KitPlus | Articles

2011: 3D Make or break?

Last year was predicted to be the year when 3D would leap forward or flop. History is littered with short periods of interest and development only for 3D to drop off the scene again. 3D Diaries has maintained that this time it’s different as now nearly all the right technologies are available – the only missing link being a practical autostereoscop...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2012

Active or Passive? Its a walk-over!

With the forthcoming Olympics being broadcast in 3D free-to-air, there is sure to be a surge in new TV purchases. Given so many 3D capable models to choose from, which is best?Until the manufacturers come out with autostereoscopic designs that work properly in high definition, we have to view 3D though some sort of glasses to separate the left and...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2012

3D Five years on

For me, IBC2006 was the beginning of the modern 3D era. At an invitation-only presentation, 3ality’s CEO Steve Schklair described what his company was achieving with S3D. Suddenly it all made sense. With the accuracy of digital shoots and computer technology replacing difficulties and expense of working with film, 3D could now be viable. Unlike the...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2011

Building an HD MCR for The Associated Press

The Associated Press delivers fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, it has grown into a large and trusted source of independent news and information. AP’s activity in the broadcast market centres on the supply of live and edited video to over 500 broadcasting operations and 200 news...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2011

Whats new in video monitoring

The great majority of video monitoring displays in any modern broadcast presentation facility are LED-backlit LCDs. Reliable, space-efficient and economical on power, they produce excellent pictures for all but the most critical applications, usually in conjunction with one or more multiviewers to emulate a monitor stack. Domestic television began...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2011

Panasonic AF101 review

In 2008 Canon released its latest stills camera the 5DMk2. Little did they know what they had released on the videographers world. This so called STILLS camera had a hidden talent, that of course of remarkably good 1080p video. The indie film makers went wild, no more did they have to bolt on large cumbersome depth of field adapters to their video...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2011

Jack of all trades

So those following my column will know I’m Emma and currently in my first year working as a freelance production assistant. There’s been a few n00by mistakes but also some successes!The best thing about my job has to be the variety of clients I work with, and the variety of roles I can fulfil. This month I've been a second camera operator, producti...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2011

Eye to Eye on Delivery and Distribution

A notable aspect of the 2010 IBC and 2011 NAB conference sessions was the rapidly increasing focus on IP streaming. Fibre-optic delivery to the home has yet to be turned into widespread reality but transport speeds over existing electrical infrastructure continue to accelerate. Cloud-based storage and distribution services offer a solution to the c...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2011

So what is Digital Television - Part 1

It is tempting to think of “digital television” as something very scientific and even complex. But when we view the end result, we find something very familiar; something television engineers have sought since the very beginning…an experience that just keeps getting better and better…quality video and audio conveying great entertainment, sport, mov...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2011

Easy and accurate testing of low-power transmitters for d...

Using portable TV analyzers for gap filler installation, maintenance, and service measurementsTwenty-five kilograms or more: That is how much the test equipment needed for testing digital television transmitters – a test receiver, spectrum analyzer, and power meter – weigh all together. This weight is not an issue for a transmitter like the one on...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2011

DVB-3DTV: A Milestone

In 1822, George Stephenson set his Standard Gauge for the world’s first steam railway at 4 foot 8 inches (1.44m), to match a nearby wagonway that worked well at Killingworth Colliery. Despite Isambard Kingdom Brunel building the London-to-Bristol line (1838) on what he considered to a better 2.2m ‘Board Gauge’ (he was right!), the Gauge Act of 1846...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2011

Why do broadcasters need to take an interest in connected...

Why do broadcasters need to take an interest in connected TV?With ever-increasing amounts of content available, we’re heading towards a world where catch-up TV will enable you to access last week’s content as easily as today’s. This doesn’t mean to say that linear broadcasts are over; I would expect broadcast delivery to continue to dominate and fo...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2011

Realising the full benefits of hybrid broadcast and broad...

We are all clear that there is a great deal of momentum in pay television at the moment. Alongside that driver, though, there are others which are dramatically changing the way consumers watch television. These include the desire to watch programmes at a time of their choice not that of the broadcaster (and in the room of their choice), and the use...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2011

Eye to eye: The changing face of video displays

Video display technology is progressing so fast that the phrase 'More revolutions than a banana republic' inevitably comes to mind. No offence intended if you have just taken over as president. From the 1930s to the present century, television display was dominated almost entirely by cathode ray tubes. Competition then arrived in the form of plasma...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2011

Monitoring digital TV signal quality

The new R&S®DVMS1 and R&S®DVMS4 DTV monitoring systems keep track of the quality of digital TV signals – they detect all relevant errors at the RF and transport stream levels. They provide parallel monitoring of up to four signals and carry out in-depth signal analysis. These capabilities combine with an ultra-compact size of just one height unit a...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2011