KitPlus | Articles

A stitch in time

by Thomas Dove Issue 98 - February 2015 "A stitch in time saves nine\" is an old saying: essentially it is saying fix a small problem now and it will save fixing a much bigger problem later. This applies in many areas - including broadcast. Kicking the error can down the road costs a lot more to fix the problem, particularly for audio and video fil...

Submitted by Thomas Dove

Published 01 March 2015

Expanding Arqiva into HD playout

ATG Broadcast recently completed a major SD to HD upgrade for Arqiva broadcast transmission centre at Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. The expanded system enables Arqiva to process and transmit four fully-operational 1080i HD channels as well as six new SD channels. It includes the installation and equipping of a server-based ingest suite, playout...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2015

Everything you ever needed to know about Wireless Links

by Michael Coyler Issue 96 - December 2014 Wireless links - be it catapulting footage from the cockpit of a Formula One Car as it reaches 180MPH into a knifepoint turn, or feeding a screen in the serene landscape of Scotland\'s world-renowned links for this year\'s Ryder Cup - Radio Frequency (RF) links have taken a major foothold in recent years i...

Submitted by Michael Coyler

Published 01 January 2015

Wireless Production Tools - Hints, tips and a word of war...

by Alan March Issue 95 - November 2014 Some Do\'s and Don\'ts Over the years, there have been certain questions or queries that have had a habit of re-occurring. At the risk of teaching you, dear reader, to suck eggs, here are a few of them;Can I use two transmitters with just one receiver? No. With wireless microphones, a dedicated transmitter and...

Submitted by Alan March

Published 01 December 2014

Move and Deliver

Issue 94 - October 2014You may not have heard of the open source video company Kaltura. But you probably will have heard of Harmonic. Together the two companies made an announcement at IBC that is indicative of where multi-screen, multi-platform TV is heading. They have teamed up to develop and market a cloud-based video infrastructure and OTT TV p...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 November 2014

Every Thing You Every Needed to Know About Flying a Drone

by Jon Pratchett Issue 94 - October 2014 Last month we went over some of the legal issues with flying unmanned aircraft in the UK, especially if you attach a video camera to them and charge for your services as an aerial videographer. This month, let\'s look at what you need to get started kit wise in this business. First of all, I would like to po...

Submitted by Jon Pratchett

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

Move and Deliver

Issue 93 - September 2014 In an industry that hands out a lot of awards, it can be easy to take the revelation of each golden statuette or glass embossed brick with a pinch of salt. When NATAS hands out a Technology and Engineering Emmy, however, people sit up and take notice. This month Video Services Forum, Media Links, Nevion, DVBlink, Inc, Harr...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 October 2014

Mobile News Gathering

by Erwan Gasc Issue 93 - September 2014 What are the most common challenges facing broadcasters in the field today? One of the most critical challenges for broadcasters today is arriving first on the scene of a breaking news story and being able to send live video coverage. Tough competition between TV channels, combined with the fact that consumer...

Submitted by Erwan Gasc

Published 01 October 2014

Playing games with radio mics on location

by Richard Meredith Issue 93 - September 2014 Some people use the same radio mics year in year out for every job that they do - others hire in radio mics for every job and don’t own anything - I am in the unique (nearly) position of being able to select the most appropriate from my own hire stock, and so every project has the equipment best suited...

Submitted by Richard Meredith

Published 01 October 2014

FM Over Satellite Challenges

by Werner Drews Issue 93 - September 2014 Seeking new ways to refine operational efficiency, broadcasters using satellite to deliver FM now have a palette of options. The combination of satellite with IP is being investigated by many in a variety of configurations, to achieve some or all of the goals of cost reduction, flexibility, redundancy, and...

Submitted by Werner Drews

Published 01 October 2014

SIZE is everything

Issue 93 - September 2014Live broadcast television or stage productions are a fast moving environment where clear instructions need to be delivered quickly if everything is to run smoothly. Whilst efficient conveyance of prompts or direction is vital, there is usually the additional need to avoid the audience being aware of the methods employed. La...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 October 2014

Launching the Local Newsroom

by Neil Hutchins Issue 92 - August 2014 We recently collaborated with Mustard TV, the Norwich-based television division of the Archant newspaper group, for their launch of the UK’s second Local TV channel. With just three weeks to go before the on-air date, we installed our QNews newsroom computer system, including the database server that it runs...

Submitted by Neil Hutchins#

Published 01 September 2014

UWP-D11 Review

by Kevin Cook Issue 91 - July 2014 Ever since the new regulations in the UK on radio microphone frequencies were introduced in the UK at the end of 2012, the days were numbered for my trusty old Sony UWP series radio mic system (consisting of the URX-P1 UHF dual-diversity receiver and UTX-B1 transmitter). Whilst super-reliable and excellent quality...

Submitted by Kevin Cook

Published 01 August 2014

Teletest Telesend HD LCD receiver Review

by Jon Boast Issue 90 - June 2014 It was towards the middle of last year that I reviewed my Teradek Bolt HD wireless system for TV Bay magazine. I commented then, that monitors are about the one thing that cameramen use day in day out, wireless ones particularly. Even these days you change your camera from day to day, one day you may be out shootin...

Submitted by Jon Boast

Published 01 July 2014