KitPlus | Articles

Out of the box: Sennheiser Ambeo VR microphone

The use of 360 video, especially on platforms like Facebook and YouTube is really starting to take off. Gone are the days when you needed to buy multiple GoPros and rigs in order to get something decent looking. Now players like Insta360 and even GoPro with their fusion 360 camera are providing single camera, high quality solutions, enabling the ma...

Submitted by Jon Pratchett

Published 26 March 2018

VR and the importance of tracking

I would like to begin this article by clarifying what we at Shotoku mean when we talk about VR in live production. It’s not the production of immersive, 360 content where you need to wear a headset; we are talking about virtual studio (VS) and augmented reality (AR) work, such as placing graphics into a green screen environment or physical set. The...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 26 March 2018

Why OTT needs multicast ABR

Last year, Netflix’s global revenue reached $11 billion, with 24 million new names added to its subscribers’ list. Viewers are certainly making their preferences heard – and voting with their remote controls to show that over-the-top (OTT) content is here to stay. However, OTT doesn’t just mean video on demand but extends to live streaming too. Dri...

Submitted by Damien Lucas

Published 26 March 2018

Steadicam M-1 Volt: Tried and Tested

Early in November some of us lucky Steadicam Operators from around the UK were invited to try out the new Tiffen M1 Volt, which is essentially an electronic motorized horizon assist unit attached to the gimbal of the latest Steadicam M1. Is it a good idea? As experienced Steadicam Operators, directors or producers, why would we be interested? Let’s...

Submitted by John E Fry

Published 12 February 2018

The Outlook for 2018

January has arrived…and the New Year promises great opportunities for those prepared to seek them out, with the one certainty that change is constant. Let’s start with London studio space, and the lack thereof. The issue is finally being addressed with fortuitous timing (or maybe some expert planning) as Riverside Studios in Hammersmith opens its s...

Submitted by Duncan Payne

Published 12 February 2018

State of the Nation

This morning I was eating my healthy muesli and idly listening to Radio 4 when someone came on who claimed to be from the Oxford University Computational Propaganda Project. Now regular readers will know that I am fond of a bit of good old-fashioned obfuscation. But talking about computational propaganda when what you mean is fake news on social me...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs - new

Published 12 February 2018

Speed in a Changing Media Landscape

We are living in the video era - the staggering statistics on video growth make that abundantly clear. According to Cisco’s Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Methodology 2016–2021, video will make up 82 percent of all consumer internet traffic by 2021, an increase from 73 percent in 2016. To put this in perspective, “it would take an individual...

Submitted by Mike Nash

Published 08 February 2018

Looking back at IBC 2017

IBC feels like a bit of a dim and damp memory now, but a few over-riding memories do remain however, not least of which was the Arri party to celebrate its 100th year. It was like an old-school manufacturers IBC/NAB party, back when manufacturers had marketing budgets, and lots of sales people. It got IBC off to a great start; thanks Arri. Among th...

Submitted by Duncan Payne

Published 02 November 2017

IP Prompting

The potential nirvana of interoperable IT, Telecommunications and Broadcast convergent technology definitely felt a lot closer at this years IBC with the launch of many, many broadcast IP ready devices, workflow and solutions. While the big ticket camera and live production infrastructures dominated the headlines there were a number of smaller but...

Submitted by Jon Hilton#

Published 02 November 2017

How the Cloud can be enabled as traditional broadcast wor...

The Cloud itself is fairly simple, but for broadcasters it can be difficult to leverage. It isnt technically complex but broadcast still overlaps requirements that need real time, high resolution and quick turnaround solutions. Plus, this is coupled with the need to connect with dispersed geographic locations, reduce costs and access multi-format a...

Submitted by David Schleifer

Published 02 November 2017

State of the Nation - part 2

This is, of course, the IBC issue of this splendid magazine. Much of the rest of its pages are filled with what you will see there, or (in some cases) what vendors and their marketing communications agencies want you to see there. This year’s IBC is a particularly special event, though. It is 50 years – almost to the day – since the very first Inte...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs - new

Published 19 October 2017

Plan to be smart at IBC

While chatting with a good friend last week, he told me he was full of foreboding about the coming IBC. It needs no introduction: this conference/exhibition is the largest gathering of broadcast professionals in Europe, and the second largest in the world, and everyone in our world knows about it. Ill give you some statistics later but, for now, le...

Submitted by Peter Savage 2

Published 19 October 2017

Top Tips on becoming an IBC Jedi

IBC is upon us once more. The doors of the RAI will open for the European electronic media and entertainment industry to scrum together to gather inspiration, keep abreast of developments in tech, and generally take the temperature of the industry. With a show of this scale, it's important to plan ahead to make sure that you squeeze every drop of w...

Submitted by Aaron Dunleavy

Published 19 October 2017

Strays - Telling a dark tale

Independent filmmaker, Aaron Dunleavy, has used the backdrop of his hometown, Blackburn, to create a new short film as part of Channel 4 and Arts Council Englands Random Acts programme. The initiative - delivered by Tyneside Cinema (Newcastle), HOME (Manchester), and True North Productions (Leeds) - commissions bold, innovative expressions of creat...

Submitted by Aaron Dunleavy

Published 19 October 2017

Live event streaming solutions

i It\'s summer! Just those two words alone are exciting. Combine them with words such as "music festival\" or "sports\" or "travel\" and you have yourself a summer to remember. To ensure you have the hottest summer yet, consider live streaming your event ¦ wherever it is. Let fans face the music - live! In the UK, we strongly associate summer with...

Submitted by Lorna Garrett

Published 07 September 2017