KitPlus | Articles

The production desk finally gets innovative

by Kieron Seth Issue 104 - August 2015 The video switcher (aka vision mixer) is at the heart of all live television, all AV and many a live webcast. But despite its core role, its remained essentially the same concept for decades, consisting of a digital video effects processing unit, matrix switcher and control panel. Fundamentally this hardware-b...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 September 2015

Those pesky scientists

by Dick Hobbs Issue 102 - June 2015 This month\'s picture is of something I was given on a visit to the Grass Valley camera factory in Breda, maybe 10 years ago. I think it is a thing of beauty, which is why it sits in pride of place on top of the wine cabinet. It is the sharp end an HD system camera: the optical block and a CCD imager. We saw in t...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 July 2015

DOPs discuss minicams, lenses, 4k and all

by Mel Noonan Issue 100 - April 2015 If anyone knows about the practical reality of using minicams and lenses it has to be the DOPs who are out there using them. We are now seeing minicams used in all areas of production, some with 1080p and 4K capability at prices you would not have believed possible a few years back. I spoke to some of the DOPs I...

Submitted by Mel Noonan

Published 01 May 2015

Cellular Wireless Networks

by Erwan Gasc Issue 99 - March 2015 1. What advantage do 3G/4G cellular wireless networks provide to broadcasters over satellite networks?For many years, satellite was the primary approach for real-time video delivery within the broadcast industry. That changed with the explosion of the Internet and second-screen devices like smartphones and tablet...

Submitted by Erwan Gasc

Published 01 April 2015

Eye to Eye: Video Post-production

Video post-production has long been one of the fastest developing subsets of the broadcast business. It was among the first to lead the shift from hardware into software, bringing huge advantages in terms of affordability and ease of use. I can still remember the high cost, heavy weight and low quality of the early analogue tape to tape video editi...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2015

Rotolight ANOVA lights

Issue 95 - November 2014We are moving into an era when technology enables us to streamline our workflow more than ever before and studios are looking to utilize equipment that is portable, versatile and energy efficient without undermining the quality of the end product. LED Lighting is increasingly more popular as LED technology advances and the u...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 December 2014

Sony PXW-FS7

by Alister Chapman Issue 94 - October 2014 At IBC Sony launched a new camera. In fact Sony launched several new cameras. This is nothing new, every year Sony launch cameras. But this year Sony really created quite a stir with one camera in particular, the Sony PXW-FS7. So what is it about the FS7 that is so special? Looking at the specs alone this...

Submitted by Alister Champman

Published 01 November 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

Mildred: The next generation of OB vans

by Kate Phibbs Issue 87 - March 2014 As live streaming occupies an ever-increasing piece of the broadcast industry pie, todays leaders of the online broadcasting industry are paving the way by investing in original and status quo challenging research and development. The team of engineers at industry leader, 3xScreen Media, kept these principles of...

Submitted by Kate Phibbs

Published 01 April 2014

Cutting the cord

by Will Strauss Issue 87 - March 2014 Wireless cameras are not new. In fact, they date back to the 1970s. But its only been in the last ten years that this technology has really blossomed, with engineers working out how to adapt the digital terrestrial transmission technology so that it can be used efficiently for programme-making. From that tippin...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 April 2014

In the Flesh: On set with the BBC

by Dale McCready Issue 86 - February 2014 Director of Photography, Dale McCready recently lit the second series of BBCs award nominated Zombie drama In the flesh with the Rotolight ANOVA Bi Colour V2 LED flood light. New Zealand born DoP, and Steadicam operator, McCready, has worked on some of Britains most highly rated series such as Atlantis, Dr....

Submitted by Dale McCready

Published 01 March 2014

Rotolight expand new range of award winning Anova flood l...

Issue 81 - September 2013 Following the successful launch of the award winning ANOVA LED Floodlight last year, IBC 2013 sees the release of the ANOVA EcoFlood Version 2 (Bi-Colour LED system) and the ANOVA SOLO Single Colour Flood lights available in 5600K (daylight) or 3200K (tungsten). The expansion of the ANOVA Range of products to be premiered...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 October 2013

Dick Hobbs gets up to speed with ESOMPS

The UK communications regulator Ofcom has issued a consultation document on the prospects for a technology called Earth Stations on Mobile Platforms, or ESOMPs. My first response to the consultation is that they should get a better acronym. An ESOMP is a small communications device which is attached to a mobile platform: a train, a plane, a ship or...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 October 2013

Crystal Balls and the future of television TandM

by Steve NunneyIssue 79 - July 2013 Best to keep well away from the Australian fast bowlers then! Joking apart, what is the future of television test and measurement? Or should we rather refer to media dispersion MD for short. MD is taking off big-time. After the five year digital switchover process was completed, everyone had digital terrestrial t...

Submitted by Steve Nunney

Published 01 August 2013

Singularity - QA and compliance monitoring in one box

by Martin DysterIssue 79 - July 2013 The task of maintaining loudness-compliant, high-quality delivery for broadcast audio is no longer a question of simply using ones ears. Audio channels produced for todays fast-paced productions come in embedded SDI workflow with streaming signals containing a mix of mono, stereo, surround, Dolby encoded and des...

Submitted by Martin Dyster

Published 01 August 2013