity to provide a choice of colour temperatures, usually in the realms of 3200K to 5600K, can be extremely useful. This is particularly beneficial when working in environments where setup ti...

Submitted by Ian Muir

Published 01 March 2015

Studio furniture at the cutting edge

by Graham Buchanan Issue 97 - January 2015 Custom Consoles was established in 1996 to meet the market demand for efficient and robust studio furniture at accountant-friendly prices. That may sound trite but we were working in SI roles ourselves and knew from direct experience how difficult it was to commission third-party desks built to the high st...

Submitted by Graham Buchanan

Published 01 February 2015

Capture and Produce

Issue 94 - October 2014One of the hot topics at this year’s IBC was undoubtedly the growing adoption of end-to-end IP production and the imminent death of SDI. During a panel session, hosted by Mediasmiths and Cognizant, and including representatives from BBC, Sony and more, the key point made was that the adoption of IP production technology and w...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 November 2014

News

Issue 94 - October 2014The most complete, compact multimedia studio in the World NewTek™ have unveiled TriCaster Mini™––the world’s most complete and compact multimedia studio. The ultra-portable system allows anyone who doesn’t speak or understand the technical language of video production or broadcasting to transform an ordinary presentation into...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 November 2014

Capture and Produce

Issue 93 - September 2014 Amongst all the new cameras, support and other production kit being touted prior to IBC, it was a less tangible announcement that really captured the imagination: Atomos’ announcement that it wants to standardize its Start/Stop Trigger connectivity for HDMI by making it available to other manufacturers. Locking SDI interfa...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 October 2014

The evolution of Wired Intercom

by Simon Browne & Ed Fitzgerald Issue 93 - September 2014 Early Beginnings What do you think was the fi rst DIGITAL communications system devised? Of course you could think of the evolution in standardised parallel data backplanes and digital ICs in the 1980s and the swathe of multi-rack Time Division Multiplexed switching systems that it enabled,...

Submitted by Simon Browne

Published 01 October 2014

Making the invisible visible

by Charlie Watts Issue 92 - August 2014 September 2014 will see a brand new communication and televisual experience unleashed for University of Portsmouth students within the newly opened Eldon Building. Catherine Harper, Professor and Dean of the Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) Faculty, and Gary Bown, Principal lecturer, have both made it t...

Submitted by Charlie Watts

Published 01 September 2014

Information Control and Automation but not as you know it

by Sandra Squire Issue 90 - June 2014 Cameras, branding, lighting and timers all at the touch of a button. Accurate clocks, timing and cue information are essential components of any broadcasting environment directors, production teams and presenters have always depended on them for the delivery of broadcast critical operations. This is still the c...

Submitted by Sandra Squire

Published 01 July 2014

Game Set Match

by Nico Lewis & Jon Ridel Issue 89 - May 2014 Sports events such as the Super Bowl, the Winter Games in Sochi and the Wimbledon Championships are among the most prestigious jobs for broadcast companies. The larger the event, the more viewers it reaches and consequentially, the more complicated and important the communication system becomes. Without...

Submitted by Nico Lewis

Published 01 June 2014

Premier league infrastructure

by Alan Green Issue 88 - April 2014 It is now common practice to cable major sports venues for broadcast operations. It saves time rigging pulling cables in to every camera and commentary position can take a day or more. The efficiency is great for broadcasters it means that the same truck can work at different grounds on consecutive days. As well...

Submitted by Alan Green

Published 01 May 2014

Fixing that inhospitable location shoot

by Harry Amies Issue 88 - April 2014 Say Iran. What do most people think of? Hostage-taking, nuclear programmes, angry mobs, CGI outsourcing, VFX, a multi-million dollar movie industry? If Harry Amies and Amir Rezazadeh of UK based co-producers HarryAmir have anything to do with it itll be the last three. HarryAmir is a UK-based company, that helps...

Submitted by Harry Amies

Published 01 May 2014

When the going gets tough

by Will Strauss Issue 88 - April 2014 When working in the field, the kit we use has to withstand a fair old battering. And Im not just talking about the cameras, viewfinders and those expensive lenses. While glass still needs protecting, these days so does your laptop, your storage, your memory cards: the lot. They all need bags, cases and toughene...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 May 2014

4K Streaming and the Future of 8K

by Keith Wymbs Issue 87 - March 2014 There is little doubt that 4K and Ultra HD video will take hold over the next three years. These higher-resolution video types are a genuine advance from traditional HD and they likely will progress more quickly than their HD predecessor given the solid digital foundation now in place and advances such as high-e...

Submitted by Keith Wymbs

Published 01 April 2014

Ask the Experts: Wireless microphone systems for cameras

by Tobias von Allwrden Issue 86 - February 2014 Wireless microphone systems for cameras are used by ENG crews and reporting teams as well as for TV and film shootings, where compact size, low weight and unobtrusive miking are particularly important. A professional camera receiver like the EK 3241 is designed according to the Unislot or Sony standar...

Submitted by Tobias von Allworden

Published 01 March 2014